Michael Gove to send copy of King James Bible to every school

Frosty

Every state school in England is to receive a new copy of the King James Bible from the government – with a brief foreword by Michael Gove, the education secretary, to mark the 400th anniversary of its translation. In a move intended to help every pupil access Britain's cultural heritage, every primary and secondary school will be sent a new copy of the 1611 translation by next Easter.

The initiative has been criticised by secular campaigners as a waste of money. The National Secular Society said that schools were already "awash with Bibles". It urged Gove to send out a copy of Darwin's On the Origin of Species instead.

Gove, who is proposing to write a two-line introduction for the bibles sent to schools, said of the 1611 translation: "It's a thing of beauty, and it's also an incredibly important historical artefact. It has helped shape and define the English language and is one of the keystones of our shared culture. And it is a work that has had international significance."

The National Secular Society said that Darwin's writing is "much harder to find in schools", while evangelical groups are keen to donate bibles.

The Department for Education estimates the cost of the scheme at £375,000, and is seeking philanthropic sponsorship. A spokesman said: "As many people have noted – from former Poet Laureate Andrew Motion to the director of the British Museum, Neil MacGregor – the King James Bible continues to shape our culture. Understanding the story of its publication and the impact it has had on today's English-speaking society is an important part of the teaching and learning of history and language."

The education secretary has also urged more "unashamedly elitist" institutions, including Cambridge university and leading public schools, to help run state schools. In a speech at Cambridge promoting the virtues of a classical education, he called for a deeper study of literature – "Austen's understanding of personal morality, Dickens' righteous indignation, Hardy's stern pagan virtue" – scientific reasoning, history and foreign languages.

Gove praised an academy school in London that competitively ranks every pupil by subject, and another in Luton that has fostered a love of Shakespeare among "overwhelmingly Asian" pupils.

He called for more leading universities and private schools to sponsor academies to "extend excellence" in the state sector. So far, few private schools have responded. Of 319 sponsored academies, just 17 have private schools or private school foundations as the lead sponsor.

Gove also made twin arguments in favour of an emphasis on high academic standards. He said that countries with the best-educated workforces would be the most attractive to investors, as outsourcing and technology reduced job opportunities for those with low qualifications. He said it was vital in a democratic society for citizens to be well educated.

The education secretary began his address with a reference to a speech by the Victorian statesman William Gladstone in 1879 in which he "invoked Pericles, Virgil and Dryden … discussed the merits of the Andrassy Note and the Treaty of San Stefano and … outlined six principles of Liberal foreign policy".

Gladstone's speech was not made in Parliament, but to a crowd of landless agricultural workers and miners in Scotland's central belt, Gove pointed out. "I think the most striking thing is how different the public of 130 years ago were. Or, more specifically, how different were the expectations that the political class had of that public," he said.

Gove said that society should be more demanding of teachers and students. "We should recover something of that Victorian earnestness which believed that an audience would be gripped more profoundly by a passionate, hour-long lecture from a gifted thinker which ranged over poetry and politics than by cheap sensation and easy pleasures."

Michael Gove to send copy of King James Bible to all English schools | Politics | The Guardian

Putting aside the discussions of educational policy, some of which may have merit, consider this - £375,000 to reproduce the KJB for every school, and Michael Gove gets a foreword?! Michael Gove? Seriously? Why not just ask the Gideons for help?

Mick1991

That's very odd. It'll be interesting to see his forward.

dumbo

Kids should never be subjected to this self righteous, make believe, hypocritical, pious, lying, bigoted evil. Giving kids this text is tantamount to child abuse. Michael Gove should never be allowed to write it.

As for giving kids a copy of the King James Bible itself, it sounds like a nice idea.

Grinner

Bah...not much to get upset about. I expect it'll sit in each school library for another 400 years without being read by any pupils.

peterstorey

It's great literature. William Tyndall doesn't seem to be getting much credit even though he wrote most of the best bits.

niMic

In other words, the secretary of Education wants to bring the study of pedagogy back at least fifty years.

Dobba

Well that is the education system sorted out, whats next?

"...It has helped shape and define the English language and is one of the keystones of our shared culture. And it is a work that has had international significance."
Harry Potter?

Agent Red

Apart from on the expense side of things, I don't really see an issue with it.

Reading the Bible doesn't mean you have to believe in it, and it probably has been the most significant text not just in our own history but in world history, so to study it is fairly logical.

rcoobc

It's a good story, but the network forced them to stick on a tacky happy ending to please the fans.

niMic

But it's not like the schools don't already have more than enough bibles. That was the point that was made in the article, that it's a lot harder to find Darwin than the bible.

gormless

No children are gonna bother reading the Bible unless they're already a Christian

Agent Red

Yeah that's my point about the expense issue, it's a waste if they've already got copies. I assume it's a special anniversary addition or whatever, but seems an unnecessary expense when, as you say, most already have a copy. Aside from that though, don't think there's an issue.

rcoobc

My 6 year old sister goes to a CofE school and Rainbows, and now talks about loving god all the time

She'll grow out of it.

Redlambs

Even then, it's not exactly going to capture their imaginations like other fairy tales.

Now Three Billy Goats Gruff on the other hand, there's something to believe in!


Maybe John Prescott should do a forward from the point of view of the troll under the bridge.

Mihajlovic

It depends how you read it. If you read it as literature it's perfectly readable for anyone.

niMic

Well, the old testament, definitely. The new testament.. I don't know, it's a bit boring.

