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Christian Values from a surprising source

Recently I attended a one day seminar from one of the most seminal thinkers in business
management in the world, Professor Michael Porter of Harvard Business School gave inspiring
presentations ‘Winning Competitive Strategies in today’s shifting Global Marketplace’.

His books adorn the shelves of CEOs, heads of state, academics, and business school students
alike. Countries and companies all over the world have embraced his theories on competition and
strategy in the expanding global marketplace. His work has also been applied to a variety of
important social issues, from the economic development of U.S. inner cities to environmental
concerns.

Ten years ago I had attended a high level course with Professor Porter on Strategy Change and I
was interested in what had changed in the ten years since. Using his insights Wesley Mission had
trebled its staff to 4,200 trained and competent employees and an annual budget of $180 million.
What new thing could I learn? I was surprised. The big new feature in business and economic
development was the necessity of businesses to develop good value systems and an involvement
in corporate social responsibility.

In other words, clients buy from companies who have good values and who practice them by
serving society. Businesses are realizing they can improve shareholder value and profitability by
developing a corporate spirit of virtue and usefulness much like a Church or Christian school.

On the 22nd November 2000 the Prime Minister of Australia, The Hon John Howard MP, gave a
surprising address to the Melbourne Press Club on “Australian Values”. That address sparked
wide debate across Australia that continues to this day. Like the good leader he is, he set values
on the national agenda. Mr. Howard said, “In a world driven by competitive pressures, national
character is an important factor achieving prosperity. The Australian people have outstanding
qualities which set us apart. There is an Australian Way – different and so often better than that
of other comparable societies.”

He indicated four values we must maintain: Self Reliance. “We believe that “the only real
freedom is a brave acceptance of unclouded individual responsibility”. Second, ‘A Fair Go’ to
ensure equality of opportunity and equality of treatment, of ‘doing the right thing’ and ensuring
that all Australians are given ‘a Fair Go’. Third, Pulling Together. Self reliance and the concept
of a fair go are values prized by individuals, but Australians also have a particular way of seeing
themselves collectively as a people. The notion of communities and families ‘pulling together’ is
seen particularly in times of trouble or challenge. We see it in the sheer scale of generosity when
good causes seek support, when communities battle flood, bushfires and drought, and in the
efforts of the volunteers at the Olympics. Fourth, ‘Having a Go’. Great achievement comes about
only when people are animated by a sense of purpose. Calculated risk taking, creativity and
having the courage of your convictions are innately part of the Australian psyche.
A few years later The National Framework for Values Education in Australian Schools saw all of
the ministers of education of State and Federal Governments agreeing upon nine values for
Australian Schooling that emerged from Australian school communities and from the National
Goals for Schooling in Australia in the Twenty First Century. They include care and compassion,
a fair go, freedom, honesty, trustworthiness, integrity, respect, inclusion and tolerance. Nothing
has driven parents so much to move students from government to non government schools than
the desire to find a school guided by Christian values.

Since 2000, enrolments in Catholic, Protestant, Anglican and similar schools have jumped 14%.
Dr. Brendon Nelson, the then Minister of Education said, “The question I posed to advocates of
public education was, “Why are families earning tens of thousand dollars a year bypass good
public schools to spend thousands of dollars educating their kids? What are they looking for?” I
discovered that it is actually very hard to get meaningful information about the performance of a
state school. And that apart from leaning to read, write, count and communicate, parents have
three priorities — discipline, identity and values.”

Today every school is funded to teach values. Why then do enrolments in Christian schools
continue to climb? Because parents know that character counts. We love people that are talented.
We’d all like our kids to be top of the class. But in the end it’s who you are that really pays off.

The Greeks described character firstly as the impression made in wax by a seal. It later evolved
to be the ‘stamp’ of personality each of us possess. I don’t remember who was top of my class at
school, but I do remember those who by their presence and participation made the lives of all of
us much better. In the adult world we celebrate financial, social and political success. But it is
those who represent our best ideals whom we honour as moulding our collective identity. As
parents we want many things for our children. Ultimately we want them to be well-adjusted
adults committed to an ethic of service to others.

Professor Tony Lovat, pro-vice chancellor for education at the University of Newcastle referred
to the fact that the “shift to religious schools dates from the 1920s when values-based education
in public schools was replaced by a “strong secularism.” In his opinion, the large part of the
reason for the heavy drift to private schooling came from the perceived role of private schools in
shaping personal values. Professor Lovat has explained values-based education is not the
primary motivator of state schools. A secular emphasis is free to run loose in public schools
whilst most religious schools have set themselves up on Christian foundations. If the rate of
increase in non-government schools continues another five years, by 2012 more than half of all
students will be in independent schools.

Parents want basic values prescriptively taught. Imperfect though each of us is as parents, we
nonetheless expect school to reinforce the values we believe important foundations for life. To
be trustworthy, loyal, respectful, courteous, accountable, fair, compassionate and imbued with a
deep sense of volunteerism are some of the virtues universal to the values that should inform
education.

When parents find such behaviour and culture in schools – public or private, they are
comfortable. If not, they move on. Each of us needs to be able to know right from wrong and act
accordingly. Values must be taught in schools. Whatever our circumstances or levels of
education, surely we want our children to be taught in a values-based framework.

A few weeks ago I hosted a luncheon at Parliament for some key people involved in education. I
had invited the Minister of Education, a number of University Vice Chancellors (including
Professor Terry Lovat quoted above) the heads of Catholic and Protestant educational
commissions, outstanding Principals and lecturers in education, heads of education faculties and
the like. I wanted them to hear two people: Dr. Nikolay D Nikandrov director of the Russian
Academy of Education, head of all the universities in Russia and bearing oversight of Russia’s
33 million teachers, answerable only to President Putin personally; and Dr. Olga Lutsenko,
President of Global Kindness who has been conducting major conferences for educators from the
European Union. Tens of thousands of educators have attended these.

The Eastern bloc countries are deeply concerned with the spiritual vacuum in their educational
system. In the Ukraine, 15 million teachers are concerned about the lack of values among their
students. The Global Kindness Foundation has discovered of a basis of dialogue with different
faiths turning their nations back to spiritual foundations.

Interestingly, the basis for such values is accepted as the Bible. Muslim groups participating in
the conferences have been accepting teaching the Bibles in their faith schools.

Dr. Nikolay Nikandrov, an educationalist without peer in Russia, (Google his name) recently told
Russian University Chancellors of the importance of universities including teaching the Bible in
their courses. He told them, “You cannot call a person educated who does not know the Bible.”
Can you imagine any leading educator saying that at such a conference in Australia?

The Russian Minister of Education asked Dr. Olga Lutsenko, a leading educational official with
the Academy of Educational Sciences in the USSR to develop a program for teaching morality in
Russian Schools. In her research, she began reading the Bible and was spiritually transformed.
She has developed the program of teaching values based upon the Bible throughout Russia and
the Ukraine. Over 25,000 teachers have been trained in her methods. Her teaching organizations
is called the Global Kindness Foundation.

The educational authorities in China have investigated her methods, and have invited the Global
Kindness Foundation to launch similar seminars across China. The Government of China has
agreed to pay 90% of the costs for Bibles and for teacher’s expenses in attending these training
programs.

The only word I can think of to describe my luncheon guests’ response was “god smacked”!

Rev The Hon. Gordon Moyes, A.C., M.L.C.

(note – a Board member of the Global Kindness Foundation)

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Wednesday, 2nd May, 2007, 4:21 pm | A Christian in Parliament, Australian Short Stories