The state of Georgia is ripe to become the first state to push some legislative power to getting the Bible back into public schools. The heart of the debate is a bill that would allow for and sanction electives in public high schools for students wishing to take courses that study the bible. While other states offer electives that students can take, no other states have measures in place to support the study of the Bible with taxpayer dollars.

The Georgia House of Representatives passed the bill on Monday by a strong majority. Other southern states such as Alabama are considering similar legislation. While states such as Florida are working to have the Bible available as a resource for students that are studying subjects such as English, Art History and other applicable disciplines.

We found a quote from a local Marietta Resident (source-MiamiHerald.com):

‘’I don’t see the downside of it. If you go to college you have to take similar courses, it just exposes our children to it earlier,'’ says Bernard Anthony, a marketing executive and father of a ninth-grader in the Marietta school system. “And it’s an elective, your child doesn’t have to take the course.'’

Adds Patrick Grant, a father of two school-aged girls, “I support offering a forum for all religions to be taught as long as its teaching, not preaching.'’

We also found a couple quotes from the AJC about the issue.

‘’This country is built on Judeo-Christian faith, ethics and knowledge of the Scriptures,'’ Sen. Tommie Williams, the bill’s sponsor, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Our Founding Fathers were often quoting the Scriptures. Our first Congress paid for the purchase of Bibles to be used in public schools.'’

But the Bible literacy issue unearths a complicated dynamic in the South, a place more spiritually homogenous than other parts of the country and the homeland of a broad spectrum of Christianity-based faiths.

‘’In the American setting, the South is distinguished by religion,'’ says Ted Ownby, a University of Mississippi professor of history and Southern studies. “You are talking about people who have the numeric majority and a large degree of political, economic and social authority.'’

What do you all think about the issue? Should the Bible be brought back into our local school system?

Did you know the a Marietta Charter School that is opening up in our neighborhood? If not, please visit its web site at
www.mariettacharterschool.com. We are trying to inform our readers of several open houses coming up this month (and in the future).

Marietta Charter school is scheduled to open August,2006 and is accepting K-5 students. Pre-enrollment applications are currently being accepted. All elementary students that are eligible to attend Marietta City Schools are eligible to enroll at the Marietta Charter School. (The school is located at 377 Henry Drive, Marietta GA 30064.)

Ride in style with the www.WhitlockAvenue.com trucker hat. This stylish hat is the way to spread the word about the latest news and events in Marietta, GA and around the Whitlock Avenue area. Get a trucker hat or baseball tee today for you and for your fellow neighbor - check out the full line of WhitlockAvenue.com merchandise today over at CafePress.

WhitlockAvenue.com - your Marietta News source.

From ClarkHoward.com:

Different schools work better for different kids - August 17, 2004

Charter schools are independent public schools, and for the most part they perform very well. The schools use non-traditional teaching methods. And the thinking is that kids who come from mediocre schools could potentially thrive in charter schools. But apparently the U.S. Department of Education kept statistics hidden about how these schools are doing, according to the New York Times. The statistics showed that kids in public schools tested better on average than those in charter schools. The testing sample was fourth graders from students in the two different schools. That’s not to say that all charter schools don’t work. Clark talked recently about a charter school in Washington D.C., where 100 percent of the students were going to college. Clark likes charter schools because they’re innovative and because schools will simply go away they don’t do well. We need continual monitoring of all schools to find what works and what doesn’t work. We spend so much money on school taxes every year that we owe to ourselves and our kids to have an honest discussion about it.

What is your opinion about charter schools? Charter schools in our area?

Thanks to www.clarkhoward.com for the article exerpt.

Would you like to sponsor our site? We can’t think of a more cost effective place for you to promote your business than WhitlockAvenue.com. We are simple and straightforward. Each sponsor can subscribe to our service for a sponsorship fee of $25 per month. This is a subscription to our “View our Sponsors” page.

(Order today as our $25 rate is an introductory subscription price and will be changing soon!)

Each sponsorship for $25/month will receive:

• A 150×200 customized ad image for their business
• Two short lines of text describing their business
• Link to their business URL
• A detailed promotional post with info about their business, customer testimonials, etc
• A rotating spot on the WhitlockAvenue.com home page that will display alongside all posts to the site/blog

Town Hall Meeting - Zone 5
Hickory Hills Elementary School
500 Redwood Drive

Tuesday, February 21, 2006, 7:00 p.m.

The Marietta Police Department cordially invites those citizens of Marietta who reside in Zone 5 to attend a meeting on Tuesday, February 21, 2006, at 7 pm. This meeting is intended to provide an opportunity to discuss mutual concerns about activity in your neighborhoods.

Our guest speaker for this evening will be Sergeant Steve Campisi. He will be discussing a new program called “PEDS,” which stands for Pedestrian Safety Engineering/Enforcement to Reduce Death & Serious Injury. This program was designed to address issues with pedestrian traffic in areas where the City of Marietta has experienced a high number of pedestrian
related fatalities.

For further information, contact Commander Joe Duvall at (770) 794-5337 or e-mail address at jduvall@mariettaga.gov.

The Difference Makers