Background of Australia - Essay Example

Australia Study Inserts His/Her Inserts Grade Inserts (06, September, Introduction It is important for every society to focus on teaching of ethics and moral values to children. Children are the future of every society and their education is the foremost priority of the community. Young minds are clean and fresh so it is relatively easy to impression them with anything. A young mind can be taught to lead his or her life in a positive way or in a negative way therefore it is important to educate children in a way that is best suited for the society. There is a debate on the responsibility of teaching ethics to children. Some argue that religious schools should be given this responsibility. Others believe that parents and schools should be responsible for inculcating moral values and shaping behaviour of children. In this paper we will discuss who should be responsible for teaching ethics to Australian children. A brief background of the country and culture will be presented in this paper. The role of parents, teacher, and social institutions in providing education of ethics to children will be discussed. Background of the Country Australia is placed in the Southern Hemisphere and constitutes most part of the Australian continent. The country is fairly developed economically and militarily. It is the thirteen largest economy of the world. The country is also placed second on the Human Development Index. Australia is also a highly urbanized country meaning most of the population resides in the urban centres. The country is member of all the notable world organizations and enjoys a dominant position in the world due to its financial position. The quality of life and life style standards in Australia are very high, and corruption level is extremely low (World Audit Organization, 2001). This has included Australia in the list of developed worlds. Financial markets of the country are very developed and this has made the country integrated with the world. Australian culture is individualistic in nature. People follow westernized trends and this is evident in cinemas and theatres of the country (Teo & White, 2003). American pop culture is famous in the country and the society is independent. People live their lives in an independent way without family pressures typical in the eastern societies. Individualist culture is prevalent and people see themselves as individuals rather than as collective units. Australian culture is also influenced by the immigrants who constitute a significant minority. Immigrants are also growing at a fast pace because the population of the country is not growing rapidly. Immigrants have now become part and parcel of the Australian society and this trend will not cease in near future. A major problem in the Australian society is racial discrimination. The culturally diverse society of Australia is facing this serious problem and this should be taken into account when teaching students ethics. Ethnic problems exist in the country and people have been targeted on the basis of their ethnic or racial orientation. This was seen in communal riots of 2005 when violence erupted in many parts of the country (BBC, 2005). All these events must be understood and children should be educated in their earlier education in order to avoid such events in future. Role of Parents Role of parents in inculcating ethics in children is pivotal in any society. Parents are the first people with which children have an interaction with. Children learn about basics watching their parents. This makes the role of parents extremely important in teaching ethical behaviour to children. Minds of young people are like a clean white board on which parents can write anything they want. Children also learn the basic social standards prevalent in the society from their parents. Parents define social standards for their children. This includes the basic conception of right and wrong. Children learn what is right and what is not from their parents. When children try to play with dangerously sharp items their parents stop them and this informs the children about the dangers of using playing with a sharp item. Similarly parents teach their children how fire can be dangerous. All this learning takes place at home and parents have a major role to play in this learning. Parents also have a responsibility of teaching ethical behaviour to their children in the same way. Parents have a natural tendency to teach their children about right or wrong. Consciously or subconsciously parents teach their children and this happens with their behaviour. The behaviour of parents serves as a standard for their children. They think that this is the right way to do something. Everyone has attempted to shave like our fathers and use makeup like our mothers. This shows how important the behaviour of parents is for children. This can also play a major role in teaching ethics to young minds. It is clear from the above discussion that children learn from the behaviour of their parents. This is why the actions of parents are essential in teaching the future minds. Children not only learn good behaviour from parents but also biases and prejudice. The first exposure of children to discrimination is at home. When parents behave differently with sons compared to daughters and when they show contempt for a particular ethnicity or race. When parents talk about the servants in derogatory tone they are actually telling children that being a servant is not something desirable. They are telling their children with their behaviour that sons are more important and some races are superior to others. This is how biases and prejudice find their way in young minds. In Australia racial discrimination is at an all time high and people are being targeted because of their ethnic or racial origins. This situation will get worse because immigrants will increase in future in the country. Australia has a very small population and it is not growing at a fast pace therefore they will need immigrants in order to sustain their economic position and growth. Diversification therefore will increase in Australian society and this increases the responsibility of parents in teaching ethical behaviour to children. It is through their actions and behaviours that parents can educate children about equality of all human beings. Children should be educated in way that they are made able to become active and constructive members of the society. Parents should teach them the message of love and peace. If children are told in their early lives that all human beings are equal no matter what then they are less likely to take part in racially provoked violent activities. Parents can do this by displaying equal behaviour at homes. When watching television or reading a magazine no racial or ethnic comment should be passed and children should be given examples of great people like Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr. Such figures may play a role in motivating children in following the right path. Parents can also give their children books regarding great personalities. At an early age children develop inspirations and role of parents is pivotal in shaping inspirations of children. Children should be given exposure to books and material that is useful for them in future life and this can help shape their inspiration. Children always attempt to follow in the footsteps of their idols. If children start to have idols like Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela then it would put an end to racial crimes in the country. Role of Teachers Teachers also have a major role to play in the education of children. School, after home, is the most important place where children socialize. Children learn in many ways from schools. They learn from the books and curriculum they are taught and they also learn from the social interaction they have with other children. This is why role of teachers is also essential in teaching ethics and god behaviour to students. Children have