Walker Wildmon: Welcome to At the Core here on American Family Radio. Glad to have you with us on this edition of the program. We've got a lot of great content and guests for you today, so you're going to want to stick around for the next few segments as we cover what's going on in our country and in our communities here on American Family Radio.
Walker Wildmon: Acts chapter 22 is where we are studying this week, looking at verses 6 through 11. “Now it happened, as I journeyed and came near Damascus at about noon, suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me. And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ So I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’ And those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of Him who spoke to me. So I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Arise, go into Damascus, and there you will be told all things which are appointed for you to do.’”
Walker Wildmon: This is the second recounting, if you will, in Acts of Paul's conversion. Later on in the book, we also see another recounting of Paul's conversion. What I mentioned earlier in the week on the program is how reliable Scripture is. Obviously, it is inspired by God. God ordained and sanctified the writing of Scripture. It is holy Scripture, and it is fully adequate for daily living and for godliness.
Walker Wildmon: Here we see just another recounting of Paul's conversion with very clear accuracy. This was likely written years apart, over the course of several years, in these different accounts. It never ceases to amaze me how inspired, accurate, and reliable the Word of God is. Of course, I should not be surprised, but from a human perspective, understanding the perfection of God's Word is encouraging and inspiring every time you read it. That is how you should come away from it after experiencing God through His Word.
Walker Wildmon: That is Acts chapter 22, looking at verses 6 through 11, about Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus.
Walker Wildmon: Some breaking news out this morning: A flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv was nearly hijacked by an Omani national pilot. The co-pilot, who was of Indian background, was stabbed multiple times, and the passengers, mostly Israelis, began fighting over the cockpit. Thankfully, they were able to regain control of the plane.
Walker Wildmon: This is a major incident and what appears to be an attempted hijacking. It was definitively an attempted hijacking, but it also appears to be an attempt not just to hijack the plane, but to carry out a major terror attack using an airliner, eerily similar to what happened in 2001 on September 11, which we just finished commemorating earlier this month.
Walker Wildmon: News is still breaking on that, and information is still coming out. This plane was going from Dubai to Tel Aviv and was over Jordanian airspace when the hijacking was attempted by the pilot. This is shocking. To me, this is the greatest fear among people who analyze this kind of thing, including terror experts. A rogue pilot or co-pilot can do so much damage and has so much control over the aircraft.
Walker Wildmon: There was an instance five or seven years ago, I believe it was Malaysian Airlines Flight 370, that went down. There was a lot of speculation about why that plane went down mysteriously over the ocean. They recovered certain parts of the aircraft, but never the full aircraft or the black box. There was speculation about pilot error, or even about a pilot going crazy, taking over the cockpit, and crashing the plane. We do not really know exactly what happened there.
Walker Wildmon: This was definitively an attempted hijacking. The co-pilot, along with Israeli passengers on the plane, ended up regaining control of the aircraft, which is in and of itself a miracle. The co-pilot was stabbed multiple times and incapacitated. There were a couple of Israeli citizens who were also pilots but were not on duty, and they were able to regain control of the cockpit and land the plane safely in Saudi Arabia.
Walker Wildmon: The media tried to couch this as a scuffle in the cockpit between two pilots. No, there was an attempted hijacking by a pilot who viciously stabbed his co-pilot nearly to death. This was an attempted terror attack on Israel. No doubt, they were going to Tel Aviv. How many things do we have to put together here to figure this out?
Walker Wildmon: That is the latest on that story. If you keep listening to AFR, you will get more breaking news as the day goes on. That is the latest we have right now. Thankfully, the passengers are safe and landed the plane this morning.
Walker Wildmon: Some other good news I want to get to in this segment, and then we will jump into some clips, is the Strait of Hormuz. We have talked about that extensively over the last six months. There is some breaking news from Goldman Sachs and its analysts. Gulf oil exports from the region in the Middle East have fully recovered to pre-war levels, even going back to 2025 levels, reaching roughly 108 percent of their 2025 average.
Walker Wildmon: The caveat is that this is raw crude oil. Refined products, including diesel and jet fuel, remain at just 50 percent of their pre-war output levels. That is why gasoline is substantially cheaper than diesel, and the spread is much wider than usual. They call that the crack spread. It is much wider because of this refined-product shortage.
Walker Wildmon: Russia also has an export ban on diesel products, which is a big deal because Russia produces tons of diesel and jet fuel. There are several factors going on here, but at the end of the day, the good news is that, according to Goldman this morning, Gulf oil exports are back to pre-war levels. That is a very good indicator as President Trump and the United States attempt to get this energy market back on track.
Walker Wildmon: Let us play a couple of clips in the few minutes we have left. The Democrats are giving Republicans plenty of fodder and opposition research as they march toward socialism. This is a CNN poll talking about how much Democrats are embracing socialism among Democratic voters. Let us listen.
Guest: Capitalism and socialism were right there, with favorable ratings at 51 percent and 50 percent. Look at it now. Socialism is clearly in the lead among Democrats. Sixty-six percent of them view socialism favorably. Just 42 percent view capitalism favorably.
Walker Wildmon: To summarize that clip, in 2010, 50 percent of Democrats viewed socialism favorably. In 2025, 66 percent of Democrats viewed socialism favorably. It is proven that the Democratic voting bloc, voting base, and activists are moving further and further toward Marxist, communist, and socialistic policies. That is a fact. The question is, will the rest of the country follow them? That is the question, and we will find out as the elections go by.
Walker Wildmon: This is clip two, the clip I was thinking about earlier. This is a Democratic candidate, Tom Suozzi, talking about how his biggest goal in politics is to legalize as many illegal immigrants as humanly possible. I am just trying to show you what Republicans are up against here. Let us listen.
Guest: My number-one issue is to try and get a resolution on immigration. My biggest desire, my biggest goal of what I want to accomplish in politics right now, is I want to legalize seven, eight, nine, or ten million people in our country so they will not be subject to deportation.
Walker Wildmon: There you have it. That is Congressman Tom Suozzi from New York's Third Congressional District. This is not a state senator or a mayor. This is a federal congressman openly campaigning and talking about how he wants to legalize seven to ten million illegal immigrants.
Host: How does that make it constitutional?
Walker Wildmon: It does not. But at the end of the day, when was the last time Democrats were concerned about the Constitution?
Host: Very true point. Very true.
Walker Wildmon: This is what we have been saying the Democrats want to do. We have been projecting that they want to legalize illegal immigrants so they can become hardcore Democratic voters.
Host: It is the only thing they have left for their voting base. But now they are saying it. Now they are campaigning on it.
Walker Wildmon: They have to. This is their position now, folks. He says, quote, “My biggest goal of what I want to accomplish in politics right now is I want to legalize seven or eight, nine, or ten million people in our country.” That is Congressman and Democrat Tom Suozzi from the state of New York.
Walker Wildmon: Do not take my word for it. Do not take President Trump's word for it or anyone else's. Just take the word of the Democratic Party and Democratic representatives themselves on the direction they want to take this country. That is what is at stake on the ballot.
