Critics Call On Education Secretary to Repudiate Published Statement or Resign

"All things equal, I would prefer to have a child in a school that has a strong appreciation for the values of the Christian community, where a child is taught to have a strong faith," Paige said in an interview published Monday by the Baptist Press, the news service of the Southern Baptist Convention.

"The reason that Christian schools and Christian universities are growing is a result of a strong value system," he said. "In a religious environment the value system is set. That's not the case in a public school where there are so many different kids with different kinds of values."

"My faith in God is not a separate part of me," Paige said. "I can't do that. I know clearly that where I am and what I do is not so much a product of my work, but a product of God's grace."

To those who disagree with his position that religion has a place in the public schools, Paige replied: "I would offer critics my prayers."

Sandra Feldman, president of the American Federation of Teachers, a union representing 1.3 million teachers, said Paige should quickly clarify or recant his comments.

"Secretary Paige is right about one thing: Our public schools are filled with, as he said, many different kinds of kids with different values. But it is insulting for the secretary -- who should be the advocate for the over 50 million children in our public schools -- to say their diversity somehow compromises those schools. Nothing could be further from the truth. That is precisely what makes our public schools great," she said.

Paige did not have that good a reputation as head of the Houston School District and is deacon at the conservative Brentwood Baptist Church in Houston.

A number of my links today are from BuzzFlash.