I am going to do something unusual with this topic, the topic being Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ bold and disgusting effort to take control of what may and may not be taught in the schools of Florida.
I wrote this post. It will be followed by one written by Mercedes Schneider. We don’t disagree, but we provide different content. Read them both and add your thoughts.
In Florida, a “controversial topic” is any concept that governor Ron DeSantis doesn’t like. This is what he calls “freedom.” Schools are not free to teach anything he dislikes. Last week, the Florida Department of Education told districts to provide detailed information about the books and materials they were using to teach topics that offend DeSantis.
To readers, I apologize for writing so much about this tinpot dictator. But the reality is that he is leading the way towards purging the schools of content that would be standard fare in many other states, and other red states are following his lead.
The Miami-Herald reports:
The Florida Department of Education this week told school districts to produce detailed information about the programs and materials they use to address some of the state’s most hotly debated subjects.
In an email delivered late Tuesday, the department instructed superintendents to fill out a 34-question survey identifying titles of books and programs they have relating to sex education, social-emotional learning, culturally relevant teaching and diversity, and equity and inclusion, among other topics. It asked for specifics for student courses and employee training. The department requested names and examples from district and charter schools. And it gave the districts until Monday to respond. “It sounds very much like what they have done to the state university system,” said Pasco County Superintendent Kurt Browning.
In recent months, the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis has asked universities and colleges to provide information about their work in diversity, equity and inclusion, and related to gender-affirming care.
DeSantis followed those requests with speeches criticizing many of the concepts and calling on the Legislature to end spending for such items. College presidents quickly announced they would end diversity programs. Legislation mirroring the governor’s agenda soon followed.
“What concerns me about the questions is they are all the hot-button topics and issues that are in the news,” Browning said, noting that the department did not explain its request. “What is it that they’re looking for?”
The department did not respond to calls and emails seeking added information. Superintendents across Florida said their staffs are working to submit all the items, which include uploaded examples in addition to lists of titles and data about the percentages of schools that use the materials and programs.
A spokeswoman for Miami-Dade Public Schools said Friday “district staff is currently in the process of compiling responses to the survey.” The Broward school district did not immediately respond to the Herald’s query. I
“We’ve never had to get this in-depth before,” said Bay County Superintendent Bill Husfelt, president of the state superintendents association. He suggested that politically involved parent and community groups such as Moms for Liberty have played a part in the rising demand for specifics about what books, curriculum and other materials the schools use. Moms for Liberty chapters across Florida have pressed school districts to remove books they claim contain pornography or other materials harmful to minors. The organization’s co-founders recently sat with DeSantis and other Republican officials to identify 14 sitting school board members statewide to target for removal in the 2024 elections, including Miami-Dade School Board member Luisa Santos.
“Politics has always been like this,” said Husfelt, who has led his North Florida district for 15 years. “But I don’t know that I’ve ever seen public education as involved as it is right now.”
Browning said he found it frustrating that the state appears to be targeting approaches such as positive behavior interventions and trauma-informed care, while at the same time requiring schools to address students’ mental health needs. “It seems like they are saying, ‘Do it, but you can’t use this and you can’t use that,’ ” he said.
“My question would be, ‘What is it you want me to use?’ There is nothing inherently evil in any of this stuff, in any of these topics that they are wanting information on.”
The state previously has made clear its disdain for social-emotional learning and culturally relevant teaching, banning it from math and social studies textbooks as they come up for adoption. It also has restricted lessons about human growth and development, which includes sex education.
Social-emotional learning is a strategy that aims to help students manage their emotions and develop empathy, among other traits. The state promoted it as a way to keep students safe after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
Culturally relevant teaching attempts to present lessons in ways that better resonate with students of color. It was developed with the recognition that the teaching force in public schools is predominantly white while the majority of students are from other groups. In Florida, 57% of public school students are Black or Hispanic.
Andrew Spar, president of the Florida Education Association, said Floridians should recognize that the state’s efforts to remove such concepts from schools is “messing with kids.”
“Kids learn best when they feel safe, when they feel secure, when they have a connection to their teacher,” Spar said. “When you hear the governor talking about how we shouldn’t do [social-emotional learning] or culturally responsive teaching, what we’re saying is, we shouldn’t teach kids the way they learn.”
