March 13, 2023 • 43 mins
Episode Overview:
Nicole Chataway and Jackson Takos chat about life in the APY lands, two-way science, First Nations education, professional development and leadership pathways.
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About The Remote Teacher Podcast
The Remote Teacher Podcast is a podcast ‘talking all things remote education’ to support remote outback teachers to be the best they can be… and in turn can help our students be the best they can be. We chat with remote outback teachers, leaders, First Nations educators and remote service providers about career, leadership, mental health, teaching strategies, culture, language, special needs, bucket lists for remote adventures and more.
Host: Hakea Hustler and Carl Merrison
Guests: Nicole Chataway and Jackson Takos
Links: www.linktr.ee/carlandhakeaauthors
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
[Music]
(00:05):
Hey, Deadly Teachers and welcome to the Remote Teacher Podcast where we talk all things remote Outback Teaching.
This podcast and all our platforms come from a passion for helping remote Outback Teachers succeed.
And in turn, positive outcomes for remote Outback students.
Visit www.theremoatteacher.com.au for links to the blog, the Facebook group, over 7,000 remote educators and so much more.
(00:32):
Never miss an episode when you follow and like the podcast on your podcast app and when you follow us on Instagram,
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Best bit, the Remote Teacher Podcast episodes can be downloaded directly so you can listen to them when you're out of service on your long drives out to your community.
(00:54):
Before I introduce our first guest for today, I'd like to remind listeners that our opinions expressed today by the guests or myself are ours alone and we do not represent the Department of Education or other organizations unless expressly stated.
It's also important to acknowledge that first nations, children, families, schools and communities are diverse and unique, including the strengths and challenges.
(01:19):
So what we share in this podcast may or may not be applicable to you, your students, families, communities, class or school.
It's important not to stereotype or assume and to go into your context with a positive attitude, open mind and willingness to learn.
Take what you need, leave what you don't, sit back and let's get started.
(01:42):
Today we're talking to Nicole and Jack who have been out in remote communities for a little while now.
Before we begin to talk to them, I'd like to acknowledge the traditional custodians on the lands of which Carl and I meet today, the Bungalong people of Northern Rivers, New South Wales.
We'd like to acknowledge the Anomal, Kandara, young Kandara people of the APU islands in South Australia.
(02:03):
We pay respects to these groups and their elders past, present and emerging and extend that respect to any first nations people listening along with our podcast today.
So thank you Nicole and Jack for joining us. Thanks for having us.
Thank you.
Now, did you, this wasn't in our questions, but I'm just curious, did you two meet out in the lands or had you noted other before and then went on this adventure?
(02:29):
No, I've been teaching in Yalda for two years and I came home for school holidays, which home was Adelaide.
Is Adelaide for me? That's when my mom and my sister and my nanobased and met Jack there and, yeah, and dragged him out of you.
Yeah, nine months later, I had an ankle operation. I had a reconstruction and I said to him, I can't drive.
(02:53):
He said, okay, I'll come out for a term and see how I go. Yeah, wow.
Yeah, what an interesting way to meet and get to know each other really well after nine months, you're coming into the middle of nowhere with me.
Jack, I just like to get your version of that story, man.
I'm not going to figure it out. I know we sort of just come up, I had nothing else really going on at the time. I just graduated uni and it was just doing like a part time job and just sort of looking for the next step and then the whole obviously needed me to come out there and then I got a job cleaning the school.
(03:36):
Yeah, they're important people at the schools, man.
They're exactly right. So, it's never clean up.
And then I got eventually got a job at the Ushed.
And then they sort of had an SNF logo come up and run footy during the term and I sort of just got talking to him and he told me about a job that was available in the 80s.
(04:04):
That's when I broke my call and when he sort of decided that that's something we'd like to do, she was keen to go up and yeah, so just started that job last year about this time last year.
Maybe. Well, I got the job this time last year and then started at the end of the or started the next term, term, term, term.
Yeah, nice. Sounds great.
(04:25):
I like something not on our question list, but it's it's those opportunities for partners who come with us that there are these stepping stones in these ways to find your way in and make yourself fit in.
So that's an exciting transition to football in the remote communities.
Yeah, well, I think it's it's pretty unique as well that on the land, you have two people that can do.
(04:47):
And the top that they've studied for and go down the career path, so I want to know where is most people one person comes up as a teacher and then the other persons better just find something.
I guess.
Exactly.
Thanks to Grazer in sport.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So tell us about you Nicole, you've been there for a while, but but what was your teaching journey like?
(05:14):
And how did you end up remote for the first time?
Yeah, so I graduated from UniSA in 2018, but while at uni in 2017, I went on a field trip that was offered by UniSA and Flanders, so Ross, Coffin, Chris, Scott, Dennis Harris,
some fellows that have had quite a bit of experience, but here across the A.T. Y quite a long time ago, they run a field trip for uni students to come out to the lands and have two weeks experience.
(05:42):
And I applied and got a position and I came out to a job and I was like, oh my god, I think this is me.
And it's like, you need the full year to a term of T.R.T. and Adelaide and just started applying for beginning of 2019.
And I was like, oh, I was so far away from the rest of the lands. Like, is it really remote? And then I just, I just can't since I've been your primary job, never regretted it.
(06:13):
It was fantastic.
Which raises so much, doesn't it?
Because it is something that is this huge adventure, but also this huge learning club and these huge opportunities. So you spoke about the multi-campus choosing the right one and making it work because you've moved between a few and you've taken up so many opportunities.
So would you like to talk a bit about this idea of how the multi-campus is work and then the opportunities it provides?
(06:41):
So in South Australia, the APY partnership has 10 schools within it. Yalota being the most southern. So that's down on the air highway off the Great Australian White.
And then if you go about four hours north, you get to Oick Valley and then you've got the northern hub right up to South Australia, which is eight schools.
So when Jack got off the essay in a federal role, that was the northern hub of the APY, the hub of Yalota Valley.
(07:05):
So we had to move up. I won a job at Fregan. I was a curriculum coordinator there last year and I also ended up teaching the seniors based on the needs of the fight at the time.
And then this job came up at Erna Beller and I'd heard some amazing things about our principal Peter Kenny and just division for the school.
He's been in international back all our schools and he was overseas in Singapore and a lot of places for a long time.
(07:29):
So I just wanted to come and really improve the APY schools and he had this huge vision and it just sounded really exciting. So I applied and want to personalise learning coordinator position here.
So did you find it easy moving between the APY schools because they do collaborate and work together or how is that moving around for you?
(07:53):
Yeah, so there's a conference every second year that collaborates all of the APY schools together. So you get to meet and network with people in similar contexts.
It's always something I considered coming up north but I really did love Yalota and I didn't want to leave. But it was sort of a hard to do sort of thing and it was definitely nerve-wracking.
But we ended up making a lot of friends in pre-gone that still just they drive over to Erna Beller just to visit us. And Jack got to know a lot of the fellows in the community through the body.
(08:23):
So we ended up making friends quite easily and I played softball. I played softball because I was a little kid so I was actually able to join the softball team and yeah, it was easy for us.
Jack, I'm here listening, man. You're sitting down quite and can I hear a bit about what you do, man? As a partner of a teacher, you know? And, you know, what do you do on your sort of things with the footy mat? If you don't mind, I'm a footy mad person, man.
(08:51):
So I'm the APY coordinator, they're Santa Felle, that's the title. My main role is to run the men's league. So during the winter we have a men's footy league which runs like any other footy league. We've got 10 teams across all the communities.
Santa and Sunday we'll go to a different oval and I bring all the equipment out and then keep track of, you know, what plays, the registered to which teams and then do the scores and ladders and all that. And then outside of that season, it's just footy carnivals.
(09:23):
We did a trip to Adelaide with an on-rate teams team. We're between do at a carnival. So a gym do is like an indigenous footy group company that just do a lot of work in the indigenous footy space.
