Sydney Harbour Bridge Walk - Independent Study

While traveling in Chicago and other states in the United States and in England, I have climbed many tall buildings and bridges. So when I was at home looking up interesting and fun things to do on my free days in Sydney, climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge kept coming up. Do to all the rain that was constantly falling I did not want to climb to the top of the bridge, but I was fortunate enough to walk over the bridge and see some more amazing views of the city. The slight rain did not affect the way in which I walked over the bridge and walked as slow as I pleased. I felt as though I was walking through a secure prison because of all the barbed wire and tall fences that kept the walkers/joggers on the path that was provided for them. Having all the fencing and barbed wire made complete sense to me, they do not want people jumping or distracting the traffic flow of the cars traveling across the bridge. While walking there were security guards keeping an eye on all the people traveling by foot and I was wondering why there were so many security guards with all the twenty-four hour video recordings. The one security guard proceeded to tell me that citizens were walking across the bridge in honour of Sorry Day, the holiday in which people recognize the indigenous people who were taken away. It was a pleasure to see the many people walking and honouring those that they were related to. I found it extremely interesting that the people walking were all carrying different coloured feet. These feet represented a different aboriginal person that would be making the walk across the bridge to the other side. I was very grateful to see this parade of people and experienced the bridge walk that I had been looking forward to. It was great to see Sydney in a whole new light, from the other side of the water; everywhere I have gone to whilst here as been on the same side as the Sydney Opera House or by ferry, but I was not able to see the city skyline from this perspective so it was cool to see it this way.

Public Transportation/People/Shopping/Eating/Entertainment

Everywhere we have gone we have taken some sort of transportation open to the public. Trains, bus, and ferry are the main ways of transportation that we have used while on this trip. I found it easier to use the bus systems here because we could ask the bus driver were he stopped if we were not sure. Most of the bus drivers were very helpful in these situations; many Australian citizens were also helpful in reminding me and others if we needed to get off at a stop. This was very generous of the Australian citizens and made it easier for me to transport myself from one part of Sydney to another. I found that the tube system in England was a lot easier to use when it came to getting from place to place but when it comes to the train systems in Australia they are a little more difficult because there are so many different lines to pick up from one station. Whereas in England, there is one station and it goes in two directions and that is it; there is never any issue when trying to find your way somewhere. Most of the people throughout the places I have been in Australia have been nice and helpful, while others have been rude and angry looking at times. Many people on the streets who bump into you will not say sorry or acknowledge that they hit you, but whenever I run into someone I right away say sorry and apologize for hitting them. Personally I do not think that people care when they run into someone on the street, but I think this is true in any large city you go to, like Chicago for example. Ferries were a new form of transportation for me to use, there is not a large demand for this form of transportation in the Chicago land or Peoria area. It was so great to see all the different views of Sydney from the ferries that we took to many different locations. It was also cool to see the different islands that could only be visited by some form of water vehicle.

Workers at many of the non-souvenir shops were also very helpful when trying to find out information about the items in the store or places to go in town. For example, one of the workers at Rebel Sports (sports store in Australia) was very helpful when I was asking him many questions the differences in rugby and the two different leagues that are in Australia. It was great to find out all this information from someone who knows a lot about the subject and what games were more important over others. One game that I watched and purchased a t-shirt for was the ‘State of Origin’ game which takes place between players from New South Wales and Queensland; it reminded me of an NHL All-Star game because all the players are the best for their area. I found this type of sporting event to be very interesting because I was able to learn a lot from the local people and the television communication people. I knew nothing about rugby or how the sport was played but now I know more about why this sport is so large in this country and why this particular game is a huge deal.

One part of traveling that I find to be fun is the shopping for gifts and souvenirs for everyone back home. It is completely different to see what is considered native to a country and what they considered to be a great gift idea to take back home. At every shop I have gone into there are boomerangs, kangaroos, and UGGs, but these are not the type of gifts I want to bring back home. I can find UGGs at just about any shoe store in the United States; I cannot however find the one gift I get myself in every town and country that I travel to, a Starbucks mug with the town and country name on it. I do not drink coffee but believe that these mugs are so cute and make a great collection of where I have been in recent years. The shopping centres that I have found to be the most entertaining are the ones in old building that have been converted from something different. The Queen Victoria Building looks so small from the outside with all the tall business building surrounding it, but once inside I felt small in comparison to what was around me.

