Bad Teachers

Teaching. It's not a job that seems to get very much respect, when you think about it. We've all heard the expression, “Those who can, do; those who can't do, teach.” It annoys me, because teachers have a crucial job: they instruct the next generation and provide necessary tools that their students will carry with them for their entire lives. Teaching is an important job and someone has to do it... but when I say someone, I don't mean just anyone. Because we can all remember a time in our lives (or more likely, several times) when we had BAD TEACHERS.

I'll get to that in a minute, but let me first explain why teachers are so underrated. For that, we need to discuss the influence of parents. Perhaps surprisingly, multiple studies seem to indicate that parenting only matters significantly in a child's development when it's bad parenting. If a youth has good parents, the effect is one of stability (which obviously makes for a mentally healthy child, of course) but it really provides little more than a solid foundation for growth. With good parents a youth has a healthy upbringing, fostering a minimum of personal issues, but the actual impact parents have on our personality is, it seems, fairly small. The first thing to realise is that about 50% of our personality is genetic alone; Lady Gaga was half-right when she told you that you were “born this way” (but only half-right, folks). The other half of our identity comes largely from peer groups – friends mainly, plus any churches, scout groups, sports teams, etc. that you might participate in. Media manipulation also plays a part: you wouldn't care about your figure nearly as much as you do without the insidious influence of television and magazines. Essentially, parents are important in early development, but it isn't really very long before we begin to draw our identity from elsewhere.

School teachers are therefore incredibly important during our high school years. We draw our knowledge of the wider world from teachers – or we are supposed to at least. Teaching is obviously different to parenting, but both parents and teachers bear the responsibility for fostering healthy minds in the next generation, and good teachers are people that have the more direct, formal impact. A degree of loyalty is often fostered: the student of a good teacher will defend their theories, excitedly repeat the highlights of their lessons to others, and (if you go to university) your class choices can be influenced hugely on the basis of who is lecturing in a subject.

So what happens when a student has a bad teacher? It might help to ask – what makes a bad teacher? Things like disrespect for students, ineptitude at communicating, an apparent lack of interest or enthusiasm on the part of the teacher – all of these, and more besides, can severely affect how much you apply yourself in class. Bad teachers can be emotionally affecting: you might leave the class of a bad teacher drained, despondent and depressed. It can affect your self-esteem – you might not want to ask a question in class in case you look stupid. The teacher might ask a question and you're afraid to answer. I was once told (by a somewhat icy teacher) that, “there's no point in you being here – you might as well leave.” On a different occasion I asked another teacher to repeat something I hadn't understood, and was met with a rolling of the eyes, a melodramatic sigh and a slow, patronising explanation. I don't think I ever asked her anything ever again.

My argument is simple: some people cannot, and should not, teach. Ever. If you're considering studying Education at university because you're passionate about the idea of teaching, go for it. But if you're considering Education because you don't know what else to do – stop and think about it. You might make a good teacher (and the only way to find out is by having a go) but make sure you're prepared to deal with the responsibility that being a teacher brings... because you will hold too much power over impressionable, sensitive, developing minds to be excusable for any damage you cause. Even knowing your subject back-to-front means nothing if you don't have the passion, warmth, patience and 'people skills' to complement that knowledge.

In our society, I believe that we don't value good teaching enough, and we don't stigmatise bad teaching enough. I've always resented the expression, “the children are our future” (it's always sounded to me like “You'll get your turn once we're done”) but there is a bit of truth in it. Students eventually grow up, and they always remember their teachers, both good and bad. For me, a student's memories of school should be of a time spent basking in the joy of learning. Those memories should never conjure up bitter resentment and frustration at the thought of a year spent in the presence of an appalling teacher who could teach nothing at all.

Read more by Solomon

Carbon Tax. Good or bad?

I don’t know a lot about the carbon tax. I do know that it’s a tax placed on particular companies to reduce carbon emissions. Another thing I know is that my friends at school have got into many a heated argument about whether the Gillard government carbon tax is a good or bad thing. So I asked them to write about it.

Jack thinks it’s a good thing. This is what he had to say:

“For someone who is a keen environmentalist, pricing carbon is a vital first step in solving the climate crisis. I am non-partisan – I make decisions based on policy not parties. The Coalition’s environmental policy is simply not up to scratch.

The proposed carbon pricing scheme forces 500 of our biggest polluters to pay for their right to pollute; smart business people need to innovate and change to environmentally sustainable practices to remain competitive. This creates new sustainable industries – creating jobs and protecting the environment.

It’s important to understand the projected cost to end consumers. Under the scheme, 90% of households will be subsidised and most will be better off economically. The worst effects of climate change will be far more detrimental economically and diplomatically than deciding not to act. Finally, we see action in Australian parliament to bring the nation into the sustainable energy age.

People say that Australia’s emissions are insubstantial compared to countries like China but we have the highest carbon pollution-per-head of population. We have some of the dirtiest coal fired plants, and the price on pollution will pay to shut down 2000MW of these plants. China itself is taking action to reduce the pollution-per-head, starting a carbon pricing mechanism in some regions before merging into an economy-wide scheme like Australia’s. The effects of being “left behind” could be far more devastating to the future of Australia’s economy and environment.