Walker Wildmon: You can give me seven reasons why you do not like Republicans, half of which I will probably agree with. But at the end of the day, we can choose a party such as the Republicans, or the conservative movement, that is at least halfway full of people who agree with common-sense policies, constitutional principles, religious freedom, capitalism, no men in women's sports, and smaller government.
Walker Wildmon: Or, as a country, we can go with the Democratic Party and the Democratic Socialists of America. They are openly telling you what they want to do with the country, the party, and the movement, and it is nothing like what our Founding Fathers envisioned and intended. That is a fact. It is not campaign rhetoric or Republican Party talking points. The distinction between the two ideologies and the two major-party platforms in the country could not be further apart.
Walker Wildmon: We encourage you to go over to iVoterGuide.com. We will keep educating people as we head into Election Day. We will be back in a few.
Walker Wildmon: Welcome back to The Core here on American Family Radio. The show is hosted each week by myself and Rick Green, and we are happy to bring you the content and the program each afternoon here on American Family Radio.
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Walker Wildmon: Next week is Shareathon, so be on the lookout for that. You can go over to AFR.net right now and donate if you would like. If you are traveling or busy next week, you can visit AFR.net and donate to our fall Shareathon.
Walker Wildmon: Senator Kathy Chisholm from the state of Mississippi is with us. She represents District 3, has been in the legislature for seven going on eight years, has been on the program before, and does phenomenal work in the legislature. Senator Chisholm, welcome back.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: Thank you. I appreciate you having me back.
Walker Wildmon: Absolutely. Dr. Jameson Taylor has connected us over the last few years. You have visited our offices a few times, and we have worked with you on legislation and resolutions at the state level. Before we jump into that, talk a little bit about the midterms and why people need to be engaged and voting. Tell our folks a little bit about your background and your time in the legislature.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: My background is that I have been a business owner for many years. I am an auctioneer, and I am also in real estate. The reason I got my real estate license was to join it together with my auctioneer license because we always specialized in estate auctions. That is pretty much the only type of auction I ever did.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: I have been married to Baptist for many, many years. We will not talk about how many.
Walker Wildmon: Congratulations. You do not have to tell me the number of years, but I am proud of you.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: Thank you. We have one daughter, Joni, and a son-in-law, Jeremy. We also have four precious grandchildren.
Walker Wildmon: That is great.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: We have Lexi, Cash, Layton, and Hoyt. They all have their own little personalities, and they are just precious.
Walker Wildmon: I am obviously a parent, not a grandparent yet, thankfully, but I hear it is pretty great and pretty amazing.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: When those grandkids come along, you are going to be like, “Why did I ever have kids? I love these grandkids.”
Walker Wildmon: Exactly. I think it is necessary to have the grandkids, so we will do it in that order.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: Exactly. But let me clarify that I do love my daughter. She is awesome and a good girl. Being a grandparent is special as well.
Walker Wildmon: It is a different kind of special. Senator Chisholm, let us talk a little bit about the midterm elections. Mississippi is kind of in an off cycle. You will be up for reelection next year, along with all other statewide offices. Tell us what you are seeing with this midterm cycle. You are hearing different pitches from campaigns and candidates. What is your advice, assessment, and lay of the land this election cycle?
Senator Kathy Chisholm: I could talk for hours about this, or I could make it kind of quick. As a Christian lawmaker, I am hearing a lot of canned responses from Republican candidates. That is one reason the socialist Democrats are getting attention. They get a lot of attention because of what they support. Their solutions are horrible, but their messaging is at least something new.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: They always come out with something new, while we Republicans kind of say the same thing over and over. We say that we just need to do something about it, and people are tired of hearing the same Republican answer. We can keep promising to cut taxes and make promises that are not kept, or we can start keeping those promises.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: Voters have real concerns about affordability for their children and their future. If a person cannot afford to go out to eat or buy a home, cutting taxes is fine, and that is what they want, but that is not their number-one priority at the time. That is not their main concern. They want some ideas. They want something done. Do not just talk the talk; walk the walk.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: That is where Christian lawmakers have an edge. We have an advantage if we are willing to make use of it, but so many of us will not stand up. We know what needs to be done, and we know the steps to take to do it, but for whatever reason, we have ended up not doing that.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: We need to be talking about Christ. That is the number-one thing. I think it would help us tremendously. We need to present the Christian image of a stable family: a mom, a dad, and children protected from impurity and false teachings. They need to be protected when they go online and when they are at school. Children need to learn the truth, and their protection comes from us at home.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: We need to teach them how to protect themselves, what to visit online, and what not to visit. We can also set computers so children cannot access certain things they should not see.
Walker Wildmon: Part of having a strong family is the ability to own a home. Owning a home and having respect for property are important for family stability. Property rights are essential to a stable family life.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: Divorce also makes things harder for children. If we can keep families together, that helps.
Walker Wildmon: Republicans cannot just keep talking about the free market when what is meant by that is tax cuts for corporations.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: I am totally against all these big corporate-welfare tax cuts. That gets under my skin pretty quickly. My advice for voters is this: Vet your candidates. I cannot say that enough. Vet them very carefully.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: Do not be afraid to ask them a question. Do not think, “This is a dumb question. I should not ask it. It is going to make me look bad.” That is not true. Ask any question. What church do they attend? Have they been married for a long time? Do they have real business experience?
Senator Kathy Chisholm: We need lawyers in Jackson as representatives and senators, but we also need businesspeople. We need people who have had hands-on work experience. We need a mixture of all of them.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: Christians, please step up and run. Do not feel like you have to be a lawyer. You do not have to be a lawyer at all. Just have common sense, a business background, a work ethic, and an understanding of what real people do through hands-on experience. What does it take to motivate people? What does it take for us to be successful? That says a lot about whoever is in those positions.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: In my case, I approach legislation in a very concrete way. I have owned several businesses. I had a pool company and an in-ground pool company for about 25 years. I have worked hard and understand how hard work can build a good life. I thoroughly understand that.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: Look at the actual values of a candidate. Not what they say, but their values. How do they live? Voters want to know that you are authentic. They want to know all about you, and they want you to tell them the truth.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: When you are campaigning, do not tell people you are going to do something and then not do it. Stand by what you say. Voters might not agree with a candidate on everything, but they do want to know who you are and what you believe.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: Too many Republican candidates are afraid to stand up for what they believe in. In a way, we have had it too easy. When you stand up for what you truly believe in, sometimes you feel like you are standing alone, but do not feel that way. God is always with you, no matter what.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: We are scared, and sometimes we do not have the backbone. It takes a lot of courage and a lot of backbone. I promise you, God has given me both. He stands beside me. There have been many times I have thought, “I am doing this all by myself,” but I am not. He is always there with me.
Walker Wildmon: There are a lot of people who think like you. By contrast, the DSA people are standing up for what they believe, even though what they believe is wrong. Voters are attracted to the authenticity of those people.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: The DSA people stand for abortion, open borders, and everything we do not need here.
