on-v10 ence rom • I

The Mahatma's concept of satyag raha was influenced by two powerful works that shaped his thought and reasoning

0n October 2 we celebrated the anniversary of the birdi of Gandhiji, our revered Mahaaua who is renowned for his use of non-violence in the struggle for Indian independence. The question arises, how did he come br diis idea of non-violence?

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi went to En~land in 1888 at the relatively young age of 19, m srudy la\" As one might expect, at first he was quite bewildered at di e d iffe rent world into which he had stepped. Apart from tbe problem of satisfying his vegetarian dietary needs, he soon too k to the Brfosh lifes ty le, buying smart clodies including a top hat. He joined die London Vegetarian Society and absorbed various influences of this great city, even tO die extent o f learning ballroom dancing and buying a Bible.

Gandhi read the Bible and Matthew 5.2, die 'Sermon on die Mount,' went straight to his hea r t. Making a particular impact were die sections diat read " Blessed are the poor in spirit: for diei.rs is d1e kingdom of heaven" and "Blessed are they who are persecmed for righteousness' sake; for d1eirs is the kingdom of heaven".

We have all heard the saying, 'A n eye for an eye, and a tood1 for a too di' Bm Jesus in the Sermon goes on to say, "whoso ever shall smi te d1ee o n d1y r ighr cheek, turn to him d1e other also". With hinds ight, o ne can begin to undersrand how these and oilier sayings of the Bible resonated witl1 Gandhi, but diey were still to be processed i n his mind.

Leo Tolstoy, sou of Count Nicolai Tolstoy was 60 when Gandhi arrived in Lo ndon. Tolstoy had alread y written arguab ly two of d1e greatest novels ever, Anna Karenina and IV'a r tmd Pet1ce but also would go o n co write an argument of his philosophies in a work entitled The T011gdo111 of God is IVithi11 Yon in 1894. He was a

Christian, but could not reconcile what he saw as tbe pervers ion of Christ's teachings by d1e Church ln his reading of the Bible, he too had been enormously affected by die 'Sermon on the Mount' which he believed to be the true gosp el of Jesus Christ I n addition, bis thoughts and writing were influenced strongly by the teachings of die Quake rs, and also b y die struggle for die emancipation of slaves in die U nited States Tolstoy acknowledges d1at as far back as 200 years before hi s time, the Quakers bad been championing die notion o f non-violence.

A feel for tl1e book The Kingdom of God is Withill Yo11 can be gleaned by die title of die very first chapter of the book, "The Doctrine of Non-Resistance to Evil by Force has been Professed by a M..i.norit:y of Men from the Very F'oL1ndation of Christianity''. Gandhi read diis book in 1896, and was profoundly affected b y it It's nor surprising because die book is a cry from d1e depths of the heart and sou l of Tolstoy He argues and pleads to explain bow relevant and robust tl1e teachings of the Bible ace to mankind.

Gandhi's philosophy on die use of non-vi olence was now formed. The teachings from d1ese two works had already provided the basis fo r die selfless support for die poor and downtrodden, that was m be Gandhi's hallmark throughout bis l.i fe. It is tli ese two pillars that would provide him witl1 strength and guidance in all the battles chat were co come.

1n 1908, Tolstoy wrote A Letter to a T-Ii11doo, which was published in the Free Hindustan in I n d ia. The letter outlines the notion d1at o nly by using love as a weapon through passive-resistance, could native Indian people overthrow the colonial British empire. Gandhi read d1e letter and w rote to Tolstoy, afterg which the two kept up a regular correspondence. This was to last another two years witl1 Tolsmy's last letter before his dead1 in 1910 being written co his friend Gandhi.

In 1910 C'ra.ndhi scarred a cooperative village in South Africa, and called it Tolstoy Farm. Tli ere were also certain era.its common to bodi Tolstoy and Gandhi. Even though Tolstoy hailed from nobility, he would dress as a peasant, and we have Gandhi rejecting all l1umry, dressing as a peasant and living a spartan life. Tolstoy came ro believe in tl1e beneficial properties of vegetariani sm, whereas Gandhi had always been a vegetati an. Interestingly, b o th Tolstoy and Gandhi came ro v alue chastity and sexual abstinence, but poss ibly nor for the same reason Tolstoy had many children witli his wife and it is well - known, so m e widi workers on his estate. Howeve r, Gandhi believed abstinence helped retain energy and concen trate die mind In bis autobiography, Gandhi ackn owledged Tolstoy as "die greatest apostle of nonviolence that die present age has produced".