Under the Renewable Energy Australia scheme, jobs will be created in the renewable and clean energy sectors. The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) will manage a further $3.2 billion for investment schemes like the Solar Flagships Program which recently funded two massive new solar farms in Chinchilla (QLD) and Moree (NSW). Australia has huge amounts of the resources required to create photovoltaic cells (solar panels) - by investing in the technology, Australia has a potential to be the world leader in renewable energy. That’s a big deal when you consider how important this type of energy is for the future.

This is a brief overview of why the carbon price is a good thing - I encourage everyone to read more.”

And Brodie thinks it's not the best solution:

“I would just like readers to keep in mind that I am completely for the concept of minimizing our carbon emissions; I just believe that the carbon tax is not the most beneficial or strategic method in doing so.

The Carbon Tax is said to be an incentive for Australia to convert to renewable energy, they mainly direct this incentive towards large industries. I find this quite unusual, as they intend to penalise Australian industries, without taking note of those who are already running on renewable energy; I don’t believe it’s ethical that they aren’t giving a lower penalty towards industries who are already running on renewable energy.

To further expand this concept; Industry branches who are situated in Tasmania, who solely survive off the Tasmanian Hydro Plant, will receive the same penalty as to their industry on the mainland who are powered by Fossil Fuel Power Stations. If they aren’t going to offer a lower penalty to those being powered by renewable energy, there is no incentive for industries to convert as they won’t benefit financially.

This really defeats the main purpose of the Carbon Tax of encouraging renewable energy; this raises the question as to whether the government is really interested in being green or if they are focused on receiving larger amounts of money.
Instead of slamming our big industries, causing them to struggle against their competition in the world wide market, the government should collaborate with these industries, offering them a more appealing penalty that would only affect them if they are willing to support funds that would go straight towards the construction of more renewable energy sources.

This would be beneficial for the whole of Australia as we will have more renewable energy sources which could possibly replace Fossil Fuel, and also beneficial towards industries as in the long run they will be saving more money.

In strategic terms, our Australian resources will not have to raise their prices as high to compensate for the large penalty, fewer companies will close down, more jobs will be created through the renewable energy source plants and industries will have more money to fund their workers.

To conclude this idealistic ramble of mine; integrating these negotiated penalties to industries into the Carbon Tax isn’t a big task, rather than toying with our tax, this concept would have a better result in minimizing our Carbon emissions; if our government was really enthused about the environment, they would have gone ahead with this plan."

What do you think of the carbon tax? Good or bad? Check out renewableaus.blogspot.com for more info.


Read more by Lauren

Hamish & Andy: Comedy Duo

I would hope that most of you here in Australia would be aware of the comedy duo known as Hamish and Andy. For those of you that don’t: look them up. Hamish and Andy are best known for their radio show ‘The People’s Show’ (not its actual name but it might as well be) – now going on six years on air – as well as various antics and appearances on TV. Recently, they began a ten part TV series called Hamish and Andy’s Gap Year, which kicked off on July 28. After watching the first two episodes, I wondered what it was that made these two so funny and, after great deliberation, procrastination, and admittedly limited research, I believe I have a well thought out explanation.

BEFORE YOU READ ON: Keep in mind that I have only been in Australia for around 8 months as I am writing this. What I have written is done so from the viewpoint of an American with 8 months’ worth of exposure to Hamish and Andy. If you find this post lacking in any way, feel free to add your thoughts via the comments section below. 

I started by looking at the chemistry of the “entity” that is Hamish and Andy. On the one hand we have Hamish: generally the freer spirited of the two, noticeably more relaxed in personality and, in general, responsible for the variety of one-liners and silly humour found on the show. On the flip side we have Andy: easily the more serious of the two, usually pointing out flaws in Hamish’s plans for grandeur (Fred Basset on the Radio, the drum machine, etc.) and he generally seems to be the more responsible of the two. Hamish and Andy have made excellent use of what I will refer to (probably only once) as the Comedy Duo Formula (or CDF, because I’m that lazy). The newly proclaimed CDF states that a successful comedy duo requires two personalities that contrast in such a way that doesn’t prevent the duo from getting along, but gives enough difference to provide a good balance and variety to cover all bases of comedy (and keep the audience entertained). Generally, a good contrast to use (according to the highly notable CDF) is that of the serious versus the exuberant personality, as shown with Hamish and Andy. Another duo that backs up the highly credible CDF is Simon and Lewis of the Yogcast, recently well known for their YouTube videos covering their adventures in the great “indie” game Minecraft.

After I had established the CDF, I couldn’t help but wonder what else there is to Hamish and Andy that sets them apart from the rest. Also: would Hamish and Andy be the same with two different people? What if, instead of Hamish and Andy, it was two completely different guys who met at university? What if they weren’t Australian? How would that impact the show? In my opinion, trying to be completely un-biased, I believe that the success of Hamish and Andy comes down to something a bit deeper than the infallible CDF. I believe that without the two unique personalities of Hamish and Andy, the show just wouldn’t have that special flavour of comedy that it does now; the kind of comedy that provides its share of quality entertainment - while at the same time being willing to take part in some cheap laughs. I for one have not met or witnessed anybody else with their style of wit and comedy. That being said … of the two of them, I would have to say that Andy is the most replaceable (sorry Andy) simply because, and this is just my opinion, the role of the serious personality is easier to do than that of the exuberant personality.