Walker Wildmon: This younger generation does have the ability to spot inauthenticity, to your point.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: Exactly.
Walker Wildmon: Regardless of whether their ideas are good or not, a lot of voters are not necessarily critiquing the ideas and policy proposals as they should. They just see an authentic person, good or bad, and they are attracted to that.
Walker Wildmon: I think that is what is making some of these socialist Democratic candidates more attractive to young people. They are just saying what they think and believe. They are not factoring in whether it polls well or what their consultant says they should say. They are doing it because it is what they believe at their core, whether good or bad.
Walker Wildmon: The other thing you mentioned is that Republicans give canned responses and repeat the same old talking points. You can almost predict what Republicans are going to say when they are questioned about the economy, national security, or things like that.
Walker Wildmon: Speaking more about their faith, their Christianity, and their convictions, and getting to something beyond themselves or the party, is the only way for the Republican Party to reconnect with voters.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: Exactly. I want something more than, “We are going to give you tax cuts,” or, “We are going to get gas prices down.” Do not get me wrong; all of those things are good. But at the end of the day, why are we fighting for the country?
Walker Wildmon: From our perspective, we are fighting for the country because God has given us a stewardship over our families, our communities, our states, and our country. We also believe God is using America as a force for good around the world. It is much deeper than ourselves. That is our motivation.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: It is a very good motivation.
Walker Wildmon: I think the Republican Party is going to have to reconnect with that and reconnect with people of faith. Otherwise, you cannot get people energized enough to overcome the Santa Claus wish list that Democrats are promising.
Walker Wildmon: We are talking with Senator Kathy Chisholm from the state of Mississippi, representing District 3. On the subject of socialism and the Democrats, Republicans and conservatives cannot outpromise the Democrats. If we promise a tax cut, welfare, or some other handout, the left will outbid us ten to one because they will print as much money as needed to incentivize voters. It is a game we do not even need to be playing.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: You are exactly right. We do not need to promise welfare handouts to begin with, because then we are crossing over the fence and ending up on their side. We need to promise tax cuts, and not only promise them but deliver them.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: Finally, I would tell voters to think about whether a candidate is going along to get along or whether they are actually willing to change things. In order to change things, you have to have the backbone to stand up to leadership in Jackson.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: For example, I have been trying for several years to pass legislation in Mississippi to prevent registered sex offenders from living on college campuses and in campus housing. That was killed instantly. This is a no-brainer. We do not want registered sex offenders living in the dorms with our children on college campuses.
Walker Wildmon: That is right.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: Lieutenant Governor Delbert Hosemann in the Senate keeps killing it. I even forced it to the floor by pushing my button. They asked me why I sought recognition, and I said, “I have a resolution I would like to introduce out of order.” That was the only way I could get the legislation to the floor. They killed it immediately because they had been schooled by Delbert Hosemann to kill pretty much anything I bring up.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: Another bill I introduced is the Federal Funding Transparency Bill. The Obama and Biden administrations used federal funding to get states to do all sorts of things that are not conservative. This bill requires state agencies to tell the public what grants they are receiving from the federal government and what requirements are attached.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: In my district, many people are all about grants, but they do not understand the strings attached. Grants are not free money. They are coming from our pockets. People think, “It is a federal grant, so it is free.” No, it is not. When you fill out your income taxes and pay your federal income tax, you are paying for those grants. The more grants they give, the more you are going to pay.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: Think about elderly people, especially those on fixed incomes. They cannot afford for their taxes to keep going up. The more grants we hand out, the more taxes go up.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: If you want a new park in your town, maybe you should get donations, have cakewalks, or raise the money locally.
Walker Wildmon: That is right. There are plenty of businesses willing to pitch in. Do not put that tax burden on elderly people who already have a fixed income.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: People are not educated about these things. I was not a few years ago, but now I am after being in the legislature. God has opened my eyes to so many things.
Walker Wildmon: Amen. Senator Kathy Chisholm, representing District 3 in the state of Mississippi, thank you so much for coming on. You have done great work, and your advice that voters need to study the candidates is very wise. Thanks so much for coming in.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: Thank you. I appreciate you having me.
Walker Wildmon: All right, folks, you need to vote, and you need to know who you are voting for. That is why you need to go to iVoterGuide.com. We will be back in just a few minutes.
Walker Wildmon: Welcome to The Core here on American Family Radio. Walker Wildmon here with you on this edition of the program. Two segments are now behind us, and the last segment is underway. Glad to be with you. Let us jump to our guest without wasting any time.
Walker Wildmon: Mike Morath is with us. He is the Texas Commissioner of Education, and he is with us to talk about some of the things he has been working on for several years as the Commissioner of Education in the state of Texas. Commissioner Morath, welcome to the program.
Mike Morath: Thanks. It is an honor to be with you today.
Walker Wildmon: Absolutely. You and I were talking about this coming out of the break, but for our listeners, especially those in Texas, tell our folks a little bit about your position, when you were appointed by the governor, and how long you have been serving.
Mike Morath: The Texas Commissioner of Education oversees kindergarten through twelfth-grade education for the state of Texas. Everything is bigger in Texas, so there are five and a half million students in Texas public schools. It is my responsibility every day when I wake up to try to figure out how to give them a better educational future.
Mike Morath: Our state is big. Ninety billion dollars a year is spent on K-12 education. About 800,000 people are employed by public schools around the state of Texas, and there are 1,200 school systems that are all locally governed. Our agency is a sort of oversight arm for that, and we work in close coordination with the elected State Board of Education. Together, we exist to help improve the quality of learning in schools all over the state.
Walker Wildmon: You and the State Board have been very busy enacting positive change on the curriculum front, which ends up in the classroom and affects children in a positive manner. There is a lot we could talk about, especially with the amount of time you have spent as commissioner. Tell us about some of the steps you have been taking in recent years to improve the curriculum, history, and related subjects.
Mike Morath: If you take a step back, why do we have public schools in this country? The purpose is to provide a general diffusion of knowledge, help children learn how to read and write, do math and do it well, learn our history, learn science, and prepare them for what citizenship requires of us.
Mike Morath: There is a lot that is complex and heavily debated about how we do that in our schools. At its core, you want to build a house on a solid foundation, not a bit of sand. The curricular resources used by teachers every day are that bedrock on which we want to build everything.
Mike Morath: At the state level, you adopt something called content standards. These are expectations of what every student should know and be able to do by the end of a given year. In math, for example, in third grade, you want students to have their times tables memorized. That is one of the things written into our state rules related to learning expectations for children in math.
Mike Morath: From those curriculum standards, teachers use lessons and instructional materials, such as textbooks. Our state has been embarking on a significant set of efforts to improve the quality of that curriculum, both the standards and the actual lesson materials teachers use, and to return our schools to the fundamentals of why we have school in the first place.
Mike Morath: We want children to become the best versions of themselves, but they have to learn how to read, write, and do math while learning our history. Our history standards have been massively upgraded in just the last few months.
