Scott & Sarah Kennedy

Saturday, February 11, 2006

Let's Investigate our "Neutral" State Education Curriculum

The following is part of Dr Muriel Newman's "Newman Weekly". (Apologies if this is not all right, as I had trouble with transferring it from my email to this. It went all weord and computerry.)


While reflecting on education, I was reminded about the comments that are frequently made about how young people today think so differently from their parents’ generation. As a result, I decided to check out the school curriculum to see what our youngsters are now being taught and how it has changed since the fifties and sixties when I was at school and the seventies and eighties when my children were there. I have to say that I was surprised at what I found.

The school curriculum is now divided into seven essential learning areas: Language, Maths,Science, Technology, Social Sciences, Arts, Health and Physical Well-being.

Even a cursory examination indicates that there has been a dramatic shift in curriculum content in some areas. Maori language, rights and beliefs (including “the spiritual dimension of hauora”), have been interwoven into the curriculum at every level and in every area, and significant amounts of material that would previously have been considered to be political can now be found. The burning question, though, is whether or not this constitutes indoctrination and social engineering?

Firstly, to the Social Sciences learning area and Social Studies where our five year olds (Year 1) are being taught about the benefits of central planning and environmental advocacy, through talks from planning staff and building inspectors, resource materials supplied by Greenpeace and farming discussions about issues such as “concern from anglers that dairying effluent is harming fish (and tourism) in South Island rivers”.

In Science, seven year olds are asked to discuss not only recycling, but also global warming and environmental activism, eight year olds must write “a letter to the local council justifying why a mangrove swamp "should be conserved”, and twelve year olds are expected to research “the ethical implications of a current biotechnological issue: genetic engineering, reproductive technology, cancer research, HIV/AIDS”.

But the most dramatic curriculum change is in relation to those deeply personal issues that used to be regarded as family matters that have now been incorporated into the Health and Physical Wellbeing learning areas. This curriculum teaches five year olds to name all “sexual parts” of the body. By age seven, the children are taught about “gender equity”, “cultural equity”, “abuse” and “harassment”, and at eight, they are learning about “pubertal change”, the “differences in gender and in sexual orientation”, and recognising “discrimination on the basis of chronic illness, mental illness, or cultural difference”.

At age nine, they are taught to manage risks in “sexual decisions, drug use, rape, harassment, racism, sexism, and homophobia”, and at ten, they are learning about harm minimisation in relation to “rape, harassment, the use of drugs, discrimination, and sexual activity”, as well as being introduced to the Privacy Act and the Human Rights Act.

By age eleven, the children are taught “safe sexual practices and drug use”, and in one teaching unit, “Positive Puberty”, they are expected to carry out ‘group’ research on “menstrual periods, wet dreams and erections”.

At age twelve, students should be able to analyse “euthanasia, reproductive technology, abortion, racial conflict, politics and sport, poverty and unemployment, unresolved grief, child-rearing practices, and violence in sport, gangs, and families”.

To explore the curriculum yourself, go to the NZ Centre for Political Debate website where all the learning area links have been provided - http://www.nzcpd.com/

8 Comments:

  • Christian schools or home schooling is obviously the only option for a Bible based Christian family.

    And our government should not get the support of any Christians with an ounce of moral decency.

    Chew on that til the next election :-p

    By Anonymous Allan, at 10:51 PM, February 11, 2006  

  • How do you define moral decency?

    By Anonymous AJ, at 5:43 PM, February 12, 2006  

  • Showing signs of sanctification of the Spirit of God. Acting on God's law as automatic reaction. The ability to tell the difference between right and wrong based on Scripture.

    By Anonymous Allan, at 10:53 AM, February 13, 2006  

  • Guess where I'm not sending my children, if I ever have any?

    By Anonymous Sam, at 6:26 PM, February 13, 2006  

  • Ok, but what will keeping our children boxed away from the world we are commissioned to go into and bring people to Jesus achieve?
    Surely if they grow up isolated from the secular world they will be somewhat struggling socially in dealing with people and evangelising to people who have no christian background.

    By Anonymous AJ, at 2:06 PM, February 14, 2006  

  • I'm not entirely sure that going to a Christian school will necessarily mean that a child will grow up isolated from the secular world.
    I can see a tendancy toward isolation, yes, but I believe that is mitigable, and depends largely on the parents.

    By Anonymous Dan, at 6:45 AM, February 15, 2006  

  • Its pointless telling your children to be witnesses in this world without training them how to not be contaminated by it. While you're pouring salt into them a few hours a day, without plugging the holes, its pouring out of them and the secular world is indoctrinating them 6 hours every school day. Plus tv hours too (if you allow that).

    Putting dirty clothes with clean clothes will not make the dirty clothes clean. But rather the dirty clothes will contaminate the clean ones. So while your children are clean you should be teaching them how to avoid and resist contamination. Rather than just throwing them straight into the washing pile.

    "Fathers teach their children that they'll not forget to teach their children" "Father teach your children... fathers teach your chuldren" repeated throughout the Bible.

    And then we find reguards Israel that the fathers did not teach their children and in one generation the ways of the Lord were lost to them and they worship idols.

    By Anonymous Allan, at 10:57 AM, February 15, 2006  

  • thats pretty scary Scotty!!

    By Anonymous Michelle, at 3:15 PM, February 15, 2006  

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