The Decline of Indoctrination in Oklahoma Classrooms

There was a time in Oklahoma when political indoctrination in public school classrooms was a systemic problem. This was a time when particular political ideologies were seen as part and parcel of the educational goals of the entire U.S. public school system. It was a time when students were not given the opportunity to question …

I Was the Ideal Beneficiary of School Choice Policies

I grew up poor and white in the American South in the 1980’s. My dad pastored numerous small rural churches in southern Arkansas and northern Louisiana. We moved on average every 3-4 years throughout my childhood. In December of 1991, we moved from Star City, Arkansas, population 2,000, to Nashville, Tennessee, where I began the …

Oklahoma Senate Bill 658 Gave Me COVID-19

As I type these words, I can feel my COVID-19 symptoms developing from a minor cough and sore throat to something that makes it difficult to see the words on my computer screen through the fluid accumulating behind my eyes. You see, I am a public school teacher in Oklahoma, where local school boards have …

Here’s to the State of Oklahoma

Here's to the state of Oklahoma.1 Your artificial borders are losing in the courts.2 A loss of jurisdiction is your due and just rewards. Tribal rights and sovereignty your privilege to thwart. Half-truths of your misdeeds you're happy to report. Whoa, here's to the grass still growing in the heart of.3 Oklahoma, this land tells …

For More Equity in Distance Learning, Put Classroom Teachers on Television

Public schools in the United States effectively utilize a variety of tools to address numerous societal inequities; tools like individual education plans, culturally responsive teaching, ethnic study programs, restorative justice practices, among others. A public school is a complex organism that is not complete without the sum of its parts; parts like teachers, students, administrators, …

MAPS 4 Curriculum

Spoon Vision is proud to announce the release of a three-day comprehensive curriculum covering local government issues specifically related to the upcoming vote on MAPS 4 on December 10, 2019, in Oklahoma City! This mini unit is aligned with Oklahoma Academic Standards for both 9th Grade Oklahoma History and 12th Grade U.S. Government. The "MAPS …

Guess Who? – Oklahoma Legislative Edition

Spoon Vision Industries (not a real company) is proud to present "Guess Who? - Oklahoma Legislative Edition," the board game that helps you know the difference between a Dustin Roberts and a Ron Sharp! Whether played with a friend or used as interactive flash cards, "Guess Who? - Oklahoma Legislative Edition" will prepare you to …

White Privilege and School Choice Critique

The School Choice Movement undeniably forms the centerpiece legacy of the program of “massive resistance” to school desegregation in the United States in the late 1950s. Any white person advocating for school choice policies today is 1.) ignorant of this history, 2.) acting on implicit and explicit racial bias, 3.) openly taking advantage of the …

A New Day (poem for #oklaed)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFuzic841mU&feature=youtu.be Do you want to know what it’s like to be a teacher? It's like any other desk job really, minus the actual sitting at a desk. Seven hours of daily meetings arranged the previous evening You want to know what it’s like to be a teacher in Oklahoma? It’s the hardest job with (almost) …

“We Can’t Vote, But You Can!”

Reflections on a Middle School Voter Registration Drive “Hello, ma’am! Are you registered to vote? Yes? Any recent changes? Address? Name? You can also change your political party.” This became the unofficial script for my 8th grade civics students spending September afternoons in front of a Save-A-Lot grocery store in Del City, Oklahoma. But the …