Overcoming bullying?

Bullying is a dominant issue arising in schools. This issue relates to tolerance. Should bullying be tolerated within schools? Many students education has been affected by bullying as it lowers their self-esteem causing them to dislike coming to school. According to a newspaper article have read, “up to half of all students in Year 9 were either being bullied or bullying others needed to be addressed”. This clearly shows that bullying affects many students. Bullying will need to be stopped in order for students to gain a better education. In the article opposition leader Barry O’Farrell said “new counseling and students support positions would be provided as a response to the recent increase in incidents involving violence and bullying”.  Bullying not only affects the students but also affects the community. The government will need to come up with legislation that everyone agrees on in order to counter bullying.

The main cause of bullying is ethnicity, this is because people have different cultures and there is lack of understanding of each cultures leading to bullying. Society has placed a major emphasis on whiteness. The idea of whiteness is part of critical scholarship that is not meant as an attack on ‘White people’ but rather: “an assault on the socially constructed and constantly reinforced power of White identifications and interests” (Gillborn, 2008: 33). The white culture is the dominant culture within society. Many students who are from minority groups are discriminated against due to them not fitting in society. Within the article Mr O’Farrell has stated “parents have made it clear that they are alarmed about the spate of school yard incidents in recent weeks”. To overcome this alarm the government has announced a supporting student plan, which will trial 50 new student support officers in NSW schools which will cost $13 million over four years.

With the growth of technology bullying has become easier than ever before. Children are not only bullied at school but outside of school also. As stated in Griffith article “the alarming number of teenage suicides associated with cyber bullying on Facebook, together with Facebook’s apparent failure in some cases to remove harmful posts, has fuelled concern it is incapable of self regulation. This demonstrates that Facebook and Twitter are too lenient in removing harmful post making it easier for people to bully other people. The government has fallen behind with legislation in regards to cyber bullying.  Bullying has occurred for many years but there has been little change in putting a stop to it.

References:

• Gillborn, D. (2008). Racism and education: Coincidence or conspiracy? New York and London: Routledge.
• Griffith, C. (2013). Tony Abbott urged to tackle cyber bullies. The Australian retrieved on 17/09/13

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/technology/tony-abbott-urged-to-tackle-the-cyber-bullies/story-e6frgakx-1226720437201

·       NSW Liberals Announce School Bullying Plan. The Age retrieved on the 18/09/13(2013)http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-national/nsw-liberals-announce-school-bullying-plan-20110306-1bj95.html

Multicultural issues in relation to education?

For many years, there has been a growing attention to issues of race and ethnicity in relation to various ‘minority’ groups. Efforts have been to understand why some groups have been struggling to assimilate to the norms of migrant receiving nations, such as Australia and America. Indigenous communities are an example of a struggling minority group in Australia.  Fozdar, Wilding and Hawkins have outlined those who ‘lack’ English language skills, or who ‘lack’ a particular educational experience, or who ‘lack’ strong local employment networks tend to face great difficulties in becoming successful.

Racism in education is a key factor affecting indigenous students. Even though we live in a multicultural society many people do not abide to this resulting in many problems.  Australian being the multicultural country one of the key goals of the educational system is the cultivating respect for cultural diversity, social cohesion and cultural understanding.  In teaching students about the importance of understanding different cultures we learn to live with each other in harmony.

Apple talks about ‘the sphere of education is on in which the Right has been ascendant’. The social democratic goal of expanding equality of opportunity has been a limiting reform. In the article; Raise expectations for Indigenous Children, senator Scullion stated that problems in remote indigenous communities were caused by poverty rather than Aboriginality.  Indigenous students face many hardships in gaining an education due to their cultural differences. Disadvantages faced by indigenous students include; low income, low socio-economic background and language spoken other than English. Tony Abbott has promised "a new engagement" with the First Australians, pledging to be a "Prime Minister for Indigenous Affairs," by bringing indigenous policy into his department and having Scullion in cabinet solely focused on indigenous affairs.

