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The Real Life Social Network v2

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The Making of Modern Australia

I've been hooked on Joey's Song by Bill Haley & His Comets since seeing the first episode of the six-part documentary series The Making of Modern Australia.

The first episode is entitled The Australian Child and case studies are presented to explore a range of experiences of childhood in Australia since WWII. Donna, an Aboriginal child, was taken from her family and rural mission, and her recollections were heartbreakingly evocative. One was the memory of her family community relaxing after supper listening to her uncle play Joey's Song, her favourite. Later, as she stepped into her adoptive mother's home for the first time, the song was playing on the radio.

It's provoking to consider the spirit and significance of music to culture and identity. Joey's Song now evokes in me Donna's poignant experience of childhood.

I wonder about the Australian childhoods that are being formed today, and the music connected to them. What stories will tell themselves in another fifty years? How will we understand what we are doing and what is happening to children now?

Is it all in the head?

Maybe it is, but it's in the physical world that much of what goes on upstairs has its impact.

The parts that comprise a person are awfully and intricately webbed. Applied to teaching, I find it impossible not to see children (or anyone, for that matter) holistically.

I've been finding myself drawn into wanting to be more involved in student welfare. And although it has historically served a responsive role, I've been chuffed to find a relatively recent movement towards positive psychology, which seeks to foster elements that enable people to thrive, as opposed to just survive. This philosophy resonates deeply with me and so of course I've devised another of my frequent plans (harebrained or pie-in-the-sky styled plans 8-) I'm often told) so that I can do something about this. Scratch, scratch, scratch!

So my goal is this: work towards school counselling and in this role research, develop and implement school and community-wide programs that strengthen individuals, families and society. Start in Western Sydney, and then work with leaders in the field to evangelise the nation!

In the meantime, it's going to mean a lot of work :D Small steps first. I'm applying for psychology sponsorship and then retraining. Thanks, DET. This process will take several years, so there's time to flesh out the steps and details of the plan.

Yes, I still believe in education as a key, but I believe that there is another part I can play, where I will feel at peace, pursuing that which I feel even more pivotal. I knew something wasn't quite right, that there's a deeper need. After all, yes, there's a key, but we need to consider the individuals to whom that key has been offered.