Justin Oakley, Just Let Me Teach Get National Headlines

Just Let Me Teach host, Justin Oakely, received some much deserved national attention today as National Road Magazine highlighted his run for Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Fully aware that Bennet would run for reelection the next year…equally aware that Bennet had already been ordained by an apathetic public…Oakley filed his candidacy. With a full year until the 2012 election, Bennet now faced an opponent.

Seven months later, Oakley was out. Days before the state Democratic Convention in Fort Wayne, Gubernatorial candidate John Gregg endorsed a little-known elementary school librarian, Glenda Ritz. The Indiana State Teachers Association followed Gregg’s lead, advising Oakley to step down.

And of course his rise as a talk radio superstar on Indiana Talks,

As every Hoosier knows, Glenda Ritz toppled Tony Bennet in one of the most shocking electoral upsets in Indiana history. For his part, Oakley continued his crusade for the future of public schools under a new pair of mantles: Activist and Radio Host. The former began near the end of Oakley’s days in the classroom (today he works for the American Federation of Teachers) when he muttered, “You know, if they’d just let me teach…” The ensuing wristband and bumper-sticker campaign, which began as a Facebook page escalated to the sale of thousands of bands worldwide and national exposure with Valerie Strauss in the Washington Post’s “Answer Sheet” column. Following several guest stints on the Indiana Talks Network’s Johnny Stir program, Oakley parleyed his on-air time into his own show, aptly named after his Just Let Me Teach wristband campaign. Two years and 75 episodes later, Oakley has discussed the state of public education with everyone from local politicians and authors to national figures in education debate, including Anthony Cody and Diane Ravitch.

Check out the entire Staring Down Goliath article here