How to Stop Common Core in Oklahoma in TWO EASY STEPS!

Thank you to ALL those that participated in our final Common Core Interim Study under the very able guidance of House Administrative Rules Committee, Representative Gus Blackwell.  We had 12 superintendents, principals, professors, teachers and parents give their testimonies November 5, 2013.

Now, here's where the hard part begins!

First:  If you REALLY want to stop Common Core in Oklahoma and return public education to local control, RUN FOR SCHOOL BOARD IN YOUR AREA.

We recently had a WONDERFUL visit with a lovely group of PTO moms.  They are very active and very disappointed that their new Superintendent is pushing Common Core and all the other education 'reforms' promoted by our Governor and State Superintendent to the nth degree.  It's important to remember who hires district superintendents - THE SCHOOL BOARD.  So, what if you had a really great, conservative group of school board members 100% sold on the idea of local control?  You could legitimately make a stand against the state for control of your own district.  True, many 'reforms' are in state law, however, a few quotes come to mind:

• We ought to obey God rather than men. Acts 5.29
• "Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God."  Thomas Jefferson
• "Men must be governed by God, or they will be ruled by tyrants." William Penn
• "Man will ultimately be governed by God or by tyrants." Benjamin Franklin

As I have begun to opine in nearly every forum into which I'm invited of late, it seems as though we have come to the crossroads of tyranny and freedom.  While I do not enjoy advocating breaking the law, I do not advocate bowing under unlawful oppression either - a situation in which I believe we surely find ourselves in many areas of our lives, to include public education.  There are few who could really study Common Core and not see a direct parallel with the Affordable Health Care Act - they are both laws that seek to oppress a majority of citizens in order to uplift a minority of citizens - NOT at all a legitimate form of governance.

Many school board elections are won on fewer than 1000 votes!  Most are won by an even smaller margin.  These elections happen in YOUR COMMUNITY. Voters are your friends and neighbors!  If you could win ANY election, this would be the election, therefore I submit that YOU SHOULD run.

Now don't say you don't have time or you don't have the money - these are ALL things that are transient and eminently solvable.  Politics at ANY level is won by THOSE THAT SHOW UP!  We can no longer rely on others to do our work for us (or trust me, I would have long ago!), we MUST be the ones to do what is right and to take back our public schools.

Here is the information you need to BEGIN THIS JOURNEY NOW!

Visit the Oklahoma Election Board and download the School Board FILING PACKET.

THE FILING PERIOD

Opens 8:00 A.M., December 2, 2013

Closes 5:00 P.M., December 4, 2013

THE ELECTIONS ARE HELD 

Annual School Election - February 11, 2014 

Annual School Runoff Election - April 1, 2014 

For FOUR YEARS I have cajoled and begged and pleaded for you to run.  For FOUR YEARS I have tried to explain the importance of these elections.

I am asking you to realize that God gave us our form of government through the Pilgrims (it's a great story, take time to read it to your family on Thanksgiving) and go to God NOW. Pray about it! Submit if you realize God is calling you to this high office.  We will do everything we can to find and/or nurture a support network for you to get your campaign off the ground.  It will be hard work to do it right, but YOU CAN DO IT. The election work is but a short time to put in for a seat at a table where you can exert a needed influence in your community.

Second: We have spent hours collecting, collating, editing and uploading video and written testimonies of the Common Core Interim participants.  I took my own video, ran out of space on my phone and battery in my camera and did not get video for ALL those that spoke.  I did, however, make sure ALL testimonies that came to me, were formatted and transferred to our Scribd account for legislators and others to read.  Here is a link to our website where all the videos, with their included testimonies, have been uploaded as a kind of a 'one stop shop'!

PLEASE, take the time to send your senator and representative links to the videos and the written testimonies found in the paragraph above.  If you don't want to send links to all, pick out a few that really speak to you and send those - but MAKE SURE YOUR REPRESENTATIVES and SENATORS see these!  Let them know that you are a SINGLE issue voter and this will be an issue come November.  Do not threaten or be ugly - THERE IS NO NEED FOR THAT!  Just be kind, but firm in your communications.  Here is an option,

Dear Representative (or Senator) ______,

 

I am writing to you today to express my concern regarding the Common Core State Standards written into law before they were even available for Governor Henry and the legislators to read.  Though Oklahoma law makers agreed to the standards in order to get Race to the Top funds, Oklahoma has never received a DIME of RTT money, making the Common Core an unfunded mandate in my district. (here's the time to tell them if your district has passed a school bond, raising your property taxes)

 

(if your children have been affected by standards, tell them how)

(if you're a teacher and you've been adversely affected by the standards, tell them here)

 

Please respond to this communication and tell me if you would be willing to either assist in writing a bill to stop the Common Core here in Oklahoma, or vote to stop Common Core in Oklahoma should one be written and voted on next session.  

 

While I very much appreciate your service to our district and to the state of Oklahoma, if you are unable to comply with my request, I will be unable to vote for you in the next election, this issue is of such great importance to me. 

 

Thank you again for your time and your service.  I look forward to hearing we can work together on this issue, soon. 

 

Sincerely

If you do not get a response from your legislator via email, call.  Do not get angry or irritated they are not responding - many have jobs and other responsibilities that take them away during their time off.  Continue to try - kindly, patiently - until you get a commitment from them one way or another and then hold them to it.

It will take all of us to turn this ship around and we must do that by GETTING INVOLVED and STAYING INVOLVED!  You can do it!