Yeah. So they had a carnival for on-a 18. So we took a whole group of kids from across the whole land to compete at that.
(09:46):
And then they started out of the government. They strouled a bit just because it's more than the 40-ish experience and the fact that they come with the stuff.
I've gone on a couple of like school trips and stuff and it was by far the best that I've ever been on just because it's a good group of kids that we didn't have any trouble and they all just...
(10:07):
Nicole, go with you. Was she keeping everyone in check? No.
Oh, me, but pretty much. We had pretty much five, there was pretty much me and two other guys from Yalda, actually. And then 22 other 16, 17 year old fellas.
But that's what made it a really good trip. On the way there, there wasn't like...
(10:29):
Because a lot of the kids from Yalda don't really know the A.P. Y. kids as much, so they didn't really speak to each other much.
And then by the end of the week we couldn't separate them. Yeah, no, no, no, no.
That was really something that was going on.
Yeah, so that's my role. And then I'm also employed at the school.
(10:51):
So I've just started this term at Annabella. I'm the PE SSO, so just helping out.
What is the connection between community and school as well that you can move between the two? You know the adults, you know the parents, the uncles and never at the school with Nicole.
Yeah, I think that's what we sort of found, especially moving to Annabella is that we've already know a lot of the people here already.
(11:18):
Or at least the families of the kids.
We've got your networks and all of that already.
And I guess that's what's different about teacher to my job as well is that I'm across the whole lands where it's like a teacher's focus on my community.
He's laughing because I'm the nerdy English teacher in the classroom and Carl was always like the cool, foody guy outside.
(11:40):
I could get a bit of street cred from him, Nicole's pointing and agreeing for the audience who can't see.
And it goes a long way for you know departments and even if you teach us you get out into the community, you know get into sports or whatever it might be down at the bar, whatever you get out and get seen, you get strict.
(12:01):
Yeah, but I think you can definitely tell the teachers that play softball and foody and do that extra stuff.
You can just tell that they know the kids on a guest on a different level.
Well, no, that families, you know more about the families outside of like pop.
Which raises the idea that you were going to talk about as well, Nicole of the importance of relationships and perhaps how you work together with Jack, but also your passion for sport.
(12:28):
You played, did you say softball, football?
Yeah.
So, so how do you call about building those relationships?
Well, I think it's just doing stuff outside of school is the key to everything because if you wake up, you go to school and you go home.
I think life in a remote community can get very, it become very much background and and you feel like all you're doing is getting up going to school, going home, getting up, going to school, going home.
(12:53):
Whereas if you're actually actively making that effort to do things outside of school, like we are so busy all the time that we're never bored.
I don't have time to worry about what hobbies I should start taking up because there's just so much to do. Just crazy and having our friends come around and invite us out to cultural ceremonies or cultural things and doing all of those things because we play sport with them is just that next level.
(13:19):
Like we probably wouldn't have gotten invited to that if we didn't have that prior connection.
Obviously, I'm an indigenous person from Walls Creek, the Kimberley's and that and once the community take you in, it's take you in as family pretty much.
Triggy like family take you out here, come around for Barbies, drop off Wushtucker to you or I'm going on a fishing trip, whatever it might be.
(13:45):
But once you get out and build them relationships, you get a pretty tight network of the whole community, a tight network, working as one.
Yeah, well like it was quite funny because one of the new staff members at the school the other day got a bit confused because our friend came over and he was all painted up for his mitts.
(14:06):
And all the new staff are told, don't look at the men, like don't look at them and it was quite funny because he just walked on into our house and not a care in the world and she was just watching what is going on.
But it's just like when you've got that relationship, it's just that respect of not sharing and I think people take that as, oh my god don't look, don't do anything, day in your house.
(14:30):
I think people get a bit confused between you.
You learn all the cultural protocols and all of that and you know, that let you know straight away, you know, what to do where you can't go, you know, say, go to what the random communities once you just got to like, sounds like you're doing out and about in the community and building them relationships gain so much from it.
(14:53):
Which I think is really nicely, I wonder, can you tell us about some of this exploration you've done or some of these special experiences that you've had.
That's such a hard question because there's so many things I'm trying to think in Yalada, there's one that's out there, which is something really different to A.P.Y.
So that's a, that's a wish-crued for Yalada mob.
And we went out with like our really close friends and, um, Mima, one of them, the elders of the community, she's quite close to, they're quite close with her.
(15:21):
So she was getting jacked through the digging for the holes and what happened.
You just have the crowbar.
Because all the one-butt holes are just massive holes in the ground and they're all like, connecting the ground.
So you just get the crowbar and you're trying to deep the holes out and then you can sort of climb like, climb where they might be.
(15:42):
Because she'd like tap and see where it was hollow.
And then I was just hitting it and then I was saying, "Pump straight in and then the hole for came out from underneath me and then fell straight into the hole."
And she just didn't even go up laughing.
Do you reckon she set you up for a love or it was an accident?
(16:07):
Every time I see her, every time I see her, I just like, "I know he remembers that. I remember just going all."
Did you end up catching the one that or not?
No, we didn't. It was that, that's right.
And then like, I mean, up, we went out for a whole day a couple of weeks ago, just to get to tobacco and vinkelplug, some of the women wanted to collect some.
(16:31):
We went for this drive and it turned into like a 10 hour drive where we just went and saw all these amazing places.
And then some of the kids came out in a different car that went back.
And so, it was like some of us tucked off in the back of the car, like we're the blanket, and I covered the dust.
Can we go lay where our faces are? We could get back to community.
And then I had no idea how we were getting back because we just wanted to like, probably outbourge no track.
(16:57):
And then I had just a bunch of older ladies in the car. One of the ones was just like pointing out where I've got to wear a face against the track.
Because I just, I couldn't see the wheel marks and she couldn't see the car.
And then I stopped, we went around my tent around.
It's actually really funny. I called Jackie Boy, like as a nickname.
And on, in, on the API, I'm not sure if it's the same as in other Aboriginal communities.
(17:22):
I've got told off he should be Jackie men got boy because he's not a boy.
It's funny because when I first heard it, like some of our friends were like, that's weird, why do you call him Jackie Boy?
And now even the old lady's call him Jackie Boy.
So, it's caught on.
So good. And those places that you would have seen literally no track.
(17:43):
So the chances of any other people from a different culture having seen what you saw.
Oh, it's just beautiful. The country up here is just next level.
Like people go to places like Ylora and they think they've seen the most incredible thing they've ever seen.
But like there's so much more country just like that.
But no one sees and it's just.
(18:06):
You making me, you making me a bit homesick here.
I've known it was until the stories.
No, I don't be sorry. It's great.
I'm like, just thinking about home while you're talking enough.
No, there's no one back up in Halls Creek.
You better be a new thing for YouTube.
Yeah, I'll probably do it.
You better get the song on it, set me up.
Just a short break to share books and resources by Jaru Gijeman, Karl Marisan and me, English teacher, Hague Yahasla.
(18:34):
Each book and resource was created without back students in mind and with the aim to increase student engagement
while reducing teacher workload. Blackpocker 2 was the 2019 CBCA on a book and it's a short novella that's accessible for low literacy students
but has many themes and issues to deep dive for your older students or students who need extending.
(18:57):
It's been studied in years three all the way up to seven and eight all around Australia depending on the unique needs of each student and the approach by the teacher.
This book comes with comprehensive differentiated free teacher resources on our author website, www.calandhague.com.au.
My Deadly Boots is a picture book set in the outback that follows a character as they show off their new footy boots they saved up to buy.
(19:26):
It covers themes of identity, competence, connection to country but also has some challenging themes to explore for older readers.
Again, Deadly Teacher Resources over on our website.
Tracks of the Missing is a YA suspense thriller that follows Declan Archer as he hunts for a Missing Busload of Students.
This text covers challenging themes including ones of suicide and drug overdose, stolen generation and more.
(19:52):
So make sure you talk with your first nation's colleagues and your local staff to make sure this book is suitable for your context.
