Country my Teacher for ecological and social wellness and balance
Description
This workshop will explore the interconnected relationship between Country and Human health, emphasising the importance of incorporating this understanding into teaching health in education.
Here, we will showcase the story of a Country-centric health pedagogy and a working example to rebalance health education across a six-year journey undertaken by two non-Indigenous teacher educators (Michael and Margie), with the guidance of Country, and cultural mentorship from their Indigenous colleagues and mentors (David (Spilly) Spillman, Ben Wilson, and Eli Archer).
Session Outline
The primary focus will be to showcase our approach on how we (Humans) might foster 'relational' learning experiences for students to develop ‘reciprocal’ relationships to build wellbeing, connection, and belonging with Country, our non-Human relatives, and with each other. We examine how these relationships offer avenues to holistic, eco-centric perspectives on health and wellbeing held by Indigenous Australians, the world's oldest continuous culture. To achieve this, Humans must slow down, listen to Country, and be open to learning through all our senses. This view is contrasted with current individualistic health discourse and the Australian education context.
By showcasing our Country-centric approaches to health education, we hope to offer a more holistic understanding of wellbeing that recognises our deep interconnectedness with the natural world and with each other.
Michael Davies
he/him
Educators
Dr Michael Davies:
Michael brings 12 years’ of combined experience in teacher and practitioner education in Health. As a white, non-Indigenous man with Welsh, English, and Irish heritage, Michael acknowledges the privileges these afford him in my life. Such as receiving a tertiary education, where he now teaches and researches holistic approaches for health and wellbeing for Australian school-aged students in initial teacher education. Born on Wiradjuri and raised on Gunaikurnai Country, Australia. As a non-Indigenous ally, Michael recognises his obligation to Ngunnawal Country and non-Human relatives, where he lives and works.
Dr Margie Appel:
Margie has worked for more than 20 years as a primary and high school teacher in Australia and has also taught in Denmark, Japan and a remote indigenous community in the Northern Territory, Australia. As a white woman raised in Australia by middle-class British parents, Margie acknowledges the privilege this background brings to her work. She has taught Health and Physical Education at both primary and secondary levels as well as generalist primary, TESOL and Geography. Margie’s research is on culturally responsive teaching driven by a commitment to equity in education and recognising the need for diverse perspectives in our interconnected world.
Professor Benny Wilson:
A Jagera man from Meanjin Brisbane with cultural connections to Darkinjung Country on the Central Coast of Australia and Karulkiyalu Country near Brewarrina, NSW, Australia. Benny is a Professor at the University of Technology Sydney where his research focuses on story, place, and the connections between the two.
Michael and Margie are both humbled to walk side-by-side with their Indigenous colleagues, Dr David (Spilly) Spillman, Professor Ben Wilson, and Eli Archer to learn old ways of facilitating learning centered on stories from, with, and in Country.