Meeting re Shine, Strength and Dare

[DanDare]

The Humanist Society of Queensland is having an info and strategy session about the programs being pushed on school kids by the Scripture Union.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=279187875433885

I'll be there. It would be cool if some of the other Brisbanites, especially those involved in edumuncation, could show up.

Here is the full event description

The Shine, Strength and Dare seminar will address concerns about the self-development programs developed by the Hillsong Church known as Shine and Strength. Shine and Strength are being run in public schools throughout Australia as well as numerous small community organisations and within the juvenile justice system.

Another program raising concerns is 'Dare to be Daniel'. 'Dare to be a Daniel' was developed by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and encourages children to evangelise to their peers.

According to the Hillsong website - Strength is a personal development program that assists adolescent males to reach their full potential. It is targeted at teenage boys in years 7- 9. The website heavily promotes Strength as a school based program designed to assist adolescent males to reach their full potential. .

Serious concerns have been raised by teachers and parents who worry that these programs are inappropriate for vulnerable people, given that they are conducted by under-qualified facilitators and reinforce gender stereotypes.

Shine was originally developed by the CityCare arm of Hillsong as an explicitly religious program and although the church now says it is "community-based, not religious-based", however some parents have claimed that Shine is a way of getting religion into schools through subterranean means. Moreover some parents have said that their children have been placed in the program without their knowledge or consent.

The aim of the Shine, Strength and Dare seminar is to raise awareness about the nature of these programs, how widespread they've become and what we can do to counteract their spread throughout our public school system.

Please note - this event will not be filmed.

23 October · 13:00 - 15:00

Tiered Theatrette - Brisbane Square Library266 George Street
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

[DanDare]

And lets not forget our lovely "sunshine"

[TimB]

DanDare: If I lived in Brisbane I'd come alond but I don't.

I have 3 kids (5, 3 and 0.12 years) who we will be putting through the public school system in Sydney. This increasing influence of evangelicals in our public school system really bothers me.

Good luck with your meeting.

[djarm67]

tjarm and I are staying in Brisvegas on Sat night after the freakytown Jamie Kilstein extravaganza. We were talking about heading along if we can convince the oldies on the merits of spending Sunday with their grandkids.

DJ

[Mentally Saturated]

Good luck with the meeting, Danny. Please keep us posted as to how it turns out. Record if possible..

Gary

[DanDare]

Thanks. I'll try to remember to keep a detail record. I'm hoping we may be able to form a working group to carry forward a push to get religious influence back out of our schools.

Its going to be hard, because it needs to be both bottom up and top down I think.

[DanDare]

Well attended meeting. We had a believer "just wander in" and start asking us why we hate chaplains. She got more than she bargained for as a response.

Quite a few of us had stories to tell. I was most impressed by the ex-fundamentalist who laid out why the Shine and Strength programs are as shallow as they appear to be. The aim is to remove your self esteem, not improve it, leaving you only of value in the eyes of god, who you then cling to.

The programs are being sanitised in language, parents generally either don't know their kids are in it or or are strongly mislead about what it is. the education department is supporting all this and not monitoring or showing any concern for the well being of the students they are meant to be caring for.

[OldEarther]

The random walk in was a bit odd. I thought she might be some sort of planted agitator (tin foil hat time) when she first started piping up - but didn't seem prepared or outspoken enough for that to be the case.

Maybe people do just randomly wander into lecture rooms of a Sunday when they have nothing to do. Odd...

All up - it was an very informative, and kinda scary, discussion.

[gruber]

The aim is to remove your self esteem, not improve it, leaving you only of value in the eyes of god, who you then cling to.

but doesnt the god also see you as bad

[gruber]

ooooo so stockholm syndrome