An Oklahoma Republican representative went on national news over the weekend to defend the controversial curriculum approved for elementary school students in the state

The curriculum in question is a video that’s part of a PragerU Kids cartoon series called Leo & Layla’s History Adventures. The Oklahoma State Department of Education partnered with conservative education platform PragerU in 2023. That partnership has made more recent national headlines for a “woke test” State Superintendent Ryan Walters says PragerU helped with that is being given to certain out-of-state teachers who may be interested in working in Oklahoma

Rep. Gabe Woolley (R-Broken Arrow) was a guest on MSNBC on August 17 to weigh in on content in a Leo & Layla video. The video is called Christopher Columbus: Explorer of the New World. The description says it’s meant to explain why we honor Columbus and says it’s meant to teach elementary students not to judge events of the past by the standards of today[…]
News 4 reached out to Woolley Thursday afternoon to request an interview, but never heard back. Woolley did share his thoughts about his MSNBC interview on social media saying that he believed the discussion went well. He said he thought the hosts seemed to dismiss the historical reality that slavery has existed across the world since the beginning of time. He said that America has confronted tragedy, abolished slavery, and “continues to strive for greatness”

In the MSNBC interview, Woolley defended the content as a supplemental tool to support instruction, saying he had shown it in a classroom as a teacher. He said that the content is not being forced on anyone, but is there as an optional method to support lesson planning

He also said he believed the remarks about slavery in the video were being misconstrued

“I think what they’re alluding to is, if you’re still alive, you have the opportunity for change and for freedom and for reformation to come”

Woolley also said he’s supportive of the PragerU out-of-state teacher test