that it might be good fun to spend a year in a place that needs a bit of help. I said I'd ask you what she should do about it."
The mother in front of me is someone I do not know well. I know one of her neighbours, an older woman with a great deal more sense. I rather suspect that it is Dorothy who has suggested they talk to me. Dorothy is a very practical person, a widow of many years. Dorothy is rarely home in her small unit. When she stopped paid employment she went over to Meals on Wheels, the women's group at her church, her local charity shop, a book group at the library, and any number of other things. Dorothy does not talk about these things. She just does them. "I like to be busy and it's good to be useful" will be written into the trees Dorothy wants planted when she dies.
Dorothy knows as well as I do that starry-eyed 18 yr old girls with no skills to speak of and who come from comfortable middle-class homes do not make good aid workers. Most people do not make good aid workers, even those who stay the required length of time. If you want to do aid work you have to be able to put in far more than you take out.
"What sort of aid work?" I ask.
"I don't know...helping in a refugee camp or something?"
I think of my friend Claire in Zambia and wonder if this 18yr old would last a day with her. I doubt it. It is not an option anyway. Claire's organisation only takes local workers. It is simply too dangerous for anyone else.
"Or maybe she could do some teaching?"
Er, no. You do actually need to be trained for that. I say this as kindly as I can. She does not look convinced.
Then I say, "You know aid work is not fun. It is often very dangerous. It is very, very hard work. Living conditions are likely to be lousy. The food is likely to be appalling. "
"Oh, it's not all like that! You can go to places like the Pacific. We went to Fiji for a holiday. It was perfectly safe."
I want to point out that a tourist resort in Fiji is not like Samoa after a hurricane. Instead I say,
"Well, ask Katie to contact me and we will have a talk about it."
I wonder if Katie will.
Wednesday, 31 March 2010
Tuesday, 30 March 2010
So, how many languages do you speak?
Apparently the number of students doing a language at Year 11 level has dropped yet again, this time even more dramatically than before.
The powers that be have only themselves to blame. The new SACE (South Australian Certificate of Education) requires one less subject. There is "greater flexibility" of subject choice.
Good students will be encouraged to do what are known as "the suicidal five", English, a double unit of mathematics, physics, chemistry and another science. It is a subject choice aimed at turning out scientists. A language is not likely to be the fifth choice.
Part of the problem has to be the languages which are taught. My nephews attended a school where Chinese is compulsory. This is in keeping with the government policy that schools should teach languages like Chinese, Japanese and Indonesian "because we live in the Asian region".
My nephews, like many other Australian children, have grandparents who do not speak English as a first language. These grandparents however do not speak Chinese, Japanese or Indonesian. They speak Greek.
At the end of year 10, when my nephews were able to choose subjects, they simply stopped doing Chinese. They have almost completely forgotten all they were taught.
If their grandparents speak to them in Greek, as they sometimes do, they can usually understand but they will almost always reply in a mixture of Greek and English. As their own father will also use a mixture of Greek and English with his parents this is not surprising. My nephews cannot read or write Greek but they do know more Greek than Chinese.
Government policy however dictates we teach "Asian languages". Learning them is said to take many more hours than it takes to reach the same level of (in)competence in an European language but we only devote the same number of classroom hours.
I did three years of Latin at school. It was an additional subject and I had to do it by correspondence lessons. No languages were taught at all in the rural schools I attended. Everything else I know about languages other than English I have taught myself. My working life involves many other languages. I have managed to learn about these things because I need them. My nephews have managed to learn some Greek for the same reason.
Is our failure to successfully teach Asian languages something to do with the fact that we do not see a need for them? Does it mean that when young Australians are asked by their Asian and European counterparts, "So, how many languages do you speak?", that the answer will be "Only one."?
The powers that be have only themselves to blame. The new SACE (South Australian Certificate of Education) requires one less subject. There is "greater flexibility" of subject choice.
Good students will be encouraged to do what are known as "the suicidal five", English, a double unit of mathematics, physics, chemistry and another science. It is a subject choice aimed at turning out scientists. A language is not likely to be the fifth choice.
