Chapters 8 & 11
In this section I found it was useful to learn a few methods
such as IRAC and CREAC, as these are the foundations of answering law assignments.
I have followed a similar one provided in another law subject, and come exam
time I find it very helpful to know little methods like these ones. It helps to
break down the situation and what to apply and how to apply it and why.
I also found the section on critical thinking very handy as
it would be useful in all uni subjects. Learning how to critically analyse and
think is something always needed in essays and reports. I have lots of
highlighter in this section as I plan on referring to it many times!
I thought it was good to see the concept of creative thinking
introduced as it shows how the legal system is evolving. Our legal system is
not perfect and has many flaws. We apply law from when Australia was first
settled, however times are very different and we cannot keep approaching
current issues with outdated procedures. We need to find a balance of
traditional law mixed with appropriate applications for the era we now live in.
‘Being realistic’ felt very philosophical to me. The content
of the chapter was more a background of who thought what, when, where and why,
and how you could apply to your personal views. It was a ‘many ways to skin a
cat’ chapter and matched the creative thinking. It was a chapter to make you
think outside the box. It opens a few cans of worms in this chapter, however it
does not hold my attention as much as reading about a case.
Chapters 9 & 10
These two chapters I felt were teaching basic life skills.
Yes, it is important to know as legal minded students, how to think and prepare, but it is also so
important to apply these things to everyday. People could avoid a lot of stress
and dramas if they applied some of these communication skills.
I found the
context of these chapters were helpful to apply to assignments and writing.
Collaborating, I applied that to the task of this blog. I have said it before
and I will say it again. I hate blogs. I have found them time consuming and not
everyone gets on board and ‘collaborates’ the way they are meant to. There is
always a handful of proactive team members that do the work but often it is not
enough (in my opinion) to be seen as collaborating. For example last term, I had
to maintain yet another blog. Only one person wrote on my blog. And I wrote on
hers every week. Both of us went and visited blogs all the time and no one had
done the work. We left comments for people to try and expand our group but we
got nothing in return for it. I get immensely frustrated when blog work is
worth a heavy weight for an assessment and it depends on students ‘collaborating’
for me to achieve my grade. This term I started off the same way visiting people’s
blogs and leaving comments. And yet again no one has stopped by mine. Until the
last week before it is due and everyone decides to panic. But I understand everyone is busy and may not like the task either.
So team work and
collaboration I am usually good at, but when it comes to blogs, I will avoid it
like the plague! And to be honest I nearly pulled out of this course when I saw
it had a blog and interact with peer’s assessment!
However, all the context of the chapters were so relevant to
put into student life. Assignments come in all forms these days and being able
to have tips to tackle listening and speaking and presenting are essential! And
I met all the criteria for being stressed ha! Show me a distance student with a
family that doesn’t meet most of those criteria! Self-management skills I call
survival skills. To tackle any study you have to be able to manage and balance
and survive.
Chapters 12 & 13
Justice raised a few points in my mind. It is known that if
you are well off you can afford to take legal action, and if you are low income,
then you go to legal aid. Access to justice is difficult for majority of
people. Only a small amount of people can afford quality legal advice or representation.
However if you are middle class you are stuck. If you do not meet the criteria to
qualify for legal aid, and you cannot afford the ridiculous amount for legal
fees, you are stuck. You either keep getting screwed over in the pickle you are
in, or you try and represent yourself. Which as the chapter points out, never
really goes well.
I have been in this
situation. I was a sole parent working full time. I earned too much in the eyes
of legal aid (in my mere retail job), and I could not afford legal help. I had
to bite the bullet and go and see someone. I was very lucky as this law firm
did payment plans. I paid $100 a week for some time for a legal professional to
send two letters. Two letters cost me a large amount of money. This firm was so
good that when I had paid too much they gave me back the difference! So it
never hurts to ask. It was a family law issue and these days, people in family
law are aware of the economic status people are in. It is hard being middle
class (the lower end of) because access to services is not easy, and
discrimination is everywhere.
The part regarding immigrants is a touchy point for most
Australians. Not many fence sitters on that one. It is either one side or the
other. The media has such a large influence on this topic that people without
seeing for themselves would not know the facts. The detention centres are not
jail. They are a decent set up and they get provided with more than our own
homeless people do! We help them financially when they are granted permission
to live here. Everyone has their opinons on this. Unless we know the facts
about where each person has come from and the conditions that made them flee, I
think we should not judge. I always say to my husband “If Australia had become
dangerous, and you put me on a boat with the kids to go across to New Zealand
so we can live and be safe and alive, would you want New Zealand to reject us
safety or for their people to bad mouth us and make settling into life there
hard?” It usually keeps the hubby quiet but then old opinions eventually come
back. The people making the decisions on what to do with the asylum seekers and
illegal immigrants have a tough job.
The chapter on ethics I found interesting. I enjoy learning
about different cultures and their beliefs so reading about what different
religions and their morals and ethics were was enjoyable. I didn’t like Aristotle’s
hierarchy order. Maybe if he was about today he would make the first two levels
of the pyramid ‘humans’ instead of ‘men’ followed by ‘women’. ;)
I laughed at the animals and humans arguments over the pages
it covered. Humans are animals. And the fact so much time and thought has gone
into these arguments to make humans superior is amusing. We may be evolved and materialistically
based, but we have a duty to our fellow animals to keep them safe and treated
humanely as we do ourselves. I have heard many views over the years including a
Christian point of view believing that god chose humans to be evolved therefore
god gave humans the right to choose to kill animals where they deem fit. Religion
and law do not go together. Too many religions under one law system per country.
That is hard to maintain order. Ethics is so broad it would be hard to make the
laws in place for such things as animal cruelty. However I am disgusted by the
slaughter and treatment of farm animals that is still allowed. As an animal
lover that does not sit well with me at all, that due to some religons, it is
acceptable to slaughter an animal inhumanly or castrated it. Makes me cringe! That is my rant on that one. Ethics will bring it out in people I guess.
