That is just one of the claims made by Sen. Ed Emery, R-Lamar, in his latest podcast as he talks about Senate Concurrent Resolution 13, which he is sponsoring, that recommends that public schools teach the Bible as literature.
"When the Bible is taught, not as a religious study, but as a literature, it has really positive impacts," Emery said.
Emery cited a study that he has in his office by Dr. William Jeynes that takes information going back to 1962 "when the Bible was taken from classrooms, well, I say it was taken, it was the interpretation of the Supreme Court opinion was that it could no longer be taught."
Since that time, Emery said, SAT scores "have continued to decline pretty steadily starting with that time and they have continued to decline ever since.
"The only event that aligns with that was when the Bible was removed from the classroom." That was taken from Dr. Jeynes' study, Emery said, noting that Jeynes is a professor at the University of California-Long Beach.
Jeynes study was done by examining information from other studies, government data and information provided by numerous Bible advocacy groups.
Emery said the study shows "GPA improvement success when you introduce into the curriculum with a definite impact on character."
The professor Emery sites, William Jeynes, goes even further though Emery did not have time to mention it in his podcast. Not only did the Supreme Court decision cause the decline of SAT scores, the professor indicates, but he told CNS News that the removal of the Bible has resulted in increased out-of-wedlock births, increased illegal drug use, increased juvenile crime and a deterioration of school behavior.
While noting that his resolution is only a recommendation, Emery thinks it could be even more for his constituents.
"I am hoping schools across the district I serve will take a hard look at this and realize this really benefits their students, their communities and their families if they could figure out a way to fit this information into their curriculum."
The resolution reads as follows:
This concurrent resolution encourages public high schools to offer an elective course to high school students regarding the Bible and require all world literature courses to include information on wisdom literature from the Bible.
The resolution declares that the purpose of such courses is to teach students the biblical content, characters, and narratives of the Bible that are prerequisites to understanding contemporary society and culture. The resolution urges the offering of such courses if the courses do not endorse or favor any particular religion, are taught by teachers selected without inquiry into religious beliefs or lack thereof, allow students to choose their preferred translation of the Bible, and award commensurate course credits.
The resolution urges the offering of such courses only if school districts make teacher training available regarding best practices for teaching the Bible in a public school setting. Finally, the resolution declares that no state entity, school district, or local educational agency should prevent the teaching of the Bible if the courses meet guidelines consistent with the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Emery has a warped opinion on education, religion, citizen initiatives, and most everything he pontificates upon. There is absolutely zero evidence to support his claim, and admits the survey was biased...”Jeynes study was done by examining information from other studies, government data and information provided by numerous Bible advocacy groups.” Were there no Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, or other religions offering input? How about some personal responsibility for those grades, Congressman? Praying doesn’t help on tests or removing ignorant politicians from office.
ReplyDeleteThis is the biggest load of stuff I have heard since 1963. There are some things that have complicated the landscape, like the increasing diversity of the country's school system, where minority children are now the majority, and the numbers of students still learning English continue increasing."The big promises made when Congress passed No Child Left Behind and when this administration introduced Race to the Top have gone unfulfilled," said American Federation of Teachers (AFT) president Randi Weingarten. We need to keep school at school and religion at church or synagogue. We are no longer a one religion country and we need to act like it. If Bible study is needed to be a good student at life, then a child's parent or church should be teaching that.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/10/28/student-scores-in-reading-and-math-drop
To Anonymous 1:58- I may have mistakenly left the impression that Emery said the study was based on some biased sources. That is actually information I gathered from CNS News, a website that is thoroughly supportive of Dr. Jeynes' research and conclusions.
ReplyDeleteThe world would be a better place if people would base their actions on the ten commandments. Even if you don't believe in the Bible, you have to agree with that statement.
ReplyDeleteI do believe in God and the Bible.
The Bible is still the best way to live your life.
@ 6:05
ReplyDeleteLet’s reduce it even further, the only law you need is the Golden Rule, an ethic of reciprocity, treating others as you wish to be treated. This was the rule of Confucian times around 500 years before Christ, and a tenet of many religions. The Constitution favors no religion above another as we live in a secular nation and are not forced to adhere to Christianity, Islam, Buddhists, or any of the other dozens of religions. That is the best way to live your life, unimpeded by fundamentalists in all religions.