Another factor that I think goes beyond the marvels of the CDF is the fact that Hamish and Andy are Australian. After having spent about 8 months in Australia so far, being able to observe and note the various customs and cultural differences as compared to America, I feel safe in saying that there is something about Australian humour that places it above most others. I get the feeling that if Hamish and Andy were from America, they simply would not be as funny as they are now.

So, what do you think? Does the CDF have any merit? What about your thoughts on Hamish and Andy: are you a fan? More importantly, what do you think makes Australian humour different or better than other countries’ such as the USA? Comment below!

Read more by Jacob

Chaplaincy

There are some pieces in schools that fit perfectly into the structure of it all. Unfortunately, many disapprove of chaplains and don’t believe they are necessary in the school system. If chaplains were religious fanatics who relentlessly hounded your children, I’d disapprove myself. Luckily, they aren’t: they provide spiritual, ethical and pastoral care, which shouldn’t be frowned upon. Chaplains can use spiritual care to help identify a student’s spiritual needs or issues; this can lead to helping students (in a non-confronting way) to work through issues of meaning and connectedness. This type of care highlights the presence of purpose in their life. Pastoral care focuses on emotional support and spiritual care. I came across some research that described students as ’creatures to be taught’ and ‘creatures to be cared for’; teachers are also split into ‘teaching’ teachers and ‘caring’ teachers. Teachers, just like chaplains, need to have an awareness of pastoral care. Should teachers also be put under the microscope for having to care for and befriend their students due to their obligation of pastoral care?

In Tasmania, under the Professional Teaching Standards, teachers are to identify and support students’ physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, environmental and cultural needs. There are multiple demands on a teacher and many responsibilities. The disintegration of the family structure in our society shows that there are more pastoral care issues: teachers don’t have the time to attend to these issues, nor for any one-on-one talks. In 2009, the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed 120,118 marriages and 49,448 divorces. 41% of marriages became divorces. Of the 5.0 million children aged 0 to 17 years in 2009-10, just over 1 million (21%) had a natural parent living elsewhere. It’s too great an expectation of teachers to effectively contribute to pastoral care: they can try, but chaplains are dedicated to it. Chaplains aren’t social workers, but they are there for emotional support if a student wants that support. Teachers do what they can realistically, but they aren’t necessarily there one-on-one for each and every one of their students.

I spoke to a chaplain about his job and he described what he does and looks out for. During recess and lunch breaks, he’ll look out for kids who aren’t involved: especially in the primary school area. He attends to the spiritual needs of the students as a Christian, but does not push his beliefs on them. If a chaplain were to be pushing their beliefs on a student, then they shouldn’t be a chaplain. Chaplains should be living and working with their Christian principles, but also following their job description in doing so. When approaching students, he aims to connect with them: by doing this, he relates to them with understanding and he doesn’t judge them for who they are. No matter the background, the student is the same as any other.

If chaplains were to be removed from schools, it would be devastating for some students. A chaplain is able to devote time to students who they feel are out of the loop. Breaking down social barriers is something I feel chaplains accomplish well. Removing these barriers will open students up to people their age who wouldn’t notice their social problems. Removing chaplains is denying a lonely student a friend: a sense of love and compassion in a place they might least expect it. I feel that parents who want chaplains removed should consider other children as well as their own. If they feel their child is doing well with everything then that’s fine, but not all children are like theirs. Some students also need what this child is getting. I feel the chaplain is a loving character in the school community who is able to show students loving qualities and encouragement that they may not receive at home. For those dead against chaplains, I think you should re-evaluate your thinking on them. What harm could they possibly be causing?

Read more by Nick

Energy Drinks

Since 1995, when PepsiCo launched ‘Josta’ the first energy drink backed by a major US beverage company, the modern world of sports, advertising, diets and health has drastically changed. Has this change come for better or worse though? Companies that produce energy drinks claim they give the consumer an “energy boost”. The drinks are usually sold in aluminium cans or resealable bottles, ranging from resealable bottles, smaller packaged “energy shot” sizes, to 250ml cans, all the way up to 550ml cans, even “just-add-water” powder forms.

Advertisements don’t usually stress that the energy is sourced from the sugar the drinks contain, but from the vitamins and stimulants, such as caffeine. A quick Google search would tell you energy drinks contain a wide mixture of ingredients and additives including: guarana, caffeine, B vitamins, herbs, yerba mate, taurine, ginseng, ginko, and high levels of sugar (the list is far greater than that!). Most energy drinks contain caffeine, usually in the form of guarana or yerba mate. An average cup of coffee contains anywhere among 70-110 mg of caffeine per cup, or per 240ml. Although some energy drinks do match this, many far exceed it. Energy drinks such as: Spike Shooter, Hype Energy, Hustler, Ministry of Energy, and Rockstar can even double the caffeine intake of an average cup of coffee!