a potential to learn and they generally are curious. This curiosity should be shaped in order to put the students on the right track. When children come to teachers they have had some grooming and learning at homes. They are not newly born anymore and teachers cannot just write anything they want in the minds of the children. Teachers have to correct the beliefs of the children and they have to develop a detailed ethical system in their minds. This makes the job of teachers even more difficult because first they have to correct the ideas or perceptions children have developed thus far in their lives and then they attempt to put them on the right track of leering. Educators have a very important responsibility because they spend a lot of time with children. This makes them responsible for shaping ethical behaviour of pupils. Teachers also have a formal curriculum through which they can force children to learn whatever they want. They can take tests and have the authority to pass or fail students on the basis of their performance. All these can serve as tools through which teachers can inculcate ethical behaviour in children. These tools are not at disposal of parents therefore teachers have an added responsibility to make sure that students get to learn as much as possible. Absence of moral standards is blamed for the contemporary decline in moral and ethical values (Delattre & Russell, 1993). Teachers should therefore attempt to present models and standards to children in order to explain how moral and ethical behaviour can be practiced. Most of the times children are not aware of the right path and this is why they dwell on the dark roads of ignorance. Teachers can change all this by inculcating moral behaviour in children that will help them guide their actions. Again ethical theories and famous figures can help in this regard. From an early age students should be taught about famous people who worked in order to eradicate racial discrimination from society. Also examples should be given of people who have changed the lives of many. There also comes a time in student’s life when he or she becomes deviant. They try to break free and defiance is seen in their behaviour. At this point students do not believe in anything that was previously taught to them by the threat of punishment. At a particular age the fear of punishment goes away and children try to break free from all that was previously taught to them. At this point of their lives only intrinsic motivation can help them follow an ethical path. This should serve as a lesson for educators and they should try to use intrinsic motivation to help children learn and follow ethics. From an early age students should be given some power over their choices so that they are able to internalize everything they are being taught. Students should not be rewarded too much nor should they be punished because it just externalizes any action or behaviour rather than internalizing behaviour (Lepper, Greene, & Nisbett, 1973). This is why teachers should focus on internalizing ethical behaviour in children. They should be taught what is right and what is not but at the same time they should be allowed to make choices. This will help them internalizing ethical behaviour in children. The focus of most educators is on punishing students for their ill behaviour. This makes no difference in the lives of students and brings only temporary compliance. Teachers should also use role play techniques to inculcate ethical behaviour in children. By performing plays and portraying roles of famous personalities students can learn how to behave in an ethical manner in their normal lives as well. A pragmatic approach of education should be taken and students should be taught about the problems they are likely to face in future. They should also be taught about the behaviour they should be adopting when they face problems in future. Role of Social Institutions After formal education a person goes in his or her practical life. In this life parents and teachers have a limited influence. Particularly in Australia due to an individualist society parents have a limited role to play in the lives of children after they have reached a particular age. After this it is up to the society to teach ethics and moral values to people. Social institutions therefore have a role to play in teaching of ethics to people in society. People who are convicted of unethical behaviour need rehabilitation and this is where the role of social institutions comes. Social institutions help people who have a shady past to become good members of the society. Social institutions also play a role in educating children. 13 to 14 years old children who commit crimes are treated by social institutions. These children show that the effect of teachers and parents did not work on them, and that is the reason why they are inclined towards unethical behaviour. Juvenile kids therefore need social institutions where experts should attempt to change their attitudes towards life. This can be done by taking help of expert psychologist and motivational speaker. Also children with criminal record need special attention and only state can help in this regard. It is important to help misguided children so that they do not fall into wrong hands. If help is provide for children who are new to the world of crimes then the supply of criminals to gangs can be stopped. Social institutions have a sort of legitimacy that can be helpful in making criminals get back to their lives. Social institutions can lure people with certification that can help children lead a normal professional life. These sorts of rewards can prove helpful in changing the lives of children involved in unethical behaviour. It is important to take care of the people involved in criminal activities because they also deserve a chance. Without this chance they will be forced to continue their criminal activity and this will lead to more problems for the society. Role of social institutions is also important because they can deal with many kinds of unethical behaviours. It is not easy to generalize criminal behaviour because different crimes are done for different reasons. These reasons ought to be eliminated if improvement is to be seen in an individual. This is why specific help is required for specific criminal behaviours and social institutions can help in this regard. They have the infrastructure that is larger than that can be afforded by parents or teachers. Social institutions therefore have an important role to play in teaching ethics to children. Conclusion Teaching ethics to children is important for every society because children are the pioneers of the future. In Australia an increase of racially motivated violent incidents has been seen in recent days. In such a case it is important to find ways in which ethics can be taught to children. Parents, teachers and social institutions all have a role to play in teaching ethical and moral values to children. Parents are the first people to interact with children therefore they can set them on the right track. Teachers can use curriculum to inculcate ethical behaviour in children. Social institutions can help children who have previously committed crimes. Bibliography BBC News UK. 2005. In Pictures: Australia Violence. Accessed on September 6, 2011 from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/4520286.stm Edwin, Delattre & William E. 1993. Schooling, Moral Principles, and the Formation of Character. Russell. Journal of Education, 175(2): 23-44 Lepper, M. R, Greene, D, & Nisbett, R. E. 1973. Undermining childrens intrinsic interest with extrinsic reward: A test of the over justification hypothesis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 28 (1): 129–137 Teo, Hsu-Ming & White, Richard. 2003. Cultural history in Australia. Melbourne: University of New South Wales Press World Audit Organization. 2001. Australia: World Democracy Profile. Accessed on September 6, 2011 from http://www.worldaudit.org/countries/australia.htm Read More