Let’s be honest. Aren’t you tired of having the same conversations year after year with politicians and hearing the same old stump speeches? We are going to fix education! We are going to fight for education! We are going to support families and their students! Blah. Blah. Blah.
And the more money we spend, we seem to only encounter new problems. A new building will not fix it. A school board member or two will not fix it. And here is what most voters also know to be true…vouchers aren’t going to fix it.
I want to bring your attention to Superintendent Ryan Walters and what he is doing to fix education in Oklahoma. Effective immediately, Oklahoma schools are required to incorporate the Bible as part of the curricula in grades five through 12.[1] The Bible is a required part of the academic rigor of understanding history and the foundations of our American form of government. As part of this new requirement, a copy of the Bible is to be placed in every classroom.
Further, Superintendent Walters is committed to revamping the standards in his state for social studies curriculum in the classroom. Understanding the necessity for students to have a proper grasp on America’s founding from a historically correct perspective, Walters has put together an Executive Review Committee consisting of conservative stalwarts Dennis Prager, David Barton, and Steve Deace.[2]
This is happening in Oklahoma right now. And, of course, the ACLU and other groups as well as the progressive court system are as ominous and threatening as ever. Yet, Walters and his administration press on. Why? Because it’s the right thing to do.
The first question you should be asking yourself right now is, “Why are we not making these kinds of moves here in Tennessee?” And that is a great question. And here is the simple answer. We do not have anyone in leadership in Tennessee willing to make this happen, primarily, a Governor willing to do what it takes to push back against those who continue to strangle our public school system.
One key distinction to make between Tennessee and Oklahoma is that Oklahoma’s Superintendent of Public Instruction[3] is an elected position[4]. That means that the director of the state’s education programs is accountable to the voters. Contrast that with Tennessee’s counterpart, the Commissioner of Education, currently Lizzette Gonzales Reynolds appointed by Governor Bill Lee.
In Tennessee, our Commissioner of Education is appointed by the Governor. They are hired and fired and completely accountable to one person, the Governor. If you are paying attention, that should cause you to ask another question, “Why would Governor Bill Lee not appoint someone like Ryan Walters who would make the necessary changes in our public education system to align with our values?” And that is a great question.
Seemingly, accountability to the voters yields one set of results while accountability to a governor yields another.
Meanwhile, in Tennessee, we have resigned ourselves to the idea that our public schools are hopeless, and we should abandon efforts to fix our schools. The mantra is that the teacher’s unions are just too powerful and apparently, our constitutional officers like the Governor and the General Assembly lack the jurisdiction to put the Bible back in schools and ensure that we are teaching a conservative and historically accurate view of the world.
So, to fix this, the Governor has put all of his eggs in the voucher basket claiming that pumping your tax dollars into private schools is going to create competition and therefore cause our public schools to miraculously change course as parents choose to exit the public school system. The problem is that the school choice idea has been around since 1955 and that proposed rising tide lifts all boats scenario has happened exactly, nowhere.
Voters want to see what is happening in Oklahoma. They want to see decisive action and the progressive agenda being pulled up from the roots in our school system. They want someone to lead. And I believe that Superintendent Ryan Walters is showing us the way.
Minus the day that Americans for Prosperity (AFP) bussed a group of people to the Capitol and fed them lunch, I have never seen or heard of a group of citizens clamoring for school choice. There is no movement. There is no grassroots push from citizens. Parents are not up in arms about vouchers or making demands of their legislators. That has never happened.
What I do see is a continuous barrage of messaging from special interest groups across the country like Americans for Prosperity and American Federation for Children. And we see millions of out-of-state dollars pouring in from PACs operating out of Washington DC into our local elections all in an effort to defeat Republican opponents to Governor Lee’s vouchers.
If you are living in an area with a contested Republican primary in Tennessee, you know this is true because your mailboxes have been assaulted by political junk mail. But here is what you need to be paying close attention to. These ads that are attacking conservative candidates are not messaging on school choice. They are messaging on issues that are important to voters like inflation and illegal immigration.
So, this should prompt another really important question, “Why would national advocacy groups who are pushing school choice spend millions of dollars against conservative candidates but never mention the issue of school choice?” And the answer, again, is incredibly simple. It’s because they know talking about vouchers is not going to move the voter. They know that vouchers are not popular with voters so they use PACs to pick off their enemies by trashing them and slandering on a host of other issues that pull at the emotional strings of the voter. Disgusting, isn’t it?
Here are two practical takeaways from this discussion.
When you receive a political mailer, immediately look to see who PAID FOR the advertisement. If the mailer did not come directly from the candidate, ignore every word of it.
Lastly, we have the power to change our schools for the better and we can do it immediately. The problem is that we currently lack the political will and the leadership to accomplish the task.
[1] Kingkade, Tyler. “Oklahoma Superintendent Ryan Walters Orders Bible Taught in Schools.” NBCNews.Com, NBCUniversal News Group, 27 June 2024, www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/oklahoma-ryan-walters-bible-taught-in-school-rcna159307.
[2] Evans, Murray. “Ryan Walters Includes Bible Instruction in New Social Studies Standards for School Districts.” The Oklahoman, Oklahoman, 10 July 2024, www.oklahoman.com/story/news/politics/government/2024/07/09/ryan-walters-bible-oklahoma-public-schools-social-studies-prager-u/74342238007/.
[3] “State Superintendent of Public Instruction.” Oklahoma State Department of Education, sde.ok.gov/superintendent. Accessed 21 July 2024.
[4] “Ryan Walters.” Ballotpedia, ballotpedia.org/Ryan_Walters. Accessed 21 July 2024.