A number of strategies will need to be put in place in order to encourage indigenous students to gain an education. Firstly schools will need to have more respect for differences in order to have a more adequate learning environment.  Also there need to be more funding’s for multicultural issues in relation to education. Once these issues have been overcome there will effective communication between the teacher and students. With education, there will need more adaptations of the curriculum to suit the variety of cultures in each classroom with this the quality of teaching will need to improved in order for an effective learning environment. Also for students in need their needs to be adequate ESL support to improve their learning. For instance with Indigenous students they might have language difficulties this will effect there education need. Teachers will need to provide extra support to improve their English while maintaining their own language. With this there will be an effective teaching environment improving their education and maintaining their school environment.

 References:

Dan Harrison (2013). Raise Expectations for Indigenous children: Senator. Retrieved on the 15/09/13 from http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/raise-expectations-for-indigenous-children-senator-20130918-2txs5.html

Fozdar, F. Wilding, R. Hawkins, M. (2009) Race and Ethnic Relations, Oxford University Press

Apple, M (1996). Cultural Politics and Education. New York, NY: Teachers College Press. 

I hate school

http://andrewalleyne.com/2013/08/28/i-hate-church/

This article was shared on Facebook and although it talks about appearance and identity oppression within a  church, the same concept can be easily applied in a school. This blog post describes a pastor who dresses up like someone from a gang, and walks into a church to see if they feel welcomed. The pastor however, was oppressed by the community members due to the way he was dressed, making him feel unwelcomed in the church and to Christianity.

This is an example of the effects of assumptions and identities in schools. Wadham et al (2007, p.4) states that "we create ourselves through objects or symbols that we must buy", saying that those people who choose to wear what they buy form identities. Schools therefore reflect upon this comment such as private school uniforms and public schools uniform creating identities or how a student wears a uniform can form identities as "the external of the body - body-surface, body-image - becomes the focus of representation and understanding in contemporary culture of who we really are". The generalisation formed through "identity markers" (Wadham et al. 2007 p. 13) such as skin colour, religion, sexuality or even hobbies can predominantly exclude a student from the community if they were deemed as out of the norm of the school. In restricted schools especially, such as gender, private or selective schools , students who go out of that restriction are easily shamed by the community by that single school similarity. For example for selective schools, most students aim for high education so if a student were to choose not to take that pathway other students may cause negative rumors or look down upon them.  As Phillips (2006, p.3) confirms "people's loyalty to their group does not necessarily displace loyalty to a larger national community, but with distinctness so strongly emphasised, there is a tendency to see group identities as intrinsically oppositional". "Norms can either be prescriptive or proscriptive. Most norms are implicit and we follow them because everyone else is doing the same thing" (Wadham et al., 2007 p. 11). But, humans are all different and important identities such as cultural practices or languages cannot and should not be avoided just to 'follow' the norm and "receive praise and positive sanctions" (Wadham et al., 2007 p. 11).

As the actor was a pastor who is somebody who "loves church" (Alleyne 2013) it can be said that as a student, they are should be able to enjoy school. Wadham et al. (2007, p.4) comments that "schools are a site of cultural struggle", so how should the student and teacher play a role within these struggles? Teachers should support students and use methods of reassurance to stable the student's psychological damage.  Another method teachers can approach is challenging "in-group/out-group dualism"(Wadham et al., 2007 p.15) their school community, like the blog post, and explain to students that "something has to change in our city" (Alleyne 2013) if we want to remove rejection and subjection.

    - Andrew Alleyne: Catalyst Minitries. I hate church (28th August 2013) Retrieved from :http://andrewalleyne.com/2013/08/28/i-hate-church/ [Accessed 22nd September 2013]

·     -     Phillips, Anne (2006) What is 'culture'? In: Arneil, Barbara, Deveaux, Monique, Dhamoon, Rita and Eisenberg, Avigail, (eds.) Sexual justice / cultural justice. Routledge innovations in political theory . Routledge, pp. 15-29.

