No sports for you. Sports and arts organisations have been told by the government not to hold sporting carnivals or festivals in remote areas to avoid distracting indigenous children from turning up to school. In a letter signed by Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion and Education Minister Christopher Pyne, sports and arts organisations as well as state and territory governments are told the measure is part of Closing the Gap between indigenous and non-indigenous school attendance by 2018. The letter says “it is important that school is not unintentionally undermined by other activities including sports carnivals, visiting celebrities, and festivals that can result in students being away from school for lengthy periods of time”. The letter also says that there are now clauses in funding agreements “to ensure that funded activities contribute to improving school attendance objectives and avoid adverse impacts upon school attendance”.
Nah, it’s got to be fake, a parody.
Has to be.
“Healthy mind in a healthy body’
https://www.health.qld.gov.au/health_professionals/childrens_health/hbhm.asp
This is so 1950’s. It is draconian and so Charles Dickenson. It also demonstrates a lack of knowing how education actually works. Reading, writing and maths can all be taught through the activities listed here.
Sports carnivals are not just fun and games. They teach children important physical, mental, emotional and social skills as well as promoting a healthy lifestyle – all important in developing well rounded Australian citizens. The right celebrities are also role models – positive significant others play an important part in getting children to think beyond their immediate circumstances. How else will they know that there are all sorts of possibilities for them to tap into in the future. This is especially important for the young boys as they are looking for male role models within their families and communities and outside in the wider world – they need to be exposed to positive role models and not negative ones. We hear continually how sport is one of a key component of an Australian identity – look at schools elsewhere that devote much time and money to their sports programmes. Why is this different for community schools?
In terms of festivals, so communities cannot celebrate cultural days, NAIDOC etc – all important in maintaining cultural practices and pride. Doesn’t Australia have Harmody Day, Australia Day, ANZAC and other western festivities that are celebrated?
Besides all the above, why can’t education be fun? We want Aboriginal children to come to school because they will learn, have fun, socialise and so on. The model they are espousing is one that is based on children sitting in single file behind desks throughout the school day, clutching their quills and inkwells, listening to the teacher and watching them write on the blackboard with chalk. It is out-dated and teachers and educators will struggle justifying such a model (and they will find it a boring model to teach so that will impact on the quality of their teaching and whether or not they would want to go and teach in community schools).
There is so much more that is wrong with this. It is a glass half full approach – works from the deficit model and is not built on good up-to-date teaching philosophy and principles. It is a punishment type approach that doesn’t take into consideration children’s natural inclination to do things physically and does not allow teachers to tap into Aboriginal children’s natural physical abilities. A child’s concentration span is pretty short so not having a mixed teaching programme goes against what is known about how children learn best. Missed teaching opportunities with this approach.
Of course there needs to be a balance but this decision about balance should be vested in principals who are tasked with ensuring the school programme is balanced. This letter takes that power away from principals by adopting a parenting style that says ‘you haven’t managed this so will tell you how it should be done’. Will that work?
Now Aboriginal children are being prevented from leaving their communities for educational excursions because they are not able to read and write – they are being kept restricted to their communities. Doesn’t this sound like the 1905 Aborigines Act?
This would make a terrific research project with a published paper to spread the word about how it is a bad move.
As a former high school teacher I have always held the view that physical education is an integral part of education. And this includes competition events and festivals.
(1) This policy should be compared to the government grants spent on sports facilities and programs for the Australian schools that cater principally to the elite.
(2) On the other hand, if the anti-sport policy sentiments were extended to the elite schools, perhaps the next crop that is destined to run the country might be less like footy and cricket jocks, and more like properly educated people.
Of course these kids shouldn’t be involved in sports carnivals…they should be in the cadets!