New British curriculum will 'make every school lesson politically correct'

Children will be taught race relations and multiculturalism with every subject they study -from Spanish to science - under controversial changes to the school curriculum announced by the Government. In music and art, they could have to learn Indian and Chinese songs and instruments, and West African drumming. In maths and science, key Muslim contributions such algebra and the number zero will be emphasised to counter Islamophobia. And in English, pupils will study literature on the experiences of migration - such as Zadie Smith's novel White Teeth, or Brick Lane, by Monica Ali.

One critic accused Education Secretary Alan Johnson of 'politicising' lessons with the new agenda. Tory MP Douglas Carswell, a member of the Commons education select committee, said schools will be vehicles for multicultural propaganda and classrooms turned into 'laboratories for politically-correct thought'. Mr Johnson was also attacked over attempts to put Britishness on the curriculum as it emerged that suggested core values are so woolly they could apply to many countries.

With concerns that standards in the three Rs are unacceptable, ministers will also face accusations that they are diverting attention away from vital subjects. Under the recommendations - put forward in a report by former headmaster Sir Keith Ajegbo -teachers will be expected to make 'explicit references to cultural diversity' in as many subjects as possible. A new central theme covering 'identity and diversity' will be added to citizenship classes, which have been compulsory since 2002. Pupils should be encouraged to discuss topics such as immigration, the legacy of the British Empire, the Commonwealth and the EU.

Teaching on immigration, including recent population movement from Eastern Europe, should touch on the benefits it brings to the economy and society, while also bringing 'political discontent and criticism'. Pupils could even be tested on their attitudes to diversity in A-level and GCSEs, which will be redrafted to ensure they include 'issues related to diversity'.

But Professor Alan Smithers, of the University of Buckingham, asked: 'Do the Government have in mind a Britishness test for youngsters born in this country, as they do with people who arrive from other countries?' Meanwhile, information technology lessons would involve joint Web projects or video-conferencing with youngsters around the world.

Sir Keith, whose report was commissioned following last July's suicide bomb attacks in London, warned that pupils could become 'disaffected' and 'alienated' if they felt unable to discuss cultural issues in subject areas. 'Education for diversity must be viewed as a whole-curriculum focus,' he said.

However, Mr Carswell said: 'This report is prescribing precisely the wrong medicine to heal the wounds of a society that multiculturalism has divided. This is a stark example of the politically-correct lobby hijacking the citizenship agenda. 'Recent arrivals to this country have all the more reason to be given a sense of what we are all about so they can become part of it and share it. But instead this will give the green light to every politically-correct Left-Wing educationist to further undermine our society.'

Teachers' unions warned that the curriculum is too crowded already to cope with extra demands. John Dunford, general secretary of the headteachers' union ASCL, said: 'Once again, the burden is falling on schools to fix a problem which has its roots in the wider society.'

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More cash fails to budge school scores

A familiar phenomenon in America: Now in Australia too: More money leads to WORSE education

Literacy and numeracy levels have fallen in NSW public schools despite increased government funding per student. The proportion of year 3 students achieving national benchmarks dropped 0.8 of a percentage point for reading and 0.9 of a percentage point for numeracy between 2003 and 2004, the Productivity Commission's annual report says. In that period the Government increased its expenditure by $686 on each full-time primary student and about $500 on each secondary student.

The literacy and numeracy skills of students in years 3, 5 and 7 are measured against national benchmarks each year, but the results are not released until more than two years later. These most recent figures show there has been little change among NSW students, with variations of less than 1 percentage point in each of the categories, despite the increased spending. The performance of year 5 and 7 students was better, with slight improvements from the previous year in their numeracy skills, but fewer students in both groups met the reading benchmark than had done so the previous year. Just over 92 per cent of year 3 students in NSW achieved the reading benchmark, and nearly 96 per cent met the writing and numeracy benchmarks. By year 7, less than 80 per cent of students could meet the numeracy benchmark.

The NSW Government spent $9,546 on each primary student and $12,024 on each secondary student in 2004-05. The best performers in NSW were those who lived in metropolitan or provincial areas, girls and non-indigenous students. Indigenous students were closest to the state average in year 3, but dropped in each subsequent year and most dramatically in numeracy, where close to 90 per cent achieved the benchmark in year 3, but less than half by year 7. The commission's report shows the proportion of students achieving the writing benchmark rose in all groups.

The federal Education Minister, Julie Bishop, called for a national curriculum last year to arrest what she said were falling literacy and numeracy standards in schools. But her department admitted it did not have figures on literacy and numeracy beyond 2004, and therefore lacked the proof that standards were falling. Last year's basic skills test saw primary school children's literacy scores slip by 0.1 of a percentage point since 2005, a tiny negative fluctuation after 10 years when scores had been mostly consistent.

The State Government said then that three out of five pupils who failed to reach minimum literacy standards in year 3 had raised their performance to acceptable levels by year 5, but gave no data to support the claim. The NSW Government commented in the commission's report that it planned to invest more than $616 million in literacy and numeracy programs.

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For greatest efficiency, lowest cost and maximum choice, ALL schools should be privately owned and run -- with government-paid vouchers for the poor and minimal regulation.

The NEA and similar unions worldwide believe that children should be thoroughly indoctrinated with Green/Left, feminist/homosexual ideology but the "3 R's" are something that kids should just be allowed to "discover"

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