A.G. Gancarski
Gov. Ron DeSantis lauded the decision by the Board of Education to make changes to civics and historical teaching standards.
The move to ban educational approaches such as critical race theory and The 1619 Project was a priority of the Governor’s, who messaged about it repeatedly even as he was on an out-of-state fundraising trip.
In Sarasota Friday, DeSantis offered an unsolicited defense of the decision, saying advocates of critical race theory teach students to “attack cops” even as schools struggle with students who can’t read. He did not specify which schools he meant.
“Some of the nonsense that you see in some of these places around the country. I mean, they will attack cops with this type of ideology in schools, and meanwhile, they have like 87% of the kids that aren’t even literate in some of these schools. So it shows you they’re not trying to educate; they’re trying to indoctrinate,” DeSantis said.
“We’re not going to let that come to Florida. And so I’m glad that they acted. I think it’s the right thing to do. We’re going to make sure that we’re providing access to education, but solid education, free of some of this ideology that people are trying to shove down everybody’s throats.”
At the meeting in Jacksonville Thursday, DeSantis touched on comments from the public and backed the move, which was not universally lauded. Indeed, a protest against the impending rule change forced a recess to restore order.
“We had some parents of every background talk about how toxic this is. You see it around the country. It is tearing communities apart. It’s wrong. It should not be taught in schools,” DeSantis said. “And we need to teach people truth. We need to teach people the history of this country.”
DeSantis seemed to suggest that would be an inclusive view after all.
“That includes everything that’s happened, but you can’t lie, and you can’t promote your ideology and false narratives,” DeSantis said. “And so I think we have arrived at a very good spot for Florida, and it’s going to be something where we’re really focused on the basics.”
A leading Senate Democrat voiced deep concerns that many have about the new guidelines.
“Black history is much more than Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks and Mary McCloud Bethune, all highlighted by the Governor during Black History Month last February. Critical race theory highlights the uncomfortable truth embedded in the history of our nation and when properly taught, equips students with the academic foundation to identify and analyze the causes of societal inequality in their own lives, their communities and our country,” said Sen. Bobby Powell Jr., chair of the Florida Legislative Black Caucus.
“It is meant to break down the walls of division, not build them higher. Unfortunately, unification is a concept Gov. DeSantis has failed to grasp. To him, this well-established academic theory is a means to an end, a way to deepen the distrust and untruths his candidacy rests on. Like the anti-protest bill, the sanctuary cities bill, and the crackdown on voting rights, his critical race theory ban underscores his talent at conjuring ‘solutions’ to problems that do not exist in Florida. It’s a corrosive political agenda meant to distract and divert from the real issues Floridians elected him to tackle, which nearly three years later he’s still trying to ignore,” Powell added.
Even as Democrats object to the DeSantis agenda, donors flock to him. DeSantis, who reported nearly $40 million cash on hand to his Friends of Ron DeSantis political committee as of the end of May, is fundraising off the critical race theory ban.
“I will NOT allow this Cultural Marxism to Gain a Foothold in Florida Schools,” an email solicitation sent Thursday reads.
The new guidance for teachers certainly offers content guardrails.
American history is to be defined “largely on universal principles stated in the Declaration of Independence.” Teachers’ apparent efforts “to indoctrinate or persuade students to a particular point of view” will also be banned, as is “fiction or theory masquerading as facts.”
Introducing the rule change in Jacksonville Thursday, Chancellor Jacob Oliva said sometimes teachers present “false truths as parts of narratives in classrooms.” He said the goal was to have lesson design align with state standards and instructional benchmarks that have endured and have been revised periodically since 1996.
12 comments
Michael Hoffmann
June 11, 2021 at 11:46 am
Good comments on this subject by AG this morning on JAXPBS radio and the gradual decline of representative government under GOP aegis.
AG probably can’t make this happen, but I would like to know what classic or contemporary works of Black American history or literature are recommended by Ron and Richard that meet their criteria? (Surely Ivy League Ron has read Frederick Douglass’ memoir!)
Pamela Rubelmann
June 11, 2021 at 3:27 pm
Ronnie thinks children only learn in school…His attempt at REMOVING FACTS and WHITE WASHING the racist history of the USA is only meant for one crowd. My 6 grandchildren are way smarter then Ronnie.
jim
June 12, 2021 at 12:12 am
Patriots! What can YOU do?
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Contact these companies let them hear your voice! Financial Boycott whenever possible the following Democrat supporters.
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Ron Ogden
June 12, 2021 at 5:48 am
DeSantis deserves a victory lap–several, as a matter of fact. He has done what a good governor should do: he has been a leader, a fighter against the stream of proggy-ism that the Marxists have been pouring down the throats of America for decades.
tjb
June 13, 2021 at 10:27 am
Is it true that DeSantis will have the Florida education system teaching eugenics?
Zhombre
June 12, 2021 at 10:00 am
YAY DeSantis! Down with CRT commie crap and all it’s moronic advocates.
James R. Miles
June 12, 2021 at 12:56 pm
Just ask zombie, he knows all about morons being dead as he is from the neck up!
Zhombre
June 12, 2021 at 4:28 pm
What a clever clever clever guy you are. How much thought did you have to put into that devastating reply? I’m rendered speechless. All you proggies display such shimmering intelligence and insight.
Tom Palmer
June 13, 2021 at 3:13 pm
After all, we can’t let those uppity Blacks reveal America’s history. It might make us think.
Zhombre
June 13, 2021 at 5:08 pm
Uppity blacks?! LOL! I haven’t heard anybody use that phrase in a couple decades and here I see I see it used by a low-grade lefty moron to denigrate an adverse opinion. You are’ pathetic and, patently, know absolutely nothing about the false and corrosive nature of CRT. Stay submerged in your abject ignorance and contempt.
tjb
June 14, 2021 at 8:05 am
DeSantis will be incorporating these readings into his new curriculum (Democracy is for Fools) replacing CRT.
-The Doctrine of Fascism by Benito Mussolini and Giovanni Gentile
-The Philosophic Basis of Fascism by Giovanni Gentile
-Fascism: One Hundred Questions Asked and Answered by Oswald Mosley
-The Coming Corporate State by A. Raven Thompson
-The Anatomy of Fascism by Robert O. Paxton
-Revolt Against the Modern World by Julius Evola
-The Crisis of the Modern World by Rene Guenon
-The Futurist Manifesto by F.T. Marinetti
-A Squire’s Trial by Alexander Slavros
Tom
June 13, 2021 at 3:45 pm
Yes Palmer, especially the BLM Leader activist buying a few mansions. I know you are so concerned.
Comments are closed.