Bible literacy bill for Alabama draws fire from state school board

[Thom Little]

A bill endorsing a specific elective course on the Bible’s influence on the arts, history and literature has drawn criticism from some state school board members who say the bill would limit the authority of local school boards — an argument dismissed by the bill’s sponsor and other education officials.

House Majority Leader Ken Guin, D-Carbon Hill, has prepared a bill that would authorize public school systems to offer the elective in grades 9-12. The bill specifies the course, titled “The Bible and Its Influence,” will be based on a textbook of the same name published in September by the Bible Literacy Project, a Fairfax, Va.-based nonprofit.

.......

At least three members of the Alabama school board say they support an elective on Bible literacy, which is already offered in a handful of Alabama classrooms, but are against mandating the use of a single textbook. Another member says the board needs more information about the course and the board’s role in the issue.

“That’s not the way our education laws are written,” said Ethel Hall, a Democrat from Birmingham who has served on the State Board of Education for 19 years. “That’s not how it’s supposed to be done.”



http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051216/NEWS02/51216008

[Charlie Brown]

1. What a ridiculous class

This is one of those things that makes me embarrassed to be a Democrat.

Teach your kids religion at church or at home, off my dime.

That said, the fact that there are so many disgreements about how to teach the class and what texts to use is evidence of the inevitable problems that come with teaching religion in public schools. It's wiser to keep religion out.

The Dems are dead wrong in promoting this class.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. I've never heard of any education bill that specifies

the text. I have no problem with elective courses on religion (though it would be nice to see other courses offered on, say, the Upanishads, the Torah, and the Qur'an), but to require only one textbook to be used is showing favoritism not only to one particular publishing house but also to one particular point of view. Better that a course like this have multiple texts, I would think, to give as broad a viewpoint on the Bible as possible.

[oregonindy]

3. If thats the case they should go back to the original greek texts

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5052156

[silverweb]

4. How about just LITERACY first?

First teach them how to read, for pity's sake! What good is "bible literacy" among the illiterate?

:crazy:

[HockeyMom]

5. Any kid going to Catholic School would flunk "Bible Literacy"

Fact. We hardly EVER read the Bible in Catholic School.