Education: New National Curriculum

Assault on Religion, Family and Freedom

What is this about?

On 30th July 2001 the Education Department released for comment the new
national curriculum.

Government by stealth

The document runs to 1400 pages, uses a deliberately complicated logic
and
is almost impossible for most people to obtain. Few teachers have even
heard
about the document and even fewer have read any of it. Children,
parents,
churches and communities have received almost no information at all.

Education for a totalitarian society

The flowery language and deluge of pages conceal a deliberate and
conscious
agenda to impose a totalitarian system of social control, values,
propaganda
and identity that is foreign to all major cultural and religious
traditions
in South Africa, especially Christianity.

It is a classic scenario of "The city of man" versus "The City of God".
It
sets the paternal state up as Almighty God, the instiller of morals and
educator of how we should live. It indoctrinates young minds - your and
my
children's.

Its reach is designed to be sovereign and omni-present, nobody is exempt
-
the curriculum will impose not only on state schools but also on private
schools and home education. This is a direct attack on our freedom. The
government is dictating what we should and should not believe what, we
should and should not think! We are NOT given the freedom to choose!

What are the issues?

Deeply concerned parents, teachers and analysts increasingly agree that
the
proposed curriculum will do the following:

1. Under the guise of "Social Sciences", diffuse (dilute; scatter)
individual and cultural identities by a relentless programme of
psychopolitical conditioning, deliberately taking our children captive
with
vain "philosophy and empty deceit, according to the traditions of men,
according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to
Christ"
(Col. 2:8).
2. Under the guise of "Life Orientation", impose the interfaith religion
as
a compulsory, examinable subject, requiring children to confess the
values
of this religion if they want to receive recognized qualifications. This
effectively means that Christianity will be "dumbed down" to the
equivalence
of the interfaith religion. This is a direct assault on our children,
families and freedom of conscience and beliefs.
3. Under the guise of "critical thinking", establish a norm of "group
think", demonize minorities, individual freedom and enterprise,
obliterating
the individual identity of children under the crushing weight of the
collective. This "group think" also alienates children from parents,
creating a generational gap as children think in line with peers and
peer
pressure rather than parental and Biblical values.
4. Destroy social and cultural diversity by homogenizing all cultural
and
moral values and requiring children to demonstrate state approved values
to
receive qualifications. This is the danger of OBE - a child must
"master"
the content before being promoted to the next level, thus allowing state
bureaucrats easy manipulation of our children by predetermining the
required
"outcomes".

This curriculum promises not education, but total indoctrination.

What can we do?

1. Pray
Pray for those in authority; pray against this evil agenda and for our
children and nation.
2. Act Fast
Closing date for comments is 12th October 2001.
3. Educate yourself
Do a Bible study on education and teaching. Read good Christian
literature
and books on education, especially recommended "Weighed in the balance
and
found wanting - The failure of public schools. The need for Christian
education." Available for R20-00 only from Christian Liberty Books Tel
(021) 689-7478
(or try www.christianlibertybooks.co.za or http://www.grobler.co.za/tce
for
resources). Download the documents from the Education Department web
page:
http://education.pwv.gov.za (esp. Social Science and Life Orientation).
Read
what experts and stakeholders have said about the proposals at
http://pestalozzi.org/curriculum
4. Make your voice heard
Write to: The Minister of Education, Private Bag X603, Pretoria, 0001 or
Fax: (012) 323-5989 or e-mail his Secretary at: Rasool.P@educ.pwv.gov.za
(The only historically significant religion your children will be
learning
about in any detail, in History, is Islam)

Write to President Mbeki, Private Bag X1000, Pretoria, 0001 or Fax:
(012)
323 8246 or e-mail: President@po.gov.za

Use a polite but firm style.

Any religious and cultural values must be taught in schools according to
the
wishes of the children and their families. Remember: the Biblical
mandate to
educate our children falls squarely at the hands of parents and not the
state (Deut. 6: 6-10). The coin may have Caesar's inscription on it, but
our
children are made in the image of God, not the state!

State education is using our tax money to indoctrinate our children.

You can insist that the governing body of each state school must approve
all
values taught in the school, and specifically the subjects of Social
Sciences and Life Orientation. Governing bodies must also select the
textbooks and supervise assessment of all values in the school.

5. Vote with your feet.
In the USA, when the State removed prayer, Bibles and the Ten
Commandments
from Schools, this gave rebirth to the home-school movement - today
home-schoolers are consistently amongst the highest academic achievers
in
the USA. As South African Christians we must do likewise. The attack in
the
USA was direct, our interfaith attack is more subtle and therefore more
dangerous!

6. Create awareness
Send copies of your letter to each of the following: a) Your local
newspaper
b) One or more political parties in Parliament c) The national synod or
representative body of your church.

Ask them, in your covering letter, what steps they plan to take to
protect
the individual, religious and cultural rights of children and families.

See http://pestalozzi.org/curriculum for addresses, or use any of those
below.

Rob McCafferty
Administrator

Africa Christian Action
PO Box 36129
Glosderry 7702
South Africa
Tel: (021) 689-4481 Fax: (021) 685-5884

Some addresses to use:

Burger and City Press - editor@news24.co.za

Beeld briewe - briewe@beeld.com

Rapport - redakteur@rapport.co.za

Daily Dispatch- Letters to the Editor, P.O. Box 131, East London, 5200
Fax: (043) 743 5155 or e-mail at: www.dispatch.co.za/forms/let.html

Independent News - letter@iol.co.za

Sunday Times - Mike Robertson, Editor, P.O. Box 1742, Saxonworld, 2132
e-mail : suntimes@sundaytimes.co.za or Fax: (011) 280 5150/1

Weekly Mail and Guardian - Letters to the Editor, P.O. Box 91667,
Aucklandpark, Johannesburg, 2006 or e-mail: newsdesk@mg.co.za

Huisgenoot at hgnbrief@huisgenoot.com

Acknowledgement: We thank the Pestalozzi Trust for the above
information.