This section contains the following letters:
First Letter to Goole Times (01 Jan 04)
Reply to First Letter (08 Jan 04)
Reply to artical on Trinity Academy (sent 02 Aug 05)
First Letter to Goole Times (01 Jan 04)
Sir - I wish to take the opportunity to comment on your article, “Radical plans for grammar school” concerning plans by the Vardy Foundation to take over & run Thorne grammar school.
People should be aware that the Vardy Foundation is an extreme religious organisation that teaches creationism (an interpretation of the bible that states the world to be at most 6000 years old). And that it has links with even more extreme religious groups based in the States.
I have investigated this subject on the internet & I am very disturbed by what I have discovered. The Mayor of Doncaster might wish to back this scheme without taking the trouble to learn anything about it (preferring just to take the Vardy Foundations word on the matter), but it is the residents of Thorne who are going to have to live with that decision as well as their children of course, who are going to have to get used to daily doses of bible studies & large dollops of hell fire & brimstone, as well as other religious cods wallop.
For a 10% contribution towards the cost of building the school, the Vardy Foundation is going to get 100% control of its running. Could somebody please explain where the justice is in that? Also it is not as if this new school was an extra school that would complement the old one. At least then there would be a choice as to where you send your child. No, if these plans go ahead, the residents of Thorne would be forced to send their children there, like it or lump it.
Ultimately it is the government who are responsible for allowing this situation to develop. However people are slowly waking up to the dangers (& the misuse of taxpayer’s money) so I predict there is going to be a lot more controversy on this subject.
Alan.
Reply to First Letter (08 Jan 04)
Sir – May I proffer a response to the letter of Mr Alan Bellis on the subject of the future of Thorne Grammar School?
I suggest that he presents an utterly distorted view of what the Vardy Foundation is about and what the consequences of any involvement in the school might be.
The Vardy Foundation as I understand it, is simply concerned about introducing (or should it be reintroducing) a Christian dimension into our educational system.
In Muslim communities their children’s education is based upon the Koran. By the time they leave school they have a sound knowledge of their scriptures. Can the same be said for our children, who are bought up in what most still regard as a Christian country?
Perhaps Mr Bellis should reflect upon the fact that, whatever the failings of Christians may have been in the past, they were responsible for the introduction of our education system back in the 19th century. Even now there are a good many church-linked schools, most of which provide a thoroughly sound education.
I believe that the Vardy Foundation is responsible for at least one school in the North East of England. They have earned the commendation of many prominent people including Mr Tony Blair. The results, as revealed in the national league tables are extremely good. Only the most prejudiced would regard the stance taken by the Vardy Foundation on creationism as being objectionable. It is merely presented as an alternative alongside the evolutionary view.
The government would never cease to have a large degree of input into the running of the school, contrary to what Mr Bellis states.
Some of my grandchildren presently attend Thorne Grammar School and I for one am not likely to suffer from loss of sleep should this proposal reach fruition.
Harold Mason
My Reply Back (A shortened version was printed in the paper) (15 Jan 04)
Sir - I wish to respond to Harold Mason & his attack on my previous letter. Firstly I do not present an utterly distorted picture of what the Vardy Foundation is about or its consequences for Thorne Grammar School. My view is that they are an extreme religious organisation which is exerting undesirable influence in our schools. They are doing this in a way that many people believe to be very underhand.
The Vardy foundation rejects all scientific evidence of an ancient universe. They believe it came into existence around 6000 years ago as told in the book of Genesis. If you ask them why they believe this, they will tell that it is a matter of faith. It is also obvious from reading the views of those associated with the organisation that they are dedicated to making sure every one else believes it as well. So to say they are, “only presenting an alternative to evolution” is a massive understatement, because not only do they not believe in an ancient universe, but they are completely hostile to the very idea of such a thing (as described by our very best modern scientific theories). They appear to me to be almost “at war” with modern science, although this is not apparent from the image they wish to portray of themselves to the general public.
The scientific establishment on the other hand overwhelmingly believes the universe to be billions of years old. There is a massive amount of very good evidence to back this up. This evidence can be checked & cross referenced against other evidence to produce a compelling & very reliable history of the universe that stretches back billions of years into the distant past. There is so much evidence pointing at this conclusion & so little evidence to any other, that scientists consider it to be a fact.
