Dear OnTheBeach,

I accept your argument about teaching Islam, but how is this particular public-school indoctrination different in principle than other types of indoctrination?

Is it really OK to force-feed children with ideas of Christian/Western civilisation just because it represents some majority? Is it really OK to brainwash children with the idea that when they grow up they must become cog-wheels in the government's economical "work-force", striving for wealth and technology so they become good tax-payers?

The whole concept of a "national curriculum" is obscene, along with that of public (meaning government-managed, not just funded) schools.

Yes, the issue of Islam is a wake-up call, but the roots of the problem are much deeper!

Yuyutsu,

I agree that education should empower and not shackle.

In fact a well taught English literature course will empower and proof students against many of the toxic ideologies out there. It helps students young and old with some of the perplexing questions in life.

However philosophy would also benefit. Because there are some very sly and unsavoury intruders with their own secondary agenda involved in making education policy in Oz and sometimes, in delivering at the sharp end.

I see no reason why philosophy shouldn't be one of the fundamentals of the curriculum from as early as possible in education.

Na, I think burning agnostics at the stake makes more sense....leave the books alone!

Diver Dan

But you yourself are agnostic to religions other than your own.

Yes no doubt the secularist are happy for the kids to be taught that's its fine to have 30 different sexual partners. I mean planned parenthood can then rip the babies from the womb and sell the parts. The later the term the more money. The secularist are then are dumb enough to want to know why suicide rates among teens are horrendous. Well with no moral based to draw from its not surprising. No wonder parents who don't even believe line up to send kids to private schools. Oh that's right its because of lack of funds!

Yuyutzu<worldliness
is a personal insanity to be practiced privately - No sane or rational person would invest in that which is bound to perish.

Thus there should be full separation of the state from the church, to keep churches clean, focused on God and away from the filth of the worldly state.>

The above opinion by you, convinces me of what I've always believed, that
It is religions who are intolerant of the society around them, not the other way around.
You believe members of your religion are clean and not filthy like those who aren't members of your religion.
Not far from that belief to purifying and cleansing the world of the infidel or heretic
Either by beheading or burning them at the stake. This of course is a holy act to rid the world of the filthy sinners who are not clean,without sin, and holy like members of your religion.
Jesus said, "let you who is without sin amongst us cast the first stone"
He was referring to the woman they were about to stone for adultery.

The Christian churches forgot those words when they were burning people at the stake.
The Muslim religion teaches the opposite, stone people to death for some supposed sexual sin.
Whenever the churches have had too much power over people's lives in history
They bought nothing but misery to the people who had to live under their punitive,
Regressive ideas