Dan Fisher is SHOCKED at What’s In His Bill

February 18, 2015June 4, 2023 ~ Blue Cereal ~ 2 Comments

NPR’s All Things Considered did a nice little 3 minute piece on the OK APUSH kerfuffle today, featuring our own Advanced Placement Heroine in Heels, Christine Custred:

You can listen to it here – and you should.

She was brilliant, of course. My favorite part was her subtle little play on ‘American exceptionalism’ as she celebrated our freedoms and our right to question even our own history, concluding, “THAT’s what’s really exceptional about America.” Well-played, Mrs. Custred.

They of course spoke with Rep. Dan Fisher who introduced HB1380. He is apparently in a perpetual state of shock and outrage.

Fisher claims to have heard from ‘a number of teachers’ who were concerned about the new framework?

A ‘number of teachers’? I call bullsh*t. Please, all thee so concerned, make thyselves known. We will greet thee with welcome and hear thy concerns.

I think most likely he heard from ONE concerned teacher (which, to be fair, IS a number) whose AP review books are suddenly outdated due to the format changes, and who has discovered a new revenue stream fighting APUSH. I suppose Rep. Fisher never claimed this many concerned teacher was from Oklahoma.

“In the new framework, little if anything is even emphasized about the Declaration of Independence, or the Constituiton, or our War of Independence. The Founders are hardly even mentioned. In fact, there’s one sentence out of George Washingtons’s Farewell Address – and it’s basically spun negatively.”

Here, go knock yourself out with the APUSH Course Outline. At the risk of seeming rude, Rep. Fisher apparently can’t recognize thematic outlines covering the causes and primary events in American Independence unless there are coloring pages with eagle noises in the background.

It is technically true the outline does not contain a hero-by-hero list of the Founders; it is equally true that you can’t possibly read this outline as ignoring or neglecting the Founders unless you either genuinely don’t understand enough U.S. History to read it correctly (no shame in that – it’s an Advance Placement course, after all) or you refuse to acknowledge anything not accompanied by fireworks and some Sousa.

“I was on the website for this new restaurant and I’m never going there! Not ONE WORD about plates or silverware – they apparently don’t even have CHAIRS, based on my word search of their menu! I’m afraid children will STARVE if this restaurant is one of their options!”

Here’s the actual reference to Washington’s Farewell Address:

C. Although George Washington’s Farewell Address warned about the dangers of divisive political parties and permanent foreign alliances, European conflict and tensions with Britain and France fueled increasingly bitter partisan debates throughout the 1790.

I’m at a loss. For those of you who don’t teach American History, this Address is known for two things above all else – warning the new nation of foreign entanglements and the dangers of political parties. Whether you agree or disagree with George is not important – that’s what this speech was about, at least in terms of how it’s been taught for the past hundred years.

I don’t know why you would choose this as an example of something being spun negatively. It’s not simply that I don’t agree – it’s that I can’t figure a way in which you can even make that case. I mean, I have to assume he’s just lying out his ass to scare the ignorant, but I’m trying to be gracious and accept the possibility that he’s honestly trying and just isn’t capable of understanding the first little bit of anything he’s talking about.

Rep. Fisher is also “afraid students will leave public school with huge gaps in their knowledge.” Dear Gods of Irony – why do you hold back your swift justice?

But this was my favorite part, the last little hurt offended bit of the piece:

“But to mischaracterize it as an attempt to do away with the AP program, that we want to jerk the funding – it it it’s it’s (*chagrin-voice*) it’s just not… honest.”

Hear the pain in his voice over this cruel distortion of his humble efforts.

How? HOW COULD WE ATTACK HIM WITH SUCH LIES?!? Where would we even GET the idea?

STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 55th Legislature (2015)
HOUSE BILL 1380
By: Fisher
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to schools; directing the State Board of Education to adopt a certain United States History program and assessment; requiring United States History courses to include the study of certain documents; listing the documents; amending 70 O.S. 2011, Section 1210.703, which relates to financial incentives awarded to schools under the Oklahoma Advanced Placement Incentive Program; prohibiting the awarding of grants or expenditure of money for any Advanced Placement United States History course until certain conditions are met; providing for codification; providing an effective date; and declaring an emergency.

And later in the bill…

D. Beginning with the 2015-2016 school year, the Board shall not award any grants to school districts or make any expenditure of state funds as authorized pursuant to this section for equipment, instructional materials, course development, professional development or training, examination awards or examination scholarships for the Advanced Placement United States History course until the College Board changes the framework for the course and reverts back to the course framework and examination that were used prior to the 2014-2015 school year.

I’m speechless. This isn’t spin, or clever wordplay, or deception. He seems to have just… talked to NPR, did his best hurt and offended voice, and lied out his ass about the stated sole purpose of his own bill – not as interpreted by me or anyone else, but laid out explicitly in his own words. It opens the bill, and it closes the bill: “We’re taking away all your money unless you do what we want.”

Kinda makes you wonder if he believes it while he’s saying it. His cohort in the Senate is Brecheen, that that fella’ can make ANYTHING mean ANYTHING and sell it to himself as he sells it to you.

I was a tiny bit chagrined NPR didn’t call him on it – “Um… dude, we read your damn bill. It’s RIGHT HERE.”

