Am I A Republican Heretic?

So, today I check the YouTube videos of ROPE's interim study given to the Oklahoma House Common Education meeting this month...VERY few hits on ANY of them.

I'm sure for some people, watching a YouTube video of an interim study on the Common Core State Standards might be akin to jabbing bamboo under their finger nails, yet these videos represent so much more than just the CCCSS.

ROPE endorsed Republican Janet Barresi for State Superintendent of Public Instruction. Many of us actually campaigned for her.

Why? Simple really. We believed she provided a better solution to the state of our state's public education than did her Democratic challenger, Susan Paddack - whom we felt convinced would continue to perpetrate the failing policies and principles of our previous Democratic State Superintendent.

Why? Simple really. We believed that a registered Republican would perpetuate REPUBLICAN policies and principles.

Since Janet Barresi has become Superintendent of Public Instruction for the state of Oklahoma, she has:

• Determined to push the CCSS - originally embraced by Sandy Garret - the previous Democratic Superintendent, even going so far as to hire John Kraman - a previous employee of Achieve - the offspring organization of parent National Centers on Education and the Economy (started by Marc Tucker) - which produced "Benchmarking for Success: Ensuring US Students Receive a World-class Education" - the precursor to the CCSS

• Actively, personally fought allowing parents to voluntarily put their kids into kindergarten two months later in the year. Barresi fought such a change based on the perennial liberal argument that such legislation, "would discriminate against low-income families"

• Urged the governor to take a FEDERAL grant to provide more free pre-k programming to children in Oklahoma though a recent Sooner Poll indicates Oklahomans actually prefer having money in their own pockets to make choices for their children instead of the state receiving blanket FEDERAL grant monies to put kids in pre-k

• Promised to apply for a No Child Left Behind waiver from Arne Duncan and the federal department of education though a number of conservative organizations and analysts have decried them as illegal and an end-around the legislative process as well as full of strings that further tie states to the federal government

• Chose to remove a $5,000 per year stipend for teachers with National Board Certification while allotting 10 million dollars for pre-k programming to be matched with a grant from the liberal Kaiser Family Foundation

• Made excuses for her Chief of Staff, Jennifer Carter, calling superintendents in Union and Jenks, "dirtbags" - a 'Tweet' picked up by so many 'news' and informational outlets I couldn't list them all here. Carter, though possessing no experience in classroom education on any level, has been instrumental in state Department of Education budgetary issues such as the removal of National Board Certification as alleged by the Oklahoma Truth Council.

• Joins Jeb Bush's group Chiefs For Change from his Foundation for Educational Excellence. The Chiefs for Change has published their manifesto of what they want seen in the re-authorization of the ESEA. Please note how it is nearly exclusively dictating MORE federal control.

• Uses Senator Rich Crandall (another 'R') from Arizona to help her with her rebuttal to our CCSS interim presentation. Here is an excerpt from the International Baccalaureate website (IB is a program of education written and disseminated by UNESCO that teaches children to be "global citizens", based on globalist thinking lessons) containing comments made by Senator Crandall while addressing IB proprietors on building political support for IB programming,

  "When you pitch one of the IB programmes to your local representative, you’ll want quotes from parents who love it. You’ll want a picture of (not controversial) politicians with IB graduates. You’ll want endorsements from at least one of two groups politicians wouldn’t dare trash: veterans and every day heroes. Talk to a fire-fighter IB dad or a veteran IB mom. People identify with others they admire or see as important."

• Infers ROPE (a taxpayer-based organization that funds itself out of its' board members pockets for no other reason than to help voters, taxpayers and parents understand education policy and legislation - a group made up of individuals that not only supported her candidacy but PAYS HER SALARY) to be liars following our CCSS presentation to the House Education Committee (see inserted video below).

All this leads me to wonder if Dr. Barresi has ever read the Oklahoma State Republican Party Platform. Apparently, she is not familiar with #15 on page 12 which says, "The imposition of national curricula, aptitude testing, and teacher certification or education standards on any Oklahoma school is not acceptable." or #16 on page15 which reads, "To comply with the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the Federal Department of Education should be eliminated and its functions transferred to the states, local communities, and parents." mirroring the grave concerns Oklahoma Republicans foster regarding federal control over public education.

Even the less rigid national platform says, "We reject a one-size-fits-all approach..." to education, (which would be evidenced by a set of 'common core' state standards) and indicates that parents and states maintain control over the education of their children.

Even the National Federation of Republican Women unanimously adopted a resolution to Defeat National Standards for State Schools at their 36th Biennial Convention on October 1st of this year.

In closing, let's look at campaign promises - which can still be conveniently found on her campaign website. Sadly, she has already - not a year in - subverted at least two:

1. I support local control and will reduce government mandates that do little more than create the need for bureaucracy and wasteful spending on administration.
2. I support the expansion of parental involvement and choice in their children’s education, and I will protect the right of those who choose to home school.

So it appears I must take the position of Republican heretic and ask, "Where does Dr. Barresi stand on the political spectrum?" As a voter/supporter, I surely don't feel I got what I thought I would get during her campaign because I can't in fact answer that question based on her actions since taking office. I must at this point urge EVERY Oklahoma Republican to ask themselves this question. I must say I won't be surprised if more than a few of you feel like me.