Teacher Caucus - Oklahomans For Public Education - Link To Hofmeister Debacle - VOTE NO On OPE-Endorsed Candidates? (PART 2)

Joy Hofmeister and OPE Administrator Angela Little at
the Hofmeister watch party November 2014

Early this year, much media fanfare (Tulsa World, NewsOK, Oklahoma Watch) welcomed a new political action committee (PAC) - one started by Oklahoma teachers and parents specifically to advance public education.  It arose from a Facebook group, Oklahoma Parents and Educators for Public Education (OPEPE), and was called Oklahomans for Public Education (OPE).

Vote No on 779 Because Dark Money Funders CCOSA/OEA Use Education/Teacher Funds For Politics Instead of Raises - PART 1

I spent my entire morning reading both the Affidavit for Search Warrant for Chad Alexander's cell phones (following his 2014 Controlled Dangerous Substance possession charge in May of 2014 - which led to the current charges against State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister and others) and all 32 pages of the Affidavit Of Probable Cause including the charges, the background, the investigation - all the way through to the summary.  I suggest you do as well.  It is very enlightening. 

Agreeing To Disagree Not Disagreeing To The Death

Today, I participated in a "Capacity Review" for the Oklahoma State Department of Education. May I say first, BOY WAS I HAPPY TO BE ASKED! I'm no prognosticator - I can't see ahead to the end of Supt. Hofmeister's term - but I can tell you that as of now, I'm impressed. It feels so good just to be ASKED for input and not stiff-armed or walked out on, or indirectly called a liar. Going into her new position, it is at least apparent that Mrs. Hofmeister understands the rule, "You get more flies with honey than vinegar". She may not hear or take into consideration a word we said, but again, just indicating interest salves a lot of wounds!

The meeting of the group in which I was placed (I assume we were the 'parent' group) was this morning at 8:00am. Other than having to leave the kids Home Alone (insert face of Macaulay Culkin here!) from 7:30am to 10:00am, it was no trouble and the facilitator shepherded the meeting diligently, allowing the seven of us to be excused in just about an hour.

Our group contained representatives from PTA, Oklahoma Central PLAC, Stand For Children, VOICE, Oklahoma Parents/Educators for Public Education and a Sand Springs Teacher also coordinator of Parents and Teachers. Several of these groups clashed with ROPE over Common Core last year and others have been frustrated by our support for Education Savings Accounts/school choice this year. Consequently, I have to admit once the group assembled, I began to hear the Sesame Street classic, "One Of These Things Is Not Like The Others" playing in my head while I wondered how and where the conversation would go.

In the end, I appreciated hearing what others had to say in response to the questions posed by the facilitator, and agreed with a number of the opinions provided. In fact, I re-learned a valuable lesson; oftentimes people have more in common than not, it's finding common ground that's often hard.

Sadly, finding common ground has been made more difficult in just the last decade due to many factors culminating in political polarity unseen since possibly the sixties and the Vietnam War. Today, Americans at large seem to believe that even the slightest disagreement should be handled as Gladiators fighting to the death in the Colosseum. In fact, numerous research and articles such as, "Torn Apart: 11 Charts That Show How Americans Are More Divided, Partisan, And Ideological Than Ever Before" by Business Insider, recount this nationwide trend.

There also appears to be a general degradation of basic social skills I blame in large part on social media. In the 'old days' of my youth, until the dawn of 'texting' and email, we'd actually call people on the phone or meet face to face to discuss possibly divisive issues. Voice to ear, or face to face, it's much harder to launch into an emotion-filled, intellectually-deflated tirade, than when you let your fingers do the walking across an impersonal keyboard to a 'send' button.

