"Sex Education" in Government Schools

Parents Are Smarter Than Government Bears

In New Zealand government schools–which are part of a government mandated and enforced monopoly–sex education is compulsory.  Now the official reason the government insists on educating your children about sex is the high rate of teenage pregnancy in this country.  But when the government runs a programme with the aim of reducing teenage pregnancy, there is only one possible outcome–more teenage pregnancies–which is what has been happening.

. . . a cross-party [parliamentary] inquiry [has] found New Zealand’s high teenage-pregnancy rate was partly the result of inconsistent and sometimes non-existent sexual and reproductive lessons in schools.  [NZ Herald]

According to the propaganda employed to justify compulsory government sex lessons, non-existent sex education in schools causes teenage pregnancies.  Now, however, since government sex education has been compulsory and has been going for some time now and yet more teenage pregnancies have occurred, what’s the excuse?  Well, it’s because monopoly government sex propaganda has been inconsistent, and sometimes non-existent.  This is what we call the “great double down”.  Sex education in the monopolistic government schools is not working because there is not enough of it.  So, we will have more.

But also, a qualitative improvement is being proposed.
 

Sex education is mandatory, but the 18-month inquiry found programmes were “fragmented and uneven”, parents were able to keep children out of them and classes often focused on physical aspects of sex.

The select committee recommended that the Government give all schools two years to create programmes that meet Ministry of Health standards.  The Education Review Office would monitor whether schools were meeting the needs of students of all cultures, ethnicities and sexual orientations.  Cabinet ministers said yesterday that they would “partially accept” the recommendations.

Government sex education has to cater to the sex-education of  homosexuals, trans-sexuals, bi-sexuals, and whatever other sexual “orientation” presents itself.  In government circles, none of these “sexualities” is immoral; rather they are all considered amoral.  They are regarded as a freedom right.  Morality and ethics have nothing to do with them.  They are thus to be presented as entirely legitimate and lawful–and, thus, are part of the government sex curriculum  So, it is no wonder that compulsory government sexual education focuses almost exclusively on sexual mechanics.  Moreover, it is no wonder that the specialist teachers often brought in to teach these subjects are immoral libertines, whose end-game goal is to break down every taboo and moral restriction upon human sexual activity, to the end that human sexual activity may become animalistic. 

A former board of trustees member who resigned over “unacceptable” sex education classes at her school opposes recommendations that sex education programmes be mandatory for all schoolchildren.  Jo-Anne Sim resigned last month as a trustee of the Blaketown Primary School on the West Coast after a teacher taught what Ms Sim said were explicit lessons that were not appropriate for Year 7 and 8 pupils.  The classes included discussion about oral and anal sex, flavoured condoms, and pleasure points – despite parents having been told in writing beforehand that pupils would be taught only the basics.

We are familiar with a non-government school which teaches all subjects through the lens of Scripture.  It operates in a Decile One (low socio-economic) area.  It is a Cambridge school, which means that its education qualifications are world-class and internationally recognised. Its external exams are marked in London. No chance of gilding the lily with inflated internal assessments.  The roll is slowly but steadily growing.  Many of the families are not Christians.  Why, do non-Christian parents choose to send their children to this Christian school?

There are a variety of reasons.  The education is of an excellent standard, with pupil learning well beyond peers in the government monopoly schools.  The curriculum is focused on core subjects: reading, writing, maths, and science.  The teachers, all committed Christians, are dedicated professionals and practise their faith in their interactions with pupils–they are gentle, kind, but firm.  Pupils are taught to be respectful, to be thankful, to be polite, and to work diligently.  Parents love all these aspects.

But they also appreciate that the school curriculum does not move into areas that belong to the family–such as “sex education” in a misplaced attempt to combat social evils and practise social engineering.  Meanwhile the school does teach the divine morality surrounding marriage and families in its Bible curriculum (after all, three of the Ten Commandments address this directly.)  Parents who are not Christians appreciate these things a great deal.

They think that it is far better than some moral libertine discussing condom-use, together with practising how to apply them, as part of a mandatory government sex-education class in the monopoly government schools.  No wonder parents in those schools are finding their children are coming home from these lessons “grossed out” and disturbed.

But that’s paganism for you: when everything is relative and perspectival, anything can happen.  And it does.  No wonder conscientious parents want to send their children to a Christian school even when they themselves are not professing Christians, and at not insignificant cost, we may add. 

