UK Schools to stop teaching morals
Pastor Dale Morgan
UK Schools to stop teaching morals*
By David Sapsted
(Filed: 31/07/2006)
UK - Schools will no longer have to teach teenagers the difference
between right and wrong under government plans.
The move, greeted yesterday with a mixture of disbelief and fury, is
outlined in proposed changes to the national curriculum, requested by
ministers in an attempt to simplify the system.
Instead of a requirement to teach right from wrong, schools will only
have to ensure that children between 11 and 14 have "secure values and
beliefs" and are "committed to human rights".
Draft reforms to the curriculum have also deleted a requirement to teach
children about Britain's cultural heritage and the need for them to
"work for the common good".
Nick Gibb, the shadow minister for schools, said yesterday that he was
aghast at the proposals put forward by the Qualifications and Curriculum
Authority.
He said: "The education establishment is constantly engaged in these
type of reforms with the result that everyone is horrified. Ministers
must engage with the public so that this type of nonsense is not allowed
to prevail."
The changes form part of government plans to reform education for
children aged 11 to 14. Ministers have asked for changes to the national
curriculum to give schools greater flexibility in the way they teach
this age group.
Ken Boston, chief executive of the QCA, set out the proposed changes in
a letter to the then education secretary, Ruth Kelly, earlier this year.
"The school curriculum should pass on enduring values. It should develop
principles for distinguishing between right and wrong," he wrote.
But he added that, instead of a requirement to teach the difference
between right and wrong, the aim should be to instil secure values,
whatever these might be.
The statutory requirement states: "The school curriculum should pass on
enduring values. It should develop principles for distinguishing between
right and wrong."
It also says a school's aims should be to develop pupils' "ability to
relate to others and work for the common good". Under the proposed
changes, reference to "the common good" is deleted.
And it is a requirement that "the school curriculum should contribute to
the development of pupils' sense of identity through knowledge and
understanding of the spiritual, moral, social and cultural heritages of
Britain's diverse society".
Under the planned changes, this will be replaced with an aim to help
individuals "understand different cultures and traditions and have a
strong sense of their own place in the world".
Prof Alan Smithers, director of the University of Buckingham's centre
for education and employment research, said: "The idea that they think
it is appropriate to dispense with right and wrong is a bit alarming."
But the National Union of Teachers remained sanguine over the changes.
"Teachers always resented being told that one of the aims of the school
was to teach the difference between right and wrong. That is inherent in
the way teachers operate," said a spokesman.
A spokesman for the QCA said: "The new wording states clearly that young
people should become 'responsible citizens who make a positive
contribution to society'."