·   -     Wadham, B.A., Pudsey, J.P. and Boyd, R.M. (2007). What is culture?. In Ben Wadham, Jason Pudsey and Ross Boyd, ed.Culture and Education. Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson Education Australia, pp. 1- 30.

A Multicultural Australia

Multiculturalism and Education

Since 1945 more than 7.2 million people have migrated to Australia, leading to Australia's multiculturalism. This diversity can be seen in the education system, where many students are either born overseas or have parents born overseas. This multiculturalism in the classroom evident in the table below.
 

 
(Australian Bureau of Statistics 2010-11)



Highlighted in this table, it is encapsulated that there is a high number of international students in today's Australian education, especially from China. 
In 1996 it was recorded that 41% of Australians were born overseas, or children of those born overseas, thus having a vital impact on Australia's education. This lead to programs including the ‘English Second Language’ program, which was established to assist those students who struggled with English. This program has had vital impacts on the learning of these students, providing them with opportunities to further their education. 



According to University of New South Wales' (UNSW) Multicultural Policies and Services Program, at UNSW there is a diverse student population. As of 2010, out of the 52,523 number of students, 56.5% students spoke English at home and 20% were international students. This accentuates not only Australia multiculturalism, but also its effect on its education.

Diversity has also introduced more racism and bullying throughout schools and classrooms. Highlighted in the article 'Schools a hotbed of racism: study', which states that MORE than two-thirds of young people are the victims of racism at school, with migrant women most at risk.

Also due to multiculturalism, alienation and segregation increases throughout schooling. In the article 'Indigenous Australians’ Attitudes Towards Multiculturalism, Cultural Diversity', the authors state that cultural outcasts "remain a recognised out-group that is often differentiated against in terms of their cultural acceptability by most of the other citizens of that settler society". (Dunn, K.M., Kamp, A., Shaw, W.S., Forrest, J. & Paradies, Y. 2010). This can be applied throughout schools and classrooms where cultural students are seen and accepted as 'outcasts'. 

Teachers now must be trained in learning how to teach students of different needs due to cultural differences. To teach effectively teachers must become aware of their own identities, cultures and biases while teacher to a diverse classroom, create a safe and comforting environment for the students, connect and discuss with students experiences and interests, provide evaluation and feedback and train students in developing high order thinking, by reflecting on class discussions, activities and readings.

Diversity not only comes with economic advantages, but classroom benefits. This includes multiple perspectives and different I ways of thinking with a broader view of the world, while also assisting to breaking down stereotypes. In a multicultural environment, students and teachers also learn to acknowledge people of different backgrounds. 

Multiculturalism have lead to classrooms becoming more diversified while programs/goals must be established in order to break down racism. The education system must also be providing these overseas born students with the same opportunities as Australian born. As ultimately it is about integrating positive racial idiosyncrasies in a classroom.

.

References

AAP (2010) Migration cuts hurt education sector. Sydney Morning Herald. Accessed 19th of September from http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/migration-cuts-hurt-education-sector-20100727-10sym.html

Australia Bearaeu of Statistics (2013) FEATURE ARTICLE 1: OVERSEAS STUDENT ENROLMENTS WITH HIGHER EDUCATION PROVIDERS. Accessed 19th October from
http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/1301.0Chapter12082009%E2%80%9310

      Dunn, K.M., Kamp, A., Shaw, W.S., Forrest, J. & Paradies, Y. (2010). Indigenous Australians’ Attitudes Towards Multiculturalism, Cultural Diversity, ‘Race’ and Racism, Journal of Australian Indigenous Issues, 13(4), 19-31.

