In my last blog I finished by addressing the
issue of whiteness as different to being born Anglo. I continued Fozdar’s
argument, that whiteness had assumed rights to power, dominance, and privilege.[1]
I will explore this concept of whiteness, and the scale of whiteness, in the
Sydney education system, looking at school’s with a reputation for being
‘white’, and why they are perceived that way.
Three schools I will be contrasting are
Dapto High School, Wenona School, and Meriden School. I will observe the
percentage of students from English speaking backgrounds, the socio-economic
status of the school, and its reputation in the community for being a ‘white’
school. While the first two areas are grounded in research, the last category
relies on hearsay and rumor.
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| Sport, music, hats. The 'white' experience. |
Dapto High School is an Anglo school, it
has a language background other than English (LBOTE) score of 8%, however, I do
not believe it embodies ‘whiteness’ as observed by Fozdar and Proctor. While Fozdar writes that whiteness is found in having privilege not disadvantage, however, white students at Dapto High School do not embody these traits. As a school it sits below the state average in the Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage (ICSEA), and academically achieves at average or below average, so it can hardly be said to 'dominant', or privileged. While the school may be 92% Anglo, it does not embody 'whiteness' as a form of privilege and power.
Meriden School embodies privilege, wealth, and power. According to the Meriden website Meriden is a school that excels at both music and tennis,2 both traits of privilege and 'whiteness'. While embodying white traits, the student population is 59% LBOTE, non-Anglo students are embodying whiteness, in a way that Anglo students from Dapto are not.
Wenona School is a synonym for whiteness. Its student population is less than 5% LBOTE, it is one of the most wealthy schools in Sydney, with 85% of its student body residing in the top socio-economic quarter in Sydney. They play hockey, their parents are lawyers. Wenona is both white in colour and attitude.
Whiteness holds these two themes together, colour and attitude. While Dapto may be more white in colour than Meriden, it does not embody whiteness to the same extent, and while Meriden is white in attitude, Wenona trumps both as a truly white institution. What makes a school white? I argue that the attitudes of a school and its students, rather than their colour, lead to the label of 'whiteness'.
 |
| Tennis is white. |
Meriden School embodies privilege, wealth, and power. According to the Meriden website Meriden is a school that excels at both music and tennis,2 both traits of privilege and 'whiteness'. While embodying white traits, the student population is 59% LBOTE, non-Anglo students are embodying whiteness, in a way that Anglo students from Dapto are not.
Wenona School is a synonym for whiteness. Its student population is less than 5% LBOTE, it is one of the most wealthy schools in Sydney, with 85% of its student body residing in the top socio-economic quarter in Sydney. They play hockey, their parents are lawyers. Wenona is both white in colour and attitude.
Whiteness holds these two themes together, colour and attitude. While Dapto may be more white in colour than Meriden, it does not embody whiteness to the same extent, and while Meriden is white in attitude, Wenona trumps both as a truly white institution. What makes a school white? I argue that the attitudes of a school and its students, rather than their colour, lead to the label of 'whiteness'.
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