“But to mischaracterize it as an attempt to do away with the AP program, that we want to jerk the funding – it it it’s it’s (*chagrin-voice*) it’s just not… honest.”

I sincerely welcome any possible explanation of this other than that the man is openly, defiantly, utterly full of sh*t.

If I sound angry, it’s because I am. These are my students, my kids, that we’re not merely neglecting, not only once again abusing through testing or funding or outdated models of schooling – my elected officials are using MY tax dollars (and yours) to actively seek to REDUCE their chances of not sucking. They’re lying, evil, manipulative bastards who manage to feel victimized by the slightest light shone upon their insanity. They are everything I despise about our culture and our elected leadership.

No wonder they don’t want to talk about the negative stuff in our country and culture – it’s THEM.

APUSH Back – Compendium

February 17, 2015June 4, 2023 ~ Blue Cereal ~ 5 Comments

*Updated 2/24/15 08:00*

Things have been moving rather briskly lately, and I’ve had a mite o’ difficulty keeping up. Holy wow – it’s like no one even TAKES those ‘Which 1970’s TV Commerical ARE You?’ quizzes on Facebook anymore – they just post about AP in OK and shake their collective cyber-heads.

My Current Favorites:

A Student Defends AP (I posted this on my blog, but this isn’t more me – this is actually good)

Top 10 Reasons America Is Exceptional (Also on my blog, but not mostly me – Christine Custred talks about REAL American Exceptionalism)

VIDEO: Oklahoma Bans AP History Because Facts Suck (**Language Warning**)

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Local Edu-Blogs & Related Insights I Find Useful

The Legislative APUSH Push-Back: An Educator’s Perspective – OkEdTruths is the definitive source for all things legislative in #oklaed, and this post is no exception. Most of this one, however, is a guest-blog from one of the state’s most successful and reputable classroom educators, Mr. David Burton.

Save AP – OkEdTruths highlights the very real danger that we’re on our way towards eliminating one of the few things actually promoting higher education in our public schools right now.

We Must #SaveAP From Our Politicians – Claudia Swisher knows her politicians, but it still hurts watching the sausage being made… welcome to The Jungle.

APUSH: What You Can Still Do – OkEdTruths with his usual clarity and precision.

An Educated Person (The Problem With “Lists” as Curriculum) – This post is not only not specifically intended to be about pending legislation in Oklahoma, it’s from an English teacher in a whole other state. But the argument is entirely applicable here – lists of stuff we think “everyone” should know aren’t the same as learning or thinking.

AP U.S. History Course Description and other info – This is from the College Board website, so it’s not as completely unbiased and objective as, say, the Black Robes for Patriotic God Juice guy in our legislature. Nevertheless, in the same way I try to go to the actual legislation before ranting about the law, it might be helpful to go to the actual course description before damning its progressive contents to hell.

Bringing Back the Black Robe Regiment – Dan Fisher, our Man in Black. This is not parody; this is HIS site.

And of course my invaluable insights and throwing of furniture:

I’d Rather Be Aquaman (This one is from several months back when Texas was doing the whole ‘More Red in Red, White and Blue’ thing over the same issue. Plus, this is one amuses me to no end. Turns out I’m narcissistic and vain.)

Oklahoma Turns Against APUSH? (full text of SB 650 as introduced, w/ minor personal commentary)

We’ve Found A Witch… May We Burn Her? (full text of HB1380 as introduced, w/ minimal commentary)

Noooobody Expects the Spanish Inquisition! (my overview of just what the fuss is all about – a beginner’s guide, as it were)

Meet Senator Josh Brecheen, Part I – Fire From Heaven (you know us history types – thinking we can learn something about the present by analyzing the past)

Meet Senator Josh Brecheen, Part II – Books on the Bonfire (the Senator is proud of his war on Common Core – surely he won’t mind us taking a look?)

OK Senate Bill 650 – Brecheen the Ice (a look at SB 650 and its implications)

HB 1380 – Something Seems Fisher About This (a look at HB1380 and the man proposing it)

Dan Fisher is SHOCKED at What’s In His Bill (NPR came to visit, and spoke to two people. A very coherent teacher with a healthy clue, and a man hurt and breathy-offended that people would suggest he means anything he clearly says)

Other News / Commentary:

Meet the Man Behind the Right’s AP History Freak Out – (TalkingPointsMemo.com, 10/9/14)

Oklahoma Legislative Committee Questions Legality of Advanced Placement Courses in Public Schools (The Tulsa World, 2/17/15)

Oklahoma Lawmakers Vote Overwhelmingly to Ban Advanced Placement U.S. History (ThinkProgress.com, 2/17/15)

Oklahoma, Ranked 48th in Education, Votes to Ban AP History Classes (BlueNationReview.com, 2/17/15)

Great, Now Lawmakers Want to Get Rid of AP Classes… (TheLostOgle.com, 2/17/15)

Oklahoma Republicans May Have Outlawed Advanced Placement Classes (TheDailyKos.com, 2/17/15)

Sorry, Oklahoma. You Don’t Get To Ban History You Don’t Like. (TheGuardian.com, 2/18/15)

News9.com Full Interview With David Burton (News9.com, 2/18/15 – video)

Oklahoma May Scrap AP History for Focusing on America’s ‘Bad Parts’ (NPR “All Things Considered” segment, 2/18/15 – audio)

