The church is a bunch of hypocrites.

First when the state gives parents the right to opt out of SRE classes, the church tries to make it compulsory as the children need SRE for ethical guidance, but say nothing if children are forced to do nothing whilst other have Scriptural education.

Then when ethics is introduced as an alternative and there is the distinct chance that children will move away from the SRE classes, then they want Ethics for all and children to continue to languish in the opt out classes.

The majority of parents do not share the author's opinion that religious education benefits the children at all.

Why not simply dispense with the odious SRE all together.

Hear! Hear! Shadow Minister: you've covered it all and very well.

School hours amount to 30 hours out of a weekly budget of 168.

If folk who wish to have their lives run by imaginary beings floating in the sky or hanging about at the bottom of the garden wish to inculcate this into either their children or those of others, this should be a voluntary activity undertaken in the 153 hours remaining after and before school.

This discussion should not be about ethics - it should be about evidence-based education.

Robert Haddad does not believe that the state school system is or should be secular. In fact he tends to be confused about the meaning of secular.
In correspondence with me he wrote, and I quote;

The ‘state education’ system is neither a state system nor a secular one. It has always been a PUBLIC system that has allowed time for volunteers to come in and support the faith education of those members of the public who desire such. If you want a secular system, petition the government to set one up at the expense of secularists.

That seems to equate secular with atheist.

He also appears to believe in creationism, contrary to the teachings of his Roman Catholic Church, as he also wrote;

Darwinism and its brutal secular ‘survival of the fitness’ philosophy has been the root cause of so much misery in communist, socialist and fascist regimes – therein lies the more serious problem.

I suspect that what Mr Haddad proposes is aimed at having church input into the curriculum for ethics classes and thus dictating to children what is right or wrong rather then have the students discuss open-ended or dilemma questions for themselves.

As trialled the the ethics classes will allow children to learn to think, their IQ will improve and bad behaviour will be substantially reduced. Those benefits will be long lasting for them and for society.

Children who do Religious Ed obtain a basis and foundaton for Ethics.

Children who simply study 'Ethics' learn "if it feels good and I can get away with it.. go for it"

Oh.. you disagree? Ok.. let me try again..

Children who study "Ethics" alone are like those who build a house without a foundation.

TEACHER "BE GOOD"!

CLASS BULLY "WHAT THE HECK IS 'GOOD'?

TEACHER "Good? thats when we don't infringe on other people rights"

BULLY "You idiot..that's not what we DO..it's what we DON'T do!"

TEACHER (red faced) "Oh...ok.. wait..hmmm do anything which causes the maximum good for the most people"

BULLY "Why? ? ? I get my kicks out of mugging weak students"

TEACHER "Why ? errrr.....*because*"

BULLY "Because...WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY you moron !"

TEACHER "Ummm.. because the universal charter on Human Rights says so"

BULLY "Who wrote that?"

TEACHER "Educated People, leaders."

BULLY "Hmm so if 'I' write a different one it will be just as valid?"

TEACHER "Listen kid.. you are an idiot..goto the principle! ! ! "

SRE, and the title changes from state to state and territories, is a hangover from the 1870s when education was ripped from the churches, with good reason.

Foolishly the states agreed to allow this bogus activity to go on on school grounds.

100 years of mumbo is enough though, and if parents really want to have SRE/RI/RE/ fed to their darlings, then they all have the wherewithall to take their own children to a church to get it.

The duplicity, lies and total dishonesty from so-called 'Christians' as a result of this odious practice being abandoned by parents is astonishing.

To Hell with the lot of them.

When the SRE has gone, the special ethics can go too.

Our schools should be capable of dealing with students and parents in an ethical manner, which most cannot at the moment, and from that our children might glean enough to keep them going.

But, as well as ditching SRE, we need a major education revolution to bring schools up to a half decent standard as far as 'teaching' is concerned too.

It will not happen.