Friday, December 19, 2008

The importance of teaching in Australian indigenous languages

My thanks to Neil Whitfield for drawing my attention to a piece by Tom Calma attacking the decision by the Northern Territory Government to effectively stop teaching in indigenous languages in Northern Territory schools.

I frequently disagree with Mr Calma, although I never doubt his sincerity. On some issues I regard him as one of those soft left exponents who have (to my mind) so set back indigenous advancement. However, on this language issue, and as I have indicated in previous posts (here, here), I find that he and the views I have expressed are very much aligned. 

I suppose because I write outside some of the conventional frames I should articulate at more length why I think I think this issue is so important. For the moment, I just want to draw your attention to Mr Calma's views.  

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