Can Australian parents trust our schools
and teachers to present a balanced and
impartial view of the war in Iraq? Judging
by the actions of the Australian Education
Union, the answer is "no".
Instead of presenting a fair and objective
view of the war, the union promotes a
left-wing, ALP-friendly interpretation
of events.
Parents need only to visit the union's
website to see how biased and ideologically
driven teacher unions have become. The
website presents a range of media releases,
resolutions and bulletins all opposed
to Australia's involvement in Iraq.
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The media release "Educators Oppose
Howard's War" states that Australia's
involvement is "illegal" and
that the war "is opposed by the majority
of Australians". Forget the counter
argument that our involvement is legal
and that, according to the latest Newspoll
and Morgan poll, the majority of Australians
now support our troops fighting to overthrow
Saddam Hussein.
The union suggests teachers, in the classroom,
should argue against military action on
the basis that the priority must be on
"the avoidance of conflict by peaceful
means and recognition of cultural and
religious diversity". Tell that to
the Kurds who have been gassed, tortured
and driven from their homes by Saddam's
regime.
The union also urges teachers to "take
action in your workplace and community"
and "support students who take an
anti-war stance". While many parents
might argue their children should not
be involved in anti-war protests, it is
clear the union believes teachers have
every right to influence students to do
otherwise.
The New
South Wales Teachers Federation issued
a media release on March 20 headed "Teachers
oppose the war on Iraq". Again, there
is no attempt to present both sides of
the argument; the union states that it
"unequivocally opposes the war".
It urges teachers to attend public rallies
against the war and, in the classroom,
to tell students that the war is wrong
and that "the avoidance of conflict
and resolution of problems by peaceful
means" is the better option.
The president of the federation, Maree
O'Halloran, even goes as far as to state:
"Congratulations should be sent to
Senator Bob Brown, Andrew Bartlett and
the French ambassador for their stand
against the war."
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Forget about congratulating members of
the Australian
Defence Force for putting their lives
at risk or thanking the "coalition
of the willing" for seeking to overthrow
a dictator and bring freedom to an oppressed
people.
The Victorian branch of the AEU also
presents a one-sided view of the conflict.
It advises teachers to "suspend normal
classroom instruction to read a statement
to their classes and present or undertake
a peace activity".
Teachers are also told, in relation to
war against Iraq, that "this action
is not sanctioned by the United Nations"
and that "many people in Australia
and around the world think that diplomacy
should be given more time".
On reading the anti-war material promoted
by teacher unions, one searches in vain
for any balanced recognition that Prime
Minister John Howard might have a just
case.
Also ignored is the argument that, such
is the evil and destructive nature of
Saddam's regime and the reality that international
diplomacy has failed, that war is the
only feasible option left.
That teacher unions have a closed mind
on such issues is distressing. But of
course, as parents should realise, the
AEU and NSW Teachers Federation have never
disguised their left-wing political bent.
Opposition to the war in Iraq is simply
the latest in a long line of politically
correct, ideologically driven causes championed
by the teacher unions. The concern is
that while political activism is a good
thing, it should not cross over to the
classroom; students should not be used
as political pawns in issues they might
not fully understand.
There are many teachers who are professional
and impartial, but sadly, there are also
many other teachers who cannot be trusted.
This left-wing bias among teachers, on
issues like the war in Iraq, the environment,
gender politics and multiculturalism,
explains the results of a federal government-funded
survey in 1998, in which 600 parents were
asked about the teaching of civics and
citizenship.
Sixty per cent said they were not confident
that teachers could teach these matters
impartially because, in the words of the
survey report, "there is widespread
concern that teachers are either not well-enough
trained or professional enough to teach
this program (civics) without bias".
Recent events have demonstrated that
nothing's changed.