(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Texas school board approves ‘optional’ curriculum incorporating Bible lessons for K-5 classes [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-11-22 On Friday, Texas education authorities decreed that the state’s youngest students will be involuntary victims of Christian proselytizing. CNN reported the news thus: Public schools in Texas now have the option to use a new, state-written curriculum infused with Bible stories after the state’s school board voted in favor of the material on Friday. A slim majority of the board’s 15 members – eight to seven – voted to keep the Bluebonnet Learning material on a list of K-5 reading and English language arts materials for potential use in the 2025-26 school year. The material was developed by the Texas Education Agency, a state body overseeing public school education, headed by Texas Commissioner of Education Mike Morath. Predictably, First Amendment lawyers and concerned citizens questioned the constitutionality of the decision. Parents from different faiths criticized the selection of one religion over others as the source of instruction for impressionable minds. Ironically, one parent, Sharyn Vane used ‘the ‘parental rights’ argument favored by religious fundamentalists to support her position that this academic religious overreach was not acceptable. She said, “As a Jewish parent, of course, we taught our kids our faith at home, and I think no matter your faith, the parents are the ones who need to be teaching those lessons.” Vane is fighting an uphill battle against Texas’s religious fundamentalists. Christians in positions of power ignore the book they would foist on others. In this case, scripture mandates that they not be hypocrites. Here’s the Bible on that subject: “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.“ — Matthew 23:27-28 I am sure that the 18% of Texans who admit to being religious ‘nones’ also have thoughts on the matter. Supporters of the measure pointed out it was voluntary. Under Texas law, individual school districts design their own curricula. Indeed, the new Christian-themed material is optional. But schools that use it will get cash. Schools that do not, will not. I am no expert on Texas public school finances. But I’m guessing that free money will get the school administrators’ attention. For every student, a school district will get $40, plus $20 for ‘printing costs’. Why? If the material is so wonderful, why do the authorities need to bribe schools to use it? Staci Childs, a board member who voted against Bluebonnet, put her finger on the reason for this largesse. She told CNN on Friday that although the curriculum is optional, she expects most districts will adopt it given the “huge financial implications” of the incentive. Tru dat. Gov. Ted Abbott weighed in with the evangelical’s standard lie that the Founders were establishing a religious (he means Christian) nation. In a news release he said: “The materials will also allow our students to better understand the connection of history, art, community, literature, and religion on pivotal events like the signing of the U.S. Constitution, the Civil Rights Movement, and the American Revolution. Let’s unpack that nonsense. The American Revolution was fought over taxation, representation, justice, and self-determination. The Declaration of Independence gives 27 reasons for “one people [the colonists] to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another.” None of those reasons had anything to do with religion The Civil Rights movement was grounded in religion. But so was the opposition to it — echoing the religious justifications for both slavery and abolition. I doubt that dichotomy will be found in the Texas curriculum. Lastly, the Constitution does not mention God, Jesus Christ, or Christianity. It does contain the word “religion” — but only twice. And it is hardly supportive. In Article 6, it exempts government officeholders from a religious test. In the First Amendment, it forbids the government from establishing a religion or interfering in the free exercise of any religion (ie it says Christianity should be granted no more weight than any other religion) The curriculum’s designers tried to blunt criticism by insisting that their material was omni-religious and did not play favorites. However, the preponderance of Christian allusions left no doubt that Christianity was ‘primus inter pares’. Instruction on the ‘Golden Rule’ alluded to the universality of “Do unto others … “. But the concept is taught using Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount. And a first-grade unit on “sharing stories” would teach “The Parable of the Prodigal Son” from the New Testament. American schools are not doing a bang-up job teaching America’s youth. The reasons for that are way beyond my understanding. However, academic authorities should get the teaching of ‘reading, ‘riting, ‘rithmetic squared away instead of ramming religion down kids' throats. Isn’t that what churches are supposed to do? It strikes me as odd that kids are taught the difference between fact and opinion in first grade — and then, as far as I can tell, never taught critical thinking again. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/11/22/2288093/-Texas-school-board-approves-optional-curriculum-incorporating-Bible-lessons-for-K-5-classes?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=latest_community&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/