Many years ago when I was training to be a teacher I did a practice in a Roman Catholic school.
The conflict between religion and secular state was palpable in the tension between the training agency and the school.
We used to have a department for education and science.
Now it is education and skills.
I guess we are not bothered about science in education anymore. We are running out of physics teachers in the state sector.
Mr Blair is obviously much more interested in faith education. He has an education minister from an extreme Catholic sect.
I guess we will soon have lots of Christian Schools that don't bother much with biology, and lots of Muslims Schools which don't have laboratories. Once upon a time the Muslims led the world in science. Not any more.
I wonder if we will soon have special science academies, where pupils are encouraged to believe in "science."
"Islam underpins schools' lessons
By Linda Pressly
Producer: Inside a Muslim School
BBC Radio 4 visits a privately-run Muslim school in Lancashire to see how Islam affects the curriculum and how such a school equips its students for their role in modern Britain."
1 comment:
I've posted about this book before, but I'll mention it again, because I think it does such a good job of identifying and analyzing the various forces at work on our schools today (tho the book is about US schools). The issues are, unfortunately, not as black and white as the media would have us believe. While I don't condone the anti-science approach of SOME religious groups, I don't think the government is untainted by any hidden agenda either. Gatto points to a more fundamental issue: allegiance. In order for governments to control their society, it is important to gain their allegiance. Religions are an impediment in that regard as they hold attract allegiances and loyalties away from the State. It is most instructive to read the history of schooling; the issue of loyalty was quite openly spoken of as a key objective of compulsory schooling, based on the Prussian model.
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