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.
