Texas Public Schools Teaching Creationism, 'End Times

[doggie]

well we knew some of this was going on but this bad? another reason why maybe texas should suseed from the us.

Students in Texas' public schools are still learning that the Bible provides scientific evidence that the Earth is 6,000 years old, that astronauts have discovered "a day missing in space in elapsed time" that affirms biblical stories of the sun standing still and moving backwards, and that the United States was founded as a Christian nation based on biblical Christian principles. As more Texas schools are teaching Bible courses, many still fail to adhere to guidelines outlined in House Bill 1287, passed in 2007 to improve the academic quality of elective Bible courses while protecting the religious freedom of students and families, according to a new report by the Texas Freedom Network Education Fund. The study covered the state's 57 districts and three charter schools offering Bible courses in the 2011-12 academic year. Among the findings from "Reading, Writing & Religion II: Texas Public School Bible courses in 2011-2010," students are being taught:

"The Bible is the written word of God… The Bible is united in content because there is no contradictions in the writing [sic]. The reason for this is because the Bible is written under God's direction and inspiration."

"Giving God his rightful place in the national life of this country has provided a rich heritage for all its citizens."

"Christ's resurrection was an event that occurred in time and space -- that it was, in reality, historical and not mythological (cf. 2 Pet. 1:16)."

"Survival of the Jewish nation is one of the miracles of history and her greatest agony is yet to come."

"The first time the Lord gathered his people back was after the Babylonian captivity. The second time the Lord will gather his people back will be at the end of the age.

"Sad to say mainstream anti-God media do not portray these true facts [of Moses and the Red Sea crossing] in the light of faith but prefer to sceptically [sic] doubt such archaeological proofs of the veracity & historicity of the Biblical account, one of the most accurate history books in the world[.]

" Students are also reportedly being taught the theology of the "end times" and that they maybe living in the last days. “We knew that this was going to be an argument,†Rob Eissler, the former chair of the state House Public Education Committee, told the Austin American-Statesman. “So the approach we took on the Public Education Committee was to make the Bible study course a real course [and] the [Texas Education Agency] would develop a curriculum for it.†But a letter from Eissler to the TEA said the curriculum they ultimately developed was too vague and failed to include mention of specific religious texts. The broad standards were therefore weak and could not properly prepare educators for unbiased coursework, the Texas Freedom Network said. Although some Texas districts do adhere to appropriate and merely academic study of the Bible in their courses, most still continue to ignore the law. Mark Chancey, a professor of religious studies at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, says Texas public schools must take the study of the Bible's influence as rigidly and seriously as they do science or history. "But the evidence shows that Texas isn't giving the study of the Bible the respect it deserves," Chancey said in a statement last week. "Academically, many of these classes lack rigor and substance, and some seem less interested in cultivating religious literacy than in promoting religious beliefs. Their approach puts their school districts in legal jeopardy and their taxpayers in financial jeopardy. The Texas State Board of Education in 2010 also adopted a resolution that sought to limit references to Islam in Texas textbooks, claiming that the materials were "tainted" with "pro-Islamic, anti-Christian distortions. The Texas Freedom Network's findings come as Arkansas state Rep. Denny Altes introduced a bill in his home state that would allow the state's public school districts to adopt a similar elective curriculum for pure academic study of the Bible.The course would "consist of a nonsectarian, nonreligious academic study of the Bible and its influence on literature, art, music, culture and politics" and would "be taught in an objective and non devotional manner with no attempt made to indoctrinate students as to either the truth or falsity of the biblical materials or texts from other religions or cultural traditions."

[ILoveJellybeans]

Those poor kids. I think all kids have a right to an unbiased education. Way to dumb down your state Texas. I think if I lived there and had a kid, that would be a good enough reason to homeschool.

[Fargood]

Oh my God. If I had kids in the Texas school system, my head would explode right now.

[Turtle]

How embarrasing, for fuck's sake. Not all Texans are morons, I promise.

I'm in Texas and we are considering homeschool or private school. It's not something I ever in a million years thought I'd consider. But recently, it's something my husband and I are talking about. This is just one of the reasons.

