Victory for Freedom of Conscience as University of Minnesota Backs Away from Ideological Screening for Ed Students · 23 December 2009
By Foundation for Individual Rights in Education
In response to sustained pressure from the Foundation
for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), the University of
Minnesota–Twin Cities has backed away from its plans to enforce a political litmus test
for future teachers. The plans from its College of Education and Human
Development (CEHD) involved redesigning admissions and the curriculum
to enforce an ideology centered on a narrow view of “cultural competence.”
Those with the “wrong” views were to receive remedial re-education, be
weeded out, or be denied admission altogether. In a letter to FIRE,
however, the university’s top lawyer has now promised that the
university will never “mandate any particular beliefs, or screen out
people with ‘wrong beliefs’ from the University.”
“We
are relieved that the University of Minnesota has finally committed
itself to upholding the freedom of conscience of its students,” FIRE
President Greg Lukianoff said. “Prospective teachers will keep the
right to have their own thoughts, values, and beliefs. FIRE will
continue to monitor the situation to make sure that the university does
not define ‘cultural competence’ or ‘dispositions’ requirements in a
way that interferes with individual rights.”
The proposal,
initiated by the college’s Race, Culture, Class, and Gender Task Group,
sought to require each future teacher to accept theories of “white
privilege, hegemonic masculinity, heteronormativity, and internalized
oppression”; “develop a positive sense of racial/cultural identity”;
and “recognize that schools are socially constructed systems that are
susceptible to racism … but are also critical sites for social and
cultural transformation.” They were to be judged by their scores on the
Intercultural Development Inventory, a test of “Intercultural
Sensitivity.” In one assignment, they were to reveal a “pervasive
stereotype” they personally held and then demonstrate how their
experiences had “challenged” it. They also were to be assessed
regarding “the extent to which they find intrinsic satisfaction” in
being in “culturally diverse situations.”
FIRE wrote
University of Minnesota President Robert H. Bruininks about these plans
on November 25. In response, General Counsel Mark B. Rotenberg promised
that “[n]o University policy or practice ever will mandate any
particular beliefs, or screen out people with ‘wrong beliefs’ from the
University.”
“The
next version of the college’s plans must reflect this promise,” said
Adam Kissel, Director of FIRE’s Individual Rights Defense Program. “To
learn about other cultures is one thing, but the college may not demand
that future teachers hold certain moral and political ‘dispositions’ or
specific views about pedagogy. Not all great teachers have the same
views about politics or education.”
FIRE
is a nonprofit educational foundation that unites civil rights and
civil liberties leaders, scholars, journalists, and public
intellectuals from across the political and ideological spectrum on
behalf of individual rights, due process, freedom of expression,
academic freedom, and rights of conscience at our nation’s colleges and
universities. FIRE’s efforts to preserve liberty on campuses across
America can be viewed at www.thefire.org.
CONTACT:
Adam Kissel, Director, Individual Rights Defense Program, FIRE: 215-717-3473; adam@thefire.org
Robert Bruininks, President, University of Minnesota–Twin Cities: 612-626-1616; upres@umn.edu
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