Hendrik Verwoerd was Prime Minister of South Africa from 1958 till his assassination in 1966. He was one of the principle architects of the Apartheid system.

One of the cornerstones of Apartheid was "Bantu Education." The proponents of Bantu education argued that Blacks could not possibly master the intricacies of mathematics, language, grammar and science that was expected of White students. Instead they needed a simplified syllabus more appropriate to their relatively limited abilities.

So where did Verwoerd do wrong? Why is his name so reviled?

Verwoerd's weakness was marketing. Had he used the phrase "culturally appropriate education" instead of the racially charged "Bantu Education" he would have received the support of the Australian Research Council.

You think I'm joking?

See:

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23487296-601,00.html

SNIPPETS

"Underpinning the separate curriculum is the belief that …."Aboriginal children are so different from other children that they cannot absorb basic language, mathematical or other learning unless it is formulated to be culturally 'appropriate"'.

THE AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH COUNCIL FUNDS MULTIPLE GRANTS WORTH HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS TO DEVELOP "CULTURALLY SENSITIVE" CURRICULUMS FOR ABORIGINAL CHILDREN.

"Academics concerned with indigenous children's mathematics learning assume that only special, 'culturally appropriate' methodologies will enable indigenous children to count," she says.

One grant, worth almost $160,000, is for a project aiming to integrate algebra and indigenous contexts in the high school years to "develop algebra pedagogy that reflects the world view of indigenous students".

…..

In the CIS paper, Professor Hughes says the difference between mainstream and indigenous curriculums is evident in the standards expected of students.

A program book for homeland teachers sets out the level of maths secondary students should achieve, which is the same as the national numeracy benchmarks for Year 5.

END SNIPPETS

BTW, the architects of Bantu education always complained they were misunderstood – just like the "academics" who devise Bantu Education for Aboriginals. They routinely accused the media of oversimplifying, sensationalising and generally failing to understand their good intentions.

Most interesting Steven.

The one major flaw in the way the Bantu education system is 'stated' and also the Aboriginal one (but less so) is the suggestion that there is some racial limitation to acquiring the same level of education as whites.

This totally untrue. But the goal of making Algebra 'culturally sensitive' for aboriginals.. seems to me rather stupid. But depends on why it's done, and 'what' is actually done to make it more culturally pallatable.

I taught an indigenous person with no more than primary 6 education, selectively in maths and science up to form 4/Yr 10 level, then took him further into technical studies in electronics to the point where he could service multi track recording equipment at the 'module level'. He would do this in between hunting wild boar, deer and monkey.

Another indigenous person at the same place, with ZERO formal education, (but some self taught learned reading/writing) could dismantle and re-assemble a light aircraft (Helio Courier or Cessna) right down to the nuts and bolts of a dismantled engine..get everything right, and a white pilot would confidently fly it.

So, my only issue with 'culturally appropriate' education for Aboriginals, is that it not be based on any 'inherrent racial limitation' idea.

Boaz,
Fully agree with your last line .
What Jim ?? , I had better check my temp !

Making a white complicated curriculum relevant to their cultural sensitivities [we all have them ]and thus interesting enough to keep Indigenous Students rivetted to their seats will be the hard bit .

Hale School in Perth has had considerable success with it's Indigenous Education program. Having childhood friends at boarding school with them, has made life and Education easier for students a long way from home .

Making their children's education relevant to their parent's lives will need almost as much work - we need to involve them also.

We should remember that formal Indigenous Education continued and is still going on for many years as different aspects of Law and Culture were revealed and explained to enable successfull survival.This is accepted by them .

Quick intelligent thinking is natural to Aboriginal People - we should encourage their talents .

Affirmative Action rather than Apartheid may be the far better course for some language groups.

another side of the story is that teachers who teach in Aboriginal communities need to know how to communicate with the children they teach.

So just what are your answers to the difficulties in cross cultural communication steve?

How would you as a teacher approach these situations where cultural differences do exist?

To simply explain them away as impediments without any explanation is not good enough.

Apartheid architect Hendrik Verwoerd was a man ahead of his time. Really? Can we bring this famous man in Australia? There are many aborigine's and migrant's children in Australia!
About the 'relatively limited abilities' of black children. A paranoiac racist as the architect of the Apartheid, could not have better idea for the black children!
We can not accept any kind of Apartheid for aborigine's children and we can accept that aborigine's children have 'relatively limited abilities'.
I read the article and it seems stevenlmeyer wrote what could BRAKE OUR NERVOUS!
The article noticed that 'teachers are flown in to remote schools, sometimes for as little as a few hours one day a week, and many schools are not open five days a week' that "Many students in remote schools have English as a third or fourth language and attendance rates need to be improved"
stevenlmeyer this is very different story from what you wrote.
Thank you BOAZ_David, kartiya jim and Rainier.
Antonios Symeonakis
Adelaide

Thank YOU too my Brother Antonios Symeonakis!