State Rep. Dan Fisher Introduces a Bill Introduces a Bill that is “Mythology, and Just Not True” (Red Dirt Report, 2/18/15)

Oklahoma Bill Would Make AP U.S. History… History (KFOR.com, 2/18/15 – article w/ video)

Oklahoma Bill Banning AP U.S. History Would Make Students Study Ten Commandments, 3 Speeches by Reagan (ThinkProgress.com, 2/18/15)

The Bizarre War Against AP U.S. History Courses (The Washington Post, 2/19/15)

Oklahoma Teachers Not Too Pleased About Bill to Ban AP U.S. History (Newsweek.com, 2/19/15)

Oklahoma Lawmaker Says He’ll Pull Back Controversial AP History Bill for a Rewrite (The Tulsa World, 2/20/15)

Oklahoma Votes to Ban AP U.S. History (TheOnion.com, 2/20/15 – satire, sort of I wish)

Lawmaker Who Targeted AP History Looks to Bring Back the Black Robe Regiment (The Tulsa World, 2/20/15)

The ‘Black Robe Regiment’: History, law professors counter Oklahoma lawmaker who targeted AP history (The Tulsa World, 2/21/15)

Editorial: Threat to AP U.S. history part of general assault on public education (The Tulsa World, 2/21/15)

Letter to the Editor: Don’t Whitewash U.S. History (The Tulsa World, 2/22/15 – written by AP High School Student)

Things To Ask Your Legislator or Others Supporting the Move to Kill AP:

I’m told I am not always the most dispassionate or rational voice on these subjects. That my ‘tone’ might be counterproductive in some situations.

I don’t know… I think the image of me kicking and crying as I shriek: “WHY DO YOU HATE OUR CHILDREN?!? WHY ARE YOU AFRAID THEY MIGHT THINK OR GROW BEYOND THIS?!? WHAT ENTITY DO YOU SERVE THAT FEARS TRUTH OR LIGHT?!?” and they drag me away, never to be seen by family or friends again – well, it has a certain poignancy, don’t you think?

Still, I live to serve. Here’s my humble effort to prioritize and organize the existing issues regarding this effort to crush whatever minimal signs of higher level thinking may remain in our students.

Feel free to make comments / corrections / suggestions below. It’s not personal – my ego will manage. It usually does.

I’m conflating the House and Senate versions for efficiency. Feel free to link to this page when you email your Representatives and Senators over these bills.

Logistics / Finances:
Q1: What is your reasoning for thinking a multi-national organization like the College Board will submit to the whims of Oklahoma and ‘revert’ to the previous course outline based on our demands? Are you aware Texas – a state which, whatever our opinions of them, has a much larger population and budget than ours – tried something similar recently with almost no impact? Is this a serious expectation written into the bill, or merely cynical grandstanding?
Q2: Will the state be reimbursing students who under the current system would be receiving college credit for their APUSH scores in amounts equal to whatever additional tuition they’ll be paying as a result of this legislation?
Q3: How many years and how many hundreds of thousands of dollars do you plan on devoting to this new, improved AP course and test you wish to design to replace the College Board course and exam? Who, exactly, will write it? How will you pilot it, analyze its effectiveness, seek feedback from universities and public school history teachers around the world – or at least the state?
Q4: Given current budget restraints, where is all of this new money coming from to create this ‘new, improved’ AP course? Or do you merely plan on adding your list of documents onto the existing framework, despite your lack of faith in the current design?
Q5: How many additional school hours are you willing to finance for students to be adequately submerged in the many hundreds – possibly thousands – of required documents you propose? Will these hours replace current hours spent in math, science, or ELA, or will they be added to the current requirements?
Purpose / Assumptions:
Q6: What is it about other points of view or critical thinking that troubles you in the new APUSH course? Would you be willing to offer examples of APUSH courses currently being taught in Oklahoma which marginalize or ignore foundational documents or ‘American exceptionalism’ as at least one way to consider our history?
Q7: We hear repeatedly that we’re supposed to help students become “college, career, and citizenship ready” (or sometimes just “college & career ready”). Understanding and appreciating multiple points of view or other nation’s or culture’s paradigms and perspectives is an essential part of any of these three. If this is NOT the primary purpose of public education in Oklahoma, what do you believe that primary purpose SHOULD be?
Q8: Should students who do not come from an Anglo-Saxon background, or share an evangelical Protestant worldview, or conform to whatever else you consider to be the ‘real American’ standards and beliefs, be denied entrance to advanced coursework? If admitted, can they only pass if sufficiently willing to conform to a single lifestyle and value system, or are other interpretations and questions acceptable if supported with proper evidence?
Q9: Do you believe the values and ideals on which America was founded are so fragile as to be in danger from questions or challenges made in an academic setting? Could you help us understand what it is you believe your faith and your state have to fear from a generation taught to question both their own assumptions and those of others?
Q10: What do you believe is the primary purpose of Social Studies and History in public education?
Q11: Is it more important for students to be able to recite from a list of sacred texts, or be able to recognize, analyze, evaluate, and otherwise explain a variety of texts which they may encounter along the way?
Credibility:
Q12: Could you explain why you chose to include ___________ in your list of required documents, and what parts of this document or this collection of documents you believe is being currently marginilized by the APUSH framework?

