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Stromberg Says Bible In The Schools Both Legal And Popular
by Dana Wilbourn
posted October 19, 2007
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Photo by Dana Wilbourn
Douglas Stromberg, president of Bible in the Schools, spoke to the Brainerd Kiwanis Club. | Douglas Stromberg, president of Bible in the Schools, told the Brainerd Kiwanis Club on Friday that teaching Bible history in the public schools is both legal and popular in Hamilton County.
Last year, 4,300 students in 19 Middle and High Schools in Hamilton County elected Bible history classes to supplement their education, said Mr. Stromberg.
Mr. Stromberg told the attendees that Dr. J. Park McCallie, in 1922, recognized that public school students were not receiving a complete education since they could not study history?s most influential book like private school students could. On behalf of the YMCA, he proposed a program to the city commission. It would be a gift, with no taxpayers funds used.
Federal District Judge Frank W. Wilson, in 1980, and the U.S. Supreme Court in 1963 both ruled that when done properly, there are no constitutional barriers to teaching the Bible in public schools, Mr. Stromberg said.
All funding for teaching Bible in the Hamilton County Schools comes from private sources (approximately $250 per student). No tax monies are used to support the teachers, said Mr. Stromberg.
?We are the largest grantor to the Hamilton County Department of Education,? said Mr. Stromberg. ?Last year, $900,000 was given to the school system to fund the teaching of Bible history. We?ve been giving them money for 86 years.?
Other communities across the nation have used the ?Chattanooga model? to implement Bible history classes in their public schools. Mr. Stromberg said that Chattanooga continues to have the most students, the most teachers, and the most money contributed.
Mr. Stromberg listed the conditions under which Bible courses can be offered and taught constitutionally. They are:
Teachers must be employed and supervised by the Hamilton County Department of Education.
Teachers must be certified and have a minimum of 12 semester hours of Bible courses as part of their college education.
Bible courses are elective and credit is given for their study.
Neither religious proselytizing, sectarianism, nor denominationalism is permitted in class.
The curriculum is court approved.
According to Mr. Stromberg, students in several Hamilton County's middle schools and high schools can elect up to five different Bible History courses. Middle school students can elect Genesis, Exodus, and Luke. High school students can elect Old Testament survey and New Testament survey.
Mr. Stromberg said that approximately one-half of the students that elect Bible history courses have no prior Biblical knowledge. Most students enrolled do not own a Bible. A Bible is given to each student in the class, but teachers encourage students that own Bibles to bring them to class, regardless of the translation. The Bible is the only book used in the classroom.
The schools that have Bible teachers are: Ooltewah Middle, Red Bank Middle, East Ridge Middle, Central High, Loftis Middle, Hunter Middle, Signal Mountain Middle, Brainerd High, Hixson High, East Ridge High, Ooltewah High, Brown Middle, Red Bank High, Soddy-Daisy Middle, Hixson Middle, Howard School of Arts and Technology, Lookout Valley Middle, Lookout Valley High, and Soddy-Daisy High.
There is a long and growing list of schools in Hamilton County which want a Bible history teacher. Mr. Stromberg said, ?It?s not a question of need, it?s a question of funding.?
?By 2015, we (Bible in the Schools) want Bible history electives available to every Hamilton County middle and high school student,? said Mr. Stromberg. ?For 32 schools it would require 26 certified teachers and our budget would grow to $3.1 Million.?
Mr. Stromberg closed by saying, ?We are committed to having kids grow up with an understanding of the Bible and seeing what it has to say about the nature of man and the nature of God and its influence upon history, culture, and our lives.?
More information about Bible in the Schools can be found on their website,
www.BibleintheSchools.com.
Dana Wilbourn
dbwilbourn@yahoo.com
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