Mary Beth Down Under
by Mary Beth Brown
I am a third year undergraduate pursuing degrees in English ...
- make this is a favorite!
0 other people called this a favorite
Grades & native populations
May 20, 2009 @ 8:06 AM | Permalink
[Originally posted at http://mbdownunder.blogspot.com]
Already, I'm comfortable and at home in Canberra. I would happily stay here for a few years. My comfortableness can be measured by the number of text messages I send and receive every day; or by how many times I've allowed myself to dissolve into hysterical laughter and tears in front of others; or by how easy it is to find something to do besides school work.
A while ago, I mentioned the difference between the American and Australian ways of grading (marking) university work. Here, there is High Distinction (80-100%); Distinction (70-80%); Credit (60-70%); Pass (50-60%); and Fail. "HD"s are not like As... they are much rarer than As. And Passes are not like Ds... they're much more common than Ds. For example, on my first graded ANU assignment (a 500 word essay on the Marshall Plan), I got a 58%. My lecturer's final comments on my work were: "Well-done, Mary Beth! A great start to the semester!" I was angry and embarrassed... but mostly confused. How can an essay that warrants a "well-done!" be only 8% away from failure?
Needless to say, it's a bit disconcerting, especially considering my grades have to be transferred to Auburn. I'm sure there will be some sort of "translation" process... still. Earlier this semester, the seemingly more stringent grading system made me want to "prove myself" by aiming for HDs... maybe next semester.
I also mentioned indigenous Australians a while back. Before moving to Australia, I was warned never to bring up the "Aboriginal issue" as it was super controversial. Luckily, I've had plenty of natural conversations about the "issue" as I've befriended people. Sometimes I find it lines up with cookie cutter conservative/liberal perspectives on race, discrimination, government responsibility, and history: academics, passport holders, and hippies think the Europeans were/are racist and imperialistic (and that indigenous Australians fought back and had a chance), while business majors, military personnel, and patriotic Australians think the issue is stale, no one should receive special treatment, and Australians should stop apologizing and political correcting and reconciling.
More often, however, I'm surprised by people's "stances." For example, Amy is a hippie, a traveller, pretty left wing when it comes to the environment, social rights, and economic policy, yet she has no patience for "reconciliation"; she says it's because her dad, employed by the government, works with Aborigines in the Northern Territory, and she's seen the alcohol abuse, the crime, the laziness, the taking advantage of welfare. (These are her words paraphrased.) Apparently, these are realities we haven't discussed in my history course.
What I find most interesting is comparing indigenous Australians to American minorities. The most common comparison I've found in my readings is between indigenous Australians and black Americans. I suppose the two groups have caused similar political disturbances... Australian activists use(d) the 1960s civil rights movement as an example for organizing their own efforts. And in both countries, everyone has an opinion on affirmative action, prison statistics, and Bill Cosby (or whoever the Aussie equivalent is). But surely Aboriginal peoples have more in common with Native Americans: infected with European diseases, forced off their land, currently a tiny fraction of their original population, many living on reserves, statistically more likely to be obese, alcoholics, and gamblers...
It's just that Native Americans became an afterthought long before our Civil War. We've been thinking about slavery and black rights and Obama for two centuries, not the "Indians." If you're really progressive and educated, you might make a joke on Thanksgiving, something like: "Happy turkey, syphilis, and displacement day!" But for the most part, Native Americans are a nonissue. I suppose indigenous Australians might be a nonissue, too, if Australia had imported millions of Africans as slaves during colonialization. Who knows?
I saw the new Star Trek movie last night and enjoyed it.
This weekend I went to Sydney to hear Jerry Bridges speak. Some of you might know who he is; apparently as an American Christian who likes to read, I should've read one of his books by now. Anyway, he was a good teacher. And there was a fantastic barbecue on Saturday night.
Search This Blog
Subscribe to This Blog's Feed
RSSMonthly Archives
View AllTopics
Recent Comments
Enjoyed your thoughts.
Julie Caravaggio on Grades & native populations
2009-06-02
Comments
Posted on 6/02/2009 by
Julie Caravaggio
Enjoyed your thoughts.
Post a Comment