Images of a Good White Teacher Samantha Schulz Abstract What does it mean to do good as a ‘white’ subject, particularly for those historically positioned as Other? This paper draws on research into the dispositions of white teachers who live and work in a remote Indigenous context – the term ‘white’ denotes the entwinement of gender, class and race in the making of white identity. While overt acts of racism have characterised aspects of the history of White Australia, acts of benevolence on the part of well-meaning whites have equally constituted covert modes of racialisation. Incorporating ideas from Foucault with a critical whiteness standpoint, this paper uses white governmentality as a framework to deconstruct the life history interviews of its white teacher research participants. The paper situates the white teacher in social relations and, by asking what it means to be a good white teacher, explores how racialised discourses govern good teaching and identity. Key Words: White governmentality; white teacher; whiteness; subjectivity; life history. ***** 1. Insider Status Uncomfortable. Nearly 20 hours’ drive from my coastal home over desert terrain I wouldn’t dare tackle on my own, not this far in. I’ve neither showered, nor slept well; my neck is in knots. But I’ve been planning this for months and I’m determined to press ahead. I don’t know this man – many years my senior – and even after nearly three hours of conversation I still feel claustrophobic inside the tiny house decorated with religious symbols, just the two of us on the outskirts of the isolated community. At my suggestion we move the conversation outside. I rest my tea, now tepid, on the step and carefully blow red dust from the exterior of the digital voice recorder. The sun stings my eyes. He’s asked me to pause the recording while in a hushed voice offloads a range of unsolicited secrets. He’s worked up to this and is relishing the moment, obviously starved of intimate attention. I don’t want to feel ‘intimate’ with this man but he trusts me – I’m white – and in a way, this is what I’ve hoped for. Yet, the descent to ‘insider’ status leaves me feeling tense. I’m anxious to get moving and so, with a smile, flick the recorder back on. My skin bristles as he articulates his next point: ‘They talk about the Stolen Generation’, he says and continues, ‘and I think the ones who were stolen, they’re better off’. He says this with genuine sincerity. My jaw tightens at