A Wisconsin high school is under fire after parents discovered that the ‘American Diversity’ class taught students that minorities had historically been oppressed by white people.
According to handouts obtained by Fox News, ‘white privilege’ in the class was defined as a ‘set of advantages that are believed to be enjoyed by white people beyond those commonly experienced by non-white people in the same social, political, and economic spaces (nation, community, workplace, income, etc.’
‘They’re teaching white guilt,’ one parent said. ‘They’re dividing the students. They’re saying to non-whites, ‘You have been oppressed and you’re still being oppressed.’’
The parent became alarmed after seeing the handouts provided to her 18-year-old son, who was enrolled in the class.
The parent asked not to be named.
School under fire for class that teaches white people are oppressors
“I felt it was indoctrination,” she said. “This is a radical left agenda and ideology that is now embedded in our school.”
‘If you’re white, you’re oppressing. If you’re non white, you’ve been a victim.’
Also included in the course material was a paper from University of Texas professor Robert Jensen arguing that people do not have complete control over their fate.
‘There is not space here to list all the ways in which white privilege plays out in our lives, but it is clear that I will carry this privilege with me until the day white supremacy is erased from society,’ Jensen wrote.
As a class exercise, students were told to visit Wal-Mart’s toy aisle.
‘They were told to go and count the number of dolls that were representative of blacks as opposed to whites,’ the parent said. ‘It’s meant to divide and victimize non-whites and condition whites to feel guilty and to be more passive.’
The parent complained about the material all the way to Delavan-Darien School District superintendent Robert Crist.
‘A lot of red flags go up in my mind when I look at the materials,’ Crist said. ‘Her concern has merit.’
‘Ideally, you would want to present one theory that might be way on the left and another theory that may be way on the right and if you find one in the middle you can present that, too,’ he said. ‘Now you have a well-rounded discussion in my opinion.’
Crist believes the class was being taught before he became superintendent. It is currently being evaluated.
‘The class will not be taught again until that process is fully complete,’ Crist said.
He did not, however, believe the course was meant to brainwash students politically but only to stimulate ‘the thought process.’
“I don’t believe he intended to indoctrinate anybody,’ he said.
He was, however, concerned.
‘I’m out of an old-fashioned school,’ he said. ‘I believe in helping kids understand the basic objectives of curriculum and not use some radical material to get a student to support some kind of a special theory.’
Young America’s Foundation, which also overlooked the curriculum with the parent, called the course ‘race-baiting.’
‘This course offers a snapshot of a larger trend that has plagued university curriculum for years and has only recent crept into high school classrooms,’ wrote Brendan Pringle, YAF staff member. ‘Professors and teachers are increasingly telling white students that they are part of the problem of racism, and are telling black students that they are second-class citizens. This race-baiting technique is an attack on American values and can only breed bitterness and envy.’
Still, Crist said schools should prepare students for the real world.
‘There are a lot of radical people in our country and across the world,’ he said. ‘They need to be ideally attuned to some of the different thought patterns that different cultures may have.’
Crist did not say that the teacher crossed the line.
‘Ideally a teacher is not supposed to share their own viewpoint,’ Crist said. ‘With this type of class, the teacher looks for controversial items like that to stimulate the kids into discussing things in regard to cultural diversity.’
That wasn’t enough to satisfy the parent.
‘This teacher has free reign to pick the material that he wanted to use,’ she said. ‘He chose extremely radical left thinkers. He didn’t give those kids alternative information.’
She was especially upset because he son got a job washing dishes last summer.
‘I was so proud of him,’ she said. ‘And then to have a teacher tell you that you have these unearned privileges – that because you are white somehow you infringe on other people’s rights. It’s really just awful.’
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