By Pauline Haber
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Back to new Transitions - Re-Engagement Edition

Traditional schooling does not work - for a lot of people.  Many students suffer under a 'white' curriculum, 'white' ideals, 'white' inferences, 'white' rubrics and 'white' marking.  If one did not grow up anglo-saxon, it would be fair to say that one would be deemed poor within their schools intellectual economy. 

The privileged class do not struggle with a disability, language difficulties or geographic displacement. The wealthy class, need only be present in order to make the most of their schooling. The lower class suffer the shackels of intellectual poverty, in the forms of constant barriers between them and their rightful education. It is as if the knowledge of school is locked behind a door and if you qualify as anglo-australian your key will fit and you will be granted access. If you are not , you will have to mould your key in order to get through the door.

"... the key to engaging young people is to get them talking, pick topical issues, study what they are interested in. Ask them questions to light the fire. Spark up at their suggestions (take interest) and last but not least get naked ..."

School does not work for lots of people because it is not tailored for the cross section of students represented in schools. Textbooks are outdated representations of the white Australia policy, syllabus remains unchanged and motivation at an all time low (even the privileged class drop out).

So what to do? In order to support the intellectual economy I say we drop class sizes and increase student choice.

What does not work?

A teaching telling you how you should learn.

What works?

A teacher guiding you in the different ways you might choose to learn.

Its simple really, the syllabus should be stripped naked, down to the bare bones so that students can access learning outcomes but tie them to their own social and culturallly relevant experiences. Students should be able to engage in a truly critical curriculum one that questions notions of privelege or poverty within the classroom. One that accomodates the various needs of a class truly representative of your typical Australian School.

The naked syllabus should facillitate group learning as well as individual achievement. Varying forms of assesment should be adopted in order to accomodate the needs of a proudly diverse class. Further to this up to date relevant textbooks should include examples of diversity so that the students can see themselves and relate to their stimulus materials. Team learning should be encouraged in order to overcome the massive drop out rate. The team acts as a kind of glue making sure that all members stick together by attending and completing their schooling to the end.

Programs that do not work focus on individual learning alone, a sort of me against the world mentality. These replicate the school model that the young person was running from and they offer no social rewards, only punishments such as marks taken off when an assignment piece is handed in late. Further to this one must not forget that those who drop out of school also move into a job where they do not feel that they are making a valuable contribution. These jobs are dangerous, they may pay the bills but they cannot pay for a sense of belonging or achievement that a young person is looking for. These kinds of jobs not only rob from a young persons well-being they create a kind of emotional debt, that grows as each year passes by, eventually building into a slight depression.

Yet I digress, the key to engaging young people is to get them talking, pick topical issues, study what they are interested in. Ask them questions to light the fire. Spark up at their suggestions (take interest) and last but not least get naked, bring everyone back to the meaning it has personally to them.

About the Author

Pauline Haber is 23 and living out her "things to try before I die" list.  So far she has been published as an opinion writer for Actnow, had her poetry published in an ezine called onefifty and written a chapter in a senior Food Technology Textbook.  She has done promotions for the Australian Electoral Commission, sewed lounge covers for the 'Big Day Out' and worked for Apple.  Pauline will graduate this year from a combined teaching and design degree ... but as she puts it, "the world is wide and there are jobs out there I've yet to try."

Authors Note: This article is intended to only take aim at white texts which are biased, no racism, sexism or gender based discrimination is intended in any way. It is trusted you will read this in good humour as it was written.

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