Offer non-believers ethics, schools told (1 Viewer)

[chookyn]

You're stupider than I thought chookyn.

1. Are you telling me that the majority of parents in Australia teach their children warped values? That the majority of parents are actually telling their kids to cheat, steal and murder? Simply because they do not teach their kids christian values doesn't make the values "warped".

2. You're a fuckwit.

3. When did I say childern didn't have rights? What is it to anyone else if parents don't want their children to listen to the bullshit that Christian's preach?

4. It is not a life of ignorance to ignore christian teachings. It is called choice. And I don't see how a knowledge of a man-made religion will increase your understanding of the world.

And where the hell did I say wanted to deny children a complete education?

1. Perhaps I didn't make myself clear enough. No, I wasn't saying that, nor meaning to imply that.

2. Feel better?

3. You never said that children didn't have rights, and it probably shouldn't matter to anyone else the way parents raise their kids. Well, it shouldn't, but it does matter when some parents don't do a good job of raising their kids, and the rest of society is left to deal with them (once they become independent teens/adults and start making bad decisions that hurt themselves and others).

4. Informed choices are the best choices. It would pay to investigate both sides of the story before presumptuously concluding that Christianity is a made-up religion.

Finally: no, you didn't say that, and I never meant to imply that you did. Sorry. I was simply making a point (which is just my opinion so take it or leave it): Children are denied a complete education if their parents: (a) don't allow them to attend an ethics class at school (if/when the opportunity arises) and (b) fail to teach them/show them good ethics while they are at home.

(Note: I'm referring to ethical standards in general, not strictly Christian ethics)

 

[chookyn]

Thinking carefully about what is right and wrong is a very valuable experience that is a lot more complex than one might think. If nothing else it gets youths considering the implications of their actions on others. It may make them at least consider important ethical decisions when in some instances they may lack proper prudence or thoughtfulness.

very well said! i completely agree.

 

[MoonlightSonata]

And ethics isn't something that can really be taught in a wholesale fashion, or something that can be crammed into a school textbook. It is something that must be sought after by oneself. It must result from a desire. Craming a bunch of teenagers in to a sweaty hot classroom, ang then making them read over a textbook isn't going to please anyone; it will just turn them into anarchists, ie. they will hate it.

Yes there may be issues involved in presenting the topics in an interesting way to prevent it becoming a hated, bludge subject that is a waste of time. However, ethics can be taught. Presenting different ethical dilemmas and using theoretical underpinnings of moral theory to examine these situations is how it can be done.

 

[malkin86]

And if someone presents a differing ethic in these Socratic discourses? Why, throw the entire contents of a pencilcase at them! (including open scissors), or hold them up by their ankles and shake them gently until their face turns bright red!! (These assumptions are based on real events during Scripture...)

You can't teacher-proof a syllabus.

Interestingly, there are apparently about 92 or so different 'religious organisations' that are permitted to teach Scripture in schools... No indication is available of which ones they are, just that there are however many of them - I saw it once on the DET website, just can't lay my hands on it atm.

 

[loquasagacious]

Whilst I agree that students could be doing more productive things with their time thab colouring in I disagree on ethics as by reversing this equation christianity = ethics which isn't something I necasserily agree with.

Perhaps the students should have to study aethist literature instead???

 

[jennylim]

I can imagine the ethics lesson now....

The refugees should not be held in detention. We live in a multicultural society. Save the whales. Be tolerant. Be this. Do this. Any other political opinion, is un-ethical.

hehehe. only if the ethics "syllabus" is from our state govt, tho. wouldn't get it from the federal.

 

[chookyn]

Very well done *Damage Inc.*, you have again put forward another completely useless and practically worthless post. If you insist on making yourself look like a retard, could you do it somewhere else, where other people don't have to see it.

You can't say you didn't have that one coming! hrmm... shouldn't you be studying or something?


Back on topic... it seems some people are concerned 'ethics' classes are simply a poorly disguised attempt to teach students who don't attend scripture classes Christian values (the insult there being the assumption that these students have no values of their own).

I guess if parents really wanted their children to learn Christian ethics, they'd teach them, take them to church or send them to a Christian school.

Like a few have said, if these classes cover just general, 'non-religious' ethics, then they'll work. If the students can be made interested/motivated.