Most of the foods that I have eaten while here has been food that can be found back in the United States, but I believe that I stick to these foods out of fear I will not like something new that I try. Every time I eat at The Cheesecake Factory restaurant I order the same main meal and piece of cheesecake because every time I have changed and ordered something new I have regretted it. I do like one location in particular a lot more than any other place, I have eaten here twice, Pancakes on the Rocks located at Darling Harbour has wonderful pancakes. I have a sweet tooth for pancakes and try to make them as much as possible when I am home.

Entertainment is one element of my life that I try to fill in with most of my time. I go to many sporting events when I am home, mainly hockey games, but try to catch some other Bradley University sponsored sports when I can. Coming to Sydney I was hoping to go and see and experience a new sport in a new way. I have accomplished this goal by attending a rugby game and I am planning to attend another rugby game this Friday night. I am not sure what exactly the rules were while the players were playing, but they had a passion for the sport just like I have for hockey. It was great to be in the atmosphere that allowed for so much individuality and coming together of many different people. I also enjoyed the lighting of the Sydney Opera House, this is something that I was not expecting to see and was happy to attend this event and learn from so locates that it only started two years ago.

Australia Museum

Walking into this museum reminded me of the Field Museum in Chicago, because the first item I saw hanging above my head was a skeleton of a whale. Dinosaurs and other skeleton types were all over the museum which was interesting to compare to what I had learned as a young student back home. Getting the small guided tour of the indigenous aboriginal people was wonderful and provided me with even more information that I would not have gotten otherwise. It was even better that the guide was of aboriginal decent and had a passion for what she was telling us; she was able to provide information that was not printed on any of the tabs describing the artifacts. I was not totally aware of that the aboriginal people were not considered citizens until 1967, this appalled me because they were here [in Australia] way before the European citizens who came. This museum seemed to provide a lot more information about the spirituality of the aboriginal people as a whole, where many of the other museums we have visited focused more on the aboriginal people as a group and what was taken and given back to them. The dream paintings, which reminded me of dream catchers, seemed to tell a story and were told from many different perspectives, but came from the same person. The rainbow serpent connected the dreaming tracks of people and was a large part of the culture, which helped to keep record of different events. There was so much artwork that was created by the aboriginal people. My favourite was created by artist Gordon Syrons in 1978, entitled Judgement by his Peers, it depicts the trial of a white man with a completely black courtroom. This was exactly how the aboriginal people were treated when they were on trial for something, except they would have had a completely white courtroom. It was interesting to see the way the artist took to get his point across about how unfair the judgment trial was towards the aboriginal people. But much of the artwork created today is made with a more contemporary setting. This has been debated by many aboriginals about being a good element or bad element to what the aboriginal children are learning about their culture. I found it interesting that some of the elders of the aboriginal community found the more modern paintings offensive, but also saw where they were coming from because they want to keep the tradition of the culture alive. It really stuck me that there were two different laws/lores that the aboriginal people had to abide by; the first law being that of the white people and the second lore being that of the aboriginal people. It was interesting to see how far a lesson could be taken, death could be the outcome.

SCEGGS School (Sydney Church of England Girls Grammar School)

Another brand new experience for me was going to an all girls school; I grew up going to all co-ed schools and enjoyed every minute of these experiences. I believe that going to a school that had both males and females in it allowed for me to learn more about how these two genders interacted with one another. But I liked how the principal stated it that, by having an all girl’s school the girls are more focused on their studies rather than with boy they like in a particular week. This has also helped with the higher test scores and grades from all the grade levels. While watching the girls come into the assembly I noticed that they all had their hair up and were all wearing a similar but different uniform. It then came to my attention in the meeting with the principal that it is a rule for the girls to wear their hair up because it makes it look neater, also the different uniforms represent the different houses that the girls belong to, like in the Harry Potter book series. I felt like a sore thumb because as a group we all stood out compared to the girls of the school, we were all wearing jeans and different tops but also had our hair down, which would be against the rules. It was interesting to see all the different types of education that the students learned at a young age. The school starts its kindergarten students into a foreign language, French, so that they are more diverse later on in life. It was also great to see the primary school students learning multiplication skills/factors from year one and up. One of the teachers made a great comment about why this was; they [the students] are learning how to count, skip count, and count by numbers, so why not start them learning these multiplication skills. I totally agree with her, and felt that I am not as educated at a young age about items that I would be using later on in life. Where I grew up the school you attended was determined by district lines that were drawn out by the city. But this school was quite different, students came from all over the Sydney area to attend and would take any means of transportation to get there. It was also interesting to hear about how the different years get students, from kindergarten to year three has only one classroom for the entire grade, but one the students hit year four and up there are two classrooms per grade and the school takes in double the students from around the city.

