Is It Time To Allow Oklahoma's Governor To Appoint Oklahoma's State Superintendent of Public Instruction?

EDITORIAL:

This week, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt indicated that he would like to see the State Superintendent of Public Instruction become a gubernatorially appointed position.

Though members of ROPE have consistently advocated for the right of citizens to directly elect their government officials, it might just be time for Oklahomans to revisit the issue of an appointed Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Documentary Reveals Oklahoma Uses Discredited "Whole Word" Reading Instruction in Many Classrooms, Yet the Oklahoma Department of Education Does Nothing

Today I read with interest an article by Jennifer Palmer for Oklahoma Watch, "In Oklahoma, a Discredited Theory of Reading is Widely Used". In her piece, she informs that a documentary by a group called "American Public Media Reports" has found that many schools across the nation are using a type of reading now called "three-cueing", but what has also been called for decades, "whole word language". 

New Poll Indicates Only 7% of Oklahomans Would Homeschool. Why Don't The Other 93%?

A recent poll commissioned and published by OCPA (Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs) indicating widespread support of school choice (76%) also included the following information:

“If you could select any type of school in order to obtain the best education for your child or children, and financial costs and transportation were of no concern, what type of school would you select?”

Traditional public school … 46%
Charter school … 9%
Private or parochial school … 34%
Home school … 7%
Don’t know/refused … 4%

The 7% figure surprised me. 

VOTE YES FOR DR. JOHN COX SUPERINTENDENT TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6TH - AND OTHER VOTER INFORMATION

After a decade of supporting Republican candidates for State Superintendent, Reclaim Oklahoma Parent Empowerment (formerly Restore Oklahoma Public Education) is advocating a vote for Democrat Dr. John Cox for State Superintendent.

One Two Three, What Are We Voting For?

After spending nearly a decade heavily involved in politics, it's quite a departure for me to admit I can't name all the candidates running for Lt. Governor off the top of my head. I'll be honest...I'm not even sure I can name all 27 - or however many - gubernatorial candidates.

Sadly, I'm not dying about it. Why? I'm still plugged in enough to know who to go to for voting advice and I still READ. Yes, it's true! There are actually things you can READ to get information enough to make informed voting decisions!