(AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki). Mickey Dollens distributes campaign yard signs in Oklahoma City, Wednesday, June 29, 2016. Dollens said he decided to run for the state House in Oklahoma to fix what he saw as problems in the GOP-controlled Legislature.

NPR reported on a new, smart wave of activism in Oklahoma: 40 teachers are running for office this year. They are running because they want to increase funding for the public schools. Most are Democrats, but some are Republicans and Independents. One of the candidates is Oklahoma’s Teacher of the Year for 2016.

This is great news! The best way to change the legislature is to run for a seat at the table.

Getting elected to the State Senate or Assembly (or whatever it is called in your state) is far more powerful than posting a petition on change.org or holding a rally to get the attention of the legislators.

If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em, and change the face of the legislature.

Go, Oklahoma teachers!

Educator Shawn Sheehan of Norman was named Oklahoma’s Teacher of the Year 2016

The Oklahoma City skyline

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