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INTRODUCTION
Are
you in an environment where you wear a school uniform? –
get bullied? – have to remove your piercings every morning?
– are forced to use foul toilets? – have become
suspicious of the tuck-shop food?
School
policies determine all these things about your environment.
These policies don’t just come from somewhere mysteriously
– people make them. And you can be part of that policy-making
process.
However, policy-making for students is not easy. Here are
some of the barriers that students report, but also some of
the bridges that have helped them get over the barriers…
Barriers – be aware, not afraid
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Students are often unaware of the existence of policies
or where to find them
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Policy language is often difficult for students to understand
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The policy-making process is not accessible to students
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The school community can be unsupportive of student involvement
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Some policy-makers regard students’ opinions as invalid
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Some policy-makers try to shape ‘future adults’,
rather than addressing the issues of current learners
This
website aims to help you with ideas, language, location of
policies, arguments etc, so that it’s easier for you
to take part in making and changing school policies.
Bridges – use these ideas to take the initiative to
gain knowledge and power
- Explore
this website and its various links.
- Ask
your teachers or principal for information about policies
within your school and how you can get involved.
- Seek
to align yourself with networks like the VicSRC,
Parents Groups/Parents Victoria.
These groups play the policy game and may offer you support.
- Express
your ideas and concerns directly with your state/territory/commonwealth
government education departments; use their forums (website
access) and try to converse directly with the education
minister (email).
- Initiate
action through your Student
Representative Council (SRC).
Be
courageous; explore the policy jungle!
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