While many of the state’s survey questions relate to approaches that DeSantis and others have reviled, others focus on models that they have applauded. For instance, the survey asks about the use of the “whole child approach,” which has been embraced by classical education schools such as those supported by Hillsdale College in Michigan.
Browning expected the survey would be a precursor to legislation. “Isn’t everything?” he said.
Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/education/article272596280.html#storylink=cpy
DeSantis’ ‘reign of terror’ keeps snowballing across all public institutions and even some private companies like Disney that dare to criticize anything he does. The man is drunk with power.
If Educators Comply, Education Will Die.
And comply they will. GAGA Good German types to obey the orders of the powers that be.
Duane, there are very few Germans, today, who are Fascists, and in fact, Fascist speech and symbolism is ILLEGAL in Germany now, so this sounds very like, in the contemporary world, an unacceptable slur. You really should stop using it.
I laugh at your suggestion or as Monty Python might say “I fart in the direction of your suggestion.”
It’s not a slur. Is ‘nigger’ a slur when an African American uses it? It can be, but it can also have other sentiments behind it. As one of mainly German heritage myself I am using it to point out what occurs when the common folk just go about doing their daily business as dictated to them by those in authority and who refuse to challenge unethical and immoral mandates such as the standards and testing malpractice regime.
Your suggestion reeks of political correctness and cancel culture all in one.
German is a nationality. To suggest that Germans in general are people who will go along with Fascist dictates is a slur. It’s not acceptable. And it doesn’t matter that you have ancestors from Germany. It’s still unacceptable. It slanders a large and heterogenous group of people. This is not difficult to understand.
GAGA: “Good American Go Along” types.
It’s easy for you to say now that you’re retired, Duane. You have no idea how hard these last couple of years have been in education. The choices are: get fired and like we your license and not help any kids, or stay and try to get something in under the radar.
I don’t just say it now. I’ve lived it. Ever take a 40% pay cut to go teach in another district from having been forced out for questioning/challenging the standards and testing malpractice regime. Current conditions can’t be any worse than those that I taught under for the last 15 years of my teaching career.
I’ll say it again and I hope that it bothers the hell out of those who are being GAGA Good German types as they implement educational malpractices that harm students.
Wake up people!!!
Good morning Duane and Bob,
Even though I’m not a fan of Duane’s turn of phrase i.e. “Good German,” he does bring up a good point about the complicity of teachers. I’ve thought about this a lot. Most of the teachers I’ve known have been the type to follow rules, not make waves, do what they’re told. I see this especially with young teachers who often parrot the new, vacuous educational jargon. I think teachers in general are not risk-takers who enjoy disrupting systems, protesting and bucking the status quo. For the most part, at least what I see, they’re plodding workers who don’t want to rock the boat. Some have worked for years under great stress and unbelievable conditions. They’ve made deals with the universe such as – if I only work 30 years in this thankless job, I’ll get a pension and be able to retire in relative comfort. You can’t believe how many teachers have fantasies of dying on their way to work or driving past the school so they don’t have to go in. This is not the case only for teachers, by the way. Also, we think of our education system as a place where students will learn to “think for themselves,” learn “problem solving,” and “stand up for what they believe.” But we really don’t want that. Most of our education system demands conformity. Just watch what happens when a student tries to buck the system or give his/her own opinion publicly. But who of us has not shut our mouth when we saw injustice? Can we all say that we have always spoken up against power when our jobs and livelihoods were at risk? So, to me, the question is HOW teachers should handle this assault on education in the most efficacious way possible.
Mamie, Thanks for understanding and giving a good explanation. I see that you understand. Very few do understand mainly because they are too worried about making a living for themselves (understandably so) and ethical and justice concerns play third or fourth fiddle.
Again, thanks for the comment!
Mamie, I saw this as well–the younger teachers (at least the dumber ones) just going along. They haven’t known anything BUT the occupation of our K-12 schools by the Gates/Coleman Testing Forces. And they are timid as field mice before any kind of “authority.”
Why do you think that they are “timid as field mice before any kind of ‘authority’?” Or is that one of the main purposes (unspoken of course) of the standards and testing malpractice regime. . . to produce a compliant and mentally intimidated citizenry?
Yes, it is indeed one of the purposes of this regime. It is intended to take all autonomy away from teachers, to put them on script.
