Out: “Romeo & Juliet.” In: “The Definition of Love,” from 1 Corinthians.
The Texas Board of Education voted last week to require the state’s estimated 5.5 million schoolkids to read passages from the Bible. It’s thought to be the first time a state has done so, as this is usually the province of a school district, a specific school or an individual educator.
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Here are three questions about what the board did and some attempted answers.
What Passages and When?
Biblical passages – and adaptations – are sprinkled throughout the mandatory new curriculum.
In second grade, for example, kids will learn about David and Goliath. In third grade, students will read a children’s adapted version of “Daniel and the Lions’ Den” from the Christian Broadcasting Network. The following year, they will be assigned “The Necessity of Humility” from the Book of Luke. The Book of Job, Adam and Eve, the parable of the Prodigal Son and parts of the story of Moses are also listed for various grades.
Many readings are drawn from the King James Version of the Bible – a mainstream Protestant version – but others dictate they should be read from the English Standard Version popular with evangelicals or the New International Reader’s Version. Implementation of the list will start in 2030.
Is This Controversial?
This is America, and we’re talking about a mandate to teach Bible passages, so of course it’s controversial. The vote by the Republican-dominated board went along party lines.
Critics have condemned the decision as stripping away the authority of school districts and teachers to assign texts – they still can, but those assignments will have to be on top of the required texts. Others have said the program infringes on the separation of church and state. Still more have noted that no other religious texts are on the list.
“If we’re going to look at religious texts and their influence, let’s look at them as a body of work,” one teacher told the Houston Chronicle. “We are not going to isolate them because you don’t understand them out of context.”
Among the big questions: How will the biblical passages actually be taught? Will there be court challenges? Can your average teacher do scriptural interpretation?
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So far, courts have let stand the state’s mandate that the Ten Commandments be displayed in classrooms.
And the new rule has its defenders.
Julie Pickren, a Republican member of the education board, told the Texas Tribune the readings are meant to provide “important insight into the moral and philosophical traditions that have shaped Western civilization.”
“A classical approach to education, one that emphasizes the careful study of primary historical documents, plays a vital role in developing strong critical thinking skills in students,” Pickren said. “When students engage directly with original writings, speeches, sermons, and foundational texts, they can evaluate ideas and develop a deeper understanding of the principles that have shaped the USA and Texas.”
What Else Will Texas Read?
The Bible mandates have drawn all the headlines, but the passages are typically just one requirement of more than a dozen for each grade. A few classics of high school English – at least, they were back in my day – are missing from the list. Romeo and Juliet? The Great Gatsby? Death of a Salesman? To Kill a Mockingbird? Nope.
But a quick stroll through what is on (it starts on page 44) might make you nostalgic:
In some cases, there appears to be a deliberate twinning of a biblical passage and a work of literature. “The Definition of Love” appears next to Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice.”
Whether requiring kids to read the Bible is a good thing is, as Austen might have said, far from a truth universally acknowledged. Let’s see whether Texas pulls this off. And whether other states follow suit.
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