Testing Teachers for 'Wokeness'

"For a guy in charge of local schools, Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters generates an unusual amount of national news. This week, Walters announced a plan to create chapters of Turning Point USA, the conservative organization co-founded by Charlie Kirk, at every Oklahoma high school. Earlier this month, Walters had ordered a moment of silence in honor of the death of Kirk at all Oklahoma public schools, and now the State Department of Education says it's investigating claims that some districts did not comply."

"State Democrats have called for an impeachment probe, and some Republicans have signed their own letter asking for an investigation of Walters. Parents, teachers, and religious leaders have sued Walters, the State Department of Education, and the State Board of Education for injecting religion into schools. And this past summer, two school-board members reported that they saw nude women on a television in his office during a board meeting."

"We ask about the ideological purity test he's announced for teachers coming from "places like California and New York." We ask about his push for changes to the curriculum, including a requirement that high-school history students "identify discrepancies in 2020 elections results." We ask about the television incident. And we hear from two Oklahoma teachers who have taken very different paths in the face of changes under way in their state."

Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters has pushed conservative initiatives including establishing Turning Point USA chapters at every high school and ordering a moment of silence for Charlie Kirk. The State Department of Education is investigating alleged noncompliance. Walters faces calls for impeachment, political investigations, and lawsuits alleging religious intrusion into schools. A summer controversy involved a television showing R-rated content in his office. Oklahoma students rank near the bottom nationally in reading and math. Debates center on ideological hiring standards for teachers, curriculum changes requiring students to examine 2020 election results, and differing teacher responses to the reforms.

Read at The Atlantic