 "Photo: Edmarc Hedrick/The Daily Texan")
Over four days, UT professors and scholars from the Department of Religious Studies prepared high school teachers to teach a new and controversial addition to the state public school curriculum — the Bible.
During the 2007 legislative session, Gov. Rick Perry signed a bill that requires Old Testament and New Testament history and literature to be added to Texas high school curriculum. The legislation states that all school districts must offer a course as an elective for the 2009-2010 school year if more than 15 students show interest.
“We can’t impart a particular viewpoint on students, but we also must acknowledge that other viewpoints exist and respect that,” said L. Michael White, a UT classics research professor.
The “Teaching the Bible in Texas Public Schools” Summer Institute was hosted by the religious studies department and designed to give teachers the framework to instruct their students about the Bible in an academic and scholarly context.
White, one of the biblical scholars who instructed the class, said the mandate came about without a set curriculum or training for the teachers, so they felt obligated to provide it.
Some critics harshly oppose providing a Bible course in public schools, saying that it would be nearly impossible to keep religious bias out of the classroom.
“Clearly, the motivation is religious. It obviously violates the establishment clause,” said UT philosophy professor Sahotra Sarkar. “There is no question this is motivated by religious extremism.”
On March 5, the American Civil Liberties Union won a lawsuit that challenged the constitutionality of a Bible course that was taught in a West Texas public school. According to the lawsuit, the course promoted religion, which is something the institute is trying to stop in these new course electives.
The institute devoted the first day of the class to First Amendment rights. White stressed that it is essential for the classes to remain unbiased and examine the documents in a literary context.
“There’s a constitutional issue there, and that’s when lawsuits happen,” White said.
Other pitfalls in teaching such a class include upsetting someone who has been taught to interpret the Bible in a certain way according to their tradition, which may not match up with the way it is taught in their class, White said.
The summer institute covered nearly the entire bible in less than a week, as well as the legal dangers that teachers and schools face when discussing what is a very personal subject for some people.
There are no special requirements or training necessary to teach one these classes, noted Kent Richards, executive director of the Society of Biblical Literature and one of the institute’s lecturers. He said the Bible could be a valuable tool to help a well-rounded education if taught properly.
“This is why it’s important to have an 11th and 12th grade bible course to get them to understand the wonderful dynamic between people, cultures and religions in the past,” Richards said in the class on Thursday.
Brant Bird said he enjoyed the summer classes and said they would be very helpful for the class he will be teaching in the upcoming year for the Pleasanton Independent School District. He said he could see some people becoming upset but is not worried since the Legislature backs the courses.
“It’s important. I think the Bible has had influence over so many things in our world today in a non-religious way — like art, movies, literature” Bird said, “It’s the most-sold book; seeing it in a non-religious way is important.”
The instructors said they hope the class will give the teachers a suitable foundation to competently teach students about the texts without infringing on students’ religious beliefs.
“We’re not trying to make them biblical scholars,” Richards said. “We’re trying to help them become intellectually responsible.”
35 comments
Anyway, the majority of Texans are buffoons, and I'm glad I no longer live there.
‘If you want to enjoy life
and see many happy days,
keep your tongue from speaking evil
and your lips from telling lies.
Turn away from evil and do good.
Search for peace, and work to maintain it.’ ” First Peter 3:8-11So now please try and find fault in that.
Please secede from the U.S. You are embarrassing us all.
Thanks.