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The attack on teachers was launched yesterday by John Howard... “That sort of
comment just feeds a growing view in the community that the system has become
radicalised through the attitudes of some teachers.” (Maiden & Harris, 2005, p. 3)
The editorial in the same edition of the newspaper supported Maiden and Harris’ front page
story, and then extended the debate by very clearly linking to the history/culture wars by
including criticism of Manning Clark, stating in part,
It has been going on for years—the creeping, insidious politicisation of our
educational institutions by the cultural left—but seldom have we seen it laid out so
clearly...This...from someone in charge of teacher training at a supposedly serious
university...the intellectual sons and daughters of Manning Clark have held sway for
decades. (Editorial: When teaching turns into indoctrination, 2005, p. 10)
In the following days, many others entered the debate, and indicative of its polarisation in
the minds of the general public, the letters to the editor page of The Australian (Teachers’
role as classroom brainwashers, February 10 2005, p. 10) and then The Weekend Australian
(Kids force-fed a diet of indoctrination, February 12-13 2005, p. 18) featured many letters
highlighting the controversy Sawyer’s statement caused. Of the 14 letters to the editor
published in these two editions, only one was in support of Sawyer. Linked with the
history/culture wars, two letters to the editor which represented the divergent views of the
public, include:
Parents will no doubt be shocked by The Australian’s revelations this week of the
abuse of the teaching of English in our schools...
Studies of Society and the Environment curricula are replete with the biases of
political correctness...Right is wrong and Left is right, so write left and you’ll be
right, is the message the students get at school and later at university. (Wilson, 2005,
p. 18)
The second letter to the editor, links general teacher incompetence with overtly politically
charged curriculum, and is illustrative of the many people from the politically-left who were
appalled by comments made by Sawyer. Mark Eastaugh of Toowoomba, Queensland wrote:
I am astounded by what is happening in our schools. Kevin Donnelly (Opinion, 9/2)
makes an excellent point about trends in modern school education that turn students
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