For the classrooms that it is suitable for, it comes with a great teaching pack to do all the hard work for you.
Over on our TPT store we also have getting to know you activities, brain breaks, nadoc activities and other resources designed to make teacher planning easier.
(20:15):
All the links are in our show notes so make sure to like our Instagram page, Facebook page and sign up for our author mail list so you don't miss out on new books and resources.
We have two new books out every year for the next few years, published at the moment with Hatchet Books and Magabella Books,
with illustrations by Samantha Campbell and Dub Lefler, so you'll guaranteed to have more books perfect for your Outback classrooms and mainstream classrooms.
(20:43):
Your students will see themselves represented on the pages, their faces, their stories, their experiences.
Now let's get back to this Deadly interview.
You'll be there in a call for five years and Jack a little less as he joined you after but being there for a long time allows you to make those deep relationships and makes a huge difference.
Would you like to talk about that value and that connection that you get when you make the time and energy to stay out remote for a longer time?
(21:12):
A lot of people come remote and they'll try it for a term and they'll be like not for me, go back.
Even in my first term in Yarda there was days where I cried because I missed home or I was not used to not going out with my friends and I reflect and five years down the track.
I have about three of the same friends that I had when I started but you make new friends but it's not until you push through it.
(21:36):
You've got to push through that hard bit at the start where you're feeling home sick and everything is new and it's a bit of culture shock for me because I'm not used to this lifestyle.
When you take the kids to Adelaide it's culture shock for them because they're not used to that lifestyle.
And so it's kind of good because it puts yourself in their shoes when you expect them to go to.
People say why don't the kids go to school in Adelaide and it's like well why don't all the teachers come out and teach you.
(22:02):
You know like it's the same thing but I think life is being out here.
I just I kind of imagine leaving like I just I feel so safe here and I always just wait to come back home.
Now Adelaide is not as much home. I don't know. It's I don't even know how to answer that because it's just.
Yeah.
Well that just shows how engaged and passionate and how much you love it being.
(22:27):
And the value of the relationships that you have formed that you can feel that and work through those with your new connection.
Yeah with kids with the community you know with Jackie boy.
But oh it's caught on it becomes home that's really powerful for listeners to hear once you push through the tough stuff and finally goes those connect connections and networks formed in fire.
(22:50):
Those people who understand what you're going through and and make those connections with you.
Yeah definitely it was highlighted like last season when I was playing softball it often get asked to on fire by other team.
One of the games one of the teams got a bit grumpy with me because they thought I was cheating just because I played for free gone.
I'm throwing for cheating and then I was able to go hey you know your family with everyone that I'm family with in Yalta.
(23:13):
So why would I be trying to make you lose and like just being able to say things like that to people and meet them on a level that brings a connection because I didn't know that well but I knew their family really well.
So like it was just able to like mediate situations and stuff like that and people just like oh yeah that's the cause fine.
So it also highlights the value of relationships when you spend that time there and invest in them because when you're in the classroom and you're managing behavior you can also call on those same connections to help you.
(23:43):
Throw it in again.
Yeah.
I think even before we come up to the API as well people sort of knew mainly you.
I knew that we were coming because you had such big mix and you know other and then they had families up on those lines that you know.
So you got to look after them and then we come up and they're like oh you're jacking the call like such and such told me about you and so yeah having those connections those good connections to Yalta.
(24:11):
Totally name preceded you yes so you both had these opportunities to develop finally got into the area that you specialize in jack and Nicole you got to have some leadership opportunities as well.
So I'd like to talk about you know the PD professional development the chances to step up into different roles perhaps both in the sports kind of direction and in the education direction how it's kind of help you grow as people and as professionals.
(24:40):
Yeah well I think from the education perspective when I was classroom teacher in Yalta I applied for a fourth made a position when I moved up here I would have been quite happy to go back into a teach position but I was like.
I feel like I'm ready to sort of take in another step is still a point five to quote the core made a position up here so I was able to go to go to go just sort of put my application and hope for the best and then one that position and and yeah definitely it taught me a lot about managing two roles at once and most sort of things and the PD opportunities that you get on the lands are just amazing because often if a school wants to do PD if they'll offer it to every school in the land so everyone can go to that school and do the PD together.
(25:21):
Because no one's I mean from in Dalton it's here it's eight hours maybe so that's from one end of the lands to the other so if you put it in a develop it's four hours each way for boy schools so it's like it's kind of meeting the middle sort of thing and and they're really unique because lots of schools kind of operate on their own by themselves in the outback so it's very special that you've got the open ones and your principle you said.
(25:49):
So what was I be trained so you had this extra layer of support and professional development.
And Peter is just he I've got a personal commitment in Melbourne in a couple of weeks and I don't often take leave and I I'm really nervous because I hate taking time away from sport I was like I'm really sorry but I just got this thing I really need to go to.
And he was just like well you've got some spare time while you're there and you're so set you've got both you as for while you're there and like it just makes everything a learning opportunity which is great and but it's only just building my professional capacity that I've never been more supported that I have been by Peter so it's just been amazing.
(26:25):
And they kind of bounce together don't they because you're working P.E.S.S.O support.
But you would have the best of both worlds I suppose because you'd have your sample training and support and team and now you've also got your school team with Nicole and and the principle that sounds amazing so you've got the best of both worlds to develop.
Having all those relationships with everyone helps both sides as well.
(26:49):
You know you get to know your runs whole family because you've got the older kids, brothers playing in the in our league and then you've got the younger.
The younger, the older and boys come through is so hard to have a job or find a job in footy is only like a handful of jobs that like.
How the great is your laughing because you're great.
(27:11):
And so to come out here obviously just to have a job in footy is good to pretty much run a whole league do everything that involves in running a whole league from like the media staff to like posting on Facebook to then.
Then being there on game day and then doing I don't know coaching stuff even with younger pains and that's mainly what it's given me the opportunity to do a bunch of different things that if I stayed in the city I probably could do one of those things and follow down that path whereas which is probably the same with most jobs when people come up here.
(27:43):
I was probably even for teaching as well.
Yeah, I think you sometimes like everyone's like, oh you've got it leadership so quickly and I think that's one thing about being remote is that you can you have the capacity to spend a lot more time focusing on work.
I choose to go to school a lot of weekends because I want to improve as much as I can and like I don't know it's just I think these kids get a lot of testing ground like teachers come out here and as graduates they test their abilities on the kids.
(28:14):
And I think that's why huge people to why a lot of these kids are so far behind is because they're always getting new teachers that are just coming out and it's just test off to test off to test about teaching and learning it's about oh this is a new teacher and they need to learn it's not about the kids.
Yeah, or they are passionate but the reality is your early you are just refining your skills so the power that you bring for having been there for five years and the passion that you bring to like make it work and sorry.
(28:46):
I hear you.
No, no, no, no, you said it perfectly.
I'm just looking at Carl in case you wanted to pipe in with more football stuff because I was sure he was.
I just got for quality, but I so hear you about that that opportunity for leadership and it's not just that number one there are younger staff so there are you might have been someone that's been there a little bit longer and have the opportunity to step in but in your circumstances also the PD the training and the support from your leadership to train you up into that role so it sounds like you're not just being like long tend to it or or anything like that they're actually valuing and supporting you to be the best you can be.
(29:24):
Yeah, there's five people in our leadership team and everyone else is experienced except for me so I'm actually able to learn from people who have been like a Trish who's working there by language education role and she's supporting un-uneducated to get our.
I'm in that program up and running so that they're getting any hour of hidden data twice a week at like all wait no half an hour of hidden data four times a week.
(29:54):
I'm trying to get that rep to and have that bilingual education because we know that kids can't be excellent species of English until their excellent species of their own language and explain and if they can read and write in that other than that's going to make it easier for them to read and write in English and.
We've got these amazing trained un-uneducated in this community who went to uni and our trained teachers and.
