Take a book: Any book

Abstract

In my experience, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies have been viewed as something that must be done and often teachers think about a specific study within one area. However, many educators, Indigenous and non-Indigenous alike, believe that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander studies can be embedded within the curriculum. The purpose of this embeddedness is illustrated in the Integrated Units Collection (1996). In all the units I wrote, things Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander are related to what goes on in the world. For example, ‘Games People Play’ (Curriculum Corporation, 1996a) is about a lot of things, a lot of people, a lot of concepts, but while students are learning about these, they are learning something about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and cultures. Similarly ‘Stargazing’ (Curriculum Corporation, 1996b) includes not only the ways in which Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people see and use the stars, but also content from other cultural and language backgrounds. In Chapter 10 , I have talked briefly about windows and mirrors. In order to include mirrors for our students as well as windows, we can think beyond what we have experienced in our own schooling and take advantage of the brilliant literature we have available today.