Psychologists.... oh yes mate :) THEY would be happy to spend time at schools for errr.. $20/hour :) NOT....

The principle and idea behind Chaplains.. honestly... I'm not sure where the government is coming from. It might be for symbolic reasons... It might be 'saying' something about our national Culture... who can read John H.s mind ?

Then, the problem of truly born again Chaplains... (the 'ordinary' kind is as useful as tits on a bull) or would they just be nominal ones ? If children asked them 'What is life all about' ? Would they hum and har and stumble around for some politically correct theory that basically says nothing about everything ?

If they came out with a firm declaration that Life..is about knowing and loving God through Christ, by the Spirit....how would their parents react ?

Many many questions.

While there have been many philosophers, founders of religions and thinkers, The only true moral compass is Christ Jesus. But setting ones life in the direction he points to is through a faith encounter and renewed life.

Perhaps instead of 'chaplains' we just need to see national repentance to God and inner renewal on a massive scale ?

That is my prayer anyway.

Hmm... true, Psychologists may not be cheap, but counsellors could be.

The whole values debate will always revolve around different people pushing their own values on others.

We can agree that things such as violence, cruelty, harassment and so forth should be condemned.

So rather than dragging religion into this, counsellors would be a step toward actually doing something constructive instead of pushing an ideological agenda.

It's all very well to refer to secularism as an agenda, but damnit, it is as close to neutral as we're going to get, and few are actually going to advocate that faith be instilled as a part of our government - so why should we let it be a part of our schools?

The Cold War finished a long time ago Kev. Theory got over postmodernism about a decade ago, round about the time your mate Howard started fixing education by freezing funding. Good idea, that.

You don't seem to have noticed that your opposition in the culture wars got bored and moved on a while back.

Good thing you're interested in mythology. It might help you understand the nature of your mythological opponents.

State wide education is failing in every State.
It fails to address the basic need of children.
Most modern day young boys dream to be gunslinging hit men,thanks to video games and Hollywood.
Young girls are likely to dream of being the "Hitmans Ho."
This may shock many but the diet of TV programmes currently being shown in Australia is directed to this end.
As a youngster I had a Cowboy outfit but it was an unrealistic dream
to become a Cowboy as they were characters from a previous era.
Reality TV is hard hitting young people, and many see the abuse show on TV as their own real world.
It is hard for teachers to be blaimed,for not controlling the class room,when a childs brain is full of confrontational violence.
Seeing or heard the TV while Mum and Dad watch realistic crime all night.
The Moral standard of TV needs to improve then hand the State Education system back to the Federal Governmnet.
How can any countries Educational system be taken seriously when it has eight Education Ministers at any one time.

Boaz,
When I was a child I was taught about 4 good-luck parental-deity story book characters. Jesus, the tooth fairy, the easter bunny and santa claus.

When I became an adult(in fact long before) it became obvious that 3 of these good-luck parental-deity characters were false and in fact lies. And a little more quite elemenary investigation proved that the "jesus" story book character was plain and simply not true.Being little more than cartoon characters like Daffy Duck, Fat Freddy's Cat and Mr Zippy.
Mr Zippy is outrageously funny especially in relation to self righteous god-botherers like Boaz.

Jesus as "moral" compass! The fact of the matter is that throughout history countless millions of humans have been murdered in the name of "jesus". Take the history of the reformation & counter-reformation inspired catholic vs protestant wars that ruined Europe. Millions were slaughtered because they adhered to differing interpretaions of "jesus". Ever noticed how christian apologists seldom if ever mention that dark period of European history.Such collective insanity being the background in which the separation of church and state became a foundation of western democracies. A principle which Boaz and his fellow true believers, especially in the USA, want to abolish so that they can establish "gods" reign on earth.
A hard rain will definitely fall if that occurs.
Take Henry the Vlll the "founder" of the Anglican church. He was a serial killer, a mass murderer and the greatest thieve and vandal in English history.
And lets not forget the Trident submarine named USS (City) of Corpus Christie. A very "moral" compass indeed!

Dear HRM
re:
"I’ve talked to teachers. I’ve lived with a number of teachers.
Why is this so?"

I don't know.

But more to your point, I don't know what the current research on boys' literacy shows in terms of efficacious programs. My guess is that $90 million dollars for school chaplains will not address the literacy problems that concern you, or serve to implement any literacy programs with a proven track record, at any school.

Naturally I'd be delighted to learn that there are programs which the Federal Government could fund, say through IOSP or ASISTM, which would indirectly address the gender difference you point out in literacy rates. Any suggestions?

In any case, I believe the issue of boys' literacy and adolescent male disengagement from schooling would be better addressed by $90 million in direct funding for literacy, rather than for Chaplaincy.

Good luck in your pursuit