Oklahoma Education and You

I confess that my mind sometimes wanders while in church, particularly during announcements and the song service. While reading today’s scripture reading from Matthew over the transfiguration, an old thought came to mind.  The concept of the denial of self is common to every world faith tradition, and I thought, where are we teaching this today?

Across world faith traditions, “denial of self” is not so much about self-erasure but more about ego restraint. It’s a call to humility, discipline, truthfulness, and service in pursuit of something bigger than personal impulse or interest.

We aren’t supposed to teach theology (or at least promote one over the other) in schools. However, we should teach civic virtue so that young people grow into citizens who can act on conscience without turning others into enemies and disagree without dehumanizing those they disagree with.

The recent wave of student walkouts protesting immigration enforcement and deportations is a teachable moment for schools—and for modern American politicians.

This is a “denial of self” moment for schools, because students are making themselves vulnerable while speaking out for the vulnerable. Many students describe walkouts as personal, citing fear for family members, anxiety about separation, and a desire to protect classmates. Los Angeles area news coverage captured students explaining that fear and their own experiences were major motivators for their protests.  That can be an expression of what faith traditions would call self-denial as a virtue: taking risks, inconvenience, and consequences to stand with others.

However, other students see the walkouts as disrupting their school day and may not agree with the protests. Like the students, school staff have varying opinions about immigration enforcement and the appropriateness of school walkouts.

Schools face a unique challenge: balancing their duty to supervise and protect students with the need to remain neutral during political protests. Practicing ‘denial of self’ means resisting the urge to take sides, avoiding both excessive discipline and unchecked disruption. Instead, schools should focus on creating safe, structured opportunities for student demonstrations while upholding attendance and safety standards.

The current immigration enforcement protests are a teachable moment because they offer an opportunity to teach courage, restraint, and conviction, with respect for different viewpoints. If “denial of self” is the ability to respect diverse viewpoints and put love for your neighbor before impulse and pride, then the school’s job in moments like this is not to pick a side—but to form citizens who can act, disagree, and serve without tearing civil discourse apart.