Victorian Teachers Pay Rise

A financing agreement generous both state and federal government, implemented under the Howard government in Australia has grown in faith based independent schools, an increase that is nothing less than revolutionary.

However, it is not exemplary academic records that are luring parents to enroll, it is strong religious values and low cost maps are significant pull. But these schools are beneficial to society as a whole or are they serving while a small minority eroding social cohesion, and the rest of us pay for it?

The devotees claim that parents have the right to educate their children in a way that integrates their faith and their spiritual development. I respect the law and freedom of belief and the right and freedom of education, there has never been the responsibility of publicly funded schools to teach religious faith and should not be. What you teach your children in your home is your business. Australia is a secular society and that public funds should support secular education. Of course, the responsibility of public schools is to do what they do best - improve teaching and learning for all students.

Because religious schools tend to attract curious students almost entirely ethnic communities, they are actually contributing to the racial-religious segregation. This is not a good preparation for life in a larger multi-cultural society. It reinforces social exclusion, fragmentation and disrupts social cohesion.

In addition to the funding of a secular system of taxation for schools denominational communities fragment, the curriculum in these schools is also being scrutinized. What are the students who are taught and educators who are employed to teach them?

Private schools have been granted exemption from the state curriculum. Under Victorian law, it is not compulsory for private schools to teach evolution, so it is recommended and requires schools to teach and explain the link between natural selection and evolution. However, as it is not mandatory for independent schools to teach, it is widely agreed that creationism is taught in science classes.

Accelerated Christian Education (ACE) shows that the curriculum in a class of elementary school science as a statement: "God made all kinds of fish. He made five days. "Is common, with a comprehension test is consistent with the statement asking children what day God made the fish.
Often, the evolution is not taught until senior year of high school. It is clear that the delay creates an illusion of choice of belief on behalf of the individual when almost all the cases in children's beliefs have long been at that age. This has serious implications for further study. A growing number of students entering tertiary biology classes with creationist views that are irreconcilable.

An alternative to creationism and evolution that has also crept into the teaching in independent schools is Intelligent Design. This is also taught in a science class. It boggles the mind. Intelligent Design is not based on facts and not use scientific reasoning. Intelligent Design is creationism relabeled. It has no place in a science classroom.

The scientific method is a set of investigation techniques and acquisition of new knowledge about the natural world. Therefore, to be eligible, a scientist, a theory must be:

Coherent
Parsimonious
Useful (describes and explains the observed phenomena, and can be used predictively)
Empirically verifiable and falsifiable
Based on multiple observations, often in the form of control, repeated experiments
Correctable and dynamic (modified in the light of observations that do not support it)
Progressive (refines previous theories)
Provisional or tentative (is op.