Burdens Borne by Some

Private Schools Labour Under Grave Injustice

The teacher unions hate private schools.    Teachers that work in the government school system don’t appreciate the existence of schools they do not effectively control.  Private schools represent competition, and government functionaries do not like competition.

One of the arguments repeatedly put forward is that private schools (of which there are precious few in New Zealand) suck money out of the state’s education budget.  The state pays a small annual per-pupil grant to private schools that represents a small fraction of the actual cost of educating a pupil.  This, says the state education monopolists, represents funds which should properly go to government schools. 

The counter argument, run by the Treasury, is that if all private schools closed and their pupils transferred to the government education system, the costs to the taxpayer would be substantially higher: thus, private schools actually save taxpayers money. 

Both arguments miss the real injustice and inequity inflicted upon private school parents by the current system.
  A family which sends its children to be educated in a private school suffers is taxed involuntarily to fund the state education system.  Then, dissatisfied with the government education system, they pay again to provide their children the education they deem right and appropriate.   

There is a simple solution available for a government committed to equity and fairness (sadly, none in New Zealand to date have been).  Stop all grants to private, independent schools.  Secondly, provide parents with a tax credit for each child in a private school up to the value of the annual cost of educating a child in the government education system.  This would remove the inequity immediately.  Parents who elect to have their children educated in a private independent school would not end up paying twice for their children’s education. 

Of course the monopolist teacher unions and their fellow travellers would splutter in indignant outrage at such an equitable and just policy. 

A sub-theme running through union opposition to private schools is the idea that private schools are for rich bastards.  They are elitist.  In fact, many private schools–if they are so inclined–can educate children at a much lower cost than the government education system.  The reason is simple: government schools are forced to carry an onerous and constantly growing administration overhead.  The government education system is a vast bureaucracy, with ever increasing rules, regulations, demands, reports, and compliance duties. 

In a private school with which we are very familiar, the annual cost of educating a primary school pupil is around twenty percent less than education in the government schools system.  Our teachers are paid at close to state school salary levels.  The cost savings are made in two ways: not having to comply with Ministry of Education imposed overhead costs; and not running a whole lot of ancillary programmes that may be nice-to-haves, but not necessary for a high-quality education. 

Naturally our school adds a good deal more: its curriculum and modes of instruction are infused with Gospel light.  Interestingly, along with Christian families, many non-Christian parents send their kids.  Whilst they may not themselves believe in the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, they do appreciate the ethics of respect, the structure, the order, and the discipline–along with the atmosphere of joy, excitement and exuberance that pervades our halls, along with academic achievement well ahead of the government school norm.  (The school is Cambridge affiliated). 

The school thrives, despite the state imposed injustice under which our parents labour. 

Reading List for Even Older Kids

Mining Hidden Treasures

Justin Taylor has been reproducing a reading list collated by Calvary Classical School.  He has kindly imbedded links to Amazon for all the recommended titles.   The list overall naturally contains a bias towards US history; however, for other countries this can be appropriately substituted by books dealing with one’s own national history.  In New Zealand, for example, William Williams Christianity Among the New Zealanders would be appropriate for Year Eight.)

There is an additional benefit from studying a list such as this.  It provides a comparative measure for reading levels and standards in our own Christian schools.
  Note, for example, that Calvary Classical School sets down the salient plays of Shakespeare as standard reading for Year Eight.  Would our own reading programme, together with instruction in English language, have prepared our pupils for Shakespeare, Dickens, Hemingway, and Jane Austen as is the case at Calvary Classical?  (The complete list in PDF format is appended at the end of this post).

A Classical Christian School’s Reading List: Years 6-8

It’s taken me a lot longer than I could have imagined, but I’ve now published a reading list for years 1-3, a reading list for years 4-5, and now here below is a reading list for grades 6-8. I’ve also produced a printable PDF of all the books in one document. (See below) These are from the lists provided by Calvary Classical School—a classical Christian school in Hampton, VA.
A couple of notes on the nomenclature below: “+” indicates that any title in that series would be acceptable.
Some titles also contain a label: L – Language, V – Violence, C – Coarse actions, M – Mature theme
Again, I hope this proves fruitful for many Christian families, schools, and homeschooling co-ops.


