Private school thugs. Nothing new.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010 at 2:13PM Did you read about the boy who may lose hearing in one ear because a Melbourne Grammar boy threw an egg at him during a muck-up prank gone wrong? Did anyone else feel sickened but at the same time not at all surprised when the principal of Melbourne Grammar said in an interview: "[The injured boy's mother] asked for help because . . . her son was not able to gain access to a surgeon. I was able to, through contacts, get him an appointment with a surgeon the very next day.''
Through contacts - those were the words that made me sick. Through contacts. How kind and noble it was for the important man from the privileged school to help the boy less fortunatethrough contacts.
Through contacts - those were the words that made me sick. Through contacts. How kind and noble it was for the important man from the privileged school to help the boy less fortunate through contacts.
What's astonishing is the stunning lack of insight those two little words revealed. What does it say about a school when the principal brags about queue-jumping? Through contacts. Celebrating a two-tiered health system that leaves one person to wait in pain simply because they have less money.
What kind of values does a school have to acknowledge an inherently unjust system and brag they can rort it? What's the school motto? ''Who you know. Through contacts'', ''Meeting the right people. Not those wrong people.'' Perhaps its mission statement is: ''It's not through merit people will be rewarded, nor the society being one of equity we want to promote. We are committed to reinforcing discriminatory hereditary privilege and attracting insecure parents who tragically use the school their child attends as social currency. We suck in parents with fear, dazzle them with hype and comfort them with social apartheid, gender segregation and elitism.''
PRIVATE SCHOOL VALUES TWO
Last year I wrote about a private school contacting me to mentor one of its year nine students for its ''year nines are privately mentored by professional writers'' part of its sales platform.
When I asked what the fee was, they said I was the first to ask and they hadn't thought about payment. (Their school values did not extend to paying people to increase their company's profitability but did extend to attempting to covertly shame people for asking to be paid for what they do.) I explained I was happy to do charity for charities, but I couldn't afford to work free for businesses. Long story, but in short I suggested a $200 donation to the Asylum Seekers Resource Centre as payment.
I mentored a student and it was fabulous.
The school approached me again this year and I agreed to the same terms. I had contact with the young lad, he was bright and keen, and we were looking forward to working together. Before we got down to work, I asked the school to send me confirmation of last year's donation.
The contact stopped dead. Countless emails and phone calls and I haven't heard from the school or the student since. That was three months ago. I called the Asylum Seekers Resource Centre. It had received no donation from the school. Ever. The school is now building a new wing that looks like a project by Denton Corker Marshall.
A high-profile Australian writer told me he was approached via his publisher by the same private school. When the publicist asked about a fee, the English co-ordinator responded: ''I've not considered a payment, to be honest. The only person who has asked for payment in the past has been Catherine Deveny (GREEDY BITCH) and we (WE? YOU MEAN I) managed to come to a settlement involving a donation to charity.''
BUY TICKETS TO CATHERINE DEVENY IN CONVERSATION WITH SAMUEL JOHNSON 17TH JUNE 2012
Reader Comments (5)
And from these hallowed halls they go forth into the world seeking expecting privileges and respect.
It disgusts me how people will openly advocate the harshest treatment for refugees, the poorest and most vulnerable people in our society while at the same time sucking up to mega rich mining magnates and lobbying for "Special Privileges" for them so they can make more money and pay less taxes.
Many years ago I went to a very working class school, one of the most important codes of conduct was that you stood up for the underdog and did not tolerate bullies, even if you copped a flogging in the playground from them, you never ever gave in and supported them.
I guess times have changed :-(
Through Contacts? Yup, no doubt the private school has amongst its Alumni, and/or Parents some extremely talented surgeons.
You see, there are parts of our society, where concern and respect for ones peers aren't mandated by do-gooder government legislation, or guilt imposed by the press. They come about, because the compassion and caring is imbedded into the Psyche from school age. While that Fraternity may appear to be focused in a close knit community, it's beneficial effects spread much further afield.
Are these doctors to blame for the Medical System that the Socialist Governments at a State and Federal Level have let deteriorate to the point where, getting any sort of specialist treatment is now a matter of months of waiting. Nope, it's a medical system, run by government that doesn't comprehend that some treatments actually need to take some level of priority.
I saw similar a few years back - a builder friend, knew of a tradesman who had crushed his hand in a work accident. He went to a public hospital, and they started to speak of amputation (which would destroy his livelihood) I called a microsurgeon I know (from School days) , and he organized to see, and work on the trademan. He is back at work, and eternally grateful.
I come from a private school, and It is that same private school, that puts on a Sony Camp every year for disabled kids.It's the same Private school, where several of the medico alumni were off at the drop of a hat, to the Tsunami, and recent disasters in Fiji. It's a similar group, that went to PNG to build a medical clinic and stock it with supplies, and yet another that heads off to Burma to support an ORphanage.
THis comes from the same kind of kids for whom doing the right thing, is the right thing. I am a "volunteer" fund raising director for a major national charity. I approach Private and Public Schools in the area for kids to go doorknocking in their own time, on the weekend. THis year, I had 6 public schools and 6 private schools on my "list". From the Private schools, I had nearly 400 volunteers. From the Public Schools I got excuses. Heck, they woundn't even take some "money tins" to do a collection at Assembly or the like.
So, with all due respect (or part thereof) .... Stop ya whining and pull your head in. Your gross generalizations of other people serve as nothing but an indicator of your own narrowmindedness.
" Stop ya whining and pull your head in. Your gross generalizations of other people serve as nothing but an indicator of your own narrowmindedness."
I think that proves how endemic the bullying behavior taught in the private school system really is.
The sad thing is this person probably does not even see his actions as bullying and if confronted would explain that it was just a joke.
Highlighting your narrowmindedness is bullying?. So a gross generalization casting aspersions on a sector of the community, that does go out of it's way to be compassionate, charitable and caring, is not bullying, yet defending that characterization with substantive examples is considered bullying. Where Ms Deveny can traffic her vitriol as "Art", yet any challenge to it, is considered oeverly aggressive.... Strange world you live in.
Oh wait, it might be the result of the public school system, where Gillard's vision for "normalized education" is simply trying to reduce all students to the lowest possible denominator. There is no joke about that. I have a friend who teachs at a state high school. HE thinks it's a good term, if none of the boys have any new tattoos, and none of the girls become pregnant. It's all about the expectations of the individuals. You can't, as I said, legislate compassion or motivation or the like.
The Orwellian protestations are already starting to show themselves for their own failings. (Do I need to explain the socio-political ramifications of that? Didn't they have a Comic book version of "Animal Farm" at your public school. )
Interesting that you bring up Orwellian Protestations while you ignore the problem by deflecting blame onto others.
If you had read 1984 you would know exactly what you were doing.
The problem is not the divide between rich and poor schools but the culture of bullying.
By highlighting the failings of public schools you are not addressing the bullying culture in the private schools system are you ?