But as is the fashion of debunkers, our modern naysayers often cannot be troubled with understanding what actually happened throughout our actual history, and so they resort to the simple expedient of putting a different film into the retrospective projector. … Anybody who talks about the settling of North America as though it were a cohesive group called “white people” doing the settling and a group of indigenous flower children being displaced by the disembarking whites is someone who probably ought to stay out of the conversation. ...In short, Wilson writes, "because envy is a wasting disease, a wasting disease that seeks to deck itself out in the language of virtue, it blurs all historical distinction, and talks a great deal about social justice. We, on the other hand, like to talk about a little thing we call justice justice."
The inhabitants of North America when Columbus landed were divided into many tribes, multiple tribes, and these tribes had different languages, customs, histories, and characteristics. Quite a number of these tribes were mortal enemies, one to another. And to make the whole situation even more festive, the newcomers were also divided into different tribes, and they had different languages, customs, histories and characteristics. A number of these tribes were mortal enemies, one to another.
White tribes would war with each other, like the French and English did. Red tribes would war with each other, like the Comanche and Apache. Red tribes would go to war with white tribes, like the Wampanoag in King Philip’s War, with the Mohawk fighting on the side of the English. And white tribes would grievously mistreat oppress red tribes, as happened to the Five Civilized Tribes (Choctaw, Chickasaw, Seminole, Creek and Cherokee), culminating in the Trail of Tears. And I use white and red above, not as my categories, but rather as a way of illustrating that when you zoom out that far, such that those are the two identifying characteristics that you see, then by that point you understand almost nothing.
Wednesday, November 27, 2019
The way kids are learning about Thanksgiving is changing
"Oklahoma schools teach native history in Thanksgiving," The Oklahoman reports. And Brian McNicoll has a helpful article here. In short, Douglas Wilson writes, "the tumultuous history of Thanksgiving has left the door open for many postmodern wielders of corrosive acids to step in with their view that Thanksgiving really ought to be renamed something like Genocide Awareness Day."
Your child's school will improve 'eventually'
"Despite a dramatic increase in school funding and the adoption of what state officials say are higher academic standards, Oklahoma students’ academic performance on state tests mostly remained stagnant in 2019 or lower than in 2017," Ray Carter reports.
That has some officials asking how long Oklahomans will have to wait to see promised results. “When do you expect the curve to shift back upward and how long do you anticipate that taking?” asked State Board of Education member Jennifer Monies during that group’s monthly meeting.
“Eventually,” replied State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister.
Sadly, as James Lankford observed poignantly in 2015, that's small consolation for parents: "My child doesn't have a few more years. This is my child's only shot."
Protecting our students through parental freedom
"Students should not have to wait years or become victims of violent crime before their parents are allowed to transfer them to safer schools," Vicki Alger and Tim Benson write.
OKC students stomp on boy, rip off his clothes
"A school bus brawl was caught on camera, leaving parents frightened to continue sending their children to John Marshall Middle School," KFOR reports.
A middle school boy was left laying in a fetal position on the floor of a metro school bus. ... Kids are seen shoving and stomping on the boy. ... Then, students pin him down and rip off his clothes. ... Police are familiar with John Marshall Middle School. They’ve been called to the school countless times this school year and even line the perimeter of the campus. Teachers and students were seen under dogpiles, and now, the all-out brawls are moving to the bus.
Tuesday, November 26, 2019
Saturday, November 23, 2019
Friday, November 22, 2019
Oklahoma student expelled after passing out cannabis gummies on school bus
The ABC affiliate in Philadelphia has the story.
Jenks High School campus police arrest three after finding guns, drugs in 'suspicious' vehicle
"Three people were arrested Thursday morning on the Jenks High School campus after police caught them with guns and illegal drugs in the parking lot," the Tulsa World reports.
Thursday, November 21, 2019
'Just give it time and the schools will get better'
[Guest post by Jonathan Small]
Oklahoma school appropriations have surged by 20 percent over the last two legislative sessions, but outcomes continue to decline, as has become apparent with the release of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the ACT exam, and state testing results. When I point this out, I’m often told to “give it time,” that one cannot expect school performance to change in just one or two years.
Fair enough. But the problem is that this pattern extends for decades. Oklahomans have steadily increased school funding through the years, but the outcomes produced by the school system are often unchanged from prior decades—or even worse.