(30:18):
We need to tap into that and we've got all these experts right around us so you highlight that it doesn't always happen though and you're highlighting the power of the people who are there and who will stay a lot longer than many of us will so.
All you in supporting up skilled training and and utilize the first nations colleagues in those roles is a very important point you made.
(30:42):
Yeah definitely I actually I just thought can I quickly talk a little bit about two a science is that okay please do.
So through his science was introduced to me my first year of teaching by Christa's lens who's one of the authors so he lives in.
Australia is a local to Port Lincoln sort of way but he was a principal on the land circuit that I think he's been part of the API for a while and amazing with language and has so many beautiful sections with people he.
(31:14):
And I think that's what we're doing with the way department and and they did two as science as a collaborative three to a science essentially a pedagogy to value animal educators as the first teachers value their import of what they think the kids should be learning at school and then it's my job essentially to relate that to the Australian curriculum and extend their learning so like for example in y'all it.
(31:36):
Which is like the trees and the wood and artifacts that they make out of the trees reader one of the elders in community she took us out and she was making these wooden one that they're not the size of two tennis balls and she was standing them and I was just thinking to myself as well.
And she said like this is what she wants to teach you about how you send it what you use and all that kind of thing and then I thought oh maybe we can talk about friction because the heat when you send something and then went into teaching about friction and that.
(32:05):
Maybe curriculum science side of things but showing the kids that like their culture and their science and things that they do every day is is science nonetheless it's science and I think Chris does lens and that Mercer who was the deputy at Yalada and also worked out value for a long time and now works for two a science I just instrumental in helping you teachers really listen to animal educators and make sure that they're just as much in the teaching team like you're working with someone that.
(32:34):
I hear the language of our my that my person that I work with and we're really trying to change the language to the person in my teaching team the other teacher that I work with and I'm educated that I work with and that language is so powerful and not saying my because you don't own that person that they're just as valued and important to the team as you are and teaching the kids and I think yeah two or
(33:01):
two or science is just the most incredible thing for that and you can there's two or science the number two w i science dot com dot a you two or maybe website gone there and find all resources and if you interest to have a bit of a look that's a great because there's also a two way science Facebook group as well for people to jump on and learn and that importance it is in science but also two way across our curriculum.
(33:27):
So the two or science is the integrated so it's essentially our third subject area so like we're mandated to teach the kids well I guess fourth subject area in a way because we're mandated to teach English and maths and then they do their language lessons so that's their third those are the three main subjects that they do every day of the week and then two or science is the integrated unit that encompasses all the other areas of the curriculum through the uniland so it's like it's their choice and their voice of what the
(33:56):
students of what they want their kids to learn essentially so yeah and hand on and on country learning as well and like you said you're picking out the content that's related so it's coming from your grassroots and then you're making it link to Australian curriculum.
Yeah and I think it's super powerful for their futures as well. Hey because the kids are really confident with a lot of the things we do for two or a science and it's something they feel proud doing and it's probably a career path they would choose to go down.
(34:25):
If they get that extra exposure to maybe the western way of doing things that links to that being a ranger the kids would know so many things already about being what what you need to do to be a ranger but then like there's those little things that
that would be so overqualified to be out in the bush and do this and you know this track on this this plan you know we need to find the cinema of this area whatever it might be but they need the what is it like long enough to get the qualifications.
(34:58):
Yeah and being able to record like what they've seen and all of those kind of things because the way the world is they love everything being written down and documented and recorded and stuff and I think we can give them the skills to do that with the knowledge and the
amazing skills that they already have then we're just giving them pathways to do so many more things with their futures but I think people don't necessarily consider possible.
(35:22):
Yes. Obviously you both follow AFL.
Yes. Yes.
What team? This is very important.
What?
Oh, I don't know the area yet.
(35:46):
I just moved to port from when game really.
Yeah, we're really excited to watch the first round.
Yeah, yeah, the second question Jack round five of the AFL season true false is every game going to be a dilemma you should know this.
(36:12):
Yeah, it is. Yeah, there'll be you're going to be there mate.
I'm hoping to yeah, we're actually just school holidays.
Yeah, so we should be there.
I'm actually just talking with this.
We're going to be there.
We're hoping to bring some kids down as well.
(36:34):
So be second Nicole, are there any APY land superstars that Carl's name dropped all the Kim Lee superstars and the APY land ones that are up and coming to we watching out for.
Oh, I think that's like something that we really like you building at the moment is that interest to really go to city and play because like there's so many good players here.
(36:57):
Yeah, so much raw talent. Yeah, that leaving home is the difficult next step because of COVID.
COVID has ruined a lot of things because people have it left.
There's two factors that sort of like hold back the kids from here is the first is like the grassroots.
(37:19):
And you know, you've got Oz kick on at every local, and I don't know, I guess, that's what it is.
It's generally just straight into men's footie or you better kick around.
Yeah, that's right. No, no, no, no, it's 10s.
Yeah, that's.
So last year we had our first year of doing like a schools junior footie, which was good because the kids actually had a chance to play some structured footie.
(37:46):
Before they were turned 16 or 17. So I think that's one of the main things that we can focus on is the grassroots just teaching like the basic skills.
And then yeah, the second barrier is obviously just moving so far away from home, which is just for anyone really like if you asked the kid in Adelaide to move to the baby wildlands to play, I felt like they have the same.
(38:14):
And then you know, you're in Newspaper, nine months and you're telling them, yeah, yeah.
I think it was special.
But I think cause of COVID, it's sort of put a hole on all of the programs because I know both poor and crores had some pretty strong programs that comes through regularly every year and everyone.
It was like a feature on the calendar, but since COVID, it's all sort of stopped.
(38:39):
I guess trying to work back and bring back those opportunities and stuff for the kids.
So yeah, yeah, no, totally feel there because when I was running the Kimberley Spur, which was tied in with Claire, my West Coast and I'm free metal and yeah,
COVID game. I was over here still running things, but nothing was happening because, you know, travel all kinds of communities, communities across.
(39:07):
So for people who are fully for that X, there is lots of opportunities to be involved in football, but also the challenges of bringing things back and finding your feet again after COVID times because it is, it is a challenge still on here.
Yeah, I think that's sort of one of the things that's been fun about my job though is because, because it's almost like starting from the blank canvas because of COVID and everything sort of stopped.
(39:30):
Sort of now we get to go and like what's going to be a good idea to throw the leg and stuff.
So like in a couple weeks, we're starting our first women's 40 lead, which should be good as well, just because.
Nicole going to play, has she been drafted to the first play?
(39:52):
I don't know if I don't think I could keep a goal, so maybe I'll just go on the back line.
Clients just to yeah running straight lines, breaking paths.
Yeah, I'm.
There's one thing you could tell a new teacher rocking up what would it be?
(40:15):
The hardest thing that the hard like the thing I found the hardest was to actually stop talking myself and just listen.
Because I am such a talker. My last name is chattoway. I talk all the time.
It takes a lot to shut me up.
But like it really it took me a year to really listen.
Important to put time in to getting to know the community and just getting involved in the community like just.
(40:42):
But to not see it as you're going out to make friends in community, you're going out to make friends with community, you're going out to make friends.
Yeah, like these are just my friends like these aren't people that live in the community that I live that I work in like these my friends.
These are the people I socialize with.
You'll always be spoken about once you've spent a while in community and sounds like you're doing a great job, you know, Jack.
(41:07):
You know, I'll get out in the communities and getting involved and you know telling you a side of the story that you how much you're loving it and you know learning and growing in your in your roles.
And that deep listening that you speak about because it is so easy for us from different cultures even Carl tells me off all the time because I'm someone who talks he says, yeah, but you're talking and maybe you're listening, but you're not really hearing me.
(41:31):
And that's what you make space for like you were saying the call when you listen.
Yeah, so good to chat with you guys. Thank you so much for joining us and talking for you and talking teaching and roles of partners.
