Paige’s Intemperate Words

The words were enough to send chills down many spines. Start with Muslims, Jews and other non-Christians who have children in public schools.

“I’d prefer to have a child in a school where there’s a strong appreciation for values, the kinds of values that I think are associated with the Christian communities,” Secretary of Education Rod Paige told a reporter from Union University, a Baptist school in Tennessee. The interview was picked up by the news service of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Even if he intended his remarks to apply only to universities, as he said in a later statement, a Cabinet officer who is the federal voice in public education should use more careful language.

Paige’s strong support of publicly funded vouchers for religious schools also colors public interpretation of his remarks. Members of religious minorities are vocal about keeping public schools separate from religious belief because once religion enters the public forum, the dominant religious belief becomes ascendant.

In another statement during the same interview, Paige delivered an implied slap at the diversity of public secular schools. He said a “strong value system” was the reason for Christian school growth. “In a religious environment, the value system is set,” he said. “That’s not the case in a public school, where there are so many different kids with different kinds of values.”

Later in the interview, Paige said, “There is a place for God in public schools.” He said he would pray for those who disagreed.

There’s no evidence that Paige, who has a long history in public education, is a religious bigot.

In a telephone press conference Wednesday to clarify his remarks, he complained about “miscontext” but did not disavow the quotes. He said there were nonreligious ways for schools to focus on values and that he respected the separation of church and state.

The interviewer “asked me a personal preference about my personal views,” Paige said. “ ... This has no connection with how I perform my duties as the secretary of Education.”

As a private person and a Baptist, Paige is entitled to believe that a Christian environment would work best for him personally. He should, however, understand that his public remarks are inevitably going to be taken as a reflection of his desired public policy. They showed, at best, a lack of thoughtfulness and sensitivity that he has yet to acknowledge.