Easter and State Standards

Here are examples of state academic standards and frameworks that relate to Easter: 

MASSACHUSETTS - Students are to "describe the central features of Christianity (e.g., the belief in a messiah who could redeem humans from sin, the concept of salvation, the belief in an Old and a New Testament in the Bible, the life, and teachings of Jesus.)." (6. T3, 3.d.) 

TEXAS - Students are to "explain the significance of religious holidays and observances such as Christmas, Easter..." 113.18 (17)b.) 

OHIO - "Students should be familiar with and able to identify the geographic origins, founding leaders and teachings of...Christianity." (6.8) 

FLORIDA - Students are to "identify key figures and the basic beliefs of early Christianity and how these beliefs impacted the Roman Empire...Examples are Christian monotheism, Jesus as the son of God, Peter, Paul." (SS.6.W.3.13)

CALIFORNIA - Students are to "note the origins of Christianity in the Jewish Messianic prophecies, the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as described in the New Testament, and the contribution of St. Paul the Apostle to the definition and spread of Christian beliefs (e.g., belief in the Trinity, resurrection, salvation)." (6.7.6).  

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For articles on how to teach objectively about Easter click here and here.

To read about our Easter Card for teachers click here

To download our Easter Lesson, click here. It adapts Luke 22-24 into a textbook-style lesson with pictures, vocabulary, culture facts, and discussion questions.

To request our Summary of your State Academic Standards click here.

Helping Students Think About Creation

In the ongoing struggle to free students from hearing only about evolution as the explanation for life's origin, we must think about ways to creatively and legitimately expose students to the weaknesses of the theory and alternatives to it.

Creation and Social Studies

Believe it or not, the California Department of Education has made the academic case that exposing students to creationists' ideas is legitimate for public schools to do. The 2016 California Science Framework states: "Discussions of divine creation, ultimate purposes, or ultimate causes (the why) are appropriate to the history-social science and English-language arts curricula." (p.XIII)

This means that the topic of creation can be taught in two classes in California and the case can be made for its academic legitimacy in other states as well. In a social studies class, the Creation story itself could be read and discussed when learning about ancient civilizations, Hebrew culture, and Middle Eastern history. 

It is equally valid to read and discuss the Creation story while studying the Declaration of Independence, the Gettysburg Address, and Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech. America's founding fathers believed that "all men are created equal" and "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights." 

In the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln stated: "Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." 

Dr. King based his famous speech on the understanding that a Creator made men equal: "I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.'" 

Our nation's view of life's origin has been central to our liberty! It is legitimate to teach about it and to expose students to more recent understandings of scientists who hold to ideas of creation. A teacher could teach a few of the main points about creationism and give the students some tough questions to ask their biology teacher! 

Intelligent Design & Environmental Lessons

There are legitimate and appropriate ways to expose students to a Christian worldview without teaching them directly about creationism. For example, in teaching about weather and clouds, a teacher can point out the difference between random chance (clouds looking like animals) and intelligent design (sky writing); or when studying rock formations or geography, a teacher could, again, point out the difference between random chance and intelligent design by contrasting cliffs that look like faces and the faces on Mt. Rushmore. As Percival Davis and Dean Kenyon point out in their textbook, Of Pandas and People: The Central Question of Biological Origins: 

"Whenever we recognize a sequence as meaningful symbols, we assume it is the handiwork of some intelligent cause. We make the assumption even if we cannot decipher the symbols, as when an archaeologist discovers some ancient inscription on stone. If science is based upon experience, then science tells us the message encoded in DNA must have originated from an intelligent cause." 

Creation and Mathematics

A math teacher can help students think about the improbability of evolution when teaching about exponents. Without ever going into a refutation of evolution, nor ever mentioning the Bible, God, or creationism, the teacher can simply use the improbability of evolution as one example of a very large number expressed in exponents. 

Francis Crick, the scientist who was a co-discoverer of the structure of DNA, once wrote: "If a particular amino acid sequence was selected by chance, how rare an event would this be? 

