Drr Irfan

My children has had a mixture of home schooling, small independant schools and finally the State system. One is about to finish a double degree at reportedly one of our best universities, another is enrolled to do an economics degree and the third will no doubt go on to university being in the top two or three in the public school he is in. They have all been taught evolution as a theory and have come out unharmed. They can still clearly it is a theory although some has a basis for it as a religion. They found that out when insecure teachers hated being questioned about evolutions validity.

You would do well to pick up on the hopelessly flawed state system rather than pick on the one or two badly run independent schools or better still write an article on the Muslim school in Perth that has been found lying about its numbers in order to get more funding.

Teaching evolution as a theory is the only honest approach one can take. Creationism makes more sense and is a lot more easily observed even by the simplest of people. It is funny that you and others are so alarmed that Creationism is taught as if the world is going to fall in because of it. I have met science teachers in the State system who totally reject evolution even as a credible theory.

Church is the place to brainwash children about imaginary friends not the schools.

As Richard Dawkins has pointed out, the decision about which (if any) supernatural being runs the Universe is far too important to be left to young children. Talking about 'Catholic' or 'Muslim' children is as offensive and outrageous as talking about 'Liberal' or 'Communist' children. Religious choice should be freely made by well-informed adult minds, not indoctrinated during the child's most vulnerable period of growth.

As for secular private education, fine: as long as my taxes don't have to pay for it. Remove subsidies for private schools and let committed parents carry the full burden of the cost; then we'll see the real strength of their convictions.

CJ

The issue is quality, not religion. Quality varies among religous schools and also varies among government schools.
Some people send their children to religious schools specifically to immerse them in that religious culture but most, in fact, send them to private or religious schools because they believe that those schools offer high quality education. The single most common reason I hear for people sending their children to private schools is that they believe discipline in government schools is a problem. This view is supported by many teachers who have had bad experiences teaching in difficult schools within the government system. There is a perception that many government schools are 'out of control'.

As for the argument about religious indoctrination in schools... it is every bit as irrational as the opinion, held by many, that political indictrination is rife within government schools. Freedom of religion is a fundamental principle of Australian society. That means people are entitled to practice their religion and raise their children within the religion of their choice. To deny funding to schools on the grounds of religion would amount to a systematic discrimination against that particular religion. This would be a violation of the principle of freedom of religion. Sorry CJ but on this score you are the one in violation of core Australian values.

As a tax payer I don't want to see my taxes used to fund religious schools. I want to see government schools adequately funded. I don't like exclusive schools which exist to segregate a sects children from mainstream society. Sects like the Exclusive Brethren do not teach the state specified curriculum, deny their children the right to university education, marry off the girls at age 18, expecting them to have many children. Women from these sects can't participate in mainstream society.

Billie,

You clearly believe everything you read about Brethren schools in the likes of the Daily Telegraph. Could I suggest (a) that you don't; and (b) that you research the facts first. Some points of fact for your information:

- Brethren schools in NSW teach the full NSW curriculum (including the science curriculum)
- their students use computers every day and participate in online tests run through the NSW Board of Studies
- the students go on to further study if they wish
- the schools enrol non-Brethren students
- they employ fully qualified non-Brethren teachers.

The schools are also inspected by the Board of Studies regularly and have never been found to be in breach of their educational responsibilities. The tabloid media representation of Brethren schools in Australia is out of date and continues only because of the laziness of journalists who are seeking a headline. The schools are an easy target because of the church/community they belong to but any reasonable examination of the FACTS will show that they have come a long way in recent years in terms of their educational provision and they provide a high quality of education for the students who attend their schools.