.Carolyn Guthrie (left) at Brunswick South Primary School with Bella from StreetSmart
Teachers and students help shift the narrative on homelessness
“How do people become homeless?” is the kind of question that Carolyn Guthrie was hearing from their young students when they first started exploring the topic. Carolyn is Brunswick South Primary School’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader and has used our Schools for Change resources to help shift the narrative on homelessness, deepen empathy, reflect on harmful stereotypes, and understand housing as a human right with 80 of their year 3/4 students.
As the latest school to kickstart these important conversations and empower young change-makers, we sat down with Carolyn to hear why our resources are needed in classrooms and how they have helped young students to shift the narrative on homelessness.
“These have been really valuable lessons that resulted in some deeply profound conversations about stereotypes, empathy, social justice and respect for others. We noticed our students having these lightbulb moments of ‘wow – I didn’t know that’ and ‘oh, I wonder why I thought that’.”
Carolyn, Brunswick South Primary School educator (VIC)
Carolyn’s experience shows how important it is to create safe, curious, and respectful opportunities for young people to engage with complex social problems like homelessness, and poverty. It is through these discussions and reflections that we can begin to tackle some of the most enduring barriers to tackling homelessness like stereotypes and stigma. Carolyn shared that storytelling along with exploring evidence and current statistics allowed students to shift their thinking and develop a more nuanced understanding of the causes and reasons for homelessness.
In particular, students loved learning about Dadirri and using this deep listening approach to engage with stories about homelessness with openness and compassion. Taking their new learning home, through conversations with friends and family, these young students are doing their part to help shift the narrative on homelessness.
From the students…
“I used to think that homelessness was just on the streets, now I know it’s not.
I used to think about homelessness that we had enough houses, and now I think that there’s like a billion houses more to build.
It amazed me how many people are homeless in Australia.”
Students Issac, Wes, and Zoe
How your classroom can join in for Homelessness Week
With Homelessness Week upcoming in August (5th-11th) we’re encouraging school communities to download our easy, engaging classroom resources. Learn, empower, and help shift the narrative on homelessness.
“The Schools for Change resources have been incredibly easy to set in motion in our classrooms with clear curriculum links, slides, and handouts all ready to go. The activities have deepened our students’ understanding of housing as a human right and reaffirmed the importance of standing up for the rights of others“
Carolyn, Brunswick South Primary School educator (VIC)