Mike Morath: In kindergarten, first grade, and second grade, students will learn foundational stories. They will learn about Washington, Jefferson, and Adams, the story of Washington chopping down the cherry tree, the Boston Tea Party, and the fact that we do not like paying taxes in this country. They will learn some of the foundational stories of our republic.
Mike Morath: They will also learn the stories of religious liberty, the pilgrims at Plymouth Rock, what they had to leave, and what they were striving to achieve. They will learn about the growth of the American colonies. All of this is foundational material for kindergarten through second grade.
Mike Morath: By the end of second grade, students will have learned about the War of 1812, the Star-Spangled Banner, and the origins of our country. They will receive preliminary, age-appropriate knowledge about the challenges we have overcome as a country, including the Civil War and the great heroes of World War II.
Mike Morath: Starting in third grade, students begin a chronological narrative of Western civilization. They begin in ancient Egypt and learn about the Hebrew people and the Exodus. They study Babylon, the Persian Empire, the Greeks, the First Roman Republic, and the Roman Empire, connecting those subjects to the foundations of our country.
Mike Morath: In fourth grade, students learn about the Middle Ages, the beginnings of checks and balances, and what the Magna Carta grew to become. They also learn about the great civilizational conflicts that happened during that time period, including the Crusades.
Mike Morath: In fifth grade, students study the early American colonies up to the signing of the Constitution. Along the way, they learn about the forces and factors that led to the founding of our country, including the First Great Awakening, which was originally the first mass movement in America, the debates about natural rights and the social contract, and the role of government.
Mike Morath: Ours was really the first government in human history to make the declaration that rights do not come from government. Rights come from God, and the government holds those rights in trust on our behalf. That is established in our fifth-grade history standards.
Mike Morath: Sixth grade covers the 1800s and an understanding of the arc of those changes in our country, with extensive study of the Civil War. Seventh grade covers the twentieth century, including America's role in fighting Nazism and totalitarianism in World War II, the civil rights movement in the United States, and what we did on the world stage to fight communism and the horrors it unleashed on millions of people in China, Russia, and elsewhere.
Mike Morath: That is the story arc from third grade through seventh grade. In eighth grade, students revisit this with a capstone course to synthesize their understanding of Western civilization: how ideas from the classical world, including Athenian democracy and the Roman Republic, established that citizens have duties and rights; how Western civilization became a fusion of Jerusalem and Athens; and how ideas from our Judeo-Christian heritage, including that all men are created in the image of God, became a core tenet of Western civilization.
Mike Morath: Students learn how, during the Middle Ages, we developed structures to begin limiting the power of any one man. They learn about the Reformation, when everyone began reading, especially the Bible. They learn about ideas from the Enlightenment and the beginning of free markets and property rights as a means to preserve liberty.
Mike Morath: This is what students explore in detail as a synthesis in eighth grade, while talking about what we think is a great manifestation of Western civilization, which is Texas. We are very proud of our state here in Texas. That is the arc of the Western civilization story as it came to pass both in America and in Texas in particular.
Mike Morath: These are major changes that have been made to the social studies standards. We have also gone deeply into the heritage of our literature, because so many rich ideas about humanity have been committed to text in some of the great works of literature over the years.
Mike Morath: On a standardized basis, for all five and a half million children in Texas, we will require them to read some of the great stories that have been written. This starts very early. In kindergarten, students will read The Berenstain Bears and the Golden Rule and reflect on it. When they get a little older, they will read Charlotte's Web in third grade and The Wind in the Willows, the great classic.
Mike Morath: In fourth grade, they will read Treasure Island. In fifth grade, they will read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. In seventh grade, they will read Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl. In ninth grade, they will read Animal Farm and Great Expectations. In tenth grade, they will read Dante's Inferno and Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Julius Caesar.
Mike Morath: These works will be read along with some of the major influences of that great literature. When students read Dante's Inferno, they will also read the Book of Job in Texas public schools and explore the problem of suffering in one of the great works of wisdom ever produced.
Mike Morath: This is part of an integrated picture to ensure that all of our children are educated citizens. It is only by being an educated citizen that we can preserve our liberties and preserve this great experiment in representative democracy for the next 250 years.
Walker Wildmon: I am impressed not just by the changes you have talked about that you have been working on in Texas, but by the fact that, as commissioner, you actually know what is going on. Many high-level government officials say, “Whatever my assistant or chief of staff said.” It sounds like you have been in the weeds, deeply involved in the discussions about planning and deploying this curriculum.
Walker Wildmon: You just gave us a 30,000-foot overview of K-12 education, specifically history and social studies. What I love about what you are doing in Texas is that you are one of the most homeschool-friendly states, but you are also one of the most freedom-loving and sane states when it comes to K-12 government education. You have bridged that divide and are doing righteous things in both regards. It is not one or the other; it is a both-and approach. You are reaching millions of children in Texas.
Walker Wildmon: The last thing I will say, and then get your final word, is what is your encouragement to other state commissioners, state boards, and governors? What can they do to repeat what Texas has done? We have about two minutes left.
Mike Morath: To paraphrase wisdom from another book, in the story of Esther, who knows that you attained a position but for such a time as this? We have been given this gift of life and creation, and we are only on this planet for a brief period of time. The question is how we use the time we have to do the most good for all of our brothers and sisters.
Mike Morath: A lot of the creed I live by comes back to the parable of the talents. In the parable, the master gives one individual five talents, and that person, through diligence and a submissive heart, makes it ten. Another individual receives two talents and, through diligence and an obedient heart, turns it into four. One individual receives one talent and, out of fear, buries it. He comes back and says, “Master, I did not lose your money,” and is rebuked because that is not why he was given the talent.
Mike Morath: I feel blessed to be able to do this work. It is difficult and demanding, and there is a sea of complexity to it. In modern America, we always seem to do a good job of arguing with one another. This is challenging, but before I am a commissioner of education, I am a dad. I am a dad of four, and what I want for my own children is to help and be a source of service for all the children of Texas.
Walker Wildmon: Amen. Thank you so much for your work. We appreciate you coming on the program. We have been talking with Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath about the changes they have been making in Texas, the positive reforms they have been making, and how they are taking education to the next level through Western civilization, true history, and building citizens for the future to steward this country. Mike, thanks so much for coming on the program.
Mike Morath: Thanks for having me.
Walker Wildmon: That is Mike Morath, the Education Commissioner in the state of Texas. They are doing phenomenal work, and I would encourage every other state to replicate what Texas is doing. As a Mississippian, we can do better here as well.
Walker Wildmon: Thank you so much for joining us today. I hope this has been an encouragement to you with our different guests and our content for today. We'll see you next time.
Walker Wildmon: Welcome to At the Core here on American Family Radio. Glad to have you with us on this edition of the program. We've got a lot of great content and guests for you today, so you're going to want to stick around for the next few segments as we cover what's going on in our country and in our communities here on American Family Radio.