"This is an easy exercise in combinatorials. Suppose the chain is about two hundred amino acids long; this is, if anything, rather less than the average length of proteins of all types. Since we have just twenty possibilities at each place, the number of possibilities is twenty multiplied by itself some two hundred times. This is conveniently written 20200 and is approximately equal to 10260, that is, a one followed by 260 zeros. 

"...Moreover, we have only considered a polypeptide chain of rather modest length. Had we considered longer ones as well, the figure would have been even more immense.... The great majority of sequences can never have been synthesized at all, at any time." 

(Life Itself: Its Origin and Nature (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1981) p. 51-2; As quoted by Henry M. Morris, That Their Words May Be Used Against Them, (Institute for Creation Research, 1997) p. 52) 

This simple illustration may stick with students through all their biology teacher's lectures on the "certainty" of evolution. 

Fishing For Evolution

Warren Nord, in his book, Religion and American Education, points out that when it comes to teaching about evolution, science classes today are like a fisherman who only uses a net with a three-inch mesh, and concludes that there are no fish smaller than three inches since he's never caught any. 

Nord remarks that the "net" science uses doesn't catch everything there is to explain life, yet only what is caught in the "three-inch net" of science is considered real. For example, science requires natural explanations of events; it has no room for miracles or God. 

Teachers can remind students that science, by definition, cannot explain all that is real or important. 

Becoming An Influencer

It is important that Christians at every level within the public schools have more confidence to be people of influence in their spheres of activity. Throughout the public school system there are Christian educators, administrators, school board members, and parents – millions of people! As they begin influencing people around them, they can create an environment that allows the academic freedom to explore alternatives to evolution. 

Creating Academic Freedom

There are 97,000 public schools in America and I believe there are not only Christians in every school, but there are Christians in every classroom. Imagine their impact as they gain greater confidence that voicing Christian perspectives on academic subjects is culturally relevant, academically legitimate, legally permitted, and morally imperative! 

Rather than looking at schools as battlefields (since nothing much grows on a battlefield), it would be more productive to look at them as gardens – places where God has put each of us to appropriately and lawfully plant seeds of truth in the lives of those within our immediate sphere of activity. Your garden may involve a small number of people – maybe between four and eight. It may include teachers, parents, administrators, school board members, and students. 

To begin gardening in your school, visit our home page and sign up to receive our free E-Newsletter. This will provide you with encouraging stories of others who are gardening, plus informative articles and gardening ideas you can easily use to bring a Christian influence to your school. 

Encouraging A Moral Conscience in Students

In 1787, at the age of 81, Benjamin Franklin made this astute observation about freedom and moral character: "Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters." 

Franklin recognized that political freedom is directly tied to a people's ability to govern their moral behavior. The less well behaved, the greater the need for rule-makers and rule-enforcers. Personal morality leads to social morality. Without personal virtue, all the laws in the world can only dictate punishment, they cannot empower a person to right conduct. 

Every educator wants students to act virtuously. Virtuous behavior goes beyond merely proper behavior. A student can conform to rules of conduct out of fear of punishment rather than from a sense of right and wrong. Acting virtuously arises from a moral conscience which prompts the actions. Certainly, conduct and character formation are intertwined, and expecting good behavior contributes to the formation of character. But, without virtuous character, students merely submit to rules until they are not being watched. Thus, as Franklin would say, "they have more need of masters" to oversee their conduct. 

However, the topic of forming a moral conscience in public school students is troublesome for some educators because it sits so close to religious beliefs. The dictionary defines conscience as "the faculty of recognizing the difference between right and wrong with regard to one's conduct coupled with a sense that one should act accordingly." It is the word "should" that causes problems for some educators, because it begs the question, "Why should a person conduct himself virtuously?" This is where religious faith comes into play for many people. They answer the "why" by stating that God expects them to be virtuous. As Rabbi Harold Kushner writes: 

"The psalmist loves the law. . . because he is happier living in a world where people feel addressed and summoned by God. It is law that keeps us from returning to the jungle, to a situation where the strongest take what they want." 

Laying down rules is certainly a simple way to point students to right conduct. But Kushner makes the point that, for people of faith, behind the law is God. This answers the question of why they should conduct themselves morally. Of course, this gets sticky for public school educators who cannot teach that students should act virtuously because God requires it. 

