Public schools in Oklahoma will soon be teaching the Bible, thanks to a new state requirement that classifies it as a foundational historical text.announced Thursday during a meeting of the state’s Board of Education that every public school teacher will soon be required to have a Bible in their classroom.
state statute regarding historical documents, and noted the Bible is a document that has some significance to the foundation of America,“The Bible is an indispensable historical and cultural touchstone,” Walters said. “Without basic knowledge of it, Oklahoma students are unable to properly contextualize the foundation of our nation which is why Oklahoma educational standards provide for its instruction.
In his memo, Walters ordered teachers to incorporate the Bible into lessons for “specified grade levels,” using grades 5 through 12 as an example.HuffPost reached out to the Oklahoma Board of Education to see if historical documents from other religions will also be required in classes, but no one immediately responded.
After the memo went out, Walters responded to backlash online and elsewhere, writing, “The left is upset, but one cannot rewrite history.” Oklahoma kids will learn that the Bible and the Ten Commandments are foundational for western civilization. The left is upset, but one cannot rewrite history.If I didn’t have a 5 year grant, I would leave NOW. The state of our education is awful and just getting worse.This is the wrong move. It should not be this way for public schools. No ideology should be mandated by the government.Final point - Oklahoma is almost last in academic rankings - 48th in Education Weekly's Quality Counts.