Feedback on the "Inclusive Education" policy
Feedback on the "Inclusive Education" policy
Introduction:
Like all schools in the country, my child's is introducing the use of the "preferred pronoun".
Meaning a boy can decide that he is a girl,
and everybody should abide by that.
Your child will be punished for using "he/him/his" when referring to that boy !
Here is my feedback to the school on this policy.
Please copy any idea or section and use it in your feedback.
Like all schools in the country, my child's is introducing the use of the "preferred pronoun".
Meaning a boy can decide that he is a girl,
and everybody should abide by that.
Your child will be punished for using "he/him/his" when referring to that boy !
Here is my feedback to the school on this policy.
Please copy any idea or section and use it in your feedback.
-----------------------------------
My feedback:
The following is my feedback on the "Inclusive Education" policy.
In the first part, I am commenting on the use of the "preferred pronouns" of students under "Learners at the centre".
In the second part, I am addressing a few sections under "Cultural and religious diversity" and "Sexuality and gender diversity".
Part 1:
My comments on the use of the "preferred pronouns" of students under "Learners at the centre".
While it might sound innocent and fair, this policy has a number of issues.
- It is at odds with the "Bill of Rights Act 1990" of New Zealand and a school policy
- It will infringe a few basic human rights
- It will likely create a generation of confused people about reality
- And it will likely be a source of injustice and unnecessary stress for our fragile little ones.
- It is at odds with the "Bill of Rights Act 1990" of New Zealand and a school policy
- It will infringe a few basic human rights
- It will likely create a generation of confused people about reality
- And it will likely be a source of injustice and unnecessary stress for our fragile little ones.
1- Infringement of the Bill of Rights Act and a school policy
This policy is at odds with the "Bill of Rights Act 1990" of New Zealand
and with the "Religious Instruction" policy of the school.
Clause 13 of the "Bill of Rights Act 1990" states:
"Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion and belief, including the right to adopt and to hold opinions without interference."
Clause 15 of the “Bill of Rights Act 1990” states:
“Every person has the right to manifest that person’s religion or belief in worship, observance, practice, or teaching, either individually or in community with others, and either in public or in private.”
One of the implications of these clauses is that
I and my child have the right to freely practice our religion.
But the proposed policy will interfere with my practice
and will stop my child from growing into her religion.
and with the "Religious Instruction" policy of the school.
Clause 13 of the "Bill of Rights Act 1990" states:
"Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion and belief, including the right to adopt and to hold opinions without interference."
Clause 15 of the “Bill of Rights Act 1990” states:
“Every person has the right to manifest that person’s religion or belief in worship, observance, practice, or teaching, either individually or in community with others, and either in public or in private.”
One of the implications of these clauses is that
I and my child have the right to freely practice our religion.
But the proposed policy will interfere with my practice
and will stop my child from growing into her religion.
1.1- The proposed policy will interfere with my practice:
One of my religious duties, outlined in the Quran, is the transfer of the teaching of the Quran to my daughter.
But the policy will interfere with my endeavor, as it will cancel out what I try to teach her.
The proposed policy will therefore infringe the clause 13 and 15 of the "Bill of Rights Act 1990" of NZ.
One of my religious duties, outlined in the Quran, is the transfer of the teaching of the Quran to my daughter.
But the policy will interfere with my endeavor, as it will cancel out what I try to teach her.
The proposed policy will therefore infringe the clause 13 and 15 of the "Bill of Rights Act 1990" of NZ.
1.2- The proposed policy will stop my child from growing into her religion:
The most basic teaching in the Quran, which outlines my daughter's religion, is
recognizing reality
and, exclusively, living by it.
One of the implications of this basic teaching, in practice, is for people
- to call a spade a spade, and
- for as long as reality says it is a spade
Even those who claim to have believed are warned of going astray, in a situation,
if they don't, scrupulously, stick to this basic teaching.
Incidentally, we see this behavior firmly and scrupulously adhered to
in serious human endeavors and activities
like lawmaking, scientific research, business, and crime investigation.
