school management
Continued from p17
For instance , a running race in which somebody started 50 metres further forward than somebody else , and the like . So they were provided with instructions or , if you like , demonstrations of the way that privilege can manifest .
What does the literature tell us already about these sorts of interventions with school children early on ? We know that unconscious bias has a demonstrative effect in society . It generates uneven access to things like jobs , rental properties , etc . Important , substantive urban resources are unevenly allocated in society because of unconscious bias , and we don ’ t need that , and it ’ s not intentional , so there ’ s no reason why it should occur .
If we can make people aware of that bias , then we are having a substantial and virtuous effect on our society . And it will be a more equal society as a consequence .
We know that probably only about 10 per cent of people deny that there ’ s racism in society , but a bigger number deny that there ’ s privilege . So about 22 per cent would disagree that there ’ s privilege for , say , white Australians , and about 37 per cent either agree or disagree . Which means in effect , a majority aren ’ t agreeing that there ’ s privilege in society . So we need to reduce those figures , and making people aware of unconscious biases is a way to do that .
What were your general thoughts about the findings , their strengths , the weaknesses , and the future implications for an intervention like this ? It ’ s been my view for a long time that the most effective ongoing anti-racism work that happens in Australia has been what occurs in schools . Teachers , principals and whole school communities have taken leading path-breaking roles in anti-racism , but much more needs to be done , and the schools are a great place in which to do it . They ’ ve got a track record of success , and I think it ’ s an optimum location to have an ongoing influence on community relations in Australia into the future .
We should remember the positives too , and the potential . Over 80 per cent of
Australians agree that they like meeting and getting to know people from different cultural backgrounds , so we need to enhance the capacity and find what opportunities we have for that .
This is not a new issue . Humankind has been dealing with how we manage difference for a long time , and we ’ ve been incredibly successful when you think about it . But too often we let small variations across humankind in appearance or dress or custom to be exaggerated , and for those small variations to become the base for assumed vast differences .
We need to be always on our guard to make sure that we are using difference in the way that it should be used , and that ’ s to celebrate variation and innovation and creativity . Marc Fennell : I watched the first episode today , and I was struck that the kids are so bloody smart . Insightful , I think , was a word used a few times in it , and they were exactly that for their age .
It ’ s a really strange experience because I ’ m a parent and I ’ ve got two kids , and then at the same time I ’ m a journalist and I ’ m stepping into worlds I don ’ t belong in , and asking people questions , and creating a space where people feel comfortable sharing their story with me is generally how I frame it .
But there ’ s something about the topic that did affect me as a kid , and race is an issue that is all encompassing within Australia , whether we like to admit it or not . It ’ s a fascinating experience where you have a little bit of skin in the game , but it ’ s still important to maintain a bit of distance . So that you can be objective about what ’ s unfolding in front of you .
It was unlike anything I ’ ve ever experienced . It really was . Because at all times , you ’ ve got the welfare of the kids at heart . This was done with the very enthusiastic consent of the parents and teachers and the department of education , but at the same time , when you are in the room with them and the teachers , you just want to make sure that they are taken care of . But at the same time , they are incredibly emotionally intelligent . They are really thinking at a level that I know adults struggle with , and to watch them kind of clarify ideas that adults struggle to clarify in private and public was actually very heartening .
Teachers , principals and whole school communities have taken leading path-breaking roles in anti-racism .
There is a moment of me standing in front of the kids in an assembly , and I break down a little bit , which is very unlike me , and it took me forever to work out why . In the moment , I couldn ’ t quite work out why I was having that reaction . It ’ s only been since , looking back at the footage and doing the voiceover , that I realised they now have a toolkit to talk about race and difference and how to navigate it that I never had , and other kids around me never had .
School is traumatising to everybody for different reasons , and I ’ m respectful of that . But I think about all of the different awful and awkward moments in my schooling time that could have been avoided if everybody in the class had this toolkit to talk about race and what makes us different .
I think about how different my life would have been , how different the lives of other people around me would ’ ve been . And I think that ’ s why it got to me . Because there ’ s real power in this .
At the beginning of the series , I used the phrase ‘ advance Australia fair ’. We ’ ve decided the word fair should be part of the DNA of being Australians , but actually how fair are we ? And I feel like everything about this program really comes down to that line from the national anthem .
How fair are we ? And if we ’ ve decided that there are gaps in our fairness , could a program like this make us more fair ? You ’ ll see for yourself as you work through the episodes that there ’ s some pretty striking results at the end of it . I would just come back to this idea that this program or elements of this program can make us a fairer nation .
But I think that ’ s the serious thing that departments of education and parents and teachers can look at . If we can become a fair nation through talking about this stuff earlier in a safe and secure environment for kids , I think it ’ s important that we take that idea seriously . The School That Tried to End Racism is available to watch on ABC iview . ■
educationreview . com . au | 25