I suggest a theme song for efforts to eliminate this whitewashing, flag-waving nonsense:

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Finally, HERE’S HOW YOU REACH YOUR REPRESENTATIVES.

I know we’re not all equally political, but please consider a short email or phone call expressing your thoughts.

If someone wanted to draft a sample and share it, that might be helpful. Mine will be in the comments below, but I’m sure there are better.

OK House Bill 1380 – Something Seems Fisher About This

February 4, 2015June 4, 2023 ~ Blue Cereal ~ 3 Comments

I’m going to try to cover the House version of the ‘Smother APUSH With Documents’ bill without the oppressive word count of my post on the Senate version.

I am not optimistic.

The full text of this bill is available here and here.

STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 55th Legislature (2015)
HOUSE BILL 1380
By: Fisher

I don’t actually know much about Mr. Fisher, but this bit from what appears to be his website is, well… terrifying:

Dan has a Passion for communicating God’s truth to this culture of “political correctness” and with America’s increasing “drift” from its founding principles and its Christian roots, he has become even more committed to helping return America to its faith. He is on the boards of Bott Christian Radio Network, Reclaiming America for Christ, and Vision America, a ministry of evangelist Rick Scarborough based in Houston, TX. Dan is also on the leadership team of the OKC Tea Party and is frequent speaker at tea party rallies around the state. He is a published author and has a national speaking ministry.
Bringing Back the Black Robed Regiment:
In the past few years, Dan has traveled the country presenting the messages “Seven Lies We’re Being Told About America” and “Bringing Back the Black Robed Regiment”. “Seven Lies” is a presentation that addresses the attacks being launched against America’s Christian heritage by the “politically correct” progressives. It proves beyond a “shadow of a doubt” that Christians founded America – not atheists and deists, and that the Founders wanted a country where Christianity would have a strong impact – not a country where faith and government would be divided by a “strict separation of church and state”.

So that can’t possibly go badly.

I am not against challenging our current interpretations of history, any more than I’m against challenging our current understanding of evolution or climate change. Live it up, ‘Merica.

I am against legislating out of dogmatic conviction or rewriting the past to fit our current evangelical or political agenda. There is no Biblical scenario in which obscuring or avoiding the truth sets us free.

I am against crusades to reclaim the metaphorical Holy Land via hacking away at public education.

I am against imprisoning Galileo for claiming the sun does not revolve around the earth as per contemporaneous interpretations of the sacred texts.

I am against starting with your desired outcome and mutilating reality as necessary to get there. I am against using state tax dollars and our legislative branch to act as a sort of Spanish Inquisition against inquiry and other points of view.

I told you I was going to blow it on the word count.

Back to 1380:

An Act relating to schools; directing the State Board of Education to adopt a certain United States History program and assessment; requiring United States History courses to include the study of certain documents; listing the documents; amending 70 O.S. 2011, Section 1210.703, which relates to financial incentives awarded to schools under the Oklahoma Advanced Placement Incentive Program; prohibiting the awarding of grants or expenditure of money for any Advanced Placement United States History course until certain conditions are met; providing for codification; providing an effective date; and declaring an emergency.

Positives so far: only one use of the word ‘certain’ instead of just saying what you mean.

Negatives so far: we’re still declaring an ‘emergency’. Are all state legislators former meteorologists?

A. By the 2015 – 2016 school year, the State Board of Education shall identify and adopt a United States History program and corresponding test which school districts shall offer in lieu of the Advanced Placement United States History course and test. The program and test shall not contradict or conflict with the subject matter standards for United States History adopted by the Board.

I discussed the improbability of this last time. I’m still amazed this can be proposed with a straight face – it’s either that delusional or that cynically deceptive.

B. Any United States History course offered in schools in the state, including Honors and Advanced Placement courses shall include as part of the primary instruction the appropriate grade-level study of the following foundational and historical documents:

At least they used the same source for their list of America’s Best 1000 Documents. I’ll skip most of these.

4. Founding documents of the United States that contributed to the foundation or maintenance of the representative form of limited government, the free-market economic system and American exceptionalism;

Don’t forget “states’ rights.”

7. Acts of the United States Congress, including the published text of the Congressional Record;

How did I miss this in the other version? I was apparently distracted by the inclusion of everything every President ever has ever written, said, or done. If there’s a way to top that, it has to be requiring the entirety of Congressional Records for the same time period.

I’m going to need to ask my principal for more copies on the big machine downstairs.

It’s ironic, really, given that members of Congress don’t even read the stuff they pass, that we’d require it of 16-year olds. Then again, if they’re busy reading the Congressional Record, they won’t have time to question why we have a Legislature made up of members who don’t even read the stuff they pass.

h. portions of the book titled “The Grapes of Wrath” written by John Steinbeck,

Socialists and boobies, my friends – required by law. You read it here first.

Just wait until Sally Kern finds out!

qq. the letter known as the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” written by Martin Luther King, Jr.,
rr. the I Have a Dream speech made by Martin Luther King, Jr.,

Hey, a second MLK document in this one! Representative Fisher can claim with mathematical accuracy to have pushed for 25% MORE documents by famous Black Americans than the Senator. And he included the one promoting minorities stirring up trouble when injustice prevails!

