Doug PollardLet's have proper religious education in our schools
It helps us all understand one another and learn to live together: especially important in a culturally and religiously diverse society like 21st century Australia.
But what we get instead is Special Religious Instruction: effectively, indoctrination in one set of beliefs. Usually, one particular, narrow subset of evangelical Christian beliefs.
This is wrong. Many parents have raised principled objections Really Long Link : now teachers are raising their voice too.
This is what one of them said on "The Conversation" online newspaper http://theconversation.edu.au/ . I can't improve on it, so here it is in full. Feel free to circulate this statement, especially to the teachers and principal at your child's school.
_____________________________ _________
If you agree with the following statement, to add your name please email David Zyngier directly (Monash University) david.zyngier@monash.edu Special Religious Instruction – a statement from the teaching profession
Under the system as it stands:
• State government schools must allow non-teacher volunteers from religious organisations into classrooms to instruct students on a weekly basis and the teaching program must be disrupted for SRI to take place.
• In most Australian states, students who do not participate in SRI are barred from completing any meaningful learning. The NSW ‘Ethics’ alternative is still an unprofessional and segregatory option.
• Schools have no option over whether or not SRI is delivered. School principals and school councils must put the wishes of their communities aside and allow religious volunteers into classrooms each week, irrespective of how many students’ parents elect for them to participate.
• Students are segregated according to religious belief. Such segregation contributes to stereotyping and suspicion of minorities and risks promoting religious exclusion as an accepted norm.
• Respect for religious and cultural diversity is not fostered.
• Valuable class time is taken up to enable the delivery of SRI. Against the backdrop of a crowded curriculum and a new Australian Curriculum that makes no mention of SRI, we argue that this is a waste of students’ precious learning time.
• The separation between church and state – a central tenet of Australia’s democracy – is not upheld under the current model.
This system needs to change and the current legislation must be amended.
The 2008 Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians made a clear commitment ‘to nurture an appreciation of and respect for religious diversity’. It is time public education clearly stepped up to that commitment and ended discrimination and segregation in our state schools and focused on promoting cultural diversity instead.
In place of current SRI legislation, we believe that the general approach to values and ethics education currently taught by university prepared and accredited teachers in schools already promotes both social inclusion and intercultural understanding that will best meet the needs of all children and families. Families are in the best position to provide specific religious education and guidance of and for their children either in the home or through special after school organisations.
The secular principle in public education is and remains an indispensible foundation of public education. As stated in the Education Act (2006) guiding principles, the Government will “provide a secular education and will not promote any particular religious practice, denomination or sect”. [1]
Australian government school students are participating in an outdated model of SRI, which presents children with a singular, and in many cases, an exclusivist faith perspective, that is at odds with Australian state and federal governments’ commitment to promoting a socially inclusive society. The Victorian branch of the Australian Education Union has called for the removal of SRI in a special resolution, arguing that it should occur only outside school hours and be provided on a voluntary basis. [2]
We the undersigned call on the Australian Council of Deans of Education to demonstrate leadership on this important education issue by supporting the secular principle and the removal of the exceptions legislated in support of SRI in our schools today.
[1] Principles underlying the government education and training system 1.2.2 p. 13
[2] Really Long Link
* Some states refer to ‘SRI’ as Special Religious Education (SRE).
If you agree to have your name added please email David Zyngier (Monash University) david.zyngier@monash.edu
Feel free to circulate this statement
