Quizzes and hypotheticals

Q1 Your class is discussing the contribution of migration. One girl says that migrants don’t want to become Australians and don’t try to learn English. What do you do? a. You are not sure what to think, so you say nothing. b. Point out that many migrants are proud to make Australia their home and are fluent in English. c. You glare at her and tell her she's being racist. d. You agree with her.

Q2 A guest speaker from the local community is invited to your school during NAIDOC week to talk to students about the stolen generation. She explains how she and many other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were forcibly removed from their families by the government when they were children. At recess, one of the students says that she doesn’t believe that it ever happened. What do you do? a. Say that many children were removed and placed in orphanages, foster homes or trained for work. b. Agree. You don't believe that the government would take children from their families. c. Explain that it happened because the parents weren't looking after their children properly. d. Don't care anyway as it happened so long ago.

Q3 Your group of friends are talking about the new girl who has come from the Middle East. Fatima is a refugee and she has told the kids at school that she has spent some time in a detention centre. One of your friends wonders whether Fatima’s family are terrorists. What do you do? a. Say that as refugees Fatima's family is more likely to be fleeing terrorism than terrorists. b. Agree. You've heard about the violence in detention centres on the news. c. Think your friend is ignorant, but say nothing. d. Roll your eyes and tell her she's being stupid.

Q4 The Year Adviser is talking to a group of students about what they want to do when they leave school. One of the students says that he probably won’t go on to further study because it’s too expensive. The Year Adviser suggests that he may be entitled to ABSTUDY. Some of the other students complain that this is unfair and claim that Aboriginal people always get special treatment. What do you do? a. Agree. You want to go on to further study too, but aren't entitled to any financial assistance. b. Don't care. You will probably be entitled to Youth Allowance anyway. c. Agree and add that you think payments on the basis of race are discriminatory. d. Explain that special programs are needed to address the inequality that exists for some groups.

Q5 Your teacher has asked the class to organise a mock election to coincide with the Federal election. Some of your classmates want to put up an anti-immigration candidate. What do you do? a. You refuse to participate in the election while "that candidate" is running. b. You tell the class that you don't think they should be allowed to participate in the election. c. You put up your own candidate and invite the anti-immigration candidate to a debate. d.Mutter under your breath about how unfair it all is and sulk throughout the mock election process.

Q6 A football competition has been organised by the School Council. During a game, players from one team harass Mary, one of your players, because she is black. A fight begins. What do you do? a. Nothing. You think racial sledging is just a normal part of sport. b. Plan how you're going to get the other team back when play resumes. c. Get involved in the fight. You don't want to miss out on the fun. d. Stick around to make sure the referee gets the full story.

Q7 In a class discussion on youth crime, one of the students comments that members of youth gangs are always “ethnic”. What do you do? a. Agree. You have read about Lebanese and Vietnamese gangs in the paper. b. Say nothing. c. Say that gang members can come from any background and that media reports are sometimes biased. d. Figure that the student who made the comment must be right because he's "ethnic".

Q8 At lunchtime, a group of Year 10 girls shout racist remarks to you and your friends. When you report it, the teacher says the girls are entitled to express their opinions. What do you do? a. Call the teacher a racist and storm off. b. Point out that racial harassment is neither a legal nor acceptable form of free speech. c. Think of some clever racist remarks to shout back at the girls next time. d. Get a group of friends together and plan to "get" the girls after school.

Q9 The Student Council has been asked to think of some activities that students can participate in to promote Reconciliation. One of the students says that they shouldn’t do anything. He says he doesn’t feel guilty about what happened to Aboriginal people before he was born. What do you do? a. Say that Reconciliation is about working together to learn from the past and build the future. b. Ignore the comment. c. Secretly agree, but say nothing because it's politically incorrect. d. Call him racist and walk away.

Q10 In a class discussion on Australian history, the teacher says that families from many different backgrounds such as Greek, Lebanese, Aboriginal and Vietnamese contributed just as much as Australian families. The teacher adds that their cultures are just as valuable as other cultures. Your family has been in Australia for generations, but do not have an English-speaking background. What do you do? a. Agree but add that Australia is made up of many different cultures that can be called Australian. b. Say nothing and think that no matter how many generations you live here you won't be accepted. c. You agree with the teacher. d. You disagree with the teacher.