These two opposing views of the age of the universe are totally irreconcilable. It cannot be both 6000 years old & billions of years old at the same time. It is either one or the other. In the past this has not been too serious a problem. The biblical version of events was taught in RE lessons & the scientific version in geology, astronomy, biology etc. Although in conflict, no one seriously questioned the scientific version which has been accepted as a superior version of events for generations. Quote; “even though some of Darwin’s explanatory theories of evolution continued to encounter resistance for another 80 years, his conclusions that the world had evolved was widely accepted within a few years after 1859” (Ernst Mayr – What Evolution Is, p13)
The creationist Vardy Foundation unfortunately has changed all this. They have started teaching the religious version of creation as science. And as if this was not bad enough they have also redefined the scientific principles underlining science as “faith positions” or in other words as religious beliefs! This is of course totally & absolutely crazy.
How did this situation arise? Did the world’s most eminent scientists decide between them that the scientific framework that has served generations of sane people so well was flawed & in need of change? The answer is, no they did not. This is something that has been done without any consultation with the scientific community & many people are shocked & very angry about what is happening.
As long as there has been a bible, there has been different ways of interpreting its content. This is a situation made worst by the fact that not only has it been translated between languages but even in English it has been rewritten down the ages. To understand the problems this can cause just try reading some 300 year old writing. This problem of interpretation has result in many different religious organisations each teaching & practicing what each one believes to be the absolute truth. Actually, “many” is a bit of an understatement, it is probably more accurate to say there are thousands of them & more are popping up daily. For example, there is a whole bundle of creationist sects. One lot believe the sun & everything else goes around the earth, another lot believe the earth to be flat (as the bible said “the four corners of the earth”), the Vardy Foundation tends towards a version called “intelligent Design”. By using this term they can make something that is truly stupid sound intellectual & plausible, that way they get to con even more people as their American counterparts have been finding out. And yes, all of them have large followings & websites & will argue absolutely black & blue (in the face of massive evidence to the contrary) that they are right.
Mr Mason says the Vardy Foundation is simply introducing a Christian dimension into schools. Unfortunately a lot of people are now of the opinion that a person’s religious beliefs have nothing at all to do with the state, they are a personal matter. The state should not be trying to impose any sort of religion on anyone let alone giving oddball sects (in this case the creationists, but who knows what’s around the corner) control of our schools so that they can mess up the science curriculum & impose their fundamentalist religious views where they are not wanted. When around 45% of the adult population state they have no religious belief & only 7.5% attend church on Sundays, it is very unreasonable to force 100% of pupils to attend sect controlled schools.
Also, just because Moslem children are forced to learn scriptures in their schools is hardly a reason to force more religion on everyone else. In many Muslim countries, laws are based on the Koran & it is the absolute authority on everything. The result is that there is very little in the way of democracy in these countries & people just have to shut up & do as they are told. Many laws are arbitrary & unfair & the punishment for infringing them is in many cases draconian & barbaric. Why anyone thinks there is anything good about this is beyond me.
Although the church was historically responsible for introducing mass education into the country it does not necessarily follow that they are still the best people for the job today. After all the post office was responsible for the formation of the telecommunications industry but has nothing to do with it now. Besides, there is nothing intrinsically difficult about educating people. You just need a suitable building, teachers, school kids, desks, stationary etc & someone in charge to run things. As long as you impose discipline, motivate the kids, set targets etc then you are almost guaranteed to do well. It would make no difference if the founder came from the church, the creationists, or was a self made millionaire making fish food. Their background would be irrelevant.
In fact now that any old rubbish is allowed to be taught in schools you could in theory end up with a rich German taking over one & begin teaching children that Germany won both world wars & the 1966 world cup. After all he would also teach children the “other” version of history & let them make their own minds up which version was true, so what’s the problem?
Yes the Vardy Foundation has earned the commendation of many people including Fundamentalist Blair. Unfortunately a lot of this is coming from people who either do not understand the issues involved or are religiously or politically biased towards such schools. What is not so often pointed out is that they have also been roundly condemned by academics & scientists, here & around the world. For instance Richard Dawkins an eminent professor at Oxford University, described it as “Educational Debauchery”.
Mr Mason points out that the Vardy Foundation achieve above average results in their schools. There are two points I would like to make about this. Firstly let’s say a rich German really did come over here, set up a school & then started teaching its pupils that Germany won the world wars. Would Mr Mason be happy with him doing this because the school was getting very good results? I doubt it very much. He would probably object that the school was teaching something he knew historically was simply not true. Well that begs the question, why then has it somehow become okay for the Vardy Foundation to teach something that is scientifically untrue? It is wrong & pointing to their ability at passing exams will not change that.
