What Should Our Children Learn in School

I have not posted in a while, because I am in the process of selling my home, finishing up school, having a baby, changing jobs etc. But here is a short essay I did on Texas education. The audience is my instructor, and covers questions in regard to the State Board of Education and educational issues in Texas. 

What Should Our Children Learn in School

The Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) is an elected body by voters in each district who determines what curriculum is to be learned and how money is allocated. This system replaced the preexisting SBOE which consisted of nine appointed representatives. (Collier, Galatas and Harrelson-Stephens)

Periodically the SBOE formulates new curriculum, textbooks and their content. It is at these times which political agendas are pushed, especially in the social studies curriculum. One example of this is a post by Liberty Institute recommending citizens to contact their local representative to prevent “the Liberal takeover of Texas Education!” Here is an excerpt from one of their blogs decrying the removal of Thomas Jefferson from the social studies curriculum and accusing the ACLU as an antagonist:

Do you want to take a stand for accurate history and the future of Texas school children? We want to help you make a difference.

Fringe liberal groups and media are working overtime to spread misinformation, hoping to convince Texans that the Board has completely removed Thomas Jefferson from the social studies standards (Jefferson is actually more prominent in the U.S. History standards than anyone else except George Washington) and not fairly representing minorities (approved standards actually contain more minority representation than ever before).

The ACLU and others are using misinformation to force their ideology into the curriculum and force the State Board of Education (SBOE) to delay the final vote on the social studies standards until after the November elections, hoping there will be more liberal representation on the Board. The Board has been working on social studies for over 14 months now, and it’s time to vote! (Texas Values)

A more recent issue is the revision of Textbooks to include Moses as an influence of the Founding Fathers. Some critics question the validity of this statement and say it is an exaggeration — an underhanded attempt to inculcate Judeo-Christian thought into the curriculum. (The Associated Press) These changes fall in the wake of a 2010 ruling of a then new conservative curriculum that allowed Republicans to retain long held ideas of Moses’ influence on the systems of law. (The Associated Press) Other issues with texts include the impetuses of the Civil War, as well as racial, slavery, and climate change omissions in the texts. (Isensee)

Even more controversial is the problem of evolution as the standard theory of explaining life to be taught in public schools. This is a problem in a state in which the majority: 51% doubt the theory of evolution. (Terkel) In 2013 the SBOE approved new science textbooks that teach evolution. (Klein) This begs the question, why is evolution —which is not the majority opinion — being taught in public schools? Texas Freedom Network mentioned that the changes were a result of “last minute [hijacking]” of special interest groups. (Klein)

Without going into great detail about the controversial topic of evolution, I feel that it’s necessary to briefly state that there are grave weaknesses to the theory of evolution which are enumerated well by the Kolbe Center, who also show that it is a bad/non-reproducible science. (Kolbe Center) In addition to this, in no way is evolution nor theistic evolution compatible with the Genesis account of creation, thus prohibiting Christians to adopt it. (Franklin) In essence most theories of evolution presuppose Adam as representing a group of first parents (polygenism). If this assumption is granted, then:

[N]ot everyone would be tainted by original sin. [Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned…(Romans 5:11)] There would be millions of other people without the taint of original sin. I know this goes without saying, but original sin must be believed or you have no need for sacrifice or a savior and our faith is truncated. There are few evolutionists who believe in monogenism, they adhere to a group theory of evolution. If they didn't, they would be positing a theory which by happenstance, one woman appeared on the evolutionary pathway and one man, they happen to find each other and then reproduce; the chances of this are unbelievable. Few if any evolutionary theories are compatible with this orthodox belief and primarily Genesis. (Franklin)

While liberals may decry the inaccuracy of Moses as an early influence to democracy as bad science; they negate to notice the wobbly foundation of evolution and natural selection as sound science. The evidence for Creationism requires a modicum of faith and likewise so does the theory of evolution, both have marvelous claims: special creation of species from an omnipotent God and contrarily, atoms against all odds, come together form molecules, which in turn form proteins; those in turn under perfect conditions form microorganisms, etc. Although I officially don’t recommend it, but for inclusions sake, a solution is to include both in the curriculum.

Although the Texas SBOE have been involved in many controversial actions, Common Core hasn’t been one of them; in fact, “the state legislature in 2013 prohibited Texas from adopting Common Core or using Common Core standards in its classrooms. (Collier, Galatas and Harrelson-Stephens 457) Critics of Common Core attack the instructional material that must be aligned with Common Core. (Weiss) 132 Catholic college professors, enumerated their issues with Common Core in a signed letter to their Bishops in order to curtail its adoption in private Catholic Schools across the country. (Bradley) They say, “[W]e are convinced that Common Core is so deeply flawed that it should not be adopted by Catholic schools which have yet to approve it, and that those schools which have already endorsed it should seek an orderly withdrawal now.” (Bradley) They quote educational experts who have studied it closely and say it is a “step backward”, and students “will not be prepared for authentic college work;” notwithstanding the fact that supporters of Common Core admit “it is geared to prepare children only for community-college-level studies.” (Bradley) Supporters claim that it will prepare students for college and careers, but Bradley et al. judge Common Core to be a recipe for standardized workforce preparation as opposed to preparing students for “a life of the imagination, of the spirit, and of deep appreciation for beauty, goodness, truth, and faith.” (Bradley) I understand that Bradley et al. represent only a small portion of the opposition to Common Core, but I believe they capture the heart of the problem.