Part of the problem has to be the languages which are taught. My nephews attended a school where Chinese is compulsory. This is in keeping with the government policy that schools should teach languages like Chinese, Japanese and Indonesian "because we live in the Asian region".
My nephews, like many other Australian children, have grandparents who do not speak English as a first language. These grandparents however do not speak Chinese, Japanese or Indonesian. They speak Greek.
At the end of year 10, when my nephews were able to choose subjects, they simply stopped doing Chinese. They have almost completely forgotten all they were taught.
If their grandparents speak to them in Greek, as they sometimes do, they can usually understand but they will almost always reply in a mixture of Greek and English. As their own father will also use a mixture of Greek and English with his parents this is not surprising. My nephews cannot read or write Greek but they do know more Greek than Chinese.
Government policy however dictates we teach "Asian languages". Learning them is said to take many more hours than it takes to reach the same level of (in)competence in an European language but we only devote the same number of classroom hours.
I did three years of Latin at school. It was an additional subject and I had to do it by correspondence lessons. No languages were taught at all in the rural schools I attended. Everything else I know about languages other than English I have taught myself. My working life involves many other languages. I have managed to learn about these things because I need them. My nephews have managed to learn some Greek for the same reason.
Is our failure to successfully teach Asian languages something to do with the fact that we do not see a need for them? Does it mean that when young Australians are asked by their Asian and European counterparts, "So, how many languages do you speak?", that the answer will be "Only one."?
Monday, 29 March 2010
The mystery of the multiple votes
may never be solved.
I am still puzzling over the headlines in the 'Tiser on Saturday. These suggested that one family had managed to vote 159 times. (The information apparently went in an anonymous letter to the Electoral Commission.)
My first reaction was that I had the date wrong. It was already April 1st. It was not. My second reaction was that the journalist meant something else. I read the article. He did not. My third reaction was that this would not be possible. It had to be a hoax.
I am now less sure it is a hoax. I put the question of how it might be done to a couple of politically savvy teenagers. (They belong to the youth wing of a political party.)
"Easy," they assured me and proceeeded to explain.
I will not be irresponsible enough to provide their explanation here. I do not agree that it would be easy. Possible? Yes.
The whole thing of course swings around the fact that you do not need ID to vote. You just turn up and vote. It is a major flaw in the electoral system. Although not stated the Easy Voting Cards provided at this election were perhaps intended to try and reduce the problem. If so, they failed dismally because the cards were not taken from the voters. I saw one lying on the ground outside the polling booth I attended. Later I saw two more outside the library. I disposed of all three in the nearest rubbish containers. Had I been criminally minded (and brave enough) I could perhaps have attempted to use them again...and again.
I was discussing this with Ms Whirlwind's father. There is likely to be more than one inquiry into the conduct of the election. It will keep the Electoral Commission, the Crown Solicitor's Office and others busy for quite a while. Whether the final outcome was influenced or not the election results have been tainted. The Opposition may well be the real winners in the end.
Ms Whirlwind however was puzzled. "Why would anyone want to vote more than once?" Her father explained. "But that's not fair. What if you got more votes than anyone else?" It's a good question.
I am still puzzling over the headlines in the 'Tiser on Saturday. These suggested that one family had managed to vote 159 times. (The information apparently went in an anonymous letter to the Electoral Commission.)
My first reaction was that I had the date wrong. It was already April 1st. It was not. My second reaction was that the journalist meant something else. I read the article. He did not. My third reaction was that this would not be possible. It had to be a hoax.
I am now less sure it is a hoax. I put the question of how it might be done to a couple of politically savvy teenagers. (They belong to the youth wing of a political party.)
"Easy," they assured me and proceeeded to explain.
I will not be irresponsible enough to provide their explanation here. I do not agree that it would be easy. Possible? Yes.
The whole thing of course swings around the fact that you do not need ID to vote. You just turn up and vote. It is a major flaw in the electoral system. Although not stated the Easy Voting Cards provided at this election were perhaps intended to try and reduce the problem. If so, they failed dismally because the cards were not taken from the voters. I saw one lying on the ground outside the polling booth I attended. Later I saw two more outside the library. I disposed of all three in the nearest rubbish containers. Had I been criminally minded (and brave enough) I could perhaps have attempted to use them again...and again.
