EXCLUSIVE — Oklahoma’s top education official is overhauling the state’s social studies curriculum to emphasize American exceptionalism to combat what he says is left-wing messaging that teaches children to “hate America.”
In a document obtained by the Washington Examiner, Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters announced a “complete overhaul” to the curriculum with the goal to “inspire in students a love of country and a proper understanding of the American founding,” as well as completely eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion ideology from schools.
“Teacher’s unions have been rewriting history, teaching students to hate America. But not under my watch,” Walters told the Washington Examiner. “Our goal is to give Oklahoma students an education that focuses on history, not indoctrination. The executive committee that we’ve assembled are experts in American exceptionalism, our Founding Fathers, and historical documents like the Bible. These things are essential to understanding our history.”
Walters made headlines last month when, in the face of an Oklahoma Supreme Court decision blocking the public funding of a religious charter school, he directed all school districts to begin incorporating the Bible into the curriculum.
The new social studies standards will incorporate a classical learning model and teach about inspiring leaders in American history and also incorporate the Bible as a foundational resource for Western civilization.
The new standards come as scrutiny of public education over the past several years revealed an effort to teach children ideologies such as critical race theory, which places a fundamental importance on race and teaches white children that they are inherently oppressors, as well as attempts to diminish American history in a way that critics believe is meant to instill a hatred of country in impressionable young persons.
“Oklahomans, citizens, parents, and business leaders alike, are disgusted with the lack of civic knowledge, love for our country, and historical education among our young people,” Walters said. “It is crystal clear that we need to return to more rigorous social studies standards that emphasize the unique and exceptional nature of the American republic, promote a proper understanding of the nation’s founding, and instill pride in our civic traditions and Oklahoma heritage.”
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While the new standards have not yet been fully crafted, Walters assembled an Executive Review Committee made up of 75 Oklahomans, most of whom are public school teachers, as well as some high-profile names such as radio host Dennis Prager, who has written multiple books about the Bible and the modern era, Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts, who previously served as the CEO of the Texas Public Policy Institute and holds a Ph.D. in American history, and American Enterprise Institute senior fellow Robert Pondiscio, whose area of expertise includes K-12 education and school choice.
Others on the Executive Committee include academics, journalists, and classical education and public policy experts whose “unparalleled expertise will help craft new academic standards that will serve as a model for the nation and help Oklahoma students for years to come,” Walters said.