My kinda speech, Zenaan
--- New high school principal
A Speech Every Australian High School Principal Should Give.
Hello Zenaan, Wouldn't it be nice if we all lived in a world without racism? A world without prejudice based on ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation? Prejudice and racism propagate in locations where people are not exposed to other cultures and taught to look outward towards the world in view of peace and tolerance. Banning cultural, national or ethnic celebrations creates an environment where only one cultural outlook is valued and respected, contributing to the idea that all other cultures should be shunned and dismissed. This is the essence of racism and intolerance, founded in ignorance and lack of outward perception. Open clubs created in order to promote understanding of differing cultures and people belonging to different minorities, said to "divide students" in the speech you have so relevantly and tactfully distributed among this mailing list, aid in supporting a message of tolerance and acceptance of diversity to the point where they may form the core of a school's strategy against racism. Banning or otherwise dismantling such clubs would further reduce opportunities for a school's students to engage with other cultures and develop a wider perspective that takes into account the differences of all people in this world. Furthermore, allowing some classes, designed to cater for international students, to proceed in a language other than English, is critical in fostering an environment where students from other cultures are welcome and able to learn alongside students that are typically considered "ethnically Australian". Failing to foster such an environment not only results in an ethnically homogenous school population, characterized by strong opinions against diversity, but also tears down the advances in tolerance and global thinking put forward by programs such as open school clubs and cultural celebrations. In today's connected age, where it is not longer important, but essential, to be able to interact with and understand those from differing cultures and geographic locations, neglecting the importance of cultural awareness is not only failing to prepare a school's students for a better future, the main goal of all education, but also resorting to an incredibly outdated and naive view of education that has primarily been demonstrated in centuries past, where the purpose of school, as it used to be, was to equip students with the skills necessary, and only the skills necessary, to carry out a repetitive task known as their "job", mandated by a central power. It seems that the narrator of the speech you have posted deems such an "education" to be the end goal of all schooling, clearly demonstrated by their adamant insistence in ensuring that all students are to compete on the "Australian job market", rather than adopting a more modern perspective that acknowledges the existence of a global, or at the very least, international, potential for employment. Finally, the drive and commitment to an Australian national identity, so fervently expressed by the narrator, fails to take into account that Australia's national identity relies on a global perspective to provide cohesiveness within Australian society and that "Australian culture", as understood by the majority of Australian residents, is rather superficial to the point where Australia is deemed "primarily culture-less", relying instead on a strong attachment to multiculturalism. I truly hope that you did not mean "your kinda speech" to be one of intolerance and prejudice, similar to the speeches supported by and created in the interests of nazi and neo-nazi supporters or parties. Rather, I am optimistic of the idea that you have posted such a speech as a result of a desire to take the point of view of a devil's advocate and are indeed seeking a better world, one where racism, prejudice and intolerance are notions of the past. All the best, Endless