Denying or ignoring the reality, or part of it, is immensely despised in the Quran.
It expresses its strong indignation, in at least 90 verses, with the deniers and the denial of reality and truth.
And does the same, in at least 50 verses, with those who ignore what their sight and hearing perceive or don't want to do the simple logical connections.
Referring to a student by his/her preferred pronoun, instead of by his/her physical and biological reality,
is a blunt denial and ignoring of the reality that is easily perceived by the basic sensors equipping the human being: The sight, the hearing, and the basic logical connections.
The proposed policy will stop my child from growing into and practicing the basic principle of our faith of recognizing reality and, exclusively, living by it.
The proposed policy will therefore infringe the clause 13 and 15 of the "Bill of Rights Act 1990" of NZ.
The most basic teaching in the Quran, which outlines my daughter's religion, is
recognizing reality
and, exclusively, living by it.
One of the implications of this basic teaching, in practice, is for people
- to call a spade a spade, and
- for as long as reality says it is a spade
Even those who claim to have believed are warned of going astray, in a situation,
if they don't, scrupulously, stick to this basic teaching.
Incidentally, we see this behavior firmly and scrupulously adhered to
in serious human endeavors and activities
like lawmaking, scientific research, business, and crime investigation.
Denying or ignoring the reality, or part of it, is immensely despised in the Quran.
It expresses its strong indignation, in at least 90 verses, with the deniers and the denial of reality and truth.
And does the same, in at least 50 verses, with those who ignore what their sight and hearing perceive or don't want to do the simple logical connections.
Referring to a student by his/her preferred pronoun, instead of by his/her physical and biological reality,
is a blunt denial and ignoring of the reality that is easily perceived by the basic sensors equipping the human being: The sight, the hearing, and the basic logical connections.
The proposed policy will stop my child from growing into and practicing the basic principle of our faith of recognizing reality and, exclusively, living by it.
The proposed policy will therefore infringe the clause 13 and 15 of the "Bill of Rights Act 1990" of NZ.
1.3- The proposed policy will infringe the "Religious Instruction" policy of the school:
The "Religious Instruction" policy of the school states:
"Religious instruction is not currently offered at Wakaaranga School. We have consulted with the school community in deciding whether to provide religious instruction.
Wakaaranga School fosters an inclusive school community, and respects staff and students' right to practice and observe their own faiths and spiritual beliefs."
We can see that
on the one hand, the "Religious Instruction" policy states that the school respects students' right to practice and observe their faiths,
on the other hand, the "preferred pronoun and name" policy will be against her faith of recognizing reality and, exclusively, living by it.
The "Religious Instruction" policy of the school states:
"Religious instruction is not currently offered at Wakaaranga School. We have consulted with the school community in deciding whether to provide religious instruction.
Wakaaranga School fosters an inclusive school community, and respects staff and students' right to practice and observe their own faiths and spiritual beliefs."
We can see that
on the one hand, the "Religious Instruction" policy states that the school respects students' right to practice and observe their faiths,
on the other hand, the "preferred pronoun and name" policy will be against her faith of recognizing reality and, exclusively, living by it.
2- This policy will create confusion to children:
Living by this policy, children will start losing the difference between what is reality and what is their own creation.
Because the policy is going to be upheld by teachers and school staff,
children will not know when to tell and live by reality
and when, it is allowed, to tell and live by what they or others have created.
The impact, in some children, might be indelible and span their whole lives.
Because the policy is going to be upheld by teachers and school staff,
children will not know when to tell and live by reality
and when, it is allowed, to tell and live by what they or others have created.
The impact, in some children, might be indelible and span their whole lives.
3- This policy will be a source of injustice and unnecessary stress for children:
When the policy is fully implemented, a child could be corrected for using the wrong pronoun for a classmate, as many times as that classmate changes his/her preferred pronoun,
because the child couldn't keep up to date with the changes!
