Dilemmas in education for parents and society

The situation now is more dangerous. Catholic schools are reverting to being almost entirely for children of Catholics. Other faiths are setting up their own schools. Jewish children used to go to Protestant schools, and when they grew up, they had links with non-Jewish schoolmates. Now they have their own. All sorts of fringe Christians and every other religion are setting up their own schools.

Within those schools, however much harmony they claim, there is ‘religious’ teaching that they are the only truth, and outsiders are heretics.

The children get this teaching at home, at their places of worship, and at their schools. Seven days a week. They do not learn about other people and other ways of life within their society.

This is dangerous. Here are the possibilities of fanaticism and fear of others.

We see what happens overseas. In Britain, some religions are like a state within a state, with their own laws competing with the national laws, and the people only interacting with each other. ‘UnBritish’ practices like sharia and oppression of women flourish in them. The religionists learn nothing to make them British, except insofar as they watch TV – which can put them off.

And the terrible thing about it is that the government facilitates this segregation with financial support for establishing and maintaining these schools, in order to curry favour with parents and religious leaders.

And among other things, in Australia this means that the government has less money to spend on public schools, to make them more attractive and diverse, because taxpayers' money for education is also shared with independent and faith schools. Parents indeed pay to send their children to independent and faith schools, but government money also goes to these schools. Both the Coalition and ALP support this practice. This helps to make these schools more desirable.

Parents must realise what continuing this segregation will mean for their children in the future.