Perkins, M. (2009) A hotbead of Racsim: Study. Sydney Morning Herald. Accessed 20th Octboer from http://www.smh.com.au/national/schools-a-hotbed-of-racism-study-20091118-imk8.html#ixzz2iaf5w22a

Sunrise (2012) Sunrise : The changing face of Australia. Sunrise. Accessed 20th September from  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHnCclol1LM·       

Tovey, J. (2013). Rich themes of cultural diversity in 'belonging' HSC question. Sydney Morning Herald, October 15th 2013. Accessed 20th October from http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/rich-themes-of-cultural-diversity-in-belonging-hsc-question-20131014-2vixi.html

University of New South Wales (2010) MULTICULTURAL POLICIES AND SERVICES PROGRAM accessed 21st October http://www.hr.unsw.edu.au/equity/2010_Multicultural_Policies_and_Programs.pdf

  

Society Dealing With The Disadvantaged

Society Dealing With The Disadvantaged

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/lack-of-women-in-cabinet-proves-glass-ceiling-exists-ita-buttrose-20130917-2tvmp.html

Prior to his successful election campaign, Tony Abbott had already been branded a misogynist by leading members of the opposition causing society to question 'Does Tony Abbott hate women?'. This was brought to the attention of the world when former Prime Minister of Australia, Julia Gillard, vehemently criticized the former opposition leader for his crude actions towards the female gender. It is obvious to see that the repeated allusions to Tony Abbott's poor representation towards women are one of his opposition's foundations in tainting his reputation. The constant volleys of criticism had suffocated the doubt of his misogyny and the question now moves towards 'How much does Tony Abbott hate women?'.

Although it is easy to condemn Tony's Abbott's cabinet as proof of a glass ceiling (Buttrose, 2013), there are flaws to these discourses. I believe that this judgement is a direct result of the opposition's constant rendering of Tony's sexist persona to the public. Furthermore, due to the value of equality and liberalism movements in this era, these claims of chauvinism have been seen as goldmine to be exploited by the media especially following the famous speech delivered by Julia Gillard which has cemented her position as an inspiration to all women suffering gender discrimination. It does not come as a surprise that his cabinet should be attacked in that regard.

If we were to take a step back from the manipulations of the media, we would see that Tony Abbott's appointment of only one woman in his cabinet is far from an attack on woman's ability in politics. The problem is not the cabinet; it brings with it a deeper social issue that is how disadvantaged groups are being represented. Liberalism has allowed the women in our society to breach the oppression of gender roles (Coole, 1993), allowing for equality but this argument over whether there are enough women in our cabinet is an issue that cannot be helped by this movement. It is affirmative action that people want in this situation and it is a step in the wrong direction. Choosing the roles of leaders to a country should not be influenced by affirmative action, it should be a process where members are subsequently chosen based on their merits and hard work. Success should be in the hands of the individuals and not a power game.

The perks living in such a liberal society means that we benefit from having the right to choices (Kymlicka, 1989) . By removing these choices as some of the public would want to do for Tony Abbott, we are not doing gender equality any favours. We are in fact just exacerbating the issues of social justice on the back of coercive action which will act to shatter the glass ceiling but not necessarily fix the real issues of sex discrimination as it does not tackle the issue at the course. It is in fact structural disadvantages that result in not only women but minority social groups altogether being left at a disadvantage. When there is so much choice in the a liberal society, the outcome will favour with those in powerful positions and as a result, no change will be initiated to the status quo.

Coole, D. 1993. Women in political theory: From ancient misogyny to contemporary feminism. New York: Harvester, Wheatsheaf. 

Buttrose, I. (2013, September 17). Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved from Lack of women in cabinet proves glass ceiling exists: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/lack-of-women-in-cabinet-proves-glass-ceiling-exists-ita-buttrose-20130917-2tvmp.html

Kymlicka, W. (1989). Liberalism. In W. Kymlicka, Liberalism, Community and Culture (pp. 9-21). New York: Oxford University Press.

Recruiting 'one of us'.

A reflection of your own experiences of culture and identity in relation to education

Well first off, I attended an all girls catholic school in Sydney’s south west, which was dominated by students of my own racial background (Assyrian), gender, religion, and geographical location. Therefore I rarely ever endured any form of racism by students during my 13 years of education. My culture, a term which I used to identify and group myself (Blanchard, 2013), was similar to the most of the students at my school. This culture included my thoughts, morals, values, traditions, gender and religion.

