Clause 28 revisited

The whole Clause 28 debate is being revisited over at The Times, where a London primary school has been teaching children about homosexuality, including a trip to a "pink" version of Romeo and Juliet entitled "Romeo and Julian". (Conspiracy theorist hat on again: would they do this just to provoke a reaction from the Tories? - surely not.)

The readers are predictably unimpressed, nay outraged, and have been taking their offspring out of class in protest. For this outrage, we learn, parents are to be prosecuted. Free societies are wonderful things aren't they?

I can almost hear the sound of Clause 28 being dusted off in Conservative associations around the country. I wonder though if Cameron's Cuddly Conservatives have actually got the balls to bring Clause 28 in again, but fortunately there is a liberal alternative of dealing with this issue. That's the good news. The bad news is that Cameron's Cuddly Conservatives probably haven't the cojones to go through with this idea either.

Still, for what it's worth, here it is.

Privatise the schools. All of them. Bring vouchers if you must. Repeal the National Curriculum in its entirety. Fire the LEAs or whatever they are called nowadays. Then simply allow schools to differentiate themselves on their approach to education, including sex education. Some schools want to buy season tickets to Romeo and Julian, others will not mention homosexuality at all. Some will do heterosexuality in primary and homosexuality in secondary, others may choose to do things completely differently. Who knows what will happen? It depends completely on what parents want for their children.

It's impeccably liberal.

Oh, there is another problem with it of course. The education system is run by people who think that what parents want for their children is secondary to what the state wants - which is to say what the educational bureaucracy wants. Children, they believe should be taught to think like bureaucrats, which is to say rarely, uncreatively and only in a progessive, left wing manner.

Comments

[Tristan]

I don't know what they were thinking...
An area with a high muslim population and a high white working class population, both groups not generally noted for their tolerance of homosexuality (usual disclaimers apply - in general and plenty of counter examples do occur, but the general attitude is one of intolerance).

Of course, both groups tend to vote Labour (although white working class Tory support is common - if less common), but that does not mean they support Labour policies or views.

Then again, this is LBWF... (although the LEA is privately run - the council having been spectacularly good at failing OFSTED inspections)

[Ian]

Given that all those lamposts are going to soon be lacking one of their essential pre-requisites we're going to have to find another use for them, surely they've taught the kiddies their other uses so they won't be too distressed if we start using them for their more obvious purpose.

[robin horbury]

Our education system is now undoutedly run on the basis that the state matters more than parents. This is underpinned by EU doctrines and policies which view mothers as "units of production" - taken directly from the Marxist theory that the Commission so adores. Someone I know well is currently involved in efforts by groups within Europe to fight this chilling nonsense, but it is an uphill battle, as is opposing anything that emanates from Brussels.

[fjfjfj]

Yes, but what do the children want?

[Falco]

"Yes, but what do the children want? "

Jelly and ice cream.

What?

[Young Mr. Brown]

Helpful and sensible post.

Co-incidentally, I had written on the subject on my blog just before reading your thoughts.

http://themarmaladesandwich.blogspot.com/2009/03/more-on-education-and-indoctrination.html