It's an important role. You both play for each other.
Keen to continue the conversation.
(41:54):
We'd love to chat with you join us over on the Facebook group teachers in remote communities past, present or future or see us on our socials.
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(42:19):
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(42:43):
Now don't forget you can find a whole lot more remote teaching content over on our blog, www.theremoteteacher.com.au and on our socials.
We can't wait to welcome you to a future episode so stay tuned for more. We have some amazing guests lined up. Thanks for listening.
[Music]
(00:05):
Hey, Deadly Teachers and welcome to the Remote Teacher Podcast where we talk all things remote Outback Teaching.
This podcast and all our platforms come from a passion for helping remote Outback Teachers succeed.
And in turn, positive outcomes for remote Outback students.
Visit www.theremoatteacher.com.au for links to the blog, the Facebook group, over 7,000 remote educators and so much more.
(00:32):
Never miss an episode when you follow and like the podcast on your podcast app and when you follow us on Instagram,
Facebook and sign up to our email list, the links are in the show notes.
Best bit, the Remote Teacher Podcast episodes can be downloaded directly so you can listen to them when you're out of service on your long drives out to your community.
(00:54):
Before I introduce our first guest for today, I'd like to remind listeners that our opinions expressed today by the guests or myself are ours alone and we do not represent the Department of Education or other organizations unless expressly stated.
It's also important to acknowledge that first nations, children, families, schools and communities are diverse and unique, including the strengths and challenges.
(01:19):
So what we share in this podcast may or may not be applicable to you, your students, families, communities, class or school.
It's important not to stereotype or assume and to go into your context with a positive attitude, open mind and willingness to learn.
Take what you need, leave what you don't, sit back and let's get started.
(01:42):
Today we're talking to Nicole and Jack who have been out in remote communities for a little while now.
Before we begin to talk to them, I'd like to acknowledge the traditional custodians on the lands of which Carl and I meet today, the Bungalong people of Northern Rivers, New South Wales.
We'd like to acknowledge the Anomal, Kandara, young Kandara people of the APU islands in South Australia.
(02:03):
We pay respects to these groups and their elders past, present and emerging and extend that respect to any first nations people listening along with our podcast today.
So thank you Nicole and Jack for joining us. Thanks for having us.
Thank you.
Now, did you, this wasn't in our questions, but I'm just curious, did you two meet out in the lands or had you noted other before and then went on this adventure?
(02:29):
No, I've been teaching in Yalda for two years and I came home for school holidays, which home was Adelaide.
Is Adelaide for me? That's when my mom and my sister and my nanobased and met Jack there and, yeah, and dragged him out of you.
Yeah, nine months later, I had an ankle operation. I had a reconstruction and I said to him, I can't drive.
(02:53):
He said, okay, I'll come out for a term and see how I go. Yeah, wow.
Yeah, what an interesting way to meet and get to know each other really well after nine months, you're coming into the middle of nowhere with me.
Jack, I just like to get your version of that story, man.
I'm not going to figure it out. I know we sort of just come up, I had nothing else really going on at the time. I just graduated uni and it was just doing like a part time job and just sort of looking for the next step and then the whole obviously needed me to come out there and then I got a job cleaning the school.
(03:36):
Yeah, they're important people at the schools, man.
They're exactly right. So, it's never clean up.
And then I got eventually got a job at the Ushed.
And then they sort of had an SNF logo come up and run footy during the term and I sort of just got talking to him and he told me about a job that was available in the 80s.
(04:04):
That's when I broke my call and when he sort of decided that that's something we'd like to do, she was keen to go up and yeah, so just started that job last year about this time last year.
Maybe. Well, I got the job this time last year and then started at the end of the or started the next term, term, term, term.
Yeah, nice. Sounds great.
(04:25):
I like something not on our question list, but it's it's those opportunities for partners who come with us that there are these stepping stones in these ways to find your way in and make yourself fit in.
So that's an exciting transition to football in the remote communities.
Yeah, well, I think it's it's pretty unique as well that on the land, you have two people that can do.
(04:47):
And the top that they've studied for and go down the career path, so I want to know where is most people one person comes up as a teacher and then the other persons better just find something.
I guess.
Exactly.
Thanks to Grazer in sport.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So tell us about you Nicole, you've been there for a while, but but what was your teaching journey like?
(05:14):
And how did you end up remote for the first time?
Yeah, so I graduated from UniSA in 2018, but while at uni in 2017, I went on a field trip that was offered by UniSA and Flanders, so Ross, Coffin, Chris, Scott, Dennis Harris,
some fellows that have had quite a bit of experience, but here across the A.T. Y quite a long time ago, they run a field trip for uni students to come out to the lands and have two weeks experience.
(05:42):
And I applied and got a position and I came out to a job and I was like, oh my god, I think this is me.
And it's like, you need the full year to a term of T.R.T. and Adelaide and just started applying for beginning of 2019.
And I was like, oh, I was so far away from the rest of the lands. Like, is it really remote? And then I just, I just can't since I've been your primary job, never regretted it.
(06:13):
It was fantastic.
Which raises so much, doesn't it?
Because it is something that is this huge adventure, but also this huge learning club and these huge opportunities. So you spoke about the multi-campus choosing the right one and making it work because you've moved between a few and you've taken up so many opportunities.
So would you like to talk a bit about this idea of how the multi-campus is work and then the opportunities it provides?
(06:41):
So in South Australia, the APY partnership has 10 schools within it. Yalota being the most southern. So that's down on the air highway off the Great Australian White.
And then if you go about four hours north, you get to Oick Valley and then you've got the northern hub right up to South Australia, which is eight schools.
So when Jack got off the essay in a federal role, that was the northern hub of the APY, the hub of Yalota Valley.
(07:05):
So we had to move up. I won a job at Fregan. I was a curriculum coordinator there last year and I also ended up teaching the seniors based on the needs of the fight at the time.
And then this job came up at Erna Beller and I'd heard some amazing things about our principal Peter Kenny and just division for the school.
He's been in international back all our schools and he was overseas in Singapore and a lot of places for a long time.
(07:29):
So I just wanted to come and really improve the APY schools and he had this huge vision and it just sounded really exciting. So I applied and want to personalise learning coordinator position here.
So did you find it easy moving between the APY schools because they do collaborate and work together or how is that moving around for you?
(07:53):
Yeah, so there's a conference every second year that collaborates all of the APY schools together. So you get to meet and network with people in similar contexts.
It's always something I considered coming up north but I really did love Yalota and I didn't want to leave. But it was sort of a hard to do sort of thing and it was definitely nerve-wracking.
But we ended up making a lot of friends in pre-gone that still just they drive over to Erna Beller just to visit us. And Jack got to know a lot of the fellows in the community through the body.
(08:23):
So we ended up making friends quite easily and I played softball. I played softball because I was a little kid so I was actually able to join the softball team and yeah, it was easy for us.
Jack, I'm here listening, man. You're sitting down quite and can I hear a bit about what you do, man? As a partner of a teacher, you know? And, you know, what do you do on your sort of things with the footy mat? If you don't mind, I'm a footy mad person, man.
(08:51):
So I'm the APY coordinator, they're Santa Felle, that's the title. My main role is to run the men's league. So during the winter we have a men's footy league which runs like any other footy league. We've got 10 teams across all the communities.
Santa and Sunday we'll go to a different oval and I bring all the equipment out and then keep track of, you know, what plays, the registered to which teams and then do the scores and ladders and all that. And then outside of that season, it's just footy carnivals.
(09:23):
We did a trip to Adelaide with an on-rate teams team. We're between do at a carnival. So a gym do is like an indigenous footy group company that just do a lot of work in the indigenous footy space.
Yeah. So they had a carnival for on-a 18. So we took a whole group of kids from across the whole land to compete at that.
(09:46):
And then they started out of the government. They strouled a bit just because it's more than the 40-ish experience and the fact that they come with the stuff.