[DefraudedbyGothard]

Those poor kids. I think all kids have a right to an unbiased education. Way to dumb down your state Texas. I think if I lived there and had a kid, that would be a good enough reason to homeschool.

Don't get your nickers in a twist. The article states in the beginning that they are elective courses. Further down it reports that because the curriculum is not geared toward religious literacy and is basically religious gobbledygook the school districts/taxpayers are in possible violation of the law.

And don't throw the "I would homeschool" shit card around. I homeschooled my kid from age 4 all the way through and she is now a sophmore in college. It was no walk in the park. IMHO :character-beavisbutthead:

Also, Texas has many very good public schools.

[Dev83]

Don't get your nickers in a twist. The article states in the beginning that they are elective courses. Further down it reports that because the curriculum is not geared toward religious literacy and is basically religious gobbledygook the school districts/taxpayers are in possible violation of the law.

And don't throw the "I would homeschool" shit card around. I homeschooled my kid from age 4 all the way through and she is now a sophmore in college. It was no walk in the park. IMHO :character-beavisbutthead:

Also, Texas has many very good public schools.

Calm your britches lol

I think homeschool is a viable alternative if you are not happy withthe quality of education where you live. not sure how that is offensive.

Also, this is just the tip of the iceberg of crazy in TX public schools. The Texas Board of Education has been approving more and more conservative and whitewashed textbooks and curriculumn for YEARS now.

TX ranks 44th in public education - hardly a great school system. Additionally, Nationally, Texas students rank 49th in the nation on the verbal portion and 46th on the math section of the SAT college preparatory exam.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/2 ... 84697.html

[GolightlyGrrl]

So interesting this topic has been brought up. Last night I watched a documentary on PBS's "Independent Lens" series called "Revisionaries" and the it discussed this topic.

http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/revisionaries/

If any of you are able to catch this I hope you watch it. But be forewarned; it will seriously piss you off.

[Dev83]

So interesting this topic has been brought up. Last night I watched a documentary on PBS's "Independent Lens" series called "Revisionaries" and the it discussed this topic.

http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/revisionaries/

If any of you are able to catch this I hope you watch it. But be forewarned; it will seriously piss you off.

Ohhhh I need to watch this. Looks so good/enraging. I love a documentary that pisses me off and makes me want to do something to change what is happening.

[GolightlyGrrl]

Ohhhh I need to watch this. Looks so good/enraging. I love a documentary that pisses me off and makes me want to do something to change what is happening.

Yes, the fundies on the board had no problem shoving their brand of Christianity down people's throats. They were truly arrogant and had absolutely no respect for others. The contempt and condescension they showed towards the board members who didn't line up 100% with their views was so loathesome. These fuckers have no manners and no sense of character.

The person this documentary focuses on the most is Don McElroy. He doesn't just shove his fundie-brand of Christianity down the throats of his fellow board members; he also shoves his views down the throats of his patients (he's a dentist).

[Dev83]

Yes, the fundies on the board had no problem shoving their brand of Christianity down people's throats. They were truly arrogant and had absolutely no respect for others. The contempt and condescension they showed towards the board members who didn't line up 100% with their views was so disrespectful. These fuckers have no manners and no sense of character.

The person this documentary focuses on the most is Don McElroy. He doesn't just shove his fundie-brand of Christianity down the throats of his fellow board members; he also shoves his views down the throats of his patients (he's a dentist).

Nothing scares me more than fundies in any kind of medical or science based profession. If you hate science and its findings, stay the hell away from the sciences as a career. And stay the hell away from my teeth!

[jessablessa4realz]

Ohhhh I need to watch this. Looks so good/enraging. I love a documentary that pisses me off and makes me want to do something to change what is happening.

I had seen this not that long ago and I was speechless.

[longskirtlotsakids]

I saw how he sung Biblw songs while drilling. That tells me he is not concentrating...

[carson]

Calm your britches lol

I think homeschool is a viable alternative if you are not happy withthe quality of education where you live. not sure how that is offensive.

Also, this is just the tip of the iceberg of crazy in TX public schools. The Texas Board of Education has been approving more and more conservative and whitewashed textbooks and curriculumn for YEARS now.

