CHILDCARE staff to teach toddlers about gay families.

A booklet called We're Here, used in 2000 children's centres, encourages staff to use stories, books, posters, games and dolls to actively challenge homophobia.

CHANGING Father's Day to "A Day for Someone Special".
USING the terms Partner A and Partner B on forms instead of Mum and Dad.
TELLING children that "some families don't have dads".
In one suggested role playing scenario, children are introduced to Toby, a doll which has "two mums, June and Alice".

The booklet is condemned by the Australian Family Association and the State Opposition as an assault on parents' rights.

The We're Here booklet was funded by a community grants scheme. It is distributed by FKA Children's Services, which is funded by the State and Federal Governments.
More than 2000 copies of the booklet have been distributed around Victoria in the past year. BM of AFA said, "the material was taxpayer funded propaganda designed to brainwash children. The idea that same sex couples are on par with a mum and dad family is a real assault on children."

Opposition education spokesman Victor Perton said it was the role of parents rather than childcare workers to raise such issues.
"It's madness for childcare workers to actually be promoting these models given that most parents would be unaware they are in circulation," he said.

FKA Children's Services assistant director Melinda Chapman confirmed the booklet was used to promote awareness of homosexual issues.

Judy Radich, president of the Australian Early Childhood Association, said many childcare workers talked to children about gay families.
"We've all got a responsibility to expose children to the diversity of the world we live in," she said. But she said it was important for parents to be aware of what was being discussed.

University of Western Sydney academic Kerry Robinson has called for young children to actively confront gay issues. Writing in the Australian Journal of Early Childhood, she suggests Barbie dolls and fairy tales should be changed to include gay characters.
Public Education!

Yeah let's give more kids a public schooling experience like mine! Poor/inexperienced teachers, kids who could not read, violence in the classroom, filthy toilets, disgusting classrooms. No learning of any note took place there. The only reason I can read is that my parents taught me how before I got to that dreadful place.

QUOTE: "Terje, I feel rather saddened over your comment about the ‘majority RAMMING stuff down your throat each day. That type of attitude should be addressed in civics classes to avoid it, and “cultural superiority bullying” should be made an offense. You're not starting it r u ?"

No I am not starting it. When I want to cut down a tree in my garden and the majority say "no way" I don't regard myself as the protagonist. When I work hard to make a living and the majority decide they know best how to spend a large slab of my income I don't regard myself as the protagonist. If I decide to smoke dope and the majority lock up my supplier I don't regard myself as the protagonist. The majority sees fit to impose itself through laws all over the place. The majority does not believe in the notion of "live and let live". It prefers "do as we say".

I am not in favour of bullying. However some cultures are in my view superior. I would rather live in a culture with a strong work ethic, where people displayed a high level of respect for other peoples time, money, property and personal lifestyle choices. And where communal needs were dealt with through good will and cooperation rather than the heavy hand of the state.

The idea of secular schools is fine by me. But not state run and certainly not as the compulsory monopoly

Let's have a look at a private school & how they handled homosexuality. After several years of learning how sinful & wicked being a homosexual was in a "christian" school one grade found a gay kid in their clasroom. He was regularly beaten up, in the presence of teachers. Picked on by the teachers themselves & suffered almost continuous prejudice. The kid eventually hung himself. The schools response We didn't know it was going on! Rubbish!! They didn't care.
The fact is ignorance & fear of homosexuality is fairly common & needs to be addressed. & that is the job of educators, like it or not. Homosexuals need to learn that it's ok to be this way. Heterosexuals need to learn that homosexuals are not automatically child molesting fieds after their kids. They have the same dreams & hopes & fears as anyone. How can that be? Because their just human beings. So let's educate the prejudice & fear out of kids. I don't call that brainwashing I call that enlightened education.

QUOTE FROM ARTICLE: "Liberal democracy rests on certain agreed values that recognise that individuals deserve equal treatment in all areas of social life. This does not exclude committed believers from active participation in political life, but it does require them to acknowledge that particular religious beliefs not shared by the majority cannot determine their policies."

RESPONSE:-

Australia is not a Liberal Democracy. It is a Social Democracy. Oh how I wish it was a Liberal Democracy. However with statists in large numbers wanting all kids in state run education, Australia will no doubt remain a Social Democracy

I see that the homophobes and religious nutters are in full flight on this thread.

A few obvious corrections:

1. Female genital mutilation is an abhorrent practice that has nothing to do with Islam and is carried out in societies that claim to be Muslim and Christian alike. It doesn't occur at birth, rather when girls approach puberty. Little do with religion and everything to do with patriarchy.

2. Arranged marriages and honour killings are common among various societies in and around the Mediterranean - again, both 'Christian' and 'Muslim'. Nothing to do with religion and everything to do with patriarchy.

3. Who cares of it's a shroud or a coffin? It's just a lump of dead meat and should be hygienically combusted.

4. What has Dennis Altman's sexuality got to do with his opinions about public education, except in the tiny minds of some loopy fundamentalist Xians?

Personally, I think that parents should be able to send their kids to whichever schools they like, but that only public schools should receive any form of support from government revenue. My own kids have been entirely educated within the public system in excellent schools across several states. My eldest daughter topped the state in one HSC subject, while my other kids attend excellent and very multicultural primary and high schools in Brisbane.

All three of them respect individual people inherently, and experience interaction with kids from other cultures on a daily basis. I wish my education had been more like theirs.