Secondly, does going to a faith school or creationist school somehow magically make a child more academically capable? listening to some of the propaganda being perpetuated you might be forgiven for thinking it does. However there are other more “down to earth” reasons why these schools tend to do better. For example, they seem firmer on discipline & less tolerant of bad behaviour, bullying etc, all the things that get in the way of learning. Also as faith schools are believed to be better (even though this is not always true), they tend to attract the attention of the more committed & generally better educated parents. These are just the sort of people who are liable to have the more able children. As more people apply to the school it becomes oversubscribed. As a result the school can select some of its pupils. Obviously they will only select the brightest. It may only be a portion but it will be enough to bump up the exam results. However this is only a part of the story, because the next school 2 miles away now finds some of its brightest pupils are in the other school. What is more it now has to contend with all the underachieving pupils from the faith school which it has kicked out for bad behaviour. Its exam results therefore go down.
Mr Mason claims I am prejudiced. It is true that my investigation into the Vardy Foundation has left me with the opinion that they are a bunch of right wing religious fanatics who like to give the impression butter would not melt in their mouths. But to be prejudiced this opinion must be unfounded. However I believe it to be the truth. It is information I have found from reading newspaper articles, articles by scientists & teachers, articles about creationism & religious extremism. Finally I have read the words of the Vardy Foundation & their associates which sound more like a political manifesto for a bunch of right wing wannabes rather than the words of those running a few schools. If these people want to run the country then why do they not have the guts to openly put forward their views & stand for election like everyone else rather than skulking around the school corridors? The answer of course is that no one would vote for them! To behave like they do is subvert not just science but also democracy itself.
The information I have presented here is just the tip of the iceberg & there is a whole lot more I could have added. I believe people have a right to know what is going on. For this reason I have decided to create a website devoted to this issue where people can find out more. I will upload this to, blackshadow.co,uk.
The £20 million Thorne Grammar School gravy train is about to set off. The builders, contractors, tradesmen, suppliers of Gideon bibles, staff, councillors, MPs, etc, are all piling on board. No one has stopped to bother asking if it is such a good idea to be handing over the education of our children to religious extremists & forcing all manner of nonsense on susceptible minds. No, all most people can see is a brand new school & a £20 million pot of money that’s just about to be upturned. However it will be future generations who finally get the payback for all of this as the Fundamentalist Idiot Blair (FIB) oversees the religious radicalisation of our schools & segregation of society into religious subgroups. Far from uniting people, all this is doing is further dividing them.
Alan.
Reply to artical on Trinity Academy (sent 02 Aug 05)
Sir - I wish to comment on last week’s article: Academy tour for Schools Minister.
Although the new Thorne academy is undeniably an asset to the area, there is nevertheless a great deal of controversy surrounding the academies program.
For example, academies are expensive & for every two built, you could build three conventional schools. This is considered by many to be a gratuitous waste of taxpayer’s money.
There is also concern over the policy of allowing private sponsors to run them, whom it is claimed will bring in extra expertise, especially from business.
However, just because many of the sponsors are successful in their chosen speciality does not mean they are going to be equally successful in others areas such as education.
Furthermore, many of the sponsors are attempting to impose their personal religious beliefs on the schoolchildren in their schools and it is wrong that the state should be funding this indoctrination.
For example, the Emmanuel Schools Foundation has been embroiled in controversy over the teaching of creationism. They are for example, recruiting employees based on their religious beliefs (which is discrimination), encouraging pupils to have unnecessarily negative views about homosexuality & frightening them with the threat of hell-fire.
Not only are state schools being handed over to fundamentalists, but many are also being converted into religiously segregated, faith-based academies. In a society polarising along religious lines, this is extremely undesirable.
The government say they wish to see a speedy implementation of the academies program because many schools are failing. However, they have had two full terms in office to tackle this problem & their response now, smacks of crisis management.
They were in charge & they should take responsibility for their own failures rather than blaming them on everyone else as they are now doing.
As the Academy program unfolds, so the reports of problems grow. All the hype & expensive buildings cannot mask the fact it has been badly researched & is socially divisive. Of all the ways they could have invested money in education – this was probably one of the worst.
Alan.