It is interesting, however, that the vast majority of students today consider religion to be an important part of their lives. The Josephson Institute of Ethics surveyed over 20,000 middle school and high school students regarding their ethics. In answer to the question, "how important to you is your religion?" three out of four (76%) middle school students and better than six out of ten (63.2%) high school students indicated religion to be "essential" or "very important" to them. Only 9.3 percent and 14.8 percent, respectively, indicated religion was "unimportant" to their personal lives. Nearly the same percentages were found in answer to the question, "how important is living up to your religious standards?" 

With this in mind, there is a way for public schools to help students form a moral conscience directly from their religious faith, and at the same time not violate any First Amendment prohibitions concerning church-state relations. Public schools can encourage students to act on their already-existing moral conscience derived from their religious faith. A school need not endorse a religion in order to encourage students to act on the religious principles they, at least, say they desire to practice. 

How, then, can a school encourage the fostering of a moral conscience formed by religion without actually endorsing or establishing that religion? A school can inform students of their religious rights on campus and encourage them to exercise their rights. The issue, then, is one of rights, not religion. 

Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Too many school administrators prefer a "don't-ask-don't-tell" approach to the subject of religious rights on campus. The attitude is, "don't ask me about your rights, and I won't tell you what they are." However, this reluctance to be pro-active about explaining students' religious rights is unnecessary, especially in light of the U.S. Department of Education's document on religious expression in public schools. 

Originally published in 1998, the document is prefaced by a statement from President Clinton: 

"...Schools do more than train children's minds. They also help to nurture their souls by reinforcing the values they learn at home and in their communities. I believe that one of the best ways we can help our schools do this is by supporting students' rights to voluntarily practice their religious beliefs, including prayer in schools..." 

Secretary Richard Riley then introduces the guidance with a letter to American educators. In it he writes: 

"The great advantage of the presidential guidance, however, is that they allow school districts to avoid contentious disputes by developing a common understanding among students, teachers, parents and the broader community that the First Amendment does in fact provide ample room for religious expression by students while at the same time maintaining freedom from government-sponsored religion." 

The guidance were updated and reissued in 2003 by Secretary Rod Paige.  (While this document is from 2003, it is still available on the Department's website and considered current by Department officials.) Similar to Richard Riley, Paige did not intend the guidance to simply sit on a school administrator's shelf, only to be used when needed. Instead, he urged school officials to take the initiative in informing students of their rights on campus. He wrote: 

"I encourage you to distribute this guidance widely in your community and to discuss its contents and importance with school administrators, teachers, parents, and students." 

With such resounding support, a school principal can confidently have teachers explain to students their religious rights at the beginning of the school year. This may, at first, sound like a radical idea. After all, that would involve actually explaining to students things like their right to pray, to talk about their faith with classmates, to express their faith in class assignments, to wear clothing with religious symbols, and to read their religious scriptures at school. Just the thought of having every teacher in a school do this is enough to cause some administrators to reach for the antacid. 

But just imagine the impact this could have on the moral climate of the school. As we have already seen, the majority of students at every grade level consider their faith to be important. If the school makes a point of, in essence, saying, "We welcome you to live your faith on campus," the climate will be more inclusive for students of faith. Such action will remind all students that a person's development is more than just education of the brain, it is also the nurturing of the heart. 

Currently, we may be sending the wrong signal to students. Because public schools are too often viewed as religion-free zones, we may be subtly implying to students that religion (and the conduct it motivates) is not all that important to one's development. On the other hand, by openly affirming students' religious rights, schools will be inviting students to conduct themselves by the dictates of their religious beliefs. Such action by schools certainly cannot hurt, and it may encourage students to live by the moral conscience their religion has cultivated in them. 

Inviting Lawsuits? 

Some may fear that being this up front about religion will invite the ACLU to bring a law suit. But, how can any organization dedicated to promoting civil liberties be opposed to telling people what their civil liberties are? The school officials who have teachers explain students' religious rights at the beginning of the school year will not be establishing religion, they will be promoting students' rights. They will be acting on what both Secretary Riley and Secretary Paige recommend they do.

