Editorial: Opinions need to be discussed

The material was handed out to Year 11 students at a Christchurch school during a health studies class. Photo / Thinkstock

There's probably a certain age at which you'd be comfortable having your children exposed to offensive material - if at all.

A news story at the weekend reported on a pamphlet handed to Year 11 students at a Christchurch high school.

The leaflet said women in de facto relationships were "cheap prostitutes" and "wicked fornicators", and said "death and hell" awaited those having gay sex.

At least one mum was reported to have lodged a formal complaint with the school.

Labour education spokesman Chris Hipkins said the material should be pulled from the classroom.

But the school says it's part of a resource package used to help students to make "informed decisions".

On the face of it, it does sound extreme.

There's acknowledging that such views exist, and then there's giving them credence or validating them to an audience of teenagers.

However, I think the school should be applauded for teaching students that such extreme views exist, and being willing to discuss them.

A report on GayNZ.com states that the leaflet was to be a topic of discussion, but the teacher was away sick and the material was mistakenly handed out by a reliever without discussion.

The mum who originally complained posted on the Secular Education Network's Facebook page that the sex education teacher had found the pamphlet left on her car windscreen at the local mall.

"As it was something obviously being pushed in the school's community [the teacher] wanted to show it to the children as an extreme view of religious opinion."

I can understand any parents' concerns if they thought a school was promoting extreme religious views and not discussing them, but this seems to have been a misunderstanding.

Too often these days opinion is held up as fact - particularly when it comes to political viewpoints.

The more we prepare the next generation to recognise opinions, particularly the strongest viewpoints, for what they are, the better.