SCISSORTALES Focus should be on kids’ learning
UPON hearing of the pending phase-out of the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, Oklahoma City Superintendent Aurora Lora issued a statement touting DACA recipients’ “incredible contributions to our schools.”
“Ending DACA protections will be a devastating blow to our many students and staff members who came to this country as children,” Lora said.
Yet the DACA program applies primarily to people who illegally entered this country as minors before 2007. A survey conducted by the left-leaning Center for American Progress found just 5 percent of DACA applicants are age 18 or younger.
Not long ago, the school board announced it would consider changing names of schools that honor Confederate officers. It also is suing the state for more funding, even though that issue has been litigated before, unsuccessfully, and experts predict the new suit will only waste district funds. In June, the district participated in a local gay pride parade. Of more than 13,000 school districts nationwide, Oklahoma City was reportedly one of only five to take that step.
Academic achievement in Oklahoma City schools remains low, and this year two district schools were included among the “Top 20 Worst Schools in America” by the website cheatsheet.com. Oklahoma City school officials should spend more of their time on trying to improve student learning and less time on empty political gestures.
Senator’s personal problems
This week, state Sen. Bryce Marlatt, R-Woodward, was charged in Oklahoma City with sexual battery, a felony, for allegedly grabbing an Uber driver and kissing her on the neck during a ride in June. The driver said she first saw Marlatt “stumbling to her car,” and that once inside the vehicle he made offcolor remarks and asked her to join him at his hotel for a drink. Three years ago, Marlatt, 40, pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor after being found asleep in his parked truck in Woodward County, smelling of alcohol. During his nine years in the Legislature, Marlatt has risen to become one of the GOP’s top lieutenants. He served as assistant floor leader during the 2017 session, which gave him considerable say in the daily order of business in the Senate. It appears Marlatt needs to get his personal business in order first and foremost.
College costs
Each year, Oklahoma colleges announce a new round of tuition and fee increases, never welcome news to the families footing those bills. But things could be much worse. Oklahoma ranks among the states where people have the lowest student loan debt. According to 2016 data from the Project on Student Debt, nearly half of students from Oklahoma’s four-year public and private nonprofit schools have no student debt at graduation. Those who do have student debt average 23 percent less than the national figure. A number of factors contribute to those outcomes, but one is that tuition at most Oklahoma colleges still remains less than what is charged at universities in other states, despite recent tuition increases. This is one national ranking where a state doesn’t want to land first, and one in which citizens don’t want to see Oklahoma make up ground with other states.
De Blasio’s Eden
In a recent interview with New York magazine, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said residents “would like to have a city government be able to determine which building goes where, how high it will be, who gets to live in it, what the rent will be.” He said there’s “a socialist impulse” he hears from residents regularly “that they would like things to be planned in accordance to their needs. And I would, too.” De Blasio added: “Look, if I had my druthers, the city government would determine every single plot of land, how development would proceed. And there would be very stringent requirements around income levels and rents. That’s a world I’d love to see ...” New Yorkers knew when they elected de Blasio in 2014 that they were getting a true believer in progressive politics. Still, his comments are striking.
Obama and ATMs
In a 2011 interview with NBC, former President Obama famously said, “There are some structural issues with our economy where a lot of businesses have learned to become much more efficient with a lot fewer workers. You see it when you go to a bank and you use an ATM, you don’t go to a bank teller, or you go to the airport and you’re using a kiosk instead of checking in at the gate.” Yet The Wall Street Journal reported this week, “Today, banks employ more tellers than in 1980 and their duties have expanded to things ATMs can’t do such as ‘relationship banking.’” There may be fewer employees per bank branch, but more bank branches due to automation. Obama was trying to divert blame for the lackluster economy away from his policies. His argument was bogus, both then and now.
Losing faith
A distressing trend in America continues apace. According to a study released this week, the number of people in this country who declare themselves “unaffiliated” with any religion stands at 24 percent — compared with 10 percent in 1995. Among younger Americans (those age 18-29), the number is almost 40 percent. The survey was conducted by PRRI, a public policy research firm that specializes in faith issues. In 20 states, USA Today reported, the unaffiliated make up a larger percentage population than single faith groups. USA Today’s story focused on what these numbers might mean politically – for example, white Christians are no longer a majority in America, but they comprise nearly three-fourths of the Republican Party, compared with less than one-third of the Democratic Party. “We are seeing this widening gap between the two political parties,” PRRI’s CEO said. That’s a concern for the parties. The lack of strong faith lives is a concern for the country.
Cause and effect
Quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s national anthem protests last season, which were duplicated by some other players, coincided with declining viewership of NFL games. Some have debated a cause-effect link, but CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus is not among them. At a recent appearance, McManus cited “relatively proprietary research” that found “if you look at some of the reasons why NFL viewership was down last year, that is a reason that’s mentioned by a fair amount of viewers. It is something they don’t find attractive” or don’t find “compelling in coverage of the football game. How big a factor it was? I don’t really know. But it was one of the factors that I think perhaps led to the slight decrease in ratings last year.” To those who wonder why Kaepernick remains unsigned this year, the answer is simple: He’s bad for business.