Obviously he hasn’t read his own list any more than the Senator read his. Oh well…

SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2011, Section 1210.703, is amended to read as follows:
Section 1210.703
A. Contingent upon the provision of appropriated funds designated for the Oklahoma Advanced Placement Incentive Program, the State Board of Education is hereby authorized to award schools:
1. A one-time equipment and/or instructional materials grant for the purpose of providing an advanced placement course, based on criteria established by the Department. Schools which receive the grants shall:
a. offer the advanced placement courses beginning the school year following receipt of the grant,
b. provide the College Board training within one (1) year of the grant award, including at least a one-week summer institute. Teachers shall be encouraged to attend annual follow-up training, and
c. make available advanced placement examinations to all students taking the course for which a grant has been awarded;
2. Additional grants to school sites demonstrating successful implementation, as defined by the State Board of Education, of the courses for which the first grants were awarded. Schools may qualify for additional grants a minimum of four (4) years after receiving a grant award;
3. Subsidized training for advanced placement courses, preadvanced placement courses, or International Baccalaureate courses in a form, manner and time prescribed by the Department;
4. One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) for each score of three or better on an advanced placement test or four or better on an International Baccalaureate examination; provided, these funds shall be used for the purpose of Advanced Placement Program development;
5. For those students who demonstrate financial need as defined by the College Board or the International Baccalaureate Organization, a share of the advanced placement or International Baccalaureate test fee;
6. For those students who take more than one advanced placement or International Baccalaureate test in one (1) year, a share of the advanced placement test or International Baccalaureate fee in a manner prescribed by the Board; and
7. Grants for the purpose of developing an advanced placement vertical team based on criteria established by the Board.
B. Upon completion of the test, the State Department of Education shall obtain from the College Board and the International Baccalaureate Organization a list of students in Oklahoma who scored a three or higher on the advanced placement test or a four or higher on the International Baccalaureate test. Financial incentives for schools provided in this section shall be awarded at the beginning of the next school year following the school year in which the test was taken.
C. Any new expenditure authorized pursuant to Section 1210.701et seq. of this title shall be contingent upon the availability of funds.

Well, that certainly sounds supportive, doesn’t it? Except that’s what the law ALREADY says. This token bit of support for AP and IB has been around for several year. Here’s the NEW part Rep. Fisher wants to add:

D. Beginning with the 2015-2016 school year, the Board shall not award any grants to school districts or make any expenditure of state funds as authorized pursuant to this section for equipment, instructional materials, course development, professional development or training, examination awards or examination scholarships for the Advanced Placement United States History course until the College Board changes the framework for the course and reverts back to the course framework and examination that were used prior to the 2014-2015 school year.

In other words, if the College Board doesn’t meet our demands, we’re taking our already deflated money bags and refusing to play anymore. Just as with the other version of the bill, there is no spin or interpretation – however full of goodwill towards men – which can render this both reasonable and well-intentioned.

This either demonstrates of level of unfamiliarity with how the education world – or any world, really – works (unforgiveable if we’re so presumptuous as to legislate about it), or a brazen manipulation of the legislative process to deceive the ignorant and the agitated for self-aggrandizement and gain.

If you can possibly spin this more positively, please do so in the Comments below. I’d love to find another option – seriously.

SECTION 4. It being immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety, an emergency is hereby declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and be in full force from and after its passage and approval.

This Section, as with the comparable section in the Senate version, is what we in the idealist world of public education call “blatantly untrue” – what the commoners call “a lie”, or more colloquially, “bullsh*t.”

The preservation of public peace, health, and safety? Really? An EMERGENCY?

Now, now, Blue – these are just things legislators have to say to get things passed. They don’t actually mean what they sound like they mean. It’s something you have to say to play the game and navigate the rules – you can’t read it literally. You have to read past what it says and understand what they really mean.

Exactly.

RELATED POST: OK Senate Bill 650 – Brecheen the Ice

RELATED POST: We’ve Found A Witch… May We Burn Her?

RELATED POST: Oklahoma Turns Against APUSH?

OK Senate Bill 650 – Brecheen the Ice

February 1, 2015June 4, 2023 ~ Blue Cereal

I confess to some uncertainty regarding how things ‘work’ in the Oklahoma legislature, but if I’m reading the shorthand correctly, both of the bills regarding APUSH I’ve recently discussed – one in the House, one in the Senate – were officially presented tomorrow, February 2^nd, 2015.

So, time travel?

Let’s see if we can decipher any of this, shall we? I’m only citing excerpts – the full text is available here or here.

SENATE BILL 650 By:Brecheen AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to schools; prohibiting state funds from being used to support –

Well, that already pretty much sums up MOST of what our legislature does in regards to public ed, isn’t it? “prohibit state funds from being used to support”?

An Act relating to schools; prohibiting state funds from being used to support certain U.S. history courses; prohibiting the State Board of Education from awarding certain grants until certain course framework reverts to framework in place at certain time; directing the State Board of Education by certain date to adopt certain history program; establishing criteria for program; allowing display of certain grade-level documents; providing for codification; providing an effective date; and declaring an EMERGENCY.

I assume this is just standard legal speak, but how convoluted is that? It’s like certain legislators want to take certain steps to make certain that certain average constituents are unable to decipher certain things about what they’re certainly talking about because of certain potential reactions to what certain bullsh*it it is.

