POWER, OWN YOUR POWER, EVERY STORM BRINGS A FRESH NEW BEGINNING.


Australia an unfair nation, say youngBy Patricia KarvelasAugust 20, 2004
YOUNG people think Australia is undemocratic and unfair, and they cite their teachers as having the greatest influence on their political thinking, according to a provocative new national survey funded by the Government.Fewer than 55 per cent of young people surveyed agreed or strongly agreed that "Australia is a democratic country".
And only 52 per cent said they had been taught about citizenship at school.
At one Sydney school, Year 10 students did not know what democracy meant and some students said that Australia was not a republic so it could not be a democracy.
And many participants in focus groups said they had gained their understanding of the rights of citizenship from American television.


The National Youth Affairs Research Scheme report was carried out by a private consulting firm for the Government between 2002 and December of 2003 to record the perceptions of about 800 youths aged 12 to 15 of citizenship and democracy.
Teachers were rated the most trustworthy source of political information, with 75 per cent, followed by family at 73 per cent.
The media was trusted by 36 per cent and politicians were the least trustworthy sources of political information at 34 per cent.
A spokesman for conservative think-tank the Institute of Public Affairs, Alan Moran, said the survey results were alarming.
"It probably reflects more adversely on Australia's education system than on the reality of the Australian political system," he said.
He said it could be because teachers had the most influence on young people's political opinions that so many young people thought Australia undemocratic.
But Australian Education Union president Pat Byrne said the fact that so many young people thought Australia undemocratic was probably because they had experienced instances of injustice.
"It could be that students' experiences within their own lives is teaching show them that democratic processes are not always used," she said. Ms Byrne said teachers did not teach that Australia was an undemocratic country.

I FIND THIS EXTREMELY INTERESTING. I THINK AUSTRALIA LACKS TEACHING "CIVICS" IN SCHOOLS. ITS A SHAME THAT KIDS HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THE CONSTITUTION CONSISTS OF.