TX ranks 44th in public education - hardly a great school system. Additionally, Nationally, Texas students rank 49th in the nation on the verbal portion and 46th on the math section of the SAT college preparatory exam.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/2 ... 84697.html

Most of the people on the Texas Board of Education are fundies who homeschool their kids. It's totally messed up.

HOWEVER, as someone who went to twelve years of Texas public school, I can affirm that Texas was actually one of the first states in the nation to mandate that only evolution be taught in biology classes and they still adhere to that, regardless of whatever these schools are trying to get away with in electives.

[Anxious Girl]

Linkage please?

[FairyPrincessK]

I graduated from High School in Texas just over ten years ago. While there was certainly an environment of religious bias in the school (I knew most of my teachers privately thought I was going to hell and they found my questions and arguments upsetting) we didn't learn anything outright like this. My curriculum in HS was somewhat modified as I was an IB student, but to be honest, we never really touched any of these issues. I don't know if it is because it just wasn't covered in the years I went to school in texas or if teachers used their discretion to stay away from loaded topics like this. What I do know is in my biology class there were only six girls (it was an advanced IB class) our teacher was fairly liberal and told us about using birth control to control menstruation while she went on an extended cross country bike ride. My guess is that most of these issues never actually come up in a classroom unless a particular teacher makes a point of it. I definitely don't think that is an excuse--but I do think it is an interesting facet of the conversation.

[Dev83]

Most of the people on the Texas Board of Education are fundies who homeschool their kids. It's totally messed up.

HOWEVER, as someone who went to twelve years of Texas public school, I can affirm that Texas was actually one of the first states in the nation to mandate that only evolution be taught in biology classes and they still adhere to that, regardless of whatever these schools are trying to get away with in electives.

The issue is relatively new though. I think the ultra conservative board has only been in place since 2006ish? And they are making changes to actual core curriculum like science and history, not just electives. While certain teachers will fight this and teach a well rounded curriculum, it doesn't change the fact that the text books are horrible and many teachers will teach only what they are supposed too. And it is scary.

[latraviata]

Is there no law against it? An approved obligatory curriculum for at least public schools?

[Dev83]

Is there no law against it? An approved obligatory curriculum for at least public schools?

I think they just have to cover certain subjects and events but there is no specific way they have to teach them nationally. That is state by state.

[FairyPrincessK]

Latraviata--curriculum laws are dictated at the state rather than federal level. In many states (and unless it has changed this includes Texas) that power is further devolved to the district level with the only check on it being state-mandated standardized testing. Districts often don't have a set curriculum either, although they generally do most of the purchasing of materials and often try to minimize differences between schools. This happening in Texas is particularly worrying because most textbooks in the US are produced in Texas and California, so whatever Texas is doing is getting published in textbooks. There have been some interesting court cases in which particular aspects of a curriculum have been deemed unconstitutional, but not many. It is often strange to me that the UK has a standardized curriculum (although Scotland has its own due to devolution) but it certainly curtails issues like this.

[latraviata]

Latraviata--curriculum laws are dictated at the state rather than federal level. In many states (and unless it has changed this includes Texas) that power is further devolved to the district level with the only check on it being state-mandated standardized testing. Districts often don't have a set curriculum either, although they generally do most of the purchasing of materials and often try to minimize differences between schools. This happening in Texas is particularly worrying because most textbooks in the US are produced in Texas and California, so whatever Texas is doing is getting published in textbooks. There have been some interesting court cases in which particular aspects of a curriculum have been deemed unconstitutional, but not many. It is often strange to me that the UK has a standardized curriculum (although Scotland has its own due to devolution) but it certainly curtails issues like this.

The Netherlands have standardised curricula and they apply for all schools, public, private, religious or whatever 'flavour'.

[darareaksmey]

Is there no law against it? An approved obligatory curriculum for at least public schools?

