Austin, TX
Texas may pay schools to use curriculum critics say is overtly Christian
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AUSTIN, Texas — State education leaders recently proposed elementary school materials infused with Bible teachings. Critics say it’s another attempt by Texas Republicans to put more Christianity in public schools.
State Board of Education members are deciding on what type of curriculum to approve for elementary school students. There are around 10 sets of materials for the board to review, but the Open Education Resource textbooks created by the Texas Education Agency have raised red flags from some board members.
“That’s when all of the stuff started getting introduced with the biblical references,” Aicha Davis, a State Board of Education member, said.
One of the Christian biblical references found in the state’s work has fifth-graders reading “sections from the Book of Daniel to better understand Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s reference to Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in his ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail.’”
“It doesn’t really talk about the things that King was experiencing and his different aspects of why the letter was necessary,” said Davis.
The state-developed materials also include instructions for first-graders to recognize the connection of the Christian biblical story of Moses to the Liberty Bell. A religious scholar who reviewed the material for the state says the infusion of religion provides context about American history.
“These stories are as fairly presented in terms of the biblical content as stories that we present on Greek mythology, on the Mayan and Central American religious heritage,” said Dr. Marvin McNeese Jr., chair of the Department of General Education at College of Biblical Studies.
There is also no expectation for teachers to be religious experts.
“If they stick to the script, then we’re going to be on safe ground here,” said McNeese.
One concerned grandparent says the materials violate separation of church and state and worries students will be heavily influenced by the Christian church.
“I think this could easily lead students to believe that only a religion labeled as Christian is the best and the most important one in the world. And that kind of messaging does not belong in our public schools,” said Robert Norris with Grandparents for Public Schools.
It’s ultimately up to local school districts to adopt the curriculum. There is concern about the incentive that the state’s curriculum is free.
“America was also founded on other things, right, but at least the Bible is part of the founding of America,” Staci Childs, a State Board of Education member, said.
All districts will receive $40 per student for choosing the curriculum from the approved list. If they select the Texas Education Agency materials, they will get an additional $20 per student to cover the cost of printing. The board will approve its final list of reviewed instructional materials in November.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Small hail peppered the Austin area as strong thunderstorms moved through Saturday.
A few of the storms dropped rain and up to pea-sized hail in San Marcos, Dripping Springs and the Austin metro area.
A Severe Thunderstorm Warning was issued for Williamson County around 8:15 p.m., and then canceled shortly after. However, it was enough for the Two Step Inn music festival in Georgetown to cancel shows for the rest of the evening. Event organizers say the festival will run as planned Sunday.
KXAN’s First Warning Weather team is monitoring the storms. We will update this post as the evening continues.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Governor Greg Abbott and the Texas Society Sons of the American Revolution unveiled a new monument at the Texas State Cemetery on Saturday, dedicated to Texas Revolutionary War soldiers.
“We must educate every generation about why it is that America grew from a tenuous 13 colonies into the most powerful country in the history of the world,” said Governor Abbott. “This monument here is an enduring testament to the heroes who fought for the freedom that is unique to America.”
The monument was dedicated to 69 soldiers who fought in the American Revolutionary War and later settled in Texas, according to a press release.
Among those that were honored, Abbott recognized:
- José Santiago Seguín, grandfather of Texas Revolutionary hero Juan Seguín.
- Peter Sides, who fought in the 2nd Battalion of the North Carolina Regiment of the Colonial Army, and was later killed in the 1813 Battle of Medina, fighting for Mexican independence against Spain.
- Antonio Gil Y’Barbo, the founder of Nacogdoches.
- William Sparks, who fought as a mounted rifleman in the American Revolution and later settled in Texas. He had two sons and two grandsons who fought in the Texas Revolution.
“This year marks the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, which not only gave freedom to the British colonies of North America, but inspired movements for freedom and liberty all over the world,” said TSSAR President Mel Oller. “Texans played a role in the war too, and it’s important to recognize them, and the sacrifices they made for our freedom.”
At the monument unveiling, Abbott was also inducted into the Sons of the American Revolution and received its Silver Good Citizenship Medal.
AUSTIN, Texas — Inside a green wooden box mounted to a steel fence, a treasure trove of trinkets awaits. Just a few miles north is another goodie box, this time covered in leopard print and inside a craft studio. Farther east, a simple white trinket box sits mounted on a wooden pole, decorated with stars and a crow saying, “Thanks for visiting!”
These boxes, filled to the brim with stickers, keychains, jewelry, collectibles and more, are known as trinket trade boxes. Austin has seen a sudden surge in these boxes over the last few months, and despite their varying locations, one sentiment ties them all together: trinket trading is a fun way to bring a bit of joy to the community.
“Little things that bring people joy is so important right now, which I think a lot of us can agree with, and I’ve seen all sorts of people use the box so far,” said Anna Arocha, whose trinket box is in The Triangle neighborhood downtown. “Little kids and all the way up to people in their 50s and 60s, I’ve seen stop by.”
Trinket trading operates on a simple system of take something, leave something. People can swap a toy car for a lanyard, a bracelet for a Sonny Angel, or a Pokémon card for a rubber duck.
“There was somebody who was just walking by with their kid in the stroller, and there was a finger puppet inside of the box, and I saw her swap something out and walk away with the little finger puppet,” Arocha said. “And it was just such a cute moment to see a mom and a kid enjoy something like that.”
Arocha put her crafting skills to work and made her green wooden box in just one day using craft wood and a wine crate last month. Amy Elms opted for a small, white junction box to ensure it could withstand harsh Texas weather. Ani’s Day & Night on East Riverside, which has a large outdoor space for picnic tables and food trucks, gave Elms permission to place her trinket box on their property in January.
Ally Chavez used her own property, Create! Studio ATX on West Anderson Lane, for her leopard-print box that opened in March.
“There wasn’t a ton up here in the north area, so we just kind of wanted to put it together and put it up for the studio just as a way to connect with the community in a way that no one has to spend money,” Chavez said.
Since their debuts, all three trinket boxes have garnered thousands of interactions on social media. When Arocha posted about the opening of her box in March, she racked up 100,000 views on TikTok. But with the excited comments came a bit of negative attention, and her cameras caught a thief trying to take all the trinkets. Arocha now locks the box at night.
“If somebody wants to do that, so be it,” Arocha said. “We can start over, and if the joy that it brings outweighs that every time, I think it’s worth doing.”
Arocha, Elms and Chavez’s boxes are now registered on a website called Worldwide Sidewalk Joy, alongside all the others in Austin and across the globe, as trinket trading grows to become a kind of new, modern geocaching.
“Honestly, it’s been I think even better than I expected so far,” Elms said. “I’ve had people… visiting Austin from out of town, and they’re making it a stop during their visit. I’ve also had multiple people reach out to me to ask how they can start their own trinket trade box, too, which I really love.”
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