I've done some investigating and found ingredients in energy drinks have a wide variety of psychological and physiological effects. Some reports I read found that they significantly improve mental performance and an individual’s alertness. However, excess consumption has been linked to insomnia, agitation, anxiety and irritability. Tests on healthy young adults found that an energy drinks extensively increased their upper body muscle endurance. Experiments have been conducted on tired individuals in driving simulators and results found that with a glucose-based energy drink lane drifting and reaction times were extensively improved. Although energy drinks may improve an individual’s ability, warnings are even warranted for healthy adults who consume them. Consumption of two or more energy drinks a day can lead to excessive caffeine intake. Ingredients in energy drinks such as guarana contain caffeine, and ginseng could even enhance the effects of the caffeine.

Consuming over 400mg of caffeine, at the one time, can have adverse effects including: nervousness, irritability, insomnia, abnormal heart patterns, and increased urination. Unlike sports drinks such as Gatorade or Powerade, energy drinks do not provide electrolytes and tend to have a large “crash” or “fall” after the high they so often provide. Because they do not include electrolytes, energy drinks also tend to dehydrate the consumer, by excreting water from the body due to the caffeine. The body’s performance is decreased up to 10 per cent if the body is just dehydrated by 1 per cent! The “crash” that the beverages produce can also cause seizures after the energy high, linking to emergency room visits and nausea.

I've found that young people, especially males, have been replacing their diets with energy drinks and neglecting food altogether. Perhaps this is because around 65 per cent of energy drink consumers are aged between 13 and 35 years old and males are approximately 65 per cent of the market? Many teenagers, high school or college students use energy drinks, as you've probably noticed, to stay awake in class, study, and boost performance while writing essays or during exams, even to improve their performance in sports (nobody likes that kid who makes PE seem like the Olympics). Numerous high schools have banned energy drinks and there have even been shops, mainly independently owned ones, which have banned the sale of energy drinks to anyone under the age of eighteen. Perhaps this is because of the undeniable health risks? A friend of mine even saw a MOTHER letting her BABY in a pram drink Red Bull! What will this lead to though, a possible generation of alcoholics? These children seem to be mimicking the exact actions of addiction, habit and craving of alcoholics. Schools and small businesses aren’t the only ones to have banned energy drinks however. After the death of a young athlete, Red Bull, which is the dominant brand in the US, controlling approximately 47 per cent of the market, was banned in France because it had an excessive amount of caffeine. Denmark has also banned Red Bull before and the United Kingdom investigated Red Bull but only cautioned warnings for the use by children and pregnant women.

As energy drinks are widely popular with young people, they are often used as a mixer for alcoholic drinks like Vodka. Alcohol is a depressant and energy drinks are stimulants this mixture can have undesirable effects on an individual. The energy drinks can lower the more noticeable effects of alcohol while making the consumer less fatigued and more stimulated, which ultimately can be quite hazardous because the drinker could possibly misjudge their actual level of intoxication. This is because caffeine can hide the more physical cues of intoxication and prevents sleepiness, while delaying the feeling of drunkenness; the drinker would usually rely on to determine their levels of intoxication. This misinterpretation of intoxication may cause individuals to drink more excessively, after they normally would have stopped, and those people are more likely to suffer from injury, assault, or driving while intoxicated. Companies, advertisers and producers argue that drinking these types of drinks is no different to drinking a couple of glasses of wine and then coffee later in the evening.

Caffeinated alcoholic energy drinks have been banned in parts of the US, because they may affect heart rates, mental states and even blood pressure. It's not all bad! Energy drinks such as Red Bull, V energy drink, and Monster have done wonders for the sporting and music worlds with their sponsorship. Most companies sponsor extreme sports such as skateboarding, cliff diving, BMX, snow sports, motocross and car racing. Energy drink companies sponsor from individual athletes to teams and entire sporting events. Not only do companies like Red Bull conduct their own sporting events, they’ve also held art competitions based around their drinks. Red Bull also plays a role in sports ownership; they own motorsport, hockey and football teams. However, there has been great controversy with the use of energy drinks similar to Red Bull in the sporting arena. I was reading some newspaper clippings and found that a performance gain of around 1 per cent is important for elite athletes. Caffeine presents a performance increase of approximately 3 per cent for sports or intense activities, which is a great increase for an elite athlete who is seeking maximum performance.

Whether you find energy drinks appealing or not, it is undeniable that they are affecting all of us in some way; that could be regarding flavour or taste, health, sporting or performance benefits, sponsorship, advertising or even a child or young person you know. I believe they could even produce a generation of young alcoholics! People should and need to be educated on such topics because there are both positives and negatives concerting the beverages. You could be out at a party, at a sports game or even just buying your lunch at your local shop and the health risks or enhancements could affect you or a friend. Think twice about buying that little can next time or selling it to a young person, think about what’s inside it and what affects it could have not only on you, but also on society. Please drink responsibly and remember the affects energy drinks can have when mixed with alcohol.

Read more by Kyle

The Stress Monster

There comes a time in someone’s life, numerous times, when the feeling begins to seep in. The feeling of pressure, worry, a heavy burden; when it’s all a bit too much. That’s when you know you’re stressed. Stress can make a seemingly simple task feel like Mt. Everest. Something that could’ve been completed in five minutes yesterday all of a sudden feels incredibly unachievable when stress is involved. It makes us anxious, irrational and a tad loopy.