Gawura (St. Andrew's Catholic School) and Ceremony

Gawura (St. Andrew’s Catholic School) and Ceremony
It was a real treat being able to go into a real school in Sydney that had a focus on the aboriginal children. Walking into the school I felt very much under dressed because all the students are wearing uniforms and the faculty members around the school were all wearing suits or dress attire. I also felt as though I did not know how to use the public transportation as well as some of the students walking into the school. Students in Australia are taught at a very young age how to use the public transportation system to get to and from school and other activities. While going up the lift (elevator) it was interesting to see all the information that was presented on televisions in the lift (elevator) showing school events and information. I thought this was a unique and interesting way to have students become more informed and involved in school activities. As we walked out onto the upper level play ground area, it was great to see all the vibrant colors and murals that were painted in the areas that would normally be a dull dark colour. Once we walked into the actual classroom it was great to see all the colours and piece of information that were on the walls and around the room. The classroom was very inviting and welcoming, even though the lights we not working at their full level. Looking around the room I noticed a lot of similarities and differences from schools in the United States that I have been in and that I have observed in. The pictures of landmarks (Sydney Harbour Bridge) and word walls were items I have noticed in a lot of younger age level classrooms to being to show information about the town or area the students are from and familiarize them with different artifacts. It was wonderful to here the aboriginal students welcome us (the visitors) in their native language and talk to us in a way that was warm and welcoming. It was interesting to see each student who talked move to the front of the classroom and stand up. I have never seen this in the United States, but believe it could help many students with different tasks, for example it could make students more comfortable talking in front of a group of students or it could also make students learn the proper ways to talk and communicate while in a group. Being able to have a student read a book to me was a wonderful experience and it was very rewarding to not only hear the students read but to also see where they were on the spectrum with other students in the classroom. The student that was reading to me was skipping over words and pages, while the student in front of me was reading and explaining in more detail the facts about his book. This was interesting to see because all the students were learning and working together but also at different levels. It was great to see that the students were learning how to spell words that are different from those in the United States; for example colour vs. color, organise vs. organize, and snale vs. snail. It made me feel a lot more welcome when I saw this because the students and teachers were willing to take time to learn more about us and our culture.

The Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islanders Veterans was nothing that I expected. Granted I was not really sure what to expect when I read the schedule, but it was great to see it and experience something else from the aboriginals, since we could not participate in Sorry Day. It was unfortunate that we could not hear everything happening at the very beginning of the ceremony, but what I was able to hear touched my heart in a way I was not expecting. Hundreds of thousands of aboriginals fought for Australia in World War I, even if they were not registered to fight; they were willing to die for the country they called their own. A part of the aboriginal culture that I have picked up on is the importance of the Earth and to thank the area and the people for letting them stay at a location for an extended period of time. There was a smoking ceremony that took place that cleansed everyone in attendance and those around the site so that there was only good energy in the area. I was not expecting to see as many distinguished guests in attendance as I did, I think this is because I feel like some “holidays” are celebrated once and once the day has passed so has the holiday. But this was not the case for the Sorry Day events, because I believe that this event was in many ways related to Sorry Day. I liked how over the Sydney Harbour Bridge there was no longer just the Australian National flag flying over the bridge, but there was also an aboriginal flag flying in the wind. This shows me that some people are involved in the events of aboriginals and that some people are not as interested or involved. The young children who performed original tribal dances did a fabulous job of showing the culture of the aboriginal people and what they valued. Again, each colour that the aboriginal dancers was representative of their tribe and their native people who were at one time taken from them.