I've found myself on the receiving end of unpleasant remarks from time to time over politics and opinion. Though I don't enjoy it, I attempt not to go tit-for-tat because I'm a mouth - I freely (and frequently) state my opinion - so it seems fair that if someone somewhere doesn't agree, that person has the same right as I to their own view. It seems at cross purposes to return unpleasantries with someone for their opinion when taking that path will inevitably lead to a dead end. Writing something akin to "Your mother wears combat boots" in all caps in a social media forum - or even within the confines of an email - does nothing but alienate the person on the receiving end, effectively shutting down discussion that could lead to some kind of common understanding on some level.

Everyone who reads this blog knows I self-identify as Conservative. I've very little patience for big government/bureaucratic solutions to any situation that can't be addressed on some level through personal control and/or a non-profit organization. When I first awakened politically, I considered anyone with a "D" after their name on their voter registration, the "enemy". Then I found Pat Caddell. Then I found Dr. John Thompson. Then I began to digest the fact that people are people, not the sum total of their political thought.

I remember meeting Dr. Thompson outside the Committee room at the Capitol where anti-Common Core activists/teachers/parents were testifying against the standards in 2013. He walked over to me and introduced himself as a "liberal Democrat who doesn't like Common Core". I was still in political 'stiff arm' mode with those on the 'other side of the fence' so it took me some time to find listening mode on my hearing aid, but once I did, I realized a number of things: 1. He was a really nice guy 2. He was incredibly knowledgeable about a number of issues and I gained new perspective listening to him 3. We had more things in common than I would have ever thought before actually TALKING to him, and 4. When we don't agree, I think we can do so civilly with the idea we don't dislike each other personally, we just don't agree on a specific issue.

The only cure for my deeply-rooted small government/social values bend will be the shaking off of my mortal coil. I'm not going to suddenly adopt a different internal compass to agree with someone on a point with which I simply can't agree philosophically. That doesn't mean I'm unwilling to find common ground where I can with others who don't share my political/social values.

To conclude our meeting today, our facilitator asked what we could do to support the Department of Ed - how we could support the new Superintendent. I think I voiced the notion that I would when I could and I wouldn't when I couldn't, but that was okay. Disagreeing doesn't mean I 'hate' the Department or the Superintendent, it simply means I don't agree. I also pointed out that most of us in the room wouldn't agree on a number of issues, but that debate was healthy and fostering civil discussion opened doors to understanding. It does. We just need to be sure we're agreeing to disagree, not disagreeing to the death.

Common Core Repeal Is...Political?

Since the repeal of Common Core in Oklahoma, I have noticed a spate of articles/editorials advancing the talking point that its demise was POLITICAL.

Here is a favorite - "Politics Are Crushing The Standards" by Dave Powell, a professor at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania.

My guess is that they fear the common core not because it represents a "federal takeover" of education, but because it might allow us to draw true comparisons between the educational performance of students in different states—comparisons that cannot be so easily explained away....For all their limitations, standards at least hold the promise of bringing real accountability to the people who, for too long, have made rules and regulations about education without ever being held responsible for providing the resources needed to make their endless pronouncements a reality.

And another favorite - this time from the Chamber of Commerce Foundation - "Oklahoma Puts Politics Before Students".  This one is really rich because it is attached to a 'pledge' that you can sign to 'pledge' your support for "college- and career-ready standards".  It's also a perfect example of the Pot Calling the Kettle Black.  Yes, Chamber, we realize YOU have not used Bill Gates money to put pressure on the Oklahoma legislature and Governor to get them to PASS AND KEEP Common Core; it's only us poor parents that are engaging in a political battle.

These articles got my blood up and made me want to know exactly how politics is defined.  So what is politics?  I looked up the definition in Merriam Webster’s online dictionary.  The first subset of definitions was:

a :  the art or science of government

b :  the art or science concerned with guiding or influencing governmental policy

c :  the art or science concerned with winning and holding control over a government

Though I was surprised at how many forms of politics there have been invented (identity politics, power politics, party politics…), after looking at the entire page of definitions, I began to wonder if something hadn’t been overlooked.  The government of the United States was created by the Constitution.  The first line of the Constitution reads,

“We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish the Constitution for the United States of America.”

