More Vacation Pics

Whew, That Was Close

I nearly perished but Mary Margaret saved my life.

Oklahoma’s Literacy Levels ‘Abysmal’

[This column appeared July 30 in The Oklahoman.]

The folks pushing State Question 744, a measure that would increase Oklahoma’s per-pupil spending to the regional average, like to argue that Oklahoma’s education system is “underfunded.”

I’m thinking to myself, “Are you so underfunded that you can’t even teach kids to read?”

Last year I had the opportunity to contribute an article to a publication, “Getting Ready for Work: Education Systems and Future Workforce,” produced by The Oklahoma Academy, a venerable think tank founded in 1967. Also included in the publication was an important article on literacy written by Martha Gregory, a researcher for the Tulsa City-County Library System.

Ms. Gregory, after reviewing the most recent literacy data produced by the federal government, concluded that “the record for the nation is abysmal and we [Oklahoma] are for the most part in step.”

Twelve percent of Oklahoma’s adult population is “below basic” in prose literacy. Ms. Gregory equates this to a reading level of third grade and below.

Another 31 percent of the population reads at the “basic” level. This is between the fourth grade and seventh grade reading levels.

In other words, she says, 43 percent of Oklahoma’s adult population reads at a seventh grade level or lower.

I urge you to take a look for yourself at the literacy report cited by Ms. Gregory. Entitled “Highlights from the 2003 Oklahoma State Assessment of Adult Literacy,” it was prepared with funding from Oklahoma taxpayers and is available on the website of the state Department of Education.

Among other things, the report looks at literacy in Oklahoma by levels of educational attainment. For example, more than half of Oklahoma’s high-school graduates read at the basic level or below, i.e., at a seventh grade level or lower.

Arguably even more appalling is the revelation that 13 percent of Oklahoma’s college graduates read at that seventh grade level or lower.

I’m reminded of Joseph Sobran’s devastating quip, “In 100 years we have gone from teaching Latin and Greek in high school to teaching remedial English in college.”

Regrettably, things are not getting better in Oklahoma, according to a new study published by The Foundation for Educational Choice, OCPA, and the Oklahoma Business & Education Coalition. 

The study, Reform with Results: What Oklahoma Can Learn from Florida’s K-12 Education Revolution, points out that “the reading scores of Oklahoma students over the past decade not only have failed to improve, they actually have declined. This drop came in spite of a 42.8 percent increase in the inflation-adjusted per-pupil spending in Oklahoma between 1998 and 2007.”

“Oklahomans have suffered from a malady all too common in the United States: paying more for K-12 schools without receiving the benefit of improved student learning. The state desperately needs far-reaching changes to its education system.”

Yes it does. Preferably changes which will ensure that if we give the schools 13 years and a hundred grand, they will at least teach Johnny to read.

Pass the Bill to Find Out What's In It

I wouldn't worry. Clearly the government is competent enough to run this.

'The Wicked Witch Is Dead'

And Paul Jacob couldn't be happier about it.

Vacation Pics (cont'd)

Vacation Pics (So Far)

Thousands of Oklahoma Kids Threatened with a Weapon at School Each Year

"Oklahoma students who began an anti-bullying campaign, 'Stand for the Silent,' have organized a rally at the state Capitol next month," The Oklahoman reports today. "The students organized after hearing the story of 11-year-old Ty Field, who committed suicide after reportedly being bullied."

Bullying is a real problem in Oklahoma schools. According to a new report [PDF here] from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 17.5 percent of Oklahoma's high-school students were bullied on school property during the past year. That's more than 25,000 kids -- and that's just in high school.

In addition, 5.8 percent of Oklahoma's high-school students -- that's more than 8,500 kids -- were threatened or injured with a weapon (such as a gun, knife, or club) on school property one or more times during the past year.

[Cross-posted at Choice Remarks]

Pass the Bill to Find Out What's In It

Oh yeah, this will help patients.

I realize you can't make this out. You might have to buy the 6-foot-wide wall chart.

As Dr. Tom Coburn never tires of repeating, this misguided law must be repealed and replaced.

The Grief Has Settled In

A year ago tonight, Brandon and I were in Houston. It was the night before our tour of Texas Children’s Hospital, a day of tests and meetings with doctors. I remember that evening in Houston. We had gone to the Galleria to pass the time and eat dinner. Later, back in our hotel room, it felt strange being in such a large city doing what we were there to do. I remember being sad, just so sad.

That next day I had test after test (a fetal MRI, at least three ultrasounds, a fetal echocardiogram), and we met with many doctors and toured Texas Children’s and their NICU. We got the results of the tests -- results that at the time were disheartening but which I would have taken in a heartbeat after Anne Marie was born because her condition was much worse than the tests had revealed.

Several weeks later we would take a similar hospital trip all over again, only this time to Children’s in Dallas. In the midst of our journey last summer and fall there was sadness, yet at the same time there was hope. Hope that our girl would make it. Hope that at the end of all our tests, planning, waiting, and praying, we would bring Anne Marie home.

And today it has been eight months since Anne Marie was with us – I still count the days, weeks, and months. There are so many “milestones” that have passed -- Christmas, Easter, summer, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day. And there are still a few left -- her first birthday, one year since her last breath. I've found that in the past few months there has been a change -- the sudden, breathtaking, punched-in-the-gut feeling is gone, replaced with something not as sharp and sudden, but something deeper. The grief has settled in and become part of who I am.