Pardon me – what certain EMERGENCY bullsh*t it is.

This would be a good time to revisit Orwell’s thoughts on political-speak. I’ll wait.

Ready to continue? OK.

A. No state funds shall be used to support advanced placement U.S. history courses in Oklahoma schools as the courses are designed as of the effective date of this act.
B. Beginning with the 2015-2016 school year, the State Board of Education shall not award any grants to school districts or make any expenditure of state funds, as authorized by Section 1210.703 of Title 70 of the Oklahoma Statutes, for equipment, instructional materials, course development, professional development or training, examination awards or examination scholarships for advanced placement U.S. history courses until the framework for the course is changed and reverts back to the course framework and examination that were used prior to the 2014-2015 school year.

When all you have is an ideological hammer, every issue is a conspiratorial nail. I don’t know how many nickels we’re throwing into APUSH currently, but it can’t be substantial. Maybe someone can officially look that up for us and post it in the Comments below.

In plain English, they want to kill AP U.S. History across the state until the College Board reverts back to the prior course outline. We’re counting on national reverence for Oklahoma’s leadership in intellectual development and our fiscal commitment to public education to do what Texas could not – blackmail and extort a multi-national organization for whom Oklahomans make up approximately .0043% of users.

Okla-who-ma?

This is delusional to the point of pathetic. Once again the question is begged – are they that ignorant, or do they assume we are? Are they incompetent, or merely exploiting the fact that those who elect them are easily manipulated?

There is no scenario in which this bill is both reasonable AND well-intentioned. Its author is either knowingly pushing nonsense legislation (what we in the old country call ‘lying’), or so out of touch with reality that for his own safety he should not be left unattended.

I can’t find another way to interpret this, whether one agrees with its goals or not.

This isn’t a political ideology thing, like should we adjust food stamps or the minimum wage. This is like proposing legislation that unless Egypt becomes a full-fledged Christian democracy speaking only English, Oklahoma will refuse to let little children study the pyramids in school.

C. Prior to the 2015-2016 school year, the State Board of Education shall identify and adopt an advanced placement U.S. history program and corresponding assessment that:
1. Are not in contradiction with the subject matter standards for U.S. history adopted by the State Board of Education; and
2. Include the following foundational and historical documents as part of the primary instruction in any U.S. history, honors U.S. history, and advanced placement U.S. history course offered in Oklahoma public schools:

…and then a list of 4837 essential American documents.

This is getting to be a running joke in Oklahoma – the “We’ll make our OWN test! It’ll be gooder and bigger and purdier!” theme.

How many sets of standards has Oklahoma written or planned to write just in the last decade or two? Which of them turned out so well we’re ready to flaunt them?

That silly lil’ College Board – love them or hate them – has been doing this for about 60 years now, and spends ungodly amounts of time and money and research and field testing and data analysis and pretty much lives for this stuff because it’s WHAT THEY DO with a staff of hundreds and a budget of zillions.

The APUSH rewrite alone took more man hours than going to the moon the first time. (I just made that up to support my point; I think it’s important to speak the language of those with whom you disagree.)

But we need an issue, so we’ll plan on gathering up a few locals from the districts we like, maybe Stan from bowling league, a few reps from the major corporations, and book the Holiday Inn conference room for a day and a half – that oughta knock out something comparable. Heck, to show we’re serious we may allocate for a few two-liters of store-brand soda if the committee members want to take up a collection to order Subway for lunch.

You can like APUSH or hate it. You can lean as far left or right as you wish. But this bill makes no sense. It’s worth questioning why it’s being pushed, if what it proposes is neither sincere nor plausible.

Now, those documents…

a. organic documents from the pre-Colonial, Colonial, Revolutionary, Federalist, and post-Federalist eras of the United States,

I dare anyone involved in this legislation to tell me what this means. I’d LOVE 3-4 examples of WHICH documents this would include, and why they’re not listed by name.

b. major principles in the Federalist Papers,

This is a semester’s worth of study all by itself. If you’re not familiar with the Federalist Papers, Google them for some good times. Great stuff, but I make the same dare to those pushing this law. What ARE the major principles of the Federalist Papers, according to you? No checking Wikipedia – if you feel strongly enough to legislate them, you should know what they say.

c. the writings, speeches, documents, and proclamations of the founders and presidents of the United States,

Marinate in that for a moment. Every speech, letter, diary, order, or other word or action of every significant founder and every President ever. That’s better than the pre-Colonial and post-Federalist thing. I can’t believe they left out blood and urine samples – you know, just to bring history to life.

I suppose he might only mean that he’d like to see more documents used in the study of history – that we learn to navigate primary sources, analyze them, question them, evaluate them, and synthesize them into meaningful interpretations and arguments. If so, that’s unfortunate because (a) that’s not what this bill actually says, and the point of written laws is that they’re written, and (b) that’s what the new APUSH course framework is trying to do so that teachers and students don’t have to be tied to long lists of specifics in order to learn how to ‘do’ history.

Hey Senator, I heard the point dropped by – sorry you missed it.

d. America’s founding documents that contributed to the foundation or maintenance of America’s representative form of limited government, free-market economic system, and American exceptionalism,

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Look at those magic words – “limited government”, “free-market economic system”, and “American exceptionalism.” And only three letters and thousands of vaguely defined documents into the list!

