Trying to Miseducate Texans

There are a few states in the U.S. that are known for being proud, New York, New Jersey, Georgia, and Texas are few that instantly come to mind. Thanks to a recent mandate by the Texas Board of Education, I have looked into my crystal ball, and predicted a whole heap of problems headed for the "Lone Star" state in the new school year. The board's decision to mandate bible stories in classrooms smells like an influx of lawsuits waiting to happen, and I for one am hoping that an often overlooked group of trouble makers get involved and fight the good fit. Because the rich zealots who worked so tirelessly (have to give them credit for their passion) to make this mandate happen, are not the ones with kids attending these schools; hence, they haven't earned the right to have a say in what Texans should be learning in order to prepare for the real world. Besides, why is the board of education doing more to prepare kids for the afterlife than they are to prepare kids for life on earth?  Let's chat about it.

Music by Mound City by Coleman Hawkins (recorded 1929)

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This podcast is recorded in a style that pays homage to talents like Miss Monitor (Tedi Thurman) and explores topics designed to stimulate conversations. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Welcome back, darlings. Some people say that there are so many bad things going on in the world. It's just too overwhelming. One must tune out and relax a little. Maybe watch a vertical video or two. Maybe just escape to another country. I do agree these all sound rather appellate, but the fact is the more you ignore, the more bad things happen. Until suddenly it's in your face and you can't ignore it. So darlits, you and I might not live in Texas, but it's something worth paying attention to, especially if you live in the United States. I'd love to judge. Oh it's coffee. It's cookies. It's all the conversations. Oh as of about a day or so ago, at the time of this recording, which is June 28, 2026, the Texas Board of Education has approved that, and I want to make sure I get this right, so I'm quoting CBS News. Texas public schools will require students to read Bible stories under a reading list approved by the state's education board Friday. Bible stories as required reading. Now, I do believe they had already forced posting the Ten Commandments somewhere in the classrooms. I'm gonna triple check that. Yes, this is not forced. It is not mandatory, but the state already allows public schools to hire chaplains to counsel students, mandates, oh this is this is this is required, mandates the display of the Ten Commandments in classrooms and has approved an optional Bible-infused curriculum. Now you might be saying, lovely, isn't that a good thing? Don't we want for the young generation to learn about brotherly love? Darlings, let's not kid ourselves. This has nothing to do with helping young people learn about brotherly love. After all, since the 60s, it has been doomed by the Supreme Court that religion needs to stay out of schools. Henceforth, we have generations who've been able to attend Sunday school and Bible study outside of the institution that teaches them how to read and write. Speaking of reading and writing, we're gonna get back to that in a second. But lo and behold, the public education system is not the only place where children learn. So requiring them to learn about the Bible in public school just seems a bit unnecessary. So, darling, I want to talk about just for a moment, if you will permit me to, I want to talk about the things that are necessary. Like literacy. Reading is essential, and as much as we would love to pass along the hard work of reading to AI chatbots, and to just let our young people acquire all the information they need with a simple click. Sorry, parents, you can't stop parroting. You do have to pay attention, you can't just pass off a tablet to your child and let Claude or Chat GPT take over for you. Oh no. If you berth that thing, you better be prepared to go all in. And with that being said, when I say birth, don't think I mean just women. Men, step the fuck up. It's time to get to work. Now, maybe instead of worrying about Bible study and religion and the Ten Commandments being taught in schools, just maybe the school board should have been putting their energy into the fact that Texas is not very high up on the literacy poll in the United States. I believe that Texas is number 43 or 44 when it comes to literacy in the United States. That's towards the bottom. There's only 50 states. So what difference does it make if they're gonna be able to have the Ten Commandments in the classroom? Because honestly, they can't even read what it says. Is it a dumbed-down version of the Ten Commandments? It's quite curious. And these biblical lessons, these Bible stories that they'll be exposed to, that they will have access to, will they be reading them on their own? Will a teacher be reading these lessons to them? Well, I suppose a teacher must have to be a part of it. After all, it is mandatory. Hmm. Well, that is interesting, isn't it? Because you see, if your child can barely read, then they can't really read the stories on their own. And so what use is this? Will having these stories actually empower teachers to want to do better at educating students so that they can read? Hmm. I don't know. Side note, as someone who has hmm worked with, collaborated with, not really sure how to phrase that. Let's just say I've had an involvement with a teacher in Texas, and there was a point where I actually questioned, how did you get your certification if you can't even grasp this very simple concept? But she was stuck in her ways and ultimately we parted ways. Now, I am not saying that there are bad teachers in Texas or that the literacy problem is all due to teachers. Absolutely not. The literacy problem is a problem of the Board of Education, it's a problem with not empowering teachers with the tools that they need in order to help students succeed. It's relying on old systems to educate students. And it's also part of the problem of the parents. Because I can assure you, if this body gave birth and I had a child who was in middle school or even fourth grade and couldn't read, you'd be damn sure I'd be down there wanting to find out what's going on. And you'd also be sure that I'd be doing everything in my power to help my child read at home. Which brings me to another question. Why aren't these kids reading at home? That was something I always loved to do when I was young. And it was something my family celebrated. Being able to go to the library and participate in the summer reading club, that's what it was all about, boys and girls. So what are we doing with our kids now? Just sending them off to specialized camps where they can work on their soccer skills, where they can do musical theater. Hmm, that's all nice, but how about taking away the tablet or the smartphone and saying, here, darling, here's a good brook. Tell me what you think. In fact, let's talk about that book over dinner. Let's talk about that book as I'm driving you to school. Let's talk about that book when we have a moment to be together. Are you spending time with your children? Or are you letting strangers on the internet spend time with your kiddos? I wonder. Hmm.