Every shot fired in the “War against the Core” has been fired by regular, plain old, “we the people” citizenry.  The parents crowding into forums on Common Core lead by citizens themselves, or staying up half the night researching the initiative on their own because they are dealing with kids crying over math homework for which they can provide no help, are not power brokers who can afford lobbyists, three color mailers or 30 second spots on CNN.  These are ‘We the People’.  If these are ‘We the People’, how do they become ‘political’ simply for entering the political arena – defined as the art/science of government.

I guess this is where I disagree with good old Mirriam-Webster.  Citizens can’t ‘guide’ or ‘influence’ governmental policy – THEY ARE THE GOVERNMENT.  “We the People” ARE the government.  How can you influence yourself or win and/or hold control over a government when you ARE the government.

The Chamber of Commerce is NOT the government.  They, like so many organizations of the same ilk, are a body formed to DILUTE the effect of ‘We the People’.  Instead of accepting that each ‘People’ is the government (through their elected representation) and that individuals have the power of the government as stated in the Constitution, they have found that influencing government ‘People’ through large sums of money provides greater results.  This is the influencing and controlling of government officials that has come to be called politics.

Sadly, because we call a thing something, it becomes that thing it is called.  Today, people truly believe they have no power in their own government because they don’t understand the concept of “We the People”.  In fact, it’s almost bizarre to some folks that individuals can influence their government.

Some months ago I was interviewed by Motoko Rich of the New York Times.  Our initial conversation went something like this:

MR: So, Jenni, how do you support ROPE?

JW: Out of our own pockets.

MR: Oh, so you have corporate sponsors.

JW: No, we use our own personal funds.

MR: Ohhh, so you get grants and loans.

JW: No, whatever we have in our personal bank accounts we spend.

MR: I see, so you have private donors.

JW: Yes, his name is David White.

After I said that, Rich gave a sort of forced laugh and set out on the quest for another answer, but I felt like I’d been waterboarded.  It was entirely clear Motoko Rich had no idea what it meant to be a “We the People”.  She only related to ‘politics’ as the process of money and power influencing the course of government.

I hope that the three very large fights won this year in Oklahoma (passing HB3399 and repealing Common Core, electing a new superintendent and winning a lawsuit against the bill) – not with the help of lobbyists or money or influence other than being “We the People” – will allow people to believe in the concept.  I hope “We the People” will now rise and commit to the jobs we’ve neglected for so long, BEING THE GOVERNMENT.

TW Shannon And The Common Core (Updated 6/18/14)

Come election time, everyone has a story.  Some are better than others, but the most important thing to voters should be whose story is true.

Because there has been much said about T.W. Shannon and the Common Core fight in Oklahoma, I thought I would spend a few minutes detailing what I know.  Now please know, I realize there are two sides to every story.  I'm telling mine.

In December of 2012, just after T.W. Shannon had been announced as the historic new Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, Lynn Habluetzel and I met with him in his tiny office.  We had tried to schedule the meeting several times, but it just so happened, that today, a mere week before Christmas, he was in town and had time to visit.

At that meeting, Lynn and I provided the new Speaker with a run-down on Common Core, complete with a folder of written materials to read.  T.W. was attentive, took notes and at the end of the meeting, assured us he would look into the issue further.  We smiled, shook hands, wished him a Merry Christmas and said good-bye.

Representative Gus Blackwell introduced HB1907 the next session; a bill to provide a task force to study the costs of Common Core in Oklahoma.

The bill was heard in the Rules Committee which Blackwell chaired and passed unanimously.  In determining when we could plan for the bill to come to the Floor of the House, Calendar Committee Chair, Pam Peterson told us all Task Force bills were being held until all other bills could be heard.

The whole story can be found in my original blog, but suffice it to say, we were then told by Representative Blackwell that Speaker Shannon had killed the bill because the Governor had said she would veto it.   The Speaker then offered Representative Blackwell an interim study to be conducted over a number of days and over which Representative Blackwell would have free reign. (The study was conducted in October.  Few legislators - including T.W. Shannon - were present.)

