OU’s education program under fire for course that discusses social justice and ‘critical whiteness in education’
The University of Oklahoma’s mandatory course for education majors on social justice and racism may violate state law.
OU “requires undergraduates studying education to take a course that portrays white people as complicit in institutional racism and instructs them to give special treatment to minority students,” the Daily Caller reported.
Last year, however, Republican Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed an executive order stating that universities cannot “mandate…any education” that “grants preference based on one person’s particular race, color, sex, ethnicity or national origin over another’s.”
Another state law forbids “any orientation or requirement that presents any form of race or sex stereotyping.”
According to the syllabus for the university’s “Schools and American Culture” course, students are required to read “Handbook of Critical Race Theory in Education.” The book states that “white people will seek racial justice only to the extent that there is something in it for them.”
Students also read “Critical Race Theory and the Whiteness of Teacher Education,” an academic paper that states “structures…such as teacher testing, reinforce Whiteness and White interests.” Further, the class requires students to develop a “social justice curriculum” to help them prepare to design educational materials for their own classrooms.
“[P]ublic education” and “mandated testing” leave “little room to create and engage with transformative work,” the syllabus states.
“However, it is not impossible to merge state-mandated content standards with much-needed conversations and curricula centering on the needs, histories, and realities of marginalized and minoritized populations,” it states.
Weekly topics for the course include “Critical Whiteness in Education,” “Critical Race Theory in Education,” “Microaggressions in Educational Spaces,” and “LGBTQ+ Youth in Schools,” among others.
“Our universities need to be preparing students for the workforce, not indoctrinating them with liberal ideology,” a spokesperson for the governor’s office told the Daily Caller.
“It’s insane that this is a required course. It’s time to look at the accreditation entities that are pushing courses like this and bring common sense back to the classroom,” the spokesperson said.
This is not the first time the university has been accused of promoting racism. Earlier this year, a federal lawsuit accused OU of awarding financial aid on the basis of race, The College Fix previously reported. The lawsuit also lists several race-based programs the university offers.
Additionally, The College Fix analyzed the political affiliations of OU professors in 13 humanities departments. The Fix found zero Republican professors in six of those departments.
MORE: Oklahoma public universities under scrutiny after spending $83.4 million on DEI
IMAGE: University of Oklahoma/YouTube
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