Walker Wildmon: Acts chapter 22 is where we are studying this week, looking at verses 6 through 11. “Now it happened, as I journeyed and came near Damascus at about noon, suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me. And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ So I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’ And those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of Him who spoke to me. So I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Arise, go into Damascus, and there you will be told all things which are appointed for you to do.’”
Walker Wildmon: This is the second recounting, if you will, in Acts of Paul's conversion. Later on in the book, we also see another recounting of Paul's conversion. What I mentioned earlier in the week on the program is how reliable Scripture is. Obviously, it is inspired by God. God ordained and sanctified the writing of Scripture. It is holy Scripture, and it is fully adequate for daily living and for godliness.
Walker Wildmon: Here we see just another recounting of Paul's conversion with very clear accuracy. This was likely written years apart, over the course of several years, in these different accounts. It never ceases to amaze me how inspired, accurate, and reliable the Word of God is. Of course, I should not be surprised, but from a human perspective, understanding the perfection of God's Word is encouraging and inspiring every time you read it. That is how you should come away from it after experiencing God through His Word.
Walker Wildmon: That is Acts chapter 22, looking at verses 6 through 11, about Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus.
Walker Wildmon: Some breaking news out this morning: A flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv was nearly hijacked by an Omani national pilot. The co-pilot, who was of Indian background, was stabbed multiple times, and the passengers, mostly Israelis, began fighting over the cockpit. Thankfully, they were able to regain control of the plane.
Walker Wildmon: This is a major incident and what appears to be an attempted hijacking. It was definitively an attempted hijacking, but it also appears to be an attempt not just to hijack the plane, but to carry out a major terror attack using an airliner, eerily similar to what happened in 2001 on September 11, which we just finished commemorating earlier this month.
Walker Wildmon: News is still breaking on that, and information is still coming out. This plane was going from Dubai to Tel Aviv and was over Jordanian airspace when the hijacking was attempted by the pilot. This is shocking. To me, this is the greatest fear among people who analyze this kind of thing, including terror experts. A rogue pilot or co-pilot can do so much damage and has so much control over the aircraft.
Walker Wildmon: There was an instance five or seven years ago, I believe it was Malaysian Airlines Flight 370, that went down. There was a lot of speculation about why that plane went down mysteriously over the ocean. They recovered certain parts of the aircraft, but never the full aircraft or the black box. There was speculation about pilot error, or even about a pilot going crazy, taking over the cockpit, and crashing the plane. We do not really know exactly what happened there.
Walker Wildmon: This was definitively an attempted hijacking. The co-pilot, along with Israeli passengers on the plane, ended up regaining control of the aircraft, which is in and of itself a miracle. The co-pilot was stabbed multiple times and incapacitated. There were a couple of Israeli citizens who were also pilots but were not on duty, and they were able to regain control of the cockpit and land the plane safely in Saudi Arabia.
Walker Wildmon: The media tried to couch this as a scuffle in the cockpit between two pilots. No, there was an attempted hijacking by a pilot who viciously stabbed his co-pilot nearly to death. This was an attempted terror attack on Israel. No doubt, they were going to Tel Aviv. How many things do we have to put together here to figure this out?
Walker Wildmon: That is the latest on that story. If you keep listening to AFR, you will get more breaking news as the day goes on. That is the latest we have right now. Thankfully, the passengers are safe and landed the plane this morning.
Walker Wildmon: Some other good news I want to get to in this segment, and then we will jump into some clips, is the Strait of Hormuz. We have talked about that extensively over the last six months. There is some breaking news from Goldman Sachs and its analysts. Gulf oil exports from the region in the Middle East have fully recovered to pre-war levels, even going back to 2025 levels, reaching roughly 108 percent of their 2025 average.
Walker Wildmon: The caveat is that this is raw crude oil. Refined products, including diesel and jet fuel, remain at just 50 percent of their pre-war output levels. That is why gasoline is substantially cheaper than diesel, and the spread is much wider than usual. They call that the crack spread. It is much wider because of this refined-product shortage.
Walker Wildmon: Russia also has an export ban on diesel products, which is a big deal because Russia produces tons of diesel and jet fuel. There are several factors going on here, but at the end of the day, the good news is that, according to Goldman this morning, Gulf oil exports are back to pre-war levels. That is a very good indicator as President Trump and the United States attempt to get this energy market back on track.
Walker Wildmon: Let us play a couple of clips in the few minutes we have left. The Democrats are giving Republicans plenty of fodder and opposition research as they march toward socialism. This is a CNN poll talking about how much Democrats are embracing socialism among Democratic voters. Let us listen.
Guest: Capitalism and socialism were right there, with favorable ratings at 51 percent and 50 percent. Look at it now. Socialism is clearly in the lead among Democrats. Sixty-six percent of them view socialism favorably. Just 42 percent view capitalism favorably.
Walker Wildmon: To summarize that clip, in 2010, 50 percent of Democrats viewed socialism favorably. In 2025, 66 percent of Democrats viewed socialism favorably. It is proven that the Democratic voting bloc, voting base, and activists are moving further and further toward Marxist, communist, and socialistic policies. That is a fact. The question is, will the rest of the country follow them? That is the question, and we will find out as the elections go by.
Walker Wildmon: This is clip two, the clip I was thinking about earlier. This is a Democratic candidate, Tom Suozzi, talking about how his biggest goal in politics is to legalize as many illegal immigrants as humanly possible. I am just trying to show you what Republicans are up against here. Let us listen.
Guest: My number-one issue is to try and get a resolution on immigration. My biggest desire, my biggest goal of what I want to accomplish in politics right now, is I want to legalize seven, eight, nine, or ten million people in our country so they will not be subject to deportation.
Walker Wildmon: There you have it. That is Congressman Tom Suozzi from New York's Third Congressional District. This is not a state senator or a mayor. This is a federal congressman openly campaigning and talking about how he wants to legalize seven to ten million illegal immigrants.
Host: How does that make it constitutional?
Walker Wildmon: It does not. But at the end of the day, when was the last time Democrats were concerned about the Constitution?
Host: Very true point. Very true.
Walker Wildmon: This is what we have been saying the Democrats want to do. We have been projecting that they want to legalize illegal immigrants so they can become hardcore Democratic voters.
Host: It is the only thing they have left for their voting base. But now they are saying it. Now they are campaigning on it.
Walker Wildmon: They have to. This is their position now, folks. He says, quote, “My biggest goal of what I want to accomplish in politics right now is I want to legalize seven or eight, nine, or ten million people in our country.” That is Congressman and Democrat Tom Suozzi from the state of New York.
Walker Wildmon: Do not take my word for it. Do not take President Trump's word for it or anyone else's. Just take the word of the Democratic Party and Democratic representatives themselves on the direction they want to take this country. That is what is at stake on the ballot.
Walker Wildmon: You can give me seven reasons why you do not like Republicans, half of which I will probably agree with. But at the end of the day, we can choose a party such as the Republicans, or the conservative movement, that is at least halfway full of people who agree with common-sense policies, constitutional principles, religious freedom, capitalism, no men in women's sports, and smaller government.
