'No Outsiders' Project : Another Reason to Argue in favour of Home-Schooling!

The times in which we live, with all the problems created by governments hell-bent on promoting 'Political Correctness' and all its incumbent and nefarious policy implications, mean that caring parents must take control when it comes to the matter of all the influences that seek to be imposed upon their children's lives, especially when it comes to education. One of the thorny problems that parents have faced for many years is the increasing demand to educate children in sexual matters at a younger and younger age. The latest is being proposed by via a project known as 'No Outsiders', and is a 28-month research project based in primary schools and funded by The Economic and Social Research Council. The following extract appears on their website:

'The project is led by Elizabeth Atkinson and Renée DePalma at the University of Sunderland, in collaboration with researchers at the University of Exeter and the Institute of Education (University of London) and a team of three research assistants. During the course of the project, a team of primary teachers from three areas of the UK will develop ideas and resources to address lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality in their own schools and their communities. The outcomes will be disseminated via the Teacher Training Resource Bank, a documentary film and an edited book of teaching ideas.'

Once again, under the guise of exploring means of stopping bullying, we find the spectre of unnatural sexual relationships rearing its head. I'm sure that many of those involved, and the aspirations they profess, are good people with good intentions, but surely one of the best ways to prevent bullying is to instill a good sense of morality and ethics into our children from an early age. I firmly believe that this project is, to say the least, either intended as a vehicle to promote sexual deviancy or else has been hijacked in order to do so.

Considering that this project is about part of the education programme aimed at children as young as five, consider how you would feel if your five-year old came home from school and started to discuss that day's lesson with you. The stated purpose of the project is 'to stop bullying and prejudice aimed at homosexuals', yet many supporters of this project want it to also discuss 'pleasure and desire in educational contexts'. I'm afraid that, despite denials by team members, I personally consider that this is yet another example of the increasing attempt to corrupt the young. It smacks of a 'Hearts & Minds' exercise designed to create in the minds of children the idea that unnatural deviancy is actually the norm.

It is of course absolutely right that our children must be taught that all forms of bullying are wrong. They must be taught too that people are not all the same, that others think differently and act differently, and that all people should be respected for who they are and not disrespected because of the differences. I'm sure that there comes a point in the educational process of older children where, as part of their education regarding sex and procreation, they can discuss the various aspects of human sexuality in a positive manner.

From a Biblical stance, homosexuality is considered sinful. Now many arguments issue forth based upon the various laws quoted in Scripture. A favourite argument is to say that if you believe that the law regarding homosexuality is to be accepted and upheld, then so must other laws such as not cutting the hair on the side of your head (Leviticus 19.27). So often people raise the points made in the verses of Leviticus 20.13, yet I believe that the issue is clear enough when considered from a different aspect. Scripture teaches that all fornication is wrong, and that should be good enough. It is important however, in order to place things in perspective, that we teach our children that whilst certain forms of behaviour are offensive to God nevertheless God hates the sin yet loves the sinner. It's because of that love that Jesus died on the cross in order to afford mankind a way to be reconciled to God through His sacrifice.

Our path is therefore clear. We too, if we are to be truly Christian, must love the sinner even though we despise the sin. Equally, if we are to expect that others respect our view and our right to believe as we do, we must also learn to respect their differing viewpoint. To respect another viewpoint is not to align with it, merely to acknowledge that it exists and that there is a right to hold to it.

I know that many of you who visit my blog either are, or have been, parents involved in Home-Schooling. I think that the argument for Home-Schooling is strengthened every time proposals such as this experiment are mooted or, as is the case with the 'No Outsiders' project, actually put into practise as part of the experiment. How do you feel about it?