The Australian way of life..Otro punto de vista

Hola a todos,

Este artuculo salio hoy en el periodico «The Age» de Melbourne.

Este es solo otro punto de vista acerca de la vida en Australia que me parecio importante publicar aca.

Saludos, Deborah

The one test an exam whiz wants to miss

Chee Chee Leung
December 13, 2006

IF EVER there was a migrant success story, the life of 19-year-old Tianhong Wu must be it.
This week, Tianhong was one of four VCE students from Glen Waverley Secondary College who achieved a perfect ENTER of 99.95.
The public school triumph from four migrant families made front-page news yesterday, along with Federal Government plans to test aspiring citizens on their English skills and their understanding of Australian values.
Tianhong, who could barely speak English when she arrived from China five years ago, said a test of basic language skills and Australian laws might be effective, but questioned how it was possible to test for a knowledge of Australian culture and values.
«It’s very vague, and a lot of it would be common sense as well, so I don’t really know how they would test that kind of thing,» she said. «And you can’t really test whether or not they love Australia as a country.»
Tianhong, who wants to study medicine at university, said she became a citizen
this year because she liked Australia and expected to spend the rest of her life here. «I just feel I’m part of the Australian society.»
Her mother, Heran Wang — who was a computer science teacher in China — also picked up some citizenship application forms yesterday.
«At the beginning I thought I would move back to China to continue my career … but I think I will stay here for longer,» she said. «I really enjoy Australian life and (I want to) learn more skills.»
Currently working part time in a fashion warehouse, she has applied to study a laboratory skills TAFE course next year.
Ms Wang, whose English is less fluent than her daughter’s, said she was «a bit worried» about the prospect of an English test. Both mother and daughter said a citizenship test might cause some to view Australia as a less welcoming nation.
«It will lead some people to believe that Australia is being restrictive, and some people might think it might lead to discrimination as well,» Tianhong said.
«We enjoy the Australian way of life — quite carefree and egalitarian — but it’s also very diverse and varied, so I think everyone should respect that.
«I don’t think there should be one sort of very strict standard of what it means to be an Australian. Everyone is different. That’s what makes the Australian culture so good.»