The Bible
Gentle reader:
There has been a lot of conversation going around about application of the Bible in classrooms. Unsurprisingly, we decided to put our own thoughts in the mix.
When the Warrior was a college student at a public university, he signed up for a class on the Bible. It was taught by an atheist, and it was terrible. So when Ryan Gosling Walters announced a few weeks back that the Bible must be in the classroom, and that guidance on its use would be supplied, the thought we had went back to the Bible class the Warrior took in college. Gosling's Walters' initial announcement was what you would expect: bold, loud, and abrasive. And it got the response that Gosling Walters sought: loud pushback from the left, and eye-roll from center-right Republicans.
If the real goal was to promote use of the Bible in the curriculum, there were better ways to do it. In 2010, Governor Henry (really, that liberal Governor Henry) signed HB 2321 (sponsored by Democrat Sen. Ivester and now-Treasurer Todd Russ) which allowed for a content-neutral teaching of the old and new testaments in public schools. Oklahoma statute 70 O.S. 11-101, SINCE 1971! has allowed for the "reading of the Holy Scriptures" in public school classrooms. (passed by a VERY Democrat legislature).
So, you may be asking, what is new about what Gosling Walters has proposed? Nothing. It's already state law. Ryan just made it a huge issue because he's Ryan and likes the bull in the china closet approach. This all could have been avoided if he had spoon-fed this out and had a more effective strategy. But it was too late when he finally approached it this way.
Is there anything wrong with teaching that the Mayflower Compact was based on biblical beliefs? What about Martin Luther King's Letter from the Birmingham Jail? No, there's nothing wrong with explaining to a student what MLK was referring to when he speaks of Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednigo, or the context of the verse he references where Paul states, "I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus" (Galatians 6:17)? Really, it's even ok to explore the teachings of Aquinas, Augustine, and Martin Luther that MLK references to provide a deeper meaning of the powerful handwritten letter that was snuck out of the jail by MLK's attorneys. It's already in Oklahoma law. Hell, according to an opinion piece in the Oklahoman, using the Ten Commandments in the classroom is appropriate under a long-standing U.S. Supreme Court opinion in addition to Oklahoma law.
Again, the problem is that Ryan needed it to be attention-grabbing. He couldn't slow-walk changes to bring full effect to existing Supreme Court and Oklahoma law. He didn't want effective, lasting change. He wanted a news story. And he has it. And now he has school districts refusing to implement his guidance. And if it goes to court, he'l lose like every other time he's gone to court because, well, he's Ryan Gosling Walters. This, friends, is not meaningful change, it's a fight perpetrated by a huckster that thinks a fight benefits him, and our cause.
He's wrong.
Make no mistake, there are limits to what can be taught in public schools related to faith. Charter schools and private schools are a little different despite what Gentner Drummond wants you to think, but back to public schools, we do have some tools available to us. But we don't need to make a show of implementing them. Sometimes quiet victories are the better and lasting kind.
Have a good weekend,
CW/CM/SC/WB
p.s. Ryan, we don't ever want to hear another elected official call someone a liar. Whether true or not, there are more effective ways to convey the message without throwing bombs. Moral indignation expressed repeatedly is no longer moral indignation, it's stupidity. Pick your spots.
