BtN: Episode 8 Transcript 26/3/13
On this week's Behind the News
· We find out what it's like for a kid living in the middle of a warzone.
· Going from primary to high school but what is the best age to make the move?
· And learning the language of computers why some kids are being taught to write code.
Hi I'm Nathan Bazley, welcome to Behind the News.
Also on the show today we meet the talented voice actors behind some well-known animated characters. But first to the big news of the week the challenge to the Prime Minister from inside her own party.
Here's Sarah with the Wire.
The Wire
The Prime Minister has survived another attempt by her own party to ditch her from the top job. On Thursday the Federal Arts Minister, Simon Crean, told the media he wanted Julia Gillard to call a spill. That's when federal Labor party politicians get to vote on who they want to be leader. And Crean said they should vote for Kevin Rudd.
SIMON CREAN: “We need to settle this, move forward. As for the position of, the positions being declared open. Kevin Rudd has no alternative but to stand for the leadership.”
But Rudd didn't stand for the leadership. The Prime Minister agreed to the vote but no-one stood against her.
Simon Crean was sacked for being disloyal and seven other Rudd supporters quit their positions in the government. Yesterday Julia Gillard announced their replacements.
*****
The leadership challenge overshadowed what should have been a big story. On Thursday the government officially apologised to victims of forced adoption. Between the 1950s and 70s hundreds of thousands of mothers were forced to give up their babies.
Sometimes it was because they weren't married or because they were thought to be too young to raise a child. But it had a terrible effect on many parents and children. More than 800 people came to hear the apology in Parliament House.
*****
There's been some pretty wild weather across the country. In Brisbane there were severe thunderstorms on the weekend which damaged homes and left two people injured.
And on Thursday, a tornado ripped through several towns in north-east Victoria, destroying homes and injuring around 20 people.
Leadership Challenge
Reporter: Nathan Bazley
INTRO: Well as you just heard there was another attempt to topple the Prime Minister. She survived again. But it showed just how vulnerable it can be when you're in the top job. Let's take a look at why.
NATHAN BAZLEY, REPORTER: This is a risky job. And this is a risky job. But this has to be the riskiest of all.
Sure, Prime Ministers don't jump through space with just a parachute to stop them. And they don't walk a tiny rope, when there is a perfectly good road below.
But by now, you might be starting to realise that daredevils seem to last a bit longer in their jobs than political leaders do. So why is the top job so dangerous?
Reason 1 - We vote for the party, not the leader.
Here is the president of the United States, Barack Obama.
BARACK OBAMA, US PRESIDENT: Hello I'm Barack Obama.
Yes, we just said that. Shoosh you.
Now say Obama passed a law banning cupcakes and sunshine. Clearly he'd be unpopular. But no matter how unpopular he could get, his job is safe. No one can throw him out until the next election.
Now imagine if cupcakes and sunshine were banned here. The PM responsible would be out in an hour! The difference is what each country votes for. Over there, they vote for the president. But here, we vote for a party and put our trust in them to choose a leader.
Most of the time, they've already selected a leader when we vote. So it can feel like that's who we're voting for. But if the party changes its mind, they can ditch the PM without us having any say in it at all! That brings us to the other reason why being a government leader is such risky occupation.
Reason 2 – Replacing leaders isn’t unusual.
Pollies really seem to be getting into the habit lately of knocking their leaders down. Let's run through the casualties. We all know the story of Kevin Rudd getting knocked over by Julia. But since then, the leader of South Australia has been booted by his own party. The leader of Victoria was ditched too. And the leader of the Northern Territory got tapped.
But don't go thinking it's just a government thing. The Leader of the Opposition, Tony Abbott, toppled someone else to lead his party, too. Now this toppling and tapping and ditching and booting has always happened of course.
But now, with opinion polls being done nearly every other day and 24 hour news broadcasts analysing our leaders' every move, it's easier to know when they're unpopular.
And therefore, easier to come up with reasons to show them the door.
So what does all this teach us?
Well politics is a funny job. One day you can be the most powerful person in Australia, the next you can be sitting on the backbench, dreaming about what could have been.
Makes you wonder; considering all that, who would actually want to be the Prime Minister?
VOX POP 1: I think that would be really cool, like you're powerful. I really don't, I'd hate people hating on me.
VOX POP 2: I wouldn't want to be Prime Minister because if you've done so much hard work to become Prime Minister, and then if someone else tries to overtake you, then there was no point in it. Yeah exactly.
VOX POP 3: I would, just ask a lot of questions. Like why am I fired?
VOX POP 4: What if it was your friend that you knew? And they went against you and you were fired? That would hurt me! I'd be heartbroken!
Syria Kid
Reporter: Natasha Thiele
INTRO: Syria is a country where there's been a lot of fighting recently and many lives have been lost. But can you imagine what it would be like to be a kid living in the middle of a warzone? We followed 11-year old Ibrahim as he showed us what life's like there at the moment. Here's Tash.
NATASHA THIELE, REPORTER: Ibrahim loves to play soccer. He also enjoys going to school. But he lives in constant fear for his life.
Ibrahim lives in Aleppo, a city in the Middle Eastern country of Syria. There's a war going on and bombs and missiles fall here a lot, but he and his family try to live a normal life.
Ibrahim, his five brothers and sisters and his mum and dad all live here. They sleep together in one room because it's safer. This is their only TV. It works with the help of an outside power generator, because electricity is no longer available in the home. To cook food and to keep warm, wood needs to be collected for a bonfire. It's Ibrahim's job to find wood for the fire and bring it back home.