SPEAKER_01 10:23

Oh, darlings.

SPEAKER_02 10:26

So the literacy issue is just one of my frustrations with this whole Bible in school thing. Because you see, gun violence since 2020, Texas, a very gun happy state, has had over 250 school shootings. That's just schools. Schools. Institutions where people who most of them are under the age of 18 are attending. And students should have the right to go to school, to be educated, and to feel safe. They should not have to feel like they have to go to meta detectors or rely on a school security guard to protect them. In 2022, I want to make sure I pronounce this right, so I'm gonna double-check. Lost 14 lives. One of the worst mass shootings in the history of the United States. I believe the security guard was um terminated from his position. I believe uh principal or assistant principal, a number of people were sued and um fired and questioned over their lack of response in the school shooting. This might be the one where the police were even questioned in terms of their response. I'm not gonna look up those details for you right now. You can look it up yourselves. The point isn't the school doing more. The point is that as a society, we should all be doing more. The number of people who pull their children out of public schools because they're afraid that their child will be at risk for a school shooting. That number is increasing daily. Now, we're not just talking, oh, I don't want my child to learn about those LGTBQ people. Oh, gonna homeschool. I don't want my child to know about diversity and slavery. No, no, no, no, no. Gonna do private school. Being able to do private school or homeschool is indeed a luxury because there are many adults who cannot afford to take either route, and their only hope is that their child will get enough of an education in public school that they can then go on and get a really good job as an adult. Maybe get into a really good college or just do something more than what they were able to provide for them. Many parents cling to that hope. And so I often wonder if the lobbyist behind these bold moves to ban books and to bring religion, specifically Christianity, into public schools, and these people don't even have their kids in public schools, then why are so why are they so invested in the fight? Why are they fighting so hard? Why is it that they've decided their their world view should be the view of their peers, of their community, of their neighbors. It is mystifying, but we shall continue just a little bit more with the problems at hand. And so, my darlings homeschool. I know a lot of homeschoolers who just can't read. And I know a lot of parents who prioritize their child's athletic abilities over their reading abilities, over their writing abilities. And more and more I'm carrying children who simply cannot think for themselves. You ask them their opinion on something very small. What's your favorite food? What uh do you think about people your age being allowed to use cell phones, and they are just stumped. They don't know what to say. They're waiting for someone else to give them the answer. You see, the problem with this is that the next generation will have to lead the country someday. And if they don't know how to think for themselves, how will they be able to lead? No. The US once considered one of the greatest countries in the world, one of the most powerful educational leader, financial leader. Well, we're falling behind. And at this rate, we'll never lead again. Because we're teaching our children to simply follow as opposed to lead. Now there are many smart homeschoolers, don't get me wrong. But I think that what is often overlooked is that people who have a problem with the education system, the public education system, these people have already removed their kids from public school for the most part. With the addition of Bible teaching, they're not gonna suddenly be like, well, well, now that the Bible's gonna be taught in school, let me put my child back in public school. Chances of that happening are pretty slim. I worked with a woman, and I won't share too many details because I do respect her and I'd like to respect her privacy. But I did work with a woman who had homeschooled her children, and she was very proud because her oldest had just completed his nursing certification, and she was beaming from ear to ear. She had also done a nursing certification, and so she was proud to say that she had homeschooled her child, and she chose to homeschool all of her children because faith was very important to her. And after homeschooling her oldest, here he was, a certificate holder. And my thought was why didn't you dream bigger for your child? A certificate that anyone with um high school GD could go on to get. Why not dream bigger? Why not say I homeschooled my child and now he's a doctor today? He is working on finding a cure for the most aggressive cancer out there. He is working to completely eradicate AIDS. That's something to bean with pride about. Just a thought. Set the bar low and our kids will reach it. Okay, darlings. Now let's have a little fun, shall we? Let's look at the satanic church. Slight correction, the satanic temple. Let's see what those little busybodies are doing. Because, darlings, what's going on in Texas? I really want the Satanic Temple to get involved and to follow a suit. Ooh, wouldn't that be fun? Now, suits do take a little while to make their way through courts, but I think this is one that the ACLU would happily take on. Let's explore together just for a moment, shall we? Okay, so Sulkin Valley School District in Hallerton, PA. After approving a Christian good news club, ooh, doesn't that sound fun? Um, the board rescinded permission for an afterschool Satan club following public outcry. Well, you know, people are like, oh, don't bring the afterschool Satan club. Mmm, but there are laws. And the American Civil Liberties Union sued on First Amendment grounds. Which, darlings, let's talk about the First Amendment, shall we? The First Amendment Establishment Clause mandates that the government cannot establish an official national religion, favor one religion over another, or endorse religion over non-religion. It's in the First Amendment. Look it up. It's a part of the very DNA of this country. And it seems to me if schools are not allowing for clubs to exist for other religions, be it the Satanic Temple, well, that's in violation of the First Amendment. And apparently the courts agreed because the American Civil Liberties not only sued on First Amendment. Grounds, but it did result in a court injunction forcing the district to allow the club and a $200,000 legal settlement. Victory. Memphis Shelby County Schools in Memphis, Tennessee. The district attempted to block an afterschool Satan club from meeting at Chimony Rock Elementary by charging discriminatory fees. Oh, so in this case, we didn't say, oh, you can't have your club, because that's against the law.

