From little things, big things grow

Small successes and persistence can lead to big breakthroughs, says Lyndel Holton

HAVING

worked in Aboriginal vocational education and training for 25 years I have seen the impact of low literacy levels on my community. This has often been a result of poor, or in some cases, no educational experiences. From our youth of today who have seemingly successfully completed Year 10, 11, or 12 studies yet still have low literacy skills, to our Elders, it has had an impact on our community.

In today’s world, literacy or lack of it impacts greatly on our ability to do everyday tasks, and with the emergence of digital literacy, the goalposts have again moved. I have on so many occasions seen our people aspire to be or do something, but have been held back or completely rejected because they do not have the literacy and to a lesser degree, numeracy, skills to participate in the training to achieve their vocational goals.

Our youth, not only Aboriginal, have become even more illiterate with texting and emojis replacing the written word. The basic use of grammar and comprehension is almost a thing of the past, yet these are vitally important to achieve success in study.

All is not lost. Like most things, there are successes, but sometimes these successes take time and effort and most importantly perseverance by not only the individual but the organisations involved.

We as a society are always looking at quick outcomes and cold hard facts, yet a lot of successful outcomes in Aboriginal student achievement in my area have not been simply a quantitative measure of competent or not competent, but a qualitative measure of small but impactful success stories. For example, an Elder who after 50 years can now complete a bank withdrawal form without assistance, which in the past came at a risk by relying on others to withdraw money from her account; or a 40-something community member who couldn’t write his name on his enrolment form, but after six years in a basic literacy/numeracy Return to Study program went on to complete his Cert IV in Community Services and is successfully working in this field and giving back to the community that gave him support when he needed it.

Often the greatest barrier for my community is overcoming poor past educational experiences and taking the first step to gain back control — this really is the hardest. There are some excellent support mechanisms to assist Aboriginal people wanting to return to study, however to achieve the greatest impact these need to align better.

One or two years to rebuild a lifetime of illiteracy is not always achievable. It can take three, four, five or even six years. Outcomes need to be measured both qualitatively and quantitatively. Celebrating small successes is important. I recall one student who had attempted for many years to gain a qualification. He had enrolled in eight different courses over six years, each time withdrawing halfway through. We had set up a program with another funding program that would offer a holistic approach to training and employment. We would offer the training and the partner would seek employment opportunities for successful completers. When the student who was the serial enroller expressed interest we were reluctant, but decided we would place him in the program. It turned out to be the right decision. He completed the course, gained an Adult Apprenticeship, completed the full trade qualification and was awarded Apprentice of the Year by his industry group. He said, with every failed course, from an academic or funding perspective, he gained more return-tostudy and literacy skills and more importantly, confidence, but was struggling to find “the one”, until this one. It took six years to find it but in the end it was absolutely worth it.

My community has always promoted and supported selfdetermination for our people and one of the keys to achieving this is through the power of education. The ability to read, understand, comprehend and make considered choices or decisions as a result, is what self-determination is all about.

I firmly believe we can overcome poor literacy but like most things it takes a community and committed people to drive and support it and the appropriate organisations to also support it and work with them to achieve it. Lyndel Holton is a Tasmanian Aboriginal woman managing Aboriginal Training Programs at TasTAFE. She writes as part of the Communicating: The Heart of Literacy initiative. See chattermatters.com.au