Year Six Reading List
Read in class or assigned for outside reading:
Adams, Richard. Watership Down
Bishop, Claire. Twenty and Ten
Crane, Stephen. The Red Badge of Courage
Doyle, Arthur Conan. Sherlock Holmes (excerpts)
Lewis, C. S. The Magician’s Nephew
Lewis, C. S. The Last Battle
Orwell, George. Animal Farm
ten Boom, Corrie. The Hiding Place
Level 1
Alexander, Lloyd. The Prydain Chronicles +
Bradbury, Ray. The Martian Chronicles
Kjelgaard, James. Big Red +
Lester, Julius. The Tales of Uncle Remus
Rawlings, Marjorie. The Yearling
Sorensen, Virginia. Miracles on Maple Hill
Speare, Elizabeth. The Bronze Bow
Van Leeuwen, Jean. Bound for Oregon
Level 2
Baum, Frank L. The Wizard of Oz
Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451
Dickens, Charles. A Christmas Carol
Eareckson, Joni. Joni
Fisher, Dorothy. Understood Betsy
Irving, Washington. Rip Van Winkle
Irving, Washington. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Jacques, Brian. Marlfox +
London, Jack. White Fang
Marshall, Catherine. Christy
O’Hara, Mary. My Friend Flicka
Sterling, Dorothy. Freedom Train
Taylor, Theodore. The Cay
Trapp, Maria Augusta. The Story of Trapp Family Singers
Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Level 3
Field, Rachel. Hitty: Her First Hundred Years
Henty, G. H. By Right of Conquest
Henty, G. H. In the Reign of Terror
Kipling, Rudyard. The Jungle Book
London, Jack. The Call of the Wild
Orczy, Emmuska. The Scarlet Pimpernel
Stevenson, Robert Louis. Kidnapped
Taylor, Mildred. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Tunnell, Michael. Candy Bomber
Twain, Mark. The Prince and the Pauper
Verne, Jules. Around the World in Eighty Days
Wells, H. G. War of the Worlds
Yates, Elizabeth. Amos Fortune, Free Man


Seventh Grade Reading List
Following is the list of adopted titles used for the seventh grade reading program. Although certain titles are assigned to specific grades, when necessary, teachers may use a list of titles above or below their grade. It is desired that at least 5 adopted books are read each year. Some books will be assigned and read in class, and others will be assigned for outside reading. Every effort has been made to pick the best available literature. As with everything, each book must be read with scripture as our final standard. All Landmark books are acceptable on the literature list.
Aldrich, Thomas. The Story of a Bad Boy
Brother Andrew. God’s Smuggler
Bunyan, John. The Pilgrim’s Progress (original)
DeJong, Meindert. The House of Sixty Fathers
DeKruif, Paul. Microbe Hunters
Dickens, Charles. Nicholas Nickleby
Dickens, Charles. Oliver Twist
Dumas, Alexandre. The Count of Monte Cristo
Dumas, Alexandre. The Three Musketeers
Eaton, Jeanette. David Livingstone, Foe of Darkness
Field, Rachel. Calico Bush
Forester, C. S. Horatio Hornblower
Freedman, Ben. Mrs. Mike
Grant, George. The Last Crusader
Henry, O. The Best Short Stories of O. Henry
Henty, G. A. By Pike and Dyke +
Henty, G. A. In Freedom’s Cause +
Hugo, Victor. Les Miserables
Kipling, Rudyard. Captains Courageous
Latham, Jean Lee. This Dear-Bought Land
Lewis, C. S. Out of the Silent Planet
Lewis, C. S. Perelandra
Lewis, C. S. That Hideous Strength
Little, Paul. Know What You Believe
Little, Paul. Know Why You Believe
MacDonald, George. The Baronet’s Song
O’Dell, Scott. Streams to the River, River to the Sea
O’Dell, Scott. The Hawk That Dare Not Hunt By Day
Orczy, Baroness. The Scarlet Pimpernel
Seredy, Kate. The Good Master
Speare, Elizabeth George. The Bronze Bow
Stevenson, Robert Louis. The Black Arrow
Stevenson, Robert Louis. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Thomson, Andy. Morning Star of the Reformation


