Why Texas schoolkids don’t read “Brown Bear, Brown Bear.”

This week’s New York Times Magazine has an enlightening piece by Russell Shorto about the frighteningly political process for curriculum adoption in Texas—which has ripples throughout the country, because as the Lone Star State goes, so go textbook publishers everywhere. The Language Police by Diane Ravitch is another must-read on the topic, though she focuses mostly on the mishmash of political correctness that has influenced the process. I don’t understand why public conversation about religion in schools often conflates teaching about religion’s place in culture and history with allowing religion to determine what children learn and don’t learn.