Parents4ethics needs your help

[Lee]

To our NSW forumites,
We received the following email this morning.
Please help if you can.
Thanks
Lee

Hello

We are parents of children attending public primary schools in NSW. For some years NSW government policy has allowed children to opt out of scripture classes but has denied any teaching for those children during that weekly period. In a society in which many families do not subscribe to a particular religion this policy excluded a substantial number of children from learning. We therefore support ethics classes as an option for those children who do not attend scripture classes, and were very happy indeed to see them introduced last year.

We were extremely disappointed to find that, in response to a threat by Rev Fred Nile, Premier Barry O’Farrell is considering the removal of these classes either altogether or to a time slot not coincident with scripture classes (http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/ofarrell-b...729-1i4b8.html). Either one of these moves will take away our children’s opportunity to learn during the scripture class period.

Public opinion is in favour of ethics classes, as evidenced by media commentary (e.g. letters to editors, talkback radio) and the army of volunteers who run and teach ethics classes in public schools. In view of this, we are encouraging our members and any visitors to our web site (see below) to contact their state MP and Mr O’Farrell so that any decision on this issue can be made in light of community view points.

We hope that you will consider inviting your members to make their views on this issue known. They can do so by visiting our web site (http://parents4ethics.org/support-the-ethics-classes/) where they will be able to write a message and send this automatically to their MP (based on postcode) and to the Premier.

Thank you for considering this request.
Yours sincerely
Russell Wyatt
parents4ethics.org