Creation myths in school = YES; Folktales, myths, and legends = NO

So, we can teach Christian creation myths in school but not Aesop's Fables, Paul Bunyan, or Pecos Bill? The passage below is from p. 10 of the 2009 TEKS Review by David Barton, a conservative expert reviewer of the social studies curriculum.

“Folktales, Myths, and Legends”
Interestingly, this particular genre of information is presented to students only in their first four years of school [K-3, (a)(2], and it is specifically listed as one of the primary sources of information to be presented to them. Why are non-factual sources of history such as myths, legends, and folklore presented to the youngest students who lack the age and maturity to clearly distinguish between that which is historical fact and fantasy? Young children tend to take things literally and believe their teacher without reservation; why teach them myths and legends as original sources of information? It is true that many lessons may be seen in Aesop’s Fables or Hans Christian Anderson’s tales, but they should be introduced to students only after they can safely and regularly distinguish between fact and fantasy.

The preferable approach for young children utilized through the first three centuries of American education was to teach factual history from the beginning; and then as maturity grew, introduce myths, legends, and folklore. Therefore, in the early grades, adopt the proven practice of using biographical history – of telling the interesting and adventuresome stories from the lives of George Washington, Abigail Adams, Wentworth Cheswill, Benjamin Banneker, John Paul Jones, Sybil Luddington, Lewis & Clark, Jedidiah Smith, the Wright Brothers, etc. Later, introduce stories such as Aesop’s Fables when students can understand that these are examples utilized to help teach moral truths or to provide entertainment (such as Pecos Bill or Paul Bunyan). The early and repeated emphasis on “Folklore, Myths, and Legends” should be delayed until a solid foundation of factual history has been embedded in the student.

Mr. Barton advocates a renewed emphasis on original source documents such as the Declaration of Independence and Constitution which is a fine idea. They're both short and it wouldn't hurt if students read them every year. He also recommends the Mayflower Compact, the Federalist Papers, the Northwest Ordinance, Washington's Farewell Address, and similar foundational documents as well as speeches and letters by Jefferson, Franklin, Lincoln, Abigail Adams, and even William B. Travis and Dr. Martin Luther King.

Reading through Mr. Barton's review, he makes some sound recommendations for improving the social studies curriculum in schools. I wouldn't mind that he wants to imbue the curriculum with an acknowledgement of Christian contributions but I don't see much indication that it would be done in a historically accurate and non-proselytizing fashion. The American religious tradition has been quite influential, just teach it in a constitutional way.

However, he is one of the socially conservative members of the Texas State Board of Education and apparently doesn't see an inconsistency in teaching creationism in the classroom while delaying the teaching of folktales, myths, and legends to "the youngest students who lack the age and maturity to clearly distinguish between that which is historical fact and fantasy." Not only that, "young children tend to take things literally and believe their teacher without reservation." Hmm, somewhat like adults who take the Bible literally and want to introduce intelligent design into the classroom.

Oh wait, I forgot. Intelligent design is for the science classroom while the harm that could be done by exposing children to folktales, myths, and legends is for the social studies classroom. Of course, we could apply Mr. Barton's thoughts on non-factual sources of history in the social studies classroom to similar non-factual sources of science in the science classroom "until a solid foundation of factual (science) has been embedded in the student." Do you think Mr. Barton will delay the teaching of creationism until the basics of science have been learned?