Oklahoma teachers were told to use the Bible. There’s resistance from schools as students return
https://apnews.com/article/bible-mandate-oklahoma-schools-bixby-superintendent-19e235a16d9aefd350df9106a5d759b3
Posted by LynnK0919
Oklahoma teachers were told to use the Bible. There’s resistance from schools as students return
https://apnews.com/article/bible-mandate-oklahoma-schools-bixby-superintendent-19e235a16d9aefd350df9106a5d759b3
Posted by LynnK0919
1 comment
>BIXBY, Okla. (AP) — Oklahoma’s Bixby school district has lots to show off for a fast-growing Tulsa suburb: a state-of-the-art new high school set to open by 2025, a new ninth grade gymnasium and plans for a $12 million upgrade to a football complex that already rivals that of many small colleges.
>But, what the district does not have as students returned this week is a Bible in every classroom — despite a [statewide mandate from Oklahoma’s education chief](https://apnews.com/article/oklahoma-bible-schools-religion-ryan-walters-d15be2f74df2ffbbdfdc549569d06c4e) to incorporate Bible lessons and promises of repercussions for those that don’t comply. Other large school districts have also publicly indicated they aren’t making changes either.
>The resistance follows a summer order that propelled Oklahoma to the center of a growing push by conservatives to give religion a bigger role in public schools across the U.S. Still, the fight may be far from over while other states, including neighboring Texas, are seeing Republicans advance [similar efforts to incorporate the Bible](https://www.texastribune.org/2024/05/30/texas-public-schools-religion-curriculum/) into classrooms.
>“If there is no curricular standard that ties with that particular classroom, what would be the purpose of a Bible if not for pure indoctrination?” said Bixby Superintendent Rob Miller, a former Marine Corps artilleryman whose office walls are adorned with medals from some of the 18 marathons he’s run and a sign that reads: “Positive Vibes Only.”
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>Miller said it’s not uncommon to see students carrying a Bible or praying during a moment of silence at the start of each school day. Two copies of the Bible are available for checkout in the high school library’s reference section, along with a book titled “The History of the Bible” that includes maps and other historical details about the holy lands featured in scripture.
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>But he said a Bible simply doesn’t make sense for a seventh grade math classroom or a high school chemistry class.
>“As a Christian myself, I am a little offended by diminishing the word of God to a mere classroom prop,” he said…