Sounding off on Ryan Walters

This one is personal, because we knew each other, at least knew of each other, when I spent 26 months of my life in Oklahoma - being in the same room as him and being in his classroom before.

I knew Ryan Walters was conservative/MAGA back then, yet I had no idea he'd become what has, not simply in Oklahoma politics, but how many times he's made national headlines for all the wrong reasons and turned Oklahoma's education system into a joke.

Oklahoma, especially Southeast Oklahoma, will always have a spot in my heart. Ryan Walters, in my view, is an embarrassment to his hometown and to the state of Oklahoma. Oklahoma's kids deserve better.

Despite learning of his political leanings, typical for rural Oklahoma, I never got the sense that it was all about him. I had no reason to think he cared about himself more than he cared about the kids he taught and the kids he coached.

Then his profile rose.

Somebody who goes and mandates trump bibles in schools, spending taxpayer money, trying to get a taxpayer funded charter school that lost in court, getting that psycho from LibsofTikTok to have a part in the curriculum, trying to require (not even simply encourage) schools to have Turning Point chapters is the very indoctrination I've heard MAGA was against.

The fact that he required all classrooms to show a video of *him* praying for the felon after the 2024 election screams someone who was making it about him and inserting *himself* into Oklahoma's classrooms instead of trying to better them.

Here in Indiana, there's Mike Braun, whom I certainly do not like, but I've been in the same room with him a few times taking photos of him and recording video of him - and if there's one positive thing I'll say about Mike Braun is that he's never politicized anything when I've seen him in person.

Ryan Walters, on the other hand? Republican Governor Kevin Stitt, again, someone I'm no fan of, has publicly feuded with him and Walters thought Stitt had something to do with the porn incident. When a reporter called Walters out on something, he called that person fake news, and he's also blamed the teacher's union. Even Republican AG Drummond has pushed back against his nonsense.

No, Ryan, the teacher's union has been around before you were and no matter what criticism your side has about teachers unions and the one in Oklahoma, Oklahoma's education ranking fell to 50th on your watch, no one else's. It starts at the top.

And now, the people of Oklahoma who entrusted you to be state superintendent, rather wait out your term, you decide to resign in the middle of it after voters trusted you. Oklahoma is lucky you're not running the show anymore, but you're still walking out on the voters and students during your term instead of announcing you won't run again - way to make it about you and show whom you really care about.

I don't know what the answer is to all of Oklahoma's education problems, but you know what isn't the answer? Putting politics above students, and I can't think of a worse offender of this than Ryan Walters.

The way Ryan Walters has conducted himself since leaving his teaching job to be a government official, I would think he acted like he was the King of Oklahoma.

Now, after everything, he's revealed himself to be a mere jester.