With all the issues mentioned above it is not surprising that parents have opted for alternatives to their children’s education. One of those options that has become very popular is homeschooling. From 2003 -2013, the number of children being homeschooled has increased by 61.8%. (Jeffrey) Certain patterns were also noted by the Department of Education: The more educated the parent, the more likely they are to homeschool (I can’t help mention here, that my wife and I homeschool our 6 children) and the majority are middle class families. (Jeffrey) Homeschooling has become a refuge for parents who want to avoid opposing ideas and even unnatural influences to their children. Especially when, in the small town of Lumberton, Texas, a male teacher — who signs his name as Mrs. Klug and wears woman’s clothing —is allowed to teach young impressionable children. (The Other McCain)

Aside from mentally confused teachers, Homeschoolers can protect their children from a milieu of other problem curricula ranging from explicit sex education classes, evolutionary theory, climate change, and gender studies; and potential behavioral temptations such as drugs and premature sexual relations. But right along with these protections, homeschooling provides superior education with homeschoolers performing in the top percentiles on standardized tests. (Rorate Caeli) Homeschooling is not for everyone, but it does afford one-on-one education with children and parents are able to be more involved relationally with their children —accommodating to their specific needs more easily than a teacher with 20 something other kids. Lastly, the socialization complaint from naysayers of homeschoolers is simply founded upon absolutely zero data.

I am a product of public education in Texas and although some come out of it doing very well, I feel that I could have gotten a better education. This is not entirely due to the curriculum or the teachers, but primarily because my parents did not push me hard and hanging with the wrong crowd; this is the case for most kids. It is rare to find a child who is interested in hitting the books; they would rather play games and goof off; this is natural. If we can figure out how to motivate parents as well as kids to take a more active role in their education, then I believe scores would greatly increase. Funding and having resources are very important, but I think too much emphasis is put on underfunded school districts and even curricula. Having laptops and new books do not make you smarter, love of truth and proper motivations do.

Works Cited

Bradley, Gerard V. "Letter to Catholic Bishops to Oppose Common Core." Notre Dame : University of Notre Dame School of Law, 16 October 2013. Letter. <http://files.meetup.com/1387375/Letter%20to%20Catholic%20Bishops%20on%20the%20Common%20Core%20F.pdf>.

Collier, Ken, Steven Galatas and Julie Harrelson-Stephens. Lone Star Politics: Tradition and Transformation in Texas. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications, 2015. Print.

Franklin, Jeremy. Theistic Evolution: A Contradiction to The Genesis Account. 23 August 2015. Web. 22 November 2015. <http://thetripletiara.blogspot.com/2015/08/theistic-evolution-contradiction-to.html>.

Isensee, Laura. How Textbooks Can Teach Different Versions of History. 13 July 2015. Web. 22 November 2015. <http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2015/07/13/421744763/how-textbooks-can-teach-different-versions-of-history>.

Jeffrey, Terence P. 1,773,000: Homeschooled Children Up 61.8% in 10 Years. 19 May 2015. Web. 22 November 2015. <http://cnsnews.com/news/article/terence-p-jeffrey/1773000-homeschooled-children-618-10-years>.

Klein, Rebecca. Texas Oks Controversial Environmental Science Textbook. 22 November 2013. Web. 22 November 2015. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/22/texas-environmental-science-textbook_n_4326160.html>.

Kolbe Center. The Kolbe Center for the Study of Creation. 2015. Web. 22 November 2015. <http://kolbecenter.org/>.

Rorate Caeli. Homeschooling Growing Seven Times Faster Than Public School Enrollment. 8 June 2013. Web. 22 November 2015. <http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2013/06/homeschooling-growing-seven-times.html>.

Terkel, Amanda. Poll: Large Number of Texans Doubt the Theory of Evolution, Believe in Human Dinosaur Coexistance. 19 February 2010. Web. 22 November 2015. <http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2010/02/19/82946/texas-evolution/>.

Texas Values. Stop the Liberal Takeover of Texas Education! Take Action! 5 May 2010. Web. 22 November 2015. <https://veneremurcernui.wordpress.com/2010/05/10/contact-state-board-of-education-for-improved-curricula/>.

The Associated Press. Texas Approves Disputed History Texts for School. 22 Novermber 2014. Web. 22 November 2015. <http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/23/us/texas-approves-disputed-history-texts-for-schools.html?_r=1>.

The Other McCain. Texas Tranny Teacher. 9 April 2014. Web. 22 November 2015. <http://theothermccain.com/2014/04/09/texas-tranny-teacher/>.

Weiss, Jeffrey. What Texans Need to Know About Common Core Education Standards. 23 June 2014. Web. 22 November 2015. <http://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/headlines/20140623-what-texans-need-to-know-about-common-core-education-standards.ece>.