Wait, let me get this straight: Howard is claiming that public schools are too “politically correct”, and therefore out of step with mainstream values, and we know this because parents are voting with their feet and fleeing to private schools? Ha? Firstly (as the AEU fed sec asked) exactly which PC value is Howard objecting to? Reconcilliation? Gay rights? Women's rights? And secondly, surely lack of funding is a more obvious motivating force for an exodus into the private system. If you want to become totally riled, read Kevin Donnelly’s opinion piece (he’s some liberal advisor). I particularly liked this bit:
“In tune with postmodern theory, students are told that "knowledge is always tentative", that they should "deconstruct dominant views of society" and "critique the socially constructed elements of text".
Forgotten is the moral and aesthetic value of education. The purpose of education, instead of celebrating positive things, is to show "how privilege and marginalisation are created and sustained in society" and "how the consumer of a text may have been marginalised by authors".
Is the purpose of education really to “celebrate positive things”? What century is this guy living in?