According to JULIE BOYD, we need to assist students to move tothe next level of cultural literacy, in a country that is moving beyond

multiculturalism to a more

'l have a girlwho is coming to my schoolwho has aFrench mother and a Danish father, neither of whomspeak English. She uzas born in Japan and has livedthere her entire life so her first language is actuallyJapanese.'This was the description given to me by aprincipal who was seeking some guidance in how toget a new student to contribute more to class discus-sions.

'. . . and Jo Fargus wins the 200 backstroke. Shegets the gold medal for our best travelled athlete. Shewas born in Hong Kong, grew up to swim for Englandand win a gold medal for them at the last Olympics,went to university in America and now she's just wona medal for Australia at the Commonwealth Games.We're proud to claim her as our own but I wonder ifshe knows which country she 5 rn.'After relaying all thisbackground information, the newscaster then forgot tocongratulate Joanna on what she had actually won thegold medalfor.

Then there was the politician who said to a young girlwith East Asian features: '. . . and which country areyou from?'She opened her mouth and, in the broadestAustralian accent, replied 'Ballarat, mate'.lt's not oftenyou see a pollie left speechless but, in this case, that'sexactly what happened.

Assisting transcultural students

Catering forthe learning needs of transculturalstudentsis different to assisting students of multiple ethnicitiesto learn together in a multicultural setting. In Australia,I wonder whether we have actually made the distinc-tion.

Students from clear cultural backgrounds have a needto retain varying degrees of their culture of origin. So

com plex transcu ltu ral ism.

we have celebration days to recognise important cul-tural events. We enjoy wonderful cuisine, which hasbrought so much diversity and richness to our culture.We enjoy dances and festivals and seek to celebratewherever possible. We have female teachers who visitlndia and return as belly-dancing fanatics (for its health-giving properties, of course). As Aussies, we're great athaving a good time. As educators, we seek to learn asmuch as we can to help these students celebrate theircultures. The harder question is - what about studentsfrom mixed and multiple cultural backgrounds? Howdo we work with them?

What we tend to avoid are those aspects of other cul-tures that are at odds with our own, or are just too hard.For example, attitudes toward women and children;views of right and wrong; how best to administer laws;and even what laws. We're not good at dealing withthe 'too hard basket'and tend to shy away from conflictand confrontation. We tend to sublimate it, sometimesfor too long, until it explodes, as it did with the Cronullariots, in NSW. Or we are forced to watch as our politi-cians take a 'back to the future' approach.

To consider the position of Australian culture in the'team formation' process, I would argue that we havemoved beyond forming and norming and have now hitthe 'storming'stage. How we get through this will deter-mine how we, as a society, go forward into the future.

Defining an Australian

The problem with living in such a multicultural societyis that it is now really hard for anyone to put their fingeron what it is to be Australian. We want to insist that ourresidents and citizens behave like Aussies, speak likeAussies, and adopt our morals and behaviours. Butwhich ones? I hear mutterings about what it means

20 leadership in focus autumn 2007

to be an Australian. lf you are born here and have an

Aussie accent, does that do it?

The intricacies of mastering Australian English (An-

glish?) is as complex as trying to understand whatcharacterises our identitythese days. Learning to speak

Australian, I think, epitomises the challenges faced by

those wanting to become Aussies. We have an eco-

nomical and colourful language which, much like our

attitudes, embraces newness - sometimes at its own

expense! Thanks to advertising and other influences,

our lexicon is now peppered with Americanisms, and

the slang that so endears us to the rest of the bemused

world is at risk of being lost. Eskimos might have more

than 30 different words for the word 'snow'. Aussies,

on the other hand, have multiple uses for single words

like 'Block' (ice-block, block of flats, blockhead'..), not

to mention'love' and'assessment'!

Learning to be an Aussie is a lot like going to a new

school for the first time. You need to learn the current

language (and acronyms) in order to even be a part ofthe conversation. lt's not just the written rules you need

to learn - it's the unwritten ones. And you usually only

learn those when you make a mistake or inadvertently

break one of them.

The dialogue about morals and rights seems to be over-

whelming the dialogue needed about responsibilities (a

slightly old-fashioned concept, it seems). l've alwaystaught (both kids and adults) that responsibility comes

from two words, 'response'and 'ability'. lf people do not

have the ability to respond to a situation, they cannot!lf their cultural background has conditioned them to

different responses that we consider anti-social, how

do we, in schools, address that?

Those of us who were born here and have lived herethrough several generations think we know what it is to

be a 'local'. To be an Aussie is to cry when you get on

a Qantas flight and hear an Aussie accent after you've

been overseas for a while. To get a great lump in your

throat every time you hear I Still Call Australia Home.To only know the first verse of Advance Australia Fairbut be able to belt out the whole of Waltzing Matildawhenever we've had a few drinks at the cricket. To criti-cise our sporting heroes for their off-field antics, whileat the same time elevating them to god-like status on

the field (at least, while they're going well). lt's beingable to pronounce the word 'mate' so that it soundssuspiciously like 'might'. Aussies are great at celebrat-ing. We're terrific in a crisis and will pitch in with anyonewho's in strife. We seem to be instinctively protective

of 'otherAussies'when they're in difficulties that aren'tof their own making.

lwonderwhythe storres of our larrikin, entrepreneurialand fiercely loyal predecessors are not more a part ofour cultural storytelling. After all, we pride ourselveson mateship and tall stories. Maybe it's in the way

that it's done. Maybe because the Queen has told us

we've grown up and become a respected nation, we

now have to behave ourselves. Maybe this is what the

increasingly huge influxes of young people to ANZAC

Cove each year, hungry to be part of the action, are

really seeking.

Next level of cultural maturitY

We have been living in a multicultural society since

Europeans first entered Australia. While we are good at

accepting other cultures (as long as they fit in with us),

we are now being challenged to move to the next level

of cultural maturity. The only way we will do that is by

tackling the hard questions and the difficult challenges

that face our transcultural students. I can't imagine what

someone from a multiple-ethnic background must face

in terms of a search for personal identity and cultural

loyalty, but I'm haPPY to listen.

The era of the global student and global citizen is well

and truly here.

As educators, it is our role to help young people find

their identity and become the very best they can be.

How we do this, and the modelling and mentoring weprovide, is shaping the world - and that's a very scary

thought.@ Julie Boyd 2006

ABOUT THE AUTHORMs Julie Boyd's career encompasses a broadrange of professional roles. ln addition to hertime as a teacher (K-university), educationalpsychologist, principal, administrator, curriculumadviser and international consultant, she ls a/so

e xp e ri e n ce d a s M a n a g i n g D i re cto r, Entre p re n e u rof the Year, Australian Busrnesswomen's Hall ofFame inductee, educator, publisher, author, andstock market trader, among many other roles. Julieis currently integrating her many years of learning,

teaching, health challenges and experience acrossmultiple fields, to develop a new framework for life

development called Wealth Literacy. Julie's currentpasslon is fhis evolution of her prior work with anti-sfress, resiliency, leadership and teaching/learning/curriculum consultancy. /f ls based on the conceptof wealth as wel/ness in all of its senses - personal,professional and financial and is the culmination ofknowledge gained through herown education and commitmentto continuous learning, and hermany years of learning, Practice,experience and wisdom. MsBoyd can be contacted at:i nfo@ u lieboyd.com.au. Forfurther information, see herwebsite at:wwwjulieboyd.com.au.

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