'Wives should submit to their husbands - say textbooks...'

No, not in Afghanistan, in any Arabian countries or
in India. Three private schools in Manchester, in Ancoats, Moston and Ardwick, three among the 22 schools in the UK listed in the CEE website, use the Tennessee based Accelerated Christian Education (A.C.E) curriculum and do not sit for GCSEs and
A-Levels but sit for an International Christian Certificate of Education. The spokes-persons of the Christian schools in Manchester have defended teaching children from American textbooks which state that abortion is wrong, evolution is a lie and homosexuals
choose to be gay.
According to a report of The Independent of 22 June, 2014, textbooks provided by the A.C.E organisation and seen by the Manchester Evening News (M.E.N.) also state ‘God wants wives to submit to their husbands’ and tells kids they can avoid AIDS by practising the Bible'. Dr Greg Hibbins, general manager of Christian Education Europe, said: “The users of our curriculum are independent and have the choice to adapt and manage the content as they choose.”
“All independent schools — including those run by Christian Education Europe — must ensure that pupils are taught respect for others of different cultures and beliefs”, according to an official of the Department for Education, Manchester.
But this discussion is not a new one. According to a report “Creationist exams comparable to international A-levels, says Naric” by The Guardian dated 31 July, 2009, “Jonny Scaramanga, who was a pupil at a school in Bath that used the textbooks, has complained to Naric [The National Recognition Information Centre] that the books tell pupils that the Loch Ness monster "appears to be a plesiosaur" and helps to disprove evolution. […] The textbooks also state that apartheid helped South Africa because segregated schools "made it possible for each group to maintain and pass on their culture and heritage to their children".

What is A.C.E.?
According to the homepage, Accelerated Christian Education offers both the campus-based school and the home school based on a comprehensive Bible-based programme. Two of the seven “distinctive” features as described in the homepage of A.C.E are:

• Biblically based Program Infused with Godly Character;
• Individualistic Approach.

“On the surface, most schools look alike—buildings, personnel, curriculum, and budgets. The A.C.E. program is different. For over 40 years, it has been the trendsetter in Biblical educational reform. Its philosophy is built on basic principles of the Word of God. Students are taught to see life from God’s point of view, to take responsibility for their own learning, and to walk in Godly wisdom and character. Accelerated Christian Education® is not just a publisher but a comprehensive Bible-based program that serves both the campus-based school and the homeschool.”
These reports in the print media created huge furore, internationally and also in the social media like Facebook or Twitter. For a researcher in the area of textbooks research, the posted feedbacks are no less interesting and provide a good input for another study. Because by adopting the A.C.E curriculum and these textbooks, the right wing creationist ideologies of Christian Fundamentalists of the US are spreading in Europe, which is a threat to developing a scientific temper and rational attitudes through education.

Basabi Khan Banerjee

Information:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com - http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk
http://www.theguardian.com 
http://aceministries.com