I've gone on a couple of like school trips and stuff and it was by far the best that I've ever been on just because it's a good group of kids that we didn't have any trouble and they all just...
(10:07):
Nicole, go with you. Was she keeping everyone in check? No.
Oh, me, but pretty much. We had pretty much five, there was pretty much me and two other guys from Yalda, actually. And then 22 other 16, 17 year old fellas.
But that's what made it a really good trip. On the way there, there wasn't like...
(10:29):
Because a lot of the kids from Yalda don't really know the A.P. Y. kids as much, so they didn't really speak to each other much.
And then by the end of the week we couldn't separate them. Yeah, no, no, no, no.
That was really something that was going on.
Yeah, so that's my role. And then I'm also employed at the school.
(10:51):
So I've just started this term at Annabella. I'm the PE SSO, so just helping out.
What is the connection between community and school as well that you can move between the two? You know the adults, you know the parents, the uncles and never at the school with Nicole.
Yeah, I think that's what we sort of found, especially moving to Annabella is that we've already know a lot of the people here already.
(11:18):
Or at least the families of the kids.
We've got your networks and all of that already.
And I guess that's what's different about teacher to my job as well is that I'm across the whole lands where it's like a teacher's focus on my community.
He's laughing because I'm the nerdy English teacher in the classroom and Carl was always like the cool, foody guy outside.
(11:40):
I could get a bit of street cred from him, Nicole's pointing and agreeing for the audience who can't see.
And it goes a long way for you know departments and even if you teach us you get out into the community, you know get into sports or whatever it might be down at the bar, whatever you get out and get seen, you get strict.
(12:01):
Yeah, but I think you can definitely tell the teachers that play softball and foody and do that extra stuff.
You can just tell that they know the kids on a guest on a different level.
Well, no, that families, you know more about the families outside of like pop.
Which raises the idea that you were going to talk about as well, Nicole of the importance of relationships and perhaps how you work together with Jack, but also your passion for sport.
(12:28):
You played, did you say softball, football?
Yeah.
So, so how do you call about building those relationships?
Well, I think it's just doing stuff outside of school is the key to everything because if you wake up, you go to school and you go home.
I think life in a remote community can get very, it become very much background and and you feel like all you're doing is getting up going to school, going home, getting up, going to school, going home.
(12:53):
Whereas if you're actually actively making that effort to do things outside of school, like we are so busy all the time that we're never bored.
I don't have time to worry about what hobbies I should start taking up because there's just so much to do. Just crazy and having our friends come around and invite us out to cultural ceremonies or cultural things and doing all of those things because we play sport with them is just that next level.
(13:19):
Like we probably wouldn't have gotten invited to that if we didn't have that prior connection.
Obviously, I'm an indigenous person from Walls Creek, the Kimberley's and that and once the community take you in, it's take you in as family pretty much.
Triggy like family take you out here, come around for Barbies, drop off Wushtucker to you or I'm going on a fishing trip, whatever it might be.
(13:45):
But once you get out and build them relationships, you get a pretty tight network of the whole community, a tight network, working as one.
Yeah, well like it was quite funny because one of the new staff members at the school the other day got a bit confused because our friend came over and he was all painted up for his mitts.
(14:06):
And all the new staff are told, don't look at the men, like don't look at them and it was quite funny because he just walked on into our house and not a care in the world and she was just watching what is going on.
But it's just like when you've got that relationship, it's just that respect of not sharing and I think people take that as, oh my god don't look, don't do anything, day in your house.
(14:30):
I think people get a bit confused between you.
You learn all the cultural protocols and all of that and you know, that let you know straight away, you know, what to do where you can't go, you know, say, go to what the random communities once you just got to like, sounds like you're doing out and about in the community and building them relationships gain so much from it.
(14:53):
Which I think is really nicely, I wonder, can you tell us about some of this exploration you've done or some of these special experiences that you've had.
That's such a hard question because there's so many things I'm trying to think in Yalada, there's one that's out there, which is something really different to A.P.Y.
So that's a, that's a wish-crued for Yalada mob.
And we went out with like our really close friends and, um, Mima, one of them, the elders of the community, she's quite close to, they're quite close with her.
(15:21):
So she was getting jacked through the digging for the holes and what happened.
You just have the crowbar.
Because all the one-butt holes are just massive holes in the ground and they're all like, connecting the ground.
So you just get the crowbar and you're trying to deep the holes out and then you can sort of climb like, climb where they might be.
(15:42):
Because she'd like tap and see where it was hollow.
And then I was just hitting it and then I was saying, "Pump straight in and then the hole for came out from underneath me and then fell straight into the hole."
And she just didn't even go up laughing.
Do you reckon she set you up for a love or it was an accident?
(16:07):
Every time I see her, every time I see her, I just like, "I know he remembers that. I remember just going all."
Did you end up catching the one that or not?
No, we didn't. It was that, that's right.
And then like, I mean, up, we went out for a whole day a couple of weeks ago, just to get to tobacco and vinkelplug, some of the women wanted to collect some.
(16:31):
We went for this drive and it turned into like a 10 hour drive where we just went and saw all these amazing places.
And then some of the kids came out in a different car that went back.
And so, it was like some of us tucked off in the back of the car, like we're the blanket, and I covered the dust.
Can we go lay where our faces are? We could get back to community.
And then I had no idea how we were getting back because we just wanted to like, probably outbourge no track.
(16:57):
And then I had just a bunch of older ladies in the car. One of the ones was just like pointing out where I've got to wear a face against the track.
Because I just, I couldn't see the wheel marks and she couldn't see the car.
And then I stopped, we went around my tent around.
It's actually really funny. I called Jackie Boy, like as a nickname.
And on, in, on the API, I'm not sure if it's the same as in other Aboriginal communities.
(17:22):
I've got told off he should be Jackie men got boy because he's not a boy.
It's funny because when I first heard it, like some of our friends were like, that's weird, why do you call him Jackie Boy?
And now even the old lady's call him Jackie Boy.
So, it's caught on.
So good. And those places that you would have seen literally no track.
(17:43):
So the chances of any other people from a different culture having seen what you saw.
Oh, it's just beautiful. The country up here is just next level.
Like people go to places like Ylora and they think they've seen the most incredible thing they've ever seen.
But like there's so much more country just like that.
But no one sees and it's just.
(18:06):
You making me, you making me a bit homesick here.
I've known it was until the stories.
No, I don't be sorry. It's great.
I'm like, just thinking about home while you're talking enough.
No, there's no one back up in Halls Creek.
You better be a new thing for YouTube.
Yeah, I'll probably do it.
You better get the song on it, set me up.
Just a short break to share books and resources by Jaru Gijeman, Karl Marisan and me, English teacher, Hague Yahasla.
(18:34):
Each book and resource was created without back students in mind and with the aim to increase student engagement
while reducing teacher workload. Blackpocker 2 was the 2019 CBCA on a book and it's a short novella that's accessible for low literacy students
but has many themes and issues to deep dive for your older students or students who need extending.
(18:57):
It's been studied in years three all the way up to seven and eight all around Australia depending on the unique needs of each student and the approach by the teacher.
This book comes with comprehensive differentiated free teacher resources on our author website, www.calandhague.com.au.
My Deadly Boots is a picture book set in the outback that follows a character as they show off their new footy boots they saved up to buy.
(19:26):
It covers themes of identity, competence, connection to country but also has some challenging themes to explore for older readers.
Again, Deadly Teacher Resources over on our website.
Tracks of the Missing is a YA suspense thriller that follows Declan Archer as he hunts for a Missing Busload of Students.
This text covers challenging themes including ones of suicide and drug overdose, stolen generation and more.
(19:52):
So make sure you talk with your first nation's colleagues and your local staff to make sure this book is suitable for your context.
For the classrooms that it is suitable for, it comes with a great teaching pack to do all the hard work for you.
Over on our TPT store we also have getting to know you activities, brain breaks, nadoc activities and other resources designed to make teacher planning easier.
