An article in the Herald Sun today by Kerry Cue on pg. 18 shows an essay by a year 8 student which will be included in a report about the lack of knowledge concerning Australian History to Federal, State and Territory Education Ministers.
Here's some quotes from the essay.
quote wrote:
"...Australia was discovered by Captain Hook when he was cursing about the ocean looking for trouble. He nearly crashed into the Great Barrier Wreath and said oops, I've just bumped into Australia. But he didn't saty long cos all the sailors suffered from a disease called swervy and indigestion."
"...When the convicts arrived and rowed ashore they snuk up and took Australia from the Aborigines cos the Aborigines were asleep. It was their dreamtime."
"...Someone named Flinders circumcised Australia in a boat."
"...Next in our history came the First World War. We have Anzac Day for the biscuits they ate in the war. But there was a real problem with Gallipoli, which is a type of pasta.
Next was the Depression. And everyone in Australia was depressed until the next war when they cheered up. Hitler fought everyone in the Second World War cos, like, he had a bad haircut."
And many Australians hiked the Kakodak Trail and took pictures."
breaksRbest wrote:
if it was true and the year 8 kid is really that un-educated, then at least we'll still have people to clean our toilets in the future
black star wrote:[They lost the battle if they got caught and had to be shiped over here.
I disagree
I reckon I would've been caught on purpose to get to Australia
As far as getting out of England, yep you're right.
But as far as fighting the anem in the name of King David III, no over throw of Babylon occured - just some dodgy links between the underworld and the coppers which haven't got much to do with Haile Salasse.
if australian histiry and the way it is taught wasnt so fucking boring it would bother me, i dont understand why its important to know more about your own counrty than someone elses. I hated australian history, its shit.
system wrote:I know a few people who suffer from "swervy" pretty regularly. It's good to see the Herald-Sun put a spotlight on this debilitating syndrome.
nic wrote:if australian histiry and the way it is taught wasnt so fucking boring it would bother me, i dont understand why its important to know more about your own counrty than someone elses. I hated australian history, its shit.
The stuff that they taught me was complete British cultural imperialism bullshit fuckin crap;
There was a land that was pretty much up for grabs, and then the poms came over and had it kinda rough and whinged a whole lot.
History bored me to tears.
I wanted to be a hero. I wanted to be the center of attention. I wanted the glory, I wanted the fame. I wanted the pretty girls to come up and say, "Hi, I see that you're good at Centipede."
It wasn't really until Uni that I learnt anything 'real' about Australian history. I seriously felt that secrets had been kept from me, and in uni i was let in on them all. Like "ok, you've stuck around, you've past the test, here's the REAL Australian history".
How many people know the name of our first prime minister?
What resources did Cook see in Australia that encouraged the Brit's to come back (2 main things)?
What colony was the first to give women the vote?
In what year was melbourne officially established (the city itself)?
Not hard questions, but how many kids could answer them?
Last edited by Ani on Tue Dec 05, 2006 4:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
- How do we repair past damage inflicted upon Australian culture by Ken Done?
- How many serial killers are born, on average, every year in South Australia?
- Gretel Killeen is
a. The reason Capital Punishment should be reintroduced
b. Actually a man
c. A secret biological weapon/ultimate contraceptive developed by ASIO and designed to stop anyone from ever being able to get a boner ever again
d. All of the above
I wanted to be a hero. I wanted to be the center of attention. I wanted the glory, I wanted the fame. I wanted the pretty girls to come up and say, "Hi, I see that you're good at Centipede."