Incidents like this will stress any child in the school.
Children will shift from focusing on studying and enjoying school life to, diligently, keeping up to date with everyone's preferred pronoun.
because the child couldn't keep up to date with the changes!
Incidents like this will stress any child in the school.
Children will shift from focusing on studying and enjoying school life to, diligently, keeping up to date with everyone's preferred pronoun.
4- This policy will be a source of tension at school:
Children and their parents will be confused by a handful of children, who would change their pronouns.
The later will have everybody believe they are of whatever gender they wish, when they wish !
The human instinct for dignity will create tension between parents of both sides
and tension between parents and teachers who, scrupulously, adhere to the policy.
The later will have everybody believe they are of whatever gender they wish, when they wish !
The human instinct for dignity will create tension between parents of both sides
and tension between parents and teachers who, scrupulously, adhere to the policy.
5- This policy will be a breach of a basic human right:
One of the basic human instincts is that a parent cares about and cherishes their little one, and only seeks the best for him/her.
This inherent love drives a parent
to only trust their child with an education system with well known desired outcomes
and not abandon him/her to a school with a new policy that is not coherent with normal human behavior.
Forcing this policy, with unknown outcomes, to say the least,
is therefore a breach of the basic human right of parenthood.
This inherent love drives a parent
to only trust their child with an education system with well known desired outcomes
and not abandon him/her to a school with a new policy that is not coherent with normal human behavior.
Forcing this policy, with unknown outcomes, to say the least,
is therefore a breach of the basic human right of parenthood.
6- Counterproposal and conclusion of part 1:
No matter what our religions, beliefs, or opinions are
we all agree on the effectiveness of the scientific experiment to discover an area or aspect of the universe we live in.
Given that the preferred pronoun is a new idea, that humanity has never known or lived by,
the only way the ministry of education can introduce it, along with the rest of the recommendations in the RSE guide,
is if
a scientific observation was conducted,
for a long enough period of time,
with a small sample of children,
that showed that young men, women and others who grew up in such an environment
have clearly better personal skills and qualities than their peers who grew up in a classic environment.
Without a satisfactory scientific study proving its usefulness,
introducing this policy
- will be a direct infringement of the Bill of Rights of the country
- will be a direct infringement of a few basic human rights
- will likely create a generation of confused people about reality
- and will likely be a source of injustice and unnecessary stress for our fragile little ones.
we all agree on the effectiveness of the scientific experiment to discover an area or aspect of the universe we live in.
Given that the preferred pronoun is a new idea, that humanity has never known or lived by,
the only way the ministry of education can introduce it, along with the rest of the recommendations in the RSE guide,
is if
a scientific observation was conducted,
for a long enough period of time,
with a small sample of children,
that showed that young men, women and others who grew up in such an environment
have clearly better personal skills and qualities than their peers who grew up in a classic environment.
Without a satisfactory scientific study proving its usefulness,
introducing this policy
- will be a direct infringement of the Bill of Rights of the country
- will be a direct infringement of a few basic human rights
- will likely create a generation of confused people about reality
- and will likely be a source of injustice and unnecessary stress for our fragile little ones.
Part 2:
In this second part I am addressing sections under "Cultural and religious diversity" and "Sexuality and gender diversity".
Like Part 1, I hope my feedback will help create a policy to respect the diversity and needs of all students
and help Wakaaranga School stay focused on its important and core educational tasks.
7- Comment on sensitivity to religious beliefs and belief systems:
Inclusive Education
Cultural and religious diversity
being sensitive to all religious beliefs and belief systems
Please answer the following question:
What is the extent of being sensitive to religious beliefs and belief systems?
Would this mean that an ISIS-influenced person could impose
- that the school require girls to cover their heads
- and that a room be made available for muslim children, aged 7 and more, to do their two day prayers.
Cultural and religious diversity
being sensitive to all religious beliefs and belief systems
Please answer the following question:
What is the extent of being sensitive to religious beliefs and belief systems?
