Tuesday   

This course centers on the life and activism of Clara Luper, a pivotal leader in Oklahoma City's Civil Rights Movement, whose grassroots organizing and youth-led sit-ins reshaped public space and policy. Students will examine Luper's work alongside a broader historical framework that contextualizes Oklahoma's path to statehood, including the displacement of Indigenous nations and the systemic oppression of Black communities prior to the Civil Rights era. By tracing the evolution of segregation, racial violence, and resistance in Oklahoma, the course highlights how local activism intersected with national movements for justice. Through archival materials, oral histories, and critical analysis, students will explore how Black Oklahomans challenged inequality, built community institutions, and reimagined freedom in a state marked by both promise and profound racial injustice.

We'll take a deep dive in the classroom learning about a state park in Oklahoma one week; then we'll hit the trails for that park the next week. We'll give it another go focused on the next park for weeks 3 and 4. The course will carefully address hiking safety and give us the opportunity to learn and explore our beautiful state together.

We will talk about science in schools today. How are the sciences valued and taught in today’s classrooms? How does it differ from 10, 20, or 50 years ago? We’ll look at hands on STEM classes – or STEAM now with the incorporation of the arts. Last but not least, we’ll learn about Starbase and how we became a highly successful program.