Which Bible To Teach in Schools
Friday, May 18, 2007

If you're going to be an advocate of teaching the Bible in schools, as I am, you need to be very careful which curriculum you teach. I've looked at two of the leading curricula in circulation now and find the one from North Carolina to be as biased as many claim. It's really just a fundamentalist tract in disguise. The new book, while it may not be perfect, is much more balanced and interesting, as well being designed by Jews as well as Christians. The WSJ reviews:

In recent years, many prominent educators have urged U.S. public schools to teach the Bible as part of literature or culture classes, contending that students need to understand the book's influence on literature, history and current events. More schools are starting to offer such classes, in some cases with a push from their state legislatures. Georgia last year passed a law providing money to encourage high schools to offer Bible electives. This month, the Texas House of Representatives almost unanimously approved a bill, now in the state Senate, that would offer training to teachers leading classes on the Old and New Testaments.

But the spread of Bible instruction is raising questions about the separation of church and state. That is particularly true in school districts that have adopted the National Council program, one of two competing national curricula now available.

The curriculum sold by the Greensboro, N.C.-based National Council concentrates on the Bible's role as literature and as an influence on American history. Founder Elizabeth Ridenour says that nearly 400 districts have adopted the National Council curriculum since 1992.

A competing multidenominational curriculum is offered by the Bible Literacy Project, a nonprofit group that gathered a board of scholars to write a student text that discusses the Bible's books and their influence on Shakespeare, poetry, art and music. Available for the past year, the textbook has mostly received praise from scholars and critics. Charles Stetson, the project's founder, says it has been adopted by 83 school districts in 30 states.

Labels: Religion in America, The Bible

Posted by B Feiler at 7:03 AM  
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