Congratulations to Oklahoma Education Association president Katherine Bishop for a runaway win of the coveted Blue Ribbon of Irony.
In a recent opinion editorial, Ms. Bishop took to the pages of The Oklahoman to lay out her concerns for public education in Oklahoma. Surprising no one, she complained about the elected Republican State Superintendent of Education, complained about the legislature’s appropriations for public education, and complained about the Oklahoma electorate itself.
While undoubtedly a delightful person, Ms. Bishop’s contribution to the discourse is not that of an impartial educator looking to “support and empower our public schools.” The OEA president serves as the local mouthpiece of a highly partisan, far-left, DC political institution that financially sustains itself by siphoning funds from public school system. It is that simple.
Even a cursory look at the OEA’s parent organization – the National Education Association – puts Ms. Bishop’s concerns in a light that all Oklahoma educators, taxpayers, and legislators would do well to consider. Despite carrying the unassailable banners of “schools” and “children,” the NEA and its Oklahoma affiliate are actively working to undermine both.
First, the NEA and its affiliates use the dues paid by members to overwhelmingly support Democratic candidates, and far left causes. Lobbying and advocating for liberal causes represent far larger expenditures for the NEA than “representing members.” For an NEA affiliate to attack an elected Republican official is par for the course. It is a primary objective for the parent organization that pays the OEA’s bills.
Right now, dues from NEA members are being poured into support for Kamala Harris by Ms. Bishop’s DC bosses, to the tune of millions of dollars. Teacher union dues are being used to bring about a Kamala Harris presidency.
It’s not earthshaking to say that Oklahoma is a very Republican state. In the 2020 Presidential election, Donald Trump received 65.4% of the popular vote in Oklahoma. What percentage of OEA members would like to think they are stroking a check to Kamala? Certainly some, but fewer than the OEA would like to have asking about it. We urge the OEA to poll its members on this question, and share the results with a curious public.
Second, the NEA and its affiliates “earn” their money (for the aforementioned causes) through the public education system. Their interest is in no way tied to student performance, or parental satisfaction with local schools. It’s pleasant enough to say “we need better schools,” but it’s certainly not necessary for the OEA to do anything to bring it about. They get paid regardless. Huge contracts with obscure language stifle any ability for public education to respond to current needs. Unions like the OEA are barnacles clinging to the system, slowing it down, and making it more cumbersome. “Consistent, proactive and adequate funding” represents additional opportunities for the OEA (and its NEA fellow travelers) to further insert themselves into the process, not unlike weeds and vines clamoring for a homeowner to more liberally fertilize the whole yard.
Where the unions have a free hand, dues are pulled from paychecks to keep the political machine running. This money is then turned against officials elected by taxpayers, and against popular parental rights movements like school choice.
Unelected, unaccountable entities like the NEA and its affiliates weaponize the public education system, smothering any efforts at reform, regardless of the will of the voters. This is enabled through collective bargaining, and the state collecting dues from teachers through payroll deduction.
Payroll deduction of teacher union dues literally funds the opposition for Republican-controlled legislatures like Oklahoma. Not just locally, but on a national level.
While Ms. Bishop’s desire to see more voters exercise their right to vote is surely coming from a deep sense of civic responsibility, it would be interesting to hear rank-and-file members of her union respond to the NEA’s directives on the issues they should support. For that matter, how would the official resolutions of her parent organization (the NEA) poll with a cross-section of parents, clergy, law enforcement, and lawmakers across Oklahoma?
Take a look at a few of the NEA’s stated positions. The answer to the questions above shouldn’t involve much guess work. Bear in mind that these are only a handful of official positions. The most recent NEA resolutions take up over 120 pages, covering everything from climate change to nuclear disarmament (essentials of teacher representation).
In the interest of transparency and educating the public, we urge Ms. Bishop to carry a sandwich board sign with a handful of the positions below (tastefully) printed on it. Visiting a few high school football games across the state to share her organizational views would help everyone better understand who expects a slice of the educational pie.
Perhaps Ms. Bishop does not vocally support every NEA position, but she is not free to disavow them. The bosses in DC who financially support the OEA certainly do support them, and use dues money from members to propagate these ideas in classrooms. The positions below should certainly give pause to any Republican legislator considering financial contributions from the OEA. A quick scan of the Oklahoma Republican Party Platform should make that option quickly disappear.
Abortion
NEA will publicly stand in defense of abortion and reproductive rights and encourage members to participate in activities including rallies and demonstrations, lobbying and political campaigns, educational events, and other actions to support the right to abortion, contraception, and a person’s decision about their health.
The Association further believes in the implementation of community-operated, school-based family planning clinics that will provide intensive counseling by trained personnel.
Critical Race Theory
The invisible racial benefits of white privilege, which are automatically conferred irrespective of wealth, gender, and other factors, severely limit opportunities for people of color and impede full achievement of racial and social justice. The Association believes that, to aid in the efforts to eradicate hate caused by prejudice, stereotypes, and biases, school districts must provide training in cultural competence, implicit bias, restorative practices and techniques, and racial justice.Therefore, the Association will actively advocate for social and educational strategies fostering the eradication of institutional racism and white privilege perpetuated by white supremacy culture.
The English Language
The National Education Association believes that, although English is the language of political and economic communication in the United States, efforts to legislate English as the official language disregard cultural pluralism
Home Schooling
The National Education Association believes that home schooling programs based on parental choice cannot provide the student with a comprehensive education experience.
LGBTQ
Age-appropriate, medically accurate information including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, non-binary, and questioning (LGBTQ+) issues. This should include but not be limited to information on sexuality, sexual orientation, and gender expression
The Association also believes a safe and inclusive environment ensures that all transgender students have access to the bathroom or locker room of their choice and protects them from breaches of confidentiality.
Also, “Delegates committed an additional $140,625 to compiling research about the largest 25 organizations “that are actively working to diminish a student’s right to honesty in education, freedom of sexual and gender identity, and teacher autonomy.” The research, which will be provided to state affiliates, will include funding sources and the campaign strategies the groups are deploying.
The Second Amendment
Our communities, schools, and students are safer when common sense gun regulations are in place. Therefore, the Association supports banning assault weapons, limiting the capacity of ammunition magazines, requiring background checks and a waiting period for all gun purchases, creating a national database of gun sales, and preventing people with mental illness and/or a documented history of violence from purchasing firearms.
School Choice
The National Education Association believes that voucher plans, tuition tax credits, or other funding/financial arrangements that use tax monies to subsidize preK through 12 private school education can undermine public education; reduce the support needed to adequately fund public education; cause racial, economic, and social segregation of students; and threaten the constitutional separation of church and state that has been a cornerstone of American democracy.
The Association opposes voucher plans, tuition tax credits, or other such funding arrangements that pay for students to attend sectarian schools. The Association also opposes any such arrangements that pay for students to attend nonsectarian preK through 12 private schools in order to obtain educational services that are available to them in public schools to which they have reasonable access.
Educating Illegals
The National Education Association believes that, regardless of the immigration status of students or their parents, every student has the right to a free public education, including multilingual services and primary language instruction, in an environment free from harassment. The Association also believes that all parents should have equal access to all services provided by the school system regardless of their immigration status. The Association opposes Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations on school property. The Association supports access to higher education for undocumented students and access to financial aid and in-state tuition to state colleges and universities in the states where they reside. The Association further believes that neither educational systems nor their employees are responsible for the determination and enforcement of legal residency status.
This is the “support and empowerment” that the OEA is obligated to pursue for Oklahoma public schools. They expect teachers to pay for it, and the state to collect the money. The goal is political power, not education.