(20:15):
All the links are in our show notes so make sure to like our Instagram page, Facebook page and sign up for our author mail list so you don't miss out on new books and resources.
We have two new books out every year for the next few years, published at the moment with Hatchet Books and Magabella Books,
with illustrations by Samantha Campbell and Dub Lefler, so you'll guaranteed to have more books perfect for your Outback classrooms and mainstream classrooms.
(20:43):
Your students will see themselves represented on the pages, their faces, their stories, their experiences.
Now let's get back to this Deadly interview.
You'll be there in a call for five years and Jack a little less as he joined you after but being there for a long time allows you to make those deep relationships and makes a huge difference.
Would you like to talk about that value and that connection that you get when you make the time and energy to stay out remote for a longer time?
(21:12):
A lot of people come remote and they'll try it for a term and they'll be like not for me, go back.
Even in my first term in Yarda there was days where I cried because I missed home or I was not used to not going out with my friends and I reflect and five years down the track.
I have about three of the same friends that I had when I started but you make new friends but it's not until you push through it.
(21:36):
You've got to push through that hard bit at the start where you're feeling home sick and everything is new and it's a bit of culture shock for me because I'm not used to this lifestyle.
When you take the kids to Adelaide it's culture shock for them because they're not used to that lifestyle.
And so it's kind of good because it puts yourself in their shoes when you expect them to go to.
People say why don't the kids go to school in Adelaide and it's like well why don't all the teachers come out and teach you.
(22:02):
You know like it's the same thing but I think life is being out here.
I just I kind of imagine leaving like I just I feel so safe here and I always just wait to come back home.
Now Adelaide is not as much home. I don't know. It's I don't even know how to answer that because it's just.
Yeah.
Well that just shows how engaged and passionate and how much you love it being.
(22:27):
And the value of the relationships that you have formed that you can feel that and work through those with your new connection.
Yeah with kids with the community you know with Jackie boy.
But oh it's caught on it becomes home that's really powerful for listeners to hear once you push through the tough stuff and finally goes those connect connections and networks formed in fire.
(22:50):
Those people who understand what you're going through and and make those connections with you.
Yeah definitely it was highlighted like last season when I was playing softball it often get asked to on fire by other team.
One of the games one of the teams got a bit grumpy with me because they thought I was cheating just because I played for free gone.
I'm throwing for cheating and then I was able to go hey you know your family with everyone that I'm family with in Yalta.
(23:13):
So why would I be trying to make you lose and like just being able to say things like that to people and meet them on a level that brings a connection because I didn't know that well but I knew their family really well.
So like it was just able to like mediate situations and stuff like that and people just like oh yeah that's the cause fine.
So it also highlights the value of relationships when you spend that time there and invest in them because when you're in the classroom and you're managing behavior you can also call on those same connections to help you.
(23:43):
Throw it in again.
Yeah.
I think even before we come up to the API as well people sort of knew mainly you.
I knew that we were coming because you had such big mix and you know other and then they had families up on those lines that you know.
So you got to look after them and then we come up and they're like oh you're jacking the call like such and such told me about you and so yeah having those connections those good connections to Yalta.
(24:11):
Totally name preceded you yes so you both had these opportunities to develop finally got into the area that you specialize in jack and Nicole you got to have some leadership opportunities as well.
So I'd like to talk about you know the PD professional development the chances to step up into different roles perhaps both in the sports kind of direction and in the education direction how it's kind of help you grow as people and as professionals.
(24:40):
Yeah well I think from the education perspective when I was classroom teacher in Yalta I applied for a fourth made a position when I moved up here I would have been quite happy to go back into a teach position but I was like.
I feel like I'm ready to sort of take in another step is still a point five to quote the core made a position up here so I was able to go to go to go just sort of put my application and hope for the best and then one that position and and yeah definitely it taught me a lot about managing two roles at once and most sort of things and the PD opportunities that you get on the lands are just amazing because often if a school wants to do PD if they'll offer it to every school in the land so everyone can go to that school and do the PD together.
(25:21):
Because no one's I mean from in Dalton it's here it's eight hours maybe so that's from one end of the lands to the other so if you put it in a develop it's four hours each way for boy schools so it's like it's kind of meeting the middle sort of thing and and they're really unique because lots of schools kind of operate on their own by themselves in the outback so it's very special that you've got the open ones and your principle you said.
(25:49):
So what was I be trained so you had this extra layer of support and professional development.
And Peter is just he I've got a personal commitment in Melbourne in a couple of weeks and I don't often take leave and I I'm really nervous because I hate taking time away from sport I was like I'm really sorry but I just got this thing I really need to go to.
And he was just like well you've got some spare time while you're there and you're so set you've got both you as for while you're there and like it just makes everything a learning opportunity which is great and but it's only just building my professional capacity that I've never been more supported that I have been by Peter so it's just been amazing.
(26:25):
And they kind of bounce together don't they because you're working P.E.S.S.O support.
But you would have the best of both worlds I suppose because you'd have your sample training and support and team and now you've also got your school team with Nicole and and the principle that sounds amazing so you've got the best of both worlds to develop.
Having all those relationships with everyone helps both sides as well.
(26:49):
You know you get to know your runs whole family because you've got the older kids, brothers playing in the in our league and then you've got the younger.
The younger, the older and boys come through is so hard to have a job or find a job in footy is only like a handful of jobs that like.
How the great is your laughing because you're great.
(27:11):
And so to come out here obviously just to have a job in footy is good to pretty much run a whole league do everything that involves in running a whole league from like the media staff to like posting on Facebook to then.
Then being there on game day and then doing I don't know coaching stuff even with younger pains and that's mainly what it's given me the opportunity to do a bunch of different things that if I stayed in the city I probably could do one of those things and follow down that path whereas which is probably the same with most jobs when people come up here.
(27:43):
I was probably even for teaching as well.
Yeah, I think you sometimes like everyone's like, oh you've got it leadership so quickly and I think that's one thing about being remote is that you can you have the capacity to spend a lot more time focusing on work.
I choose to go to school a lot of weekends because I want to improve as much as I can and like I don't know it's just I think these kids get a lot of testing ground like teachers come out here and as graduates they test their abilities on the kids.
(28:14):
And I think that's why huge people to why a lot of these kids are so far behind is because they're always getting new teachers that are just coming out and it's just test off to test off to test about teaching and learning it's about oh this is a new teacher and they need to learn it's not about the kids.
Yeah, or they are passionate but the reality is your early you are just refining your skills so the power that you bring for having been there for five years and the passion that you bring to like make it work and sorry.
(28:46):
I hear you.
No, no, no, no, you said it perfectly.
I'm just looking at Carl in case you wanted to pipe in with more football stuff because I was sure he was.
I just got for quality, but I so hear you about that that opportunity for leadership and it's not just that number one there are younger staff so there are you might have been someone that's been there a little bit longer and have the opportunity to step in but in your circumstances also the PD the training and the support from your leadership to train you up into that role so it sounds like you're not just being like long tend to it or or anything like that they're actually valuing and supporting you to be the best you can be.
(29:24):
Yeah, there's five people in our leadership team and everyone else is experienced except for me so I'm actually able to learn from people who have been like a Trish who's working there by language education role and she's supporting un-uneducated to get our.
I'm in that program up and running so that they're getting any hour of hidden data twice a week at like all wait no half an hour of hidden data four times a week.
(29:54):
I'm trying to get that rep to and have that bilingual education because we know that kids can't be excellent species of English until their excellent species of their own language and explain and if they can read and write in that other than that's going to make it easier for them to read and write in English and.
We've got these amazing trained un-uneducated in this community who went to uni and our trained teachers and.
(30:18):
We need to tap into that and we've got all these experts right around us so you highlight that it doesn't always happen though and you're highlighting the power of the people who are there and who will stay a lot longer than many of us will so.
