During the 1950s, Victorian schools introduced out of hours ‘Mothers and Daughters’ evenings. Their purpose was to provide health and sexuality education, delivered by those qualified to do so.
Today, health and sexuality education is delivered during school hours but, unfortunately, not always by people who are appropriately qualified.
Doctors also attend schools. They can treat ‘mature minors’ – students under 18 years who are deemed mature, i.e. those who can consent to their own medical treatment. The State government, via the schools, has the right to override parental rights, and to ignore completely any requests from parents for their rights to be heard.
These changes haven’t happened overnight. Small incremental changes since the 1950s mean that parents and teachers have gradually relinquished their respective parental and professional rights to government.
Two questions arise.
The first is this: Why would parents and teachers wish for a situation such as this?
The second, more important question, for those teachers who are also parents: What remaining rights – if any – do you have?
Be alert. Government – The Big G – is watching over you (and your children’s health and sexuality education)
Copyright © Cheryl Lacey 2018
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Cheryl Lacey is an educationist and advocate of agitating change in Australian education to face global challenges facing Australia and Australians.
If you would like to learn more about the outcomes achieved by educational leaders and teams who have worked with me, contact me at cheryl@cheryllacey.com or visit www.cheryllacey.com