SPEAKER_01 22:36

But we can make you pay more.

SPEAKER_02 22:38

Mm-hmm. After a federal lawsuit filed by Freedom from Religion Foundation, the school board settled agreeing to treat all nonprofit organizations equally. Here's the thing when it comes to public outcry. If you don't like the club, then don't have your kid join. Because honestly, if no kids join the club, the club will cease to exist. Same way, if we don't like what Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos are is doing, then don't buy their products. Don't shop from their businesses. Don't use their Starlink. Stop buying their IPOs if they're not making money. If they're not getting attention. Their power is greatly diminished. Hmm. Really? It I think a fourth grader could figure that out. So what's up with these parents? But a little more fun, my darling. Let's see. Osacola County in Kissimmee, Florida. Woo-hoo! After the school board considered introducing a school chaplain, oh darling, this one is one of my favorites. Representatives from the satanic temple stepped forward to request equal participation as ministers. Well, that seems only fair. I mean, if you have to have a chaplain at school that say little Billy is having naughty thoughts about his classmate Sarah, and he wants to go talk to the school chaplain, well, guess what? He can. But if little Dave is also having naughty thoughts about Sarah, perhaps he'd want to go and explore some hmm alternate ways to get her attention. And why not be able to go to the minister from the satanic temple? Maybe there's a nice spell he can look into. Or maybe you can learn a little bit more about sacrifice. Such attention was not warranted. And so this prompted the board to pause and ultimately reject the chaplain proposal. Very smart, Kisime, Florida. Very smart. Okay, Utah State Legislature when lawmakers debated a statewide bill to place voluntary religious chaplains. What's up with the chaplains in schools, you guys? In public schools, the Satanic Temple intervened, threatening to participate in the program, facing the prospect of Satanist chaplains legislators voting down the bill. Oh man. I almost wish I believed in Satan because it sounds like they are a really cool group to hang out with. Unfortunately, I don't believe in Satan, so well, there you go. And Marysville exempted village school district in Marysville, Ohio, following the implementation of a Christian release time program. What is that? It sounds like prison? I don't even know what that is. What a Christian release time program? Mmm, when you say release, I don't know. Are we talking about a well, there's a certain kind of release that comes to my mind, but I certainly wouldn't want that in a young school. And if it's in high school, oh god, it's gonna get messy there. Well, let's see. Oh, okay, they're gonna tell us what this is. So, uh, with shuttle students off campus for religious instruction day. Oh my gosh, just do this after school or on the weekend. The satanic temple introduce its Hellion's Academy. I love this of independent learners to offer students alternative moral and religious instruction. Well, by golly, a Hellion's Academy does sound way more fun than release time program, which sounds like prison. Hellion's Academy just sounds like something from Harry Potter. Let's go for a ride. Woo-hoo! Okay, darlings. So, point being, constitutionally, this decision in Texas is well, it seems downright illegal to me. And so I do this see this being challenged. Why should we care? Because there are going to be other states in which very powerful, rich people who do not have their children in public schools have decided that their worldview should be everyone's worldview, and so they are going to move heaven and earth to try to get the legislature to go to their side, and they're gonna think they're doing a public good by proceeding with having things changed so that Bible stories in the testament have to be provided in their local public schools, and then they can have the um I almost want to say the audacity, but they can sit and pat themselves on the back and say, good, look at me, I made this happen. Oh what a shame, what a shame. Such a shame, darling, because there are some legal precedents that will make things very difficult for states to implement a policy similar to Texas's. And with that being said, these legal precedents will also make it very difficult for Texas to move forward with their plan. Oh the lawsuits, I do hear them being filed, but let's go ahead and look at the legal past, shall we, loves? Okay. So we have school-led prayer. Landmark cases beginning with Engel versus Vital 1962 established that public schools cannot mandate prayer or composed official school prayers as this violates the First Amendment's establishment clause. Now, can you just imagine all the little kitties around