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G'day from the Sentinel Team

The news makes it clear that we need to Pray for the Lord to move in our Schools and for more labourers to positively influence teachers, students and committees. This update focusses on Educational Issues in need of prayer.

Whilst selecting prayer points & checking links I discovered a speech given by the Hon. Brendan Nelson, Federal Minister for Education and Training, at the "Dame Pattie Menzies Oration." I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and have included some of my favourite quotes in this update.

Under His Banner

Bev Holmes-Brown

Please pray for our teachers. This article comes from the University of Alberta's website and reveals how much our teachers need our support and encouragement :

EDUCATION EXPERTS MEET IN CANADA :

In September 2003 a a panel of experts and top officials met in Alberta, Canada, to discuss the `state of affairs for teachers in Alberta and around the world'.

Dr. John Smyth (right) of Flinders University in Australia was invited as the panel's keynote speaker. He addressed an audience of over 100, outlining the disturbing trends their research has unearthed :

"Schooling has become a consumption good, and teachers are now 'education producers'," Smyth said. "Schools are calibrated, measured, valued, and compared ... Schools should be working to create a more informed, tolerant, caring, democratic, and productive society, but these imperatives are getting twisted and reversed."

He noted that as schools are valued and compared, competition is created among teachers, which undermines learning and sharing. Also, school principals serve more as corporate managers; they are more distant from teachers, while the teachers work in larger and larger classes with less teacher collaboration and administrative help.

"Our teachers have been damaged, and we must undamage them," Smyth said. "They've been damaged through mistrust, fear, bullying, and silencing. We can undamage them by giving them value, trust, respect, and voice."

Dr. Larry Beauchamp, (left) dean of the University of Alberta's Faculty of Education responded to these thoughts, "If we want our schools to be growth environments for students, they have to be growth environments for teachers, as well," Beauchamp added. "Many teachers probably feel like they work in isolation--it can be a very lonely profession." (Link to Source)

I recently noticed that The Department of Education and Training had released a special publication called "No Violence in Schools."

I hadn't realised the extent of the violence until reading the results of a Herald Sun investigation in an article on their website. They discovered that

" Some teachers only realise how badly it has affected them when they get to the school gate and can't physically make themselves go in ..." :"

Here are some more of their discoveries :

"TEACHERS and classroom aides in Victoria have been punched, bashed with metal cans, kicked, spat at and threatened with knives, metal stakes and replica guns, ... Others have been injured by chairs, rocks and computers thrown by angry students; some have received written death threats.

"New police data reveals 10,144 offences were committed on school and university grounds last year -- more than occurred in health, religious, justice or public settings.

Rapes, at 21, were at their highest - up 175 per cent from a low of 12 in 2001.

Abductions and cases of deception also rose, and police recorded 425 assaults.

The statistics do not tell the full story, because most do not include offences committed by children.

In the past year, student attacks have included:

• A CATHOLIC primary school pupil who severely damaged a male teacher's eye when she bashed him with an unopened can of soup.
  
• AN 11-year-old who held teachers at knifepoint in a staff room at Seaford Park Primary School.
  
• A YEAR 9 boy who pointed a replica gun at his teacher's stomach in a class at Hillcrest Secondary College and walked towards her, holding his aim.
  
• A GIRL, 8, at Kerang South Primary School who threatened her school principal with a metal skewer, hit him with her shoe, punched his wrists and slapped a teacher in the face.
  
• A STUDENT who left school grounds and returned with a kitchen knife to threaten his teacher after being asked to wear his hat the right way.
  
• In one case, a death threat sent by letter to a teacher read, "Say your last goodbyes. Die bitch".

(Article Source : Student attacks on teachers rising By Paula Beauchamp - April 18, 2005 - News.Com.au)

Australian Education Union state president Mary Bluett says it may be much worse than what is documented. The Victorian Primary Principals Association blames a decline in community standards.

Opposition education spokesman Victor Perton wants special schools established to deal with out-of-control students. He claims the Government's only response so far has been to offer teachers self-defence lessons and move problem children from school to school. The Education Department deals with misfits in mainstream schools, or by giving them 13-week courses in teaching units. But much more must be done to protect teachers and the majority of students ("School Violence," Herald Sun Editorial , 19th April, 2005)

NOTE : PLEASE PRAY FOR THE EDUCATION AUTHORITIES AROUND THE NATION AND ALSO FOR CHURCHES TO RECEIVE & IMPLEMENT STRATEGIES THAT WILL IMPACT FUTURE GENERATIONS OF AUSTRALIANS ....

