Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
IN GOVERNMENT schools there should be no place for vested interests to enter classrooms. The proselytising of religion through religious instruction rather than the much broader term of religious education, is pushing a very narrow Christian agenda. This is not teaching religion as a comparative study, but rather teaching one brand of religion, and a very narrow brand at that.
In our multicultural Australia with multiple religions I have frequently questioned the logic behind this narrow focus of one religion over all others. It always appeared a more sensible and logical move to offer a comparative study of all religions and atheism too, a subject called Religion and Society, from prep onward.
Students would benefit from a wider perspective on religions and beliefs, the ways in which religions differ and the many areas of common interest.
Ethics and Morality, a further subject, would provide for the skills of examination and analysis as a basis for further discussion. Students would discover logical reasons to live in harmony, accepting people of all faiths and beliefs in our community. Through these studies students would have a broader, more roundly educated, compassionate outlook on society.
Our constitution allows for a clear separation between religion and state and public education should adhere to that rule if the constitution is to be followed. The High Court of Australia recognised this separation and upheld an appeal from concerned parents who took their case for "no religion in state schools" to the court.
That brings us to a more enlightened viewpoint today. Parents must now "opt in" to religious instruction in state schools, and figures show that many parents are choosing the "opt out" model.
Many school principals are demonstrating strong leadership in refusing to offer religious instruction in their schools. The wheel is slowly turning back to a true public secular education system.
Given the Australian constitution, whether the federal government should be financially supporting private schools attached to a religious philosophy is highly debatable. This has removed billions of dollars from the public education sector and unfairly that money is handed to private schools, some already very wealthy.
I acknowledge that some private schools are not wealthy and fees can be a heavy burden on parents who choose a private school education for their children, but it is their choice to send their children to those schools. The public system is still there for them.
Public schools are great schools. The greatest influence on students is the commitment of their parents to their education and the quality of their teachers. If that is in place your children will succeed no matter where you send them.
A study of where politicians send their own children would be very enlightening!