Sharing our Australian Stories

Sevenoaks Senior College, Western Australia

By Joan Reimers, Teacher

Background

Year 11 Political and Legal Studies students were successful in obtaining a Celebrating Democracy Week 2006 School Grant. The proposed activity was 'Sharing our Australian Stories'. Our students come from a range of cultural backgrounds, and many have come to Australia in the past five years. For this reason, there is a need to contextualise Australian values and extend their understanding of how democracy functions in Australia.  

Aims of the event

The aim of the week’s activities was to encourage students to examine their values and to consider what constitutes 'Australian values'. Following the activities, the students were to engage in discussion and write a report comparing 'Olden-day values' with the values of contemporary Australia.

Students were required to examine whether values had changed when compared to those of today’s teenagers. The invited guests provided primary information and students were allowed the opportunity to receive first-hand knowledge of the past.

Event preparation

Our students were required to interview senior citizens regarding their perception of democracy. The people approached included individuals and representatives of groups such as the Australian Flag Association.

All people contacted by students were invited to the school to discuss their ideas with our students. The format of these discussions ranged from formal presentations to informal 'chats' with the older people.

The guest speakers were contacted and meetings arranged to ensure that a range of views would be shared. These presentations were conducted at the school, with only the speakers coming from the outside community.

Implementation of the event

Our activities commenced with Mr Alan Downes from the Australian Flag Association visiting the school. Mr Downes discussed many issues, including the Australian flag, dual citizenship, values, respect and what it meant to be Australian.  

The following week we had four invited guests – Mrs Craig, Mrs Burrows and Mr and Mrs Tanner – who were invited by members of the student group. Mrs Craig shared her life’s experiences, growing up as a young girl in the 1960s. Mrs Craig is an adventurous lady with the belief that 'strong will and determination is the key to success'…' and that '…anything can be achieved through determination'.  Mrs Craig gave the students some very positive ideas on what life could bring if you were prepared to give it a go!

Mr and Mrs Tanner were former farmers, and had been married for 60 years. Both believed in hard work, compassion and dealing with problems without bearing grudges. The Tanners proved to be excellent guests, sharing their personal life and offering insight into what they believed was missing in today’s society. Mrs Tanner thought the biggest change today was that people were not as friendly.

Our final guest speaker was Mrs Burrows. Mrs Burrows informal presentation allowed the students to ask many questions about her life. Mrs Burrows shared the same views and values as all the previous speakers.

Student outcomes and evaluation

The students’ reports all reflected considerable thought about the issues presented. Feedback was received on an anecdotal basis, as the small class sizes enabled students to speak freely.

Feedback

The visitors to the school all commented on how delighted they were to be invited, as older people were often 'invisible' in the community. They noted how respectful the students were and that their own perceptions of young people had altered as a result of the interaction. The students were equally delighted to have hosted their visitors and took care to ensure that they were comfortable.

Students commented that their visitors said 'a lot of meaningful things' that they had not paid much attention to previously. They believed that the visits made them think and question things that they had taken for granted.

Conclusion

The outcome of the visits led many students to reflect on how different their lives were today. An appreciation by the students of the stories that were shared and a comparison of values showed that respect, care, compassion, freedom, and doing your best are values that are associated with being Australian.