The Collins English Dictionary defines stress as “emphasis” and “tension” and offers synonyms such as “significance”, “force”, “weight”, “pressure”, “strain” and “anxiety”. Some stress can be good – as all students would know, a little bit of stress about that due assignment, more often than not, acts as motivation. Yet when it becomes more than that and you feel distressed it can become quite destructive. Stress is often formed in the face of a deadline or when conflict arises, or when you just have too much on your plate that is humanly possible to cope with.

Some time ago I used to struggle with dealing with stress. It was only in high school when, realistically, there was not all that much worthwhile to get stressed about. Yet I would get that tight and uncomfortable feeling and just want to cry and hide under my bed covers and not deal with the world. Thankfully, I got over that phase. Stress is horrible. It’s stressing me out just writing about it! But as I learnt in high school, there are ways to deal with it. Despite my Mum having taught me loads of important things while I’m growing up, there is one pearl of wisdom (which is perhaps the best piece of advice I’ve ever been given!) that has stuck with me the most: and that is to focus on TODAY. 

That sounds a little lame and new-age, but let me explain. The thing with stress is that it clouds our vision because we often worry about what we have to do tomorrow, and next week and next month. Life is busy, so of course looking long-term is going to stress us out. I used to worry about absolutely everything, so Mum taught me to only focus on one day at a time, to try my best each day to get what I need to get done for that day only; then the next day, I can focus on today. Sometimes when I feel super busy, I break it down even smaller than that. To get through my first class, and then my second, and then my lunchtime tutorial and then that meeting after school.

I don’t have it perfect. I still get my knickers in a knot and then Mum has to remind me to focus on today. I’ve got ‘today’ written on the back of my bedroom door and on the face of my alarm clock and I still forget. But when I remember, it really works. When I don’t focus on today I achieve nothing, because I worry about the bigger picture, get stressed and procrastinate. When I do focus on today I achieve what I need to and feel much more stable. I recently finished my mid-year exams and I didn’t really get stressed at all. Since then I’ve crashed and burned mentally, physically and emotionally, but it doesn’t bother me because I’m still not stressed. The solution to stress is to just get your stuff done today. Then worry about tomorrow tomorrow.

Each day should be about today, because when you look at the smaller picture everything is far more achievable. But super important is to look after yourself. When you have a big burden, that’s when you need a good night’s sleep and relaxation time more than ever. Don’t overdo it. Achieve a little everyday and then by the end of the week you’ll have achieved a lot. “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Read more by Lauren

Fitness

When I think fitness I think gyms; when I think of gyms I think of overweight ladies in tight Lycra suits doing aerobics. Lets be honest; most of us see exercising and getting fit as a chore. The minority of us actually enjoy getting up at dawn for a morning jog, gym session or a few laps in the local pool. In the past few years society has made a big push towards getting active and keeping fit, including government campaigns like “Find Thirty” and “Swap it, Don’t Stop it.” I love these new campaigns because they are making fitness seem like a way of life and something you can ease into instead of intense workouts and fad diets.

“I lost 20 kilos in 20 weeks with Jenny Craig!” We’ve all heard ads like these on TV. This is one reason people want to exercise and get fit; to lose weight and have a toned body. People join up for the 10 week program of drinking protein shakes, then after losing a fair amount of weight they decide to treat themselves to Maccas to celebrate and it starts all over again. Although a diet can work for some, it’s not ideal as it becomes a chore which isn’t going to keep you happy and healthy. 

Exercise is something you should enjoy and be happy doing, not having to force yourself to put on your runners and get going. If you’re not in the right mind set when you exercise it won’t work out, so be happy doing it. Choose something that suits you and your personality; if you don’t like mornings don’t do early exercise. Motivate yourself with fun exercise because it doesn’t always have to be sweat and pain. Like most things in life, you’ll only get out of it what you put in, so do something that you feel comfortable doing and go for it. 

Joining a gym for me was a great choice. Although I have to get up extra early, the outcomes are totally worth it. I’m a more energised person and am capable of much more physically. Being fit doesn’t mean you’ll look like a swimwear model; it means having a healthy lifestyle. You don’t have to be a gym junkie or a health freak to be fit. Swap your lazy Sundays for a walk in the park, it’s easy and you’ll feel much better afterwards. There is one reason why everyone should get out and get active. Exercise makes you happy!

Read more by Georgina

Is Chivalry Dead?

Here's a term you probably haven't heard in awhile. Chivalry. By definition these are qualities that a medieval knight should posses and include 'the combination of qualities expected of an ideal knight, especially courage, honour, justice, and a readiness to help the weak'. Over time the concept of chivalry evolved into not only the role of a knight but of a man in general, especially towards a female. Chivalry was seen as a man tipping his hat at a woman and standing whenever they would enter or leave a room. A man would always open a door for a woman, help her carry things and give up his seat on a bus. and From this you may think, isn't this a good thing? Yes and no.