Therefore due to this, I felt as if my identity was fit to the school and thus feeling the notion of ‘habitus’, which in turn had a more positive impact on my education. My school experiences were similar to those experiences at home. This in turn provided me with a cultural fit between school and home. I perceived that akin to all my other fellow students, I also had a chance to succeed in my education, finish school, university and obtain a successful career.

Furthermore, this perception was one which was once encountered by Australians during the ‘White Australia Policy’, in which they believed that with this policy implanted, they could 'be themselves' (Schech and Haggis, 2001). All my beliefs, values, actions, speech and conduct were similar to my surroundings, therefore in the classroom it would be easier for me to ask and/or answer questions, getting further involved in my education through communication and participation.

However, this is not the case with many students; we also had a percentage of non-ethnic some including white Australian and Indigenous, which experienced differing events at school. Where many received detentions for truancy, foul language and some did not place much importance on education. This brings about the need of schools to focus on values which ALL students find important.

Using Indigenous students as an example, this idea is evident in the article ‘Schools should consider Aboriginal culture’. This article accentuates the vital fact of what effect education plays on an individual, if the cultural values and school contradict. Mr Osborne states that students of remote areas, have their own ways of learning and these are not reflected in the mainstream schools the students attend. Therefore it would be relevant for schools to help these remote students feel at home while at school, by incorporating values and traditions in the schools. This is strictly due to the fact that a lack of connection between home and school ,which can lead students astray, feeling doomed to be uneducated due to their culture.

Furthermore, since Indigenous students have their own way of learning, teachers must be trained in teaching students with rough experiences, english as a second language, and relate the curriculum to real life events to enhance the students' interests in school. 

Thus it is evident through my experiences and the experiences of indigenous/remote students what a detrimental effect culture and identity has towards ones own learning. Consequently it is the role of schools to incorporate cultural ideas of students in the schools activities and system to ensure belonging and in turn participation in schooling.

References

Schech, S and Haggis, J. (2001). Migrancy, Multiculturalism and Whiteness: Re-charting Core in Australia. Communal/Plural ,9(2), 143-160.

Blanchard, B. (2013). What is culture, War is Crime. Accessed 20^th September 2013 from http://wariscrime.com/new/what-is-culture/

Vanovac, N. (2013). Schools should consider Aboriginal culture. The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved from http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/breaking-news/schools-should-consider-aboriginal-culture/story-fni0xqi3-1226722232796

A reflection of your own experiences of culture and identity in relation to education

Being Bullied :  "Ok so know you guys have heard a little bit about me being a bully so let's flip the coin and talk about me being bullied. Now just to clarify, I have never experienced any serious bullying, when I mean serious I’m talking about severe verbal or physical abuse. Anyway back to my story, you all probably don’t know but this but I’m ABC, what is ABC you ask? Well for starters it’s the first three letters of the alphabet but it also means Australian Born Chinese. Yes that’s right I am Chinese. From a very young age I remember people (not all time) would comment and tease me about my ethnicity, even to this day they might not say anything to my face, but the way they talk to me as if I dumb and don’t understand what they’re talking about always frustrates me. I just think to myself are you serious, it’s the 21st century get a grip and get over it, I’m Asian and I can speak English, like many other Asian people out there. Actually I tell people all the time that I’m probably more Australian then I am Chinese, you can ask my family, my Chinese is atrocious. So why do these people want to demean someone over his or her race, nationality, religion, culture, age, gender, beliefs, etc, there is no point. As my mum always says, it doesn’t matter if your black, white, yellow, or even green or purple, where all the same and no one should ever be treated differently. Well if your green or purple you might want to see your GP, but you get the point."  SEPTEMBER 24 2012

Sometimes people just don’t understand what it’s like to be an [insert nationality here] born Chinese( or any other nationality for that matter)  :  It’s like being stuck in between two worlds and I don’t really fit in either of them. To Australians I’m Chinese not Australian but to Chinese; I’m Australian not Chinese. Today my aunt said to me: seems like you’re finally integrating into Hong Kong culture. Personally, I thought, what the actual f***? Where do you think I’m from? Mars? But it’s not the first time that’s happened and it won’t be the last. So my point is that I am neither Australian nor Chinese; I’m an Australian born Chinese.   January 25th 2012.

