Aussie, Aussie, Aussie – no, no, no

By Bridget Cook
AKUBRA hats, flip-flops or green and gold colours were nowhere to be seen when a local primary school celebrated its cultural diversity recently.
Three mothers from Courtenay Gardens Primary School in Cranbourne North have expressed their concerns over the school’s Week of Nations held last month.
Students studied different countries throughout the week and then culminated in a parade and assembly where students performed cultural dances and were encouraged to dress in their traditional costumes.
However, mother Lisa McDonald said while she believed Week of Nations was a wonderful idea and her son enjoyed it – her problem arose with Friday’s parade.
“Students were asked to dress up in their national costume or something from their cultural backgrounds and these were all celebrated in the parade with children parading around to be cheered on and celebrated by all,” she said.
“The problem is that children who are from an Australian background were not permitted to dress up or participate in the parade.
“Now, I do not understand the reasoning behind this.
“Yes, we don’t have a national costume as such, but there were still children that dressed in Australian colours, or had flags, and they were not permitted to take part.
“Is it that we want to teach our children that acceptance of all cultures is important but our own culture is somehow less important?”
Ms McDonald said there were a lot of different cultures at Courtenay Gardens, but they should have all been celebrated.
“When did we start teaching our children that if they or their families come from Australia our culture somehow has to take a backseat or doesn’t deserve to be celebrated,” she said.
“In my opinion, Courtenay Gardens if you are going to have a Week of Nations next year, maybe some thought should be given to including all nations, including the one we live in.”
Another mother said she had her khaki pants, a chequered shirt and an Akubra hat picked out for her son to wear but he was told he was unable to.
“It made a lot of kids upset,” she said.
“It’s a great school, and it was a great idea, but not at the expense of stopping the Australian kids from joining in as well.
“They are trying to teach kids that we are all equal, but all it did was isolate the foreign kids.”
Another mother said her son wanted to dress up, particularly with the Olympic fever at the moment.
“He had a flag and a hat, but he wasn’t allowed to wear it,” she said.
Courtenay Gardens Primary School declined to comment on the matter.