Walker Wildmon: Or, as a country, we can go with the Democratic Party and the Democratic Socialists of America. They are openly telling you what they want to do with the country, the party, and the movement, and it is nothing like what our Founding Fathers envisioned and intended. That is a fact. It is not campaign rhetoric or Republican Party talking points. The distinction between the two ideologies and the two major-party platforms in the country could not be further apart.
Walker Wildmon: We encourage you to go over to iVoterGuide.com. We will keep educating people as we head into Election Day. We will be back in a few.
Walker Wildmon: Welcome back to The Core here on American Family Radio. The show is hosted each week by myself and Rick Green, and we are happy to bring you the content and the program each afternoon here on American Family Radio.
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Walker Wildmon: Next week is Shareathon, so be on the lookout for that. You can go over to AFR.net right now and donate if you would like. If you are traveling or busy next week, you can visit AFR.net and donate to our fall Shareathon.
Walker Wildmon: Senator Kathy Chisholm from the state of Mississippi is with us. She represents District 3, has been in the legislature for seven going on eight years, has been on the program before, and does phenomenal work in the legislature. Senator Chisholm, welcome back.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: Thank you. I appreciate you having me back.
Walker Wildmon: Absolutely. Dr. Jameson Taylor has connected us over the last few years. You have visited our offices a few times, and we have worked with you on legislation and resolutions at the state level. Before we jump into that, talk a little bit about the midterms and why people need to be engaged and voting. Tell our folks a little bit about your background and your time in the legislature.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: My background is that I have been a business owner for many years. I am an auctioneer, and I am also in real estate. The reason I got my real estate license was to join it together with my auctioneer license because we always specialized in estate auctions. That is pretty much the only type of auction I ever did.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: I have been married to Baptist for many, many years. We will not talk about how many.
Walker Wildmon: Congratulations. You do not have to tell me the number of years, but I am proud of you.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: Thank you. We have one daughter, Joni, and a son-in-law, Jeremy. We also have four precious grandchildren.
Walker Wildmon: That is great.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: We have Lexi, Cash, Layton, and Hoyt. They all have their own little personalities, and they are just precious.
Walker Wildmon: I am obviously a parent, not a grandparent yet, thankfully, but I hear it is pretty great and pretty amazing.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: When those grandkids come along, you are going to be like, “Why did I ever have kids? I love these grandkids.”
Walker Wildmon: Exactly. I think it is necessary to have the grandkids, so we will do it in that order.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: Exactly. But let me clarify that I do love my daughter. She is awesome and a good girl. Being a grandparent is special as well.
Walker Wildmon: It is a different kind of special. Senator Chisholm, let us talk a little bit about the midterm elections. Mississippi is kind of in an off cycle. You will be up for reelection next year, along with all other statewide offices. Tell us what you are seeing with this midterm cycle. You are hearing different pitches from campaigns and candidates. What is your advice, assessment, and lay of the land this election cycle?
Senator Kathy Chisholm: I could talk for hours about this, or I could make it kind of quick. As a Christian lawmaker, I am hearing a lot of canned responses from Republican candidates. That is one reason the socialist Democrats are getting attention. They get a lot of attention because of what they support. Their solutions are horrible, but their messaging is at least something new.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: They always come out with something new, while we Republicans kind of say the same thing over and over. We say that we just need to do something about it, and people are tired of hearing the same Republican answer. We can keep promising to cut taxes and make promises that are not kept, or we can start keeping those promises.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: Voters have real concerns about affordability for their children and their future. If a person cannot afford to go out to eat or buy a home, cutting taxes is fine, and that is what they want, but that is not their number-one priority at the time. That is not their main concern. They want some ideas. They want something done. Do not just talk the talk; walk the walk.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: That is where Christian lawmakers have an edge. We have an advantage if we are willing to make use of it, but so many of us will not stand up. We know what needs to be done, and we know the steps to take to do it, but for whatever reason, we have ended up not doing that.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: We need to be talking about Christ. That is the number-one thing. I think it would help us tremendously. We need to present the Christian image of a stable family: a mom, a dad, and children protected from impurity and false teachings. They need to be protected when they go online and when they are at school. Children need to learn the truth, and their protection comes from us at home.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: We need to teach them how to protect themselves, what to visit online, and what not to visit. We can also set computers so children cannot access certain things they should not see.
Walker Wildmon: Part of having a strong family is the ability to own a home. Owning a home and having respect for property are important for family stability. Property rights are essential to a stable family life.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: Divorce also makes things harder for children. If we can keep families together, that helps.
Walker Wildmon: Republicans cannot just keep talking about the free market when what is meant by that is tax cuts for corporations.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: I am totally against all these big corporate-welfare tax cuts. That gets under my skin pretty quickly. My advice for voters is this: Vet your candidates. I cannot say that enough. Vet them very carefully.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: Do not be afraid to ask them a question. Do not think, “This is a dumb question. I should not ask it. It is going to make me look bad.” That is not true. Ask any question. What church do they attend? Have they been married for a long time? Do they have real business experience?
Senator Kathy Chisholm: We need lawyers in Jackson as representatives and senators, but we also need businesspeople. We need people who have had hands-on work experience. We need a mixture of all of them.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: Christians, please step up and run. Do not feel like you have to be a lawyer. You do not have to be a lawyer at all. Just have common sense, a business background, a work ethic, and an understanding of what real people do through hands-on experience. What does it take to motivate people? What does it take for us to be successful? That says a lot about whoever is in those positions.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: In my case, I approach legislation in a very concrete way. I have owned several businesses. I had a pool company and an in-ground pool company for about 25 years. I have worked hard and understand how hard work can build a good life. I thoroughly understand that.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: Look at the actual values of a candidate. Not what they say, but their values. How do they live? Voters want to know that you are authentic. They want to know all about you, and they want you to tell them the truth.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: When you are campaigning, do not tell people you are going to do something and then not do it. Stand by what you say. Voters might not agree with a candidate on everything, but they do want to know who you are and what you believe.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: Too many Republican candidates are afraid to stand up for what they believe in. In a way, we have had it too easy. When you stand up for what you truly believe in, sometimes you feel like you are standing alone, but do not feel that way. God is always with you, no matter what.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: We are scared, and sometimes we do not have the backbone. It takes a lot of courage and a lot of backbone. I promise you, God has given me both. He stands beside me. There have been many times I have thought, “I am doing this all by myself,” but I am not. He is always there with me.
Walker Wildmon: There are a lot of people who think like you. By contrast, the DSA people are standing up for what they believe, even though what they believe is wrong. Voters are attracted to the authenticity of those people.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: The DSA people stand for abortion, open borders, and everything we do not need here.
Walker Wildmon: This younger generation does have the ability to spot inauthenticity, to your point.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: Exactly.
Walker Wildmon: Regardless of whether their ideas are good or not, a lot of voters are not necessarily critiquing the ideas and policy proposals as they should. They just see an authentic person, good or bad, and they are attracted to that.