My identity has been a hybrid of Chinese and Australian, also known as an 'ABC'. I do "Chinese" things such as speaking the language at home or eating rice for dinner but as I'm born in Australia, I have adapted to the "Australian" culture such as certain mannerisms. Due to intersectionality of my cultures and identity, I find it hard to identify which culture I ultimately belong to. When I'm in Hong Kong I would tell my relative that "I'm Australian" but when I'm in Australia I would tell others that "I'm Chinese". My culture and identity has impacted my education because it changed how other people viewed me as. My classmates would always say stereotypical things like "Asians are good at math", "You must be smart" or "You must be hardworking.". Interestingly, my Chinese relatives ,specifically my parents, say different things like (translated from Cantonese) "Asians are hardworking whilst Australians are laid back. You're not studying hard enough and schools don't give you enough homework.". My western friends stresses the idea of being "free individuals" whilst my family stresses the idea of being "family orientated." In relation to my choices, I decide to have a mixture of both cultures. My decision has however made friends and family members have conflicting perspectives on me, causing misunderstandings and disapprovals from both parties.

Wadham et al. (2007, p. 3) states "What time do I eat, and with what implements - knife and fork, chopsticks, my hands? With whom should I eat - family friends, strangers? ... Our culture teaches us the answers to these questions. In short, culture shapes much of our lives and decision-making. If we don't understand culture, we don't really understand human beings." I believe that identities created through the means of cultural differences gather stereotypical excuses for one to categorize another. However humans should not and cannot be categorized just by expressing a choice.  As Phillips (2006, p. 4) comments "[there] is a clear sense of who counts as your kin, and it makes culture almost definition by oppositional. 'My' culture means ' not yours' ". Intersectionality of two cultures therefore breaks a singular culture categories and therefore oppression can be created by the two 'opposing' cultures. 

Since I'm a hybrid of western and Chinese culture, I do use forks and chopsticks for my utensil choices but if I were to do something different, would I be labeled as having another cultural influence? I believe there's a possibility because "Humans actively  produce and are produced by culture." (Wadham et al., 2007 p. 4). A clear example of this is the transforming 'culture' of young people today. Technology has been such a big impact to the generation, that new forms of activity are now being produced and normalised globally, such as planking.  New languages are being created, such as "Yolo". Would we call that a 'culture'? 

How does this affect education? It affects education because it's changing people and therefore changing how people interact and communicate. Teachers and students should be required to learn as much as possible about individuals within a classroom so that subjective assumptions can be eliminated. As Anonymous (January 25th 2012) posted "It's like being stuck in between two worlds and I don't really fit in either of them", perhaps in future there will be more support and understanding towards hybrid cultures in future generations.

·     *     Anonymous blogger. (September 24 2012). Being Bullied. Retrieved September 21st 2013, from http://help-stop-bullying.tumblr.com/post/32356912679/being-bullied

·       *   Anonymous blogger. (25th January 2013). Sometimes people just don't understand what it's like. Retrieved September 21st 2013, from http://dementeddementor.tumblr.com/post/16460809155/sometimes-people-just-dont-understand-what-its-like

·       *  Phillips, Anne (2006) What is 'culture'? In: Arneil, Barbara, Deveaux, Monique, Dhamoon, Rita and Eisenberg, Avigail, (eds.) Sexual justice / cultural justice. Routledge innovations in political theory . Routledge, pp. 15-29. ISBN 9780415770927

·    *      Wadham, B. Pudsey,J. & Boyd, R. (2007) Culture and education.  Sydney: Pearson Education. Chapter 1: What is culture? p. 1-32