Along the lines of yesterday’s blog post, today I’m writing about the lack of a separation of church and state in public education in Oklahoma.
My concern is that once one of the 50 states in our country gets away with the eroding of the separation of church and state, other states with such leanings take note and follow suit.
The separation of church and state is in the very foundation of our country. My sister and I came across a blatant example of how things were in colonial Virginia while we were doing genealogical research.
One of our ancestors was in and out of jail in Virginia in the early 1700s for such things as “playing cards on the Sabbath.” What hit us in the face, though, was that every time he was put in jail for playing cards on the Sabbath, abusing a judge, or not paying his court fine, his fine was that he had to give the Church of England so many pounds of tobacco.
That was the law in colonial days, and it one of the root causes of the American Revolution.
It is no surprise, then, that the first clause in our Bill of Rights – the first clause in the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States is, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.”
Ryan Walters in Oklahoma
Oklahoma School Superintendent Ryan Walters said on Friday that his state will no longer give statewide reading and math tests. Each school district will be left to choose what tests to give its students.
So much for trying to have a statewide standard in education.
Walters has been a controversial person as he set out from the beginning to disrupt education in Oklahoma. He made a name for himself by requiring every classroom to be equipped with a Bible with very specific criteria.
Only two Bibles on the market met those criteria: Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A. Bible” (endorsed by Donald Trump, who gets a commission for copies sold) and “We The People Bible” endorsed by Donald Trump, Jr. Greenwood’s Bible sells for $60 and Trump, Jr.’s Bible sells for a mere $90. Walters asked for bids to buy 55,000 of them. (Jesus must be so proud of both of them… er… all three of these men.
Last November, Walters emailed school superintendents across Oklahoma to announce that the State had purchased 500 “God Bless the U.S.A.” Bibles and required that students be shown a prerecorded video of the announcement. That video of Walters included his making accusations against his political opponents and then he transitioned into a prayer for “Trump’s [campaign] Team” and praying against Trump’s opponents. As State School Superintendent, Walters has no power to dictate curriculum.
What are Ryan Walters’ qualifications to be a state school superintendent?
He is a Republican.
He supports the book-banning organization Moms for Liberty.
He requested that teachers show their students a video of him praying for Donald Trump.
He lashes out against “woke ideology.”
He has accused teachers of trying to indoctrinate students.
He labeled the Oklahoma Education Association is a “terrorist organization.”
He says the separation of church and state is a liberal “myth.”
He claims the “left-wing media” hates the Bible.
The Oklahoma Education Association
Take a look at the “Vision, Mission, and Values” of the Oklahoma Education Association on the teachers’ organization website (https://okea.org/about-oea/) and tell me what indicates it is a “terrorist organization.”
Questionable ethics
Speaking at a town hall, Walters responded to, “How does the Tulsa Race Massacre not fall under your definition of critical race theory?” by saying, “Let’s not tie it to the skin color and say that the skin color determined that.”
In May 2022, it was reported by newspapers in Oklahoma that even while working as the state’s Secretary of Education, Walters stayed on as the executive director of Every Kid Counts Oklahoma, a nonprofit organization that was somehow able to pay Walters $120,000 per year. The organization was/is funded by national school privatization proponents and charter school expansion advocates including the Walton Family Foundation and a group funded by Charles Koch.
It seems like an oxymoron for an advocate for the privatization of public schools to hold the office of Secretary of Education for a state. (North Carolina dodged that bullet in the November 2024 election.)
After successfully campaigning for reelection as State Superintendent of Public Instruction in 2022, Walters was fined for 14 violations of Oklahoma political campaign finance ethics rules.
Conclusion
Standardized tests in the United States have been under attack for years. I am not personally qualified to say the tests are good or bad. I believe all such educational resources should be up for constant scrutiny to elevate the education of the children in the United States; however, to just eliminate the testing does not seem to be a good answer.
Leaving curriculum selection and testing up to each little school district is a recipe for disaster. Look at the individuals on your local school board. What are their qualifications for making such decisions?
It’s past time for Americans to start paying more attention to the names on a ballot and not just to those running for President. Government begins on the local level. I caution you against voting for anyone just because they seem to be “a good person.”
There are a lot of Rayn Walters-types running for office in the United States, so be careful who you vote for.
There are lots of wolves walking around in sheep’s clothing.
Janet
Janet's Writing Blog 