Is Diversity Training Political Correctness?

One student in Wisconsin at the University of Wisconsin-Madison thought so and he became the darling of the conservative right. An editorial in the Daily Campus, UConn’s school newspaper said,

Diversity training for instructors is beneficial
By Victoria Kallsen
Published: September 30, 2013

Over a week ago, a graduate student studying history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Jason Morgan, made a big stink regarding the nature of the diversity training he was required to complete as a teaching assistant in the department. Calling it “suffocating political indoctrination,” Morgan has demanded that the training, or rather “intellectual tyranny,” be made optional for all TAs at the university immediately in an e-mail he sent to his advising professor that was also sent to various news outlets. His most specific complaints were regarding the alleged charge by the diversity program that he was a racist and the training covering “trans students,” which he described as completely unnecessary to his work in teaching Japanese history. As exciting as Morgan’s disregard for his students is, his letter was insulting.

Why teach diversity to teachers?

Well one reason is found in his letter…

There is one further issue. At the end of yesterday’s diversity “re-education,” we were told that our next session would include a presentation on “Trans Students”. At that coming session, according to the handout we were given, we will learn how to let students ‘choose their own pronouns’, how to correct other students who mistakenly use the wrong pronouns, and how to ask people which pronouns they prefer (“I use the pronouns he/him/his. I want to make sure I address you correctly. What pronouns do you use?”). Also on the agenda for next week are “important trans struggles, as well as those of the intersexed and other gender-variant communities,” “stand[ing] up to the rules of gender,” and a very helpful glossary of related terms and acronyms, to wit: “Trans”: for those who “identify along the gender-variant spectrum,” and “Genderqueer”: “for those who consider their gender outside the binary gender system”. I hasten to reiterate that I am quoting from diversity handouts; I am not making any of this up.

He is a PhD candidate in Japanese history as a history major he should be aware of the importance of culture in society. As a student of history he should know how cultural rigidity or diversity affects learning styles and as a teacher he should understand the culture of his students. He should know that in some cultures a bowed head is a sign of respect and in other cultures a handshake could cause trouble.

He goes on in his letter to say,

It is most certainly not my job, though, to cheer along anyone, student or otherwise, in their psychological confusion. I am not in graduate school to learn how to encourage poor souls in their sexual experimentation, nor am I receiving generous stipends of taxpayer monies from the good people of the Great State of Wisconsin to play along with fantasies or accommodate public cross-dressing. To all and sundry alike I explicate, as best I can, such things as the clash between the Taira and the Minamoto, the rise of the Kamakura shogunate, and the decline of the imperial house in twelfth-century Japan. Everyone is welcome in my classroom, but, whether directly or indirectly, I will not implicate myself in my students’ fetishes, whatever those might be. What they do on their own time is their business; I will not be a party to it. I am exercising my right here to say, “Enough is enough.” One grows used to being thought a snarling racist–after all, others’ opinions are not my affair–but one draws the line at assisting students in their private proclivities. That is a bridge too far, and one that I, at least, will not cross.

His job is not to stand up in front of the class to show off his knowledge on the subject but it is to teach and that means that you interact with the students. What do you think would happen is he addressed a trans-women by male pronouns? Would his classroom be conducive to learning or is he creating a hostile environment?

As a PhD student his lack of knowledge is amazing (I will not implicate myself in my students’ fetishes), did he take Psych 101? Did he learn that gender goes beyond the binary? Or did he fluff it off as liberal bull because it didn’t fit in with his conservative beliefs.

The Commentary in the Daily Campus ends with,

While described unsurprisingly by “The American Conservative” as an “American hero,” I assert he is really anything but. The aforementioned newspaper described him as theatening [sic] because he is “an independent thinker who will not keep his mouth shut,” but I don’t mind that. I welcome a healthy discussion on what diversity workshops should offer. What is appalling is the mind set that we don’t need them. This email and all that it derides are exactly why this is so important. While I’ll allow that perhaps Morgan has no interest for improvement in this area, the mandation [sic] of this training is because he is to be a teaching assistant. In such a position, dealing with students as their instructor, he will be actively dealing with students from diverse ethnic backgrounds and sexual orientations. To strip away the importance of that doesn’t make you a hero, it makes you a coward unwilling to address these important social issues in favor of hiding away in a Japanese history textbook.