July 1, 2014
by Marcus Priaulx
Barambah PaCE
For more than 200 years, Aboriginal failure has been pushed down Australian throats to the point where some people think it’s “culture”.
Now education leaders are asking for family support to help children succeed and turn this perception around.
In particular, Cherbourg families are being asked to believe in their children so they can succeed, too.
Murgon State High School said last week it’s prepared to take even greater steps to ensure its Indigenous students can follow their dreams and find the work they love.
And Cherbourg-raised, life-long teacher and achiever Eric Law has urged children not to fear failure as they chase their goals.
“We need community change to ensure our children get ahead,” the now Queensland Catholic Education Indigenous Education chairman said.
“We need our children to understand that if they have a go at something and fail, there’s nothing wrong with that as long as they learn from it.
“Everybody that’s had success has failed at something, most likely numerous times.
“I’d put myself in that category. But we need our children to have courage to go out into the world and do something.
“They’ll then be able to better support their families.
“We need to get our kids going to uni, right through to the end of it, getting good jobs and making something of themselves.”
Murgon State High School principal, Greg Smith, said his staff will go to great lengths to make this happen, and called for more community and family support.
The number of Indigenous South Burnett Year 12 graduates doubled last year to 34 – with 10 coming from Murgon State High School – and more than 20 went on to university, further training, trade apprenticeships and jobs within months of leaving.
Mr Smith said Murgon State High School would now follow up with its graduates who were yet to be learning or earning, to help them to do so.
The school is also putting students into work-based trainee and apprenticeship jobs.
“It’s good for the future, especially when our Indigenous students are employed locally,” Mr Smith said.
“It’s leading by example … they end up being role models.”
Mr Smith then called for his students’ families and friends to support the effort.
“The greatest encouragement a parent can give their children is to get them to school every day, ready to learn, whether their child wants to be here or not,” he said.
“That’s showing you believe in your children’s future – and they need that support to succeed.”
[Photos: Marcus Priaulx]