Would this mean that an ISIS-influenced person could impose
- that the school require girls to cover their heads
- and that a room be made available for muslim children, aged 7 and more, to do their two day prayers.
8- Comment on the celebrations:
Inclusive Education
Cultural and religious diversity
celebrating festivals and significant holidays from a range of cultures
I don't agree with this, for the following reasons:
8.1- Primarily, the school is for teaching literacy and math, PE, art, and science.
Celebrating festivals and significant holidays from a range of cultures is not the goal of children coming to school.
The school's own cultural events and activities are enough.
8.2- The school resources will be involved in the celebrations : teachers' energy and time and school money,
which would better be spent on supporting struggling children
instead of spending it on celebrating festivals and holidays of cultures.
8.3- Unfortunately, not all celebrations are consistent with religious and cultural diversity.
For instance:
8.3.1- If the school decided to celebrate the Pride Month,
this
- would expose my child to it,
- would get her to grow into it,
- would get her and her family to celebrate it, directly or indirectly,
while our religion is for the historic understanding of marriage and sexuality
and therefore doesn’t allow us to celebrate anything that is against that
or that attributes imperfection to God.
Celebrating the Pride Month would breach clause 13 and 15 of the Bill Of Rights Act, the "Religious Instruction" policy of the school and the fact that the school is sensitive to our religion, as mentioned above.
8.3.2- Muslims from the Shia sect will never agree on celebrating Ashura other than in mournings, contrary to Sunni Muslims who celebrate it with joy.
When the school has gone by the wish of the Sunni community in celebrating Ashura, how will the Shia Muslim community feel ?
This will automatically lead to tension, and the school will be responsible for creating conflict and division between these communities as we see overseas.
8.4- If my child was in an integrated Muslim school, I would request that the school celebrate Islamic holidays.
But I would never want any state school to celebrate any Islamic holiday, because
8.4.1- this is unethical, selfish and is just arrogance: The school's resources are not for the muslim community. They are for teaching the children of a whole diverse community.
8.4.2- a non-muslim parent might feel ripped off if they feel more school resources have been put into celebrating a Muslim holiday than his/her holiday.
This will create tension sooner or later, in one way or another.
For instance, some parents might stop paying the annual donation or taking part in activities raising money for school.
Cultural and religious diversity
celebrating festivals and significant holidays from a range of cultures
I don't agree with this, for the following reasons:
8.1- Primarily, the school is for teaching literacy and math, PE, art, and science.
Celebrating festivals and significant holidays from a range of cultures is not the goal of children coming to school.
The school's own cultural events and activities are enough.
8.2- The school resources will be involved in the celebrations : teachers' energy and time and school money,
which would better be spent on supporting struggling children
instead of spending it on celebrating festivals and holidays of cultures.
8.3- Unfortunately, not all celebrations are consistent with religious and cultural diversity.
For instance:
8.3.1- If the school decided to celebrate the Pride Month,
this
- would expose my child to it,
- would get her to grow into it,
- would get her and her family to celebrate it, directly or indirectly,
while our religion is for the historic understanding of marriage and sexuality
and therefore doesn’t allow us to celebrate anything that is against that
or that attributes imperfection to God.
Celebrating the Pride Month would breach clause 13 and 15 of the Bill Of Rights Act, the "Religious Instruction" policy of the school and the fact that the school is sensitive to our religion, as mentioned above.
8.3.2- Muslims from the Shia sect will never agree on celebrating Ashura other than in mournings, contrary to Sunni Muslims who celebrate it with joy.
When the school has gone by the wish of the Sunni community in celebrating Ashura, how will the Shia Muslim community feel ?
This will automatically lead to tension, and the school will be responsible for creating conflict and division between these communities as we see overseas.
8.4- If my child was in an integrated Muslim school, I would request that the school celebrate Islamic holidays.
But I would never want any state school to celebrate any Islamic holiday, because
8.4.1- this is unethical, selfish and is just arrogance: The school's resources are not for the muslim community. They are for teaching the children of a whole diverse community.
