IMPORTANT PERSONAL QUESTIONS

An article by Susie O’Brien in the Melbourne Herald Sun on 19th February 2024, has prompted this post.

“ ‘Woke’ books on the reading list.

More than half of the 2024 VCE English texts promote radical identity politics and only six out of 36 are from classic Western literature.

The Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) has analyzed the reading lists compiled by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority for the state’s 60.000 English students doing VCE. They found new rules ‘make it impossible for a teacher to avoid selecting at least two of the woke texts’.

Out of the 36 texts they found 19 are ‘grounded in radical identity politics’ and 11 are neutral and not ideological.

IPA research fellow Lana Starkey said examples of radical identity politics included … a ‘howl go rage at the injustice, inequality, and willful amnesia of the country’s 21st century’ and another which aims to ‘reveal the damaging consequences of misogynistic rituals of power’.

Morgan Begg, director of research at the IPA concluded ‘Students are being deprived of classic English literature and therefore the rich history of Western civilization. “

Significant questions for parents in Victoria, and in other parts of the world, should be asked - and there is no need to share your answers.

• Are you prepared to let your child’s school learning be prescribed by distant bureaucrats, many who have never visited your child’s classroom?

• How much input have you, or your child’s teachers, had into determining your child’s learning experiences?

• What opportunities has your child had to select and include his/her interests in his/her learning activities?

• Have you visited eteamlearnings.com with your child to investigate and choose from the wide range of user-friendly learning activities available there?