What Do I Think?

 In many ways I will look back on my career as a teacher with a modicum of regret. Could I have done more? Did I always make the best choices? Couldn't I have retired earlier? 

That last one shows up as a result of reading the story about how Texas public school students will soon be required to study bible stories. The Republican dominated state board of education in the Lone Star State wants to include biblical verses and stories in the required literature curriculum. 

Admittedly, I have myself studied the Bible. I did this primarily in Sunday school when before my family put the lapse in Lapsed Methodist. I did so well that I earned my very own Young Readers edition of the Greatest Story Ever Told. And later, when I was in college, I took a course entitled, "The Bible As Literature." I get what all the fuss is about. There are a ton of great stories, many of them filled with sex and violence, found in The Good Book.

The approach being used in Texas, however, is likely to be the none-too-subtle approach used by the state when they required that all classrooms in the Texas public school system display the Ten Commandments. Never mind running in the hall, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife. 

Please understand that I am a fan of the teachings found in the bible. Like most of the New Testament with its forgiveness and conflict resolution. I also believe that there are a number of texts that can teach kids important lessons without quite so much dogma. Charlotte's Web comes to mind as a book that helped me sort out self-esteem and grief. I can assure you that I have struggled from time to time with the presentation of that story, not simply because of my own inability to get through the last chapter without weeping openly, but also because I teach a great many kids who are Muslim. Stories about pigs don't always go over the same for them as they do for their Christian classmates. Some things are best suited for a particular audience. Like maybe teachers who aren't big crybabies. 

So I guess that if the goal is to present a wide variety of ideals and thought, maybe this won't be so bad. I'm sure they'll be happy to present the humanism of Kurt Vonnegut Jr. right alongside those biblical texts. And yes, I can see an advantage to the teacher whose classroom management is supplemented by a heavy dose of judgement, but as I prepare to make this my last rodeo, I can't help but think.

That's it. I can't help but think.