Upsets in State Board of Education Elections

As discussed in the article "Upsets will create a new look" in Wednesday’s Houston Chronicle, an upset in The State Board of Education occurred removing incumbent Don McLeroy. McLeroy, who favors elimination of the teaching of evolution in Texas public schools, was blocked from his confirmation last year by Senate Democrats because “his strong religious beliefs interfered with his leadership.” Considered an upset, lobbyist Thomas Ratliff won by a mere 860 votes (less than 1% of the total votes). Another big upset was the win of George Clayton over long-time board member Geraldine “Tincy” Miller. Clayton won by a large margin with 1/30th of the budget of Miller’s campaign, leaving officials curious of the mental change of the voters. With both Miller and McLeroy pushing for “conservative Christian” ideals in public school systems, and with both elections considered upsets, it appears that the Texas citizens have made a stand on what they feel is appropriate in public school curriculum. As apparent in the United States as a whole and in this article, the tolerance for people with non-Christian belief, as well as different cultures in general, appears to be increasing.

I personally applaud the upset in The State Board of Education based on my personal beliefs of what should and should not be taught in schools. Including “Christian based” material in school curriculum is inappropriate in that it gives young children the impression that the Christian faith is of greater importance to their lives and their educations than other faiths and cultures. I absolutely support personal faith, but not "pushing" others into it. If a parent feels their children should have this kind of extra education, there are other places to do so. The problem with this, is that some may argue that including evolution in school books is also leaning toward some “religious ideal” or “anti-religious ideal,” based on the conflict that has arisen between the Christian faith in general and those supporting the idea of evolution (I’m not saying all Christians deny evolution). My resolution to this would be to only include facts in public school curriculum and books, and not opinions or beliefs. Where is the line to be drawn between fact and opinion? Let’s leave that up to the professionals in each respective field of study.