The Scottish National Party (SNP) has been slammed over guidance which claims that supposedly “offensive” terminology like “British values” could inspire terror attacks.
“The concept [of British values] can cause offence and could play into the hands of groups who seek to assert that there is an inherent conflict between being British and being Muslim”, Scottish teachers have been told. Defending the move, a spokesman said using the “wrong” words in the classroom could “amplify the rhetoric used by terrorists and violent extremists.”
UK Security Minister Ben Wallace accused Education Scotland of “putting PC [politically correct] politics before children’s safety” when the directive — which stresses the “importance of using appropriate and accurate” terms when discussing terror — came to light at the weekend.
Drawn up in partnership with the Scottish government, the Education Scotland document provides what it calls an “overview” of language which should and should not be used during classroom discussions on terror attacks and violent extremism, reports The Sun.
Featuring a list of terms divided into columns labelled “safe” and “problematic”, the Holyrood guide urged teachers to “think carefully before selecting the right words”.
With “British values” appearing in the “problematic” column, juxtaposed with the “safe” term “shared values”, educators learn from the paper that the former term could “cause offence”.
Teachers should refer to “shared values” rather than British because pupils must be moulded into “responsible citizens who respect other people, different beliefs and cultures”, said the Scottish document, which called to mind the SNP regime’s enthusiasm for PISA’s announcement that international education rankings would begin testing for how well schools are “nurturing” globalist attitudes.
Education spokesman for the Scottish Conservatives, Liz Smith, warned that parents would be “astonished and very angry” at the edicts, asserting that “British values are part of our history and are important to this country’s culture”.
According to official SNP advice, it is ‘dangerous’ for educators to refer to the word Islamist — frequently used to refer to fundamentalist adherence to Islam — as it risks “non-expert” audience linking the phenomena to ordinary Muslims in some way.
“All audiences will make a connection to the Muslim faith. This phrase is best avoided,” the literature warned, recommending that teachers instead incorporate the term “Al-Qaeda-Inspired Violent Extremists” into their vocabulary of “safe language” regarding terror attacks.
Minister Wallace, a former member of Scottish Parliament who worked on Britain’s supposed anti-extremism Prevent programme, told The Telegraph: “It’s shameful that people should put PC politics before children’s safety
“And anyway, what’s the difference between Scottish and British values?” he asked.
A Scottish government spokesman replied to the row insisting: “We encourage the use of appropriate and accurate language as academic research and feedback from communities suggests that the wrong language can cause confusion, unnecessary offence and – in the worst cases – amplify the divisive rhetoric used by terrorists and violent extremists.
“Our partners working to deliver Prevent in Scotland identified the need for guidance around language and terminology and this was developed in close consultation with communities, stakeholders and academics.”
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