The Khandallah School Board of Trustees has released feedback regarding the submissions on their clubs policy, which were mostly about religious instruction. There seems to be a strong level of denial among some board members!
The Churches Education Commission is on the defensive and is re-branding to “Launchpad”. They have a new CEO and new initiatives planned for 2019. Will media attention on their actions hold them in check even while legislation allows them to get away with so much? Will the court case enable change to legislation that goes far enough?
Teachers are right in the firing line on the religious instruction debate. No matter what they say, they will upset someone. This article attempts to explain the position they are in.
Red Beach School have finally agreed to end religious instruction after more than 8 years of complaints against their “values classes”, which included defending a high court case costing them tens of thousands in legal fees to defend their bias for Christian religious evangelism.
Cool Bananas is a Tauranga-based Christian organisation that promotes a number of “values” programmes in the form of religious instruction, holiday programmes, event and camps. They even have their own YouTube TV channel “where values and entertainment got hitched”! So is it just good fun for kids or a funnel into religious faith?
As hundreds of evangelical Christians were in Wellington protesting the removal of “Jesus Christ” from the parliamentary prayer, the board of trustees at a small rural school just south of the Bombay Hills were informing parents that religious instruction classes were to be removed.
The Ministry of Education have released draft guidelines on religious instruction and asked for submissions. Considering that they have no teeth, are inconsistent with the law and support entrenched religious discrimination… why do we still have this nonsense?
Many people think that religious instruction classes are just nice old people from the church teaching kids how to be good people but that is fundamentally wrong. Bible classes exist specifically to promote Christian religious faith. How often does it go wrong?
The Education Council defend their lack of policy on religious instruction and assure me that Chris Hipkins will answer our questions. Find out what the Education Council says about religious instruction and see if we got a response from the Minister.