All three of these are defensible elements of America’s founding ideals. All three are relevant and important, although surely even the Senator recognizes the negative connotations permanently latched onto the third.

But they are elements, not delineators. And – like “States’ Rights”, “Don’t Tread on Me”, or “But He Was Resisting Arrest” – they are currently all buzzwords for the furthest right wing of the Republican Party.

That’s fine – believe what you believe. But let’s not dance around the linguistics – we want a more pro-American, less nuanced version of U.S. History. We want overt indoctrination, not critical thinking or multiple viewpointed education.

e. objects of historical significance that have formed and influenced the United States’ legal or governmental system and that exemplify the development of the rule of law, including but not limited to the Magna Carta, the Mecklenburg Declaration, the Ten Commandments, and the Justinian Code,

I must confess I regret a life devoid of the Mecklenburg Declaration and the Justinian Code. It’s left my classroom a sad and intellectually desolate place. All that time spent wasted trying to help them read or understand common themes running throughout our brief democracy. Oh, what could have been… *sigh*

f. U.S. Supreme Court decisions,

All of them? Ever? Could we at least narrow it down to your Top 100? I’ve labored annually to narrow my list of must-cover cases and still have a list that’s both too long and woefully inadequate. It just can’t be done in the current structure.

Plus, who cares? How many Supreme Court cases can you name and explain? How are YOU doing in the so-called ‘real world’?

Before considering this bill, could we at least identify which specific districts and teachers are teaching U.S. History – especially AP – without any founding documents, presidential speeches, Federalist Papers, or Supreme Court decisions? Is that happening anywhere in the state by anyone?

Thank god the Senator hates books so much or the next law would be for English class mandating students read every great book ever written (well, at least the ones without any dirty parts) or we’ll yank AP Literature, too.

Let’s skip down the list and see what awaits us. Are you scared? Me too!

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(18) at least a complete overview of the book entitled “Democracy in America” by Alexis de Tocqueville,

Hey, Senator – or anyone educated in favor of this bill – what’s THIS book about? It’s on your list. None of you have read this – come on, admit it!

And what exactly is a ‘complete overview’? Do you mean ‘watch the movie’?

(19) the document known as “Declaration of Sentiments” by Elizabeth Cady Stanton,

To his credit, the Senator has included a document calling for the equality of women. Now I KNOW he hasn’t read his own list.

(34) portions of the book entitled “The Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck,

Ha! “Portions.” What do you bet other “portions” will be specifically banned?

(45) “I Have a Dream” speech by Martin Luther King, Jr.,
(46) “The Ballot or the Bullet” speech by Malcolm X,

Interesting choices out of all of the options for these two, but I’ll let that go for now. Besides, I’m genuinely surprised and impressed Brother Malcolm made this list at all.

School districts shall permit teachers to display grade-level appropriate excerpts from or copies of the documents, writings, speeches, proclamations or records listed in this subsection in school classrooms and school building common areas as appropriate.

Shall permit? There’s currently a ban on this? Or are we writing legislation to solve problems which don’t exist? Oh, right…

SECTION 3. It being immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety, an emergency is hereby declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and be in full force from and after its passage and approval.

Let’s assume for a moment you disagree with everything else I’ve said. You think the College Board is out to eat our young and that the only worthwhile function of public schools is to indoctrinate kids in good old fashioned Old Testament and ‘Merican values.

Can you honestly say with a straight face that long-announced and relatively minor adjustments in an AP course outline create an immediate threat to public peace, health, and safety? That there is, in fact, an EMERGENCY along those lines?

Here’s a different definition of ‘emergency’ I’d suggest instead: Oklahoma begins undermining Advanced Placement across the state, making it harder for our students to get into college or to be prepared for college when they do. On the outside chance we create some sort of off-brand faux-AP course, no one not required by state law to do so would acknowledge it as legit. Believe what you like about the College Board – they get kids ready for college and help get them in, whether through test scores or by simply having taken the courses.

Oklahoma is at the bottom of every educational scale – funding, outcomes, reputation. I get that no one in political leadership gives the tiniest fake damn about me or my kids or what any of us are trying to accomplish. I long ago gave up asking for improvement or support. But are we really going to try so very hard to find bizarre new ways to make it even worse?

The House version of the bill is even longer and weirder. I’ll get to it soon, I hope.

OkEd, get well soon – this is too much for me to ‘shoulder.’

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Meet Senator Brecheen, Part II – Books on the Bonfire

January 30, 2015June 4, 2023 ~ Blue Cereal ~ 5 Comments

I’ve been sharing some thoughts on Senator Brecheen lately as background to understanding his recent attack on Advanced Placement U.S. History (APUSH) courses in Oklahoma.

There are perfectly valid debates to be had over the specifics of APUSH here and elsewhere, and I myself am a big fan of challenging and questioning our assumptions and uses of ANY given terminology, program, assessment, etc.

But that’s not what I’m seeing from the Senator so far.

I don’t yet have access to written or videotaped comments by the Senator on this specific bill, but thanks to his love of YouTube I do have a trove on something similar. As you may know, the Senator was vehemently anti-Common Core – not because of its pedagogy, the unclear means of assessment, poor implementation, or even its perceived exacerbation of equity and access issues.