Seventh Grade History List

This year in history the students will be studying Explorers to 1815. Students will be reading numerous books from this time period in class. Outside reading is also encouraged, especially historical fiction which engages the imagination and makes the time period come alive. We encourage you to read aloud with your children from books that may be above their reading level. Suggestions for reading are offered below. We are endeavoring to purchase as many of these titles as possible for the classroom.
Four books must be read from the following list:
Bliven, Bruce. The American Revolution (Landmark) – H
Blos, Joan. A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl’s Journal – H, NN, YC
Bond, Douglas. Guns of Thunder
Bond, Douglas. Rebel’s Keep
Calabro, Marian. The Perilous Journey of the Donner Party – H, NN
Carter, Alice. The American Revolution
Collins, David. Noah Webster: Master of Words
Cooper, James Fenimore. The Last of the Mohicans – H, NN, YC
Cousins, Margaret. Ben Franklin of Old Philadelphia (Landmark) – H
Cox, Clinton. Mark Twain – H, NN, YC
Cox, Clinton. Undying Glory: True Story of the Massachusetts 54th Regiment – H, NN
Dafoe, Daniel. Robinson Crusoe – H, NN, YC
Daugherty, James. Of Courage Undaunted – H, NN
Daugherty, James. The Landing of the Pilgrims – CCS, H
de Trevino, Elizabeth. I, Juan de Pareja – H, NN, YC
DK Eyewitness. North American Indian – NN
Forbes, Esther. Johnny Tremain – CCS, H, NN, YC
Forbes, Esther. Paul Revere and the World He Lived In – H, NN
Foster, Genevieve. George Washington’s World – H
Freedman, Russell. Out of Darkness: The Story of Louis Braille – H, NN, YC
Fritz, Jean. The Double Life of Pocahontas – H, NN, YC
Fritz, Jean. Why Not, Lafayette? – H, NN, YC
Hamilton, Alexander, et al. The Federalist Papers – H, NN, YC
Haugaard, Erik. Cromwell’s Boy – H
Jackson, Shirley. The Witchcraft of Salem Village – H, YC
Lasky, Kathryn. Jahanara: Princess of Princesses – H, NN, YC
Lawton, Wendy. The Captive Princess
Lawton, Wendy. The Tinker’s Daughter – CCS
Mansfield, Stephen. Forgotten Founding Father: George Whitefield – CRPC
McPherson, Joyce. The Ocean of Truth: The Story of Isaac Newton
Murphy, Jim. A Young Patriot – H, NN, YC
Newman, Shirlee. The African Slave Trade – H, NN, YC
O’Dell, Scott. Streams to the River, River to the Sea – H, NN
Roosevelt, T. and Lodge, H. Hero Tales from American History
Savery, Constance. The Reb and the Redcoats
Schanzer, Rosalyn. How We Crossed the West – NN, YC
Severance, John. Thomas Jefferson: Architect of Democracy – H, NN
Speare, Elizabeth. George. The Witch of Blackbird Pond – CCS, H, NN, YC
Speare, Elizabeth George. Calico Captive – H, NN, YC
Speare, Elizabeth George. The Sign of the Beaver – CCS, H, NN, YC
Stevenson, Robert Louis. Kidnapped– H, NN, YC
Stevenson, Robert Louis. Treasure Island – H, NN, YC
Vaughn, David. Give Me Liberty – CRPC, YC
Yates, Elizabeth. Amos Fortune, Free Man – H, NN, YC


Eighth Grade Reading List
Following is the list of adopted titles used for the eighth grade reading program. Although certain titles are assigned to specific grades, when necessary, teachers may use a list of titles above or below their grade. It is desired that at least 5 adopted books are read each year. Some books will be assigned and read in class, and others will be assigned for outside reading. Every effort has been made to pick the best available literature. As with everything, each book must be read with Scripture as our final standard. All Landmark books are acceptable on the literature list.
Austen, Jane. Emma +
Austen, Jane. Northhanger Abbey +
Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice +
Braithwaite, Edward. To Sir, with Love
Chesterton, G. K. The Complete Father Brown
Chesterton, G. K. The Best of Father Brown
Colson, Charles. Born Again
Defoe, Daniel. Robinson Crusoe
DeKruif, Paul. Microbe Hunters
Dickens, Charles. A Tale of Two Cities +
Dickens, Charles. David Copperfield +
Douglas, Lloyd C. The Robe
Forester, C. S. Horatio Hornblower +
Gilbreth & Carey. Cheaper By the Dozen – L
Gilbreth & Carey. Bells on Their Toes – L
Henry, O. Best Short Stories of O. Henry
Herriot, James. All Creatures Great and Small – L
Herriot, James. All Things Bright and Beautiful – L
Herriot, James. All Things Wise and Wonderful – L
Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird – M
Lewis, C. S. The Screwtape Letters
Scott, Sir Walter. Ivanhoe
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet
Shakespeare, William. Julius Caesar
Shakespeare, William. Macbeth
Shakespeare, William. Much Ado About Nothing
Shakespeare, William. Othello
Shakespeare, William. Twelfth Night
Sheldon, Charles. In His Steps – C
Swift, Jonathan. Gulliver’s Travels
ten Boom, Corrie. The Hiding Place – V
Twain, Mark. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court
Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer – L
Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn – L
Wallace, Lew. Ben Hur
White, T. H. The Sword in the Stone


