In NSW, Australia, we have been very fortunate in being able to go into the schools and teach SRE, Special Religious Education over many years. Parents who do not want their children taught SRE, have the option to send a note saying they do not wish them to participate in the class. In this case many will spend the time in the library, on computers, or involved in some other activity. Now another alternative is being proposed. The alternative is ethics classes.
In these ethics classes children will apparently be exposed to the ideas of people like John Stuart Mill and Immanuel Kant. Ten primary schools in the state of NSW will start on the ten week trial ethics classes in 2010. This will be the option for those parents who do not wish their child to participate in special religious education classes.
Topics covered in these classes for years 5 and 6 will include the use and abuse of animals. For example how acceptable is it to use animals for medical reach or in the making of cosmetics? How acceptable is it to keep battery hens or to have horse racing or to kill the rabbits which plague many country areas? Friends of ours have wild rabbits often enter their year from nearby bush and demolish any vegetables they try to grow. Should they be allowed to exterminate them? That’s one of the questions children will be asked in these ethic classes.
Other topics will include bullying, friendships stealing etc. Now, my belief is these things are often already covered in the HSIE curriculum anyway. I know I’ve written stories and poems on these topics that have been used in the educational texts in classrooms, so how are these new ethics classes going to be greatly different to what is already being taught?
It appears that the aim is to have trained volunteers come in to facilitate discussions among students. Even though Associate Professor, Phillip Cam, from NSW University is developing the program, who is going to check up on exactly what ethics these volunteers are going to be teaching? Or whether they will be end up pushing their own agenda?
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