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7.7 Educational ObligationsVersion 1.2 October 2022                            (Previous Version) These are the questions we ask in the introduction (Section 0.1.6 – paragraph 41): Is education a personal, a family or a political issue? What should we teach our children, and who should do it? Do we have a right or a duty to impart our values onto our children? What teaching methods are most effective? How effective are our current education systems? Should we focus education on job skills? Or on our nation’s glorious history? Should we teach religion in schools or only in the home? Should we just teach the facts and let the children decide? What do we expect all adults to know? How much should we expect people in general to understand philosophy, science and history? How can we cater for people of different abilities? This chapter covers how we should promote and provide better education. It focuses on the general education of children and the public, rather than tertiary or specialist education for jobs. Most countries now have a working primary school system; many have only a partially functioning secondary school system. Many countries charge school fees; in others schooling is nominally free, compulsory and secular, which are admirable standards that frequently are not fully met. But as we indicated in the overview, education is by no means restricted to schools for the young.  Schools ranking of students create a culture of failure, as much as of success, and commonly divert resources to the already gifted rather than those who need more help. Academic outcomes from schools can unfairly influence students’ future success. There are serious issues to be addressed. Most school education, even in affluent democracies, as good as it is, is limited. Most school systems properly focus on the core skills of literacy and numeracy, adding basic science and some usually parochial history, topped up with cultural and sporting activities. Instruction in moral standards or values is either completely absent, simplistic, missing much content, specifically religious or nationalistic. A few progressive schools teach ethics in primary school, but few schools teach any philosophy. None show how science provides a comprehensive narrative of our origins, how we got to be as we are, and where the world and the universe is apparently heading. None provide an overview of long term global history that embellishes this global narrative. Some schools provide professional introductions to religion in general, but many push a specific religion.  Many teachers weary of talk of school reform but much is already happening and more is needed. But we also need ongoing adult education, through the media as well as cultural institutions, to promote a better understanding of a justifiable, evidence-based, global narrative, and the realization that we base value choices on the realistic options available to us, then people are more likely to find meaning and purpose, and can work towards more fulfilling personal and political lives. We plan to look at how democracy can bring the best outcomes under the following headings:
After going through these topics, our current conclusions, as stated in the overview, are as follows: We need to foster increased understanding of these global beliefs: how we reach them through reason and evidence, clarifying the choices that reflect our values, exploring our universal narrative; by teaching children in and out of school, and promotion to adults, especially leaders, via further education and media.  more                                                            Statement 41
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English (English)
We acknowledge the traditional owners and custodians of Country, throughout all colonised lands, and their connections to land, waters and community. We pay respect by giving voice to truth, values and social justice, acknowledging our shared history, and valuing the cultures of first nations peoples.
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