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You had to figure something was up when in 2020, Ron DeSantis’s administration declared him the “Education Governor” for how eager he was to change the state’s education system dramatically.
Three years later, his eagerness has provoked and been engulfed in an ongoing list of education controversies as part of his fight against “woke ideology,” or schools acknowledging or teaching about systemic injustice in American society.
Wednesday:
As I began writing this column, I was focusing on a topic that had nothing to do with Presidential Candidate Ron Desantis’ 2024 War on “Woke” Education Tour.
But right as I sat down, wouldn’t you know it, the absurdity neon flashed:
“College Board advises Florida schools do not offer AP Psychology after the state says lessons about gender identity and sexuality would violate state law.”
Thursday:
The College Board announced: that unless AP Psychology is taught in its entirety – including lessons on sexuality and gender – “the “AP Psychology” designation cannot be utilized on student transcripts.”
Friday:
But there’s more. The future of the course appeared to be in jeopardy until, late in the day, Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz, Jr., informed school superintendents “that students would be able to take the class ‘in its entirety,’ but only if the course is taught in a manner that is age and developmentally appropriate.”
Like everyone else, this latest circus update caused me to roll my eyes, shake my head, and growl in disbelief. But there was hope. Having just seen an incredibly articulate and intelligent social media post, I made it my Friday night mission to find the speaker, and I did.
Within 30 minutes, I was on the phone with Andrew Spar, president of the Florida Education Association, who blasted the new African American studies standards just a few weeks earlier.
“They deserve the full truth of American history, the good and the bad,” said Spar. “Gov. DeSantis is pursuing a political agenda guaranteed to set good people against one another, and in the process, he’s cheating our kids.”
This administration, Andrew and his hard-working team, never get to rest.
Just think of the beautiful things he and his associates could be doing to improve education for our kids rather than spending time addressing the “war on woke.” I enjoyed my conversation with Andrew a great deal. He’s smart and an excellent communicator, as we sadly need someone to make sense of this mess.
The need for intelligent individuals to respond as DeSantis escalates his war on “woke education” is never ending and has included such popular topics as book bans, the rejection of an Advanced Placement course on African American studies, and the passage of the Stop WOKE Act just to name a few.
NO GROUP UNTOUCHED
It may sound laughable, but someone must ensure that our kids do not feel “guilt, anguish, or any form of psychological stress” from learning the truth. But at least there has been ludicrous equal opportunity targeting.
Desantis’ concern for the possible “anguish” of Florida students does not seem to extend to Black students, who could be forced to learn about the supposed “benefit” of slavery, nor does it seem to extend to LGBTQ kids and their families, who have also been targeted in his battle. There will be more.
He expanded his “Don’t Say Gay” law this year, and the Florida Board of Education voted for rules that took it even further — including barring teachers from asking students their preferred pronouns. Florida Director of Education Manny Diaz Jr. said the move would protect kids from “unwelcome influences and indoctrination,” praising DeSantis, the legislation, and the board for what he described in a statement as their “unwavering commitment to the health, wellbeing, and safety of our students.”
But, as critics charged, the rules constituted an escalation in the “politically motivated war on parents, students, and educators” in Florida.
“Our students deserve classrooms where all families are treated with the respect they deserve, and all young people are welcomed,” said Jennifer Solomon, Equality Florida Parents & Families Support Manager. “Instead, the DeSantis Administration continues to wield the state against us.” Solomon added, “Stop turning our kids’ classrooms into political battlefields to score cheap points.”
FULL STEAM AHEAD
But DeSantis, of course, shows no sign of stopping: His relentless culture war helped lift him to national prominence, and he has made it his central — nay, his only — pitch to GOP voters in his sputtering presidential campaign.
“We’ve made the state of Florida the place where woke goes to die,” he said at a recent campaign event. “And now, it is our mission as Americans to ensure that in January 2025 we leave woke ideology in the dustbin of history where it belongs.”
The only thing that has died is the sense of Florida resembling anything close to an education state worth bragging about, and is instead on its way to an “F.”
This column is by Ritchie Lucas, Founder/CEO of the non-profit The Student Success Project. He can be reached by email at ritchie@studentsuccessproject.org and on Facebook as The Student Success Project.
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