Page 2349 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 1 November 1989
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the Canberra Pre-School Society indicating its grave concern about the lack of consultation by the Labor Party in the area of preschools.
What we need are clear guidelines so that the mums and dads and people running the schools know where they stand. Perhaps the closure of preschools may not cause any harm to children. I am not sure about that, but is there valid research available in this area? Mr Moore mentioned earlier that research has been done. Research has also been done by US educationalist, Dr Raymond Moore, a doctor of education. He has done extensive research on family, school and educational matters. These are people to whom we also should look. Dr Moore makes some very important statements. He says:
The greatest teaching for children involves many loving and thoughtful one to one responses - inspiring and encouraging adult examples and much more freedom to explore.
Another US expert, Dr James Dobson, who was the clinical professor of paediatrics at the USC School of Medicine, spoke very highly of Dr Moore and said that he stood like a rock against developmental psychologists in the 1960s and 1970s who were universally extolling the virtues of early schooling. In this tidal wave of public and professional opinion, Dr Moore confidently reported his research findings - namely, that children suffer when taken too early from the security of their homes.
I think perhaps Dr Moore's warning was that, when we make our laws and educational policies primarily for those few parents who do not care instead of for the majority of parents who certainly do care, then our policies and laws may be going backwards. He urges that the burden of proof be on the state before the state hastily intervenes in the parent-child relationship. He argues for full parental involvement and responsibility in government decisions and says:
As long as children meet the state's achievement and behavioural standards, then parents should be allowed to determine the nature of their children's education.
I think parents need help, not attacks from perhaps uncaring and unfriendly governments. We need to understand that it is the parents' responsibility in this matter; the parents should have the freedom of choice. I am against that being taken away by governments. If parents want preschools in an area, there should be a full consultative process. What we constantly hear again and again from members in opposition parties, from people in the business community and in this case from people in the preschool community is that there is not a valid consultative process. I suggest that, if there were, these constant, ongoing claims made day after day in this Assembly would
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