This is actually a bit late – Nov 18 of 2024 – but the nomination has a nasty observation at the end.<\/p>\n
\nOklahoma\u2019s superintendent of public education can\u2019t require schools to show students\u00a0a video<\/a>\u00a0of him praying for Donald Trump and condemning teachers’ unions, the state attorney general’s office said.<\/p>\n
The state superintendent, Ryan Walters,\u00a0emailed the bizarre video to school district superintendents last week<\/a>, saying his office was requiring the video be shown to students and shared with parents, as well.\u00a0Talk about self-absorption.\u00a0<\/em>[MSNBC<\/strong><\/em><\/a>, Ja’han Jones]<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
This is along with various abrogations of the rule against endorsement of religion, and an ideological test for incoming teachers. Getting the President’s attention requires non-stop work, y’all.<\/p>\n
How did all that work out for Mr Walters? Oklahoma was rated in education … 50th out of 51st<\/a>, with New Mexico the only State\/entity ranked worse. Significantly, the excuses began immediately from Mr Walters (same article from KOCO News<\/strong><\/em>):<\/p>\n
“A lot of these are kind of ridiculous,\u201d Walters said. “They love to take into account how much money we put into education. That’s never been an evaluation of mine of what makes a good education system \u2014 it’s outcomes.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Sure, if the rating was on ideology then he’d be doing great. But teaching ideology in school only sounds good until you consider an ideology you don’t like. Then, like forbidding endorsements, implicit and explicit, of sects by government, it becomes sensible not to teach ideologies.<\/p>\n
No matter how much it might appeal to President Trump.<\/p>\n
So what’s happening with Mr Walters?<\/p>\n
Oklahoma Superintendent Ryan Walters announced Wednesday that he would step down from his role overseeing the state’s schools to lead the conservative group Teacher Freedom Alliance, saying, “We’re going to destroy the teachers unions.”<\/p>\n
The announcement from Walters, a conservative Republican who pushed to incorporate teaching about the Bible into public school classrooms, caps off a contentious tenure marked by a willingness to embrace culture war issues.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Oh, isn’t he adorable? Destroy teachers unions<\/em>.<\/p>\n
I suggest the unions not take the bait. Instead, welcome the Teacher Freedom Alliance<\/strong><\/em> (TFA<\/strong><\/em>) to the great war of, well, teaching kids<\/em>. State that you look forward to working with them, will invite them to conferences, etc. It gives TFA<\/strong><\/em> three choices: run around screaming like lunatics while ignoring the invite; go to the conferences and run around screaming like lunatics; or be adults and discard the demonization of teachers’ unions.<\/p>\n
My guess is that Mr Walters, being one of those folks who think culture warriors<\/em> are important, will go with the first option and discover, too late, that the public wants effective education, and that the unions are acceptable so long as they facilitate … education.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This is actually a bit late – Nov 18 of 2024 – but the nomination has a nasty observation at the end. Oklahoma\u2019s superintendent of public education can\u2019t require schools to show students\u00a0a video\u00a0of him praying for Donald Trump and condemning teachers’ unions, the state attorney general’s office said. The \u2026 Continue reading