Safe Schools swap Marx for mind games

And the federal government is clamping down on Hadith Highs popping up in NSW

The federal government is stepping in after Punchbowl Boys High discriminated against female staff in the name of cultural sensitivity. The Australian, today:

The federal government could ­intervene if state education ­departments “fail to uphold basic Australian values in our schools” ...

There is a widening controversy at NSW public schools after one high school allowed some Muslim boys to refuse to shake hands with women while another had its leadership replaced following the exclusion of female teachers from official events.

The Islamic Hadiths were all about safe schools. Narrated by Al-Tabarani in “Al Kabir”, 486:

It is better for you to be stabbed in the head with an iron needle than to touch the hand of a woman who is not permissible to you.

In Victoria, Safe Schools is expanding its reach. The Australian, March 2, 2017:

Teenagers with intellectual disabilities are being exposed to complex and contentious gender and sexuality theory, with a growing number of Victorian special schools incorporating the Safe Schools program into their curriculum.

Victorian schools chief Katy Haire says everyone should chill. Public Accounts and Finance Committee. February 16, 2017:

Safe Schools is ... a pledge. It is a policy about keeping all children safe and in particular children and young people who may be vulnerable. The distinction becomes important because it is not an element of the curriculum, it is not an element of the teaching program.

Not part of the teaching program? The lessons are up on the website. “All of Us” teaching resource from Safe Schools Coalition, education.vic.gov.au

The program comprises eight lessons. The first is an introductory lesson to help create a safe space in your classroom. The seven subsequent lessons are built around the themes and concepts that emerge from the stories of same sex attracted, intersex and gender diverse young people.

And it’s compulsory. Victorian Premier’s Media Centre website, December 18, 2016:

With almost 60 per cent of government secondary schools now signed up, the Department of Education and Training will take over running of the (Safe Schools) program ... as it is expanded to all government secondary schools by the end of 2018.

Confused? So is the Andrews government. The Age, March 7, 2016:

... a spokesman for Education Minister James Merlino repeatedly told The Age it was no longer mandatory for state high schools ... He changed his tune later, saying that signing up was compulsory but “it’s up to (schools) to decide with their communities what resources they use”.

Lessons drawn up, it’s compulsory, but you can pick and mix so that fudges it slightly. Nice try, Katy. The Australian, March 2, 2017:

... the Victorian Government confirming yesterday that special schools will not be exempt from its directive that the program be mandatory by the end of 2018.

Haire still isn’t as bad as Victoria’s last deputy education secretary for schools. Herald Sun, December 20, 2014:

Dr (Sonia) Sharp was director of children’s services at Rotherham Borough Council, where an estimated 1400 children — some as young as 11 — were sexually exploited between 1997 and 2013.