in school taking out their books to read? And then we have the teacher saying, This week we will be reading about Cain and Abel. And another student says, Wonderful! My mother told me that I should ask if we could read about um Krishna. Yes. What does the teacher do? The teacher can't say, Well, you can't read that. I mean, after all, schools have their limitations. And the teacher does have to follow along. You might be saying, Well, Ray, there's a difference between prayer and stories, and I do give you that. So, in that case, let's change our scenario a bit. Let's say that the students are preparing to read their stories, and one student raises their hand and says, Um, it is time for me to pray. And they pull out their prayer rug. Well, what's the teacher to do? I mean, after all, the teacher's about to implement this lesson with a Bible study. Hmm. And the landmark decision does say that school officials cannot mandate prayer or compose official school prayers. So there is no official school prayer. But is the teacher really going to let this other school pull out their prayer rug in the middle of the classroom? Don't really see that happening, do you? And you might be saying, Ray, no, no, no, no. There is a difference between prayer and stories. Okay. Well, let us move forward then. Shall we look at another case? Oh, please, darling. Let's do private employee prayer. Well, in Kennedy versus Bremerton School District in 2022. Oh, 2022, the same year, I believe, that the U-vade shooting took place. Interesting. 2022 must have been a very big zer. Okay, so the court ruled in favor of a football coach affirming that the Constitution protects personal religious observance, like praying on the fields, by school employees, provided it is private and does not co-host students. Well, now that brings up an interesting question because you say, look, there's no way that a teacher is going to have to allow a student to pray in class, given that that teacher is going to be teaching Bible stories. I got you. But what about a teacher who is not Catholic or Christian and does not believe in the Bible? What about that teacher? In fact, maybe that teacher is Hindu or Buddhist or Muslim. And while the students are doing their silent reading of their Bible study, maybe, maybe that teacher would like to take a moment to pray. Would that teacher be forbidden? Well, according to the law, the teacher can't be forbidden to pray. And so, asking teachers, I mean I've been looking at this from the student perspective, but really asking teachers to teach something that they may or may not agree with. Well, that's a difficult pickle to be in. Now you might be saying, well, Ray, aren't teachers already being asked to teach things they may or may not believe in? There are lots of, ooh, oh darlings, my hat slipped. There are lots of teachers who do not believe in transgender or gay rights, and so they are being asked to provide students with information on these things. But to that I have my darlings, I do say that the teachers are not instructing or should not be instructing students to believe in being transgender or gay, but simply recognize that there are people who identify in these areas and that those people have rights just as everyone else. That we can all have different beliefs, different feelings, different emotions, different wants, needs, and desires, and we are all equal. No one's better than anyone else. No matter what the zealots will tell you. Yeah. I remember when schools would tote anti-bullying messages. Dream big to be a team. No tolerance for bullying here. And yet it seems by forcing students to read stories that aren't even scientifically proven, this opens a door for those who do not agree with those beliefs or believe something else to be targets per se. I could imagine that teacher who gets very frustrated that a student wants to opt out. And which that brings us to the next case. But let me fix my hair, darlings, one moment. See all the reason why I need to get that membership set up so that you can help this gal not only pay for the platform in which she has to produce this podcast on, and also allow her to spend a little time editing these videos for you. But it would also pay for some more Bobby pens to hold my lovely new hat in place. But I digress. Let's look at the next case, shall we? Parents opt out. Ooh, thank you, Google, so much for finding this for me. In Mahmood versus Taylor 2025. Oh, that was just last year. Oh, so exciting. The court ruled that public schools must allow parents to opt their children out of secular lessons or curricula such as LGBTQ theme materials that they believe fundamentally interfere with their religious upbringing and beliefs. Okay, so one thing to keep in mind is it does say secular. Now, Bible studies are not secular, but I can see parents arguing, hey, if you're