Australian Literature

Teachers oppose more Australian literature | NEWS.com.au

"Any definition of 'Australian' needs to see Australia in a global context, and to take account of indigenous and multicultural perspectives," the association says.

I can remember two girls coming home form school in year 11 full of intensely strident comment about the compulsory Australian Studies unit. When I said I thought it was important for them to know about the country in which they lived , then what I got back was...we have done rainforests to death, we have heard the same things about aborigines. We don't mind doing it but we want something different at year 11....and we are sick of montages. So I guess they were looking for depth and variety. As a compulsory subject the education department would draw on a pool of teachers to teach it. With Australian literature I do not think that will be a problem and I do see it as important that students who go to school here have a good and sound knowledge of our authors and film makers and text creators. Our creators of literature are unique and do provide some rich and valid insights into our culture. Our country is, however , made up of many nations and I think it is important also to consider the literary wealth we can access from those nations. Then there is the shift to electronic texts and that is valid also. I am glad to see this discussion . It is important for us to develop our institutional identities which seem to float around a bit at times. Before there was no chance of looking at the literature which English speaking nations contributed to the world. Now we do and it should not be abandoned. Australian literature does need to be a part of our education, I do believe that. It is good when you talk to people from other countries and they have a detailed knowledge of their literature. It is in this way I have come to know so many worthwhile books and films. It only helps cultural understanding; so we need to know about our own. Where that is placed then becomes the decision of the teachers because if you read the news, they are dealing with some very tricky circumstances in schools and literature is probably, unfortunately, the least of their concerns.