From there, a series of events occurred in 2013:

• ROPE had a rally in the hall of the Supreme Court against Common Core that was well-covered by the media.
• Speaker Shannon had a change of heart, does a 180, says he believes Common Core is "federal intrusion into our education system", and will write a bill to help stop it.
• Speaker Shannon is a guest on the Glenn Beck Show (Dana Loesh was subbing that day)
• While he is gone, Representative Dennis Casey apparently authored a piece of anti-Common Core language that was attached to HB1719 (which we never saw but in draft form - it was never officially filed apparently as there is no record) which then died because it was 'accidentally' (?) sent to Senator Clark Jolley's Appropriations Committee (Senator Jolley helped author the legislation placing Common Core into Oklahoma State Law - SB2033 in 2010)
• Representative Blackwell authors HJR1011 to stop implementation of Common Core unless several categories of inquiry are met - the bill is not filed
• Legislative Session 2013 ends without a bill of any kind passing either Oklahoma legislative body

During 2014:

• Speaker Shannon authors HB3331, to stop the federal overreach of Common Core into Oklahoma
• Speaker Shannon leaves his Speaker's post to run for Senator Coburn's seat
• HB3399 is authored by Representative Jason Nelson after meeting with a number of grassroots activists prior to the beginning of session
• Holly Gerard, from the Oklahoma State GOP Executive Committee, Carolyn McLarty, National Committeewoman and I begin to work with Representative Nelson and others (also Senate author Josh Brecheen) to develop, discuss and study HB3399
• Holly, Carolyn, Lynn, Ronda Vuillemont-Smith (Tulsa912Project) meet with Representative Shannon about his bill - he says he will keep it to make sure we have a vehicle if something happens to HB3399
• HB3399 goes to the floor after Speaker Jeff Hickman takes over authorship - Representative Shannon is absent for the vote
• HB3399 goes to senate, conference committee and back to the floor for a vote, T.W. Shannon votes YEA

Now, once the bill passed the Senate - during the time it is waiting to be signed by the Governor - a veritable slew of Representatives signed on as co-sponsors of the bill: Kern, Bennett, Ortega, McCullough, Cockroft,
Brumbaugh, Sears, Echols, Walker, Derby and Shannon.  It is a very political move to sign on as a co-sponsor once the heat is off and you know the bill is going to pass.  However, it must be said that Sears, Kern and Shannon actually did do more than virtually anyone on the list historically and this year alone.

Did T.W. Shannon stop Common Core in Oklahoma by himself?  Absolutely not.  Did he move the conversation?  You'd have to say he did.  Was he a key player in stopping Common Core in Oklahoma?  He was one of the first legislators to speak publicly against it, but with the two twists of stopping Blackwell's bill and putting repeal language on a Jolley-bound track - I've always wondered how much of this was rhetoric simply because nothing came out of all the talk.

I like T.W. Shannon.  Face it, the man is likable, articulate and has a great 'cool' factor.  The only problem is that it takes more than a 'cool' factor to create a strong legislator that can stand FOR conservatism in the face of everything AGAINST conservatism at the federal level.  In fact, you need to look at his voting record.  I've never seen so many YEA's in my life.  My goodness he's agreeable, but not every bill can be a yes - only those that limit government, and many times that means a 'nay'.  T.W. Shannon is a very nice man, but I need more action and less talk.  I need more results and less attempts.  While I absolutely appreciate the efforts on T.W.'s part to change the discussion on Common Core, I'm not ready to send T.W. to Washington, D.C.

