Two-way learning in the Kimberley

Words by Angela Ho

It’s a balmy Saturday afternoon in mid-November when we touch down in Kununurra, a town tucked away in the far north-eastern corner of WA, just 45 km from the Northern Territory. The flight attendant speaking overhead reminds us just how far an expanse it is we’ve travelled, and how close we are now to meandering into new state territory:

“Passengers, if you’re travelling on to Darwin, please remain seated and we’ll be there shortly.” 

We’re closer to Bali than we are to Perth, which is difficult to comprehend for all 15 of us Perth-based student volunteers who have flown out to spend the week tutoring as part of Teach Learn Grow (TLG)’s flagship Rural Program. It’s a 3.5 hour journey made possible by Boab Metals, Panoramic Resources and Horizon Power, without which the privilege of access would not have been possible for the largely volunteer-run organisation that is TLG.

East Kimberley Regional Airport is where our group diverges: seven of us to East Kimberley College for TLG’s first-time visit, and the rest of us to Wyndham District Senior High School, a short hour drive north-west. 

Despite emerging into smothering 35 degree humidity, there’s something electric in the air. Our school pick-up, Wyndham DHS art and primary teacher Lex Randolph (“Mr Lex” to the students), tells us it’s the feeling of anticipation which precedes rain in the Kimberley. And then he hands us a mango from a friend’s local farm as an arrival present, and we’re on our way.

According to an article from the ABC, Australia is currently facing its worst teacher shortage in 20-plus years. The situation is supposedly so dire that the federal government has in recent years moved to waive HECS debts for teachers willing to work in remote areas for at least four years. But for many of us university volunteers, a TLG Rural Program is an opportunity to pay the gift of an education forward. 

Anyone who’s ever been in a classroom in remote WA understands the challenges involved in keeping students engaged with school. And when there’s data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics suggesting children in rural and remote communities are likely to be, on average, 2.5 years behind their metropolitan peers, there’s reason to be concerned. It’s a confluence of many factors — and we’re realistic about the impact we can have in the space of a week, twice a year, for schools, their staff and students.

But it’s the positive reinforcement we hear from the teachers we visit that emboldens the faith we have in TLG’s mission of bridging the education gap between rural and metropolitan Australia. When you’re one teacher in a room full of ten, or fifteen, or twenty students achieving on a spectrum from 2.5 years under minimum standard to 2 years ahead, there’s only so much you can offer by way of individual, one-on-one support, before your tank depletes and burnout ensues. 

I ask Wyndham DHS’s principal, “Mrs Dani” Woodhouse, in between sessions how long she’s been with the school, expecting the churn-and-burn responses I’ve come to expect of schools in WA’s Mid-West, and am surprised to discover that she’s stayed for 20 or so years. Support staff at the school are perplexed by my question too, having grown up in the community and stayed on to teach. 

It’s the beauty of tight-knit, remote communities like Wyndham which encourage local care and genuine connection. And the town is filled with many talents. Some of the students excel in basketball and soccer — they definitely outrun us on the court! Many of them work locally, and speak of ambitions close to home.

It’s not our job to tell these students what to dream. But as tutors and mentors, we see our impact in the little lightbulb moments which sprinkle our sessions: that moment when a student understands how to correctly decipher place value, or multiply big numbers. Oftentimes, it’s rebuilding confidence in the fundamentals which can unlock a student’s potential in the classroom, and a bit of empathetic listening and individual attention goes a long way. 

So we tutor, but we also learn too. 

And even now, back home in Perth, we carry the school’s motto with us:

“Positive attitudes and high expectations make Wyndham winners.”