Whiteness in school

Whiteness is a issue that has been discuss and study for a long period of time. Whenever someone talking about whiteness, I always think about racism between people with white skin and people with different skin colours. Because of different skin colours, Australia becomes a nation with unique and cultural diversity society. It comes to advantages and disadvantages as Australia is a multicultural country. One clearly advantage is that with so many cultures present, every citizen can learn outside their own cultural boundaries and respect others’ cultures as they respect their own. On the other hand, Australia could not prevent racism occurs in every corner of the country, it has continued to happen since the time British set their foots on land. I, as one of million people who migrant to Australia looking for a new and exciting life, used to experience the ‘whiteness’ which happened in school. They are some feelings that I can not forget. 

There was a period of time which I felt not belonging in school. As I went to school with lack of English language skill and lack of particular educational experiences, I was left out of white people group. I tried to be friend with them and participated in help centre to improve my English level but no matter how hard I tried, I felt they were also trying to make a bigger barrier between me and them. Time passed and there was no development so I gave up. For me, it was more easy to join group with other non-English speaking background students like me. I think people easy to get along with other have the same skin colours, especially same language backgrounds. ‘Whiteness’ is such a big word which lead to racism in Australia. It affects our learning outcomes as it let us feel isolated and no friend for you to share and learn. 

‘whiteness’ could affect deeply into our lives, how does it stop us from sharing, learning others’ cultures and respect them? Although everybody has different skin colours or hair colours or any other different appearances, but we are all the same inside. We share a common space to connect to each others and proud to be a nation with cultural diversity. We, as the younger generations, have to decrease any form of ‘whiteness’ which leads to inequalities and racism. 

Reference: 

Fozdar F, Wilding R & Hawkins M, 2009, Race and ethnic relations, Oxford University Press, Australian & New Zealand, Chapter 10: Whiteness studies, p.179-195

Teachers and school choices

Teachers is the key for students to reach their successes in life. Their roles in education are important as well as the important of other social factors which could affect children’s education. Leonardo states “The intellectual’s role is key in the reconstruction of consciousness and in education this role appropriately falls on the shoulders of teachers.” (Leonardo, Z. 2009, p.9) With the great responsibility and the future of a student partly lay on the skills of teachers, teachers should have the best benefits and every offer to support them to educate our future generation.

Zyngier in ‘Teachers learn at the school of hard knocks’ article has written down how teachers is a part of children’s education quality and how teachers are treated in term of decreased salary and benefits. People expect teachers to give the best for the students but teachers have not receive the best for their own credit. “If we really want all our children to receive the very best education possible, offering teachers less than the annual inflation rate is an insult.” (Zyngier, D. 2012, SMH). Teachers as second in line after parents in affecting children’s education. They have the power to control the classroom and encourage students learn effectively in the way teachers think is the best. 

Freedom in classroom is another important factor for students to willingly express their ideas and opinions, encourage them to share their knowledge, develop their own skills and help them be confident in class. However, Australia is a multicultural country with different cultural backgrounds, education in Australia is affected due to social economic disadvantages. Students from different countries with non English speaking backgrounds have difficulties in catching up with other kids in school. Zyngier stated 80 percent of disadvantaged children attending government schools around Australia and that make teachers struggle to overcome generational poverty and disadvantage. This has lead to result in school choices in Australia. Most of the disadvantage kids enroll in public schools while other advantaged kids with richer parents are likely to have a choice to go to private schools. In certain areas of Sydney, school choices are either available or unavailable. Students which social disadvantage, financial difficulties have no choice but go to public schools or other schools which considered as bad schools. Rich students are choosing expensive private schools that can promise them a bright future such as Sydney High School, King School... Not even students, teachers are also choosing workplaces which benefit them with higher salary, better teaching conditions and student willingly to learn. “Indeed, since 1995 there has been no increase in the average real salaries of Australia's most experienced teachers.” (Zyngier, D. 2012, SMH) This is the reason why experienced teachers are moving toward private schools and the students in public schools don’t have opportunities to develop their abilities. Government should make chances on education and help our young generation build a stronger nation. 

