Guest Post by Morbo
The religious extremists who run fundamentalist Christian academies in California have a problem: The kids they churn out are having a hard time getting accepted into state-owned colleges because the claptrap they have been taught has left them ill-prepared.
But no worries, a group that represents the fundie academies has a solution: Stop teaching claptrap. Just kidding! They’re going to sue instead.
The Association of Christian Schools International, joined by individual Christian schools and some parents and students, is suing the University of California (UC) system, a network of 10 schools throughout the state.
UC tries to make it easier on kids who want to attend its schools by evaluating curriculum at public and private secondary schools. At some Christian schools, the curriculum came up short. Kids were taught in history class that America was founded to be a “Christian nation.” (Did John McCain go to one of these schools?) In biology class they were, of course, taught creationism over evolution.
Who expected anything else? Some of the textbooks used came from Bob Jones University, that bastion of superior education in South Carolina.
Not surprisingly, the UC evaluators took a look at these textbooks and lesson plans and said, “No way.” They pointed out that kids who learn this stuff will not be prepared to study at UC schools and started leaning on the fundie schools to make some changes.
I feel for some of these kids.
Not every young person who attended Calvary High School of the Most Bloody Jesus wanted to go there. At least some of them were sent there by parents who sought indoctrination over education. It’s not their fault that they got a crummy education.
I know what it’s like to start having doubts about the faith you were raised in. Those first nagging questions are scary — but also kind of exhilarating. The kids experiencing such doubts might benefit from a secular education at the public university. Being exposed to real teachers who actually seek to expand a young person’s horizons and worldview could be very beneficial. Some percentage might even end up dumping fundamentalism.
For those youngsters, I have some advice: All hope is not lost. You might still be able to attend a UC school if you buckle down, study hard, focus on the SATs and come up with a strong essay for your application.
To overcome the concerns of the UC folks, you’re going to need to augment the education you have received in some areas. Start with the public library. There are some interesting books there. To bring yourself up to speed on history, I recommend Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States. For a quick biology lesson, I’d go with Evolution and the Myth of Creationism by Tim Berra.
Whatever you do, don’t let your mom and dad catch you with these books. In the days of old, young people used to keep books about sex under the mattress. It will work for these tomes as well.