I hate to tell you, Duane, but it IS much worse since your retired. Every year since Covid is much worse than the year before. I have taught junior high for 22 years–3 of them at the district alternative school. But these last 3 years are by far the worst I have ever seen. This year has been especially bad for behaviors, and I am getting word that this is at least state-wide. Parents know they rule schools now, and so students know they can get away with anything.
TOW,
Since the GOP is now dedicated to “parental rights,” that bad behavior will get worse.
Nailed it, Jon. Exactly.
I hope every Florida school superintendent sends the Governor their entire syllabus every grade and subject PLUS the full list of all their textbooks and library books. Any one of these could be accused of having content about social-emotional learning, cultural relevance, diversity, equity, and/or inclusion. Let the Governor sort through and read all of them. Hopefully he’ll learn something. Every teacher in every class includes instruction that can be classified “social-emotional learning” such as not cheating, not bullying, being courteous, behaving, being inclusive of those with handicaps, being kind, etc., etc., etc.
Go on the offense, educators. Hold news conferences, send newsletters, etc. telling the public ‘yes, indeed, we are about social-emotional learning, inclusion, and diversity. Starting in kindergarten and through the 12th grade, we teach kids to behave, follow rules, to be courteous and kind, to take responsibility for their own work and behavior, to respect others who are different from themselves, to share, to wait their turn, and to treat others as they wish to be treated. You call it social-emotional learning. We call it VALUES, and we’re not gonna stop teaching them, no matter what sensational label you attach to them.
Let the Governor sort through and read all of them.
Don’t give him any ideas. He just might spend Floridians’ taxpayer dollars to set up a Ministry of Truth to do this.
Well said, Ms. Pappas!
Well neither parents nor educators will stand up to DeSatanist . Neither will Disney. But imagine if they did. And I am a bit tired of hearing how much Tex-ass and Flor-a-Duh influence Publishers and the College Board .
“Another way of looking at Biden’s victory is to focus on the total populations residing in the counties that Biden and Trump won. From that perspective, 67 million more people lived in counties won by Biden (197.9 million) than in those won by Trump (130.3 million).”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/04/22/disney-world-should-leave-florida-desantis/
I think it would be just great if Disney pulled up states and moved to civilization.
You mean Mexico?
They have WAY too much invested. I don’t see how they can walk away.
Greg Brozeit has been blocked by WordPress. I will try to find out why. In the meanwhile, he asked me to post this response to Duane about his use of “GAGA GOOD GERMAN.”
Greg wrote:
Although I have sparred and joked with Duane in the past, his continued use of a worn out stereotype does point out how Americans have, in general, been very naive about this topic. Something they can now understand in ways they never could before. It’s also inextricably related to the sentiment that the cult has about slavery and subsequent Black history and why they are so afraid of the truth. Fairytales about slavery are reduced to “the peculiar institution,” something that existed outside of the “normal” world. Dumb statements like, “why didn’t they just go north,” tend to sum up a lot of misconceptions that they would like to perpetuate and make people believe they are real. It even seeps into comment here. I’ve kind of quit counting comments like, “they should quit their jobs,” or “move to another state.” It’s so trite and not useful at all.
In the real world, people have to make a living. Very, very few can “up and move.” They have jobs and have to make sacrifices to feed themselves, their families and their commitments. Ask state workers in Florida who completely disagree with him if they can just quit their jobs and move. Or anyone in Florida who can think for themselves and read. The libel of “GAGA good Germans” is that the meaning it tries to convey is not related to any particular time and/or place in history. It’s human nature and it’s happening all around the world every day. In the US, going along and getting along has long been associated with work or family. Now we get to see that Americans in 2023 are not so different from Germans in 1933, people who lived behind the Iron Curtain from 1949-1991, or anyone who has to negotiate their personal existence in an increasingly authoritarian environment. But go ahead, Duane. Just know your arrogant, bigoted assumptions about human behavior are from the same intellectual stock as those who believe the Flintstones and Hogan’s Heroes is actual history. It clears the way for more ignorance yearning for simple solutions.”
Yes. You’re right. It would be extraordinarily costly.
Only the courts can stop this. Given the Florida bench, I am not sanguine.
For GregB,
“But go ahead, Duane. Just know your arrogant, bigoted assumptions about human behavior are from the same intellectual stock as those who believe the Flintstones and Hogan’s Heroes is actual history. It clears the way for more ignorance yearning for simple solutions.”
