NEWS July 2021
It has been a very difficult time with Covid spreading around the world and so many people of all ages getting so sick. Young people have very quickly learned about washing hands more often and how important it is to wear masks when governments and health workers ask us to. Good on you for all you are doing to help this very infectious disease from spreading! You are making a difference and if people of all ages would be as responsible as you about these things and having vaccinations when they can, we wouldn’t be having lockdowns as often and they would stop sooner too.
Having more school lockdowns this year, as well as other restrictions, have made life so different. It’s hard not being able to see your friends and family members as much as you would like to and remote learning is very different from being in your classes, playgrounds and sport with your teachers and friends.
I fell over and broke my wrist. It hurts very much and I needed to go to a doctor and then to hospital to have surgery so that the broken bones could be put back together so that I will be able to use my right hand again, be able to write, tie shoelaces, brush my teeth, and so many things I am used to doing. What couldn’t you do if now both hands work well but if you held one hand behind your back for a while? Try it and see. I never realised how we need to use both hands to do so many things we do every day. I also realised how lucky I am that the rest of my body works very well and it made me think about people with different parts of their bodies that don’t work well. We are all people, equal and with the same rights and being different doesn’t stop us being equal.
When I was in hospital and also in a clinic for X-rays I saw the posters you can see on this page, in lots of places. I was happy to see them. Tips is another word for suggestions and these are very good tips to know whenever you're feeling sick, have an accident or aren't sure about things happening in your body. Notices like these are good reminders that the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child that informs us that:
Children have the right to good quality health care, clean water, nutritious food and a clean environment so that they will stay healthy.
Children who have any kind of disability should receive the care and support they need so they can live a full and independent life.
The Australian government knows that the Rights of the Child are very important and wants every child in Australia to know these rights are for them and we have a National Children's Commissioner in our country who is here to help children live their rights too.
It’s not your fault you can’t go to school. Having lessons on a computer is very different from being in a classroom with a teacher and your friends. For some people learning school subjects at home works well, but for lots it can be uncomfortable. You are still the same person, just trying to do what you are asked to do, but in different ways.
Try not to worry about the results from tests and examinations including NAPLAN and the VCE/HSC/ NTCET assessments and results for the final years of schooling. Even though so much has changed and many students in Australia have not been able to go to school for weeks at a time, these ways of measuring learning still are used. Janusz Korczak understood that when life is very different and difficult, what you do may not be the same as if you did it before things changed. Words of Janusz Korczak remind us of this. “Whatever has been achieved through pressure and violence is unstable, unreliable and incorrect.” When you haven’t been able to go to school as you usually do, any tests, NAPLAN or VCE/HSC/NTCET exams are pressure and how you do in them is not the same as if you had been going to school as you did before the pandemic. The results aren’t reliable. Everyone faces challenges and you are now. Believe in yourself and know that trying your best is what you can do, and you will always be you no matter what the results say.
If you aren’t well, tell your parents or carers that you need some help so you will feel better again. When a doctor or nurse is helping you, don’t be afraid or too shy to ask questions. Find out what you can about what is happening to your body to help you and your family know what you can do to get better.
These posters I saw may remind you that it doesn’t matter how old you are, you have the right for very good health care and safe lives.