Rural and Remote Education - Qld
Rural
and Remote Education - Weipa
Notes of a meeting with students
from Yarrabah, Qld - 8 July 1999
The students formed
into groups and each was asked to describe, evaluate and make suggestions
for change regarding one of the following topics
- Boarding School
as compared to High School
- What we like at
school / don't like at school
- Your future
- Bullying and fighting
- Arts and Crafts
- Manual Arts
Boarding School
as compared to High School
Many of the students
thought that boarding school would provide a better education.: They would
like to go away to boarding school "so that we can come back to Yarrabah
and be a Council worker". "to learn more education" so I can "get a job".
"You can learn a lot in boarding school [and] get more education". Going
to boarding school would mean making "more friends from around Queensland".
We want to "get away from Yarrabah".
On the other hand,
"I don't want to go to boarding school because we have too many troubles
and you can't get along with the dorm parents".
What we like at
school
The students tended
to specify the subjects they most enjoyed at school. "At school I enjoy
Maths . English, Spelling, Science, Art, playing computers, games." "Things
I like at school is fun activities and sports." One student enjoyed opportunities
to be proud of the school and its students: "when our students get awards
from other places because we want to show our people how good we are".
"We like the Education
Assistants; we like being with our friends; we like to learn new things."
What we don't like
at school
The most common dislike
seemed to be antisocial behaviour: "bullying, grouches, grumpy teachers,
fights . people just throw rubbish on the ground (and) it's making our
school a pigsty". "We don't like bullies bullying other kids at school."
"I don't like bullying, teasers and fighting." "I don't like it when people
push me."
On the academic side:
"We don't like it when teachers don't let us do anything." "I don't like
learning the same subject over time. I would like to learn about different
places and different people."
Your future
A wide range of future
occupations were discussed: police officer, counsellor, ambulance officer,
horticulture worker, lawyers, Australian army reservist, mechanic, pilot,
policewoman, ambulance women, be a mother, take care of children. One
student simply wanted "to be rich".
Bullying and Fighting
A number of arguments
against bullying were summarised: it "makes our school look stupid"; "we
don't want to injure anyone (or) break anything"; "we don't want to wreck
good friendships"; "we want our school to be proud and happy". One student
told how bullying affected the wider community. "Bullying can make us
look like real stupid people and bullying can make our community very
very stupid. So stop the bullying and be good people of the nation."
Some of the students
said they wanted bullying to stop and "get out of Yarrabah State School
. so we can have a good reputation". One solution was "to go and play
basketball" or "tell the teacher".
Arts and Crafts
There were many positive
comments about Arts and Crafts. "We like arts and craft because it is
very interesting and we do a lot for other people and even for ourselves."
"Arts and crafts is good because we can make a lot of things . for home
and out of woods." "It's fun making chairs and tables [and] making things
for the school."
One student thought
that arts and crafts was "always incredible", whilst a number liked art
because "we paint, draw and create new things".
Manual Arts
On the whole, Manual
Arts seemed a popular subject. "We like working and making things from
wood . we like furniture items." "We like working with different tools."
"I like doing manual arts because when you need a spare chair/table you
can make it yourself." "We like working with different tools."
Last
updated 2 December 2001.
