Oklahoma schools having trouble retaining teachers...gasp.

Today, Newsok.com posted a report this morning that Oklahoma City schools are having problems keeping teachers.  I know...what a shock. 

Shane Keenan, director of employee engagement in Oklahoma City is reported as saying the turnover rates are because of "teachers who changed schools or were working with emergency credentials because of the state's teacher shortage."

Not because of budget cuts? Not because teachers' salaries are among the lowest in the nation?  Or could there be other reasons? 

In the past two years, I've found ten articles discussing the Oklahoma government's deplorable treatment of its educators:

1. Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs wanted to stop a one-cent sales tax increase to fund education.  They succeeded.

2. Lawmakers banned advanced placement history classes.

3. GOP state reps tried to take over "underperforming" schools.

4. Teachers leaving the state in droves.

5. Oklahoma State Department of Education could not buy new texts books because Oklahoma lawmakers did not appropriate funds for new books.

6. Teachers leaving the state because of the lack of education funding.

7. Failing blames education system, not herself or governments cutting funding, for suffering schools.
http://newsok.com/article/5508902
http://newsok.com/article/5526191

8. Senate Education Committee approves public funds to go to private schools.

9. Oklahoma City Schools closing due to budget cuts.
http://newsok.com/article/5542383
http://kfor.com/2017/03/20/several-schools-in-oklahoma-city-may-close-due-to-budget-crisis/


10. More schools closing, eliminating teachers because the House or Reps can't pass a budget.
http://newsok.com/oklahoma-school-districts-move-on-cuts-without-clear-budget-picture/article/5549452
http://newsok.com/facing-massive-budget-cuts-oklahoma-house-rejects-revenue-package/article/5549409?homePageWidget=1

Oklahoma governor loses grip on reality

In an unexpected but hardly surprising announcement, Oklahoma Governor Scary Failing tells the education system, schools and teachers to step up!  Clearly, she blames the educational system, devastated in the past few years by her and the Republican-controlled government by their ruinous policies, for their own demise.

Funding for education has been cut so much that schools are going to four-day weeks, valuable after-school programs are being cancelled, and teachers are fleeing the state so fast they leave skidmarks in school parking lots.

However, not all of the blame can be laid upon the legislators.  Earlier this month, Oklahoma voters defeated State Question 779 59% to 40% which would have raised sales tax by one cent, to give teachers a $5000 raise and increase education's coffers.  Apparently, Okies want the legislators to come up with a solution other than raising taxes.  Fair enough, but what do you plan to do in the meantime while the Republicans consult with lawmakers with educational backgrounds "just as they have always been."  Maybe they were consulted but certainly not heeded.

For now, Okies will watch teachers disappear over the horizon to greener pastures, see their children's education suffer and pad the pockets of Oklahoma's legislators.

http://okiefunk.com/content/it-will-get-worse-right-wing-assault-continues-oklahoma-schools
http://newsok.com/article/5508902
http://newsok.com/article/5526191

Scary Failing speaks without checking her facts and offers advice to Trump

Watch Scary Failing spin lies Trump passes off as "truth to power".

The Wall Street Journal has some interesting information in fact-checking Trump.

Fallin advice: Trump should keep being Trump: 'It's important he continues speaking truth to power yet understand that as the nominee opponents will twist what he says,' the governor said after making a case to the Republican Women's Club to vote for Trump.

 http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2016/08/08/fact-checking-donald-trumps-speech-on-the-economy/

Inhofe (R-OK): Dumber than Mary Failing?

Doc Hoc of the blog Okie Funk reported that the week before last, Republican Senator Jim Inhofe from Oklahoma went on the radio and proved to the listeners just how stupid he is.  The reason Inhofe is anti-education is because he thinks students are "being brainwashed" in our schools with all that sciencey stuff and those "fact" things.  He still manages to cling to his uneducated notion that global warming is a hoax, despite tons of data from NASA, NOAA and other scientists around the world.

He even wrote a book which has not been well-received, and in it he can't explain why we should believe a stupid, uneducated senator and not the thousands of experts on the subject.  As if he wasn't getting through to enough people, he brought a snowball to the Senate floor in February 2015 and threw it to prove there was no such thing as global warming.

I don't know who is dumber - Inhofe or Failing.  Perhaps they're auditioning for "Dumb and Dumber 3"?

http://okiefunk.com/content/right-question
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2016/07/26/3802201/inhofe-granddaughter-climate-understanding/
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/03/04/3629466/snowball-inhofe-meet-the-press-climate/

Gov. Mary Failing dead-pans comical speech at RNC

Watch the country’s worst governor deadpan her speech at the Republican National Convention in the clip below.  How could she keep a straight face?  Fortunately, we can tell she did not plagiarize anyone because nobody could pen a speech that stupid.

At one point she delivers what she thinks is a powerful message, but the audience waits several seconds before thinking:  "Oh, we were supposed to applaud her?  Okay."

She talked about the importance of education while Oklahoma's educational system is in critical condition, not certain if it is going to survive.

Did she even read her speech before she went out there?  Did she intend to make herself look bad?  I doubt it.  From what I understand the RNC was all about fear.  Failing goes onto say that we ‘live in fear’ and ‘our spirit is almost broken’.  Who was she talking to?  We do live in fearsome times but not all of us live in fear nor are our spirits even close to being broken. 

Thanks for the fear-mongering, Failing!  Let’s keep it un-real!