Reflective Journal
EDUC2420
Student name: Joanna Bogulewska
Student ID: 2062072
Tutor: Faye Rosas Blanch
Tutorial: Wed 8.00 am
As a future educator in Australia, or anywhere on Earth, it is hard NOT to
think about the importance of addressing issues of racism. How many of us
have stated that 'I'm not a racist'? What does that mean? How one will
know whether they are or not a racist? How does one in Australia see
oneself as citizen on ONE RACE NATION? Only in a last decade or so I came
to the realisation how really privilege /sheltered my early life was and still.
For me it started back in Poland, in Krakow where I was born. There I learnt
the National language/dialect. I did not have to learn any other dialects,
because there was no need for it. Everybody in Poland speaks Cracow
dialect. Even though I feel like a Gypsy (due to my disconnected life style),
I grew up feeling the pride and love for the city, which used to be the
capital city. Krakow has the second in the world university, rich history,
magnificent architecture, was/is well known and respected by many, even
though it has changed ‘hands’ through the Centuries. In order to
understand Indigenous people’s history and culture one must dig deep and
go through their journey.
During the lecture Professor Tracey A Bunda presented to us a story of
Indigenous people ways of living, culture and traditions, the invasion of their
land and the after effects of which many of us were not aware of. In the
lecture room was only a ‘few’ that heard Bunda’s voice, heard the voice of
the Indigenous people, but in order to create a shift from what used to be
and provide grounds for the ONE TRUE NATION, all citizens of Australia need
to hear Indigenous people story. Listening to Tracey, what I almost envied
or rather wished for the feeling of passion, connectedness to the land and
the community Indigenous people feel. I believe that in the Western
cultures we have forgotten the importance of maintaining the social
identities with its rich cultures in the true meaning of these words.
White people came to this land believing that because they were Adam
and Eve descendants, with the monogenesis and polygenesis views on the
World (Bunda, 2011), they were not even conscious of that they came and
took that did not belong to them. Jenny Tannoch-Bland in [recoznet2]
“White race privilege” (2000) highlights an ongoing debates“…through
talking about white race privilege”. She speaks of “the systemic or
systematic oppression of one race by another…, [r]acism is seen as a
problem for Indigenous people - but not for white Australians … we don't
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connect white advantage - unearned advantage - with racism. We don't
think of racism in terms of our white race privilege. We think our lives are not
affected by racism….” I agree with Tannoch-Bland that majority of
Australians not conscious of it and that this issues are invisible to majority of
us and that the division of privileges between white and Indigenous people
still occurs on a daily basis. Going through the privileges listed by TannochBland is an enormous eye open and heeling ingredient for the process of
reconciliation.
Smith (2000), the Indigenous Education Adviser to schools in Victoria and
Tasmania points the importance of teaching of “[r]econciling the truth of
both’ black ‘and ‘white ‘histories of this country is an inextricable part of the
journey towards reconciliation between the wider Australian population
and Indigenous Australians” and that as educators we are playing “a
pivotal role in this process”. Learning and creating connections and
implementing “Indigenous experiences into the teaching of Australian
history” (SMITH, 2000) and other humanities subjects will provide fundaments
not only for “balance[ing] the picture to include all Australians, (not only to)
provide the context for informed discussion of issues of land, justice and
equity that must be resolved locally and nationally if reconciliation is to be
achieved” (Smith, 2000), but also most importantly it will provide grands to
build ONE RACE selfhood. According to Mead (Mead 1974, cited in ELLIOTT
2007) social nature develops of one self’s sense of “selfhood (can be
achieved) through the engagement with other selves”. Mead also
believed that every individual does learn and communicate by the use of
symbols. Those symbols could be anything from “parent, sibling,” object,
language, land and Mead highlights that “without access to the language
there is no access to the symbols” (ELLIOTT, 2007, pg.31).
I believe that many in Western World culture we came to use many words
without attaching the true meaning to it. Saying ‘SORRY’ is one of them. I
believe that when one wants to apologise to another, one must do it whole
heartedly by saying it ‘I am sorry, what can I do to make it better?’ and
follow it through, being ready to do anything that is going to be asked for.
Reference:
Bunda, T.A., 2011, lecture notes
Tannoch-Bland, J., 2000, [recoznet2] white race privilege, Identifying
white race privilege, viewed 05 August 2011, <http://www.mailarchive.com/recoznet2@paradigm4.com.au/msg02617.html>.
Smith, S., 2000, Five Steps to Educate for Justice, Truth and
Reconciliation in your school, (PDF), viewed 05 August 2011,
<http://www.vasst.asn.au/pubs/docs/ethos7_2/7_2_5steps.pdf>.
Mead, G. H., 1934, Mind, Self and Society, University of Chicago Press,
Chicago cited in Elliott, A., 2007, Concept of the self, 2nd edn, Polity
Press, Cambridge UK.
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