It was bound to happen, with Oklahoma State School Supt. Ryan Walters trying to turn public schools into proselytizing Christian missions. One of the first assignments by a teacher in Skiatook was a thinly veiled catechism of Christian beliefs. Avowed beliefs, that is, not the ugly hate-mongering too many public Christians practice these days.
Earlier this month Andy Dossett of the Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise first reported, “The assignment titled ‘How did the world start?’ asked questions like ‘Who started it?’ ‘What does it mean to be a Christian?’ and ‘Is God real?’”
Olivia Gray, mother of an Advanced Placement sophomore who received the assignment, called attention to the incident. As Dossett reported:
”Gray said the questions are inappropriate for students, especially for Native American students. She expressed concern over what she said was bias in the questions given to students in a World History class online assignment.
“’I think they’re the wrong questions to ask a Native student, considering our history,’ Gray said. ‘If you consider how we’ve been forcefully converted, I don’t think asking us any questions about Christianity is fair at this point.’”
Her particular objections gloss over the overall inappropriateness of the assignment in a world history class.
A few days later, Skiatook Supt. Rick Loggings told Tulsa’s KJRH-2: “World religions are taught in world history but that was not the unit that they were in. So, when we saw the assignment the high school principal met with the teacher. Discussed that with him and asked him to remove the assignment.”
Getting the assignment set aside indicates some sanity, but the superintendent also errs if he thinks any of the questions involved have anything to do with any history lesson – in case said teacher decides to resurrect it later.
The teacher has been identified, but I see no need to feed his martyr complex as a persecuted Christian just trying to save his students’ souls. We get such grandstanders on a regular basis at Christmas when they try to ruin the holiday for small children by disparaging Santa Claus – whose rewards and punishment morality mirrors their own beliefs.
The teacher was obviously taking to heart Walters’ mandate on teaching the Bible in all Oklahoma schools – with The Ten Commandments prominently displayed in every schoolroom – which included the injunction: “Teachers must focus on how biblical principles have shaped the foundational aspects of Western societies, such as the concepts of justice, human rights, and the rule of law.”
The complete assignment read:
• How did the world start?
• Who started it?
•When did evil start or did it always exist?
• Are people inherently good or evil or neither?
• What is morality?
• What is religion?
• What is Christianity?
• What does it mean to be a Christian?
• Is God real?
•Is satan real? (Satan, evidently does not rate capitalization.)
For starters, the first question is not a history question, but more appropriate for the sciences. The second question leads the witness, so to speak, presupposing a “Who” that is not necessary in a scientific context.
Questions about good and evil and morality are appropriate for a course in ethics – at the end of a course of readings and discussions, not the first week of school.
“What is religion?” is poorly phrased at best for a history assignment. What different religions have humans practiced would be more accurate for a history class. Distilling these results down to a single essence for religions ranging from animism to polytheism to monotheism to atheism has occupied scholars of comparative religion for their lifetimes – hardly within the scope of even clever sophomores.
Is God real? As Bill Clinton might phrase it, that depends upon what you mean by “is” – or “real,” for that matter. This overnight dorm topic has nothing to do with high school history. It might have a lot to do with how an “intimidating” teacher, according to Gray, might treat his students going forward.
The questions about Christianity and Satan belong in Sunday school. In fact they actually violate the first legal consideration cited in Walters’s OSDE Instructional Support Guidelines for Teachers:
“1. Neutrality and Objectivity: Ensure that all instruction is conducted in a neutral and objective manner. Teachers must not promote or favor any religious beliefs, focusing solely on the historical and literary aspects of the Bible.”
Walters – dismantling the state public education apparatus from within – has been quick to punish teachers who merely disagree with him or express opposition to Donald Trump, who promises to abolish the Department of Education. Should we expect repercussions for the guy who actually violated this black-and-white rule?
Don’t hold your breath.
Just hold your nose as Walters continues to stink up the state’s schools.
(Gary Edmondson is chair of the Stephens County Democratic Party: <scdpok.us> or <facebook.com/SCDPOK/>.)