Can't this be done by drafting a memo to parents or including it in the student handbook? Does a school have to verbalize the students' rights? I believe the impact of actually talking about it, of actually telling students their rights is what will have a positive affect on the school climate. 

Developing a moral conscience in children and young people is a multifaceted and lengthy process. It involves many inputs in a student's life, and schools cannot be expected to be the only molder of character. Neither do schools need to be silent regarding one of the most powerful molders of character -- religion. Moral conscience will be better supported when the adults, the authority figures, in schools say to students of all grades that religion is a welcome aspect of peoples' lives, and that it is welcome to be expressed on campus. 

Suggested Actions for School Officials

1. Obtain a copy of the U.S. Department of Education's "Religious Expression in Public Schools: A Statement of Principles".  While this document is from 2003, it is still available on the Department's website and considered current by Department officials.

2. Conduct a meeting with teachers in each building to review and discuss the guidance. Explain the need to inform students of their religious rights and how those rights should be explained by each teacher. 

3. Create copies of the guidance to hand out to students and send home to parents. 

© Gateways to Better Education

Teaching and Promoting Tolerance

Article Updated 4/12/2018

The Need for a Clear and Practical Definition

In recent years, schools have given an increasing amount of attention to issues surrounding diversity and tolerance. Character education courses, multicultural material, and even health curricula weave the theme of tolerance through their lessons.

Incidents such as the Charlottesville white nationalist rally or the South Carolina church shooting by white supremacist Dylann Roof shock us into the reality that hate-motivated crime is still alive in America.

While some people use these tragedies to create the appearance of a crisis largely for political reasons, it must be pointed out that incidents of hate crimes are relatively rare. For example, the FBI shows that there were 6,121 hate crimes in 2016. However, in 2016, there were an estimated 803,007 aggravated assaults 6,121 is only 0.076% of all 803,007 aggravated assaults. (Of course, the rarity of the occurrences is little consolation to the victims.)

Clearly, we are not a nation of bigots and haters, though the spotlight put on certain incidents might make it appear that way. The need for tolerance is not because of an epidemic of hate crimes, but because of the much more mundane and daily social interactions that require treating each other with respect and dignity. It is in these interactions where educators deal with intolerance most frequently: hallway insults, angry outbursts, and smug dismissals of others' viewpoints during class discussions.

Not only do educators deal with these types of social interactions among students, they, too, are tested in their tolerance for student clothing, hair styles, body piercing, attitudes, morals, and behaviors.

Defining Tolerance

When some use the word tolerance, they mean the first definition you find in the dictionary: recognition of and respect for the opinions, practices, or behavior of others. However, it is important to understand that respect here means, not veneration, but the avoidance of interference. Without this clarification, the definition of tolerance comes to be viewed as a gushing acceptance of just about everything someone says or does. Some even go so far as to define tolerance as the embracing and celebration of the opinions, practices, or behaviors of others.

Many educators and parents, however, cringe at the moral relativism of this approach. Yet, they feel boxed in by the current talk of tolerance. If they oppose it, they run the risk of being accused of advocating bigotry, intolerance, and even hate. This is because those promoting the most open-ended view of tolerance have staked out the playing field by defining the terminology. Pressure then gets placed on colleagues and students to adopt this view of tolerance. To resist is to appear intolerant.

Tolerance Requires Virtue

Tolerance, in and of itself, is not a virtue. If a student tolerates drinking and driving, his tolerance is not virtuous. Tolerance is neutral. Tolerance derives its value from what it is the student tolerates, and the manner in which the student expresses his tolerance and intolerance. This involves character.

When a student uses a racial slur, his problem is not a lack of tolerance, but a lack of kindness and a problem with pride (the root of belief in racial superiority). When a student makes fun of a classmate's point of view during a class discussion, his problem isn't a lack of tolerance, but a lack of courtesy. When one student spits on another student because he thinks his schoolmate is gay, tolerance isn't the issue so much as is self-control.

Proper tolerance is the outgrowth of moral character qualities such as kindness, patience, courtesy, humility, love, self-control, and courage. Even intolerance should be expressed through these qualities.

