paulry

I could say the same of you - about how glibly you accept the inputs which feed your opposing views. Otherwise, thanks for your acknowledgement that I perform detailed research.

Er... where have you said this before?

GarryP

How about schools that are more focused on the future than the past?

Sure you have a history course, if only to teach them the common repeated patterns (eg fascism) and how they eventually screw up and fail. Maybe a few lessons on aboriginal history, a few more on the evolution of parliamentary democracy. However, neither should be a big thing, and they should be focused on useful lessons that can be drawn - not remembering factoids to be regurgitated in tests.

In comparison, there should be much more time devoted to "surviving office politics", and whole terms on "how to learn by yourself", "how to keep up to date", and "collaborative working strategies".

bcworld

I believe it was in a thread about same sex marriage.

Cape Blue

They could drop the "RE" lessons as well - what use is that?

bcworld

If RE is a warts n all look at all religions then I'm cool with it. In my day it was less than an hour a week and quite informative as I remember it. Although I now realise it would be labelled as 'PC gone mad' because we didn't just learn that we should adopt Christian morals/values...whatever they might be.

Sally Redux

It was an hour a week doss subject when I was at school, only about Jesus. My kids studied a range of religions in primary school RE in the UK. I was horrified when it was made a compulsory GCSE subject - don't know if that's still the case.

GarryP

One term on religion, derivations thereof, common patterns, and damage done in the name of. That should about cover it, no need to go into the precise form of the storytelling. Somewhere about the age of 12-13. Maybe need remedial lessons for those 7-8 who've been indoctrinated at home to stop it becoming an impediment to learning.

Beoz

Be here lies the problem. In the north west of Sydney you have to divide the religion classes in 10 different versions. Joys of multiculturalism.

Sally Redux

Just drop RE. One of the good things about US schools.

Beoz

I think so. That's what Sundays are for, or Saturdays, or Fridays or however way you lean.

Geordie George

Amen

fish.01

I really, really dislike the attempts to get the more extreme US style Christian prosthelytizing into government schools.

Is it not enough that religious schools in Australia are govt funded and from this strong base the more extreme amongst them use these funds to teach faith based pseudo-science instead of rational thought...spreading the extreme US religious rights influence into our country.

It then also gives a legitimacy to the more extreme practitioners of other large faiths like Islam to separate and indoctrinate children.

All of this indoctrination weakens our democracy into the future. Let people make up their own minds.

scottishcelts

knockoff nige

Christianity isn't American. Teaching religion in early school years I agree with. After that, I think it should transform into World education where students can debate, research and tolerate opinions and beliefs.

Religion should not control government though as that's allowing politicians to rule by their own personal beliefs.

Dreamy

At my kids' school it was a compulsory GCSE - but that was because it was a Church school (which we knew and understood when they enrolled, also they had to go to Eucharist however many times it was a year... you can tell I paid attention to that, can't you? ) but I don't think it was at the regular comprehensive.

It was a comparative religious studies course though, and didn't just examine the main religions. When I was at school (a long, long time ago) we only covered the Christian religion and Judaism as far as it affected Christianity (Old Testament, mostly) - I felt their studies were much more informative and well rounded and looked at issues affecting society today too and in a fairly impartial manner.