State Representative Terri Lynn Weaver paid a visit to the Alexandria Senior Citizens Center Monday as she makes her way across the 40th district on a Senior Listening Tour.
“I want to know what issues are concerning our seniors and how I can help them going forward as we look at the next legislative session coming up in January,” Weaver told WJLE.
Her next stop in DeKalb County will be at the Smithville Senior Citizens Center on Thursday, October 29 for a covered dish lunch at 11:30 a.m. She will also be at the Liberty Senior Citizens Center on Monday, November 2 at 9:30 a.m.
Representative Weaver recently completed an informative school tour in her district. “I just finished a school tour to all of my schools in the district. There are 28 of them. It was really very informative for me. There are some big concerns going on and I’m sure you’ve probably heard right next door to you in White County where parents are very upset about some of the curriculum that is being taught in our seventh grade world and geography books. There is quite an extended amount of Islam teaching to our children. There’s not much balance there because there is not much mention of Christianity. We are a Christian nation. There is a lot of voicing and concern about why this is happening,” she said.
Representative Weaver said parents should learn more about what their children are studying in school and express any concerns they have to the Governor’s Office and the Tennessee Department of Education. “During that school tour in my district I found that you can’t blame the teachers. They have to teach what is before them. To teach to a test. State Senator Mae Beavers and I carried the “Weaver/Beavers” bill which was intended to repeal Common Core and get rid of some of this content that is being taught. A lot of teachers are very sad and they are very concerned about our children. A good teacher is always concerned about the child. But they’re also concerned about the content that is in these books. This particular textbook is by Pearson and it’s for the 7th grade. It’s called “My World History and Geography”. I would encourage parents to call the Governor’s Office and to rally teachers and other parents to make sure your voice is heard. This is handled through the State Department of Education and the Commissioner of Education. These textbooks were purchased through contracts and against the will of a lot of people. This book is appalling in that they would spend 50 plus pages teaching religion that is so anti against us and it is a sugar coated version. It is not even the truth. They don’t mention what happens to Christians in countries that don’ embrace this religion. You lose your head. Horrible atrocities are happening and that’s why we’re having such a migration of refugees (from other countries). They are fleeing for their lives. They don’t mention that (in textbooks). Of course I am not against teaching religion in terms of culture and how it relates to a native land. But they are not even mentioning that our nation was based on Christian principles. It’s wrong. Obviously we should never teach indoctrination. I don’t agree with that but we can teach a well balanced idea of the different religions and the politics that it involved in culture. But to take 50 pages and pontificate on Islam and Muslim teaching I think is very wrong and that is why I am applauding these parents for getting involved with their children’s education,” said Weaver.
Meanwhile Representative Terri Lynn Weaver said she is honored to have recently been named “Legislator of the Year” by the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference in Chattanooga.
Weaver was recognized by the state’s district attorneys general for championing issues of concern to them. “It was such an honor for me and I was very grateful to work with such distinguished men and women of our state. There were a couple pieces of legislation that we all worked hard together on. One was the victim’s bill that now allows a picture of a murdered victim to be in our courtrooms so that there is a presence of the person that was murdered. Before, normally they would just have autopsy pictures of these people but now family members can have a picture of their loved ones in our courtrooms. That was a big win for the DA’s. And we’re working hard on another piece of legislation now that is very dear to my heart. It’s the drug addicted baby’s bill. The bill’s intent and mission statement is to help mothers who are in addiction. If they’re doing illegal drugs, it’s illegal anyway but (under the legislation) these pregnant women will be able to go into a drug facility/drug court which has a high percentage of success. A lot of times these women actually get healed and whole and they get to have their babies. But when their babies are born addicted to drugs, then they (mothers) should be accountable because of what they’re ingesting and giving to this other little life inside of them. There’s way too many of these cases happening. We’re going to do part two of this bill coming up in this legislative session but we’ll have a fight because there is a consideration of having the bill actually sunset and we don’t want that to happen,” said Representative Weaver.