Negative News (Press, 27 June 1989)

In a letter published on 27 June 1989, Lois Fechney responded to a previous article titled "Negative news" that addressed parental concerns regarding Bible instruction in schools. Fechney highlighted a sensational headline claiming that "Parents don’t want Bible in schools,” which she argued misrepresented the situation. A deputy principal from Newmarket School noted that, at the start of the year, only nine out of 110 pupils had been exempted from Bible instruction at the request of their parents. Despite this indication of parental support for Bible instruction, a later survey suggested parents may have been hesitant to express their views openly. Fechney expressed concern that if parents of Asian descent were indeed fearful of voicing their opinions, it could lead to a lack of balance against teachings she deemed questionable, including evolution and transcendental meditation, as well as social instruction provided by homosexual educators. She cautioned that sensationalist reporting, which undermined Biblical truths, could degrade the quality of the publication, transforming it into what she described as a "distasteful rag." Fechney's letter reflected a view that maintaining biblical teachings in education was essential to counteract other educational content that she considered problematic.

The text on this page is created, in the most part, using Generative AI and so may contain errors or omissions. It is supplied to you without guarantee or warranty of correctness. If you find an error or would like to make a content suggestion please get in contact

The text on this page is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 New Zealand