education, vouchers, and fundies

[basilosaurus]

I feel like I keep referencing this piece about Lousiana's new voucher system, but I may have never posted it in its entirety. Here are some "facts" children may "learn" at taxpayer expense. Many of these have been fleshed out in various blogs, so I'll track them down if anyone is curious to know more specifics. From www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2012/07/photos-evangelical-curricula-louisiana-tax-dollars

1. Dinosaurs and humans probably hung out: "Bible-believing Christians cannot accept any evolutionary interpretation. Dinosaurs and humans were definitely on the earth at the same time and may have even lived side by side within the past few thousand years."—Life Science, 3rd ed., Bob Jones University Press, 2007

2. Dragons were totally real: "[Is] it possible that a fire-breathing animal really existed? Today some scientists are saying yes. They have found large chambers in certain dinosaur skulls…The large skull chambers could have contained special chemical-producing glands. When the animal forced the chemicals out of its mouth or nose, these substances may have combined and produced fire and smoke."—Life Science, 3rd ed., Bob Jones University Press, 2007

3. "God used the Trail of Tears to bring many Indians to Christ."—America: Land That I Love, Teacher ed., A Beka Book, 1994

4. Africa needs religion: "Africa is a continent with many needs. It is still in need of the gospel…Only about ten percent of Africans can read and write. In some areas the mission schools have been shut down by Communists who have taken over the government."—Old World History and Geography in Christian Perspective, 3rd ed., A Beka Book, 2004

5. Slave masters were nice guys: "A few slave holders were undeniably cruel. Examples of slaves beaten to death were not common, neither were they unknown. The majority of slave holders treated their slaves well."—United States History for Christian Schools, 2nd ed., Bob Jones University Press, 1991

6. The KKK was A-OK: "[The Ku Klux] Klan in some areas of the country tried to be a means of reform, fighting the decline in morality and using the symbol of the cross. Klan targets were bootleggers, wife-beaters, and immoral movies. In some communities it achieved a certain respectability as it worked with politicians."—United States History for Christian Schools, 3rd ed., Bob Jones University Press, 2001

7. The Great Depression wasn't as bad as the liberals made it sound: "Perhaps the best known work of propaganda to come from the Depression was John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath…Other forms of propaganda included rumors of mortgage foreclosures, mass evictions, and hunger riots and exaggerated statistics representing the number of unemployed and homeless people in America."—United States History: Heritage of Freedom, 2nd ed., A Beka Book, 1996

8. SCOTUS enslaved fetuses: "Ignoring 3,500 years of Judeo-Christian civilization, religion, morality, and law, the Burger Court held that an unborn child was not a living person but rather the "property" of the mother (much like slaves were considered property in the 1857 case of Dred Scott v. Sandford)."—American Government in Christian Perspective, 2nd ed., A Beka Book, 1997

9. The Red Scare isn't over yet: "It is no wonder that Satan hates the family and has hurled his venom against it in the form of Communism."— American Government in Christian Perspective, 2nd ed., A Beka Book, 1997

10. Mark Twain and Emily Dickinson were a couple of hacks: "[Mark] Twain's outlook was both self-centered and ultimately hopeless…Twain's skepticism was clearly not the honest questioning of a seeker of truth but the deliberate defiance of a confessed rebel."—Elements of Literature for Christian Schools, Bob Jones University, 2001

"Several of [Emily Dickinson's] poems show a presumptuous attitude concerning her eternal destiny and a veiled disrespect for authority in general. Throughout her life she viewed salvation as a gamble, not a certainty. Although she did view the Bible as a source of poetic inspiration, she never accepted it as an inerrant guide to life."—Elements of Literature for Christian Schools, Bob Jones University, 2001

11. Abstract algebra is too dang complicated: "Unlike the 'modern math' theorists, who believe that mathematics is a creation of man and thus arbitrary and relative, A Beka Book teaches that the laws of mathematics are a creation of God and thus absolute…A Beka Book provides attractive, legible, and workable traditional mathematics texts that are not burdened with modern theories such as set theory."—ABeka.com

12. Gay people "have no more claims to special rights than child molesters or rapists."—Teacher's Resource Guide to Current Events for Christian Schools, 1998-1999, Bob Jones University Press, 1998

13. "Global environmentalists have said and written enough to leave no doubt that their goal is to destroy the prosperous economies of the world's richest nations."—Economics: Work and Prosperity in Christian Perspective, 2nd ed., A Beka Book, 1999

14. Globalization is a precursor to rapture: "But instead of this world unification ushering in an age of prosperity and peace, as most globalists believe it will, it will be a time of unimaginable human suffering as recorded in God's Word. The Anti-christ will tightly regulate who may buy and sell."—Economics: Work and Prosperity in Christian Perspective, 2nd ed., A Beka Book, 1999

[basilosaurus]

And to add more to the dinosaur bit, from articles.nydailynews.com/2012-06-26/news/32412766_1_voucher-plan-voucher-students-voucher-program

The textbook, produced by Accelerated Christian Education, features a passage about the Loch Ness Monster in the Biology 1099 edition, Scotland’s The Herald reported.

“Are dinosaurs alive today? Scientists are becoming more convinced of their existence,” the textbook reads, according to the newspaper.

“Have you heard of the ‘Loch Ness Monster’ in Scotland? ‘Nessie’ for short has been recorded on sonar from a small submarine, described by eyewitnesses, and photographed by others. Nessie appears to be a plesiosaur.”

[teflep]

Someone poster this a bit back. Crazy.

[basilosaurus]

I know it's not universal to Christian schools. However, those 2 are the biggest publishers in that community. I know a relatively large Christian school (about 1000 students) in Ft Lauderdale used a beka. That was D James Kennedy's church and school, and he certainly had a wide reach with his tv program.

My aunt used it for a few years when homeschooling her kids (she had trouble finding anything else), although she weeded out a lot of the crazy.

Last I remember reading, about 20 of the schools applying for vouchers in LA do use these programs.

[debatethis]

Sept 10, 2012 23:14:00 GMT -5 basilosaurus said:

I know it's not universal to Christian schools. However, those 2 are the biggest publishers in that community. I know a relatively large Christian school (about 1000 students) in Ft Lauderdale used a beka. That was D James Kennedy's church and school, and he certainly had a wide reach with his tv program.

My aunt used it for a few years when homeschooling her kids (she had trouble finding anything else), although she weeded out a lot of the crazy.

Last I remember reading, about 20 of the schools applying for vouchers in LA do use these programs.

Ditto. By and large, MOST Christian schools in the US use either Bob Jones or A Beka for the majority of their curricula.

A Beka and BJU both offer discounts for homeschooling families using those textbooks, too.

And as a former homeschooler - I can vouch for exactly how bad the BJU science text books were at one point. My 10th grade biology text book started with pictures of Adam and Eve walking with dinosaurs.

This is the actual textbook I used that I just found on Craigslist: atlanta.craigslist.org/sat/bks/3197908163.html

And here's the description of the teacher's edition: "See science in modern life as your students study an introduction to cellular biology, genetics, taxonomy, microbiology, botany, zoology, and human anatomy. The biology materials uphold the sanctity and wonder of life as God has created it. These materials discuss Christian positions on eugenics, drugs, abortion, diseases, miracles, evolution, euthanasia, homosexuality, ecology, genetic engineering, AIDS, and animal rights. Contains extensive teaching notes, schedules, and activities. It also includes a reduced full-color student text with anz--s to all review questions. "