Recently a popular childrens' author, Morris Gleitzman published a book in which he tells the story of a refugee child who arrives in Australia only to be sent to jail for not going through the proper channels of visa application. This has caused a lot of discussion of the place of politics in our education system because many teachers have decided to read this fascinating book to their students. As a future primary school teacher this subject fascinates me.
Personally I think it is impossible to separate politics from education. One of the primary functions of education is to teach young children that our society is valuable and fair and they should try to integrate into it. That's a very political stance in itself, but it can't be done without a lot of other political views too, many of which are considered apolitical but are actually anything but. My point is not that this is necessarily evil but we should be aware that any form of education teaches the values of the dominant culture, and we should try to not crush non-dominant cultures where possible.
One letter writer said he longed for a time when educators kept their politics out of the curriculum. This was my response....
I would like to ask Terry Birchley (Letters, July 6) when it was he thinks that educators kept their politics out of the curriculum. Was that when students learned about the justified colonisation of Australia by white British heroes? What about when students read "the classics" like Animal Farm, Huckleberry Finn and The Republic? Perhaps he's referring to when young women learned they weren't smart enough for maths, science or tertiary education? Or perhaps he's referring to when students learned that young people have no right to an informed political opinion or voice (oh hang on, that’s now isn’t it!).Terry, when did being conservative become apolitical?
This is a more mainstream version of my opinion on the matter but it suits the purpose.
Another letter writer claimed that we (left wingers) would complain if someone wrote a book for kids about asylum seekers (a more cynical term for people who haven't yet had their refugee status approved) who manipulate left wing idealists into fighting for them and who jump "queues" at the expense of other refugees. This was my response...
Paul Bickford (Letters, July 6), if you are capable of writing a book about cunning and manipulative detainees, I would certainly read it to students in my classroom, alongside Gleitzman's book. My students would then research Government and non-Government information about who is really in detention and they would be encouraged to discuss their opinions about what the truth is. I think many parents would be surprised to learn from their children that 90% of those in detention eventually have their refugee status approved by the Government.