How
Political Correctness Is Transforming British Education
by Soeren Kern
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/3170/british-education-political-correctness#.UAQtSmOuuGk.facebook
In
Cheshire, two students at the Alsager High School were punished by their teacher for
refusing to pray to Allah as part of their religious education class.
In
Scotland, 30 non-Muslim children from the Parkview Primary School recently were
required to visit the Bait ur Rehman Ahmadiyya mosque in the Yorkhill district
of Glasgow (videos here and here). At the mosque, the children were instructed to
recite the shahada, the Muslim declaration of faith which
states: "There is no god but Allah and Mohammed is his messenger." Muslims are
also demanding that Islamic preachers be sent to every school in Scotland
to teach children about Islam, ostensibly in an effort to end negative attitudes
about Muslims.
British schools are
increasingly dropping the Jewish Holocaust from history lessons to avoid
offending Muslim pupils, according to a report entitled, Teaching Emotive and Controversial History,
commissioned by the Department for Education and Skills.
British
teachers are also reluctant to discuss the medieval Crusades, in which
Christians fought Muslim armies for control of Jerusalem: lessons often
contradict what is taught in local mosques.
In an effort to counter "Islamophobia" in British schools, teachers now
are required to teach "key Muslim contributions such as Algebra and the number
zero" in math and science courses, even though the concept of zero originated in
India.
In the East London district of Tower Hamlets, four Muslims were
recently jailed for attacking a local white teacher who gave
religious studies lessons to Muslim girls; and 85 out of 90 schools have
implemented "no pork" policies.
Schools across Britain are, in fact,
increasingly banning pork from lunch menus to avoid offending Muslim students.
Hundreds of schools have adopted a "no pork" policy, according to a recent report by the London-based
Daily Telegraph.
The culinary restrictions join a long list of
politically correct changes that gradually are bringing hundreds of British
primary and secondary education into conformity with Islamic Sharia law.
The London Borough of Haringey, a heavily Muslim district in North
London, is the latest school district to switch to a menu that is fully halal
(religiously permissible for Muslims).
The Haringey Town
Council recently issued "best practice" advice to all schools in its
area to "ban all pork products in order to cater for the needs of staff and
pupils who are not permitted contact with these for religious reasons."
Local politicians have criticized the new policy as pandering to
Muslims, and local farmers, who have pointed out that all schools in Britain
already offer vegetarian options, have accused school administrators of
depriving non-Muslim children of a choice.
Following an outcry from
non-Muslim parents, the town council removed the guidance from its website,
although the new policy remains in place.
At the Cypress Junior School,
in Croydon, south London, school administrators announced in the school newsletter dated June 1, 2012 that the school
has opted for a pork-free menu "as a result of pupil and parental feedback."
The announcement states: "Whilst beef, chicken, turkey and fish will all
feature, as well as the daily vegetarian and jacket potato or pasta option, the
sausages served will now be chicken rather than pork."
In Luton, an
industrial city some 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of London where more than
15% of the population is now Muslim, 23 out of 57 schools have banned pork.
In the City of Bradford, a borough of West Yorkshire in Northern England
where there are now twice as many practicing Muslims that there are practicing
Anglicans, 24 out of 160 schools have eliminated pork from their
menus. In Newham (East London), 25 out of 75 schools have banned pork.
Other pork-free schools include Cranford
Park Primary School in Hayes (Middlesex), and Dog Kennel Hill
Primary in East Dulwich (South London).
The Borough of Harrow in northwest London was among the
first in Britain to encourage halal menus. In 2010, Harrow Council announced
plans to ban pork in the borough's 52 state primary schools, following a switch
by ten secondary schools to offer halal-only menus.
According to the
UK-based National Pig Association, which represents commercial
pork producers, "It is disappointing that schools cannot be sufficiently
organized to give children a choice of meat. Sausages and roast pork are staples
of a British diet and children enjoy eating them. If products can be labeled
with warnings that they contain nuts and vegetarian dishes can be made and kept
separate from meat dishes, [we] don't see why the same can't apply to pork."
Lunch menus are not the only area in which "cultural sensitivity" is
escalating in British schools.
In West Yorkshire, the Park Road Junior
Infant and Nursery School in Batley has banned stories featuring pigs, including
"The Three Little Pigs," in case they offend Muslim
children.
In Nottingham, the Greenwood Primary School cancelled a Christmas nativity
play; it interfered with the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha. In Scarborough, the
Yorkshire Coast College removed the words Christmas and
Easter from their calendar not to offend Muslims.
Also in Cheshire, a
14-year-old Roman Catholic girl who attends Ellesmere Port Catholic High School was branded a
truant by teachers for refusing to dress like a Muslim and visit a mosque.
In Stoke-on-Trent, schools have been ordered to rearrange
exams, cancel swimming lessons and stop sex education during the Muslim holy
month of Ramadan. In Norwich, the Knowland Grove Community First School has axed the
traditional Christmas play to "look at some of the other great cultural
festivals of the world."
Meanwhile, the politically correct ban on pigs
in Britain also extends to toys for children. A toy farm set called HappyLand Goosefeather Farm recently removed pigs in
order to avoid offending Muslims.
The pig removal came to public
attention after a British mother bought the toy as a present for her daughter's
first birthday. Although the set contained a model of a cow, sheep, chicken,
horse and dog, there was no pig, despite there being a sty and a button which
generated an "oink" sound.
After the mother complained, the Early
Learning Centre (ELC), which manufactures the toy, responded: "Previously the
pig was part of the Goosefeather Farm. However due to customer feedback and
religious reasons this is no longer part of the farm."
After a public
outcry, however, ELC later reversed its decision: "We recognize that
pigs are familiar farm animals, especially for our UK customers. We have taken
the decision to reinstate the pig and to no longer sell the set in international
markets where it might create an issue."
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