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Reply #60: "Freedom of speech and freedom of worship does not apply". .. [View All]

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iverglas Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-07-07 07:02 PM
Response to Reply #22
60. "Freedom of speech and freedom of worship does not apply". ..
to schools, in liberal democracies, in such a way as to permit the conveying of messages of racial, religious or other group hatred.

From the article in the opening post:
During the programme Louise Ellman, MP for Liverpool Riverside and chairman of the Jewish Labour Movement, accused the school of inciting racial hatred and hit out at Ofsted inspectors for failing to discover the textbooks. She said: "This whole situation is unacceptable. It is incitement. It is part of a deliberate Saudi initiative to install Wahabbism extremism among Muslims and in the rest of society. If Ofsted has not drawn attention to this, that is a failing of Ofsted.

http://www.ofsted.gov.uk is "the official body for inspecting schools" in the UK. Independent schools must meet the requirements for registration. Children are required to attend a school that is registered, I would assume.

The Education (Independent School Standards) (England) Regulations 2003
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/SI/si2003/20031910.htm
provide:
Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils

2. The spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils at the school meets the standard if the school promotes principles which -

(a) enable pupils to develop their self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence;

(b) enable pupils to distinguish right from wrong and to respect the law;

(c) encourage pupils to accept responsibility for their behaviour, show initiative and understand how they can contribute to community life;

(d) provide pupils with a broad general knowledge of public institutions and services in England; and

(e) assist pupils to acquire an appreciation of and respect for their own and other cultures in a way that promotes tolerance and harmony between different cultural traditions.
I'd say that the materials in question would earn about an F on that score.

No one's "freedom of speech" trumps children's right to be educated in the manner that a society has decided is appropriate. "Just teaching" racial/religious hatred is an entirely different matter from just saying it.


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