Wednesday, April 28, 2021

Homeschooling in Oklahoma nearly tripled during the government lockdown

New data from the U.S. Census Bureau show that, nationwide, homeschooling doubled between the spring of 2020 and the fall of 2020. In Oklahoma, it nearly tripled—from 7.7 percent of households to 20.1 percent. (Importantly, Census says this is “true homeschooling” rather than simply “virtual learning through a public or private school.”)

Tuesday, April 20, 2021

Oklahoma pastors and the oppressed

"Some pastors in Oklahoma are insisting that Christian faithfulness requires us to oppose school choice policies," Greg Forster points out in a new article. 

"How do they justify identifying Christian faithfulness with defending a school monopoly that destroys children’s lives in order to line the pockets of special interests?" Dr. Forster asks. "How do some churches go so terribly wrong that they identify the oppressors as the oppressed, and thus defend in God’s name a system of power that oppresses the poor?"

To find out, read the whole thing here. There are roughly 126 of these pastors in Oklahoma, including the following.

Rev. Lori Walke is the senior pastor of Mayflower Congregational Church in Oklahoma City. She has presided over the same-sex “marriage” ceremonies of more than 100 couples.

Rev. Clark Frailey, recipient of last year's OEA Friend of Education Award, is the lead pastor of Coffee Creek Church in Edmond. He recently praised the work of atheists, feminists, LGBTQ activists, and others trying to make sure more children don’t attend Christian schools.

To see the complete list of pastors, click here. It's alarming, Dr. Forster wrote of these pastors in 2018, "when religious leaders make themselves tools of secular selfishness in the name of, yet to the detriment of, better schools for kids."

Monday, April 19, 2021

Oklahoma scholarship program helps deaf and hard-of-hearing children

"For Melissa Harnden, finding a school where her daughter, Hadley, could thrive and be around children with similar needs was a dream come true," our friends at the Opportunity Scholarship Fund (OSF) report. "We are so glad they found success at Happy Hands Education Center. OSF is grateful to provide tax-credit scholarships to families needing a specialized environment for their child. Learn more about our accredited member schools here.

Wednesday, April 14, 2021

School choice as prophetic justice

Greg Forster marvels that some Oklahoma pastors defend a school monopoly that often destroys children’s lives in order to line the pockets of greedy, politically connected special interests.

Tuesday, April 13, 2021

Put parents in charge with a universal ESA

"Education is child-rearing, and it belongs to parents," Greg Forster writes. "Putting parents in charge of education through universal Education Savings Accounts is the best way to help schools cope with the challenges of the Covid crisis in a way that will actually deliver the best possible education."

Tuesday, April 6, 2021

Norman schools: Equity means some groups get more

Norman public school teachers are instructed they should "teach about sexism, poverty, racism, ableism, transphobia, and heterosexism."

Friday, April 2, 2021

Civics legislation a Trojan horse for state-sanctioned racism?

"Proposed federal legislation to support increased civics and history instruction in K-12 schools may well be a Trojan horse to introduce even more radical social justice and critical race theory indoctrination for children," Mike Brake reports.