Educational choices should include faith

To the Editor Taber Times September 26 article “St Mary’s strengthening its faith based education”

A very encouraging article about educating children.

It reports that “this years theme is about sharing ones bounty, it is taken your God given gifts and sharing that globally.”

What an awesome theme.

We are so blessed in Taber and district to have the schools of parent’s choice as public, Catholic and Christian schools, and there being such good relationships in these three systems.

Lena and I are blessed with having great grandkids in all three systems, and attend Christmas programs in them all.

Taber is so privileged to have this unity in diversity.

The parent’s choice, in schools for their children, in fact parents are required by law to take care of their children.

Also Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms does guarantee freedom of conscience, religion and expression, and in the preamble of Canada’s constitution it states that Canada is founded on principles that recognize God and the rule of law, these are precious fundamentals for all citizens of our great country.

But now I must come with a warning to you, yes we are under attack. Our Alberta government is about to overrule this charter right.
Among several other requirements, they demand that independent schools remove religious content from their safe-and-caring policies.
These schools include in their statement of faith Jesus Command to love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul, and love your neighbour as yourself.

Are Christians always successful following that command? No, but with God’s help they try and overcome.

The other government requirement is that teachers of all grades will not be allowed to inform the parents of their children’s activities while in school, so our government knows best, and is taking the responsibility of the parents away.

And if some schools don’t think this does not affect us, be on guard, this minister of education does it his way or else.
Do you remember another time when they did just that?

Yes, I thought so. It happened when the then-government allowed the children to be taken away from the aboriginal parents, the residential schools, it became a disaster, and today’s governments trip all over themselves to apologize, and rightly so. We hope that when this government wakes up they will do the same.

HANS VISSER