Walker Wildmon: I think that is what is making some of these socialist Democratic candidates more attractive to young people. They are just saying what they think and believe. They are not factoring in whether it polls well or what their consultant says they should say. They are doing it because it is what they believe at their core, whether good or bad.
Walker Wildmon: The other thing you mentioned is that Republicans give canned responses and repeat the same old talking points. You can almost predict what Republicans are going to say when they are questioned about the economy, national security, or things like that.
Walker Wildmon: Speaking more about their faith, their Christianity, and their convictions, and getting to something beyond themselves or the party, is the only way for the Republican Party to reconnect with voters.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: Exactly. I want something more than, “We are going to give you tax cuts,” or, “We are going to get gas prices down.” Do not get me wrong; all of those things are good. But at the end of the day, why are we fighting for the country?
Walker Wildmon: From our perspective, we are fighting for the country because God has given us a stewardship over our families, our communities, our states, and our country. We also believe God is using America as a force for good around the world. It is much deeper than ourselves. That is our motivation.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: It is a very good motivation.
Walker Wildmon: I think the Republican Party is going to have to reconnect with that and reconnect with people of faith. Otherwise, you cannot get people energized enough to overcome the Santa Claus wish list that Democrats are promising.
Walker Wildmon: We are talking with Senator Kathy Chisholm from the state of Mississippi, representing District 3. On the subject of socialism and the Democrats, Republicans and conservatives cannot outpromise the Democrats. If we promise a tax cut, welfare, or some other handout, the left will outbid us ten to one because they will print as much money as needed to incentivize voters. It is a game we do not even need to be playing.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: You are exactly right. We do not need to promise welfare handouts to begin with, because then we are crossing over the fence and ending up on their side. We need to promise tax cuts, and not only promise them but deliver them.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: Finally, I would tell voters to think about whether a candidate is going along to get along or whether they are actually willing to change things. In order to change things, you have to have the backbone to stand up to leadership in Jackson.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: For example, I have been trying for several years to pass legislation in Mississippi to prevent registered sex offenders from living on college campuses and in campus housing. That was killed instantly. This is a no-brainer. We do not want registered sex offenders living in the dorms with our children on college campuses.
Walker Wildmon: That is right.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: Lieutenant Governor Delbert Hosemann in the Senate keeps killing it. I even forced it to the floor by pushing my button. They asked me why I sought recognition, and I said, “I have a resolution I would like to introduce out of order.” That was the only way I could get the legislation to the floor. They killed it immediately because they had been schooled by Delbert Hosemann to kill pretty much anything I bring up.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: Another bill I introduced is the Federal Funding Transparency Bill. The Obama and Biden administrations used federal funding to get states to do all sorts of things that are not conservative. This bill requires state agencies to tell the public what grants they are receiving from the federal government and what requirements are attached.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: In my district, many people are all about grants, but they do not understand the strings attached. Grants are not free money. They are coming from our pockets. People think, “It is a federal grant, so it is free.” No, it is not. When you fill out your income taxes and pay your federal income tax, you are paying for those grants. The more grants they give, the more you are going to pay.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: Think about elderly people, especially those on fixed incomes. They cannot afford for their taxes to keep going up. The more grants we hand out, the more taxes go up.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: If you want a new park in your town, maybe you should get donations, have cakewalks, or raise the money locally.
Walker Wildmon: That is right. There are plenty of businesses willing to pitch in. Do not put that tax burden on elderly people who already have a fixed income.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: People are not educated about these things. I was not a few years ago, but now I am after being in the legislature. God has opened my eyes to so many things.
Walker Wildmon: Amen. Senator Kathy Chisholm, representing District 3 in the state of Mississippi, thank you so much for coming on. You have done great work, and your advice that voters need to study the candidates is very wise. Thanks so much for coming in.
Senator Kathy Chisholm: Thank you. I appreciate you having me.
Walker Wildmon: All right, folks, you need to vote, and you need to know who you are voting for. That is why you need to go to iVoterGuide.com. We will be back in just a few minutes.
Walker Wildmon: Welcome to The Core here on American Family Radio. Walker Wildmon here with you on this edition of the program. Two segments are now behind us, and the last segment is underway. Glad to be with you. Let us jump to our guest without wasting any time.
Walker Wildmon: Mike Morath is with us. He is the Texas Commissioner of Education, and he is with us to talk about some of the things he has been working on for several years as the Commissioner of Education in the state of Texas. Commissioner Morath, welcome to the program.
Mike Morath: Thanks. It is an honor to be with you today.
Walker Wildmon: Absolutely. You and I were talking about this coming out of the break, but for our listeners, especially those in Texas, tell our folks a little bit about your position, when you were appointed by the governor, and how long you have been serving.
Mike Morath: The Texas Commissioner of Education oversees kindergarten through twelfth-grade education for the state of Texas. Everything is bigger in Texas, so there are five and a half million students in Texas public schools. It is my responsibility every day when I wake up to try to figure out how to give them a better educational future.
Mike Morath: Our state is big. Ninety billion dollars a year is spent on K-12 education. About 800,000 people are employed by public schools around the state of Texas, and there are 1,200 school systems that are all locally governed. Our agency is a sort of oversight arm for that, and we work in close coordination with the elected State Board of Education. Together, we exist to help improve the quality of learning in schools all over the state.
Walker Wildmon: You and the State Board have been very busy enacting positive change on the curriculum front, which ends up in the classroom and affects children in a positive manner. There is a lot we could talk about, especially with the amount of time you have spent as commissioner. Tell us about some of the steps you have been taking in recent years to improve the curriculum, history, and related subjects.
Mike Morath: If you take a step back, why do we have public schools in this country? The purpose is to provide a general diffusion of knowledge, help children learn how to read and write, do math and do it well, learn our history, learn science, and prepare them for what citizenship requires of us.
Mike Morath: There is a lot that is complex and heavily debated about how we do that in our schools. At its core, you want to build a house on a solid foundation, not a bit of sand. The curricular resources used by teachers every day are that bedrock on which we want to build everything.
Mike Morath: At the state level, you adopt something called content standards. These are expectations of what every student should know and be able to do by the end of a given year. In math, for example, in third grade, you want students to have their times tables memorized. That is one of the things written into our state rules related to learning expectations for children in math.
Mike Morath: From those curriculum standards, teachers use lessons and instructional materials, such as textbooks. Our state has been embarking on a significant set of efforts to improve the quality of that curriculum, both the standards and the actual lesson materials teachers use, and to return our schools to the fundamentals of why we have school in the first place.
Mike Morath: We want children to become the best versions of themselves, but they have to learn how to read, write, and do math while learning our history. Our history standards have been massively upgraded in just the last few months.
Mike Morath: In kindergarten, first grade, and second grade, students will learn foundational stories. They will learn about Washington, Jefferson, and Adams, the story of Washington chopping down the cherry tree, the Boston Tea Party, and the fact that we do not like paying taxes in this country. They will learn some of the foundational stories of our republic.
