Tasmania - news - 22/02/06
Values Education — The way ahead
South: 3 March & 25 October
North: 17 March & 11 October
North West: 15 March & 4 October
These one-day workshops provide opportunities for teachers and leaders to explore the affective field of values in the Tasmanian curriculum. The focus will be on practical ideas and feedback on ways to support school forums and the integration of values in all areas of the curriculum. The program is free to all schools as it is an Australian Government funded project. Participants can enrol in one or two days.
School forums
The first Tasmanian schools to hold their forums were those of the Northern Midlands Cluster — Campbell Town and Cressy District High Schools and Perth, Bracknell, Evandale, Hagley and Longford Primary Schools.
The schools invited a range of Whitelion role models to provide the initial impetus for a comprehensive Cluster Values for Life, Values Education Program. Following is a school report on the forums.
Having listened to the Whitelion role models lives and experiences in the context of the Values of the National Values Framework, the students were able to learn about these values in a much more exciting, authentic and memorable way than if these values were simply discussed in the classroom setting. However, the success of the forums hinged on the classroom teacher reinforcing the messages that the role models had exemplified throughout the day through the use of the support materials given to the schools.
The Values for Life forums, with a balance of these two factors, proved to be an excellent approach to conducting Values Forums. The students were in awe of the Whitelion role models, who provided many great quotes for them to reflect on. Importantly, these quotes haven’t been forgotten, and along with photos of the day will form the basis of Values for Life Forum posters. These posters will be placed in the schools and in significant places in the schools’ communities, to reinforce the messages that the day gave and for teachers to refer to when conducting further values activities in their classes.
Another Cluster initiative is to use the Education Foundation’s r.u.MAD? (aRe yoU Making A Difference?) programme to reinforce their Values Education plan. This programme is based on the belief that young people can make real change happen in the world. It empowers them to take a self-determining approach by involving them in issues of social justice, responsibility, tolerance and cultural diversity. Through this program students have opportunities to ‘live the values’.
Links
Whitelion opens doors to opportunities, relationships and community for young people involved in the juvenile justice system or at risk of involvement. This is achieved through role modelling, mentoring, employment and indigenous programs, outreach services, and through prevention programs run in rural and metropolitan communities.
r.u.MAD? Program (aRe yoU Making A Difference?), is an initiative of the Education Foundation, helping children change their world. By identifying problems and challenges in their school, local or global community, students and teachers set out to ‘Make a Difference’ in realistic and achievable ways.
Tasmanian Centre for Global Learning provides information about issues such as globalisation, poverty, climate change and human rights. It examines the underlying causes and suggests ways to help to create a fairer world.