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8 Responses to Contact Details

  1. Heather Mackay says:

    Dear David, Peter et al, well done indeed for your recent conquest at St Heliers school.

    My own chn are now in their 40s but made a nuisance of myself and I insisted that they be excluded from the religious instruction. I offered to supervise exclued chn every Thurs so that they wouldn’t cause an inconvenience to teachers’ time off!!

    During my teaching years I also ensured that at least my class were aware that bible instruction was NOT compulsory as their parents had been mislead into thinking… schools use an “economy of facts” to mislead parents. Once again making a nuisance of myself but once again offering to supervise excluded chn while the others enjoyed their “time off”.

    Some people have wryly commented that the best way of disabusing chn from joining a religion is to expose them to the bible-in-schools weekly session :-)

    Regards Heather

  2. Kit Wilson says:

    Just watched the piece on the Sunday programme. It would appear nothing has changed since our son was in primary school three decades ago. We went through the same situation, with the same indifference shown by our local state primary school and the same ‘rogue’ religious instructors. In the first week of school our son came home in tears, convinced that we were going to hell. This raises the obvious question, how many of these people, are there, and why can’t the providers of so called ‘values programmes’ identify them? ( And why, as parents, should we even be having to ask these questions?)

    These programmes have no place in the so called multicultural society we aspire to be

    Great to see this issue being taken to the High Court. All strength to you, and congratulations on your effort and tenacity.

    Regards

    Kit Wilson & Sue Baker Wilson

  3. Ali Wegner says:

    Hi Tanya,

    I saw the clip on the Sunday programme and really identify with your struggle.

    Our children (now grown) attended school in Christchurch and we had the same concerns about wanting them out of religious education.

    My husband and I went to school in the US where there is a clear separation between church and state and we were shocked that was not the case when we moved to NZ.

    We strongly believe that public education should be strictly about socializing future citizens as to their rights and responsibilities within a humanistic society and that content should be completely secular and based on well-grounded information and research. Furthermore, our school populations are now diverse and religious education, of any sort, is not appropriate or relevant.

    Please let me know how I can help. We completely support you in this action.

  4. Haumoana Principal says:

    Please remove Haumoana School from your outdated data sheet. Our school does not have Religious Instruction and has not done so for a few years. To have this outdated information in the public domain has the potential to cause unnecessary concern. When surveyed we clearly explained our BOT was currently reviewing provision through a community survey and would act accordingly.
    Perhaps you could extend all schools the courtesy of a review of information.

    • senadmin says:

      Thanks for your comment. It is great to hear that a lot of schools are moving to a more inclusive model and removing Religious Instruction from class time. Our organisation is run by volunteers and the information we have linked to is the only data available on the running of Religious Instruction in New Zealand primary schools. We would prefer that this data was available from the Ministry of Education, but so far they have declined to provide it. If we have enough volunteers available we will be updating the survey in early 2016. In the meantime, I will ask the volunteer who has provided the information to note that Haumoana school are no longer running Religious Instruction.

  5. Frankie Herrington says:

    Kia ora
    Really happy to hear about this group on TV3 News tonight. My partner and I don’t have children but I want to be part of a society where all people have freedom of speech, choice, thought, and belief. Indoctrinating impressionable, unaccompanied children is not ok. Keep up the good work!

  6. R Fox says:

    I saw NewsHub’s coverage of your protest against religious instruction programs in schools this week, and am deeply disappointed in it. Their tone struck that same playing-the-victim, “religion is under attack” note that I’ve come to associate with American religious fundamentalists, not a mainstream news/current affairs show in our own country.

    I’m glad to hear that you’re taking on the Ministry of Education over RI programs, but we may have a more uphill battle in keeping the public informed on this issue than we might have thought.

  7. Valli says:

    Thank you so much for taking the time and making the effort to do what you are doing. I think it is kind and sensible that children are not indoctrinated. But rather encouraged and supported to find their own truth. Christian teaching I experience as indoctrination. I respect peoples right to believe. Not their right to fill innocent minds with their perception as though it is the only reality. When for many it clearly is not. Let children be taught in a way that lets them become more conscious and aware. Not taught what they should, or have to believe, and how they should think.

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