The All Purpose ANZAC Legend - Museums Australia Conference 1.
What I would like to talk about this afternoon is how our education programs introduce the ANZAC Legend and.
how it lends itself to learning about different things for different age groups.
All museums and cultural institutions have to address certain legends, myths and symbolism. At the Australian.
War Memorial it is the ANZAC Legend. The ANZAC Legend has been in the spotlight yesterday and all this.
week however more than ever this concept has captured public attention on an ongoing basis.
Expressed as its simplest the ANZAC Legend or spirit is those qualities claimed to represent the typical.
Australian soldier. On an official basis these are said to be qualities like bravery, skill, loyalty and mateship.
However there are also a number of unofficial qualities that have been lauded by writers such as C.E.W. Bean,.
such as sense of humour, egalitarianism, larrikinism and distrust of authority.
The ANZAC Legend pervades the Memorial in many guises - in the Commemorative Area, Gallipoli boat,.
galleries, artworks, dioramas and in building itself. Its our role in the Education Section to facilitate learning.
about the ANZAC Legend in a meaningful way that engages the students intellectually and emotionally while.
also engendering commemoration and respect, objectives that lay at the core of the Memorial's Education.
Policy.
When it comes to students, the ANZAC Legend can be a very remote concept and difficult to understand.
especially when most Australian children (and their parents) have no direct experience of war. Our educators.
also recognise its exclusive nature (ie based in a white, Anglo male) may be challenging or even alienating to.
students of different backgrounds.
So let's look at how we attempt to gain our objectives, while always conscious of the obstacles that we face. In.
doing so I would like to look at two facilitated programs as case studies What it Means to be Australian and The.