Australia prides itself on being a tolerant,
multicultural nation. This can be argued to be mostly true, as when put into
comparison against other countries; there are few cases of racial fuelled
violence or civil unrest. The key to Australia’s multicultural success is often
attributed its public education system, which acts as a melting pot for the
wide varieties of cultures that make up the Australian people.
However earlier this year there was much hype over what is
being done about racism in schools after Sydney Swan player Adam Goodes was
called an ‘ape’ by a 13 year old girl at an AFL game. As videos circled the news waves and social networks, NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell intervened to stamp out racism among school students by ordering the NSW
Education Department to recirculate anti-racism policies and support materials
to schools and teachers to curtail such ‘concerning events’.
Shane Houston, the University of Sydney's deputy
vice-chancellor (for indigenous strategy and services) criticized that there
was too little debate about how to move forward to make sure that such remarks were corrected and how to make sure they are not made in the first place.
''It's possible to make a statement out of ignorance,
and not be racist,'' he said. ''That's why education is such an important
element in the process of building a more inclusive society in Australia.''
Culture and education go hand in hand. Our identity
(and culture) is shaped greatly by the education we receive. The current curriculum
has been shaped to introduce students to a broad range of topics surrounding
culture, such as Aboriginal studies alongside Australian history. Outside of
the curriculum schools often host multicultural days, which celebrate the
differences between cultures. The current education system is aiming towards
creating a culture of tolerance and multiculturalism, but then what explains
the outburst of racial slur against Goodes?
Ho raises the point that schools are important
micropublics as students spend large amounts of their day at school, and
therefore are in contact with other students of different cultures (Ho, 2011). This is the case in the majority of Australian metropolitan public schools, (but decreases as location moves further from cities).
Students at school have little choice but to interact with each other and as a
result learn that they share a lot in common and can get along (for the most
part), regardless of their appearance, culture, or religion.
Ho’s article cites the Vinson report, which states
that public education has ‘‘aspired to be a force for social cohesion, for
building mutual understanding between people of different ethnic, religious,
vocational and socioeconomic backgrounds’’ and has made the claim that this has
contributed to the ‘‘peaceful coexistence of different groups and the
maintenance of social arrangements and communal services that help to preserve
the dignity of all Australians’’ (Vinson cited, 2011).
Wadham, Pudsey and Boyd have stated that “culture is
the ‘toolbox’ that allows us to understand the world we live in and its
mechanics. This is done through tradition, religion, etc. It allows us to
interpret our reality. Culture acts as the basis for how we interpret the
world, two people of different cultures will perceive objects and actions
differently to each other in most cases” (Wadham, Pudsey, Boyd, 2007).
Based on that statement we can conclude that culture shapes our perceptions, and as a result learning about other cultures becomes a really important part of everyday life. The basis of tolerance is understanding the other person, and the easiest way to understand a person is to examine their life. Learning about a culture allows us to draw generalisations about people who are a part of that culture; this gives us a grasp on how to deal with certain groups of people. For example, in Thai culture, finishing or ‘clearing’ a plate of food is considered a ‘no no’. If you finish all the food on your plate, you are insulting the cook or host. You are telling them that they didn't feed you enough, and that they are poor cooks.
Based on that statement we can conclude that culture shapes our perceptions, and as a result learning about other cultures becomes a really important part of everyday life. The basis of tolerance is understanding the other person, and the easiest way to understand a person is to examine their life. Learning about a culture allows us to draw generalisations about people who are a part of that culture; this gives us a grasp on how to deal with certain groups of people. For example, in Thai culture, finishing or ‘clearing’ a plate of food is considered a ‘no no’. If you finish all the food on your plate, you are insulting the cook or host. You are telling them that they didn't feed you enough, and that they are poor cooks.
So my question to you, dear reader is simply; do you
believe racial events such as the one discussed above a sign that the
Australian Education system is failing to foster a healthy respect amongst the
many cultures of our nation?
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyrbUiJCkVw
Ho,
C. (2011). Respecting the presence of others: School micropublics and everyday
multiculturalism. Journal of Intercultural Studies, 32(6), 603-619.
Wadham, B. Pudsey,
J. & Boyd, R. (2007). Culture and education. Sydney: Pearson
Education. Chapter 1: What is culture?
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