Linda Murphy threw her hat into the education ring last week when she announced her candidacy for State Superintendent. She'll face incumbent Joy Hofmeister and Tulsan Will Farrell in the June 26th Republican primary, with the winner opposing Democrat John Cox and independent Larry Huff in the November general election. Hofmeister defeated former state superintendent Janet Barresi in the 2014 Republican primary and Cox in the general election that year.
Unlike Barresi, Murphy enters the race with a long list of education credentials and
accomplishments. She graduated magna cum laude from Southwestern Oklahoma University and has been a certified teacher for 30 years in Special Education and Elementary Education. She's served as Education Advisor to former Governor Frank Keating, was Deputy Commisioner of Labor for Workforce Education and Training under then Commissioner of Labor Brenda Reneau, and nearly upset incumbent State Superintendent Sandi Garrett when she ran for the seat in 1994.
She has spoken to literally hundreds of groups of parents and teachers about education, child development, vision and perception problems (her specialty), education and politics. She received a statewide award from the State Optometric Association for her work with learning problems associated with the visually impaired. In a April 17th speech to the Tulsa Area Republican Assembly, she described one particulary rewarding moment in her career:
"When I started this campaign, I received a wonderful message from
a former visual therapy student who at 9 or 10 years old, could not
read. He would cry a lot and felt like a complete failure in life. His
mother brought him to me and I worked with that boy. He started
reading, and his life turned around. The day after I filed, he sent me
a message and asked me what's the maximum amount he can con-
tribute. Today he's a successful, prosperous businessman in southern
Oklahoma. But at 9 or 10, he couldn't read."
Murphy's political career began in the early 1990's when U.S. education policy began to radically
change. Outcomes Based Education (OBE) was one such plan. Initiated by the federal government, it flipped the purpose of education from providing equal opportunity for all students to producing equal outcomes. Faster learners were not allowed to progress and were given busy work or "horizontal enrichment" until the slower learners caught up. As one writer observed, "if OBE were applied to basketball, the basket would have to be lowered so all could score equally."
OBE had other problems: 1) it changed how children read from the traditional phonics method
to the "whole language" word-guessing method, 2) it tightened federal and state control at the expense of local and parental control, and 3) it involved high costs for administration and
retraining of teachers in an entirely new system, and 4) it replaced academic and factual
subject matter with vague subjective learning outcomes, such as "self-esteem".
Murphy helped lead a statewide grassroots effort to repeal OBE. She was successful, with Governor Keating signing such repeal into law in 1995.
Then came School-to-Work or school-to-career programs, which centralized control of workforce development. They divided students into predetermined categories of where each one should fit into the work environment. It was classic social engineering -- with "experts" deciding what
students should do with their lives and how they can live better lives.
The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) brought more federal intervention. Under this 2002 law, states were required to test students in reading and math in grades 3-8 and once in high school.
Common Core followed. It's national standards in English and math were dumped on American schools beginning in 2010. Once again, Murphy helped lead the repeal, which Governor Mary
Fallin signed into law in 2014.
Problems persist, she says, with public schools under mandates, controls, system programs and forced to implement unworkable ideas. Teachers are unfairly held accountable for poor reading and math scores, which declined between 2015 and 2017, according to new data released last
week. She added:
"What we have got to do is have a mission of excellence in education and it
won't come from these federal controls and programs. We have to sit back,
look at the philosophy, look at the big picture, and fight for local control of
public schools and for educational excellence, which many teachers want as
well. Don't punish those that want to teach."
Murphy says the great lack of leadership shown by Joyce Hofmeister as well as our political leadership have prompted her to run. She says Hofmeister has an agenda of putting us in a system tied with the federal government, with national testing coming from the Department of Education.
"That's not what Oklahomans want," she says. She says we have a lot of good teachers and a lot of good administrators that are eager for a change. She's been encouraged by many of them
to add her name to the ballot once again.
"I'm old, I have other things to do. But I can't just sit there and watch this.
If I can stand up, I'm going to have my part in this battle."
Murphy advocates a more positive, get-back-to-fundamentals approach that most seasoned teachers already know. She summarizes it with a simple acronym : L-E-A-R-N.
L - for Local Control. Those closest to students know them best
and can make the best decisions regarding their educational needs.
E- for Education Excellence. Excellence is achieved individually,
one student at a time. Teachers are the key to excellence in each
classroom and must be allowed to use their expertise.
A - for Academic Standards. Standards should be set but not used
as punishment. Teachers must be free to teach and help students
to succeed without forcing upon them a rigid system of tests.
R - for Return Funds to Classroom. More learning, discussion and
debate about local and state funding for education is needed to
return funds where they're needed most.
N - Now. Resetting Oklahoma on the right path needs to start now!
She concluded her remarks to the Republican group with this:
"There's a real radical element that will come in and control public educa-
tion if we're not focused on preserving what's there to make it the best
it can be. We have a lot to clean up and a lot to drive out. Let's work
together, drive out the outside influences, and give Oklahomans the
education they want and need."
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