"Thump Thump"
Thump Thump
For years, Evangelical Christians have tried to find some way of instituting their biblical philosophies and ideals into public, or better yet, government / tax payer funded schools. They attempted mandating prayer in schools. They recently tried to masking the teaching of creationist theory into science classes as “Intelligent Design”. Both failed. And we can thank our founding fathers for not allowing that to happen.
The most recent holy roller invasion is now occurring in the Georgia State Senate thanks to some Senate Democrats. The idea they are wasting tax payer dollars on would authorize schools to offer an elective course on … the Bible and its influences on various subjects ranging from art and music to culture and politics. Sen. Tim Golden of Valdosta, Sen. Doug Stoner of Smyrna and Sen. Kasim Reed of Atlanta, all Democrats, are leading the charge for this measure. Oh.. and it just so happens to be an election year too. Can we say pandering? Naturally, the Republicans dont say that this sort of "elective" is a waste of time or a very bad idea.. and instead only mention that its an election year ploy.
Diving back into the journal of my mind, I recall a class I was required to take in High School. It taught us about societies, and cultures, even art and music and how they all came together and developed the day and age we all currently live in. That class was called.. History. I bet your thinking “Wow! What a concept! Isnt there something like that already?” We learned the very same things this class is aiming to teach in our current history curriculum. Why waste funding and effort on a duplicate class? Because its not specific to the Bible. That’s why. Why could they possibly want a class to teach the specifics of the Bible? Because that’s their sneaky little back up plan to get religion taught in public schools and pander to the Evangelical right for votes. Proselytizing or not. Elective or not. Its not needed, and as far as Im concerned - unwanted.
Georgia is currently ranked last in the nation in educational standards as it is. Why pull time, funds and other resources away to be dedicated to a class whose teachings is already included in an existing curriculum? I seem to recall a push for better math, reading and science scores. This class doesn’t help that cause. How will this class improve testing scores? The answer is it doesn’t. Plain and simple. Again, its all about someone’s agenda(s). Why not put those energies and funds to improving math, reading and science scores where its needed most. Why not create a mandatory class where high school seniors must pass a course on saving and investing. The curriculum for that sort of class already exists. That sort of class would be productive and a step in the right direction. There is little to no benefit to a course in “biblical influence”. Why not focus energies on getting parents more involved in their childs education? Hello? The parents are the key here even more so than the teacher is. If the parent really finds it that important for their child to learn about biblical influences – aside from whats already being taught already in the history curriculum – then why not go to their church and have that taught in their Sunday school, exactly where that kind of class belongs.
What happens if this measure does pass? It Senator Tim Golden states that the “elective” will not proselytize in anyway. Where is the measurement in what is considered proselytizing? How will it be monitored?
The thing that aggravates me most is I seem to be raising more questions than there are answers. Once again I have pointed out a lack of common sense with politicians and made them look even more dishonest and trustworthy. And they wonder why more people arent interested in politics. If this is our tax dollars at work, quite frankly, I want a refund.
For years, Evangelical Christians have tried to find some way of instituting their biblical philosophies and ideals into public, or better yet, government / tax payer funded schools. They attempted mandating prayer in schools. They recently tried to masking the teaching of creationist theory into science classes as “Intelligent Design”. Both failed. And we can thank our founding fathers for not allowing that to happen.
The most recent holy roller invasion is now occurring in the Georgia State Senate thanks to some Senate Democrats. The idea they are wasting tax payer dollars on would authorize schools to offer an elective course on … the Bible and its influences on various subjects ranging from art and music to culture and politics. Sen. Tim Golden of Valdosta, Sen. Doug Stoner of Smyrna and Sen. Kasim Reed of Atlanta, all Democrats, are leading the charge for this measure. Oh.. and it just so happens to be an election year too. Can we say pandering? Naturally, the Republicans dont say that this sort of "elective" is a waste of time or a very bad idea.. and instead only mention that its an election year ploy.
Diving back into the journal of my mind, I recall a class I was required to take in High School. It taught us about societies, and cultures, even art and music and how they all came together and developed the day and age we all currently live in. That class was called.. History. I bet your thinking “Wow! What a concept! Isnt there something like that already?” We learned the very same things this class is aiming to teach in our current history curriculum. Why waste funding and effort on a duplicate class? Because its not specific to the Bible. That’s why. Why could they possibly want a class to teach the specifics of the Bible? Because that’s their sneaky little back up plan to get religion taught in public schools and pander to the Evangelical right for votes. Proselytizing or not. Elective or not. Its not needed, and as far as Im concerned - unwanted.
Georgia is currently ranked last in the nation in educational standards as it is. Why pull time, funds and other resources away to be dedicated to a class whose teachings is already included in an existing curriculum? I seem to recall a push for better math, reading and science scores. This class doesn’t help that cause. How will this class improve testing scores? The answer is it doesn’t. Plain and simple. Again, its all about someone’s agenda(s). Why not put those energies and funds to improving math, reading and science scores where its needed most. Why not create a mandatory class where high school seniors must pass a course on saving and investing. The curriculum for that sort of class already exists. That sort of class would be productive and a step in the right direction. There is little to no benefit to a course in “biblical influence”. Why not focus energies on getting parents more involved in their childs education? Hello? The parents are the key here even more so than the teacher is. If the parent really finds it that important for their child to learn about biblical influences – aside from whats already being taught already in the history curriculum – then why not go to their church and have that taught in their Sunday school, exactly where that kind of class belongs.
What happens if this measure does pass? It Senator Tim Golden states that the “elective” will not proselytize in anyway. Where is the measurement in what is considered proselytizing? How will it be monitored?
The thing that aggravates me most is I seem to be raising more questions than there are answers. Once again I have pointed out a lack of common sense with politicians and made them look even more dishonest and trustworthy. And they wonder why more people arent interested in politics. If this is our tax dollars at work, quite frankly, I want a refund.
posted by Gatorrrrrr @ 1:31 PM
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