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The techncal school where I’m currently doing some teaching is very good at providing a range of experiences for the students over and above their statutary studies, from sports and social events to opportunities for extra-curricular journalism and politics and in the short time I have been there, they have attracted a wide range of speakers. The latest was a visiting Australian teacher, Kym Dixon, from Brighton econdary school in Adelaide on a tour of Danish educational institutions to see how we integrate ICT into teaching.
After his talk I was able to speak to him over lunch about various aspects of what he’d said and this forms the basis for the latest Absolutely Intercultural show.
A student had asked Kym for advice about where to visit in Australia and Kym had replied that she should make sure that she visits the outback so I asked him about this advice. This led to discussions about the role of men and women in Australia and how, Australian women have had to display the pioneer spirit in order to survive, from cooking meals for 20 farm hands every day to educating their children and helping with mustering and running pubs.
Kym also talked about the seriousness of the concept of mateship, a word I had never heard before but which, according to Wikipedia, almost made it into the Australian constitution in 1999. We’re all familiar with the stereotypical Australian greeting of ‘G’day mate’ but I hadn’t realised the strength of the male to male bond which the word implied; to the death, said Kym.
While we were eating lunch I couldn’t help but notice the traditional intercultural game of ‘ What’s that you’ve put on my plate?’ and so some of the conversation establishing what the dishes are made it in as part of the podcast also.
Since for the last two years, Absolutely Intercultural has been reporting on the Intercultural Management Institute conference, I also gave that a plug as it’s coming up on March 12th and 13th and should be quite a splash as it is their tenth anninversary.
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