How the Multiculturalism of Melbourne is Reflected in my Placement

When you think of Australia, the first thing sthat typically comes to mind are the beaches, outback and kangaroos, the laid back, surfer lifestyle, stuff like that. Though the majority of the population of Australia is White, it is quite a multicultural country, especially the city of Melbourne. Melbourne is known for its multiculturalism, which is seen throughout the city's large number of diverse restaurants and neighborhoods, and even in the subjects available to study at The University of Melbourne. However, I see it especially reflected in my placement.

The majority of students at North Melbourne Primary are White and speak English, but many of the students at school and in my classroom are of another race/ethnicity and 57% have a language background other than English. I have students in my classroom from countries of Southeast Asia, India, and those who have Muslim, Christian, and Hindu faiths. On my first day, my SP informed of the diverse backgrounds of the students, but I didn't really connect it to Melbourne's celebration of multiculturalism until we talked about it my contemporary Australia class at uni. The culture of Australia is very interesting because the Indigenous people, who were/are the original people to inhabit Australia, were disregarded as a population/race when the British arrived and established themselves as owners of the land. Since then, Australia has been a home to British migrants, and eventually to migrants of other nations, thus making up quite a diverse and at the same time, disheveled/confusing understanding of what a true Australian culture really is.

Because of the Melbourne's amazing multiculturalism, my SP tries to recognize holidays and celebrations of other countries and faiths and encourages students to share aspects of their culture to the class. This is a small example, but one of my students is from Japan and she and many other students make cards or drawings for my SP on a weekly basis just for fun. She will write some of the cards in Japanese and draw an anime figure, which is very central to the Japanese culture. Instead of just thanking her for the card and starting off the first lesson of the day, my SP asks questions about the writing and the drawing, showing interest and engagement with her. This little conversation stood out to me because the student's culture was valued by my SP and the student's classmates, as my SP asked for her to show and explain her drawing to the class. Through these conversations, these young students can gradually appreciate and learn from their classmates' culture. The classroom schedule and forms of assessment don't play too large of a role in reflecting Melbourne's culture, but it is definitely shown through moments between my SP and other teachers times with the students such as conversations and small reflective writing assignments. This celebration of different cultures reminded me of my time at my P2 placement The Edison School. The Edison School is also very diverse, and I loved how the staff incorporated the students' cultures into the classroom, such as creating a map to show where each student or their family was from and learning simple words in some of the their home languages.

It's the little things like these that stand out to me when I am observing and teaching in the classroom here and at home. It is so necessary for all educators to incorporate and celebrate all students' cultures in the classroom. My time learning of the students' backgrounds, and seeing how my SP embraces and appreciates this has had a great impact on my time at North Melbourne so far and has definitely been one of my favorite aspects of teaching at here so far!