1988, the year of the Bicentenary, was considered by some as the start of a new era for Aborigines. However, despite excellent media exposure on Aboriginal issues, the bicentennial year concluded with just memories of various celebrations.

We enter the 1990s at a time of increasing change throughout the world. I believe that it is necessary for everyone involved in Aboriginal education to focus on some important issues that encompass this delicate area.

On August 23, the Aboriginal educators, Kathy, Bruce and myself, and the cultural officer, Doug Nicholls, spent the day at Mallan School, which is about 20 minutes drive from Swan Hill into New South Wales.

When we arrived by bus the children, parents and teacher had the fires already going. Doug and Bruce, with the help of half of the students, put the clay balls in the fire while Kathy and I organised the other half of the students to paint one another’s faces along with the teacher and the parents. After everyone had their faces painted, they checked to see if the clay balls were hot enough to cook their lunches. Their lunches ranged from fish, chicken, duck, potatoes to eggs.

After putting the tucker on to cook, Doug and Bruce led everyone for a walk through the bush, showing them scarred trees and finding some red ochre. Bruce showed the children how to mix the red ochre with water.

This paper is a report on a recent study of urban Aboriginal children at home and at school, in Adelaide. It will mostly describe the situation for just three of the students in one reception / Year one classroom, as they are representative of many Aboriginal students in the other classroom which was closely studied, and in classrooms whose teachers I interviewed, or who were observed by me. In other words, the situation that I am describing for Naomi, Jason and Terry is, I believe, similar to the situation for many young Aboriginal students in urban classrooms in South Australia. Naomi, Jason and Terry were three physically attractive, energetic, bright and curious five year olds. Outside the classroom they were articulate and confident but inside the classroom, by the end of the year, they were in the lowest academic group for their age, considered troublesome by their teacher, and were largely ostracised by their non-Aboriginal peers.

“The Minister directs that you take up duties at X school.” Ye gods and little fishes! What does a teacher new to a school like this do?

The school concerned in this paper is in a small, isolated, North Queensland town with a population of about 200. The racial mix is about 75% Aboriginal descent. The “best” jobs are mainly confined to the European sector, with the high profile occupations being held by itinerants, (teachers, nurses, and police). The local council is the main employer in the town, but there is still a high level of unemployment. Low socio-economic and educational standards and high alcohol consumption are prevalent throughout the community.

I think those of us who are interested in what is written in Aboriginal languages need to be much more open than we have been in the past to shifts of emphasis in the development of written Aboriginal literatures. Looking at the way the Northern Territory bilingual program developed is one way in to thinking about this issue.