We just don't need bigots of any flavor or description peddling their beliefs, inside a school and at kids, when they are at their most impressionable and vulnerable.
The real reason for wanting them there, at that critical time.
It simply stinks of a new age crusade!
It's just not good enough to claim,you only respond to questions about belief! Normal kids are chock full of inquisitorial questions!
Let the kids grow up and first learn critical thinking, before being exposed to myth, dressed up as irrefutable truth, when no such proof exists.
If these folk where able to heal the sick, restore sight, get the wheelchair bound up and walking, they may have claims that support a faith based belief system.
The fact that they refer to a seriously serially revised book, as their licence to preach, only makes their position more untenable.
If we have to have them, then let them be accepted by a popular vote of all parents, and an overwhelming 80% majority!
My kids were exposed to many religions and faith based belief systems, one of which happens to be faith based theory of evolution?
And then allowed to make their own educated decisions, as discriminating young adults!
Just believing that the world is flat, doesn't make it flat or that homosexuality, is against Gods will!
If that were actually true, homosexuality, wouldn't exist, as it does in many aspects of nature.
We stopped burning witches at the stake, because it was a faith based belief that had no foundation in fact!
We need to extend that pragmatism to every other aspect of life!
How many of these people and their flawed beliefs have caused to very confused young folk, to take their own lives, as the only way out, given nobody extant on the planet, is actually change their basic nature!?
If the Chaps need counselling, to stop them spreading dangerous or destructive beliefs, then perhaps it really is time we replaced them, with far more professional councilors, not on a covert recruitment drive!
Rhrosty.

There is in every village a torch - the teacher;
And an extinguisher - the clergyman.

Victor Hugo.

I cry "Red Herring"

While suicide of any young person is tragic, risk implied in this article is way overstated. Check out ABS suicide stats.

All examples are the sum of 4 years from 2008 - 2012.

Total deaths 5 - 14yr olds Australia wide = 57 Average 14 per year.
Over 26% identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Island descent. Knowing levels of, particularly sexual, abuse in some communities it is fair conclusion circumstances other than sexual orientation were key drivers in most events. Likewise in remaining 74% identified as non-indigenous or no racial background recorded, likely very few who suicided over sexual confusion.

Next the 15-24 age range where the figure jumps to 1529. Only interested in the 15 - 18 demographic so let's say that represents absolute maximum of 40% which is approx 612 in 4 years, average 153 per year.

In 2008 there were 9562 schools in Australia. The number of High Schools >3,000. It doesn't take a mathematician to deduce a student suicide is an uncommon event statistically for any school.

Statistically highest rates of suicide were in the 35-44 and 45-54 age groups respectively and exceeded the 15-24 rate by well over 50%. In fact after the very low 5-14 rate, the 15-24s had the lowest rate of suicide.

I know 2 families in my community who lost High school age kids to suicide. One, after his beloved grandad who'd been his father figure, died. Another female who had been molested by a relative - started out self harming eventually overdosed.

I'd venture an educated guess that the depressed state preceding suicide in majority of High School student cases is not triggered by sexual confusion but a range of other more common factors like bullying, family and relationship problems, sexual abuse, emerging mental illness (bi-polar and schizophrenia often start developing in mid - late teens - sometimes earlier).

School Chaplains are to my best knowledge trained counsellors and religious views are not pushed - at least not in secular schools. Brian Greig has more "spin" than Shane Warne

Divine_msn "School Chaplains are to my best knowledge trained counsellors and religious views are not pushed - at least not in secular schools."

If this is true, then why call them Chaplains?
If they don't push religious views, then why have bible-trained people doing this job in secular schools?
Why not just counsellors?

I am hoping no one will suggest that Christian "counsellors" are more qualified than anyone else....

Susie, I think the spiritual side of counselling is not a matter of being qualified or passing exams (although in a previous post I've said I agree with the need for at least basic psychology qualifications in addition to spiritual faith).

Christian spiritual faith is an 'affective' (feeling) thing as well as having knowledge of the teachings of Jesus Christ. As Christians we know that it's not WHAT you are (how popular, successful etc) it's WHO you are (loving, caring, considerate etc). Helping troubled students to be aware of this can be very healing.

Hope this helps

On the aspect on school chaplains supposedly not being involved in outreach activities. Here is one I prepared earlier http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=12461#215263

I'm a former financial supporter of school chaplaincy, I used to know quite a few of those engaged as school chaplains and I've yet to see any evidence that my own knowledge or experience of the chaplaincy goals was out of the ordinary. The chaplains I knew were there first and formost to try and use that access to evangelise kids or use the access as a feeder to other programs were kids would be evangelised, holiday camps, youth groups etc.

For those with doubts have a look at the current home page of Scripture Union, one of the big players in the field.

R0bert