The “Spirit” of House Bill 1775

Laws best serve the public interest when the literal reading of the words of any particular piece of legislation accurately reflect the intent behind the authoring of that legislation. The literal reading of the law is sometimes referred to as the “letter” of the law. The intent of the law is sometimes referred to as …

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 …

Deadnaming in the Classroom and How to Avoid It

Like so many school experiences in the U.S. over the last two years, my management, organization, and delivery of instruction as a classroom teacher has forever been altered by distance learning, one-to-one technology, and the use of a learning management system (referred to here as LMS). In 2021, some teachers opted to revert to pencil …

The Somewhat Philosophical Argument Against Zeros in Grading

(Note: Immanuel Kant inexcusably espoused racist ideology as part of the so-called “race science” of the Enlightenment era. Some of Kant’s contributions to metaphysics and ethics are used here as analogous to the debate over teacher’s assigning zeros to student work. Nothing written here should be understood as an endorsement of Kantian philosophy.)  There is …

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 …

The Educational Value of Wikipedia in the Age of Fake News

If I had a dollar for every time I have heard a middle school student say that another teacher told them Wikipedia was not a reliable source, “I would be making money in a very weird way” (to put it in the words of the late comedian, Mitch Hedberg). When Wikipedia came along in 2001, …

Trauma Informed Schools: The New ‘New Paternalism’

In 1997, New York University professor, Lawrence M. Mead, edited a book entitled “The New Paternalism: Supervisory Approaches to Poverty.” Mead’s work, spanning more than 30 years, has been highly influential in the implementation of draconian and ineffective work requirements for government assistance programs. “The New Paternalism” directly inspired noted education reformer, David Whitman, to …

No Space in Public Schools for Teaching Alt-right Ideology

A recent HuffPost exclusive titled, “Florida Public School Teacher Has A White Nationalist Podcast,” details how a 7th grade social studies teacher in Crystal River, Florida, moonlights under a pseudonym as a podcaster, young adult novelist, and a rather public figure with a considerable presence and following in the alt-right media. The website Angry White …

Political Teaching – Part I

Teaching is an inherently political vocation. Every teacher, without exception, is a conduit for multiple political agendas. The Oklahoma Academic Standards (OAS) are the political agenda of the Oklahoma State Department of Education, with direct oversight from the Oklahoma Legislature. To be fair, for the most part, the OAS were created with input from actual …

Individualism and Culturally Responsive Teaching

The education reform movement, characterized by standardized tests, charter schools, and voucher programs, is a product of both capitalism and individualism. The buzz word for the movement, which itself implies a commitment to individualism, is “choice.” The language is always about one student and never about all students. Reformers want schools to be marketplaces for …