The growing rebellion against “scripture lessons” in Australian schools
Every Wednesday morning at Randwick Public School normal classes are suspended so that our nine-year-old son and the other children can be taken off to scripture lessons.
The compulsory allocation of time for religious instruction has been a feature of our state schools for more than 100 years. But a growing number of parents, for a variety of reasons, do not send their children to scripture. Some are non-believers and do not want their children to be told the Bible is historical fact. Others complain that little children should not be traumatised by stories of the crucifixion or the threat of spending eternity ”burning in hell”.
No reliable statistics are available, but it is estimated that about 25 per cent of primary school children now opt out of scripture; in some schools it may be as high as half. They occupy themselves by watching videos, going to the library or, I am told at one school, picking up rubbish.
This year we were offered a refreshing alternative. After seven years of agitation, the New South Wales Education Department agreed to trial ethics classes during scripture time as an option for children. Our school was one of the 10 involved in the trial, which finished at the end of the last term. The classes, designed by Associate Professor Philip Cam of the University of NSW, were run by volunteers: parents who undertook training organised by the St James Ethics Centre.
The weekly topics were designed to encourage children in inquiry rather than instruction, and related to everyday issues such as fairness, lying, telling the truth, virtues, vices and what it takes to lead a good life. The classes were not offered to my son’s year, but parents have told me the trial was an overwhelming success and, most importantly, the children loved it. When asked for their feedback, some children expressed disappointment they could not return to the ethics course next term. Some complained that returning to non-scripture classes would be boring.