Mike Morath: They will also learn the stories of religious liberty, the pilgrims at Plymouth Rock, what they had to leave, and what they were striving to achieve. They will learn about the growth of the American colonies. All of this is foundational material for kindergarten through second grade.
Mike Morath: By the end of second grade, students will have learned about the War of 1812, the Star-Spangled Banner, and the origins of our country. They will receive preliminary, age-appropriate knowledge about the challenges we have overcome as a country, including the Civil War and the great heroes of World War II.
Mike Morath: Starting in third grade, students begin a chronological narrative of Western civilization. They begin in ancient Egypt and learn about the Hebrew people and the Exodus. They study Babylon, the Persian Empire, the Greeks, the First Roman Republic, and the Roman Empire, connecting those subjects to the foundations of our country.
Mike Morath: In fourth grade, students learn about the Middle Ages, the beginnings of checks and balances, and what the Magna Carta grew to become. They also learn about the great civilizational conflicts that happened during that time period, including the Crusades.
Mike Morath: In fifth grade, students study the early American colonies up to the signing of the Constitution. Along the way, they learn about the forces and factors that led to the founding of our country, including the First Great Awakening, which was originally the first mass movement in America, the debates about natural rights and the social contract, and the role of government.
Mike Morath: Ours was really the first government in human history to make the declaration that rights do not come from government. Rights come from God, and the government holds those rights in trust on our behalf. That is established in our fifth-grade history standards.
Mike Morath: Sixth grade covers the 1800s and an understanding of the arc of those changes in our country, with extensive study of the Civil War. Seventh grade covers the twentieth century, including America's role in fighting Nazism and totalitarianism in World War II, the civil rights movement in the United States, and what we did on the world stage to fight communism and the horrors it unleashed on millions of people in China, Russia, and elsewhere.
Mike Morath: That is the story arc from third grade through seventh grade. In eighth grade, students revisit this with a capstone course to synthesize their understanding of Western civilization: how ideas from the classical world, including Athenian democracy and the Roman Republic, established that citizens have duties and rights; how Western civilization became a fusion of Jerusalem and Athens; and how ideas from our Judeo-Christian heritage, including that all men are created in the image of God, became a core tenet of Western civilization.
Mike Morath: Students learn how, during the Middle Ages, we developed structures to begin limiting the power of any one man. They learn about the Reformation, when everyone began reading, especially the Bible. They learn about ideas from the Enlightenment and the beginning of free markets and property rights as a means to preserve liberty.
Mike Morath: This is what students explore in detail as a synthesis in eighth grade, while talking about what we think is a great manifestation of Western civilization, which is Texas. We are very proud of our state here in Texas. That is the arc of the Western civilization story as it came to pass both in America and in Texas in particular.
Mike Morath: These are major changes that have been made to the social studies standards. We have also gone deeply into the heritage of our literature, because so many rich ideas about humanity have been committed to text in some of the great works of literature over the years.
Mike Morath: On a standardized basis, for all five and a half million children in Texas, we will require them to read some of the great stories that have been written. This starts very early. In kindergarten, students will read The Berenstain Bears and the Golden Rule and reflect on it. When they get a little older, they will read Charlotte's Web in third grade and The Wind in the Willows, the great classic.
Mike Morath: In fourth grade, they will read Treasure Island. In fifth grade, they will read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. In seventh grade, they will read Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl. In ninth grade, they will read Animal Farm and Great Expectations. In tenth grade, they will read Dante's Inferno and Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Julius Caesar.
Mike Morath: These works will be read along with some of the major influences of that great literature. When students read Dante's Inferno, they will also read the Book of Job in Texas public schools and explore the problem of suffering in one of the great works of wisdom ever produced.
Mike Morath: This is part of an integrated picture to ensure that all of our children are educated citizens. It is only by being an educated citizen that we can preserve our liberties and preserve this great experiment in representative democracy for the next 250 years.
Walker Wildmon: I am impressed not just by the changes you have talked about that you have been working on in Texas, but by the fact that, as commissioner, you actually know what is going on. Many high-level government officials say, “Whatever my assistant or chief of staff said.” It sounds like you have been in the weeds, deeply involved in the discussions about planning and deploying this curriculum.
Walker Wildmon: You just gave us a 30,000-foot overview of K-12 education, specifically history and social studies. What I love about what you are doing in Texas is that you are one of the most homeschool-friendly states, but you are also one of the most freedom-loving and sane states when it comes to K-12 government education. You have bridged that divide and are doing righteous things in both regards. It is not one or the other; it is a both-and approach. You are reaching millions of children in Texas.
Walker Wildmon: The last thing I will say, and then get your final word, is what is your encouragement to other state commissioners, state boards, and governors? What can they do to repeat what Texas has done? We have about two minutes left.
Mike Morath: To paraphrase wisdom from another book, in the story of Esther, who knows that you attained a position but for such a time as this? We have been given this gift of life and creation, and we are only on this planet for a brief period of time. The question is how we use the time we have to do the most good for all of our brothers and sisters.
Mike Morath: A lot of the creed I live by comes back to the parable of the talents. In the parable, the master gives one individual five talents, and that person, through diligence and a submissive heart, makes it ten. Another individual receives two talents and, through diligence and an obedient heart, turns it into four. One individual receives one talent and, out of fear, buries it. He comes back and says, “Master, I did not lose your money,” and is rebuked because that is not why he was given the talent.
Mike Morath: I feel blessed to be able to do this work. It is difficult and demanding, and there is a sea of complexity to it. In modern America, we always seem to do a good job of arguing with one another. This is challenging, but before I am a commissioner of education, I am a dad. I am a dad of four, and what I want for my own children is to help and be a source of service for all the children of Texas.
Walker Wildmon: Amen. Thank you so much for your work. We appreciate you coming on the program. We have been talking with Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath about the changes they have been making in Texas, the positive reforms they have been making, and how they are taking education to the next level through Western civilization, true history, and building citizens for the future to steward this country. Mike, thanks so much for coming on the program.
Mike Morath: Thanks for having me.
Walker Wildmon: That is Mike Morath, the Education Commissioner in the state of Texas. They are doing phenomenal work, and I would encourage every other state to replicate what Texas is doing. As a Mississippian, we can do better here as well.
Walker Wildmon: Thank you so much for joining us today. I hope this has been an encouragement to you with our different guests and our content for today. We'll see you next time.
Walker Wildmon examines an attempted hijacking on a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, the recovery of Gulf oil exports, and the political stakes surrounding socialism, immigration, and the coming elections.
Mississippi State Senator Kathy Chism discusses why Christian voters must carefully vet candidates, demand authenticity, protect families, and hold lawmakers accountable.
Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath explains how Texas is rebuilding K-12 history, civics, and literature education for 5.5 million students, including renewed emphasis on Western civilization, religious liberty, the nation’s founding, classic literature, and the biblical foundations of American freedom. Morath also shares why educated citizens are essential to preserving representative government.
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