References: 

Leonardo, Z. (2009). Affirming ambivalence: Introduction to cultural politics and education. In Z. Leonardo (Ed.), Handbook of Cultural Politics and Education (pp.1-48), Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.

Sydney Morning Herald,Teachers learn at the school of hard knocks, David Zyngier, September 5, 2012 available at: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/teachers-learn-at-the-school-of-hard-knocks-20120904-25ci5.html

Cosmopolitan Society

The idea of cosmopolitanism is not only appear within local or national, it also expand to international. In these years, education has been enters the global market to different countries and provide for students to counteract, learn and respect other cultures. “It opens up the possibilities of genuine interaction among people from different cultural traditions, giving those students who can afford it opportunities to travel and learn the knowledge and skills required to work more effectively in an increasingly global society, to become cosmopolitan.” (Rizvi, F. 2008, p.108)

In order to provide for students these opportunities, different schools and universities have created more than hundreds of exchange programs to countries around the world. As Grossetti gave some examples on exchange agreements, UNSW has exchange programs with more than 200 universities in 35 countries including Belgium, Poland and Israel; Australian Catholic University offers programs within 70 universities in 21 countries while the University of Technology, Sydney offers a range of study-abroad and exchange programs at partner universities in Asia, Europe and the Americas. (Grossetti 2012, SMH website) All of these opportunities could help students experiences more in life and prepare for the workforce in a multicultural country or anywhere in the world.

Global interconnectivity brings students with different backgrounds and cultures together, encourage them to think and learn outside their own culture boundaries, let them learn to respect others and most of all is to prevent the inequalities and racism. These exchange programs are great for students to take, it may be the major advantages for them in applying for careers but not all of the students have the chances to do that. Students with social disadvantages could not be able to afford for the exchange program. Is it really necessary to go for these programs while local communities could provide for their students a learning environment with cosmopolitanism? 

Most of the local areas in Sydney are cultural diversities themselves. Local communities and schools should have programs and events to encourage the young generations to connect with others and help them get their sense of global competences in education. A bigger world is a good place for them to learn and prepare for life as Browitt says that “as well as preparing students for global competency, the international experience helps create better global citizens who know how to achieve success internationally by learning respect and sensitivity towards other cultures.” (Browitt, cited in Grossetti 2012, SMH website).

References: 

Grossetti C. 2012. Learning overseas opens opportunities for personal growth and employment, October 8, viewed 18 October 2012, <http://www.smh.com.au/national/broaden-your-horizons-abroad-20121009-27av7.html>

Rizvi, F. (2008). Education and its cosmopolitan possibilities. In B. Lingard, J. Nixon & S. Ranson (Eds.), Transforming learning in schools and communities: The remaking of education for a cosmopolitan society (pp. 101-116). London: Continuum.

Public and Private School- Micropublic

Public and Private School- Micropublic

“To reiterate, a ‘micropublic’ is a space where engagement and negotiation across cultures are unavoidable, as individuals from diverse cultures find themselves having to share a common social space.” (Ho, C. 2011, p. 605) This statement is true when it comes to the environment in schools. Students with different backgrounds share their own experiences and also learn to respect others’ cultures. There is a question being asked: Could Australian schools provide for the younger generations the micropublic space while there are so much differences between private and public schools? 

As in both readings of Ho and Stevenson, they stated that high-fee independent schools located at some of the Sydney’s wealthiest such as Monte Sant' Angelo, Wenona, Kambala, St Ignatius, Queenwood, Redlands and Ravenswood have fewer than 10 percent of non-English speaking backgrounds. According to Ho, many Sydney’s private schools are zones of cultural exclusivity. For example, Wenona School, North Sydney has zero percent language background other than English (LBOTE) of school while 23 percent LBOTE of suburb. These are showing how the students have no chance to experience new things and interact with different cultural community. 

While the cultural community is rarely seen in most of independent schools, public schools are highly cultural diversity, especially in Western Sydney area. Some schools have percentage LBOTE of school which is much higher than LBOTE of suburb. High percentage of LBOTE is also not a good way of exercise ‘micropublic’ for students. They have lots of disadvantages which affect their learning outcomes. 