With thanks to Saltshakers for the following :

Victoria's Education Minister, Lynne Kosky, has called for a review of 15 Acts governing Victorian schools and higher education. A Discussion Paper has been published seeking public input. The paper is wide-ranging.

We will concern ourselves here with how it affects the practice of religion. The government is asking for submissions.

Note: A one-page letter from many people will be REALLY helpful in sharing our views with the government!

Currently, the education system is defined by law as being 'free and secular'. However, in practice, the law requires schools to have religious education (RE) as part of the curriculum.

This is usually Christian religious education (CRE), but other religious groups are allowed to offer programs that have been approved. For instance Islam and Baha'i are offered in some schools!

The Discussion Paper asks if 'the secular nature of government school provision [should] be affirmed as a guiding principle in new legislation'.

When the Education Act was first established the state took over from church schools. It was decided that, in a 'secular' setting, regular teachers could not take over the teaching of ritual or doctrine and that qualified ministers/teachers should teach those aspects.

Media reports have focused on religious education in schools, even though this is not specifically mentioned in the paper. They saw it as a relevant, or controversial, aspect of the discussion of 'secular' education.

This Review gives us a chance to affirm the practice of Christian religious education in schools and, as an important part of our Christian heritage, ask for it to be further enshrined in legislation.

We need to ensure that the government does not use attempt to control either the content or the TYPE of religious instruction. In other words, in the same multicultural vein that this government seems to love, turning RE into 'multifaith' instruction sessions.

All CRE teachers undergo training and an approved syllabus is taught. In addition the system is currently, in most schools, an opt-out system where parents have to indicate specifically if they don't wish their children to participate.

Other issues that have been raised include a bid to ban corporal punishment in private schools and an adherence to laws covering equal opportunity and racial discrimination.

The minister has also tabled the idea of a new regulatory body to govern both public and private schools, with greater accountability for the private sector, and the enforcement of minimum standard requirements for all schools.

ACTION: Discussion Paper: http://www.det.vic.gov.au/det/media/news/legrev.htm

2) Write a short submission to the Department of Education and Training. Affirm the value of CRE in the regular timetable. Address other matters as you wish.

Submissions have been extended to 13 May 2005

Send to: Review of Legislation Strategic Initiatives Division, Department of Education and Training, GPO Box 4367 MELBOURNE VIC 3001 Or Email: legrev@edumail.vic.gov.au

See the Council for Christian Education in Schools website for a report on the legislation review and suggested action. They also encourage you to write to your MPs.

See http://www.cces.org.au/index.php?type=2&id=382 and follow the links...

Agape Press recently reported on the outrage of Orange County's community after a "Homosexual Couple sought to Enrol their Children in a Catholic School. Here we read the reasoning of the school oversight :

"The dispute centers on two adopted boys whose parents are both men. At present the youngsters are being allowed to attend kindergarten at St. John the Baptist School in Costa Mesa, and the Catholic League has weighed in with the opinion that, in order to ensure the boys well-being, the school should not expel them.

Catholic League president William Donohue says there are two issues to consider, one being a matter of principle and the other, a matter of prudence. "There is a moral principal, expressed in Judeo-Christian thought," he notes, "that the innocent should not be punished for the transgressions of the guilty."

In other words, Donohue explains, it would be wrong to make children suffer for the sins of the father, or "in this instance, we can amend that to 'fathers.'" But at the same time, he adds, "On a prudential level, it makes no sense to single out kids whose parents are gay," as opposed to the children of parents guilty of other sexual sins, such as adultery or cohabitation, or children who were born out of wedlock.

While the issue may be new, the Catholic League spokesman contends that the heart of the matter is not. "There is no fundamental tension between opposing gay marriage as a matter of public policy and accepting the children of gay parents in a Catholic school," he says. In this case, as in others, he asserts, "the spiritual well-being of the kids is, or should be, the paramount concern."

Others are not convinced and are incensed by what they see as the political agenda of the homosexual movement ... forcing back established barriers :

"... Stephen Brady, who heads the group Roman Catholic Faithful, says the children are in a no-win situation, unless they are removed from the school. "Clearly, these homosexuals ... are using these poor children as a political pawn," he says.

