Adventures in War
I’m interested in how the adventure of war will be given meaning for the commemoration of the landing of Gallipoli at a time when were are trying to stop young men from travelling to find adventures in...
View ArticleHalf Baked Ideas after Reading Helen Razor and Bernard Keanes’ 'A Short...
Identity PoliticsAt a conference I attended last year a guest speaker introduced herself by stating her identifying factors - she was cigender, temporarily able bodied, mother to a gay son and so on....
View ArticleOn Volunteering
I have been a stay at home mum for fifteen years. I have been on P&Cs (my tenth year at primary school), been on the management committee for the local community centre, been on the committee for...
View ArticleHow to end faith in a generation
I’ve been wondering for some time how it would be possible to end faith in a generation, and I’ve found some direction and hope.I’ve just read Peter Boghossian’s ‘A Manual for Creating Atheists’. He is...
View ArticleReligion in public schools - what are the policies?
There are a number of ways religion is present in NSW public schools. Here’s the fact sheet.In primary schools a unit on Understanding our Communities, which covers religious diversity, can be taught...
View ArticleChristian Privilege
As a society we are raising awareness about white privilege, male privilege and the privilege of heteronormative sexuality, and we are challenging these structures. In a structure of power and...
View ArticleA working life
I have been working full time. I’m very fortunate to have been offered a job for a term, which has been extended to two terms. I have ten classes, which means I have about 230 comments to write on...
View ArticleAutumn equinox 2016
It’s Equinox break in Term 1, 2016, and what’s happening? It's been a while, so I have sub-headings.WORKWell, I have been applying for jobs. Most of the jobs have been part time or temporary at...
View ArticleMother advocacy 2016
MamapaloozaWe have two events planned for Mamapalooza this year: a film showing and a comedy night.You are invited to our Mamapalooza Film ShowingWHO DOES SHE THINK SHE IS? by film maker Pamela Tanner...
View ArticleCampaigns and fundraisers
In my paper about how volunteering is propping up a broken system I am also writing about fundraisers and campaigns. There are lots of things I don’t understand.I see lots of fundraisers that don’t...
View ArticleThe Blackboard Jungle
I’m writing to try to make sense of things.I’ve been doing casual work in a low socio economic school. I’m shocked that there are schools like this in Australia. I’m confronted by how sheltered I am. I...
View ArticleLets ask more questions: Challenging cultural and moral absolutism
While we are engaging in public arguments about marriage equality, immigration and cultural appropriation, lets take a few steps back and see where the ideas for these arguments come from. In the...
View ArticlePrimary school ends on a disturbing note
My daughter finished primary school yesterday, after a week of celebrations. There is a tradition at the school that after the last bell the year six group goes to a local park for a water fight. It...
View Article13 Reasons Why - a Parent’s Perspective
Everybody has been talking about 13 Reasons Why. Here’s my take on it.As a story it is hard to suspend disbelief because:The make-up is distractingly badSenoirs do not hang out with juniors in real...
View ArticleCrow, plough and wheel
I haven’t posted anything personal for a while. Today is Mothers’ Day. I’m still holding out on celebrating until we have equal rights. I am probably more busy and more productive than I have ever...
View ArticleNo Name Calling
In 2016 I started working at a university. At this university (as at others) there are active student groups, including Socialist groups. I consider myself a socialist so one day at lunchtime I walked...
View Article2017 wrap up
It has been the year of overworking. I won’t talk about my paid job except to say that people make the difference, and that it is over. I’m looking for something else. Outside of my regular job I have...
View ArticleMy article in SMH about volunteering
I had an article published in SMH yesterday.http://www.smh.com.au/comment/volunteering-doesnt-make-the-world-a-better-place-20180104-h0dd25.htmlI didn't write the headline - it is a little less nuanced...
View ArticleMy Body Betrays Me
When my daughter asked me what transgender is, I answered that some people feel that they were born into the wrong body. That their bodies had betrayed them. So they change gender. She replied: I feel...
View ArticleManaging Fertility
I watched Exposed on ABC - the documentary investigating the case of Keli Lane, and I have some thoughts.Yes, the case was poorly investigated, and yes it was sexist. I don’t know what happened to baby...
View ArticleLet's apply some critical thinking to Christmas
Now that we have critical thinking embedded in every educational institution, we should expect that our traditions will be challenged. Is doing something on the basis of tradition a good enough...
View ArticleWhy teaching that all texts are problematic is a bad idea
This essay argues that approaching all texts as problematic, according to identity politics and systems of power, is a bad idea. Two years ago I would have argued the opposite, and I did.In my essay...
View ArticleWhat is Intersectionality?
Intersectionality is a matrix of power structures where people plot themselves and other people on the matrix to show where they sit within hierarchies of power on the basis of identity markers.The...
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How Generative AI is Like Classical Reception
Image created using Ideogram. In a conversation with a work colleague, we discussed analogies to how generative AI impacts how we teach students to learn and how we assess student learning outcomes....
View ArticleHomer, Paul Ramsay and Me: Rewriting the Mythology of Western Civilisation
I wrote this long essay over the summer holidays. The issue of the Ramsay Centre has since received lots of media attention. The membership of the board has changed - Beazley has left and Elizabeth...
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