Due to the huge unbalance between private and public schools, Australian schools are failing to create a cross-cultural environment for students in learning. The most concern is  that students and parents sometime do not have the choice to choose the school which they want to go to. High-fee independent schools are not easy to get in for the immigrated families, even some schools “require students to be enrolled within the year of their birth to guarantee entry.” (Stevenson A 2012, SMH website). Most of public school’s students do not have the choice, they have different disadvantages including social status, geographic locations, family’s issues, English difficulty... Most of all, government school fundings are raised as a factor which affect the school learning. 

Overall, Australian schools should be acting as micropublic, the more diverse the school community, “the more students develop these multicultural capacities of negotiation, recognition and respect.” (Ho, C. 2011, p. 616) These are the essential things Australian schools should have as our nation is a friendly multicultural society. 

References: 

Ho, C. (2011). Respecting the presence of others: School micropublics and everyday multiculturalism. Journal of Intercultural Studies, 32(6), 603-619.

Stevenson, A 2012, ‘The white bread playground: top private schools shun ethnic diversity’, SMH website, June 12, viewed 16 October 2012, <http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/the-white-bread-playground-top-private-schools-shun-ethnic-diversity-20120611-20663.html>

Selective thinking

In your lives, apart from the HSC, what was the 2^nd biggest event in your schooling years? Such an important date that it could make or break a future. Years of single-minded planning, sheer hard work, countless sacrifices, frenetic ferrying from point A to B, and of course, top dollar spent chasing the dream. After all, this was a boat no migrant could afford to miss.

I am, of course, talking about the much-coveted spot in a Selective High School. Every Asian parent’s penultimate dream, the precursor to that perfect HSC score, and eventually an assured placement in medicine, engineering or law. James Ruse, Baulkham Hills, Hornsby Girls, Sydney Boys – the El Dorado that beckons many an ambitious and aspiring primary school leaver; and more importantly, their hard-working and terribly pushy mother and father.

Kenway and Bullen highlight the idea that both parents and students are consumers of the school’s use value and producers of its exchange value. They emphasized that within the consumer culture, people’s lives are saturated with commodities and images which have the potential to generate dreams and desires, fears and fantasies, representations and displacements. In this context, not only do advertisers seek to ensure that consumption becomes a primary source of identity, but that desire to consume becomes a primary motivating force. And on Asian parents, they were successful.

Coming from an Asian family, I can share some of my parents’ reasons for being education conscious for their kids. My parents were not extremists, they never forced me into tutoring and were happy as long as I’ve tried my best, but they believed that letting their children receive the best education will eventually lead them to a successful career and a happy life in the future. They understood that a well-rounded education is the best tool for a lifetime of achievement as I used to play soccer, do gymnastics, and even danced for awhile, as much as my hobbies kept altering since I play oztag now, my parents kept me satisfied. However, they reminded me that being academically accelerated was the fastest and best investment in life compared to sports, creativity areas such as drawing, and performing arts like music and dancing.

Unfortunately, for those with stricter parents, the enduring hard work and the pressure of preparing towards selective high schools for Asian families are, at times, just insane. The voyage sometimes starts as early as kindergarten, which comes at heavy price to the family exchequer. But more importantly, this is also done at the cost of their overall development, where the child is deprived of everyday exercise and eventually physical disorders such as obesity or diabetes, and mental issues such as hypertension or anxiety  results at a young age.

References:

·         Kenway, J. Bullen, (2001). Consuming children: Education-Entertainment-Advertising. Buckingham: Open University Press. Chapter 5: Designer schools, packaged students.

School Choice and Education

School Choices and Education 

What makes people decide which school they or their children are going to or do they really have the choices? Is it the results and ranks posted on My School website, the differences in social economic classes, the cultures or the social disadvantages which can influences the road to successes? 

