To Comfort The Afflicted
And Afflict The Comfortable

To Comfort The Afflicted And Afflict The Comfortable

Monday, October 7, 2024

Observercast

Schoolyard Bully

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Oklahoma’s 2020 Teacher of the Year Jena Nelson was called a liar and pornographer – and then her opponent, Ryan Walters, really turned negative.

Yes, Stitt appointee Walters tore into Nelson from almost his first syllable to his last during this week’s debate in the race for Superintendent of Public Instruction. He even stooped so low as to suggest that Jena is a Democrat, knows Joy Hofmeister and has heard of Joe Biden. Worst of all, he claimed Nelson supports all kinds of education, even the higher kind, and was known to have consumed federally funded free and reduced lunches when she was a youngster.

Nelson, in her one question allowed to be addressed directly to Walters, had the gall to inquire if he knew that some of his former students at McAlester High School thought he was a good teacher and hoped he would return to the classroom should he lose in the November general election. Walters said no way. The pay is too low.

Egads! Apparently, Nelson will do anything to win the hearts, minds and even votes of the long-suffering Oklahoma plebiscite.

By contrast I think the worst thing Walters has ever done was to drive a car while filming himself, although I didn’t see him simultaneously powdering his nose or plucking his eyebrows which we all know most women teachers do on their way to school.

And what do many men teachers do while driving to school? Probably just listen to WWLS, the Sports Animal radio show, or listen to pornographic tapes because we all know from first-hand observation they damn sure don’t pluck their eyebrows or noses.

Which reminds me of my least favorite teacher, Melvin Mongoose, who taught seventh grade history at Lexington Junior High School and also was an assistant girls basketball coach. If memory serves, he even mentioned once in class that slavery existed long ago in America. Or was that more recently in South Africa?

That doesn’t matter but I do recall he was a pretty good coach … actually won nearly 10 games one year and parents held a banquet in his honor every year at the First Baptist Church.

I always went, too, because I loved basketball and it was a great place to meet girls because they wouldn’t talk to me at school. Said I was a nerd, wore glasses, loved history too much and always talked about getting married someday.

What a coincidence. By the 11th grade most of them were.

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Cal Hobson
Cal Hobson
Cal Hobson, a Lexington Democrat, served in the Oklahoma Legislature from 1978-2006, including one term as Senate President Pro Tempore.