Black Lives Matter: High school lessons on protests blasted as ‘indoctrination’
Year 7 students are being taught about Black Lives Matter rallies in English classes, causing MP Mark Latham to question the “intensely political” subject matter.
NSW
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High school students are being taught about Black Lives Matter protests in English classes, including studying quotes from a Greens MP promoting the protests, prompting criticism the schools have contravened a departmental policy of “neutrality”.
The lesson, titled “Black Lives Matter rallies held across Australia to protest against mistreatment and deaths of Indigenous People”, was taught to Year 7 students at Maitland High School last week.
Parents have complained and NSW MP Mark Latham said the material was clearly supportive of the controversial protests, which had been the subject of legal action by authorities fearing crowds would spread coronavirus.
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The worksheet materials given to pupils discussed the BLM movement in the US and protests in Australia, but made no mention of health concerns or Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s attempts to ban the rallies.
It stated that “NSW Greens MP David Shoebridge announced the success of the (legal) appeal to resounding cheers of the crowd”.
It then goes on to quote him saying winning the legal appeal to enable the rally was a moment of “fighting the system” that has been in place “against First Nations people for centuries”.
But Mr Latham describes the lesson, which also required students to describe racial profiling, as “indoctrination”.
“What the hell is this doing in Year 7 English?” Mr Latham said. “You have a quote from a Greens MP which is obviously as political as it gets. They have picked the most intensely political controversy internationally they could find and lodged it into Year 7 English. Writing skills, spelling, reading, basic expression would be much more important than learning something that is an adult discussion about politics.”
The lesson also includes an anecdote from an Indigenous protester about constantly being watched by police.
“This is an unfair attack on police, there’s nothing from the police giving their side of the story,” Mr Latham said.
Concerned Maitland High parents have complained to the principal.
“Our main concern is this is brainwashing,” one father said. “The teacher is pushing personal politics.”
A mother of a Year 7 student said the Education Department’s policy states parents should be told about the participation of children in curriculums “addressing controversial issues” but this was not done. “It’s identity politics,” she said.
The school has now reviewed the lesson against the department’s “Controversial Issues Policy” which states students should be allowed to “explore a range of viewpoints and not advance the interest of any particular group”.
“Changes have been made to provide a broader range of issues and perspectives for students, in line with the policy,” an education department spokeswoman said.