Heal Country Challenge Sample Planners

July 9, 2021 Harvey Woodhouse

Happy NAIDOC week!

Lockdown in Sydney is certainly not the NAIDOC week I had planned but I am loving the celebrations of community and culture that I am seeing online and in the media. I hope you are getting to participate in some great events!

Speaking of great events have you seen our “Heal Country” Challenge yet? If not, you can read more about it here. The Challenge has gotten off to an amazing start and I am really excited about not only the number of teachers who have signed up for the Challenge but also the genuine commitment to learn and get comfortable with Aboriginal perspectives as an everyday part of education.

Our Challenge Team, and the amazing community of teachers who have signed, up are sharing some great ideas and approaches so make sure you are following along to get some great ideas for your planner. As promised, we have some sample planners that I have shared below. Our planners show how easy Aboriginal perspectives is using Wingaru Kids – we have so many options that support you with Aboriginal perspectives all year round.

The Challenge Team will be sharing their planners soon so keep an eye out for them.

If you are worried about stepping outside your comfort zone for the Challenge, don’t be! The Challenge team are here to support you. I have received lots of emails from teachers who are keen to participate but not sure where to start or if the Challenge is suitable for them.

The Challenge is suitable for every teacher – it is so flexible that you can participate if you have a fulltime class, are a casual teacher or if you are a specialist teacher. The idea is that you consider the focus areas and how you can incorporate them into your lessons. There is lots of room for creativity and thinking outside the box. If you are unsure, reach out – we really are very happy to help.

I have received lots of questions about resources – you can use any resources you like for the Challenge. There are lots of Aboriginal-led resources out there and many will be shared over the coming weeks. I encourage you to only use Aboriginal-led resources and here is why:

It makes sure you are getting a true First Nations perspective rather than a non-Aboriginal interpretation of a First Nations perspective.
Part of getting Aboriginal perspectives right is ensuring that appropriate consultations and protocols have been followed and choosing quality Aboriginal-led resources gives you confidence that this work has been done for you.
Aboriginal knowledge has many layers and some of those layers should not be shared outside of appropriate knowledge holders. Using quality Aboriginal-led resources means you are accessing and using appropriate knowledge.
Cultural appropriation is a significant issue and choosing quality Aboriginal-led resources means you are not inadvertently supporting cultural appropriation.
Choosing Aboriginal providers means you are supporting Aboriginal economic development. If you want to learn more about why this is so important, I encourage you to follow Trading Blak (website, Facebook, Instagram) who shares lots First Nations brands as well as education about why buying blak is important, how to buy blak ethically and how to identify solid partnerships that work to treat Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their contributions fairly.

I would love to hear your plans for term 3, so share your planner, follow along with the Challenge and together we can make a shift towards a shared understanding of Aboriginal people, our communities and our culture.

ES1 Sample Planner - Download from link below