Australia’s Education Crisis Part II – Wesley College Goes Woke!

Since publishing our recent Education Crisis in Australia paper (here) we have received extensive support for our concern.

From time-to-time I will share with you some of these support letters from both parents and teachers as they encourage us to continue with our research into current education trends.

Here is a letter from the Headmaster of Wesley College to a parent (followed by the parent’s response).  The parent’s name has been removed to protect their child’s privacy.

“Dear Parents,

I wanted to give you some information about a project we’re excited to be working on.

As you know, being a Wesleyan is a special experience. Not simply for the education. Not simply for our community… but for the strength of our values. We strive to treat everyone with Respect, Compassion, Integrity, and Courage. Words written large around the College.

With this in mind, we have identified and have been working on the following focus areas: Cultural Diversity; Disability and Neurodiversity; Gender Equality; LGBTQIA+; and Reconciliation. We consider these to be integral aspects of inclusivity.

No child at Wesley should ever feel that they must suppress part of who they are.

This year, we identified LGBTQIA+ inclusion as a specific focus. This acknowledges the gender and sexual diversity that currently exists within Wesley. We recognise that we need to be doing more, so we’ve commenced a process to help assess where we are and, importantly, where we want to get to.

You can find out more about it, here.

In the coming months, we will be offering students (current and past), staff and parents the opportunity to add their voices to this project. We will take an opt-in approach, using opportunities such as forums, surveys, and conversations.

In the meantime, I thank you for your open hearts and shared desire to make sure that every student is given the opportunity to be their true self here at Wesley.

Yours sincerely,

Ross Barron
Head of Wesley College”

“Hi Ross,

I bitterly resent this intrusion into my child’s life.

Insisting on fighting unnecessary battles are extremely harmful to society for the simple reason that there is nothing that society can do. 

“DEI warriors will be persecuting the innocent, exactly the type of injustice they wish to stop. My advice is this: Instead of searching for dragons to slay, just mind your own business and set a good example. You will be happier, and you will accomplish more good for yourself and the society around you.”

https://mises.org/power-market/diversity-equity-and-inclusion-goals-are-illogical-and-harmful

I hope this helps and that your moral compass ultimately prevails.

Regards (Concerned Parent)”

To the above I wish to add two comments.

1. Perhaps the schools are free to adopt any woke policies they like, but they should be aware of watchful parents who may prefer the school to focus on educating their students.
2. The headlong rush into these woke policies (ESG, DEI, transgenderism, etc.) are similar to other fads in that we tend to follow the U.S. left-leaning institutions. 

But there is always a time lag and in the case of these woke policies, Australia appears to be adopting at full speed, whilst in the U.S. they have largely got over wokeness, both in education and business and are hurriedly going back to their ‘core functions’ at the insistence of parents, shareholders, and customers.  There is nothing quite like a few ‘Class Actions’ from shareholders, to re-focus Chief Executives.

Not only is Australia heading in the wrong direction but those “pressing the buttons” exhibit a lack of accountability to those to whom they are accountable.

Ron

13/9/23