Via call from TW Shannon (6/18/14):  T.W. explained that he told Gus he was concerned his bill wasn't going to pass the House, let alone the Senate and that the Governor wouldn't sign it.  By offering Gus the interim study on Common Core instead of allowing the bill to come to the House floor for a vote, Shannon believed he would give the fight against Common Core a chance to develop.  Shannon was concerned that  if the bill made it to the floor and was voted down, it would do more to hurt the cause against Common Core than simply denying the bill a hearing and allowing Gus an extended period of time to bring Common Core issues to the public through an interim.
I asked him about the attempt to add Common Core language to Representative Osborn's bill after that, but he didn't remember the specifics and indicated he would contact someone in his office at that time who might know.  If I didn't have trouble remembering my kids birthdates, I could call that statement into question.
It was also interesting to me that he admitted being 'agnostic' on the topic of Common Core until after Lynn and I visited with him and he began to study the topic further.

David Beats Goliath! Political Success, Meet The Underdog

Anyone remember this meme?  This meme was our absolute, hands down, most viewed of all our memes.  I think we had something like 20K views, and hundreds of shares from our Facebook page - including a post on The Five's Fan Page when uploaded to social media last year.

Why?  Because this is a true story.  David DID defeat Goliath with nothing but a rock...and great FAITH that God would return his courage in action with blessing.  For those of us professing Christians, every victory should be understood in those terms, but most everyone enjoys stories in which the underdog wins!

It is a particularly sweet victory for all us moms and dads, however - underdogs without a tenth the monetary resources of the Oklahoma City and Tulsa Chambers of Commerce, the National Governor's Association (for which Governor Fallin is the current Chair), PTA and Stand For Children.

Many Conservatives have felt increasingly disenfranchised over the years - not only by party politics - but by our inability to move our government toward that of a smaller, less intrusive footprint more in line with the Constitution and our ideals.  For many years now, we have watched those in our own party (ROPE board members have been involved in the Republican party) who, at the federal and state level, propose and enact legislation that infringes upon our freedoms and impacts our ability to live our life in the "pursuit of happiness". I know many of us have felt as though we were David's confronted by a heavily financed and funded Goliath over which triumph seemed impossible.

As I wrote this week, citizens across Oklahoma (parents, educators, grandparents...) made thousands of phone calls and sent thousands of emails and letters to our Governor asking her to sign HB3399 which would repeal and replace Common Core in Oklahoma and we won.  True, grassroots efforts - individuals working together - effected a change few would have thought possible.

I believe the momentum may be shifting.  Yesterday, Eric Cantor, a leader in the House of Representatives since 2001, lost his job.  His opponent, Dave Brat, an economics professor at Randolph-Macon College beat the heavily financed Cantor (1.5 million in campaign funds) with 300,000 dollars by benefit of grassroots support.  The National Review Online characterized his message:

Brat criticized increasing centralization in education policy (such as Common Core), crony capitalism and the skyrocketing national debt.

Monday, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing with Sam Sorbo - Hollywood conservative, wife of actor Kevin Sorbo - who has taken over for Andrea Tantaros.  Toward the end of our interview she spoke about working with director Haing Ngor - a resident of Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge's reign of terror. She pointed out that, Cambodia, just as in other Communist countries, the start of communism began with elitism - elevating individuals with money and/or power in stature over others as a way to neuter the masses.

It's not hard to find examples of elitism in America today, sadly, and Common Core presents a very good example.  Bill and Melinda Gates, Arne Duncan, President Obama - all pushing the concept of Common Core (a nationalization of education ) using their money and positions as a basis - though none are willing to enroll their children in schools teaching Common Core (in the same way our federal legislators are not bound to participate in ObamaCare).  In other words, they believe the 'masses' should be placed under rules and regulations that needn't affect those "at the top".  If this isn't elitism, I truly see no other way to define the word.

The defeat of Cantor and the passage of HB3399 are powerful beacons of hope in our fight against elitism and the re-institution of Federalism in the US.  These recent actions should give Oklahomans and Americans hope the tide is turning, but it won't continue without effort.

To be part of the tsunami, you must get involved in the political process and stay involved.  You must be willing to do more than wring your hands and pray, you must write emails and letters, make phone calls, research political candidates and then support those of your choice with your time and effort.  Don't use a lack of money as an excuse to call in sick to the fight!  Together, we can make our government work for us as President Lincoln so eloquently stated, so "that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth".

