Values and norms are often complementary, sometimes competitive. Standards should be based on shared values, but are often only necessary because the values are no longer sufficiently shared and supported. Standards can be incorporated into rules and laws and must be enforced by the government. Values are shared and as long as they do not require standardization, the state should keep its hands off them.
Evras continues
In education in French-speaking Belgium, the Evras Decree stipulates that students receive four hours of compulsory sex education lessons during their school career. Two hours in sixth grade and two in fourth grade.
The protest we are now seeing in French-speaking Belgium against Evras is directly related to the question of who can or must teach values to our young people. Framing sex education as something purely scientific is irrelevant in this discussion. Reproduction has been taught in biology class for years and I vividly remember the giggling of the girls and the macho behavior of the boys during those lessons. However, not a word was said at the time about the values associated with sex. Reverting today to the argument that “it has been like this for years” is a weakness, because Evras aims at much more than just the biology of human reproduction.
The discussion is heated because the summary of what is taught directly touches on fundamental values. Values belong first and foremost in education, where parents choose which values to teach their children. Nowadays, however, we hear calls to outsource education to education, and thus to the government through the final objectives. Just think of financial literacy, citizenship, road safety and so on. Often things that have more to do with values than with mere knowledge.
When the government sets values
At the same time, one must realize that if the government wants to deal with values, it must adhere to broadly supported principles. Otherwise the discussions start, as in this case. When a government imposes so many shared values, little individual choice remains.
Sociologist Mark Elchardus recently wrote in De Morgen (9 Sep 23) that reference is often made to the tyranny of majorities, while it often concerns minorities. This also plays a role here, in this discussion. They want to frame the protest in the context of certain religious minorities, i.e. Muslims. As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, allow me to join in the protest.
I support the protest against the new lesson content regarding sex education, which is now mainly coming from Muslims. I believe that it is up to parents to choose which values are passed on to our children. Reproduction is biological, but the fact that sex should be something intimate and shared respectfully only within marriage is a value I want to share with my children. I don't want education to say that sex is okay no matter how, where, when or with anyone as long as it is done with mutual consent.
Politically woke education?
We should not take this discussion too lightly and dismiss it as a protest by religious lunatics. It is fundamentally about the question of how far the state can penetrate into the educational process. After all, we see that those who become aware of the significance of these types of decisions begin to see the downsides.
Bart De Wever scores with his book About woke. However, anyone who studies Evras will see that the door is opened for principles that De Wever warns about. Children are not only taught biology, but also issues such as gender fluidity. Sexual education belongs directly in the range of values that a person uses to shape his identity. Should we leave that to the government?
Do we really want value choices and identity formation to become a government task? It is striking that the left is fighting against identity formation by the government through, for example, the Canon of Flanders and the use of the home language on the playground, but now on the side of the compulsory sexual identity chosen by the state.
Trust parents
Values belong in education – and this takes place at home. Even when it concerns values that are no longer widely supported. Only values that violate society's norms should be challenged. For the rest, the government must trust the parents and not distrust them. Otherwise we will end up in a society that has no values left.
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