One of the joys of my week is my Tuesday car journey to and from Canberra with my daughter Beth.
Beth is a tutor on the Introduction to Sociology course at the Australian National University this semester.
We talk about many things, often prompted by the course content Beth is covering and what is happening in my Sport Coaching Pedagogy unit at the University of Canberra.
This week we talked a lot about supporting student learning and our conversation moved to exceptional students.
Beth talked eloquently about one of her friends, whom she regarded as remarkable, and I was struck by Beth’s understanding and constructs of exceptional performance.
Beth pointed me to two sources of information to help me reflect on the ideas she was sharing.
The first was Young People Without Borders:
Young People Without Borders is a movement of young people who have the courage, imagination and will to make a difference. It’s the ultimate journey of discovery for you to explore, learn, get amongst it and give back to the world.
I liked the idea that young people without borders could become Trailblazers and could Start a remarkable journey. On my journey I have learned more about the Foundation for Young Australians and Jan Owens’ work.
The second link was to Amna Karra-Hassan and the Auburn Tigers AFL team.
At 23 years of age, Amna played a lead role in the establishment of the new women’s AFL team, the Auburn Tigers. She is also an active ambassador for the rights of Muslim women, and is a positive role model and mentor for young people.
The Auburn Tigers largely consists of women from minority communities in western Sydney. Amna’s role in the team, as a mentor as well as a friend, is to guide and support these young women in the right direction and to teach them important life skills.
In an interview in The Australian, Amna pointed out that most of the players in the Tigers are of Lebanese background but there is a Fijian, a Bosnian, a Turkish and an Afghan … and an Anglo.
Beth’s friend is the Anglo! The story of her engagement with the Tigers illustrates how a remarkable woman met other remarkable women … beyond borders.
Photo Credit
IMG_2641, Auburn