Help. No really...HELP!

Because the senate blocked the only bill to stop the Common Core in Oklahoma this session (HB1719 - through an addendum written by Representative Dennis Casey that was never even added to the bill on the state legislature website!), we MUST continue our fight against Common Core through the rest of the summer months.

Unfortunately, we've come to believe that it's possible T.W. Shannon is NOT really against the Common Core and the many legislative shenanigans going on at the end of this last legislative session regarding Common Core were because he - and other Republicans - were attempting to pacify the electorate rather than do the right thing for Oklahoma. 

I would like to think this untrue, but okaying language for a bill that accidentally gets into a Senate appropriations committee whose chair (Clark Jolley) is a HUGE Common Core proponent with only a week left to go in the session only to have the chair block the bill only then to introduce the HR on the House floor at the 11th hour...well, one's imagination does not have to make a Yoga-like stretch to see that constituents/parents/taxpayers definitely could have been manipulated.

Sadly, ROPE would not be surprised to find this true.  In an era in which Republicans hold the majority in BOTH houses of the legislature in our state Capitol, Oklahoma again leads the nation in state government spending; a trend started 10 years ago with common education spending alone up $74 million. 

How can you NOT help but think that a number of our Oklahoma Republican law makers are simply taking the tax dollars of hard working Oklahomans in one hand while taking money from special interest groups such as the Chamber of Commerce with the other; doing their bidding at the expense of REPRESENTATIVE government, all to secure funding and political clout for their next campaign.

Truly, enough is enough.

 

We can't affect the legislature right now as they are not in session.  The state School Board, however, meets monthly.  Many of you may have read our blog about us being denied comment at the last state School Board meeting.

Last month, we were told by Chief of Staff Joel Robison that we would be allowed to speak THIS MONTH, at the meeting on JULY 25! 

We are asking you to please come and help us FLOOD the tiny room in which the meetings are held.  WE MUST MAKE AN IMPACT!  If we're going to win this battle, WE MUST SHOW UP.  We know you are out there, we know there are THOUSANDS of you with us, but no one else will know unless you SHOW UP.

Please, be at the Oliver Hodge Building (the one northeast of the capitol on the Capitol Complex on Lincoln) on the first floor.  Go in the northwest facing door, walk passed the secretary's office door and turn right at the next.  Go all the way down the hall to the meeting room.  Outside the door, there will be a table.  Sign in for public comment, indicating Common Core.  You MUST be there NO LATER THAN 9:15 to sign in and speak.  You will only have 3 minutes to speak, so I suggest you type up your thoughts (bring some copies to hand out to the media) in order to say all you feel you need to say.

I know this isn't fun.  I know there are things you'd rather do.  Consider it "taking one for the team"!  We ask you to sign up and commit to coming.  You can do that here.

Please remember, Dr. Barresi gave our state board members a contract to sign very early on in her tenure, promising to uphold every one of her education 'reform' measures.  All but one (Joy Hoffmeister, who has since resigned) did.   

Since that time, the Common Core State Standards have been re-named in what can only be an attempt to fool the taxpaying public and Dr. Barresi has withdrawn from PARRC, only to say she will continue to use CTB/McGraw Hill through which the state will develop its own Common Core tests.

It is IMPERATIVE the Board hear the thoughts of parents, teachers and taxpayers on this issue.  WE NEED YOU TO BE THERE.

Now, if you are concerned about what to say, there are ANY NUMBER of pieces of literature you can find on our blog, or Scribd account - or on our Facebook page - about which to opine against the infringement on our state's educational liberty.  If you are still stumped by the end of next week, email me and I will be happy to help you out.  Remember, this isn't about ROPE - this is about Oklahoma's KIDS - our STUDENTS.  Let's do what we can to give them the LOCALLY inspired tools to help them do whatever they want in life!