Vol. 429 No. 7
119 Ms McManus asked the Minister for Education if her attention has been drawn to the concern in relation to racism in our community; and if she will introduce an anti-racism educational programme to ensure that children are educated in tolerance and acceptance of minorities.
I am not aware of any particular grounds for concern in relation to racism in our community.
The underlying educational ethos of our schools is one that regards tolerance and the acceptance of minorities as values to be cultivated. Because this is a general feature of that ethos, it has not expressed itself in the specific form of programmes such as the Deputy has in mind.
In fact, it may be doubted if a specific anti-racism educational programme is the way to proceed. There are demands for the inclusion specifically of so many different topics in the curriculum that there is risk both of overloading the curriculum and of producing a curriculum which is an unco-ordinated amalgam of diverse elements. The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment is the body established to advise me in curriculum matters. I am happy to pass on the Deputy's suggestion to them for consideration.
I should add, however, that the Teacher's Handbook for the Primary School Curriculum, in dealing with civics, states that "The main concern is not, however, with the rights and duties of citizenship but with the development of social and moral attitudes which take into account the rights of other members of society". It also states, in relation to national pride, that "it is essential that this pride should be national and balanced. Anything which savours of chauvinism or any form of excessive nationalism, tends to blur the child's awareness of the common bond of humanity".
In the case of post-primary schools, relationships with and attitudes to one's fellow human beings and the world community, together with an understanding and acceptance of the kinship of people are features of the civics course, which is compulsory for all junior cycle pupils in post-primary schools.
