Let children be children – Stop the PC brainwashing

18-December-2008

Australian parents and early learning childhood teachers should be concerned about the Rudd Government’s Early Years Learning Framework (Draft.) This is a bizarre attempt to foist political correctness on the youngest of all Australians, Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Education and Childcare Sophie Mirabella said today.

“If this draft document is a sign of things to come then we surely have cause to fear for the future of Australian children. This is a document aimed at blatant social engineering, not early childhood education. The incomprehensible bureaucratic jargon is aimed at intimidating parents into thinking that they are not capable of raising their own children,” Mrs Mirabella said.

“If it was not such a serious topic I would laugh but sadly this is an attempt to use our young children as pawns in the name of political correctness by a government hindered by ideological bureaucrats and using phrases which even a Member of Parliament has difficulty understanding.”

“As a new parent myself, I am concerned at the scope and reach of the framework which is designed to indoctrinate our youngest Australians as they begin their path through the all-important early childhood years,” Mrs Mirabella said.

“Where is the focus, for example, on the most important influence on a child’s learning and life – the family? Terms such as, diversity and difference, participation and agency and learning and pedagogies are all very well but the greatest influence on a young child, without any shadow of a doubt, will be its family and the report almost completely ignores this.”

Mothers, fathers and teachers will be fascinated to learn that, in relation to their children’s early education, the report states that,

• Reflection includes identifying and investigating teaching and learning practice and issues associated with power, control and social justice. Events can be ‘pulled to pieces’ (that is, deconstructed) to see all aspects involved, which will help educators examine the conditions or context of an event or experience (page 12);
  
  
• or that the intent of the Framework is to advocate the use of diverse theoretical perspectives in planning for and guiding children’s learning, and in reflecting critically on curriculum decisions (page 4);
  
  
• or indeed that Systematic reflection on practice provides critical insights from a range of perspectives to bring about change and continuous improvement. It allows us to ask difficult questions about the value and the ethics of our practices (page 12):   

“What?” Mrs Mirabella concluded.