Well, that didn’t take long.
We’re barely one week into the school year, and we’ve already had our first instance of an Oklahoma teacher trying to force the Bible and Christian beliefs upon students in the name of learning.
To make the story even spicier, the teacher was once accused of defrauding Taco Bueno!
Yep, that’s right. Grab some MexiDips & Chips and stop by the salsa bar—this is a tasty one!
Late last week, a Sophomore at Skiatook High School—a small Oklahoma town about 20 minutes north of Tulsa—received a research assignment for their World History class.
Instead of assigning normal questions like “What led to the fall of the Roman Empire?,” “How did the English Navy stop the Spanish Armada?,” or “Was 9/11 an inside job?,” the assignment asked students to explain “How did the world start?”
You know, a totally normal question you ask high school kids in a public school history class.
In addition to the main research topic, students were also asked to dive into other big questions that have nothing to do with history, like “Who started it?,” “What is Christianity?,” and “Is God real?”
For added measure, they were also required to cite their sources. Hmm. I wonder what book—and/or testament—they’d use for that?
Check out this madness:
Holy Moses! What in the seven hells is that thing?!
That would be a weird research assignment for an Ancient Myths and Mythologies class, much less World History. It makes as much sense as asking geography students to draw a map of Atlantis or asking an AP Biology student to explain the evolutionary origins of a Minotaur!
Also, what’s up with the teacher requiring answers to be written in 12-point Tahoma font? You’d think they’d be required to use something more biblically appropriate, like Times New Roman, Papyrus, or Gutenberg.
After news of the assignment made the media rounds, it was revealed that the teacher behind it was a former SNU adjunct professor named Erich Richter.
Not surprisingly, Erich—a former candidate for Tulsa County Sheriff—received an emergency teaching certificate due to the good ol' Oklahoma public school teacher shortage crisis.
Also not surprisingly, he was accused of embezzling over $20,000 from a Taco Bueno in 2012.
Via The Frontier:
A former Tulsa County Sheriff’s deputy running for sheriff was arrested in 2012 after he was accused of defrauding Taco Bueno of $20,000, records obtained by The Frontier show.
Felony charges were approved by the district attorney’s office, but they do not appear on the state court website…
Richter told The Frontier on Thursday “a district judge expunged all that,” referring to the criminal case against him from 2012.
“My side is I don’t have a side,” he said. “If you go to OSCN (the Oklahoma Supreme Court Network), you won’t find anything. There’s nothing to it.”
I don't know what Mr. Richter did or didn't do to get accused of defrauding Taco Bueno, but I do know this...
Screw World History! He should be in Home-Ec teaching students how to make old-school Muchacos, Nacho Salads, and Chicken Potato Burritos! You know, all the tasty good stuff Taco Bueno pumped out before it was bought by a greedy private equity group in 2015 and promptly ruined with new recipes.
I know I'm a fast food heretic, but that would be way more beneficial to both his students (and the Oklahoma people) than forcing religion down kids' throats. We already have plenty of weird adults ready and on standby to do that.
Outside of his failed candidacy for Tulsa County Sherriff and the Taco Bueno accusations, the only other thing I could find out about the teacher is that he's looking for a nice Filipino woman to settle down with.
You can't blame him. He loves the culture!
After Mr. Richter’s religious research assignment made the media rounds, Skiatook Public Schools promptly put an end to it and released this statement:
Skiatook Public Schools became aware of the World History assignment in question through a social media post. Once administration reviewed the assignment, it was determined that the presentation of the material was not conducive to our instructional plan. Administration and staff will continue to collaborate on best practices to meet the Oklahoma Academic Standards. Skiatook Public Schools encourages parents concerned about any assignment to contact the site administrator.
I applaud Skiatook Public Schools for flunking the assignment, but I don’t like them encouraging parents to simply "contact the site administrator" as opposed to sharing future indoctrination attempts on social media for the world to see.
With Ryan Walters’ new Bible textbook edict stealing so many headlines and attention, I don’t think Richter will be the last disciple of Ryan Walters to try and force the Bible, its moralist philosophies, and various creation myths onto students under the guise of legitimate scholastics.
I bet there will be at least 11 more, and every Oklahoman who values and supports a strict separation between church and state deserves to know about them.
Stay with The Lost Ogle. We’ll keep you advised.
