SR,

Comparing those calling for alternate views to the teaching of a militant version of identity politics in an English language class to holocaust deniers is wildly excessive and more than a little anti semetic.

Given the position of trust that teachers have, using this privilege to espouse left whinge doctrine to a captive audience is contemptible.

Dear Shadow minister,

You write;

"Comparing those calling for alternate views to the teaching of a militant version of identity politics in an English language class to holocaust deniers is wildly excessive and more than a little anti semetic."

If that is what your obviously enfeebled brain took from what I had written then I seriously can't help you mate.

Not sure if Frank Salter, the so called political scientist, is a closet Nazi, or white supremacists, or something else, or just a father concerned about his child's education. The fuss is most likely not about the subject of English and what is being tough, but rather the fact such taboo subjects are being tough at all. The topics in question social inequity, racism, segregation, ghettos, civil rights, slavery, racial discrimination and segregation, along with many other social issues are very important and should form at some stage a vital part of the school curriculum and a child's education. These topics are generally seen as off limits by the blow hard's of the rabid right, we have some of them on the forum. Other than a cursory glance from a totally white European perspective in some ancient history class they would prefer these things not to be broached at all. As part of sociology teaching they deserve critical and in depth study and analyse by students if they are to receive a fully rounded education. When and where that should take place is best left to the educators.

Literature is not written in a vacuum devoid of politics and controversial material. Great writers have written of social injustice. Charles Dickens wrote of the exploitation of the poor, of child labour and of the chicanery of the law. The lesson might have everything to do with English. The fact is Australia has a dark history, and the USA has a dark history. American and Australian authors have written of the dark history of their countries, and a student of English should be aware of those writers and their works.

SR,

Identity politics is a point of view that is open for debate, that the holocaust occurred is a fact challenged exclusively by racist and anti semite persons and organisations.

The issue is activist teachers using their position of authority to teach far left ideology as fact. Just as I took issue with my daughter's year 1 teacher discussing creationism and describing evolution as only a theory, I object to left whinge activists trying to indoctrinate rather than educate children.

//describing evolution as only a theory//

It IS a theory. I really wish science classes in this country would devote more time to teaching on the nature of the scientific method. Most people just fundamentally don't understand it.