Over the years and into more modern times the term chivalry lost its true meaning and became all about men 'looking out' for women, forming 'the gentlemen'. While I believe this is extremely important and I myself aim to practice it, women began to feel that the gentleman stereotype started to actually typecast women negatively, as passive, incapable and in need of a male 'hero' figure in order to get by. This of course is quite a degrading outlook and it fuelled a big part of the feminist and gender equality movements, which for the most part were a good step forward. But I am not here to debate gender equality, that can be looked at another day. What I want to do is make a call for a shift back to chivalry.

Now when I say that, you might think it odd that I would endorse something I only just described as an oppressive force against women. But this is not at all what I am calling for, I am calling for a move back to true chivalry. A move back to the 'ethical standards that foster the development of manhood'. I am so sick of hearing of men who abuse women or children, even other men and I hate the misconception of the modern perfect male, who's manliness is decided by their physical strength and sexual activity. The code of chivalry states that a real man should be truthful, loyal, courteous, honourable to women, supporters of justice and defenders of the weak. Men are not to take part of scandals and gossip as this is harmful not only to others but too themselves as it strips away their character.

Surprisingly, the code of chivalry also speaks of romantic love as a sign of a true man, which is almost completely contradictory to the modern manhood, which seems to be measured in ones number of sexual partners, which by the way, disgusts me. No. Instead a real man, in practicing the above, realises that it is the combination of elements such as truth, courtesy, loyalty and may I add humility, that form commitment, which in turn unlocks what I consider a much manlier love. It takes guts to commit, and it takes guts to look after those who are vulnerable and those who you are responsible for.

See, where the move of the gentleman went wrong was it took the call for men to honour women as a call to make themselves look good and exert authority over them. But what honour means is to have respect of women and to regard them highly; the complete opposite. We look after them because we hold them as important to us. I don't mind the term gentleman, its nice when your actions elicit a response of gratitude from a woman or anyone for that matter. Just let your definition of a gentleman be one reflecting the code of chivalry, and not of self righteousness and control over others.

I apologise , as this post has been directly targeted at men, but I think that most women would agree that they would prefer a man that will honour them instead of oppress and exert authority over them.

So what are your thought's? Men and women, is chivalry dead? Or is it high time that men started actually acting like men again?

Read more by Brayden

Not all Christians are Potty

If you didn’t hear, this Saturday just gone, myself and the rest of the Hello Noise team hung out in the Launceston mall as a part of our first offline event. Wait for it: Hello Noise in the Mall. You may think it’s weird that we did, but here at Hello Noise we don’t just want to be an online blog or group, we want to be able to hang out with readers and people that like the blog in person face to face. As advanced as social networking is online, we wanna hang out offline and get to know the people that have enjoyed our work!

So we went to the mall and had a great time getting to know people and sharing what Hello Noise is about to curious onlookers, but there was one thing that happened that none of us ever expected. The Potters House turned up.

Now if you’re from Launceston you might know of The Potters House. They made the front page of ninemsn news last November when their Haunted House ‘performance’ confronted people as young as 13 with images of abortion, drug injection and rape. The Potters House through company RIOT Theatre presented the performance through questionable advertising, drawing people in to what seemed at first to be a simple haunted house performance but which turned out be so much worse. The event then ended with members of the group ‘preaching’ or some could say condemning the patrons to seek forgiveness for their sins and turn to God. 

And that wasn’t the first time either. The Potters House received criticism when they launched the same stunt in 2001 without disclosing its content to patrons.

So when I say The Potters House turned up. They turned up. They surrounded the area in which our event was taking place and started going for it. They first handed out flyers, but then some of the leaders of their group took it in turns to preach to the people passing through the mall. And I wasn’t happy about this at all. Not just because they had overtaken our space, but because I know that what they were presenting isn’t what God is about.

Now I’m a Christian and I’ve never mentioned that on Hello Noise before. Not because I’m hiding behind a facade, or I’m ashamed. Far from it. I’ve honestly just never felt a need to bring up my faith. You see what I’ve written or discussed in previous blogs hasn’t required me to make statements about my belief in God. What I’ve written has come down to the needs of people and the needs of this world. Things like love, respect or leadership. This blog post on the other hand does involve God and it does involve Christianity but it’s not limited to those things. Most importantly it’s about truth and love.

You see it’s not cool to be a Christian. It’s not cool to not get drunk, or to be 19 and to have not had sex. But I don’t care about those things. What I do care about though, is how people see one person who says they’re something and they presume everyone else is the same. It annoys the daylights out of me. Through high school if people learnt that I was a Christian, they automatically got this image in their heads. Old fashioned buildings, boring kids’ activities, hymns and tons of brown suits. And then perhaps out of no fault of their own, they took that image and attached it to what they thought I believed. They then thought I was boring, that I sung hymns and that I wore a suit on Sunday. And all of things weren’t true. I don’t know what church they were thinking of, because it definitely wasn’t my church. You see those images have been associated with churches for generations and part of is to do with the fact that for some churches those things are traditions. They have taken the brown suits and the hymns and almost attached it to their beliefs, removing any possibility of relevance. But that’s not what it’s about and that’s not what my church was about! It doesn’t say anywhere in the Bible about wearing suits to church or only singing hymns. And there definitely isn’t a passage that says ‘Thou must have a stained glass window.’ Those things aren’t what Jesus cares about. He just cares about people. 

