Ryan Walters Rolls Out New Plan:"Every Teacher in the State Will Have a Bible in the Classroom."
An Update from Today's State Board of Education Meeting (6-27-24)
Thursday, June 27th was a big day for Oklahoma education.
At the state board of education meeting, superintendent, Ryan Walters announced a movement to have a Bible in “every school and every classroom” in Oklahoma. This of course sparked instant shouts of pushback from left wing activists in the overflow hall of the state education building.
Ryan Walters touched on the fact that the Bible is a historical document that has been used throughout history in academia. The Bible incorporates studies in areas of religion, humanities, history, and more.
“…it’s crystal clear to us (state board) that the Oklahoma academic standards, under title 7D, multiple occasions, the Bible is a necessary historical document to teach our kids about the history of this country, to have a complete understanding of western civilization, to an understanding of the basis of our legal system, and frankly we’re talking about the Bible, one of the most foundational documents used for the Constitution of our country…”
- Ryan Walters
Walters went on to explain many more benefits of the Bible as a classroom resource amidst comments of disagreement and frustration from some in the overflow audience. It was also clarified that the Bibles will be in classrooms for grades 5 through 12 in Oklahoma schools.
Walters has certainly been a consistent, bold voice and advocate for faith and parent’s rights to have their faith be part of Oklahoma student’s education. This of course is always met with the common argument of, the separation of church and state. This argument ignores the historical reality that the separation of church and state was actually meant to keep the government out of the church, not the other way around. America is a nation founded upon Christian principles. In fact, many could argue that the major and rapid decline of American education increased when Christianity was removed from the classroom.
Statistically speaking, families that practice and priorities an organized religion, such as Christianity, tend to produce more accomplished students when the disciplines of the faith are actually implemented in their lives.
An Attack on the Nations First Religious Charter School…
Ryan Walters also expressed yesterday that he was disappointed with the Oklahoma supreme courts decision to rule against the St. Isidore Catholic virtual charter school. The court ruled that the charter school receiving public funding is “unconstitutional”. The misunderstanding of, the separation of church and state, has found it way back to Oklahoma as the state superintendent continues to push for different education options for parents to choose from. This catholic based charter would have allowed for parents to have the option to send their children to a school that hold their values as well as benefit from their own tax dollars.
The Oklahoma court also expressed that, under state law, a charter school is a public school.
Ryan intends to continue fighting against these efforts to shut down resources of faith in the classroom. The majority of Oklahomans are Christian, though there seems to be a great divide when it comes to opinions on the state superintendent’s popularity, even among some Christians.
Ryan Walters is Oklahoma’s own version of Donald Trump. He is bold, outspoken, and unapologetic about his beliefs. Many would argue that we are in such a time where we need bold leaders like Walters and Trump. Our nation, in many ways, appears to be headed downhill and it could be argued that it will take a specific type of leader to turn it all around alongside the American people. Mr. Walters and President Trump are perhaps the right men for the job for the season and time we find ourselves in.
It will take a great amount of logic to be able to look past our emotions and discomfort to see what is needed for such a time as this.
More: Watch an Oklahoma Lion exclusive interview with Ryan Walters here.
This is an editorial article based on a combination of opinions, research, and personal experiences.
Another great resource: Letters to the American Church (Documentary)