Eighth Grade History List
This year in history the students will be studying 1815 to Present. Students will be reading numerous books from this time period in class. Outside reading is also encouraged, especially historical fiction which engages the imagination and makes the time period come alive. We encourage you to read aloud with your children from books that may be above their reading level. Suggestions for reading are offered below. We are endeavoring to purchase as many of these titles as possible for the classroom
Four books must be read from the following list:
Abernathy, Alta. Bud & Me: The True Adventure of the Abernathy Boys
Ambrose, Stephen. The Good Fight: How WWII Was Won – H, YC
Beatty, Patricia. Turn Homeward, Hannalee – H, YC
Bierman, Carol. Journey to Ellis Island – NN, YC
Bliven, Bruce. Invasion: The Story of D-Day – H
Bradley, James. Flags of Our Fathers – H, NN, YC
Brown, Dee. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee – CCS classroom, H, NN, YC
Catton, Bruce. A Stillness At Appomattox – CCS classroom, H, NN, YC
Cornelissen, Cornelia. Soft Rain: A Story of the Cherokee Trail of Tears – NN, YC
Crockett, Davy. Davy Crockett: His Own Story
Derry, Joseph T. Story of the Confederate States – H, NN
De Vries, Anne. Journey Through the Night
Doswell, Paul. War Stories: True Stories from the First and Second World Wars
Frank, Anne. The Diary of a Young Girl: The Definitive Edition – H, NN, YC
Freedman, Russell. Immigrant Kids – H, NN
Grant, George. Carry a Big Stick: The Uncommon Heroism of T. Roosevelt – CPRC
Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea – H, NN, YC
Henty, G. A. With Lee in Virginia
Hersey, John. Hiroshima – H, NN, YC
Hunt, Irene. Across Five Aprils – H, NN, YC
Ingold, Jeanette. Hitch – NN, YC
Irwin, James. Destination: Moon
Kantor, MacKinlay. Gettysburg – H
Lester, Julius. To Be A Slave – H, NN
Levitin, Sonia. Journey to America – H, YC
Linnea, Sharon. Raoul Wallenberg: The Man Who Stopped Death – NN
Mansfield, Stephen. Never Give In: The Extraordinary Character of Winston Churchill
Marrin, Albert. The Yanks Are Coming – H, YC
Marrin, Albert. Stalin: Russia’s Man of Steel – NN
Marrin, Albert. Hitler – H, NN
Marrin, Albert. America and Vietnam: The Elephant and the Tiger – H, NN
McMurdie, Jean McAnlis. Land of the Morning
McMurdie, William. Hey, Mac!
Murphy, Jim. The Boys’ War: Confederate & Union Soldiers Talk About the Civil War – H, NN, YC
Nolan, Peggy. The Spy Who Came in from the Sea
O’Grady, Captain Scott. Basher Five-two – NN, YC
Prins, Piet. The Lonely Sentinel (The Shadow Series) +
Raven, Margot. Theis Mercedes and the Chocolate Pilot – H, NN, YC
Reynolds, Quentin. The Wright Brothers – H, NN
Serraillier, Ian. Escape From Warsaw
Sperry, Armstrong. All Sail Set – H
Steele, William. We Were There on the Oregon Trail – NN
Steele, William. We Were There with the Pony Express
Taylor, Theodore. Air Raid—Pearl Harbor! – H, NN
Taylor, Mildred. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry– H, NN, YC
ten Boom, Corrie. The Hiding Place– CRPC, CCS, H, NN, YC
Trapp, Maria Augusta. The Story of Trapp Family Singers – H, NN, YC
Van Leeuwen, Jean. Bound for Oregon – YC
Velde, Vivian. A Coming Evil
Wilkins, J. Steven. Call of Duty: The Sterling Nobility of Robert E. Lee
Winik, Jay. April 1865: The Month That Saved America – H, NN, YC
York, Alvin. Sergeant York and the Great War — CCS

The complete list in PDF format can be accessed and downloaded here.