As I replied to BobS: “I laugh at your suggestion or as Monty Python might say ‘I fart in the direction of your suggestion.’”
Tell me, oh semi-wise one, how is it arrogant and/or bigoted to point out the historical fact that many Germans went along to get along, with far greater consequences for not doing so than any teacher these days and that much the same is has been happening in public education wherein the teachers and adminimals go along to get along. It’s sad to see that you and BobS can’t see the harms done and do not strongly and stridently condemn it. But hey, why not just go along to get along, things go a lot smoother in life if one does.
Duane, when you refer to teachers who go along with anything that administrators say as “GAGA Good Germans,” this statement contains NOTHING that makes it a reference to historical complicity with the Nazi regime, and even in that case, not all Germans at the time were complicit. Obviously, the term “German,” unqualified, has much broader (and inaccurate) denotation. And that broad denotation makes the phrase a slur. Again, this is not difficult to understand.
And again, I guess I just slur on!
Duane, several times in the past, Diane has asked you to stop using this expression here.
My partner is German-American. Both of her parents immigrated to the US in the 1920s. They and she are good Germans, in the best sense of the words. They bear no responsibility for the Holocaust yet they have been called Nazis and had swastikas drawn on their home. Why not burn crosses on the lawn of every white person? We have had enough of ethnic stereotyping and slurs. No more hate.
Thank you Mr. Blogo PC Policeman. I’ll surely not do what you say.
I think I’m out of jail.
Duane, were those adminimals and teachers who sucked up to them that you worked with and know from Missouri or Germany? Early 21st or 20th century? Black and white or technicolor?
Greg,
I found one of your comments in spam (Dead in Ohio) and that must have triggered a ban.
And what about the historical fact that Nazis never gained an electoral majority prior to seizing power? Yet they seem to get a them a lot these days in elections in Missouri and many other states today. Bet you know more than I ever did. And I attended David Duke rallies with more than 3,000 of them.
Re: pulled up states
Dunno if they could, dunno if they should, but I’m sure it’d be easier to pull up stakes instead …
Ah yes. That would be simpler! lol
While reading this post, curious, I wanted to find out if any reputable org. knows how Trumpism really is and I found this interesting analysis.
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2022/05/19/just-how-trumpy-is-the-republican-party-lessons-from-republican-primaries-so-far/
The reason for wanting to know more about the power of Trumpism, is because that is what Dangerously Deranged and Dense DeSantis (DDDD) is doing, as loud as possible, focusing on the list of mostly fake and misleading issues that galvanizing the MAGA voters in the Republican Party.
I think this is what I learned from the Brookings piece: DDDD may be barking down the wrong trail. What will win Republican primaries may not win general elections.
Diane shouldn’t apologize for writing about DeSantis. She understands how important it is to let the public and readership get a sense of who he really is. I’m in Florida so I have a front row seat watching how he lies, and how he targets and scapegoats. If we only depend on corporate media for information, people may get the impression that DeSantis is just a more conservative Biden, but he isn’t. He is a threat to real freedom and the institutions we rely on. Diane shows that his actions reveal his beliefs and intention. None of it is good for ‘we the people.’
Thank you, RT. The national media is treating him like a better, saner, gentler version of Trump. But I see the clear signs of a wannabe fascist, a man who wants total control of people’s lives, what they are taught, how they think. You really do have to reread “1984” to see the pattern. Ron is our very own Mussolini.
I also live in Florida…DeSantis manufactures a controversial divisive issue everyday to manipulate the media and energize his radical base composed of misinformed FOX News addicts ! In many ways DeSantis is worse than Trump because he is a devious politician with the intellect to carry it off ! VOTERS BEWARE !!!
I have watched DeSantis in action. The public needs to know how insidious he is. He lies, belittles, and tries to divide people. He targets the defenseless like immigrants or teachers. The coup de grace is when he recruits other bullies to report on the so-called offender.
BTW my son just mentioned that FL released the banned book list by grade including those in “twelth grade.”
“Twelth” grade is a bit beyond the typical DeSatanist.
California has several requirements for what K-12 public schools must include in curricula for various grade levels. Those requirements include topics around sexuality and ethnic studies. Did you oppose the California state legislature enacting those requirements, i.e. interfering in what is taught in public schools? Of course you didn’t – you agreed with those requirements because they push the agendas that you favor. Elected state governments may give school boards, administrators, and teachers wide latitude in what to teach, but ultimately the public schools are governed by the public through their elected representatives. That’s true in California, Florida, and every other state.
