13/02/2008
ABOUT BEING AUSTRALIAN
ABOUT BEING AUSTRALIAN
Finally, a Prime Minister and his government who have found the intestinal fortitude to stand up tall and look at the ENTIRE Australian population in the eye...
and managed to say, loud and clear, SORRY!
An emotional moment that will go down in our history that's for sure.
This has been a very long time coming. It doesn't wipe away the years of suffering and disgrace - the lost families and the hardships....
It does turn the page and hopefully closes the book on the last 220 years of shameful Australian history in regards to the indigenous population of this great land!
Long live the DREAMTIME !
We should replace Australia Day - the 26th of January with the 13th of February -
the new and true *****AUSTRALIA DAY****
Take a look at the ceremony and hear the PM, Kevin Rudd, speak....>>>>>
The full-text of Mr. Rudd's speech...>>>>>
And a follow up on the speech by Mr Brenden Nelson, leader of the opposition...>>>>>>
There are many out there who don't agree with this apology. They recount the amount of money given, the provision of 'free' housing and services and the money given in compensation.....the degradation of a culture which is so ancient by the newbies of this world cannot be justified by giving money and things.....a mere bandaid to salve the conscience of those who would turn a blind-eye...
There are millions of people suffering on this planet - lack of food and water, our basic rights as human beings, lack of housing, lack of education, war, brutality... the list is endless.
Here is a starting poing for us in Australia... saying 'sorry'..!
Actions will speak louder than words.... let us see what comes of this!
09:03 Posted in EVENTS | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
06/03/2007
Another school bites the dust!
The events of early June 2006 at my daughter's school were shocking, to say the least.
Now CSI can join the ranks of the other infamous schools for violence...
It has always been a safe school, well, within it's walls at least. There have been many events over the last year outside it's walls where kids have been attacked and robbed. The 7th arrondisement is not making a good name for itself at all!
The one thing I like about the CSI is that around 70% or so of the kids there are either foreigners or are returning French expats.
Walking through the school one hears so many languages - but the nice think is that the common language is French.
No one feels different or foreign as a result. It feels good. Of course there is still the French educational system - this is a French government school afterall - oh well, I guess you can't have everything!.
The result of the French educational system can be seen in the results of yesterday's events.
The boy in question was Cuban. He was told that he would have to repeat the year because his grades were not good enough to let him pass into the next year! At 16 years of age this is a huge slap in the face. What about remedial teaching, I hear you ask! Hasn't been invented here yet! You just fail and repeat until you get it right or you are too old to continue! Or your parents have lots of money and can send you to one of the numerous and succesful tutoring schools!. And that's only if you are given enough warning that you child is failing. Communication is definitely not a strong point anywhere here!
Why is the French education system so poor that kids are still failing at the age of 16 one wonders?
The Anglophone education systems around the world are certainly not infallible - they do produce kids who still have problems reading and writing when they leave school - but I don't think that it produces as many psychologically tormented kids!
If you compare the French system with any Anglophone system you will find that, in the end, each produces its fair share of doctors, dentists, scientists, marketing experts etc etc etc.
The difference is, that in France, you go to school from around 8:00am (lycee) to 5:30pm (or something like that -depending on the school you go to). If you don't manage to repeat somewhere along the line then that's incredible - it's all part of they 'system'. You will be yelled at and told that you are stupid. You will have you marks announced to all the class and with it a suitable comment from you teacher! Kids being kids, you can expect that your child will then have to suffer the humiliation outside in the playground from his or her peers!
When you finally make it through school you then need to do another 1 or 2 years prepatory school before you can get into University or a special senior college. Then you can expect that any degree you do will take you at least 5-6 or 7 years! In the Anglophone world you go to university directly from high school then you do your degree - usually 4 years or a diploma, 3 years. And, voila, you have a young person ready to be trained in the real world at the age of 23 or 24 whereas, in France, you can expect to be looking for that same job at 27! And, of course, you expect the highest salary and conditions - you are 27 afterall - no matter that you have no experience!
Hmmm, let me see, which would I prefer.......! ;-)
08:55 Posted in EVENTS | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this