I fully support the concept of faith-based education. People should have the opportunity to send their children to a school that promotes a set of values and beliefs that they find fundamental for success in society. This becomes challenging when faith-based education is an option within the public school system. In Ontario there are 4 types of publicly funded schools: the English and French non-denominational stream and the English and French Catholic stream. People should be able to choose where they send their children to school, but should taxpayers be supporting a faith-based program that has no relevance to some of their lives, or might even be offensive to some of their beliefs?
Students attending Catholic schools should expect to receive quality Catholic teachings. Why would you send your child to a religious school without the expectation that it would help he or she develop a core set of religious values. In this vein, should Catholic schools be forced to implement curricula that challenges their traditional teachings? If the school is private, I would say no. If the school is publicly funded, they have a mandate to implement provincial curricula; therefore, they should implement something such as the Gender Studies course.
After reading through parts A and B of the Gender Studies curriculum, I can see why ardent Catholics would be opposed to its implementation with its confrontation of traditional gender roles, homosexuality, and women's reproductive rights. What I also see are issues that appear to be important to religious groups. From my limited knowledge of Christianity, I feel that Christians pride themselves on missionary work in foreign countries, denounce the rampant sexual and violent images in the media and their influence on children, and support centres for women and men who are victims of abuse. The previous examples all connect to curricular outcomes in the Gender Studies course, giving Christian educators ample opportunity to integrate Gender Studies with Christian values.
We have spent much time in class discussing the role of the teacher to interpret curriculum and select outcomes that are most relevant to our students. Why can't the Catholic schools do the same? Parts A and B do not promote values whatsoever. They simply require students to describe and analyze current and historic issues in society. If one has been well instructed in the values of his or her faith, they will not be foregone by exposure to new content. A solid set of values allows one to make judgements of the world from his or her perspective. Providing students with ample opportunities to view the world through multiple lenses allows them to be better citizens. As well, to truly understand your faith, it needs to be challenged; otherwise, one will be left with a superficial understanding of religion and church attendance and priests as the only conduit to God. Teachers in publicly funded Catholic schools must teach this curriculum because they receive funding from the provincial government. But, as professionals, they must also interpret the curriculum in the way that will best serve their students and communities.
hey brad...this is a tough one isn't it...the state and church have been going at it for a long time
ReplyDelete...one summer in quebec i had raging discussions with a separatist about the futility of legislating a culture in to existence...i found it vibrant and different and felt we were living a deprived life here on the prairies...perhaps the same is true with religious beliefs...if they are founded on secure principles then they will stand the test of time but if they aren't then i suspect they will eventually crumble under the weight of secular arguments
...faith will always have a place in our lives as we are still largely superstitious and don't really understand the meaning of life
...i agree with your point about state funding and yet not implementing the state curriculum...can't have your cake and eat it too
...schools have to be aware of a void that is developing and my personal thought is that they really need to have their own values sorted before they can move forward...problem here is that it assumes that teachers and administrators have it all figured out...hmmm
...your last sentence is loaded isn't it...everyone needs to know where they are going...why do i feel dizzy all of sudden!!!!
Hey Brad, lots of good stuff in your blog. I especially noted your comment "if one has been well instructed in the values of his or her faith, they will not be foregone by exposure to new content". This made me think of a common argument from people who are opposed to education about sex in schools. Often, there is a fear that exposure to information about safer sex will incite some sort of riot as students race to act out all of the content of the class. However, in the literature I have seen, learning about safer sex does not correlate with more people choosing to have sex. Following the same train of thought, one could argue that exposure to the proposed curriculum in Ontario would not necessarily mean that students would adopt all of the values of the document. However, they might gain an awareness of perspectives they were previously not aware of.
ReplyDeleteI had an English professor who said the best way to write a position essay was to structure each paragraph so it addressed the strongest points in opposition to your argument. The proposed curriculum contains some content which people who identify as Catholic may not feel comfortable supporting. However, in learning about these potentially contentious issues, students might be able to gain a greater awareness and therefore more clearly articulate and support their own positions - either for or against the content.