From the snowfields of Russ ia, dirough to t he veldt of South Africa, acro ss d1e heat and dust of the p lains of India, d1e tide of non-violence has drifted across con tinents. lt is a notion diat is simple in the extreme, yet as full of power as a live electric wire. Many have embraced the idea as Gandhi did. le has changed societies and altered di e course of nations, none more so chan India

Accreditation for tutors in Australia will ensure better standards of educational accountability

term qualified rutor i s meaningless wimout such a disclosure requirement.

0ne of the most common inquiries to the Australian Tutoring Association (ATA) is what the requirements are for becoming a mmr It L~ heartening that many prospective mtors are keen to know what, if an); standards apply in regards to entry into the industry.

The nature of tutoring is such that it stradd les two seemingly opposing areas of human endeavour. On the one hand, iris commercial in nature, and therefore commercial rules apply. In the a lternative, tutoring i s about education and educational accmmtability These rwo; the commercial and the educational, overlap in tutoring in a ,vay that muses a unique set of issues. Consider the issue of plagiarism, for example.

Plagiarism, in an educational sense, is defined as the passing off of another's work as one's own, wirl1out authorisation to do so. The educational definition focuses on the namre of the creator of me work and their relationship to d1ar i.ncellecmal property. lt seeks to ensme that the owner is rewarded for their endeavours, and d1ar personal effort is valued. A commercial view of plagiarism, as it relates to tutoring, would look at the nature of dependency If a tucor does tbe work of a student, the smdent becomes more dependent. In mis context, p lagiarism generates income and entrenches weakness in d1e student The tutor is the 'paid help' actually weakening, ramer than strengthening me recipient. Therefore, if the issue of dependence was included in d1e definition of plagiarism, any problem arising from how commerce affects nuoring could be addressed effectivel y

In this examp le, it can be seen mat ruroring creates a particular set of dynamics d1at present problems for commercial regulators and also educarion,'11 administrators. However, experience around the world has sbowu that reguL'lting me private niroring market Gill be fraught wid1 difficulties. For example, an outright ban on private mcoring in Egypt failed when me black market for private rutors Aourished. Similarly, a proposed ban b y me Turki sh government has bee n modified in the light of huge opposition from families and educational advocates.

How men can the growing d.ornestic and global market for private tutoring be best managed?

The current arrangement lo A ustralia is a model of selfregulation. Self- regulation requires an industry co demonstrate maturity in that the industry itself is prepared to benchmark best practise and to hold practitioners accounr.ab le to such standards.

T here are fiv e i mp or tan t feature s of s u ccessful s elfre gulatio n

• The presence of a peak representative body • TI1e creation of a code of ethics or code of conduct b y the peal{ body and applicable co the membership particularly and the industry more broadly The code should also have a regime for sanctions or penalties than can be imposed on providers who breach it

• The creation of a vehicle for d1e settlement of disputes arising between practitioners and clients and practitioners d1emselves

• A form o f accrecLi.cation mat acts as an entry mec hanism and a means b y whicl1 standards can be sec and in1proved over time

• Recognition b y government of the peak body and i ts standards

To dare, d1e miss ing piece in Australia, and one which is essential for responsib le selfregulation, is that of a v iable and rigorous accreditation for tutors. How embarrassing when prospective rutors are told thar, " at present in Australia there is no entry criteria orl1er man an operacor abide by me relevant commercial and child protection laws".

Self-regulation demands that each of the 6ve feamres be present. 1n Australia four are met, but accreditation is nm. So it is time co test d1e tutors. Disclosure is an essential e lement of me test That is, a tutor should be honest and upfront about the exact and specific nanu:e of meir skills, experience and qualifications. The

It is time for Australian mrors to embrace an i ndustry- based acc redi tation. Globally, only two nations have a form of accreditation for tutors: the U SA an d German y The model in the USA i s cumbersome and at present a very small proportion of tutors (estimated at less man 0.5°1<,), have become accrecLited. In German y d1e model is based on 1SO9000 a nd is so rigorous and expensi ve that it has not been embraced b y d1e industry Onl y 30 businesses out of 4,000 comply (or 0.75 %)

Tl1e characteristics of relevant accreditation for Australian tutors should be that content and skills reAect local experience and match die aspirations of a best practice code. Included in such an accreditation should be compulsory national police background checks. This would overcome d1e present ad hoc situation of a lack of uni fo r m national la,vs in regards ro child protection

With regards to knowledge, skills and abilities, teachers who nitor should be recognised for their prior knowledge and experience

Finally, an accreditation should have both core and optional units ro ensure minimum levels of qualification, as well as a capacity co specialise. Such a model allows for continuing professional development (CPD).

Tutors need to be put to the test and national standards raised. In thi.s way, children and rnei.r families are better respected, and outcomes for tutoring are raise.cl. The industry needs to demon s trate diis responsibility and mamrity