Bible classes: The good book didn’t have good numbers in Georgia high schools
Tim Morris teaches a Bible class to juniors and seniors at Woodland High School in Cartersville. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
While Georgia was the first state to permit state-approved Bible elective classes in public schools, few districts are offering them now because they can’t afford to hold elective classes with empty seats.
The Legislature approved the Bible classes in 2006. Georgia’s standards for the two English electives — “Literature and History of the Old Testament Era” and “Literature and History of the New Testament Era” — do not provide specific lessons. Students are expected to learn how the Bible came to be, the literary styles that were used, major narratives, the book’s influence on contemporary culture and the development of translations.
During the 2007-08 school year — the first the courses could be taught — 37 of the state’s nearly 440 high schools had the class. Most were outside the metro area, although two schools in Rockdale taught it, and a couple of Cobb students took it as independent study.
With financial shortfalls, schools today can’t offer classes that don’t draw a crowd. Georgia school chief John Barge gave the AP reporter an interesting explanation for the scant enrollment: Students can’t take the Bible classes because they’re repeating math classes.
According to the story on AJC.com:
“We’re not going to utilize a teacher for a whole period with 10 to 15 students. In the past, we may have considered that, but with the economy being the way it is, we just can’t afford to do that, ” said Columbia County schools Superintendent Charles Nagle, who has cut the Bible classes from three to one in his tiny district.
Just 21 middle and high schools in 16 districts — a fraction of the 180 school districts in the state — offered the voluntary classes last school year, the latest data available. That’s compared to 48 districts offering the classes four years ago.
Some of that drop-off is due to students having little time in their class schedules for elective courses because they have to repeat the state’s new, tougher math courses or need an Advanced Placement class to help with college admissions, educators said.
“We’re seeing a lot of elective classes, not just Bible, close because there aren’t enough students taking the courses because they’re repeating math several times, ” said state schools Superintendent John Barge, who worked in Barrow County schools before he was elected.
Senate President Pro Tem Tommie Williams, a Republican from Lyons, said he hopes cash-strapped schools can begin offering Bible classes online to help cut down on costs but keep the courses available. Williams, the most powerful state senator in Georgia, was a backer of the law when it passed in 2006.
“It is unfortunate that schools are not able to offer these classes, but when times are tough local and state government have to make decisions based on the realities of their budgets, in the same way Georgia families and business have had to do with their own budgets, ” Williams said.
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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121 comments Add your comment
Eddie
October 25th, 2011
9:25 pm
@Truth
That’s a whole other lesson, which could probably be combined with the “stranger danger” lecture. See how much time I just freed up for math?
Truth in Moderation
October 25th, 2011
9:53 pm
@I am a Moron
We’ll….I have to agree. Your detractors couldn’t have done a better job. Perhaps you should research parallel structures and prefixes.
“And I can promise you that being “godless” does not correlate to being competent or intelligent. To the contrary it usually indicates a weakness of the mind.”
Truth in Moderation
October 25th, 2011
9:55 pm
LOL!
Make that “Well”. No Southern accent intended.
Truth in Moderation
October 25th, 2011
10:04 pm
@Eddie
With your savvy problem solving, you should be Bev Hall’s replacement.
My ultimate solution is to obey the Constitution, shut down public schools, and let the separation of Church and State whiners finance their own “godless” indoctrination. The Constitution intended for there to be a free-market for religion. NO GOVERNMENT SUBSIDIZING. If your religion or non-religion is successful, your children will be well fed, clothed, and you will be able to successfully home school or private school them. Unsuccessful religions or non-religions will be eliminated according to Darwinian theory. Your kids will be losers.
Incredulous
October 25th, 2011
10:07 pm
@truth in moderation. Since you’re seemingly fond of the KJV; How did Jesus answer Pilate? If you will answer the question, we can start a dialogue that fosters cooperation rather than veiled derision.
Jennifer
October 25th, 2011
10:19 pm
Good God. I was there in 2006. Funny how things work out.
joan
October 25th, 2011
10:21 pm
This class is an ELECTIVE, NOT a requirement. I consider myself agnostic but plan to take it for the genuine interest in education. I enjoy learning about every religion. I think the multitude of options given to Woodland students for electives is highly conductive to their success.
Truth in Moderation
October 25th, 2011
10:24 pm
Hmmmm. Is this a trick question? You’re pulling out the big vocabulary words; that makes me suspicious. I don’t “dialogue” or “cooperate” with strangers.
Incredulous
October 25th, 2011
10:35 pm
@truth in moderation. It is a trick question. You should be suspicious. You should also spend more time reading both the Bible and “Origin of Species” before alluding to either.
Incredulous
October 25th, 2011
10:38 pm
@truth in moderation. It is a trick question. You should be suspicious. You should also devote more effort to reading both the Bible and “Origin of Species” before alluding to either.
Incredulous
October 25th, 2011
10:39 pm
C’mon…did the filter eat my quotes?
Incredulous
October 25th, 2011
10:50 pm
@truth in moderation. It is a trick question and you should be suspicious. Take the bait.
Incredulous
October 25th, 2011
10:51 pm
You should be suspicious. It is a trick question. Take the bait.
Truth in Moderation
October 25th, 2011
10:57 pm
Don’t feel bad, Incredulous. They filter mine all the time. Guess today was my lucky day.
"Doctored"
October 26th, 2011
6:53 am
Again -
@Willie, @ Maureen (3:21 pm, yesterday)
Dr. Sham:
Kathy Augustine has a “doctorate” from Harvard. You might ask, how did such a miscreant reach such a level? Slime balls tend to stick together.
