Texas ‘Bluebonnet Textbook’ Would Teach Bible-Based Curriculum to Students – Big Vote Coming
The Texas State Board of Education is one step closer to signing off on a new Bible-based curriculum for elementary public schools.
The state’s education board held a preliminary vote Tuesday on its “Bluebonnet” textbook that would provide optional course material for kindergarten through fifth-grade students.
The curriculum was designed with a multi-disciplinary approach that uses reading and language arts lessons to reiterate concepts in other subjects, such as history or social studies, according to the Texas Tribune.
So kindergarteners would learn about the “golden rule” through a lesson on the story of the Good Samaritan, found in the Gospels. Or students would learn about the significant role Jesus played in artwork such as Leonardo da Vinci’s painting “The Last Supper,” a Guardian report explains. A poetry unit for fifth graders would examine the Book of Psalms from the Old Testament alongside poems from Robert Frost and William Carlos Williams.
Adopting the curriculum is optional for schools. However, they would receive additional funding, $60 a student, if the school participates.
Educators, parents, and advocates weighed in Monday at the State Board of Education’s final meeting of the year.
Critics argued the curriculum’s Christian teachings would alienate students of other faiths, while proponents made the case that it would give students a more holistic educational foundation.
Educator Megan Tessler said the lesson plans contradict the public school mission. “This curriculum fails to meet the standard of an honest, secular one,” Tessler said. “Public schools are meant to educate, not indoctrinate.”
Others strongly backed the idea.
“Parents and teachers want a return to excellence,” said Cindy Asmussen, testifying Monday. “Stories and concepts in the Bible have been common for hundreds of years,” and that, she said, is a core part of classical learning.
The second-largest teacher’s union in the country also weighed in.
The Texas chapter of the American Federation of Teachers said in a statement that the curriculum “violate(s) the separation of church and state and the academic freedom of our classroom” as well as “the sanctity of the teaching profession.”
The program was designed by the Texas Education Agency earlier this year after the passage of a law giving it a mandate to create its own free textbook.
The agency said in a statement in May that the materials “were developed using the best evidence from cognitive science to ensure teachers have access to quality, on-grade-level materials that enable teachers to focus on delivering the highest-quality instruction and providing differentiated supports to students.”
The proposal to incorporate religious teaching in Texas public schools is similar to other efforts around the country to allow students to learn about the Bible’s impact on history and civilization.
As CBN News reported, Louisiana is taking steps to display a Ten Commandments poster in classrooms. That effort is being disputed in the courts.
And Oklahoma is looking to reintroduce the Bible in public school classrooms. Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters is spearheading the effort which is also facing legal challenges.
“We’re going to continue to stand up against these radical left-wing groups and say, listen, the Bible, in its historical context, belongs in the classroom,” Walters told CBN News. “And frankly, what have we seen since the Bible was removed from the classroom? Society, in almost every way, has gone downhill.”
Walters believes that bringing biblical principles back into Oklahoma classrooms will reshape the state’s education system and restore foundational values.
“We’re not pushing individuals to be Christian. We’re not pushing a religion on them. What we are doing is making sure that our kids understand American history, and that is essential for our kids to understand what made America great,” he said.
The Texas State Board of Education will have a final vote on their textbook Friday.
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