AUSTRALIAN NEWS 25th October 2006

AUSTRALIAN PRAYER NETWORK NEWSLETTER

* TEENAGER FAILED BY SCHOOL FOR HER STAND AGAINST HOMOSEXUALITY

* DESIRE TO CONVERT TO CHRISTIANITY ENDS IN VIOLENCE AND DEATH

* MENTAL DISORDERS PLAGUE AUSTRALIAN VETERANS RETURNING FROM CURRENT CONFLICT > ZONES

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TEENAGER FAILED BY SCHOOL FOR HER STAND AGAINST HOMOSEXUALITY

A 13-year-old Queensland student was failed after she refused to write an assignment on life in a gay community, because of her religious and moral beliefs. Her outraged mother, Christian groups and the State Opposition want an investigation into the treatment of the Year 9 student at Windaroo Valley State High School, south of Brisbane. The uproar came as Federal Education Minister Julie Bishop recently announced plans for Canberra to take control of school curriculums from the states, accusing "ideologues" of hijacking the education system. The girl was among a class of 13 and 14-year-olds asked to imagine living as a heterosexual among a mostly homosexual colony on the moon as part of their health and physical education subject. They had to answer 10 questions, including how they felt about being in the minority and what strategies they would use to help them cope. They were also asked to discuss where ideas about homosexuality came from. Sources said the students were told not to discuss the assignment with their parents and that it was to be kept in-class. They said many of the students were uncomfortable with the subject matter or did not understand the questions. The 13-year-old girl instantly refused to do the assignment on religious and moral grounds. "It is against my beliefs and I am not going there," she told the teacher, who responded by failing her. After a series of discussions between the school and her mother, it was suggested the girl would be better off leaving the state education system and attending an independent school. The girl's mother said yesterday she did not learn of the assignment until reading her daughter's report card several weeks later and discovered a first-ever fail mark for health and physical education. "I went to the school thinking there might have been a personality clash with the teacher," said the mother. She said she was shown the assignment. "When I started to read it I thought,'Oh my God' . . . I was shocked by the content," she said. "My daughter said she didn't want to do the assignment because she did not believe in homosexuality and did not want to answer the questions. "She was being challenged, but she should not be challenged like that at her age." The mother was concerned that her daughter was not given an alternative scenario. She said the school claimed it was powerless to change the curriculum and the school seemed more concerned about how parents found out about the assignment. "That's what concerns me most . . . the parents had no opportunity to even see the assignment," the mother said. "This is another example of a politically-correct agenda masquerading as curriculum," she said yesterday. "Parents need to know the content of school curriculum so they can be confident their children are receiving a high quality education that is also consistent with their values." Australian Christian Lobby state director Peter Earle said the assignment was not about education, rather a teacher or school pushing their own agenda on young minds. "The subject matter was totally inappropriate," he said. Subsequently an Education Queensland spokeswoman said the school had decided to drop the assignment from its curriculum and would work with the girl and her family to achieve a "satisfactory resolution". "The aim of the assignment was to encourage students to think about diversity, culture and belief systems," she said. "Schools can offer alternative assessment topics in consultation with parents, if the school is aware of concerns about an assignment."

Source: Compiled by APN from media sources

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DESIRE TO CONVERT TO CHRISTIANITY ENDS IN VIOLENCE AND DEATH

A religious feud between a Muslim father and his teenage daughter may have sparked a bloody domestic dispute on the Gold Coast which left the man's wife dead and him fighting for life in hospital. Police are investigating suggestions the violence erupted after the 17-year-old girl told her father she wanted to opt out of the Islamic faith and convert to Christianity. The girl's mother is believed to have stepped in to protect her daughter, only to be fatally stabbed with a kitchen knife. Neighbours reported hearing "blood-curdling" screams before the hysterical girl ran half-naked from their Southport home unit covered in scratches. Police later found the body of the girl's mother, 41, inside the blood-smeared unit. Her husband was taken to the Gold Coast Hospital with a stab wound to the chest. He was last reported in a critical condition under police guard. A neighbour was taking out the rubbish when she heard "loud, huge, terrifying screams" coming from the unit complex. "She (the teenager) was yelling, 'Help me, help me, they're trying to kill me'," the neighbour said. "Everybody heard the screams but we couldn't work out which unit they were coming from. Then this girl emerged in the stairwell hysterical and crying. "Her clothes had been ripped off, she was just in her underwear and she had quite severe scratches down her arm and across her back." As residents tried to comfort the sobbing girl, she told how she had wanted to "convert from the Islam religion . . . and obviously her father didn't handle it very well". "She said her parents were really strict."

Source: Compiled by APN from media reports

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MENTAL DISORDERS PLAGUE AUSTRALIAN VETERANS RETURNING FROM CURRENT CONFLICT ZONES

More than one-third of troops returning from overseas service seeking medical treatment upon their return from duty, report symptoms of stress or other mental disorders. Contributing to the higher levels of stress are the long and often repeated tours in conflict zones. Many face unpredictable daily attacks with the engagement rules with terrorism, and even in peace keeping roles, much different today than is past conflicts. Many veterans are being diagnosed with potential symptoms of post-traumatic stress, drug abuse or other mental disorders much earlier than the case in previous eras. To this end and as part of an International initiative, a National Day of Prayer is being called to pray for our men and women so affected on Wednesday 15th November. Please make time in your diary on that day to remember these men and women. We will be giving specific prayer points in Australian News which will go out on that day.

Source: Veterans Coalition

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