I was discussing this with Ms Whirlwind's father. There is likely to be more than one inquiry into the conduct of the election. It will keep the Electoral Commission, the Crown Solicitor's Office and others busy for quite a while. Whether the final outcome was influenced or not the election results have been tainted. The Opposition may well be the real winners in the end.
Ms Whirlwind however was puzzled. "Why would anyone want to vote more than once?" Her father explained. "But that's not fair. What if you got more votes than anyone else?" It's a good question.
Sunday, 28 March 2010
Having a conversation with a baby
is not, to my mind, a matter of talking nonsense to them. Babies require serious respect. They know and understand far more than we give them credit for. Three babies make for very serious conversation indeed, especially when the twins are six weeks older than their friend. Yesterday's visit was fraught with diplomatic difficulties. There were three VIPs all demanding an equal share of the available attention. Fortunately an audience of eight adults made matters a little easier.
The twins are the result of IVF treatment and therefore not identical. It is easy, even at this age to tell them apart. This is just as well. They do know their own names. At seven and a half months they are hitching themselves around. Be careful where you place your feet. Yes, shoe-laces (mine) are interesting but it is better not to chew them. Sit on the floor so we can talk to you? Certainly.
We get down to really serious conversation then. We talk about pink (the colour of their leggings) and the flowers on their tops. A toy is presented. We talk about faces, hair, ears, and the green tongue on the strange purple animal.
The six month old friend reaches out for the strange animal. The twins look at each other and both hold on. It is ours. Yes, it is yours but could she hold it for just a moment? They look at one another again -and pass it over. The threatened tears disappear as quickly as they arrived. Do you want something else to talk about?
Their mother holds up two more soft toys. They both look at the one in her left hand so she passes it over to me and I hand it on. We go back to serious conversation about colour, size and other matters. Milk time arrives. I suggest to the six month old that she returns the toy she has been exploring. She exchanges it happily enough for the offer of her mother's breast. The twins pass their toys over to me and look hopefully at their mother. Lunchtime milk is a bottle because she cannot produce enough milk to breast feed them all the time. They lie on the floor and their mother supervises the bottles but they keep eyeing me off. They seem to be saying something.
Yes, of course we will get back to conversation after lunch...if you two can stay awake!
The twins are the result of IVF treatment and therefore not identical. It is easy, even at this age to tell them apart. This is just as well. They do know their own names. At seven and a half months they are hitching themselves around. Be careful where you place your feet. Yes, shoe-laces (mine) are interesting but it is better not to chew them. Sit on the floor so we can talk to you? Certainly.
We get down to really serious conversation then. We talk about pink (the colour of their leggings) and the flowers on their tops. A toy is presented. We talk about faces, hair, ears, and the green tongue on the strange purple animal.
The six month old friend reaches out for the strange animal. The twins look at each other and both hold on. It is ours. Yes, it is yours but could she hold it for just a moment? They look at one another again -and pass it over. The threatened tears disappear as quickly as they arrived. Do you want something else to talk about?
Their mother holds up two more soft toys. They both look at the one in her left hand so she passes it over to me and I hand it on. We go back to serious conversation about colour, size and other matters. Milk time arrives. I suggest to the six month old that she returns the toy she has been exploring. She exchanges it happily enough for the offer of her mother's breast. The twins pass their toys over to me and look hopefully at their mother. Lunchtime milk is a bottle because she cannot produce enough milk to breast feed them all the time. They lie on the floor and their mother supervises the bottles but they keep eyeing me off. They seem to be saying something.
Yes, of course we will get back to conversation after lunch...if you two can stay awake!
Saturday, 27 March 2010
Our Chinese neighbours are
nice people. They are not particularly noisy. They smile at us. We smile at them. We talk to the husband, whose spoken English is excellent. We try to talk to his wife who, having come here a few short years ago, speaks less English and is rather shy.