Mihajlovic

I know what you mean, the NT seems 'less spectacular', in a sense, as it covers a super-short period of time (in comparison to the OT) and deals mainly with the historical Jesus and the development of the early church. Still, anything by Paul is very interesting, imo.

Mockney

I much prefer the baby killing bits.

Wonder Pigeon

The Bible is the dullest thing on the planet. It achieves this by making every dull part of it a reference to another dull part from earlier on, and filling the space in between as dull as it gets.

Mihajlovic

They're my favorite.

Eyepopper

Sequels are always shit.

niMic

The Jews had the right idea, they stuck with the original. Yahweh is a lot more badass than Jesus.

Mockney

I think the Rastas and the Baha'is got it right. They didn't sell out man. They're still underground enough to be cool. Jews are too mainstream.

w'or bobby

I an' I say you got i' right.

Bloodclat , dem talkin' duppies, mon.


Wot abaht a bit of other mythology instead of the rib-woman and snakes and apples rot ?

Gilgamesh , for example, - I mean, all this Babylon and Egyptian exiles and 40 years in the desert, manna and all that stuff - pure plagiarism.

Don't Kill Bill

He has cut the nutritional requirements on school meals then buys each school a bible.

We should all pray our children eat healthily because Gove will be doing fuck all to help.

Mihajlovic

I think the trick is to recognise the right genre. In the NT it's all spelled out for the reader so that he knows which part is historical narrative and which a parable, or prophetic oracle, for example. It's a little bit different in the OT where the story of Jonah, for example, is clearly a satire and serves as a counterpart to the nationalistic Book of Ezra. Same goes for a big part of the wisdom literature. It's often about commenting on society and human behaviour or extracting a divine principle rather than understanding the text as literal history.

Badunk

Tory cunts are cutting social services left right and centre but think it's a good idea to waste money on filling kids' heads full of dangerous nonsense?

Cunts

Badunk

This is how tories beget more tories. They indoctrinate kids with idiocy, which makes them stupid, therefore more likely to vote tory when they grow up.

Mihajlovic

Frosty

A plan by the education secretary, Michael Gove, to send a copy of the King James Bible to every school in the country – each including a personal inscription from him – has run into trouble after government sources reported he has been told to find private funding for the project.

Sources said David Cameron told Gove that while he supported the idea, the education secretary should avoid using taxpayers' money for it. But Gove has yet to find a private philanthropic sponsor for the enterprise, and some Whitehall sources said he has been told he cannot distribute the book until he does so, leaving thousands of copies in a warehouse abroad.

The Department for Education denied aspects of the story, but said they did not know if the copies had yet been printed, or where the copies might currently be stored. They added the Bible was always intended to be distributed to schools at Easter, so there had been no slippage in the timetable due to the lack of a sponsor.

Education department officials said the prime minister supported the plan and said they did not recognise accounts of a conversation in which Gove was told no taxpayers' money could be used. But Whitehall sources said Gove was told at the highest levels that it would be wrong to spend nearly £400,000 on the project at a time when the government was in negotiations with teaching unions over cuts to their pension entitlement.

Education department officials insisted the bibles would be distributed before Easter even if no sponsor had been found. A senior education department source said enough public cash was available to press ahead and No 10 had merely indicated that "sponsorship was desirable". A Department for Education official said in a statement: "The prime minister was clear in his speech in December about the importance of the King James Bible, and marking this important anniversary. The prime minister supports the plan to send a copy to every school. We continue to seek philanthropic sponsorship."

The 400th anniversary of the publication of the Bible was in 2011.

Earlier this week, Gove emerged as an enthusiastic supporter of plans for a new royal yacht to mark the Queen's diamond jubilee. He has insisted unambiguously in one letter that no taxpayers' money will be involved in the yacht project , but in another to cabinet ministers his wording appeared to suggest that public funding was an option.

Questions have been asked whether the upkeep, running costs and security surrounding a royal yacht would fall on the public purse. Gove has been both lauded and ridiculed for his support for the yacht, and has faced a similar divided response for his support for the King James Bible distribution.

In a speech in December, Cameron celebrated the importance of the King James Bible giving three reasons for its relevance.

He said: "The King James Bible has bequeathed a body of language that permeates every aspect of our culture and heritage. Second, just as our language and culture is steeped in the Bible, so too is our politics. Third, we are a Christian country. And we should not be afraid to say so. Let me be clear: I am not in any way saying that to have another faith – or no faith – is somehow wrong."

And lo! Gove's Bible project did run into a spot of bother | Politics | The Guardian

So 'austerity' for Gove means giving a billionaire a free yacht worth £60m and spending £400k on Bibles that are stuck in a foreign warehouse. His spin doctors must hate him...

spinoza

It's true that the King James bible is a great work of literature in itself. But there are other, better ones, without the religious baggage. How many schools have the complete works of Shakespeare? Darwin's already been mentioned.

I quite like the idea of ranking students in every subject. They should have relegation and promotion, with playoffs. Top students in every subject get to compete for the Champions League the year after. You should be able to get odds from the bookmakers.

Mockney

We're just coming out of one recession and might be going into another, I know, lets buy the Queen a new yacht and push religion back into schools. And they wonder why people say the tories are out of touch.

spinoza

He's bang on about higher academic standards though. Non-selectiveness seems to have resulted in a generation of entitlement obsessed fucktards coming through.