In my two years at university, a subject that I have found
recurring in all social studies courses is the Cronulla riots. This momentous
event has cemented itself into our history. Such a violent act of racism in our
own backyard reveals a tremendous truth about our nation. We have learnt that
behind the messages communicated in our cities boasting our diversity and
multiculturalism, Australia is in fact a racist country.
Racism is a complex topic that has been defined by many
discourses but the one that I find the most relevant to explain Australia’s
disdain from ‘the others’ is Social Constructivism (Dunn and Mcdonald 2001).
Discrimination is here explained as a social construct rather than a national
order and listening to recounts of individuals that took part in the riot, it
was obvious that the anger that sparked the riots was misinformed and poorly
interpreted (the media had a big hand to play in this). This ignorance towards
other cultures that leads to constructions of hate and dislike of other cultures
must be eradicated from society to remove racism.
In schools, the presence of discrimination and racism will
play a major role in inhibiting a student’s education and will also construct
the foundations of hate for cultures in society after their graduation. It is
for this reason that I believe that to eradicate racism in society, we must
first aim to eradicate it in schools.
If Racism is a social construct, the most natural course of
action is to facilitate informed constructions of cultural understanding.
Especially in this technological era where opinions and information can be
communicated with two beeps of a hand held device, information can so easily be
tainted. If you have ever played the game ‘Chinese Whispers’ you would know
that allowing information to be passed on with complete faith in here say will
almost always be misinterpreted. Education
reforms to eradicate racism must be aimed at its source that is targeting the
place of racist assumptions and ideas in this process (Gray and Beresford 2008).
The effects of racism in our schools will lead to social
inequalities in our classrooms. A closer analysis of standardised tests such as
NAPLAN, a national exam reviewing students on literacy and numeracy skills,
will draw attention to how dominant cultures are naturally at an advantage
(Klenowski 2009). Klenowski, through an analysis of the performance of
indigenous students in NAPLAN has been able to reveal how these standardised
assessments are not ‘culturally fair’. The rifts start to truly appear when the
‘Myschool’ program was introduced. A system that was meant to give deeper
insights into schools has now promoted competition. Aspects of reputation and
status are revealed to be valued by education system and this can be viewed as
promoting inequity (Vass 2012).
Dunn, KM., Forrest, J., Burnley,
I., & McDonald, A. 2004. 'Constructing Racism in Australia', Australian
Journal of Social Issues (opens in new window)Opens in a new window, vol.39,
iss.4, pp.409-430. ISSN 0004-9557
Gray, J., and Q. Beresford. 2008. A ‘formidable challenge’: Australia’s quest for equity
in indigenous education. Australian
Journal of Education 52, no. 2: 197–223.
Klenowski, V. 2009. Australian indigenous students: Addressing equity
issues in
assessment. Teaching Education 20, no. 1: 77–93.
Vass, G. (2012). The racialised educational landscape in Australia:
listening to the
whispering elephant. Race Ethnicity and
Education, 1-26. doi:
10.1080/13613324.2012.674505
One thing that struck me with your blog was when you stated, "I believe that to eradicate racism in society, we must first aim to eradicate it in schools". I must say that I completely agree. Can we not agree that the first point of knowledge for children comes from what they learn within the classroom? If we are able to educate children during the early stages of learning, we will be one step ahead of racism and discrimination. Students will be well informed of the implications of racism as they become adults and will therefore (hopefully) have a more open understanding of cultures different to their own. Furthermore, this will enable them to pass on this understanding to future generations and create a more unified and inclusive society.
ReplyDeleteThe point that you have made regarding the media’s influence in perpetuating racism and discrimination within the wider Australian society, with your example of the Cronulla riots, is also one that I can agree on. With the continuing developments in technology, it is becoming all too easy to communicate our opinions, sometimes without thinking about what we are actually saying and whom our comments may affect. This can then raise issues in cyber bullying with a concentration on racism and cultural discrimination. In your discussion of discrimination and racism in schools, and their role in “inhibiting a student’s education”, it may have been useful to further this idea and look at the way that racism can in turn, also impede on one’s cultural identity through analysing Anne Phillips work around essentialism, classification systems, and identity markers.