Occasionally when the husband is talking to us he will hesitate for a word or ask how something should be said. This rarely happens. His spoken English is good enough for him to be an interpreter at the hospital and in the courts.
His written English is another story altogether. He writes very, very formally and awkwardly. When he has to write something to someone in authority he will write something down and then come in and ask for help. I make corrections and explain why I am making them. He goes away and, presumably, rewrites the corrected letter and sends it off.
It was yesterday's letter that alerted me to the fact that, not unexpectedly, he owns property elsewhere. The council in that area wants to grant planning permission for a brothel near the property he owns. He is incensed. He was even more incensed to discover that licensed brothels are legal in that state. They are not legal in this state. I had to explain this unsavoury fact and the fact that the law is not the same for any number of things right across Australia. We have a mere twenty-three million people - about the same as New York state - and we have more legal jurisdictions than I can count on one hand. It makes a lot of work for lawyers.
He gives me the letter he has written. I read it and make some further suggestions that will strengthen his arguments, including one with respect to the dangers to the young girls in the family which rents the property. We put them into the letter. We go through it all sentence by sentence. I do not hold out a lot of hope his objections will be given much consideration. There are other complaints going in from other residents. It will make more work for lawyers.
Occasionally when the husband is talking to us he will hesitate for a word or ask how something should be said. This rarely happens. His spoken English is good enough for him to be an interpreter at the hospital and in the courts.
His written English is another story altogether. He writes very, very formally and awkwardly. When he has to write something to someone in authority he will write something down and then come in and ask for help. I make corrections and explain why I am making them. He goes away and, presumably, rewrites the corrected letter and sends it off.
It was yesterday's letter that alerted me to the fact that, not unexpectedly, he owns property elsewhere. The council in that area wants to grant planning permission for a brothel near the property he owns. He is incensed. He was even more incensed to discover that licensed brothels are legal in that state. They are not legal in this state. I had to explain this unsavoury fact and the fact that the law is not the same for any number of things right across Australia. We have a mere twenty-three million people - about the same as New York state - and we have more legal jurisdictions than I can count on one hand. It makes a lot of work for lawyers.
He gives me the letter he has written. I read it and make some further suggestions that will strengthen his arguments, including one with respect to the dangers to the young girls in the family which rents the property. We put them into the letter. We go through it all sentence by sentence. I do not hold out a lot of hope his objections will be given much consideration. There are other complaints going in from other residents. It will make more work for lawyers.
Friday, 26 March 2010
The Knit-gang is getting together
on Saturday. It has been a while. We normally meet once over the summer but it did not happen this year. The oldest member of the group (85) was in hospital with a cracked vertebrae in her neck. The youngest member of the group (27) was still getting used to life with twin girls in the house.
This little group began by accident. A couple of people got together one day. The next time they met a couple of other people joined them. The group somehow doubled in size. I was invited at that point. One of the first people left the group, another went back to her country of origin. (We still miss her although it has been several years now.) We do not meet on a regular basis - just a few times a year when our busy schedules allow.
Four members of the group are 'retired' but they lead busy lives helping others. The rest of us work - the mother of the twins works part time from home. All we have in common is an interest in knitting. I am now the only member of the group with a university degree but another has secretarial skills of the highest level. Only one member of the group does not have English as her mother tongue although four are migrants. Our political and religious beliefs are diverse. Our musical and artistic tastes are even more diverse.
People wonder what makes us come together. Why do we get on so well?
I think the answer to that is that we do have shared values. We believe in the value of creativity. We all have different skills and different abilities. We do not mind sharing these with each other.
We do share common interests in food - of the everday, feed the family on a budget kind - and in knitting - which ranges from the ultra fine to the heavy duty. (My father has socks that one member of the group knits for him - earnest, serious grey socks that he loves to wear.)
When the 85 yr old was in hospital we all but one of us went to visit. When the 27yr old had her twins we all but one of us gave the babies small gifts for the future. We have met in the homes of all but one of us. It is always the same one.
But, apart from that one, we are - despite all our differences - there for each other. We have somehow knitted ourselves together.
