The campaign against indoctrination in schools
Don’t Divide Us is running an important campaign to try and return schools to their primary mission: teaching.
As a former teacher myself, I understand the importance of a good school education. That shouldn’t be understood narrowly as preparing children for the world of work, but about giving them the freedom to make choices about what to do with their lives and to be good citizens. But schools have also often been targets for political actors trying to ‘get them young’ and inculcate the next generation with ‘the right ideas’.
This has been going on for over two decades when it comes to environmentalism, but other contentious ideas are making their way into classrooms now, from Critical Race Theory to gender ideology. It’s one thing to teach pupils about these issues, it is quite another to present these ideas uncritically – particularly to younger children who simply don’t have the knowledge and experience to figure things out for themselves. Moreover, a lot of this is going on behind the back of parents, who are often left in the dark about what is being taught.
So, it’s great that the campaign group Don’t Divide Us (DDU) is raising these issues by launching a petition calling for schools to ‘educate not indoctrinate’. As DDU’s website argues: ‘Unproven assertions about race, gender and sex are being introduced into schools by activist-influenced groups who are more concerned with promoting political interests than in educating the next generation.’ DDU has also compiled examples of politically partisan content, practices and professional development to illustrate these problems.
I’ve signed the petition. Please found out more about the issues and sign the petition on the DDU website.
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Meanwhile, in Scotland
If you live north of the border, you can also check out the work of the Scottish Union for Education (SUE), which is pushing back against these trends in Scotland. The SNP government has gone even further in promoting controversial ideas about race, gender and sex in schools.
The group’s Substack is packed with interesting articles and news on their work – including a recent online discussion with author Lionel Shriver and a lively public meeting last night in Dundee, featuring former SNP deputy leader Jim Sillars. SUE has another event next Wednesday in Aberdeen – more details here.
The importance of debate… in schools
Rather than giving children a one-sided view of these important social issues, it is far better to discuss contentious ideas so that pupils – particularly older pupils - can understand the controversies and ethical dilemmas. Debating Matters (DM), the schools debating competition for 16- to 18-year-olds now run by the Ideas Matter charity, has always been brilliant at doing this. Each DM debate motion and accompanying topic guide (you can view all the topic guides here) asks debaters to consider both sides of the argument - and often to argue the side they don't personally agree with. It's a brilliant and challenging format.
DM will be staging a day of debates at Durham University, hosted by Durham Union Society, on Thursday 8 June. The event is part of DM’s ’20 for 20’ programme – 20 projects and events to mark the competition’s 20th anniversary. Find out more here.
The importance of debate… in universities
Nor does the importance of debate end in schools. In fact, it is even more important in universities. Yet, discussing the ‘wrong ideas’ seems to verboten in many institutions, as I found out when my invitation to speak at Royal Holloway in London was withdrawn. I’ll be discussing those events and why debating matters at a Living Freedom event at the University of Cambridge on Wednesday 26 April. Find out more on the Living Freedom website.