Politics - It all comes down to Politics!
On October 7th, 2012 – The Sydney Morning Herald released the article, Minding your language a virtual reality. The article addresses the ‘dilemma’ of state school students not learning a second language in school – with the current Victorian levels of almost 60% of state students currently not undertaking a second-language course. The article tell a promise for change by Ted Baillieu, the Premier of Victoria - “a language revival - in which every Victorian student up to year 10 would be required to take on a language by 2025, starting with prep in 2015”; the restrictions of state education staff capacities to achieve this goal; and the Victorian government’s modern way of creatively overcoming such an obstacle – using of virtual classrooms.[i]
My initial thoughts of the article were steered towards the ‘dilemma’ – what makes it so necessary for Australian state students to learn alternative languages: is it apart of our culture to embrace multiculturalism? And if it is such a crisis, why can’t the government employ the graduates required to provide each state school with the staff necessary to teach these languages, instead, for example the of sharing one teacher among eight schools to provide language classes through videoconferencing (as mentioned in the article). But then I took a closer look – its politics! All of it - pure politics, and this I will explain with the help of Leonardo.[ii]
So, let me start with Martin Dixon - a Liberal Party of Australia member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly and currently serving as the Minister of Education. The article quotes him saying, “ We've got to set the scene in terms of convincing the community about the importance of learning another language.” Keep in mind that this push follows his return from a trade mission to China; his focus of course on improving the proficiency of young people in Mandarin. This would definitely benefit the students on an individual level – introducing them to another culture and by broadening their horizons, to be clique. But is that his desired effect? Is he not trying to increase the chances to connect on an international trading level through the use of language; to boost the economy – such an idea runs parallel with what Leonardo says, that “the role and status of culture: deemed secondary and an effect of the base, superstructural features, like family, church and education, became significant but not determining aspects of history and struggle. They were depicted as ideological fields where cultural processes bear the imprints of the economy.” [iii]
So his input, purely economically minded; purely political, but not entirely unrelated to culture. It is suggested that culture is branded by the economy - “economics may not be the root of social process but rather its destiny, its final resting place. It may not be the cause but an effect of social processes.”[iv] So while Mr. Dixon’s motives stem from being economically minded they greatly influence cultural political decisions in education.
Now let’s take a closer look at the intentions of Mr. Baillieu! Under what circumstances did he commit to such a demanding promise? – That’s right: in his pre-election speech (of course). So, it is also evident that he had some political motivation’s driving his actions too.
By evaluating the motives of these two influential political men that steer the reins of our state schools, the economy should be recognised as a driving force behind cultural politics – which is considered as a “the production of meaning” as opposed to “means of production.” So, although the state education system might be the subject, cultural politics and the economy guide what is ‘important’ in our schools.
[ii] Z. Leonardo (2010). Affirming Ambivalence, Introduction to Cultural Politics and Education. Pg. 1
[iii]Z. Leonardo (2010). Affirming Ambivalence, Introduction to Cultural Politics and Education. Pg. 1
[iv]Z. Leonardo (2010). Affirming Ambivalence, Introduction to Cultural Politics and Education. Pg. 10
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