No, his main gripe was that it (a) came with lots of federal money, and (b) required our socialist children to rape one another for the glory of the devil in order to graduate.

I may have the exact phrasing a bit off on that second one – I’ve been watching too much political discussion lately and clear, accurate language is not the norm.

He addresses the first point in this rather laborious interview with Glenn Beck:

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Several things jump out at me from this. The first is that Brecheen was afraid the feds were going to take away staples of Oklahoma education like the A-F Report Cards, the new TLE system, our own high-stakes testing, etc. It’s important to remember that he thinks these are the GOOD parts of what we’re currently doing.

The second is that Brecheen finds it silly to make an issue of a few zillion dollars of educational funding. Apparently Oklahoma spends five ooglecrillion dollars every DAY on those edu-whiners, so no one’s gonna notice one way or the other if we add or subtract a few billion here or there.

That was the part that most made me want to smack everyone involved. It’s especially odd that very similar dollar amounts are apparently absolutely ESSENTIAL to the SURVIVAL of core industries in the state when it’s time to cut taxes on the wealthiest slivers of our population yet again.

Then again, they’re “job-creators”, as opposed to whatever it is we do in ‘public school’.

Finally, Brecheen and what’s-his-name smile and nod in agreement with Beck when he claims that states who accept federal money with rules attached are whores. I’m curious as to whether Beck, Brecheen, and what’s-his-name believe this is only true in reference to education dollars, or if it applies equally to funding for highways and other infrastructure, health care, military bases or related industries, etc.

I’m not looking to wage the Common Core war again. I AM suggesting that, as a history teacher, I tend to look to the past to illuminate the present. Brecheen is pushing legislation to save us from another boogeyman. Knowing whether he’s lying, insane, or just making it all up as he goes can better prepare us to respond this time around.

Besides, one area of heated criticism in recent months is the connection between Common Core and College Board, the organization behind AP and the SAT. Google “David Coleman” if you’d like a fun read or two (thousand) along those lines. Good times!

So, let’s continue with the Senator’s concerns over Common Core implementation:

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OK – I gotta confess that IS a little scary. Prentice Hall and “Pearsons” running everything does terrify me a bit. And we can add ‘edu-company’ names to the list of things the Senator appropriates for his own purposes without actually getting them right – along with scripture, how baseball works, and Common Core materials.

The “suggested reading” to which he refers is from Appendix B to the ELA Standards of Common Core. He highlights Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, which is on Page 152 of the document.

Page 2, on the other hand – and note this is the FIRST PAGE OF THE DOCUMENT after the fancy title and cover art – BEGINS this way:

If he thinks they’re up to something, fine – but let’s not call it the “Suggested Reading List” if that’s explicitly what it claims NOT to be. I understand that facts and details can be inconvenient, but this renders them no less relevant, Senator.

Flip ahead 150 pages or so and you’ll find the entry causing him such concern:

Clearly these aren’t the dirty parts. So here’s a fascinating question…

How many of these pages and pages of titles did the Senator and his staff have to locate and peruse and – god forbid – READ in order to come up with an explicit scene like this? How tickled must they have been to have finally found those vaginas and genitals! Reminds me of the early days of internet searching when you’d finally –

Actually, never mind. That’s not my point. My point is that when facts and irritating details don’t fit his predetermined narrative, Senator Brecheen is happy to go to any lengths necessary to make them fit, or at least pretend they do.

My point is that his convictions aren’t shaped by reality; his reality is shaped by his conviction.

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I don’t really have anything for that clip – it just cracks me up. Reminds me of Steve Allen reading rock’n’roll lyrics in the 1950’s:

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Personally, I’m opposed to dirty books – especially in school. I’m a firm believer that we should avoid anything in history or literature that might make students with complicated lives feel at all connected to what they’re reading or who they’re studying.

First off, they shouldn’t have dysfunctional lives in the first place. I know it’s not technically their fault if they do, but they should have the courtesy to suppress and deny it like we did for hundreds of years and it worked JUST FINE. Second, just because their lives have unpleasant or painful elements doesn’t mean I should have to understand anything about what that must be like, or expect my ‘good’ students to stretch themselves with that sort of insight or empathy.

Since when is school about challenging pre-existing experiences and beliefs about ourselves and our worlds? How is THAT going to help them on the state tests?

I’d personally prefer we stick to nice safe happy books of how things should be and how everyone should feel. That way we have elusive, unreachable ideals to which all students can aspire. Since they’ll never reach a point where their lives or efforts can even begin to live up to the fictions we perpetuate, they’re far more likely to allow those who sound like they’ve made it to tell them what to do, or – if we’re lucky – to give up altogether.

I just can’t see a down side.

But that’s irrelevant in the current APUSH argument. Unless, of course, you replace ‘nice safe happy books’ with ‘over-deified white guys no one can possibly relate to and flashy sanitized fireworks versions of complex events’.

Then, I guess, it’s the same damn thing for the exact same reasons. Fear, entrenched power, venom…

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Way to bring it all home, there, Senator! The conflation of Joshua and Elijah followed by the reminder that the 10th Amendment protects “conservative Christian values.” In a way, it’s the perfect conclusion – once you have the course laid for your crusade, don’t worry about what stuff actually says or does or means. Just GO for it, knowing that those who question you need not be answered – they need merely be damned.

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