States typically prescribe broad standards. I was engaged in writing K-12 history standards in California in the late 1980s. The standards described the subject matter, but they didn’t tell teachers or students what to believe. Nor did they tell anyone what they were NOT allowed to teach or learn.
That’s a very crucial difference between what DeFascist is doing and what is typical in many states.
I like the way my state [NJ] handles ed standards. Proposed new standards get discussed at public Bd of Ed meetings, and require Bd of Ed & Supt sign-off to be implemented. That doesn’t mean a district gets to just reject them. But they decide how to implement them in school– and if a particular prescribed element is considered inappropriate [or simply age-inappropriate] for in-class curriculum, they indicate it as “to be taught at home in a manner that parents feel is appropriate.” For example Toms River district did that on last summer’s revised NJ sex ed standards, where it required 2nd-graders to be capable of labeling parts of male and female genitalia using medically-accurate terms.
The value of standards is to be sure that state history is taught in one grade across the state and to enumerate key points to cover.
Standards should not contain a point of view.
Manufactured Republican FACISM in full bloom…DISGUSTING manipulation of public education for political purposes…REPULSIVE!
VOTERS BEWARE of Ron DeSantis !!!
The next-to-last paragraph says, “desantis and others….have applauded the use of the “whole child approach”…supported by Hillsdale College in Michigan.”
So, I googled “whole child” and the first thing that came up was this, from the Learning Policy Institute–
“A whole child education prioritizes the full scope of a child’s developmental needs to ensure that every child reaches their fullest potential. A whole child approach understands that students’ education and life outcomes are dependent upon their access to safe and welcoming learning environments and rich learning experiences in and out of school.
Whole Child Education | Learning Policy Institute”
Off to the side of the above quote was a drawing of the face of a happy kid, surrounded by words that included “social” and “emotional”.
Tell me what to do, ronnie, to be loyal now AND–if you get elected–safe!! Do I follow Hillsdale? Learning Policy Institute? Or do I follow what you said? Or what you said last month? Should I carry the Learning Policy Institute quote in my wallet but scratch out the words “social” and “emotional”? When your troopers and christian mothers stop me, will they tell me what to say so I can get it right?
So what I have found is that DeSantis and his legislature lackeys pass bills that require districts teach SEL, then Ron and Bridget Ziegler and the Moms for Bigotry rile up their moron followers to come after teachers…for teaching exactly what Ronald his lackeys dictate we teach. Districts are required to teach SEL, when we do, Ron whispers into Bridget’s ear about how we’re teaching SEL, and she throws red meat out to her Facebook followers who then turn off Fox long enough to go attack teachers at school board meetings. Wash, rinse, repeat.
Just like the “Two-Minutes Hates” in 1984.
Every educator and education professional who works for the state should walk off their jobs. Just quit.
This poor man’s Mussolini should be shut down NOW.
Everyone knows this is true.
Agreed
…leave those kids alone!— Pink Floyd, The Wall
This person just left the following comment on my blog:
“…Scott Adams, Elon Musk, Woody Harrelson, et al. Your race baiting BLM CRT tranny freak vax mandating green new deal liberal progressive bizarro world is coming to an end.”
Please note that I am NOT calling for him to be censored. Such people parody themselves.
Elon Musk had his feelings hurt recently when Ralph Nader called him a welfare queen for all the tax payer funding he has received over the years.
Elon called Nader a liar, despite the fact that most of Musk’s wealth is courtesy of the US government, from Tesla, which gets billions in emissions credits to SpaceX which is largely funded by NASA contracts.
Without our taxes, Elon would be a nobody.
I think the elite universities should no longer accept students from Florida that will follow DeSantis. If he wants schools that teach creationism along with evolution, then biology and premed programs across the country should say the students do not meet the standards. Of course, DeSantis will sue, but Universities outside of Florida set their standards for what constitutes a high school curriculum that prepares students for higher education.
Ron Ron is taking a page from Chairman Mao’s playbook. This right thought, right speech, right action campaign of his reminds me of nothing so much as Mao’s “Cultural Revolution.” If you don’t know where THAT led, go find out.