Latest news with #EducationReformActof1990
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Civics education has long been neglected in Oklahoma schools to the detriment of our society
Students work on an art project on April 8, 2024. (Photo by Nuria Martinez-Keel/Oklahoma Voice) Ever since I was a child, Oklahoma schools have struggled in terms of teaching history and civics. Even when I was too young to understand what Joseph McCarthy's 'Red Scare' was, I could sense that educators remained intimidated by what I learned was rightwing propaganda. And when I became a teacher at John Marshall High School in the early 1990s, school systems were pressured to use Texas-approved textbooks that were designed to comply with the teach-to-the-test mindset fostered by the Reagan administration's 'A Nation at Risk' campaign. After the House Bill 1017, known as the Education Reform Act of 1990, however, our teachers saw incremental improvements in teaching and learning – even in government classes. But, the Bush administration's No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, and the Obama administration's Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 especially undercut civics instruction. As districts were forced to focus on math and reading test scores, social studies was largely ignored. Although I was actively involved in resisting data-driven, competition-driven reforms, I must admit that I was too diplomatic when defending civics. I silently worried that our abandonment of social studies could be the most destructive result of corporate school reforms. But I was reluctant to criticize colleagues who gave up on the fight, and I didn't say aloud that our failure to teach government and history could help undermine American democracy. Today, however, our democracy is clearly in danger. At a time, for instance, when a president claims that he can seek a third term and seems to think he can ignore federal courts, a solid understanding of the Constitution is necessary. Moreover, today's students are anxious and feel disengaged and powerless in a world challenged by rapid changes in the climate, demography and technology. Fortunately, Lindsey Cormack's 'How to Raise a Citizen (And Why It's Up to You to Do It)' gives me hope. She offers practical – and bipartisan – approaches for discussing political issues and governmental processes that are very similar to what worked in John Marshall classrooms. And guess what? Cormack doesn't dump the entire challenge on schools and educators. Cormack builds on the traditions of parents taking on the role of discussing government and politics at the dinner table and encouraging their children to get involved in community and local government activities. The book reminds me about the ways my high school students, their communities and I taught each other how to actively participate in our democracy. Our academics shifted focus during presidential or mid-term elections, or when state or local politics dominated the headlines, or even when extreme events, like the Oklahoma City bombing, 9/11, or wars in Iraq and Afghanistan occurred. When English classes started reading Ralph Ellison's 'The Invisible Man,' I would teach about his experiences growing up in Oklahoma City. The students were especially insightful when guest lecturers visited, and during field trips to places like art museums, the 'Deep Deuce,' where Ellison grew up, and the state Capitol. This was especially true when a veteran of the Sit-In movement joined us in repeated trips to the Capitol. Legislators were always enthralled by the students' wisdom. Above all, student saw high-level instruction as a sign of respect, and responded by learning in a holistic and meaningful way. But in recent years, I've seen a shift in how we teach because of corporate school reformers teach-to-the-test mandates. It was only a few years ago, I was so hopeful that schools, families and communities would come together so we could nurture a commitment to civics education and our 21st century democracy. Now, I worry that our failures to teach civics and history have helped undermine our society's commitment to political institutions. I fear lawmakers will be unable to gather the courage to stand up to rightwing attacks on schools by state Superintendent Ryan Walters and his supporters that aim to mandate history standards such as 'identifying discrepancies in the 2020 election,' the 'halting of ballot-counting in select cities,' 'the security risks of mail-in balloting' and 'the unprecedented contradiction of 'bellwether county' trends.' I'm also concerned that our leaders won't have the gumption to push back against the Trump administration's focus on defunding promising education and nonprofit programs. Because it will take a village and diverse strategies to build on our communities' strengths and to raise and educate our children. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Oklahoma Legislature needs long-range plan to bridge education gaps
Oklahoma issued an all-time high of 4,676 emergency certifications for the 2023-24 school year. That is in stark contrast to the 32 emergency certifications issued for the 2011-12 school year. In addition, schools are also increasingly hiring adjunct teachers who have no certification whatsoever. Alternative and emergency teaching certifications require a bachelor's degree. This allows schools to hire individuals with only a high school diploma full time as adjunct teachers. When Oklahoma had the notorious distinction of having some of the worst bridges in the nation, the Legislature created a special long-range plan for funding. Twenty years after its adoption, Oklahoma has made significant improvements to the state's highway infrastructure due to an increase to its annual budget of more than $400 million. More: Slow down, Gov. Stitt. We need other things more than a tax cut | Opinion Why hasn't the Legislature created a similar long-range plan for improving its funding for education? Don't all students deserve to have a qualified teacher? Perhaps the answer is that most of the money expended for highways goes to private contractors who have an incentive and the resources to make campaign contributions to legislators, whereas education funding goes to public entities, which cannot. What the state needs is something like the Education Reform Act of 1990. It increased state funding to reduce class sizes, establish minimum teacher salaries, provide for teacher assistants, competency testing, college ready courses, and mandatory professional development. Senate Bill 201 by Sen. Adam Pugh is a good start and has already passed the Senate Education Committee. More: Oklahoma legislators should learn from decades of education reform | Opinion Over three decades ago, Oklahoma City discovered that being a low tax, low regulation state wasn't enough to attract business. To improve its standing, it passed MAPS. It's time the state came to the realization that it needs to make a major advance in our education system if we are serious about bringing business to the state. McGoodwin is a former deputy director of the Office of State Finance, now the Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES). This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: We improved our roads; we can do the same for Okla. education | Opinion
