Eric Buehrer founder of Gateways To Better Education, www.gtbe.org, was our guest this week on the Bob Siegel Show. He sent us excerpts of the standards for the History-Social Science Framework for California Public Schools which anyone can get from his site by registering and requesting a copy. If you want the complete standards, go to the California Dept of Education at: http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/hstgrade6.asp and you will see an exhaustive list of expectations for every grade level. Below is a partial list of expectations every 6^th grader in the state needs to know regarding World History and Geography of Ancient Civilizations. Italicized are those expectations that speak directly to our Judeo-Christian heritage.

“6.3 Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the Ancient Hebrews.

1. Describe the origins and significance of Judaism as the first monotheistic religion based on the concept of one God who sets down moral laws for humanity.
2. Identify the sources of the ethical teachings and central beliefs of Judaism (the Hebrew Bible, the Commentaries): belief in God, observance of law, practice of the concepts of righteousness and justice, and importance of study; and describe how the ideas of the Hebrew traditions are reflected in the moral and ethical traditions of Western civilization.
3. Explain the significance of Abraham, Moses, Naomi, Ruth, David, and Yohanan ben Zaccai in the development of the Jewish religion.
4. Discuss the locations of the settlements and movements of Hebrew peoples, including the Exodus and their movement to and from Egypt, and outline the significance of the Exodus to the Jewish and other people.
5. Discuss how Judaism survived and developed despite the continuing dispersion of much of the Jewish population from Jerusalem and the rest of Israel after the destruction of the second Temple in A.D. 70.

6.7 Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures during the development of Rome.

1. Identify the location and describe the rise of the Roman Republic, including the importance of such mythical and historical figures as Aeneas, Romulus and Remus, Cincinnatus, Julius Caesar, and Cicero.
2. Describe the government of the Roman Republic and its significance (e.g., written constitution and tripartite government, checks and balances, civic duty).
3. Identify the location of and the political and geographic reasons for the growth of Roman territories and expansion of the empire, including how the empire fostered economic growth through the use of currency and trade routes.
4. Discuss the influence of Julius Caesar and Augustus in Rome's transition from republic to empire.
5. Trace the migration of Jews around the Mediterranean region and the effects of their conflict with the Romans, including the Romans' restrictions on their right to live in Jerusalem.
6. 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).
7. Describe the circumstances that led to the spread of Christianity in Europe and other Roman territories.
8. Discuss the legacies of Roman art and architecture, technology and science, literature, language, and law.”

Bob and I had a hard time believing that the ACLU hasn’t yet challenged the constitutionality of California’s Framework-14 requirements. Why hasn’t some lone atheist parent sued the state for allowing such blatantly religious teaching to be transmitted in our public schools?

I was curious, does anybody out there know these standards even exist? I must admit, as a graduate in 1997 of a multi-subject teacher credentialing program I don’t recall being taught this. I called a professor friend whose job is to train teachers at a Christian college in Southern California and read her Gateways to Better Education’s summarized version of the above.

Grade Six- World History and Geography: Ancient Civilization

“One of the principal roots of Western civilization can be found in the enduring contributions of the ancient Hebrews to Western ethical and religious thought and literature, most notably by the Old Testament. To understand these traditions, students should read and discuss Biblical literature that is part of the literary heritage and ethical teachings of Western Civilization; for example, stories about the Creation, Noah, the Tower of Babel, Abraham, the Exodus, the Ten Commandments, Ruth and Naomi, David, and Daniel & the Lion’s Den; selections from Psalms and Proverbs; and Hebrew people’s concepts of wisdom, righteousness, law, and justice.” (p. 77-78)

6.7.6 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).

Simply put, the professor was flabbergasted. She had no idea the framework was so exhaustive and comprehensive.

Eric Buehrer, has discovered the same ignorance and misinformation among teachers and teachers’ training programs as to what is allowable- yes, even mandated, relative to the Bible and Christianity in the context of history and social science. It’s been his mission to dispel the myths and through “principled persuasion,” educates teachers about this framework. He encourages parents to share the framework in a non-threatening way with their child’s teacher.

As a result, he has received numerous testimonials reporting transformation from fear to freedom from teachers who learn the facts about their states’ standards. For those teachers who are aware of Framework-14 some are intimidated by our litigious society and believe they are violating the “separation of church and state” so they err on the side of caution and avoid teaching about the roots of Christianity altogether.

With all the flap about crosses, nativity scenes, and censored Christmas programs, it’s rather ironic that within those same educational walls the real substance of Christianity and the Bible is required teaching. This is truly “good news” and should be an encouragement to any who complain about the attacks on Christianity.