In 1990, a host of tax increases were passed for education as part of House Bill 1017. Since then, Oklahoma has legalized the lottery and casinos, and increased taxes again, all to boost school funding. And, contrary to the political spin from some activists, the amount spent on education in Oklahoma has increased significantly over that time.
In 1990, Oklahoma’s per-pupil expenditure was $7,934. By the 2018 state budget year, that figure reached $9,094, an increase of nearly 15 percent. (Both figures are adjusted for inflation.)
The problem is that we’re often getting the same or worse results, just at a higher cost.
Oklahoma’s NAEP score on fourth grade reading in 1992 was 220 (prior-year outcomes were not immediately available on the NAEP site). In 2019, the score was 216.
Oklahoma’s average composite ACT score in 1989, before HB 1017’s tax increases passed, was 19.9. In 2019, Oklahoma’s average composite ACT score was 18.9.
Just how long are Oklahomans supposed to “wait” for those promised improvements in academic results? Surely a quarter-century is long enough to conclude that spending increases alone are not getting the job done.
But what is the alternative to waiting and hoping as yet another generation of Oklahoma children gets left behind? One proven solution is to increase school choice.
Low-income urban students often enter charter schools two grades behind, but finish performing at grade level or better and go on to obtain college degrees. The parents of children with special needs who now attend private schools thanks to state-funded scholarships will tell you of lives changed, dramatically, for the better.
To increase spending on a government system does not change outcomes. But harness spending increases to parental choice, and then you have a formula for improvement and upward mobility. No government system is going to care for a child more than that child’s family or guardian, and simply spending more money to get the same (or worse) results is not progress.
It’s time for this decades-long waiting game to end. State lawmakers should put Oklahoma on a path to true academic improvement by not only boosting education funding, but also giving parents the ability to choose their child’s school.
Oklahoma school appropriations have surged by 20 percent over the last two legislative sessions, but outcomes continue to decline, as has become apparent with the release of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the ACT exam, and state testing results. When I point this out, I’m often told to “give it time,” that one cannot expect school performance to change in just one or two years.
Fair enough. But the problem is that this pattern extends for decades. Oklahomans have steadily increased school funding through the years, but the outcomes produced by the school system are often unchanged from prior decades—or even worse.
In 1990, a host of tax increases were passed for education as part of House Bill 1017. Since then, Oklahoma has legalized the lottery and casinos, and increased taxes again, all to boost school funding. And, contrary to the political spin from some activists, the amount spent on education in Oklahoma has increased significantly over that time.
In 1990, Oklahoma’s per-pupil expenditure was $7,934. By the 2018 state budget year, that figure reached $9,094, an increase of nearly 15 percent. (Both figures are adjusted for inflation.)
The problem is that we’re often getting the same or worse results, just at a higher cost.
Oklahoma’s NAEP score on fourth grade reading in 1992 was 220 (prior-year outcomes were not immediately available on the NAEP site). In 2019, the score was 216.
Oklahoma’s average composite ACT score in 1989, before HB 1017’s tax increases passed, was 19.9. In 2019, Oklahoma’s average composite ACT score was 18.9.
Just how long are Oklahomans supposed to “wait” for those promised improvements in academic results? Surely a quarter-century is long enough to conclude that spending increases alone are not getting the job done.
But what is the alternative to waiting and hoping as yet another generation of Oklahoma children gets left behind? One proven solution is to increase school choice.
Low-income urban students often enter charter schools two grades behind, but finish performing at grade level or better and go on to obtain college degrees. The parents of children with special needs who now attend private schools thanks to state-funded scholarships will tell you of lives changed, dramatically, for the better.
To increase spending on a government system does not change outcomes. But harness spending increases to parental choice, and then you have a formula for improvement and upward mobility. No government system is going to care for a child more than that child’s family or guardian, and simply spending more money to get the same (or worse) results is not progress.
It’s time for this decades-long waiting game to end. State lawmakers should put Oklahoma on a path to true academic improvement by not only boosting education funding, but also giving parents the ability to choose their child’s school.
Monday, November 18, 2019
Oklahoma student waited in frigid temperatures for school bus that never came
"A seventh grader in Oklahoma City waited for nearly an hour in 19-degree weather for his school bus, which never showed up," Yahoo News reports.
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