"What father in his right mind would place his children in a school that is so hostile to their very way of life? And that's what they've done," Brady continues. "The spiritual well-being of these children is in no way benefited by keeping them in a Catholic school that is going to someday tell them their whole life is a lie.

I mean, it's going to be so traumatic to these children that God only knows what the result will be to their personalities and their faith in general."

In fact, the Roman Catholic Faithful spokesman contends that a priest should never have baptized the two children in the first place, and should certainly not have permitted the two homosexual "parents" to enter the Catholic school and print their names in a parish directory. "The ones doing real harm to using these children," Brady says, "are the priest and the nun who allowed this to happen." (Source Article : Agape Press)

Parents are also disturbed by these events and are suspicious of efforts to change the church...

Please Pray for our Schools ... For Wisdom and Discernment ...

We only have to look at the deceptive way the Queensland State Government pushed through the Discrimination Amendment Bill in 2002 to know that this battle is one that is closer to home than we would like it to be.

Fiona Simpson's (Member for Maroochydore) article on the Beattie Government's Ambush of the church is still on the Sentinels Website ... here are some quotes :

"... A school principal is now gagged by law from asking if the employee is in a homosexual or other relationship which is contrary to the teachings of the church. As long as the employee doesn’t “openly act” out the offending values or behaviour in or near the work environment, the principal does not have the right to remove them or reject them for employment. What a church school employee does in the wider community apparently isn’t important."

"... The burning issue is not only that religious freedoms have been restricted by the Bill (which amends the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 by removing the religious institutions exemption) but the way the Beattie ALP State Government deliberately manipulated and deceived the churches to achieve a carefully managed outcome.

Quite frankly, churches and the Christian community were ambushed as part of the State Government’s hard-nosed political strategy to elevate gay rights over freedom of religion"

".... To the credit of Queensland’s Christian community, when the Beattie State Labor Government first tabled the Bill in the Parliament on Wednesday, November 6, there was a tremendous wave of opposition to the infringement of their religious rights with thousands contacting the Premier and State MPs.

Christian parents were outraged, not because they hated homosexuals but because their rights as parents were being removed. The State Government appeared to listen to their anger, belatedly promising to consult and make some in principle changes.

Many faith communities welcomed this apparent change of heart only to find out after the event that they were actively misled about the detail in the subsequent amendments tabled on November 28 and passed by the Government on November 29... " (Sentinels Website : Click on Articles & Taking Action)

"... My Canberra office has its walls adorned by numerous photos, much to the amusement of most of my colleagues and the derision of some. Every one tells a story.

The largest hangs on the wall opposite my desk. It is there to remind me every single day that I am privileged to be a member of parliament and a minister of that which is really important. Almost twice the size of a door, it is a black and white photograph of the late Neville Bonner.

Neville was, of course, the first Aboriginal Australian elected to the federal parliament in 1971. He did so as a Queensland Liberal senator.

Born into a life of poverty unknown to all but a few of us here, he endured a life of adversity, prejudice, hurtful stereotyping and an education in the university of life.

It was to his grandmother, Ida Bonner that Neville attributed his ultimate success. She had said to him when he was 14 that he should go to school, having been removed from one in Lismore when he was eight - after only two days, because of intolerance of his Aboriginality.

Why, he had asked Ida should he go? She replied, “If you learn to read and write, express yourself well and treat people with decency and courtesy, it will take you a long way.”

And it did. From scrub clearer, ringer, bridge carpenter and 11 years on Palm Island, he came to the federal parliament.

In 1992 when Robin Hughes asked him to nominate his greatest achievement, he replied, “It is that I was there. They no longer spoke of Boongs or blacks. They spoke instead of Aboriginal people.”

There are two lessons in this for me.

The first is that education is about “being there”. It is about the power of education to unlock human potential.

The second is that like Dame Pattie, here was a man who led not only from position – but from principle.

Excerpted from Speech given at the Dame Pattie Menzies Oration, by Federal Minister for Education ... Brendan Nelson, 18th April, 2005)

RAISING UP A NEW GENERATION OF PRAYER WARRIORS

PPN's Schools Programme has been developed by a qualified school teacher and is designed to train up a new generation of prayer warriors for the leaders of our nation.

