First language education is a matter of common sense Aidan
Wilson writes… As Greg Dickson reported, the report of the House
of Representatives Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander Affairs inquiry into language learning in
indigenous communities, titled Our Land Our Languages, was
tabled in parliament yesterday. Education was of course, a
central theme of the inquiry and is a significant part of the
resulting report. Of the eight terms of reference of the
inquiry, three relate to education. They are: - The potential
benefits of including Indigenous languages in early education -
Measures to improve education outcomes in those Indigenous
communities where English is a second Language - The educational
and vocational benefits of ensuring English language competency
amongst Indigenous communities The areas that the committee
covered included attendance rates in remote schools, the lack of
trained indigenous teachers and the inadequate training of non-
indigenous teachers given the context, t