There was a time when I might have thought this wasn’t the way it was supposed to be for a Christian. I might have thought that the sadness would last for a while and then over time might ease up. Even as I type that it seems so silly -- as if being a Christian makes the sadness of losing Anne Marie less severe. Yes, in the midst of that sadness there is comfort, but there is still a deep, deep sadness that will never go away. I miss Anne Marie. I am sad she isn’t with us. I will miss her next year and the year after that. Each Christmas and Thanksgiving and birthday I will miss her and when we sit around the dinner table I will miss her.

It's been a hard summer -- one of remembering and feeling as if my hope is slipping. There are still times when God seems so quiet and far away, and yet I know He isn’t. Not long ago on this blog a friend of mine left a comment: "In his book Beside Still Waters, Charles Spurgeon writes, ‘When the Lord takes a child, there is one less cord to fasten you to this world and another band to draw you toward heaven." I feel that so strongly. Even when I don’t “feel” God, more than ever I feel myself drawn towards heaven.



I’m remembering you today, Anne Marie. Your bright eyes that peeked at me one last time on that day when Christ welcomed you into his arms. And, selfishly, I wish you could have stayed longer in our arms.

Feeding the Kitties

Several weeks ago we were in Bartlesville and had just left Murphy's one evening to go to Kiddie Park. We drove through downtown Bartlesville, reminiscing and pointing things out to the kids ("There's the old train station. There's where Curtis Sports used to be. There's the old Union Bank where your dad used to work in the summertime.")  We saw stores that have closed, and new shops and restaurants that have popped up. I have good memories of those downtown shops, although most of the ones I remember have now closed. I remember being in junior high and walking with my friends to Rexall Drugstore to get makeup and then going down to get a huge plate of fries from the Washington County Hamburger Store. I think that's the one I miss most -- the Washington County Hamburger Store.

Anyway, that evening we had just passed the train station (which is now the Chamber of Commerce) when Mary Margaret spotted some kittens lounging on a sidewalk on 2nd Street. So we stopped to see:



They weren't afraid of us until we tried to get closer. Then they skedaddled into a hole:


They were really cute, but the momma cat was really scrawny. It was obvious they hadn't eaten much. We weren't sure what to do, but decided to go to the old Jack Griffith's (not sure what it's called now) to get some food.

When we got back,we sprinkled some kitty food outside their hole. The momma cat came out and ate a few bites, then went back into the hole. Then the kittens came back out and ate and ate. Even after we left I kept thinking about how that mommy, who looked the skinniest and shabbiest of them all, ate only a few nibbles and then let her babies eat until the food was gone.

The New York Times ...

... reports today on Oklahoma's first known transgendered political candidate.

Oklahomans' Civic Illiteracy 'Truly Alarming'

According to a new survey from SoonerPoll.com, a plurality of Oklahoma adults received an "F" on a simple civics test. And this is not the flotsam and jetsam of the population we're talking about; these are registered voters and indeed likely voters in Oklahoma.

Great Idea, Bless Their Hearts

Saw this at Chick-fil-A tonight:

'This Is Not Going to End Well'

"What we are seeing," Peter Wehner writes,

is a president and a White House of unusual—and very nearly otherworldly—hubris being beaten down by events. Reality is slowly crushing the Obama presidency. Its policies are failing, its popularity is sinking, its excuses aren’t working, and its incompetence is showing. 

Read the whole thing.

And I'm Learning to Be OK with That

One of my favorite microbloggers is the pastor and author Paul David Tripp, who recently tweeted this gem:

Grace confronts you with the fact that you control almost nothing, while it places you in the care of the One who rules everything.

Talk about nailing it in 140 characters or less. If there's one thing I've learned in the last few years -- and especially since Anne Marie was born nine months ago today -- it's that I control almost nothing. That's just the way it is.

Summer Pics (cont'd)

This year the Fourth of July seemed a little different than usual. Brandon was in Norman all weekend, the big kids were in Bartlesville, and the younger kids and I drove to Norman to be with Brandon and then to Bartlesville to see family. Add in the pouring rain, and it just didn't feel like our typical Fourth. But I think everyone had fun. Even with the rain we still swam and grilled out, the kids still went tubing on the lake, and the rain stopped just in time for the fireworks.

Odd, Perhaps, But Necessary

"It is a little odd getting lectures on sobriety from folks that spent like drunken sailors for the last decade," President Barack Obama said yesterday.

Truly, there's no question that President Bush and the congressional Republicans spent like drunken sailors. (Actually, that's unfair to drunken sailors, who at least have the decency to spend their own money.) This fiscal irresponsibility is one of the main reasons Mr. Obama and congressional Democrats were swept into office. But honestly now, Mr. President. Do you take us for fools?

Summer Pics

It's been about a month since we've all been home together. Lincoln has been in Canada, the girls have been in different parts of the state for ballet camps, Brandon went to a basketball Fantasy Camp, and after Lincoln got back from Canada he and Lillie spent time in Bartlesville with cousins and grandparents. Jack Henry and I are the only ones who haven't been away, but we've been keeping busy swimming, golfing, bowling, going to movies, and so on. Here are a few pictures, with more to come later.

Lillie's final performance at Quartz Mountain:

Mary Margaret and her camp instructor, and performing the last day:

Jack Henry:







I'm glad everyone is back, safe and sound. Even if they brought me loads of this:

Is This a Great State or What?

We learn from Rasmussen this week that 

• 68 percent of Oklahoma voters favor repeal of ObamaCare, while 28 percent oppose repeal;
• 55 percent of Oklahoma voters say the Tea Party movement is good for the country, while just 22 percent say it’s a bad thing; and
• 35 percent of Oklahoma voters approve of the job Barack Obama is doing as president, while 65 percent disapprove.

Whoa, Canada!

Well, I haven't seen my eldest son in two weeks, but I'm happy to say he's back. And it looks like he had a good time.