NEWS: Michael Brechter: Austrialian for Dumb Teacher

CULTURE: Michael Brechter: Austrialian for Dumb Teacher

Apparently teacher Michael Brechter watched Dead Poets' Society recently, or one of those other movies about teachers shaking things up:

At first, I was unimpressed and didn't think much of it. Who wants to read a paper about "shit" or "arse" from a nine-year-old? Maybe, maybe Charles Bukowski could make that interesting reading, but I don't want to know how or what a 9-year-old feels about "tarts." Brechter explained that the taboo subjects were just a motivational tool.

I'm all for getting kids exciting about learning, but is poo really the vehicle to make that happen? And how does telling them to get excited and write about feces teach them "what words should not be used?" He's dumb. And I am against dumb people teaching kids. I don't necessarily think the offense is shocking and disturbing, so much as an example of bad teaching.

I don't know, I would read a nine year old's story about "arse." But then again, I'm an idiot.

Shouldn't the title be "Austrian" for dumb teacher?

It's "Australian" or "Austrian", not both.

And in this case, you want Austrian.

One of the things i dislike about our North American cousins is the pig ignorance of anything beyond their own shores that so many demonstrate.

Austria: Small Alpine country in central europe. Birth place of Adolf Hitler. Noted for its anti-semitism, nazism, pastries, racism, culture and habit of voting for far right parties.

People from Austria are known as Austrians.

Australia: large island continent in the southern hemisphere. Birth place of Steve Irwin. Noted for its refusal to admit jews trying to flee the nazis, happily joining in any war thats going at the time if asked by bigger mates, meat pies, racism, sports obsession and habit of voting for far right parties.

People from Australian are known as Australians.

It's really not very fucking hard to remember.

Looks like a simple proofreading oversight's got a whole continent full of people on your case.

If you want to compare Austria and Australia further, Austria had Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart while Australia had Air Supply and Olivia Newton-John.

One of the things I don't like about your incendiary statement is the apparent lack of knowledge that you show about your "North American" cousins.

Thanks to foreign policy, most of our great "friends" think we are a country of idiots.

Now, I can agree that we have our fair share of idiots. But to lump any sort of generalizations that have to do with intelligence or the lack thereof that apply to an entire continent, the United States, Mexico and Canada, might be one of the most ludicrous statements I've ever seen on this site.

I bet there are people in Australia who don't know certain things about other parts of the world too.

Do I think every Australian is stupid? No.

This teacher, however, is pretty thick.

Think before you speak.

Well given that I have dual citizenship and have family in both countries i'm throwing shit both ways <chuckle>

And in any generalisation there is a kernal of truth.

This particular "mistake" is made relatively regularly, mostly by Americans rather than mexicans and canadians I'll grant, but since the author is Canadian i felt it would be churlish to target just the seppos.

I'll remember to put sarcasm alerts on next time I use it. Thank the gods I didn't use irony! Who knows where that might have led!

That's a very, very, very cruel thing to have said.

Can I at least put up that we sent the Bee Gees to the US as some mitigation for the horrors we have heaped upon the world of music?

I'll give you that then.

It just really irks me that a fair number of people think we're all Dubya.

Although, the fact that he's even still there makes me ask the question.. are we really that stupid?

Hey at least it can be argued that Dubya stole his first election and won his second against an idiot.

The great Australian sheeple have elected John "I suck Dubya so good" Howard four times now, with reasonable majorities in each case.
Even though they overwhelmingly objected to Iraq!
Even though the majority accept he is a liar!

Admitedly the Labour candidate in the last election was a certifiable maniac, but there is no excuse for the previous three election results

the mind boggles.

In Australia they swear like crazy all the time.

I know it's true, I saw it on TV.

Yeah fuck you all (that includes the Australians...)
...Evil imperialist scum......

I'm just personally baffled, though we do both have religious right wing nutters heavily involved in our politics, wait a second, everyone who's posted so far has religious-right-wing nuts involved in their politics There's got to be something different.

Maybe its a new piece of slang for an australian-austrian, or a half austrian, half-australian person.

You're nuts.

I know this is completely tangential, but how do you teach someone something they already know?

And yeah, which is it? Is it Austria or Australia?

I had a lady come into the art gallery where I work and tell me one of the colorful Austrialian sayings...

"I'm so hungry, I could eat the ass out of a low-flying duck!"

I love Aussies so much.

Fuck you Chi lung and Gfvella
America is our ally for stratigic reasons we NEED them
If america goes to war we have to go to ,or else what kind of allies would that make us?
You fuckwits are just spouting the same shit everyone says
Why not investigate why all our troops are being deployed?
Any one who regurgitates the same shit without investigating first is a fucking idiot!