My thoughts
on a world where peace wins and equality is possible have grown every year to
favour a leaning towards economic models that favour socialist values. This doesn’t
mean I’m any anarchist or hater of royals or communist or blindly lead schlep
on the back of the next most popular way to advertise a cause while doing a lot
of favours to social media outlets, news providers and the careers of famous
celebrities or the agendas of politicians. Today many children have decided to
strike in the interests of climate change. It’s not a popular response but I’m
not all that impressed. It puts me in the boat with some politicians and popular
shock jocks who hold views that don’t actually align all that much with me at
all in lots of other ways so it’s hard to come out and be truthful but I am because
it’s my right to speak my mind, even if not many people are listening.
I think the
children have good intentions. I think some of the leaders of that fight are
really super kids with a gusto for social responsibility and a fight for life
you want to see in teens. We have a major fight on our hands to save this
planet and most people are well meaning in their efforts. Being loud isn’t so
bad. A strike can be important in the demand for what is good and right. What I
find really sad and what I’m offended by with these children is their lack of
love for their schools and their teachers. I’ve known some wonderful teachers.
They hold a celebrity card in my heart. Some of them forever changed the course
of my life and were there as a constant safe place at times where grappling the
teenage experience felt overwhelming. I think the protest could have happened
during school holiday periods and been advertised widely by news outlets just
as effectively without disrupting the institution of education. I also think contrary
to popular thought and I will stand by this entirely, that active protest
should always involve a concrete participation in change, especially where
children are concerned. Could the children, especially those who were picked up
by popular celebrities (who are not professional psychologists or teachers)
have been encouraged to work with students to head up environmental projects in
their schools? Could these projects have been built into curriculum models. With
the massive conglomerate of media moguls and million dollar celebrities on the
back of these children and their story of striking for climate change (even
though they themselves are heavily attached to some of the worst environmental
strains such as their links to fast fashion, mining and the cattle industry just
to name a few) have poured money into
the school systems to run projects that link professionals in the school to
each other and school communities to work together in modelling environmental advocacy
. This would mean they are actually
doing something not just holding up a card which is a very easy option and one
which means you also miss out on lots of classes, which is a very attractive
idea for a child and very tempting. At a weekend protest (or lets just say a weekend or approved school day open to the media celebration) footage of such
projects could have been televised and promoted, teachers, principals and
students would feel part of the change. This kind of focus is of course hard to do given their are tight laws around school's not presenting political alignments so instead of the word "protest" perhaps a peaceful coming together of project based learning with an environmental focus, that was televised might have been really better than a one off stunt. Teachers cop a terrible time as it is.
The rate of pay compared with some other professions is relatively low
considering the seeds of tomorrow lie in their fingertips. Principals in Australian
schools are facing increased experiences of attack and harassment by parents
some of which have led to suicides. It’s a very serious issue. The idea of
promoting a disregard for educational settings can affect the public perception
of schools and teachers. It also will cost schools a lot of money. It’s not
costing the people who caused the issue anything! It’s actually making money
for them. It makes the students look silly. It makes the students look like
puppets to the rich and the famous of this world. I don’t like to see children
misrepresented. I don’t like to see teachers misrepresented either.
When I was
a teacher I would often be up till 2 in the morning on a regular basis planning
lessons, making materials and completing assessment of the children. Absences
cause a major disruption to that carefully planned process of providing for
children. It’s also fair to say that it also could have created a social divide
for children in those schools of parents either allowing the children to go or
stay, a sense of feeling left out at the event of their parent’s decisions. I’m
more into inclusion models. It also proves a safety risk for children and for
the schools who would find it very hard to monitor absences to make sure the
children were even in fact at the climate change rallies. That’s because, for
the most part, schools care about their kids so much.
I would
like to have seen both schools and children involved in investigative journalism
projects, visiting big business, meeting the heads of mining companies,
televising those, creating stories about what’s actually happening. I would like
to see more televised examples of children in their schools, whether they be
alternative settings or government schools or private schools sharing the ways
in which they are actively making a difference. Why might this not have
happened in favour of a huge rally? Have a think about that? Truth be told we
don’t have time for many many weeks of inactive protesting. We need to get
everyone down to the business of doing, so doubling up on doing and protesting
and working together with those who can educate and present the change is
vital.
When Jamie
Oliver brought in the healthy garden effect and school lunch program overhaul,
though it was closely linked to some commercial networks I don’t always feel
inclined too, it was at least part of a slow steady change that involved
schools, students teachers and the media working together. Sensationalism is
short lived and sometimes harder work that happens with consistency and sticking with project based community models
is effective. Community development models work and make everyone feel needed
and wanted. Its quite a transformative effect.
One has to be
very careful of where the Truman show is actually happening to them. I’ve never
been on that show. It can feel like being an outsider to step away from that
kind of world because those with the most power, most wealth exude popularity and
a chance to be well known. I’d rather be less well known and stay true to my
own weather channel that points me to where I know the right path is.
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