gonna be teaching that Bible story, it actually fundamentally interferes with our family's Buddhist beliefs, atheist beliefs, um Jewish beliefs, uh Muslim beliefs, it's interfering with our family's recognition of Satan. Why not? Um we can have a little Satanist kid up in that classroom, and so we want to opt out. If the school says no, if that teacher says, Well, you need to learn this, you need to find Jesus. Not only is that teacher gonna be in a hot water, the school is gonna be in hot water, and I can see this going all the way up to the Supreme Court again. Hello, Supreme Court, we need you to be a little bit more specific. And we could say, well, lovely. The Supreme Court was specific. They said it's secular lessons. Well, in this case, we would ask the Supreme Court to further their interpretation. Hmm. Interesting, isn't it? Alright, darlings, let's take a little trip to the ACLU. And you may have personal views of the ACLU, and I, for one, do not always agree with the tases they take up. But after hearing a lovely podcast interview with a representative, I learned that the ACLU takes up cases for the purpose of fighting for all of our religious freedoms and rights. Or I should say civil freedoms and rights, not just religious. And so, darlings, let's take a look. Okay. While fundamentally important, religious freedom shouldn't force public schools to exempt students from any secular lessons that don't align with their family's religious views, says Daniel Mock, director of the ACLU's program of freedom of religion and belief. This decision could wreak havoc on public schools, trying, oh, trying, tying their hands on basic curricula decisions and undermining their ability to prepare students to live in our pluralistic society. Well, okay. Thanks for that. Um, true though, in the United States, we don't have bells that toll throughout the town letting us know when it's time to pray. Today's decision in Mahmood versus Taylor is a drastic break from decades of precedent, said Cecilia Wang, National Legal Director of the ACLU. For the first time now, parents with religious objections, religious objections, I am a parent and I have an objection, are empowered to pick and choose from a secular public school curriculum, interfering with the school district's legitimate educational purposes and its ability to operate school without disruption, ironically, in a case where the curriculum is designed to foster civility and understanding across differences. Okay, well, that's not really bringing me anything. Okay, and then we have the legal director for the ACLU of Maryland. Today's decision is deeply disappointing. Our public education system should be one that embraces differences as an opportunity to foster understanding and bring people together. Okay, so yeah, uh the ACLU just put out a bunch of statements last year in response to the Supreme Court requires religious opt-outs from secular lessons in public schools. Okay, so basically, they are making it so that um parents have to actually say, Hey, I don't want my kid to learn that. They have to opt out. Which, you know, uh, I don't know, I don't think it's it's not fair. It's not fair to the parents who um have had their kids in these schools. It's what they can afford, and they've been fine with the education their child has been receiving. And now all of a sudden it's like, oh, wait, you're gonna have to learn Bible stories, and in order for you not to have to learn those Bible stories, I have to opt out. Now I gotta do more paperwork. This is a pain. So do we just have a whole bunch of kids opting out? Do we just have a whole bunch of kids like, um, so since my mom signed the opt-out paperwork, I have to go to sit in the cafeteria? Oh, wouldn't that be fascinating to have several classrooms that are like half empty? Oh, I'm getting very excited. These hefty classrooms and teachers like sitting there with only three students to read these Bible stories. And you can't flunk or fail the student for not doing the work related to the Bible stories. Oh, I'm just I'm feeling for these teachers, I'm feeling for these students and these parents. I'm feeling I'm feeling all kinds of things right now. But I'm also feeling tired. And so I hope you found this somewhat useful. Something to strike up a conversation about with someone you love, someone you know, maybe someone who has kids, maybe, just maybe someone from Texas. Yes, darlings, what's going on in Texas is a warning cry because other states are going to want to follow suit, but keep your eye on this one because remember, how children are educated today determines our future. And I, for one, do not want to be in a senior home where the facility is run by individuals who received their certification and doctorates via TikTok. Until next time, darling, this has been so much fun. It's been lovely to chat.