Professor Chris Sarra: Effecting change in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education

Summary

Professor Chris Sarra reflects on his educational journey as an Aboriginal student in the 1970s, where he overcame low expectations and societal challenges. Recognizing the impact of toxic low expectations, he aimed to inspire young Aboriginal students to see themselves more positively. Through his leadership at the Stronger Smarter Institute and Sherberg School, Sarra promoted a positive identity, community leadership, and high expectations, yielding success and exposing a transformed perspective on Aboriginal people. His work continues to stress education's pivotal role in overcoming hurdles and racism, fostering an untouchable belief in oneself among young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.

Highlights

• Chris Sarra’s childhood in Buber held challenges, yet he rose above low expectations. 🎓
• His realization led him to want changes for Aboriginal students, promoting self-belief. 🌈
• Founding the Stronger Smarter Institute strengthened Indigenous schools’ leadership. 🏫
• Sarra’s tenure at Sherberg School set national examples of high expectations for students. 🌍
• Education can combat racism by maintaining a core belief in oneself, says Sarra. ✊

Key Takeaways

• Professor Chris Sarra's journey showcases the power of rising above low expectations to empower Indigenous students. 🚀
• The Stronger Smarter Institute and positive identity are key to transforming Aboriginal education. 🌟
• Chris Sarra’s work exemplifies how education can break barriers and redefine Indigenous narratives. 📚

Overview

Chris Sarra grew up in Buber during the 1970s, an era filled with challenges for Aboriginal people. Despite the odds, he defied the low expectations thrust upon him, which ignited his passion to inspire future generations of Aboriginal students. This drive inspired him to not only excel but also to reimagine the educational landscape for Indigenous students through leadership and resilience.

Sarra's ambition materialized with the establishment of the Stronger Smarter Institute. By focusing on positive identity, community leadership, and high expectation relationships, this institute has helped reshape views both within Aboriginal communities and the broader educational system. His leadership at Sherberg School became a shining beacon showing what's possible when Indigenous students are encouraged to dream big and embrace a positive self-image.

Believing that education is the key to empowerment, Sarra continues to advocate for a system that removes barriers of prejudice and racism. He emphasizes the importance of fostering an unshakeable belief in oneself among young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, proving that with resilience and self-belief, anything is achievable.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction and Childhood Chris Zara, a descendant of the Gurang Gurang and Talang Bunder people, describes his upbringing in Buber during the 1970s. Born in 1967, he reflects on the challenges faced during his childhood and school experiences, particularly noting the low expectations set for him as an Aboriginal student. Despite these challenges, he was able to pursue higher education at Teachers College, where he recognized a pivotal moment in acknowledging the underestimated potential attributed to his heritage.
• 00:30 - 01:00: Overcoming Low Expectations The chapter titled 'Overcoming Low Expectations' discusses the author's motivation to exceed others' low expectations and the negative impact those expectations can have on personal development. The author reflects on their educational journey, emphasizing their desire to inspire Aboriginal children and to influence teachers to recognize how limited beliefs can affect students. The narrative encourages challenging and overcoming the constraints of low expectations in educational settings.
• 01:00 - 01:30: Creating Opportunities for Positive Belief The chapter titled 'Creating Opportunities for Positive Belief' discusses the importance of fostering positive self-belief among students, particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. It emphasizes creating an environment that encourages students to develop a more positive self-perception. The success of these efforts led to the establishment of the Stronger Smarter Institute, which, for the past decade, has collaborated with school and community leaders to promote a positive approach by embracing the Stronger Smarter philosophy.
• 01:30 - 02:00: Stronger Smarter Institute The chapter titled 'Stronger Smarter Institute' discusses themes of identity, positive community leadership, and commitment to high expectations. It highlights the transformative work done by the speaker while serving as principal at Sherberg School, where raising challenges and expectations led to significant positive responses from both the students and the community, showcasing these achievements on a national level.
• 02:00 - 02:30: Impact as Principal of Sherberg School The chapter titled 'Impact as Principal of Sherberg School' discusses the transformative impact of education on Aboriginal communities. It highlights how a shift in beliefs towards a more positive reality has benefitted black followers and the teaching profession. The chapter underscores the widely held belief that education is the key to progress, a view strongly supported by the author as an educator. However, it also raises questions about the depth of understanding surrounding this belief, inviting a deeper exploration of education's true potential.
• 02:30 - 03:00: Education as the Key This chapter emphasizes the power of education in overcoming challenges and achieving goals, particularly for young Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander students. It acknowledges the existence of barriers such as limited beliefs from others and racism, but stresses the importance of maintaining self-belief and determination as essential keys to success.
• 03:00 - 03:30: Overcoming Barriers This chapter discusses the concept of overcoming obstacles in the educational field, emphasizing that there are no real barriers that can prevent individuals from achieving their educational goals if they are determined.

Professor Chris Sarra: Effecting change in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 my name is Chris Zara I grew up in buber in the 1970s I'm a descendant of the gurang gurang and talang bunder people was born in 1967 so um growing up in buber was interesting we faced our challenges um but I managed to overcome them when I reflect on my school experience and um then having the opportunity to go off to Teachers College there was a moment in which I realized that I was probably being sold short and people expected less of me because I was an Aboriginal student because of that uh I was
• 00:30 - 01:00 motivated to um rise above people's expectations because I knew just how toxic those kind of low expectations are and just how much they could stop me from being the best that I could be at every point in my education career I've wanted to make a difference and get young Aboriginal children to see the things that I didn't see when I was at school uh and I wanted to get teachers to see the things that they needed to see in terms of how their stifled beliefs can have an impact on on people and how in schools and in a teacher
• 01:00 - 01:30 student relationship we need to create opportunities where we let kids believe whatever they want to believe about thems believe differently about Aboriginal students and tourist red Islander students and you create an environment that's designed to get them believing more positively about themselves then good things can happen now off the back of that success we set up the stronger smarter Institute and for the last 10 years we've been working with school and Community leaders to understand the stronger smarter approach which is about embracing a positive
• 01:30 - 02:00 sense of identity uh embracing positive Community leadership uh and being committed to high expectations relationships in which all of us are challenged to be the best that we can be uh I think my most significant work occurred when I was principal of sherberg school and in that circumstance uh when I challenge kids and the community to lift and to rise to higher expectations they responded and um in that in that response we exposed the whole country
• 02:00 - 02:30 um to a different way of being Aboriginal and a different set of beliefs and a new and more positive reality which was good for us as black followers um it was also good for us as a teaching profession in lots of discussions that we have um lots of people get to a point where they'll say education is the key and I as an educator I'm obviously I believe that uh and I'm not convinced that we understand that the true depth of of that statement that education really is the key and so um today it is case that um through
• 02:30 - 03:00 education we really can achieve whatever it is we want to as a as a young Aboriginal or tourist red Islander student there really are no barriers um yes there are some hurdles along the way and yes we'll encounter people with uh limited beliefs about who we are and what what we can do uh yes we will encounter racism but if we if we retain a sense of belief in here and make sure that that is untouchable
• 03:00 - 03:30 then then there really is no barriers to stop us from achieving what we want in education