Important information on bill SB 193:

Three people (Mary Wilke, Bill Duncan, and Sam Osheron) have been delving into the details of the private school curricula that our tax dollars would be subsidizing under SB 193.  Mary has reviewed a few texts from Abeka, a popular Christian curriculum used in a number of NH’s private religious schools and by some homeschoolers, and we were shocked by the content.  While we expected religious teachings, we didn’t anticipate that the texts would include such a biased account of history and such one-sided political proclamations. Here’s a sampling:
The fifth grade Abeka science book declares, “On the fourth day of creation, God caused the sun, ‘the greater light to rule the day,’ to shine upon the earth.”  And, “God, the good Creator, has placed around His earth a protective wrapper called the atmosphere.”
Seventh grade history students learn that, “Genesis…is the most reliable source for what we need to know about the beginning of world history.” They’re told that because Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, “now the husband would rule his wife.”  An entire unit called ‘The Middle Ages and the Distortion of Christianity’ decries the Catholic church’s ‘distorted’ interpretation of the Bible, with statements such as, “The Roman church encouraged prayer, but the wrong kind of prayer, addressed to the wrong people.  It preached the need for salvation, but the wrong way to obtain it.”  Evolution is described as one of “….a number of foolish errors [that] arose from the failure of scientists and other men to keep their thinking in line with God’s Word.”
According to a 12th grade Abeka economics text, “Global environmentalists have said and written enough to leave no doubt that their goal is to destroy the prosperous economies of the world’s richest nations.” International cooperation is called “globalism,” and participation in a trade agreement is said to lead inevitably to a country being “governed by sprawling, inefficient bureaucracies which have little insight into local and national needs.”
Rather than fostering crucial critical thinking skills, Abeka texts present students with political opinions framed as the only legitimate views of a Christian believer.  So, for example, economic analysis is reduced to: ”…even economists sympathetic to extensive state interference have recognized that rent control, next to bombing, is the surest way to destroy a city.”  The history text leaves no room for debate when it offers statements such as: “President Reagan won reelection in 1984 by the greatest margin in American history (49 states), demonstrating that a majority of Americans were tired of the Liberalism and the secular humanism that were destroying the nation’s moral and spiritual foundations,” and “The Clinton administration succeeded in raising taxes and promoting abortion, homosexuality, gun control and more government programs.”

Mary has an Op-Ed describing what we have found in more detail coming out on Tuesday in the My Turn section of the Concord Monitor. She concludes: “Supporters make the case that “not all students learn the same way” and SB 193 would give to low income parents a choice that others already have.  But it turns out that the bill does nothing to ensure successful outcomes for students, low income or otherwise.  In many cases, it would function in practice as a government subsidy for teaching a narrow set of religious and political views as a substitute for real learning.  We deserve more from publicly funded education.”
A government subsidy of a narrow religious and political agenda?  Outrageous, really. So, what can we all do right now? Again, we urge you to call your Representative if you have not yet done so and help educate him or her as to the realities of this devious bill.  You can find your representative’s name and more info here  Secondly, there will be an “educational session” for legislators tomorrow (Tuesday, Jan 2) from 10- 12 in Representatives Hall in the Statehouse in Concord. If you want to protest this bill, this would be a good place to do so.
Thank you again for your support and efforts. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,
Sam Osherson
Coordinator
Monadnock United 2018