Schools receive a number of items to help them on this prayer adventure. These include a plaque and photo of their MP with his or her profile to display in the school. Suggested prayers for weekly assemblies and 2 activities per year for a designated class to complete. They are also sent books on government and Christian heritage.

PPN can also provide classes on visits to Parliament House. Where possible they will involve Christian MPs to emphasise the Biblical Perspective. Please contact PPN for more information at ppn@ppn.org.au or Tel : 02 6287 3558.

PARENTS would be given more control over their children’s education, with the “ultimate sanction” of ousting the management of failing state schools, under plans being unveiled next week in Labour’s election manifesto.

The proposal is designed to correspond with similar measures for expanding the private and voluntary sector’s role in the NHS, as well as giving people more say in the operation of police and local authority services. Tony Blair believes the radical nature of such third-term reforms will show that the scale of new Labour’s ambition remains undimmed after eight years in government.

... Labour’s manifesto will now promise that “parental satisfaction surveys” should also be one of the key determinants of judging whether a school is failing.

Groups of parents will be given the chance to apply to run the school and appoint a new head teacher. Teaching unions and local council leaders have expressed reservations about these “independent specialist schools”. The policy is based on a similar system in Sweden where parents have set up schools and taken over responsibility for running others.

Ministers say that closure of a school or the replacement of its management should be only the last resort. Instead, they want parents to be more closely involved in their children’s education by giving them e-mail addresses for teachers and more places on school governing bodies. Excerpted from The Times Online - UK

The Christian Educators Association International are a US based ministry with a vision to demonstrate God's Love and Truth to the Educational Community.

Their Mission is to "Serve the Educational Community by Encouraging, Equipping & Empowering Christian Educators in Public & Private Education."

• Proclaim God's word as the source of wisdom and knowledge,
• Portray teaching as a God given calling and ministry,
• Promote educational excellence as an expression of Christian commitment,
• Preserve our Judeo-Christian heritage and values through education,
• Provide a forum on educational issues with a Christian world view.
• Partner with churches, parachurch organizations, educational institutions and parents.

They regularly send out an encouraging devotional / teaching style newsletter via email prayer for schools, teachers and education authorities. You can subscribe from their website.

Whereas, we as Christians recognize our biblical duty to teach our children; and as citizens of the United States recognize today that mothers and fathers desire a hope and a future for their children;

Whereas, public schools were founded as one of the means of educating future generations to be capable of assuming their responsibilities as citizens, discover truth and develop moral character;

Whereas, the churches and all people of faith have an opportunity to assist local schools and communities to secure a safe learning environment, academic excellence, meaningful parental involvement, and community participation;

Whereas, Christian churches need not only to provide for the spiritual well-being of children, parents and educators within their congregation, but also need to see their involvement in local public schools as part of the churches' vision;

Be it resolved, as followers of Jesus Christ, we accept the responsibility to love all children as we love ourselves, and to pray for children, educators and public schools;

Be it resolved, that we recognize and accept our opportunity as Christians and citizens to build constructive relationships with local public schools, to pursue avenues of support for those involved in public education and to encourage and disciple public school teachers, administrators, and students;

Be it further resolved, this emphasis on public education is not intended to compromise the value nor question the validity of private, Christian, or home schools. (Source: CEAI Website)

CHRISTIAN PARENT ARRESTED AFTER BEING DENIED SAY-SO IN SON'S EDUCATION A Massachusetts group battling judicial activism and the advancing homosexual agenda in their state is reporting that the father of a kindergarten student was arrested on Wednesday during a scheduled meeting with the principal of his son's school. Since January, the father of the six-year-old had been attempting to get his son opted-out from discussions portraying homosexuality as acceptable. More details: ... See also Follow Up Article :

FAMILY ADVOCATE: BILL USES CALIF. SCHOOLS AS WEDGE BETWEEN PARENTS AND KIDS A spokesman for one of California's leading public policy organizations is warning that the state legislature is trying to push through a bill that encourages schools to step between children and their parents' notification rights. More details

CHRISTIAN TEACHER GROUP IS ALTERNATIVE TO LEFT-WING NEA While the Christian Educators Association International is not politically aggressive, it is not reluctant to get involved when moral concerns or parental rights are at stake. More details: