Email from OCPAC LEFT ENRAGED OVER OKLAHOMA TEACHER TEST Published Monday, August 25, 2025 SEND THIS NEWSLETTER TO A FRIEND HERE. BOB LINN NO WOKE TEACHERS This week, Dr. Piper has noted the complaints from the far left in America that Oklahoma would require them to know the ABCs of the American Republic. When we read William Shakespeare's Hamlet, we eventually come across the line (Act 3, Scene 2): The Lady doth protest too much, methinks. The line is used today to suggest that the one protesting is in fact the guilty party hoping to hide his guilt behind a very loud and impassioned protest. To make the appreciation of one's nations history a requirement to teach seems only common sense. So, why the complaints? Here is what Dr. Piper had to say in his Washington Times article this weekend: DR. EVERETT PIPER Sunday, August 24, 2025 American Education is Undermining America This past week, Ryan Walters, the Oklahoma Superintendent for Public Instruction, made national news for announcing that, effective immediately, his state's teacher candidates (especially from such places as California and New York) will now be required to take and pass an "American First" test before they will be considered for employment in Oklahoma's public schools. As you can imagine, the teachers' unions and establishment elites have lost their ever-loving minds over this. Before I get into the actual test that Mr. Walters is proposing, let's review why America has public education in the first place. This is the way George Washington University's (GWU) Center on Education Policy describes it. Preparing people for democratic citizenship was a major reason for the creation of [America's] public schools. The Founding Fathers maintained that the success of the fragile American democracy would require an educated population that could understand political and social issues and would participate in civic life, vote wisely, [and] protect their rights and freedoms... Character and virtue were also considered essential to good citizenship, and education was seen as a means to provide moral instruction and build character. The University continues: The nation's founders recognized that educating people for citizenship would be difficult to accomplish without a more systematic approach to schooling… [Therefore] Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and other early leaders proposed the creation of a more formal and united system of publicly funded schools. Finally, GWU summarizes by saying that in the minds of our nation's founders, the responsibility for education was to be delegated explicitly to local communities. Congress, however, did pass two federal ordinances, one in 1785 and the other in 1787, whereby the government gave substantial land to the various states for public instruction that would transform children into literate, moral, and productive citizens who knew how to read and write, and who were well-versed in the history and principles of human freedom and corresponding good government. In other words, the exclusive reason America's public schools were established was to educate American children on how to be good American citizens. With this as context, let's get back to the issue of Secretary Ryan Walters and the "America First" test he's implementing in Oklahoma. Why does he want it? What does it evaluate? And why are progressives of nearly every stripe apoplectic over it? Here's a quote from Secretary Walters himself, whereby he clarifies why he thinks the test is needed. We want good, traditional teachers in the classroom who put academics first... So, we're going to make sure we're doing our due diligence for the parents in the state of Oklahoma. We will make sure only the best and brightest are teaching in [our] classrooms, not Marxist indoctrinators. So, with the understandable desire to ensure Oklahoma's teachers are more interested in teaching American values as opposed to those of Cuba, Venezuela, or Communist China, here's a sampling of some of the multiple-choice questions on the test that Mr. Walters' detractors so fear. What are the first three words of the Constitution? • In God We Trust • Life, Liberty, Happiness • The United States • We the People Why is freedom of religion important to America's identity? • It makes Christianity the national religion • It bans all forms of public worship • It limits religious teaching in public life • It protects religious choice from government control What are the two parts of the U.S. Congress? • House of Lords and Commons • Courts and Senate • Executive and Legislative • Senate and House of Representatives How many U.S. Senators are there? • 435 • 110 • 50 • 100 Why do some states have more Representatives than others? • They cover a larger geographic area • They have held statehood for a longer period • The number is determined by military presence • Representation is determined by population size There you have it. Ryan Walters dares to suggest that, at minimum, public school teachers should be able to name the two chambers of the United States Congress, tell you why freedom of religion is important, and recite the first three words of America's Constitution, and there is weeping and gnashing of teeth from our nation's teacher unions and their lap dogs in Congress, the View, and MSNBC. If you want to know why our country is divided to the extent that nearly half of the voters think that simply saying we want to "make America great again" is hateful, xenophobic, and evil, I think you just found the answer. It all starts with the teachers' unions and their compliant lemmings who don't even want America’s school children to understand the very basics of what it means to be an American. ________________ Find more Everett Piper here: Everett Piper (dreverettpiper.com, @dreverettpiper), a columnist for The Washington Times, is a former university president and radio host. He is the author of “Not a Day Care: The Devastating Consequences of Abandoning Truth” (Regnery). He can be reached at [email protected]. Copyright © 2025 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission. Go to the link here to find this week's article. Don't forget to watch his podcast! Before you go about your day be sure to sign up for Dr. Piper's free podcast here. It takes only a moment of time. __________ Follow Dr. Piper on his podcast here. Follow Dr. Everett Piper weekly in The Washington Times here IN CASE YOU MISSED READING ABOUT OUR SUMMER BREAK: We were all pleased with our spring finale with Governor Stitt and a number of luminaries. Video clips are below. For some time, I have needed a sabbatical to catch up on my reading, to reflect, and to think more seriously about my writing. For that reason, we are taking an extended summer break and will resume September 17 at the Oklahoma History Center. We now have an event team who will assist in our meetings which will oversee the September 17 meeting with Our Oklahoma Supreme Court Chief Justice. Former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft will be our guest in November. In 2026, we will conduct weekly meetings in the spring, from February to May, in an effort to provide meaningful content for our legislators. See the full details under my picture below: SEND THIS NEWSLETTER TO A FRIEND HERE. MAY 21 MEETING: GOVERNOR KEVIN STITT Kevin Stitt's Full Presentation here Full Meeting here ________ THE ARIA SINGERS Sing God Bless America ARIA here Full Meeting here ________ JESSE LEON RODGERS CITY ELDERS Jesse Rodgers here Full Meeting here _______ WADE BURLESON  MEMORIAL DAY TRIBUTE BOB LINN SABBATICAL Wade Burleson: Oklahoma and WWII here Wade Burleson: Summer Sabbatical for Bob Linn here Full Meeting here ________ FOR THE FIRST TIME . . . GOVERNOR KEVIN STITT MEETS THE MAN HE PARDONED: NATHAN GORMLEY The first meeting: Governor Stitt & Nathan Gormley here Full Meeting here ________ BOB LINN ANNOUNCES FALL SCHEDULE 2025 SEPTEMBER 17 WEDNESDAY NOON Supreme Court Chief Justice Justin Rowe OCTOBER 1 WEDNESDAY NOON State Treasurer Todd Russ NOVEMBER 4 TUESDAY NITE 7 PM U.S. Attorney General under George W. Bush John Ashcroft DECEMBER 3 WEDNESDAY NOON Christmas ARIA & the Inspirion Singers Special VIP Guests APRIL MEETING Tuesday, April 15, 2025 REMINISCING: GOVERNOR KEATING & SECRETARY PERRY Watch the presentation here. Watch all the meeting here. ________ Dr. Carol Swain Watch the presentation here. Watch all the meeting here. _______ RUSSELL PERRY & DR. SWAIN CLOSE MEETING by ENCOURAGING YOUNG PEOPLE Watch the presentation here. Watch all the meeting here. TPUSA Watch the presentation here. Watch all the meeting here. BOB LINN Righteousness & Justice in Politics I encourage each of you to support our mission. 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