The particular class in the OP is what's called an elective. That means it's not required. Instead, it's on a list with many other classes that students can choose from in order to earn enough credits to graduate. The required courses (in my state, which isn't Texas) are things like 4 years of English, three of maths, three of science, three of social studies/history/citizenship, one of fine arts, one of physical education...I think that's about right. But that only adds up to 15 credits, and you need more to graduate, so you can take electives to earn the extra credits beyond what the required classes give you. Some kids take a fine arts class every year, some kids take foreign language, some take more career-oriented classes like horticulture or business law. It just depends what you're interested in or what you see your future as.

I imagine a lot of kids are pressured by their parents and pastors to take a bible class like this. It reinforces what they hear from the pulpit each week. God forbid they should be presented with a contrary view of what the Bible says or provees or doesn't prove. A class like that described in the Arkansas bill upthread--if it actually adhered to that standard--wouldn't meet with a whole lot of approval from fundy parents. Why teach the Bible as myth, or as part of a class on sacred literature from around the world, when we all know that God himself wrote it with a Sharpie, in King James English, on polished granite tablets?? ;)

If I were a parent in Texas I would be concerned that this class, as described, was even offered as an elective. Does the school system have electives on, say, Marxist theory or the Q'uran or environmental studies? If you are teaching this kind of Biblical interpretation of the Bible as trufax, how would be it be any less valid to teach the Q'uran the same way, or to present the achievements of Marxism or the validity of global warming? Yet I'm guessing these latter studies would be run outta town on a rail along with whoever proposes them.

[2xx1xy1JD]

Don't get your nickers in a twist. The article states in the beginning that they are elective courses. Further down it reports that because the curriculum is not geared toward religious literacy and is basically religious gobbledygook the school districts/taxpayers are in possible violation of the law.

And don't throw the "I would homeschool" shit card around. I homeschooled my kid from age 4 all the way through and she is now a sophmore in college. It was no walk in the park. IMHO :character-beavisbutthead:

Also, Texas has many very good public schools.

Elective or not, the problem isn't "just" that these course promote a specific religious doctrine (thereby violating the separation of church and state).

It's also a problem if the approach is actively anti-intellectual, distorts facts and discourages questioning and logic. In a public school setting, where it is not obvious that the context is "we are starting from certain assumptions that are based in faith", students may actually think that this is an acceptable way to make an argument.

I've studied the Bible in secular university courses. I suspect that most fundies would NOT want their children to take such courses, because they treat the Bible like any other text. In fact, I remember half of my class dropping the course on the first day, right after the professor said, "we will be analyzing the Bible as historians, which means starting from the assumption that it was a text produced by humans."

I wouldn't have the same problem with Marxist theory (or radical free-market theory, for that matter), because you don't have the same issue of anti-intellectualism. It would only be a problem if kids were told that the teachings of Marx were so sacred that they could not be questioned at all (with a threat to send the questioning student and their families to a forced labor camp).

[Dev83]

And, to be clear, I have no issue with a bible elective, but it should be "bible as literature" or a world religions class. Not "This is my interpretation of the bible and it is the only right interpretation"

[darareaksmey]

Elective or not, the problem isn't "just" that these course promote a specific religious doctrine (thereby violating the separation of church and state).

It's also a problem if the approach is actively anti-intellectual, distorts facts and discourages questioning and logic. In a public school setting, where it is not obvious that the context is "we are starting from certain assumptions that are based in faith", students may actually think that this is an acceptable way to make an argument.

I've studied the Bible in secular university courses. I suspect that most fundies would NOT want their children to take such courses, because they treat the Bible like any other text. In fact, I remember half of my class dropping the course on the first day, right after the professor said, "we will be analyzing the Bible as historians, which means starting from the assumption that it was a text produced by humans."

I wouldn't have the same problem with Marxist theory (or radical free-market theory, for that matter), because you don't have the same issue of anti-intellectualism. It would only be a problem if kids were told that the teachings of Marx were so sacred that they could not be questioned at all (with a threat to send the questioning student and their families to a forced labor camp).[/quote]

The bolded makes my point. The fundy parents would not want other subject that they consider of questionable value taught in the way that the Texas districts are allowing the Bible to be taught.

[Dev83]

Could you imagine the shitstorm that would occur if a Koran class was offered?