THE MYTH OF TOGETHERNESS |
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Context |
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Some politicians in Ontario are saying that if the Government encourages (i.e., funds) schools for non-traditional faith communities then students will suddenly become isolated, segregated and antisocial. To prove this point the media then shows a picture of happy kindergarteners at play. |
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Facts |
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All kinds of schools are important institutions for society, but to claim that ONLY secular public schools can save society from chaos is false. |
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All public schools are segregated by neighbourhood and reflect the racial composition and the socioeconomic level of the local neighbourhood. |
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All studies of high schools and middle schools show that students live in cliques, are segregated and stratified – like society – when they are at school. |
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Private school graduates from all religions have a proven track record of social participation. |
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Mr. Keegstra, the holocaust denier, was a public school teacher for many years. |
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The Muslims apprehended for terrorist plotting in Britain and Canada were native born and were public school students and graduates. |
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Many large public high schools have undercover police patrols in them now to stop crimes. |
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Cheating is rampant in North American Schools. A 2006 study by the Josephson Institute of Ethics found “entrenched habits of dishonesty” among young people. About 28% of students surveyed in the US admitted to stealing from a store in the last year, 23% admitted they stole something from a parent or relative, 82% said they lied to their parents and 60% admitted they cheated on a test in school during the last year. |
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Solutions |
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Schools are not responsible for social cohesion. Adult citizens, major institutions and families are the key to tolerant attitudes, creating a civil society. |
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No school, public or private, is immune from bad teachers or students engaging in crimes. |
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The government must enforce the Criminal Code and the Human Rights legislation even-handedly in all schools, public or private. |
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The curriculum in all funded schools must reflect the standards of satisfactory instruction, as proposed in the Shapiro Commission Recommendation 11. The OACS has endorsed and modified these to fit faith-based schools. |
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Talking Points |
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Why do public school supporters think that public schools will solve all of society’s problems? |
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Why are faith-based schools blamed for society’s ills? |
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Why is everyone ignoring the moral crisis in the public system? |