So when people said those things or associated them with me, I found that hard. Because that’s not what I’m about and it’s not what God is about either. 

Those people in the suits may love God, but those traditions aren’t going to get them closer to him. And if people believe they will; they’re confused. And a lot of people who say they love God are confused. Take the whole end of the world rapture scare earlier this year in which so called evangelist Harold Camping “prophesied” the return of Jesus and the end of the world. Do you know that it specifically says in the bible that no one will know the hour or the day when Jesus will return? No one as in nobody. Especially not Harold Camping. That makes him wrong.

And people look at Camping and think that all Christians are like him. We’re not! He is a dude that thinks he knows God but is really just so confused.

And that brings me back to The Potters House. The Potters House say that they follow God, but who knows where they are really at. All I know is that they are confused. You see the message they preach isn’t what God is about. God isn’t about locking people away in a condemning and evil haunted mansion and he’s not about illegally preaching in the mall telling people to turn from sin. You see all Christians are asked to share about God, as Morgan summed up in her blog post when she wrote “imagine that we really feel the need to tell others about what we believe”. If you believe something so truly you’re going to share it! But it shouldn’t be done in the way The Potters House did it. It shouldn’t be done with a bull horn or a megaphone. It should be shared with love. And that’s what the Potters House weren’t doing when they rocked up on Saturday. 

A couple of friends of mine, who both happen to be local youth pastors, actually went up to some of the members of Potters House and asked them why they were doing what they were doing. They quoted from Matthew chapter 19 in the Bible which tells the story of the rich man who came and talked to Jesus.

Someone came to Jesus with this question: “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?”

“Why ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. But to answer your question—if you want to receive eternal life, keep the commandments.”

“Which ones?” the man asked.

And Jesus replied: “‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. Honor your father and mother. Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

“I’ve obeyed all these commandments,” the young man replied. “What else must I do?”

Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

And their point was that we should go up to people and tell them what they must do to follow Jesus and go to heaven. But my friend pointed out something to them that they’d missed. Jesus didn’t go up to the man. The man came up to him and asked. And that’s not what The Potters House were doing in the mall. They probably thought they were doing the right thing but they weren’t doing anything Jesus would have been keen on I can tell ya that.

My point isn’t that you have to love Christians or God. That’s completely up to you. My point is that yes there are some confused and messed up people in this world but not everyone’s the same. Take our politicians. They say they’re Australian but a lot of the time they are confused and say some terrible things, that doesn’t mean that all us Australians are confused too does it?

Not every ‘Christian’ is crazy like Harold Camping and not every Christian is confused like The Potters House. Jesus wasn’t about publicly condemning or trying to predict the end of the world. He was about love, traits The Potter’s House Pastor didn’t portray when I kindly asked him to take his team and leave our permitted area.

He lied to my face. “You don’t need a permit to preach in the mall” were his words. Trust me, you do need a permit to preach and he definitely didn’t have one. That’s not truth. And that’s not Christianity.

So next time you meet a Christian, just get to know them before associating them with something, because they’re probably nothing like Harold Camping or a Potters House pastor. Or you never know, they might be a confused psychopath. If so, tell them to properly read their bible.

Read more by Dylan

Our Relationship with Technology

Everywhere you go there is bound to be someone, normally a teenager, who will have a mobile phone plastered to their hand or a pair of headphones in their ears (with the music blasted so loud that it is impossible to make any “human” contact with them). This is the way of our generation. Are we so reliant on technology that we separate ourselves from the world? Mobile phones give us the ability to contact others and we are easily reachable. Most mobiles have internet access, a camera and games. Why would you need to write a letter when you can send a text message? Instead of studying with books, all the information you need is on a computer: with just a few strokes on a keyboard, you will have all the information you will ever need. Almost every family in Australia will have a computer or a television in the house and, even when you watch the T.V as a family, you don’t really spend quality time with each other. Even tiring chores around the house have been ‘’technologised”. Instead of using the sink, soap and a sponge, we have a dishwasher. When it comes to cleaning our clothes, there is a washing machine. Technology has mostly made our lives easier and convenient but seriously: we are so reliant on technology. It’s just pathetic. 

I detest the idea of people texting each other while standing in the same room! Going for a jog without an iPod plugged in? *GASP* IMPOSSIBLE! Some people will be in the car – and would have been driving for a while – before realising their mobile is back at home … and will actually turn back to get it because it wouldn’t be possible to go a WHOLE day without it. Who knows … soon, someone will probably invent a machine to think for you! Personally, I like reading books. I like having pages to flip through … These days, you can just download books off the Internet: where is the fun in reading if it means your eyes are glued to a screen? What’s going on in the world? What happened to the good ol’ days where receiving a letter in the mail would make your day? What happened to live music? Our world is turning into a giant ball of factories, roads and metal. EW. Instead of staying cooped up inside the house watching T.V, GO OUTSIDE. Spend some time with nature! Recently, I got back from a one month trip to Vietnam and Cambodia, where I was not allowed to bring my phone or iPod. I actually thought I wouldn’t survive… however, being without my mobile for so long inspired me to write postcards to family and friends: I found this fun and interesting. I was able to enjoy the time and really take in my big, new surroundings. 

