The gaffes just keep adding up for Ryan Walters.
Last week, the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) unveiled its updated academic standards for science in Oklahoma public schools.
With Ryan’s proposed social studies standards already causing controversy—aimed at indoctrinating students with a propagandized version of “patriotic American history” and using the Bible as a legitimate history textbook—I was eager to see what warped changes he’d propose for science.
Would he advocate for teaching “intelligent design” as a credible alternative to the “theory” of evolution? Would he insist that fossil evidence be explained as proof that “God made the world ‘as is’ 6,000 years ago”? Or perhaps he’d push for every Oklahoma elementary school playground to feature its own creationist Stegosaurus slide?
Sadly—or maybe fortunately—Ryan didn’t attempt to sneak any of these things into the new academic standards. At least, not yet.
Via News on 6:
The Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) has unveiled updated Oklahoma Academic Standards for Science (OAS-S) and is seeking public comment through Jan. 21. The proposed standards aim to prepare students for higher education and the demands of a rapidly evolving workforce.
The revised standards, set to be implemented in the 2026-2027 school year, include key enhancements:
• Three-Dimensional Learning: Incorporates scientific and engineering practices with core ideas and crosscutting concepts, emphasizing real-world applications.
• Connections to Scientific Literacy: Focuses on critical thinking and informed decision-making in both personal and professional contexts.
• Grade-Specific Innovations: Offers clear guidance for hands-on, inquiry-based learning from Pre-K through high school.
• Focus on Workforce Readiness: Embeds engineering practices and technology applications throughout the curriculum to align with industry needs.
Seriously, what’s going on here? Ryan had an entire ark of evangelical causes and cultural wedge issues to stir up controversy and rally his base of wacko Christian conservatives.
Instead, he’s laid low, rolling out a seemingly boring set of STEM-heavy standards designed to churn out future worker drones for capitalistic innovation.
So why did he play it safe?
One hypothesis—for Ryan and other Oklahoma public school students, that’s an element of the scientific method where you make an educated guess that can be tested—is that he accidentally used a press release the Joy Hoffmesiter used when she issued STEM heavy standards a few years back.
Another is that he’s simply waiting for right-wing yahoos to flood the public comments on the curriculum with demands like replacing earth science textbooks with the Bible or teaching that the Big Bang was simply “God clapping His hands.” Then, he can swoop in and claim, “Hey, this is what Oklahoma parents want taught!”
It’s a strategy that would make sense for someone like Ryan.
Then again, maybe he doesn’t care because, if he gets his way, public schools will be a thing of the past within the next decade anyway!
Regardless of the reasoning, it’s comforting to know that even when Ryan Walters appears to do something normal, he still manages to screw it up—proof that the laws of political entropy are alive and well in Oklahoma.
Stay with The Lost Ogle. We’ll keep you advised.
