- Aug 26, 2011
- 17,155
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lol, I knew I'd probably missed something along the line...
I've never even been to America so I have no idea what things are like over there.
I'm interested to hear though, what do you think the solution to this mess of a schools system is? I see you mentioned homeschooling and private schools. Only a part of the population could reasonably afford to send their kids to private schools (at least these days...), and they're not the disadvantaged families who would benefit as much as, if not more than, the others from sending their children to a place where they can have a structured learning environment, get an education (even a basic one) and see what they can do with their lives. So these guys would miss out, and the only option left to them then would be homeschooling, which given the parents' backgrounds (which resulted in them not being able to provide an expensive education for their children in the first place) probably wouldn't be too much of a success, because the parents couldn't do a good job of it. If schooling weren't available to them within reason, some of them wouldn't even bother. It's not the children's fault which family they were born into, or if their parents are irresponsible! They deserve a chance just like any other child - in a constructive environment at school a child born into poverty and one who wasn't can both be very successful. Sure, it's the responsibility of the parents and the children themselves, but sometimes they can't break the cycle without a hand up - could keep that child's descendants off the dole for generations to come. But if there weren't these chances everyone in that family would be doomed to ongoing illiteracy, poverty and exploitation by the people who know they don't have any other choice. So the poor get poorer and the rich get richer and don't care. Oh wait, isn't that what it was like in a lot of places a hundred or so years ago? I think they were into the family unit back then as well, and keeping schools segregated, and not respecting other cultures or people who were different so much.
I think I vote for progress
...Wow, the more I write the more certain I become that I have no idea what I'm talking about. I apologise in advance again if I said something that sounded stupid, or was stupid.
P.S. Diversity is great, and I think tolerance can be learned! Things have changed vastly in Australia over just the past few decades. There used to be the "white Australia policy", but after that was abolished in the 70s things changed, and now there are people from many different places here, working, living and studying alongside European immigrants. I think in this aspect Australia is setting a good example. The government's been promoting multiculturalism, and there are tens of clubs at my university open to all students, welcoming them to come along and learn about the culture and people of China, India, Germany, France, and so on. At least in my circles I've come across very little racial discrimination and other cultures are usually seen as deserving of respect, interesting and making a valuable contibution to the community. There are places where things aren't so successful (e.g. some of the poorer suburbs in Sydney inhabited by immigrants or settled refugees) and some people who sadly still believe in "white Australia", but these are a minority and I hope they remain as such and will be phased out as the thinking of new generations becomes predominant here.
I've never even been to America so I have no idea what things are like over there.
I'm interested to hear though, what do you think the solution to this mess of a schools system is? I see you mentioned homeschooling and private schools. Only a part of the population could reasonably afford to send their kids to private schools (at least these days...), and they're not the disadvantaged families who would benefit as much as, if not more than, the others from sending their children to a place where they can have a structured learning environment, get an education (even a basic one) and see what they can do with their lives. So these guys would miss out, and the only option left to them then would be homeschooling, which given the parents' backgrounds (which resulted in them not being able to provide an expensive education for their children in the first place) probably wouldn't be too much of a success, because the parents couldn't do a good job of it. If schooling weren't available to them within reason, some of them wouldn't even bother. It's not the children's fault which family they were born into, or if their parents are irresponsible! They deserve a chance just like any other child - in a constructive environment at school a child born into poverty and one who wasn't can both be very successful. Sure, it's the responsibility of the parents and the children themselves, but sometimes they can't break the cycle without a hand up - could keep that child's descendants off the dole for generations to come. But if there weren't these chances everyone in that family would be doomed to ongoing illiteracy, poverty and exploitation by the people who know they don't have any other choice. So the poor get poorer and the rich get richer and don't care. Oh wait, isn't that what it was like in a lot of places a hundred or so years ago? I think they were into the family unit back then as well, and keeping schools segregated, and not respecting other cultures or people who were different so much.
I think I vote for progress
...Wow, the more I write the more certain I become that I have no idea what I'm talking about. I apologise in advance again if I said something that sounded stupid, or was stupid.
P.S. Diversity is great, and I think tolerance can be learned! Things have changed vastly in Australia over just the past few decades. There used to be the "white Australia policy", but after that was abolished in the 70s things changed, and now there are people from many different places here, working, living and studying alongside European immigrants. I think in this aspect Australia is setting a good example. The government's been promoting multiculturalism, and there are tens of clubs at my university open to all students, welcoming them to come along and learn about the culture and people of China, India, Germany, France, and so on. At least in my circles I've come across very little racial discrimination and other cultures are usually seen as deserving of respect, interesting and making a valuable contibution to the community. There are places where things aren't so successful (e.g. some of the poorer suburbs in Sydney inhabited by immigrants or settled refugees) and some people who sadly still believe in "white Australia", but these are a minority and I hope they remain as such and will be phased out as the thinking of new generations becomes predominant here.
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