Inherent to the nature of having a language is that the words within it have to mean something. If they do not, then they are just noises thrown into a conversation without any hope of leading it anywhere. And when the meaning is fuzzy, it becomes necessary to define the terms of discussion. To wit, the word “woke” has gained a lot of popularity among those of us who want to restore American education back to its foundations and reclaim it from the radical left.
Opponents of this movement have subsequently taken issue with the use of the word in this context. Knowing that many such complaints are made in completely bad faith because they do not want us to succeed, it would still be beneficial to provide some clarity as to what it means and — in the process — illustrate both the current pitiful state of American education and what we as parents, educators, and citizens can do about it.
In recent years, liberal elites from government officials to union bosses to big businesses have worked to co-opt concepts like justice and morality for their own agendas that are contrary to our founding principles and our way of life. What our movement has been doing is exposing those who push these radical and anti-American ideas onto society to appeal to their customers, voters, and social media followers. Naturally, this faction of individuals, businesses, and unions have decided that our education system is the perfect canvas upon which to imprint their radical propaganda.
Put simply, “woke” education is the forced projection of inaccurately-held, anti-education values onto our students. Further, to go after wokeness in education means that we are going after the forced indoctrination of our students and our school systems as a whole. We are going after books like “Gender Queer” and “Flamer” that are nothing more than thinly veiled porn pushed onto our students. We are going after classroom lessons telling students that people should be treated differently because of their sex and race.
There is no place for this sort of teaching in any part of society, much less in public schools; however, this is the direction too many education decision-makers have gone. Several people — whether it’s the teacher unions attempting to consolidate more power, or President Biden desperately trying to win re-election by listening to his far-left handlers — have decided that this is what should be taught in schools, with no regard for the actual well-being of our students. Instead of radical taxpayer-funded indoctrination, we need an actively anti-woke education system that is rooted in traditional values and practical subject matter.
In order to achieve this goal, we need to actively root out and remove any elements of indoctrination present in the school system and push for an education system that returns to a traditional model that ensures that the goal of every aspect of the school system is student success, rather than a radical political agenda. We need more support for subjects like the science of reading, math, and other concepts that provide real, tangible educational value for the students. We need curricula that will prepare kids for the workforce, no matter which career path they want to pursue. We need a value-based education system that ensures students come out of the school system as beneficial members of society. Our kids shouldn’t be taught what a company, union or elected official feels like is the cheapest way to garner support at the time.
Yet unfortunately, In pursuit of desperately trying to win the approval of and clout from the social media “smart set”, woke corporations and officials like Biden have decided to use our education system to score woke political points. It is foolish, superficial, anti-student, and it is sacrificing our children’s future on the altar of public approval. Students deserve better than radical, taxpayer-funded brainwashing, and so does America.
Ryan Walters is the Oklahoma State School Superintendent.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller.