Abeka Book, LLC, known as A Beka Book until 2017, is an American publisher affiliated with Pensacola Christian College (PCC) that produces K-12 curriculum materials that are used by Christian schools and homeschooling families around the world.[3][4][5] It is named after Rebekah Horton, wife of college president Arlin Horton. By the 1980s, Abeka and BJU Press (formerly Bob Jones University Press) were the two major publishers of Christian-based educational materials in America.[6] Its books have been criticized for lack of academic rigor and misinformation on scientific and historical subjects.
 Logo since 2017 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Educational publishing |
| Founded | 1972 |
| Headquarters | Pensacola, Florida |
Key people | Arlin Horton (founder) |
| Revenue | $1.4 million[2] |
| Parent | Pensacola Christian College |
| Website | www |
History
edit
The company started in 1972 as A Beka Book. In 2017, the company rebranded as Abeka. The video program Abeka Academy is on DVD and streams on the web.
Accreditation
editAbeka's video program (Abeka Academy) and the Traditional Parent-Directed program are accredited[7] by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commissions on Elementary and Secondary Schools (MSA-CESS) and by the Florida Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (FACCS).
Criticism
editSome Abeka textbooks have been criticized by educators as lacking academic rigor and taking contrary or reactive positions toward their subject matter. Experts from the University of Florida and University of Central Florida in 2018 criticized the content of Abeka textbooks as being markedly more simple and less challenging than the content of comparable textbooks used in public education.[8]
Abeka history books are dramatically different from mainstream books, especially on matters of race. A section of the high-school textbook United States History: Heritage of Freedom is entitled Birth of a Nation, evoking the 1915 film of the same name that glorified the Ku-Klux-Klan.[9] Other extreme Christian Nationalist rhetoric goes so far as to describe slavery as "black immigration".[10][11]
Abeka takes Biblical literalist and young Earth creationist positions in its science curriculum, teaching the Genesis creation narrative as a literal and factual account.[12] An Abeka science book denounces evolution as a "retreat from science."[8]
In 2006 the Association of Christian Schools International sued the University of California after the university rejected school credits based on books published by Abeka and one similar publisher. In the case of Association of Christian Schools International v. Roman Stearns, a judge upheld the University of California's finding that the books are "inconsistent with the viewpoints and knowledge generally accepted in the scientific community".[13]
Tax status ruling
editBetween 1988 and 1996, Abeka Book held tax exempt status, because its profits were channeled into PCC as a tax-exempt religious organization or educational institution.[14] In January 1995, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service ruled that the college's publishing arm was liable for taxes as a profit-making entity. The IRS further ruled that the profits of the publishing arm benefited the organization as a whole, because both A Beka Book and PCC were run under the same organization and that all of the profits of A Beka Book went directly to PCC, constituting 60% of the college's income.[15] The effect of this ruling rendered the publishing company ineligible for future tax exempt status.
Although PCC was ultimately cleared of any liability for back taxes, PCC paid the estimated $44.5 million, and A Beka Book paid another $3.5 million.[citation needed]
References
edit- ^ "LC Name Change". Sunbiz.ort. State of Florida. 2018-05-21. Retrieved 2018-06-12.
- ^ "A Beka Book, Inc". Dun & Bradstreet, Inc. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
- ^ "Review of: Major Publishers Overview". Archived from the original on 2013-07-07. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
- ^ Wagner, Melinda Bollar (1991). God's schools: choice and compromise in American society. Rutgers University Press. p. 157. ISBN 978-0-8135-1607-3.
- ^ Parsons, Paul F (1988). Inside America's Christian Schools. Mercer University Press. p. 89. ISBN 978-0-86554-303-4.
- ^ Parsons, Paul F (1988). Inside America's Christian Schools. Mercer University Press. p. 42. ISBN 978-0-86554-303-4.
- ^ "Abeka Academy | Accreditation".
- ^ a b Postal, Leslie; Kassab, Beth; Martin, Annie (2018-06-01). "Private schools' curriculum downplays slavery, says humans and dinosaurs lived together". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 2022-12-02.
- ^ Laats, Adam (October 12, 2023). "The Right-Wing Textbooks Shaping What Many Americans Know About History". Time. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
The history content of Abeka textbooks was—and remains—dramatically distinct from mainstream books. One section of the latest edition of the high-school textbook, United States History: Heritage of Freedom, is titled "Birth of a Nation," evoking the infamous 1915 pro-Ku-Klux-Klan film of that name. Moreover, in teaching the aftermath of the Civil War, instead of focusing on the violence that derailed Reconstruction-era governments, the textbook explains that Reconstruction failed because many formerly enslaved people were "not prepared for political responsibility." The book does briefly note that "some Southern whites used illegal methods" and "terror tactics," including forming the KKK. Yet, that mention of white terrorism is buried within an overall message of white victimhood.
- ^ Klein, Rebecca (August 12, 2021). "The rightwing US textbooks that teach slavery as 'black immigration'". Retrieved 14 November 2023.
The Guardian reviewed dozens of textbooks produced by the Christian textbook publishers Abeka, Bob Jones University Press and Accelerated Christian Education, three of the most popular textbook sources used in private schools throughout the US. These textbooks describe slavery as "black immigration", and say Nelson Mandela helped move South Africa to a system of "radical affirmative action".
- ^ Smietana, Bob; McFarlan Miller, Emily (December 23, 2022). "How the Battle Over Christian Nationalism Often Starts With Homeschooling". Pulitzer Center. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
"The History of the United States in Christian Perspective," a textbook from Abeka, promises students: "You will learn how God blessed America because of the principles (truths) for which America stands." Those truths made America "the greatest nation on the face of the earth," the book says, before issuing a warning: "No nation can remain great without God's blessing."
- ^ "Creationist lawsuit against UC system to proceed". National Center for Science Education. August 10, 2006. Retrieved 2009-11-18.
- ^ "Judge throws out religious discrimination suit". North County Times. August 8, 2008. Archived from the original on August 15, 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
- ^ "Taxpayers foot religious school's tax tab". St. Petersburg Times. Jul 7, 1996. Retrieved 2013-03-20.[dead link]
- ^ "College Pays Millions in Taxes". Christianity Today. October 28, 1996. Retrieved 2006-10-20.