School is the base for students to build their future under the guide of teachers. Most of the parents think that once their children get into a good school, they are a step closer to success. People choose school because of different factors. Some based on the levels of student achievement in schools, the social profile of students in that school and also about the school’s reputation, images, behaviors, teaching and school’s performance from the top range as high performance to ordinary and underperformance or failing. My School website and other school’s tests results are the popular tools to help parents choose school for their children but Chris Bonnor said that “it doesn't enable accurate comparisons between individual schools. The NAPLAN spotlight is too narrow and the socio-educational index (ICSEA) used still doesn't take enrollment selectivity into account.” (The Sydney Morning Herald website). School choice is exercised by parents with high economic status. They “use schools as positional goods in the class interests of their children and themselves.” (Kenway, J. & Bullen 2001, p.147). As parents, they concern about who their children going to contact with at school and create the barrier to different those rich and poor students. The choices of school may decided by access to money, student ability, location and networks. These factors may affect the choice of schools but do they really affect the learning of students? 

I think most schools are the same, they are the places for knowledges to share and learn. As Bonnor stated that there are three essentials things for learning. “The first is the development of an intellectual quality that produces deep understanding of concepts, skills and ideas. The second is the teaching environment itself: is it characterized by positive relationships where learning is expected and supported? The third is significance: learning needs to be meaningful to students.”. If Australian education is exercised by these three things, there wouldn’t be much of school choice and could increase the results in every school. However, most of the schools enter the education market, “schools seem to make little attempt to connect to the dreamworlds, interests, pleasures and yearnings of all students.” (Kenway, J. & Bullen 2001, p.148) Is it really the goal of education, to serve the student, parents or the nation? 

References: 

Bonnor, C 2012, ‘Good schools give a hoot’, The Sydney Morning Herald, July 16, viewed 9 October 2012, <http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/good-schools-give-a-hoot-20120715-223zb.html>

Kenway, J. & Bullen, (2001). Consuming children: Education-Entertainment-Advertising. Buckingham: Open University Press. Chapter 5: Designer schools, packaged students.

Traditional Aboriginal People Costume

Every day, cultural difference is accepted as normal and unremarkable. Difference is not a barrier but rather, it acts as a motive of bringing people together, not always to create something as strong as friendship, but to enable the “recognition of acknowledgement of otherness in situational specificity.” Therefore, nurturing respect for cultural diversity is a goal of the Australian education system. 

The role of education is “building a democratic, equitable and just society, a society that is prosperous, cohesive and culturally diverse and that values of Australia’s Indigenous cultures are a key part of the nation’s history, present and future.” However, the recent incident of the publication of a photograph of university students dressed up to look like ‘traditional’ Aboriginal people at an annual college dinner in the Sydney Morning Herald has heated up a number of indigenous Australians from around the country.  

The photo depicted eight students with wild hair, holding sticks, and limbs and faces painted brown. Their dress up was supposed to be giving a tribute to indigenous Australians, however, as the picture made its way online to social networking sites , their actions were interpreted as mockery and demeaning, resulting the demand for rapid re-education programs.

The university’s students’ ignorant behaviour are described as ‘a young person’s uneducated approximation of Aboriginal life.’ Because Australia denied Aboriginality for so long, the understanding of the religious and cultural significance of ceremony isn’t in the community, ultimately, this misunderstanding incident showed a deep ignorance of Aboriginal culture and religion in Australian society.  

Like many culturally diversified societies, schools in Australia are expected to deal with complex multiple identities, thus strengthening social cohesion and cultural understandings have long been goals of Australian schooling. The Australian history taught to students at school covers a fair amount of Aboriginal content, but it is clear that although we are taught about Indigenous mistreatments and reconciliation, their culture itself is not yet emphasized. 

The government has initiated Aboriginal Culture programmes programs for educators appointed to teach in schools with a significant Aboriginal population, however it should be considered to introduce these programmes to all schools so a better understanding of the social, cultural, environment and educational issues that exists in a diverse range of contexts in Aboriginal communities.

References:

·         Ho, C. (2011). Respecting the presence of others: School micropublics and everyday multiculturalism. Journal of the Intercultural Studies, 32(6), Pg. 603-619

·         http://www.watoday.com.au/national/uproar-as-students-dress-as-traditional-aboriginal-people-20121011-27f0e.html