Ibrahim's dream is to become a doctor. But getting the education he needs to do that isn't easy. Many schools have been bombed or abandoned, including Ibrahim's.
IBRAHIM: I have already lost two years of study. I hope I don't lose this year as well.
There's a lack of teachers in Aleppo. Afif is one of the few still working here. He risked his life to smuggle these school books from government controlled areas.
Ibrahim goes to a temporary school near his home. But walking there can be dangerous. He never knows when a bomb will go off. And today one landed just around the corner from the school.
WOMAN: Come here, it's a strong one!
On another day, a lesson in modern Arabic was going well until this happened.
Life hasn't always been like this. Ibrahim and his family used to have plenty of food and clothes. They also didn't think twice about walking the streets.
IBRAHIM: We had no problems at all. We were living comfortably. We had work, thank God. We could buy petrol, food and gas.
It's tough for kids like Ibrahim who are living in a warzone. But one way he deals with it is by playing soccer with his mates.
IBRAHIM: It helps me forget the injured people. It helps me forget the blood, the shelling, all of it. When the sun is out, we're all afraid. We go into our homes and stay inside. When the sky is clear, the planes come. If it's cloudy, the planes don't come at all.
His parents hope he gets the education he needs to become a doctor, as well as the chance to travel overseas. But for now, even as the bombs continue to fall, Ibrahim and his friends won't let it stop them from being kids and enjoying a life that's as normal as it can be.
Year 7
Reporter: Sarah Larsen
INTRO: If you ever feel upset by any of the stories on BtN there are links on our website to help. Now, making the move from primary school to high school is a big step. In some states you start high school in Year 7, while in others it's a year later when you're in Year 8. But that's changing in some states and it's causing a lot of debate. Sarah looks into it.
Making the transition from Primary school to high school is a big step for kids. So what age is the best to do it at? Well there's disagreement about that. In some states you start high school in Year 7 when you're about 12 but in others it's a year later when you're in Year 8. But that's changing. The governments in two states are starting high school a year earlier and that's causing a lot of debate as Sarah reports.
Year seven. The year when you leave primary school behind and head for high school.
When you get new classes and new teachers.
And you go from being the biggest in the school to the smallest.
Or, at least, that's how it works in most states.
In New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and the territories, high school starts in Year 7. But in Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia it doesn't start until Year 8.
There's no particular reason for that. It's just that it's always been up to the states to decide how kids should be taught and some decided to do it a bit differently. But now that's changing. As you might already know, the government is writing a national curriculum.
They want kids to be learning the same things at the same age and that's tricky when some are in primary and some are in high school. High schools have specialist teachers who know a lot about their particular subject. They also have specialist classrooms like laboratories and workshops which let you do more hands on lessons. And some reckon that's what year 7s need to learn properly.
So, from 2015, Queensland and Western Australia will be sending kids to high school a year earlier. Some Queensland kids are already trying it out, like twins Luke and Abbey who started Year 7 in high school last year.
LUKE, STUDENT: Very different because we feel more grown up. Like it's like mini adult training. Smile.
ABBEY, STUDENT: I love the sport the best. 'cause our sport teachers are really supportive and they give us opportunities in all different sports.
But while swapping schools isn't such a big deal in the city, in the country it can be life changing. Here in Beacon in country Western Australia there are no high schools. So when primary's over it's off to boarding school for many kids. That used to happen in Year 8 when they were about 13, now it's going to happen a year earlier and it's made some families really sad.
JEAN CASHMORE, MOTHER: One night I mentioned it to them how would you feel about going to boarding school. That would be great I'm really excited I would love to go to boarding school in Year 8 and I said, Year 7 and they said "ooh oh I 'm not sure about that".
Not everyone's convinced that year sevens are better off in high school. After all, kids that age come in all shapes and sizes and while some are getting pretty big for primary, others are still a lot smaller than high school kids.
And the changes will cost money. To cope with the extra students high schools might need more teachers, maybe even more classrooms.
Some would prefer to have a national curriculum which is flexible and makes it easier for year sevens in primary school to learn the same stuff as year 7s in high school.
At the moment South Australia has no plans to change, so in two years time these guys could be the only year sevens still in primary school.
REPORTER: So what do you reckon guys would you be happy to go to high school in two years time?
YEAR 5 STUDENT: Well in some aspects I believe it would be quite good because you're going to be there for a while so it's better to get used to it.
YEAR 5 STUDENT: Well in Year 7 science curriculum you have to use like Bunsen burners and scalpels and stuff and in primary school you don't have that kind of stuff.
YEAR 5 STUDENT: I think we should go to high school in Year 8 because if you go to high school in Year 7 you won't know as much as if you go in Year 8.
YEAR 5 STUDENT: I think that you should go to high school in Year 8 because you can spend another year with your primary school friends
YEAR 5 STUDENT: It just seems right to go when you're a bit older.
PRESENTER: OK let's make that our poll this week.
Online Poll
The question is:
Is Year 7 the best time to start high school?
To vote, just head to our website.
Last week we asked if people should be allowed to promote gambling during sports broadcasts.
18% of you said yes.
82% said no.
What are the odds on that!
Computer Code
Reporter: Sarah Larsen
INTRO: Lots of us use computers but not many of us actually know how they work. Some computer programmers have launched a campaign to encourage schools to teach computer coding. They reckon it's a really important skill for kids in the 21st century. Here's Sarah.
Imagine if the stuff you used every day was written in a language you didn't understand. Well, that's kind of what computers are like for most people. Behind the programs that we use all the time is a language that many aren't familiar with called source code.