The author speaks of values being "care and compassion; doing your best; fair go; freedom; honesty and trustworthiness; integrity; respect; responsibility and understanding; tolerance and inclusion".

Couldn't agree more.

Why then, has this same author been quoted in The Daily Telegraph "accusing educators of 'political correctness'" in reference to a NSW program which encourages students to show empathy toward fellow gay and lesbian students?

"Tolerance and inclusion", indeed, Mr Donnelly. Unless of course, you're a gay or lesbian student and then it's just "political correctness".

This report released by LaTrobe University shows exactly what gay and lesbian youth are facing in our school system right across Australia at the moment. You would do well to read it very carefully.

www.latrobe.edu.au/ssay

The previous poster seems to have seriously misread Kevin Donnelly's piece. The values you quoted above were in the DEST report, which was being criticised by Donnelly.

What a terrific piece! If you're reading this, Kevin, I found it one of the best I've read in Online Opinion for a long time.

Regardless, given his comments in The Daily Telegraph, he should still read the report. Gay and lesbian youth and those perceived to be gay and lesbian are being subject to everything from verbal abuse to rape. Perhaps he should be supporting "tolerance and inclusion" in our schools, lest even more of these children kill themselves.

Religion is an inescapable concept. Everyone has a framework of basic assumptions about his worldview encompassing metaphysics, epistemology and ethics that is held on faith. In other words, everyone has his religion. Education is therefore going to be inescapably religious, since it necessarily entails the inculcation of a certain worldview to students.

This is why it is fundamentally wrong to have the state provide education, because doing so requires tax-payers to subsidise the inculcation of a religion that may not by their own and with which they may have major disagreements. Just as a Humanist may not like his being forced to pay for the inculcation of the Islamic worldview to children who may not even be Muslims, or the Christian dislike being forced to pay for the teaching of Humanism to students who may not even be Humanists, in the same way I may not like my being forced to pay for the inculcation of a religion that is not my own and the tenets of which I may fundamentally disagree with.

Education should be private. This way, none of us is forced to pay for the inculcation of a religion that may not be ours and so of values which we may not hold.

"Unfortunately, much of the current approach to education is the opposite of a liberal education. Students are taught the way one interprets the world is both subjective and relative and that everyone is entitled to their opinion."
Yes even Kev is entitled to his opinion.

Brazuca That view is so out of touch that even Kev would oppose it.

Schools teach kids WHAT to think rather than HOW to think.

Maybe they could teach the VALUE of HOW to THINK.