教育：澳洲的多元文化社会——Hisham带你看澳洲
Many families migrate to Australia for pursuit of a better life for themselves and their children. Australia is on of the worlds most sort after migration countries due to its excellent living standards. Excellent schools, both public and private, medical facilities, sports clubs, entertainment and everything you want is all here. For many migrant families initially they will live in suburban areas which are not close to the city. Here the prices of houses and general cost of living is cheaper than living closer to the city. In Melbourne you will see many migrant families in suburban areas raising a family and this is also the case in other areas of Australia.
许多家庭移民澳洲是为了自己和孩子有更好的生活。公立或私立的学校，还有医疗设施、运动会所、娱乐设施，你想要的一切这里都有。很多移民家庭一开始会住在郊区，那里离城市较远。在这里，房子和其他生活成本要比靠近城市的地区低。在墨尔本你会看到很多移民家庭住在郊区，在澳洲的其他地方也是如此。
For all families in Australia the main question or initial struggle they may have is to find a good school for their children. There are, as I mentioned earlier, two types of schools in the education system. Private schools in Australia are more favoured than public schools because of their prestige, better quality infrastructure, and the belief that they offer a higher quality of education. They are of course much more expensive than public schools. Private and Public schools are both government funded. There are two types of private schools in Australia. Catholic and Independent schools. Catholic schools form the second largest sector of government schools behind public schools. Independent schools are non government institutions that are often viewed as elite schools. These schools are very expensive and tend to be up market and traditional in style. 
对所有澳洲移民家庭来说，起初碰到的最大问题就是如何他们的孩子找一所好学校。如我先前提到的，在教育体制中有两种学校。澳洲的私立学校比公立学校更受欢迎，因为它们声望高，硬件设施更好，因此它们能提供更高质量的教育。当然，私立学校的价格也要贵很多。私立和公立的学校都是由政府出资的。在澳洲有两种类型的私立学校---教会学校和独立学校。教会学校是继公立学校之后的第二大政府学校部门。独立学校不是政府教育机构，通常被视作精英学校。私立学校非常昂贵，比普通学校的教育费用要高，风格上趋于传统。
The first step of a child’s education is to go to the non compulsory play group or 3 year old kindergarten. From here they go to the preferred 4 year old kindergarten. At the age of 5 years they start primary school at grade preparatory (or prep for short). Primary school is usually from ages 5 to 11 and from grades prep to 6. After primary school children step into high school. This extends to grades (Years) 7 through 12. Grades 11 and 12 is often preparation years to enter higher education such as universities. Year 12 is the toughest year level as students competitively sit exams in the hope of being accepted into university or other higher education.
儿童教育的第一步是上非义务制教育的幼儿园。到5岁大的时候，就可以上小学预科。小学通常分从预科到6年级共7个年级，供5-11岁学生就读。小学毕业后，就可以进入中学学习，中学分从7年级到12年级。11和12年级是为进入大学这样的高等教育机构做准备的。12年级是最艰难的一年，学生们都沉浸在竞争激烈的考试当中，以期今后能进入大学。
Aside from school, growing up in Australia is carefree and easy, depending on what lifestyle you have. There are many parks and playgrounds for kids in suburban areas and many kids activity centres are also popular.
Suburban areas have all the resources and more to support a family. Easy access public transport and hospitals are all close by. Living in the city is where the fast paced people usually are, and it can often become very busy although some people prefer this lifestyle. So where ever you choose to live in Australia you should know that there are many resources and opportunities to build a healthy future for you and your children.
除了学校，在澳洲成长是无忧无虑的，这主要取决于你的生活方式。在郊区，有很多公园，操场供孩子们玩耍，还有很多儿童活动中心同样也颇受欢迎。
人们在郊区可以享有所有的资源。公共交通、医院都很近。城市的生活节奏比较快，你会比较忙碌，尽管有些人喜欢这样的生活方式。所以，在澳洲，当你选择你的居所的时候，你应该考虑那里是否有足够的资源和机会，为你和你的孩子创造一个健康的未来。
