Last week I spent a day in Austin, Texas, to testify for the second time against the new (and newly named) “Bluebonnet Learning K-5 Reading Language Arts” curriculum. Despite significant opposition, the Bible-infused curriculum was approved, which should be unsurprising…
Proposed new Texas school curriculum infused with Bible stories
A new curriculum under consideration by the Texas Education Agency threatens to turn state schools into Sunday schools and violate the religious freedom rights of children and families, education and religious liberty advocates warned during a recent webinar. The Bible-based…
Christians’ promotion of corporal punishment harms bodies, minds and the gospel
“Spanking? Well, you know, the Bible says, ‘Spare the rod, spoil the child.’” Actually, it doesn’t. The harsh teacher Ichabod Crane in Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow spoke this popular misquotation of Proverbs 13:24. Even the website of…
Oklahoma school board allows nation’s first publicly funded religious charter school, despite legal challenges
Despite widespread opposition, the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board voted 3-2 Oct. 9 to allow the first publicly funded religious charter school in the nation. St. Isidore of Seville Virtual Charter School would be operated by the Catholic Archdiocese…
For the love of literature: How book bans are whitewashing America
It’s back to school time and, in the latest effort of book banning, new state legislation will restrict literature allowed in Texas schools based on a vague rating system about sexual content. House Bill 900, which goes into effect Sept….
In Zimbabwe, churches turn from free schools to lucrative tuition-based schools
Zimbabwe used to be among Africa’s top five most educated nations in terms of literacy and basic education enrollment. Legacy Christian denominations that accompanied colonial subjection in the early 1900s provided the bulk of quality public education for 100 years….
A school administrator reflects on rebuilding relationships between schools and homes
What do the following human interactions have in common? A simple disagreement between two individuals, an intellectual property lawsuit, road rage, marital strife, military conflict. In some context, each is typically an outgrowth of misunderstanding. Some may argue that the…
It’s time to stop the insanity that is killing public education
I am the child of a public schoolteacher. I am the parent of a son who has been a public schoolteacher and who remains a private instructor in a public high school. Many dear friends are public schoolteachers. As a…
The sacred work of white discomfort
In Florida, a state Senate committee wants to make it illegal to cause discomfort to white people. This bill, which reads like a scene from 1984, is a doozy. You can, and should, read the full text of it here. The bill…