Chapter 8

Chapter 8 - Reading
Geography is a large attribute to how a group of people live and act. In the United States there are fifty states that each represent an area and operate differently. Within these states there is a lot of diversity because of the races/ethnicities that populate them. Each state is different when it comes to planning their school systems and how they prepare for different national tests. States are also very diverse with the race/ethnicity of the people that populate each area. Geography plays a large factor in a lot of elements for teachers; some of these factors can include salary, development of teaching (what can be taught within the school, depending on region), and socioeconomic status. Also, what teachers can expose their students to can be another factor depending on the region they reside in and which state they reside. While I was in school I remember going to Chicago every single year for different field trips to the museums and parks in the city. The way schools are set up completely different in different areas of a state. Urban areas and rural areas are also different with the experiences that the students can have a whole class. There can also be different schools types depending on the area; chartered schools, private schools, magnet schools and public schools are all around the United States and are in different cities depending on the demand for the school. The focus of the classroom can/is different in the school depending on the region; some schools might focus more on developing higher order thinking, while another school might focus on learning simple daily skills. Teaching the students will be different in each region, the information that students need could be vastly different for them to learn from one region to another.

Chapter 8 - Questions
1.What are some factors that can affect an area of the world?
2.What are some similarities and differences that different regions of the world have?
3.How can students adjust to moving into a new region or state? What can a school/teacher/classroom do?

Chapter 4 and 7

Chapter 4 - Reading
In today’s society it is common to see students who do not come from a “traditional” home; some students come from single parent homes, divorced homes, and same sex parent’s homes. These home life situations were not looked at in the mid-twentieth century as they are looked at now. Back in the mid-twentieth century some looked down upon people who came from broken homes or same sex homes. It was interesting for me to read how culture can have an influence on your gender and how you make relationships with people. I also thought it was interesting to see how boys and girls distinguish what they feel is ‘right’ when it comes to activities and which activities make you more of one gender over the other. For some children and young adults it is hard for them to determine what their gender identity is and how they fit into the mold that their parents want them to be in, even if they want to go in a different direction. Stereotyping of gender roles has been taking place for hundreds of years and continues to be present to this day; but some of these gender roles are becoming more noticeable in the opposite gender then what they might have been years ago. For example, there used to be more male teachers in the early twentieth century and now there are more female teachers. I believe that these gender roles have been changing for many reasons and that it is a good element in life that they are changing. I know that for me when I am doing work around my house my boyfriend will help out with inside the house cleaning, where back in the 1940’s females were the ones cleaning inside the house and the males were the ones cleaning the outside of the house. Some laws and acts have been passed in the effort to bridge the gap that males and females have when it comes to sports, jobs, wages, and government assistance.

Chapter 4 - Questions
1.Should your gender play a role in how much funding you get for different activities in a school? Why/why not?
2.Why do some cultures put more pressure on one gender over the other? Does this happen for cultural influences?
3.What are some stereotypes that genders have? Can these stereotypes affect the development of a person/gender? How did/do stereotypes come up?

Chapter 7 - Reading
Religion can be defined in many different ways and can be interoperated by people in different ways. People are born into a religion, but some people do not follow or practice their religion on a regular basis. There can also be different branches of a religion that are followed to different extents. For example Orthodox Jews have completely different rules that they must follow (not mixing meat and dairy products), while other Jews who are not considered Orthodox follow a different set of rules. Different people have different views about religion and the development of the religion that they want to proceed with. For example, republications are more religious than democrats according to the text book. I believe that education can also play a part in the religious views of people. What types of education you long for can have a lasting effect on the views of what you are willing to learn and how you are willing to learn it. Religion can also play into the diversity effect because people are so different about what they are praising and how they praise to their lord.

Chapter 7 - Questions
1.Should religion be talked about in depth in the classroom/school? Why/why not?
2.How should a teacher respond to a student who cannot participate in activities because of their religious beliefs?
3.Why are some religions more accepting of others? Does this affect the way that students might interact with one another?
4.How can a classroom be more accepting of the variety of religions that will be present in the classroom?