This little group began by accident. A couple of people got together one day. The next time they met a couple of other people joined them. The group somehow doubled in size. I was invited at that point. One of the first people left the group, another went back to her country of origin. (We still miss her although it has been several years now.) We do not meet on a regular basis - just a few times a year when our busy schedules allow.
Four members of the group are 'retired' but they lead busy lives helping others. The rest of us work - the mother of the twins works part time from home. All we have in common is an interest in knitting. I am now the only member of the group with a university degree but another has secretarial skills of the highest level. Only one member of the group does not have English as her mother tongue although four are migrants. Our political and religious beliefs are diverse. Our musical and artistic tastes are even more diverse.
People wonder what makes us come together. Why do we get on so well?
I think the answer to that is that we do have shared values. We believe in the value of creativity. We all have different skills and different abilities. We do not mind sharing these with each other.
We do share common interests in food - of the everday, feed the family on a budget kind - and in knitting - which ranges from the ultra fine to the heavy duty. (My father has socks that one member of the group knits for him - earnest, serious grey socks that he loves to wear.)
When the 85 yr old was in hospital we all but one of us went to visit. When the 27yr old had her twins we all but one of us gave the babies small gifts for the future. We have met in the homes of all but one of us. It is always the same one.
But, apart from that one, we are - despite all our differences - there for each other. We have somehow knitted ourselves together.
Thursday, 25 March 2010
I am somewhat puzzled
by the Professor's comments this morning. Dean Jaensch is Professor of Politics at Flinders University. He is a knowledgeable man and I have, over the years, managed to learn a good deal from his regular column in the 'Tiser - as our state newspaper is sometimes known.
This morning he has written about the conduct of the election. In it he mentions the "constitutional guarantee of one person, one vote, one value". I have to disagree.
It should be the case but, while we are entitled to vote and each person is given one vote, that vote does not have equal value. This is because, in order to have a valid vote, we are compelled to vote in order of preference. Put simply, some candidates get two bites at the cherry - and they steal the second bite, or even a third, fourth or fifth bite. It depends on how many candidates there are on the ballot paper.
Say there are three candidates on the ballot - A, B and C. The voter votes for A because s/he violently disagrees with B and C. But, A is a minor party candidate and gets 10% of the vote. In order for the vote to be valid however the voter has been forced to 'preference' B and C. The vote they have given A is given to B or C despite the voter not wishing to vote for either B or C.
I imagine that this was a dilemma for thinking voters from minor parties. Major party voters do not have this problem - and perhaps that is precisely what the system is designed to do.
The problem increases with the number of candidates and when there are 74 candidates as there were in the Upper House Elections there is the quite ridiculous situation of candidates who are diametrically opposed potentially benefitting from the votes of the other side as the preferences flow on up the line.
Whatever we may think of the system I do not believe the good Professor is right to say that one vote has one value...it clearly has many values indeed.
This morning he has written about the conduct of the election. In it he mentions the "constitutional guarantee of one person, one vote, one value". I have to disagree.
It should be the case but, while we are entitled to vote and each person is given one vote, that vote does not have equal value. This is because, in order to have a valid vote, we are compelled to vote in order of preference. Put simply, some candidates get two bites at the cherry - and they steal the second bite, or even a third, fourth or fifth bite. It depends on how many candidates there are on the ballot paper.
Say there are three candidates on the ballot - A, B and C. The voter votes for A because s/he violently disagrees with B and C. But, A is a minor party candidate and gets 10% of the vote. In order for the vote to be valid however the voter has been forced to 'preference' B and C. The vote they have given A is given to B or C despite the voter not wishing to vote for either B or C.
I imagine that this was a dilemma for thinking voters from minor parties. Major party voters do not have this problem - and perhaps that is precisely what the system is designed to do.
The problem increases with the number of candidates and when there are 74 candidates as there were in the Upper House Elections there is the quite ridiculous situation of candidates who are diametrically opposed potentially benefitting from the votes of the other side as the preferences flow on up the line.
Whatever we may think of the system I do not believe the good Professor is right to say that one vote has one value...it clearly has many values indeed.
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