8.4.2- a non-muslim parent might feel ripped off if they feel more school resources have been put into celebrating a Muslim holiday than his/her holiday.
This will create tension sooner or later, in one way or another.
For instance, some parents might stop paying the annual donation or taking part in activities raising money for school.
9- Comment on sensitivity to sexuality and gender diversity
Inclusive Education
Sexuality and gender diversity
9.1- Please answer the following questions:
9.1.1- Why does sexuality need to be mentioned in education, especially at a primary school ?
9.1.2- Isn't sexuality a personal matter ?
9.1.3- Why is the focus on sexuality and not eating behavior, for instance, or sport or art or any other human activity ?
9.1.4- Shouldn’t the school focus on its core job to teach basic and important subjects like maths and literacy ?
9.2- Please answer the same questions regarding "gender identity".
Sexuality and gender diversity
9.1- Please answer the following questions:
9.1.1- Why does sexuality need to be mentioned in education, especially at a primary school ?
9.1.2- Isn't sexuality a personal matter ?
9.1.3- Why is the focus on sexuality and not eating behavior, for instance, or sport or art or any other human activity ?
9.1.4- Shouldn’t the school focus on its core job to teach basic and important subjects like maths and literacy ?
9.2- Please answer the same questions regarding "gender identity".
10- Comment on the consideration of the sexuality and the gender beliefs and customs of our LGBTQIA+ community:
Inclusive Education
Sexuality and gender diversity
We take the views, beliefs, and customs of our community into consideration
Please answer the following questions:
10.1- Do you confirm that there are customs of our community related to sexuality and gender identity ?
Could you give examples of such customs ?
10.2- Why should anyone in school know about a matter,
as private and personal as the sexuality of another child or staff member ?
10.3- Why should anyone in school abide by another person's view or customs on this topic
especially where it conflicts with their faith or beliefs ?
10.4- Why should my child know about such a personal matter of another child or staff ? or abide by his/her customs on the topic ?
10.5- Why should a teacher/staff know about such a personal matter of another teacher/staff ? or abide by his/her beliefs on the topic ?
Sexuality and gender diversity
We take the views, beliefs, and customs of our community into consideration
Please answer the following questions:
10.1- Do you confirm that there are customs of our community related to sexuality and gender identity ?
Could you give examples of such customs ?
10.2- Why should anyone in school know about a matter,
as private and personal as the sexuality of another child or staff member ?
10.3- Why should anyone in school abide by another person's view or customs on this topic
especially where it conflicts with their faith or beliefs ?
10.4- Why should my child know about such a personal matter of another child or staff ? or abide by his/her customs on the topic ?
10.5- Why should a teacher/staff know about such a personal matter of another teacher/staff ? or abide by his/her beliefs on the topic ?
11- Comment on the change of behaviour and language to include our LGBTQIA+ community:
Inclusive Education
Sexuality and gender diversity
teaching about respectful and inclusive behaviour and languages as part of our ongoing delivery of our vision and values, and the curriculum
11.1- Please answer the following question:
What should change in the behaviour of the children and their language to be inclusive ?
11.2- Personal freedom is paramount in the Quran.
But at the same time, the Quran forbids the believer to ally with or support, in any way, anyone mocking or insulting God, or attributing imperfections to Him.
Just like in our social and daily life, we wouldn't support someone insulting our mums or dads.
Sexuality and gender diversity
teaching about respectful and inclusive behaviour and languages as part of our ongoing delivery of our vision and values, and the curriculum
11.1- Please answer the following question:
What should change in the behaviour of the children and their language to be inclusive ?
11.2- Personal freedom is paramount in the Quran.
But at the same time, the Quran forbids the believer to ally with or support, in any way, anyone mocking or insulting God, or attributing imperfections to Him.
Just like in our social and daily life, we wouldn't support someone insulting our mums or dads.