Some form of technology is used in basically everything: school, dance lessons, weddings, shopping, driving, exercise and even funerals … does that make you think about your relationship with technology? How would you do without technology for a month? Try it. Maybe you will like 
it: maybe not, but it’s worth a try. Otherwise, our world will become a giant globe run by robots!

Read more by Grace

Op Shopping

I love op. shops. Walking through the front door of a Mission shop or Salvo store is like entering Aladdin’s cave of wonders: clothing, shoes, bags, scarves, bric-a-brac and books, CDs, cassettes, furniture... the vast majority of which is pre-loved, ridiculously affordable and full of character. I would guess that around two thirds of my wardrobe is pre-loved... and that the vast majority of this was bought at one op. shop or another. It's safe to say that wearing second-hand clothing isn't for everyone, but who is it for? What kinds of people are compelled to buy mothballed pullovers, lace-up granny boots and high-rise corduroy trousers? If anyone could answer that last one for me, I'd be much obliged…

If you’re the type of person who loves contributing to a good cause – and scoring some unique bits and pieces while you’re at it – op. shops may well be the place for you. Nine and a half times out of ten, opportunity stores are run by not-for-profit organisations or charities, fuelled by donations and volunteer efforts, and are primarily designed to provide low-income earners (that’s us, fellow students!) and people in need with good quality, affordable clothing and home wares. It’s a wonderfully humanitarian initiative. If wearing secondhand clothing and the like isn’t your thing, there’s always the option of donating your no-longer-wanted clothes, shoes, coffee mugs, CDs – whatever – to your local op. shop. Putting your name down to volunteer at a store is also a great way to give back to the community. Whichever way you choose to go about things, it’s a win-win situation!

Op. shops are also a great place to go when you’re feeling thrifty: if you’re like me and have learned the mystical ways of the sewing machine, practically nothing is too long or too big when it comes to the op. shop clothing jungle. Woolen Grandpa jumpers, oversized cardigans, old-school shorts and skirts, adorable dresses and some wonderful shoes can all be found (and more) – but you often have to dig through the bobbled turtlenecks, enormous blouses, floor-length nightgowns and high-rise flared jeans to get there. For the particularly adventurous, there’s also the fancy dress/vintage section: often spilling over with puffy 80s prom dresses, ponchos and various items of clothing covered with glitter. You can usually find lengths of funky fabrics, retro cushions, blankets and quilt covers, too, if you feel like setting your creative gaze on something a bit different.

Of course, if you don’t like the idea of scrounging through racks of secondhand clothing to achieve the “vintage” look you’re after, you can simply jump online and buy new, vintage-inspired dresses and jumpers and boots and whatever else (and spend a whole lot of money in doing so) … but if you’re feeling brave, generous, adventurous or all of the above, take a friend or few and venture into your local op. shop. You never know what treasures you might stumble across!

Read more by Morgan

The Demise of the Bookstore

Once, there was a time when you had no other option than to buy a book from a bookstore. You’d have to leave the house and speak to those in the store, but it was a less than a troublesome experience. Today we can buy online and avoid the conversation about how the weather is outside. It’s in many ways more convenient to buy online but it is strangling the business of bookstores who find it hard to keep up with business of the much faster online store.

At heart I can’t stand the online business but there is a far better variety and it’s cheaper depending on where you look. Although if my local Angus & Robertson had what I needed, then at a reasonable price, I’d be right behind them. At the end of the tunnel there is a light for bookstores and that’s try making more sales online to get back in the competition. Primarily being that online bookstores can theoretically afford to drop their book prices due to less staff being involved and no rent being needed to pay for the store. The online world is an important battleground for retail in general. Myer is struggling online so they are giving free shipping with every online purchase. Like in a small town, you don’t want to lose out to a new store in town that are cheaper and prettier than you. Bookstores will need to find a way to survive. Online is likely the key.

Bookstores have lived many days and they probably foresaw many more days to come. Business Minister Nick Sherry shone light on the situation. "In five years, other than a few specialist booksellers in capital cities, we will not see a bookstore, they will cease to exist." As a bookstore owner I’d be feeling a sense of dread for my business. People who are told they have a certain time left to live don’t always die when predicted, their ailment sometimes just disappears. I feel bookstores, even small ones can survive. Adjusting to change is one way of challenging their demise. E-Books are increasing in popularity and bookstores need to make available plenty of them to purchase. I definitely prefer owning a book in physical form. Maybe it’s the smell or because it’s a book and books have pages attached to a spine with inked words through it. Reading from a screen has no charm to me, some love it though. The Australian dollar could also change giving a positive spin for the bookstore. Angus & Robertson in Launceston struggled financially and closed up shop, so other stores need to react quickly on how to respond to an unwanted trend. In the next five years a lot could happen. The internet could bust for whatever reason, taking shoppers back into the street. Who knows? I don’t, and Nick Sherry possibly doesn’t either.

The bookstore might be the beginning if Nick Sherry is right. If the bookshop disappears then other forms of print possibly will, the newspaper for instance. There is a vast variety of options for shopping online and before long clothes stores may cease to exist. Our malls may one day be filled with the skeletons of old stores as tumbleweed are blown through the centre of it all.

Read more by Nick