Leighton Baker
New Conservative Leader
Most days, hundreds of thousands of young New Zealanders make their way to various learning institutions where their caregivers assume that they will be developing their young minds and gaining the skills to become fantastic citizens. Adults trust these learning institutions to provide facts and information to those in their care and to develop their critical thinking and problem-solving skills as well as impart basic general knowledge, but have our schools and universities carried on the traditions of the past or are they now simply indoctrinating children with the latest ideologies?
During election campaigns, political aspirants pound the pavements of forgotten neighbourhoods and go into halls they never knew existed hoping to engage with voters looking at their options. In these community halls, RSAs and council venues we are hearing repeated stories of young people who feel that sharing their conservative views will lead to them being ostracised or failing papers.
One young lady told us of doing a speech on why she would never be a feminist and how she was told that she had failed the paper. It was only due to the intervention of another teacher that she was allowed to pass based on her delivery as the content of the speech was considered unacceptable.
University students are telling us that they know they will fail if they argue against the popular view, so they submit to the pressure and write what they consider “a load of rubbish” simply to keep their tutors happy.
Then there is the parent of a thirteen year old that attended our meeting in Dunedin last weekend who wrote to us saying, “Just thought I’d reply with an interesting snippet from my daughter ——, 13, who I dragooned into your speech in South Dunedin. She listened intently, and laughed in the right spots, very good. Later in the car she explained to me that she agrees with what you said, but at school, she is simply not allowed to express such opinions. She said that to get by she finds it best just to keep quiet!”
Another supporter had to remove his daughter from school due to the harassment she got for her Dad being Conservative.
It’s not just the students that are bullied into silence. Teachers and tutors alike have told us that their personal political and social views are simply not tolerated and their choice is to keep quiet or change jobs.
If you listened in on the staff meetings in some schools you would see a varied difference in where or even ‘if’ teachers can afford to use their voice without feeling that their job security is under threat. Some after speaking out became scapegoats and had unrealistic scrutiny placed on them for every piece of their planning requirements.
Teachers who have been unfortunate enough to work in these kinds of controlling environments were then bullied by management and put under enormous stress to the point that they changed schools. All the while their colleagues silently watched what was going on, keeping quiet so they wouldn’t become the next target.
What has happened in New Zealand education where we no longer teach our children how to think, but we are conditioning them on what to think, and much of what they are taught is not based on science or fact but on emotion and ideology?
When the vice chancellor of Massey tried, by making false statements, to ban a certain former politician from speaking to the political society, we should have all been more concerned. The DOE is in danger of becoming the DOI.
We would encourage BFD readers to talk to their dependents and find out just how free and inquisitive they are allowed to be at their place of education.
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