The Oklahoma Bar Journal September 2022

F rom the E xecutive D irector

I Learned a Lot in Education By John Morris Williams

E ARLIER IN MY CAREER, I spent over seven years as in-house counsel for the Oklahoma Education Association. My undergraduate degree is also in education. So, I am always curious and interested in what is happening in education law. In the years I spent representing educators across the state, I met some extraordinary people per forming tasks at all levels. From cooks, janitors and bus drivers to superintendents and even some educators in higher education, I found a dedicated group of profes sionals who supported the world of “lifelong learners.” I learned a lot during my time working in education and about the vast amount of law that is dedicated to or impacts education. Special education, Title IX, due process in employment proceedings and much more are encompassed in a vast area of the law. Having not worked in these areas in years, I am certain this edition of the Oklahoma Bar Journal will be most educational. At the OBA, we are directed by the Oklahoma Supreme Court Rules for Mandatory Continuing Legal Education to ensure that OBA members are lifelong learn ers as well. The MCLE Rules and Regulations are another set of laws relating to education I had to learn. Last year, there were more than 800 separate CLE providers, and OBA members attended more than 140,000 hours of CLE. I can

and sent it in a direction of almost all hours being obtained online due to the obvious reason that people could not be physically around each other. One of the things I learned during my time in education is that learning models differ for different groups. Most adults can tolerate about 50 minutes of sitting and listening. Children, depen dent on the age group and other

say with certainty that the concept of lifelong learning is well embed ded in our profession. Something that differs greatly within our profession is that we were well positioned to move to virtual learning prior to the pandemic. The gradual increase in online learning prior to 2020 had us moving solidly toward half of all CLE hours being obtained online. 2020 took that trajectory

46 | SEPTEMBER 2022

THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL