Lorrie Bamford: In order to climb above 47th in education, Oklahoma must listen to teachers, students
Lorrie Bamford is a school board member in Oklahoma, a state that is increasingly working to silence its teachers when it comes to difficult issues. In this op-ed for The Oklahoman, she makes the case for a different approach.
In “Civil War (or Who Do We Think We Are),” Rachel Boynton travels across the United States exploring how Americans tell their story of the Civil War, how our country broke apart and has never really come back together.
School was my safe space. It broke me to hear an Oklahoma student say that she didn’t feel safe to talk about issues of racism and equity at school. This is why Oklahoma is ranked 47th in education.
So, I have my own rhetorical questions.
We insist on accurate information and facts when we teach math and science, why wouldn’t [we] have that same expectation in teaching history? We should trust our students with historical and factual information.