12- Comment on the issues around sexuality or gender identity
Inclusive Education
Sexuality and gender diversity
dealing with any issues that may arise around sexuality or gender identity through our Supporting Student Wellbeing policy
Please answer the following question:
What issues could arise that would require a child to go through some process conforming with the Supporting Student Wellbeing policy ?
Sexuality and gender diversity
dealing with any issues that may arise around sexuality or gender identity through our Supporting Student Wellbeing policy
Please answer the following question:
What issues could arise that would require a child to go through some process conforming with the Supporting Student Wellbeing policy ?
13- General comments
13.1- The school has been open for years, to families from all cultures, religions, sects, faiths, views, opinions, customs, political views, etc...
The secular status of Wakaaranga has always suited everyone,
and has allowed everyone to discover, at their own pace and in their own good time, people from diverse cultures and nations.
Now, all of sudden, everyone should comply with one world view.
Isn't this wrong ?
Isn't this arrogance ?
Is this fair ?
Isn't this breaching PONO, one of the teachers' values ?
13.3- Feelings are not what determines reality.
A boy can feel he is a girl or the Prime Minister of the country.
But this doesn't mean policies and laws should be changed, and people around him should change their behavior, and even go against their own religious belief, to cater for his feelings.
It is up to the boy to prove, in reality, he is what he claims to be.
13.4- The gender identity is a personal matter, just like culture or religion.
No one can oppose it,
as long as it doesn't coerce other children into a specific behavior, language, dress, or go against their religion, etc...
Doing that is breaching human rights, the Bill of Rights Act and the school policy in "Religious Instruction"
The secular status of Wakaaranga has always suited everyone,
and has allowed everyone to discover, at their own pace and in their own good time, people from diverse cultures and nations.
Now, all of sudden, everyone should comply with one world view.
Isn't this wrong ?
Isn't this arrogance ?
Is this fair ?
Isn't this breaching PONO, one of the teachers' values ?
13.3- Feelings are not what determines reality.
A boy can feel he is a girl or the Prime Minister of the country.
But this doesn't mean policies and laws should be changed, and people around him should change their behavior, and even go against their own religious belief, to cater for his feelings.
It is up to the boy to prove, in reality, he is what he claims to be.
13.4- The gender identity is a personal matter, just like culture or religion.
No one can oppose it,
as long as it doesn't coerce other children into a specific behavior, language, dress, or go against their religion, etc...
Doing that is breaching human rights, the Bill of Rights Act and the school policy in "Religious Instruction"
14- Conclusion of part 2
Given that bringing up sexuality and self-gender identity are new ideas that humanity has never needed in education
the only way the ministry of education can introduce it
is if
a scientific study shows their benefits on the children and the adult man, women and others they will grow in.
Without the backing of the scientific study, this policy
- is against my religion and my daughter’s religion, therefore breaching school policy and breaching the Bill of Rights Acts of the country
- will shift children's focus from studying to sexuality, not even to sport or art
- will create conditions for all kinds of friction between students. The school will cease to be a peaceful and enjoyable space
- will condition the children to constrain their own freedom and will make them tiptoe around to avoid being accused of giving offense
Without the backing of the scientific study, this policy is simply imposing one world view and belief on all communities
that have always enjoyed the school space and have always lived in peace in this country, with all their differences.
the only way the ministry of education can introduce it
is if
a scientific study shows their benefits on the children and the adult man, women and others they will grow in.
Without the backing of the scientific study, this policy
- is against my religion and my daughter’s religion, therefore breaching school policy and breaching the Bill of Rights Acts of the country
- will shift children's focus from studying to sexuality, not even to sport or art
- will create conditions for all kinds of friction between students. The school will cease to be a peaceful and enjoyable space
- will condition the children to constrain their own freedom and will make them tiptoe around to avoid being accused of giving offense
Without the backing of the scientific study, this policy is simply imposing one world view and belief on all communities
that have always enjoyed the school space and have always lived in peace in this country, with all their differences.
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