Students need to be taught that tolerance arises from character. If they don't understand this, they will think they are being tolerant when they are actually only expressing indifference ("whatever"), or apathy ("who cares?"), or even recklessness ("why not?"). Improperly taught, "tolerance education" can lead to disarming students of their proper convictions.

Tolerance Requires Standards

The view that tolerance means, "accepting everyone's ideas and behaviors" is impractical in the real world. It sounds nice in classroom discussions and school board declarations, but it won't work in the hallways. You will find a more practical definition of tolerance in the dictionary's second definition of the term: the allowable variation from a standard. For instance, an engineer might ask about the tolerance of a metal beam in a building during an earthquake. How far should it bend before serious structural damage is done?

This is the definition by which we most commonly live. We establish a standard of what we think is best (even if somewhat vague). We then establish an allowable variation from that standard (often more vague). Then we judge the ideas and actions of others based on what we've established. This is as it should be. To do otherwise is to invite social and moral anarchy. The problem for many people isn't intolerance; it is in not clearly defining their standards.

Even so, we establish standards in hundreds, even thousands, of categories. For example, the First Amendment states that Americans have the right to peacefully assemble and petition their government. In other words, to protest something. Offensive words may be said and even annoying actions may take place. Though offensive to some, these actions are still legally tolerable. What is illegal (intolerable) is when actions become violent and the property of others is stolen or damaged.

Within the school setting, this definition of tolerance is applied in many places: dress codes (pants are allowed, but not hot pants), hallway conduct (conversation between boys and girls is allowed, but not sexual harassment), and classroom participation (students may not have to participate in discussions, but they can't fall asleep).

This practical definition is valuable for classroom instruction because it honors students' moral frameworks developed by their religious education and families. Rather than teach them that tolerance is best demonstrated by an absence of judgment, it teaches that tolerance requires making judgments: first, establishing a standard, and second, establishing the limits of the allowable variation.

If students aren't taught to clearly establish their standards and allowable variations, they will struggle with what to tolerate. In frustration, they may simply jump to the sophomoric view that they should just accept everything. This doesn't require hard thinking and yet has the appearance of taking the moral high ground.

Some may raise the concern that making judgments will only add to someone's existing prejudices. There are two reasons why this doesn't have to be. First, as we have seen, the reality is that this is the way tolerance really works, so the best course of action is to help students think deeply about their standards. Secondly, no matter what their standards are, they should act virtuously toward anyone who varies from those standards.

Ironically, educators can create more "tolerant" school climates by focusing not on tolerance, but on character.

Click here for a practical student handout that explains a better definition of tolerance.

© 2002, 2018 Gateways To Better Education

Resurrect Easter in Your School

You can help get the Easter story told to your child's class this year. How? By presenting the non-threatening Holiday Restoration Card from Gateways to Better Education to your child's teacher. You also may want to ask the teacher if you can share what Easter means to your family, and even read scripture. 

Diane Borja, a parent, wrote: "The effectiveness of the Easter cards multiplied like bunnies!" She shared the card with her prayer group, and every mom purchased a card to give to their child's teacher. 

"I bought extra cards," Diane explained, "and mailed them to teacher friends in other school districts. My friends were elated and enthusiastically shared the information with fellow teachers." "Thanks to your Easter card," Diane added, "I did a Passover/Easter presentation (complete with a homemade tomb and figures) in my son's second grade class. I had the privilege of explaining the historical meaning of the holiday in a fifth grade class as well." 

The eight-page Easter card tells the humorous story of an encounter between the Easter Bunny and a teacher. The bunny explains that the true message of Easter is about new life in Jesus. The teacher raises all the objections commonly heard from public school educators, but in this story, the smart little bunny is very familiar with U.S. court cases. He helps the teacher understand that teaching about Jesus at Easter is legally permitted. The card also includes legal documentation, Constitutionally-sound lesson plan ideas, and more! 

EASTER RESOURCES:

Order the EASTER CARD, Bunny goes to School, to give to your teacher.

Download our Easter Lesson Plan for Public Schools by CLICKING HERE.

Similar in appearance to a middle school textbook, it adapts Luke 22-24 into a textbook-style lesson with pictures, vocabulary, culture facts, and discussion questions.

We would love to hear how you helped restore Easter in your school. Tell us your story here.