All you in supporting up skilled training and and utilize the first nations colleagues in those roles is a very important point you made.
(30:42):
Yeah definitely I actually I just thought can I quickly talk a little bit about two a science is that okay please do.
So through his science was introduced to me my first year of teaching by Christa's lens who's one of the authors so he lives in.
Australia is a local to Port Lincoln sort of way but he was a principal on the land circuit that I think he's been part of the API for a while and amazing with language and has so many beautiful sections with people he.
(31:14):
And I think that's what we're doing with the way department and and they did two as science as a collaborative three to a science essentially a pedagogy to value animal educators as the first teachers value their import of what they think the kids should be learning at school and then it's my job essentially to relate that to the Australian curriculum and extend their learning so like for example in y'all it.
(31:36):
Which is like the trees and the wood and artifacts that they make out of the trees reader one of the elders in community she took us out and she was making these wooden one that they're not the size of two tennis balls and she was standing them and I was just thinking to myself as well.
And she said like this is what she wants to teach you about how you send it what you use and all that kind of thing and then I thought oh maybe we can talk about friction because the heat when you send something and then went into teaching about friction and that.
(32:05):
Maybe curriculum science side of things but showing the kids that like their culture and their science and things that they do every day is is science nonetheless it's science and I think Chris does lens and that Mercer who was the deputy at Yalada and also worked out value for a long time and now works for two a science I just instrumental in helping you teachers really listen to animal educators and make sure that they're just as much in the teaching team like you're working with someone that.
(32:34):
I hear the language of our my that my person that I work with and we're really trying to change the language to the person in my teaching team the other teacher that I work with and I'm educated that I work with and that language is so powerful and not saying my because you don't own that person that they're just as valued and important to the team as you are and teaching the kids and I think yeah two or
(33:01):
two or science is just the most incredible thing for that and you can there's two or science the number two w i science dot com dot a you two or maybe website gone there and find all resources and if you interest to have a bit of a look that's a great because there's also a two way science Facebook group as well for people to jump on and learn and that importance it is in science but also two way across our curriculum.
(33:27):
So the two or science is the integrated so it's essentially our third subject area so like we're mandated to teach the kids well I guess fourth subject area in a way because we're mandated to teach English and maths and then they do their language lessons so that's their third those are the three main subjects that they do every day of the week and then two or science is the integrated unit that encompasses all the other areas of the curriculum through the uniland so it's like it's their choice and their voice of what the
(33:56):
students of what they want their kids to learn essentially so yeah and hand on and on country learning as well and like you said you're picking out the content that's related so it's coming from your grassroots and then you're making it link to Australian curriculum.
Yeah and I think it's super powerful for their futures as well. Hey because the kids are really confident with a lot of the things we do for two or a science and it's something they feel proud doing and it's probably a career path they would choose to go down.
(34:25):
If they get that extra exposure to maybe the western way of doing things that links to that being a ranger the kids would know so many things already about being what what you need to do to be a ranger but then like there's those little things that
that would be so overqualified to be out in the bush and do this and you know this track on this this plan you know we need to find the cinema of this area whatever it might be but they need the what is it like long enough to get the qualifications.
(34:58):
Yeah and being able to record like what they've seen and all of those kind of things because the way the world is they love everything being written down and documented and recorded and stuff and I think we can give them the skills to do that with the knowledge and the
amazing skills that they already have then we're just giving them pathways to do so many more things with their futures but I think people don't necessarily consider possible.
(35:22):
Yes. Obviously you both follow AFL.
Yes. Yes.
What team? This is very important.
What?
Oh, I don't know the area yet.
(35:46):
I just moved to port from when game really.
Yeah, we're really excited to watch the first round.
Yeah, yeah, the second question Jack round five of the AFL season true false is every game going to be a dilemma you should know this.
(36:12):
Yeah, it is. Yeah, there'll be you're going to be there mate.
I'm hoping to yeah, we're actually just school holidays.
Yeah, so we should be there.
I'm actually just talking with this.
We're going to be there.
We're hoping to bring some kids down as well.
(36:34):
So be second Nicole, are there any APY land superstars that Carl's name dropped all the Kim Lee superstars and the APY land ones that are up and coming to we watching out for.
Oh, I think that's like something that we really like you building at the moment is that interest to really go to city and play because like there's so many good players here.
(36:57):
Yeah, so much raw talent. Yeah, that leaving home is the difficult next step because of COVID.
COVID has ruined a lot of things because people have it left.
There's two factors that sort of like hold back the kids from here is the first is like the grassroots.
(37:19):
And you know, you've got Oz kick on at every local, and I don't know, I guess, that's what it is.
It's generally just straight into men's footie or you better kick around.
Yeah, that's right. No, no, no, no, it's 10s.
Yeah, that's.
So last year we had our first year of doing like a schools junior footie, which was good because the kids actually had a chance to play some structured footie.
(37:46):
Before they were turned 16 or 17. So I think that's one of the main things that we can focus on is the grassroots just teaching like the basic skills.
And then yeah, the second barrier is obviously just moving so far away from home, which is just for anyone really like if you asked the kid in Adelaide to move to the baby wildlands to play, I felt like they have the same.
(38:14):
And then you know, you're in Newspaper, nine months and you're telling them, yeah, yeah.
I think it was special.
But I think cause of COVID, it's sort of put a hole on all of the programs because I know both poor and crores had some pretty strong programs that comes through regularly every year and everyone.
It was like a feature on the calendar, but since COVID, it's all sort of stopped.
(38:39):
I guess trying to work back and bring back those opportunities and stuff for the kids.
So yeah, yeah, no, totally feel there because when I was running the Kimberley Spur, which was tied in with Claire, my West Coast and I'm free metal and yeah,
COVID game. I was over here still running things, but nothing was happening because, you know, travel all kinds of communities, communities across.
(39:07):
So for people who are fully for that X, there is lots of opportunities to be involved in football, but also the challenges of bringing things back and finding your feet again after COVID times because it is, it is a challenge still on here.
Yeah, I think that's sort of one of the things that's been fun about my job though is because, because it's almost like starting from the blank canvas because of COVID and everything sort of stopped.
(39:30):
Sort of now we get to go and like what's going to be a good idea to throw the leg and stuff.
So like in a couple weeks, we're starting our first women's 40 lead, which should be good as well, just because.
Nicole going to play, has she been drafted to the first play?
(39:52):
I don't know if I don't think I could keep a goal, so maybe I'll just go on the back line.
Clients just to yeah running straight lines, breaking paths.
Yeah, I'm.
There's one thing you could tell a new teacher rocking up what would it be?
(40:15):
The hardest thing that the hard like the thing I found the hardest was to actually stop talking myself and just listen.
Because I am such a talker. My last name is chattoway. I talk all the time.
It takes a lot to shut me up.
But like it really it took me a year to really listen.
Important to put time in to getting to know the community and just getting involved in the community like just.
(40:42):
But to not see it as you're going out to make friends in community, you're going out to make friends with community, you're going out to make friends.
Yeah, like these are just my friends like these aren't people that live in the community that I live that I work in like these my friends.
These are the people I socialize with.
You'll always be spoken about once you've spent a while in community and sounds like you're doing a great job, you know, Jack.
(41:07):
You know, I'll get out in the communities and getting involved and you know telling you a side of the story that you how much you're loving it and you know learning and growing in your in your roles.
And that deep listening that you speak about because it is so easy for us from different cultures even Carl tells me off all the time because I'm someone who talks he says, yeah, but you're talking and maybe you're listening, but you're not really hearing me.
(41:31):
And that's what you make space for like you were saying the call when you listen.
Yeah, so good to chat with you guys. Thank you so much for joining us and talking for you and talking teaching and roles of partners.
It's an important role. You both play for each other.
Keen to continue the conversation.
(41:54):
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(42:19):
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(42:43):
Now don't forget you can find a whole lot more remote teaching content over on our blog, www.theremoteteacher.com.au and on our socials.
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