Beverly Hall sat on the board of directors for the Urban Superintendent’s program at Harvard. Hall was selected for this position based on her creation of the “Atlanta Miracle.” In essence, she was the figurehead that spearheaded Augustine’s acceptance.
So, it was more than a coincidence that Augustine gained admittance to the program. Her high school and undergraduate grades would never have qualified her for consideration. This online program is designed for inner city urban administrators who have been associated with improved student achievement. Most school districts pay the tuition for participants and virtually all finish with a “doctorate” degree – a cash cow for Harvard. Please believe me when I offer testimony that some of the graduates are unable to write a coherent sentence.
For most, the program requires a minimum amount of work. Often participants such as Augustine assign their dissertation topics as special projects to their research and evaluation departments, and it is they who do the bulk of the work (review of literature, project design & crunching of numbers).
Quite frankly, it is a ghetto degree!
The Inside Scoop
3rd floor,
130 Trinity Ave.
Peter
October 26th, 2011
7:57 am
Might as well teach about Santa Claus, or the Easter Bunny…..all man made up ideas !
Middle School Teacher
October 26th, 2011
9:40 am
@Peter, seems like you need to do some research regarding Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.
Dr. Monica Henson
October 26th, 2011
1:22 pm
@Direct Correlation: How about posting under your real name? That adds the most credibility to any blog post, don’t you think?
Socially, I go by “Monica.” My teachers and staff, when I have worked in building & central administration, call me “Monica.” When I was a teacher, my kids called me “Mrs. Coach Smith” (t0 distinguish me from my first husband, Coach Smith, who worked at the same high school) and “Mrs. B” (my second married name was difficult to pronounce).
Professionally, I go by “Dr. Henson.” Six years of research & graduate study at a Carnegie Tier 1 research university earned me the right to do so.
. I am not a fan of the for-profit proprietary diploma mills, but I think it’s pretty doggone rude to downgrade excellent institutions like Mercer and Kennesaw. Dr. Betty Siegel, past president at KSU, came from being dean of the school education at Western Carolina University, my undergraduate alma mater, and built a terrific program at Kennesaw State. I myself turned down scholarships to UNC and UGA in order to attend WCU, where my family has gone for generations. I went on to earn my graduate degrees at Seton Hall University and Nova Southeastern University, both well-respected Carnegie Tier 1 research schools. I have watched programs in GA such as Southern Tech grow from a technical two-year college to a university over the years. Those who denigrate them just don’t have good manners and/or don’t know any better.
And I blog under my own name. I challenge all the blog posters here to do the same and earn maximum credibility.
GaNative
October 26th, 2011
10:01 pm
Good thing I’m not in the school system to teach a bible class, because if I was, once I got through shooting holes in all they’ve heard from the pulpit, they would never want to go back to a church.
Truth in Moderation
October 27th, 2011
12:02 am
The use of pseudonyms has a long history in America. The United States was in its third trimester when Hamilton, Madison, and Jay used strange monikers in the Federalist papers to bring about the final push that gave birth to our nation. Sworn to secrecy at the convention, they were not allowed to say anything. Their pamphlet pseudonyms gave them the cover to freely discuss the proposed Constitution with the population at large. Was this a bad thing? Was it cowardice? “Publius”, a.k.a. Alexander Hamilton, is still a popular digital blog mask today.
Perhaps the critical mass of support for the Constitution by the American colonists would not have been reached without the eloquent pen of “A Citizen of America”. Why would Noah Webster want to hide behind such a mundane moniker? It seems he had been vilified in the press of his day, and he believed the pseudonym would give his essay, “An Examination Into the Leading Principles of the New Federal Constitution Proposed by the Late Convention Held in Philadelphia” a fair hearing. His instincts were right. The essay was immediately picked up by THE NEW HAMPSHIRE GAZETTE, and later was mainstreamed to the American people directly. He scrupulously penned the praises of the proposed Constitution, and probably wielded more influence on the masses than the Federalist Papers. Should we be glad that there was a “Citizen of America”, or should we scold Noah for his cowardice?
Another Founding Father, Benjamin Franklin, was also fond of pseudonyms. As a young apprentice at his brother’s newspaper business, Franklin began writing columns under the pseudonym ‘Mrs. Silence Dogood’, a middle-aged widow. Her writings about the problems and social conditions of women in the Colonies garnered a large readership, but when brother James found out it was actually Ben writing her column, he was furious. Harassment and beatings by James forced Franklin to became a fugitive, and he ran away from his family in 1723. It would seem that Ben Franklin had a justifiable fear of writing in his own name. Was his pseudonym justified?
A common reason for the use of pseudonyms is fear of retaliation or consequences for unpopular speech or actions.. In the colonies, free speech, especially against the monarchy, was not welcomed. It was the leaderless, NAMELESS, uprising of the American patriots of 1774. These colonists staged a full-scale revolution even before Lexington and Concord. They were NAMELESS yet ubiquitous, aggressive yet without violent bloodshed. They overwhelmingly outnumbered the Tories, and the “99%” caused the “1%” to surrender without a fight. Collectively they were anonymous and beyond retaliation. The victorious colonists ruled rural Massachusetts until the counter-revolution of 1775. Once again, being anonymous proved to be beneficial to the founding of the U.S.A. Were the 99% wrong? With such glorious historical precedence, with so many brave men and women of America successfully using pseudonyms, I recommend that all Get-Schooled bloggers WEAR THEIR DIGITAL MASKS WITH PRIDE!
@ Truth in Moderation
October 27th, 2011
7:33 am
Excellent!
I am overly impressed with your presentation’s logical flow. Please continue to contribute.
UGAprof