Florida Education Department Rewrites History

[Jimmy Higgins]

This is a tough one. Kind of like almost too hilarious to take seriously, but it is actually the curriculum and presents a dangerous precedent.

Florida's education commissioner has denied the lessons will shy away from "the tougher subjects".

Agreed, it won't shy away from it, it seems to aim to almost ignore it and maybe present it as a Hobson's Choice for white people.

The 216-page social studies curriculum includes teachings on how black people have positively influenced and contributed to the country, on the causes and consequences of the slave trade, and on the civil rights advancements made throughout African American history.

But it also includes several revisions. Educators and civil rights advocates have raised concerns about two in particular.

When students are instructed on the various duties and trades performed by slaves, lessons must now include how these skills "in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit".

And during lessons on the growth and destruction of black communities during the Reconstruction era, including events like the 1921 Tulsa Massacre, students must be made aware of how violence was perpetrated both "against and by African Americans".

Yeah, Moore-Coulter in the classroom. Fuck, they want to teach slavery was a vocational program!

And don't think I haven't been developing The State of Florida Presents - Roots going through my head since I read this article. It's a musical!

*Mountains as per The Sound of Music*
I've got a new name, my new name is Tobyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!

*Musical piece on the plantation*
Random Slave: So Toby... what do you want to do when you grow up?
Toby: I want to help white people... for free.
*cheers* *dancing*

*Crying Kunte... sorry I mean Toby sitting next to a dead black slave*
White Owner: What is wrong Toby?
Toby: He can't help white people no more.
White Owner: It's okay, there are plenty more where he came from.
Toby: Really? *wipes tears*
White Owner: Really. Now lets get up. *grabs flog* You weren't working, you know what that means.
Toby: *taking off shirt and smiling* Yes Sir!

"If I were still a professor, I'd have to grade this 'I' for incomplete," said Senator Geraldine Thompson, a former university lecturer.

Yuck! That was almost as bad as the educational policy itself. All of this material and you go with that?! I give that attempt of humor an N for "Needs Improvement".

 

[laughing dog]

I’m sure the new curriculum will also point out that
1)slaves received free food and housing,
2) keeping slaves illiterate prevented slaves from being misled by fake media, and
3) no rational owner would ever intentionally mistreat a productive asset thereby reducing its effectiveness.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

I’m sure the new curriculum will also point out that
1)slaves received free food and housing,
2) keeping slaves illiterate prevented slaves from being misled by fake media, and
3) no rational owner would ever intentionally mistreat a productive asset thereby reducing its effectiveness.

Clearly they were a protected and favored class. Had it not been for laws forbidding whites from becoming slaves probably the entire state would have been nothing but a self governing slave colony. The big secret is finally coming out after all these years. Praise Jesus! Hallelujah!

 

[Cheerful Charlie]

The far right is making history taught in schools one big fraud. I am sure that many of these students will some day become aware of that and will hate being lied to, as sensible people usually do.

 

[Gospel]

They've always been dedicated to teaching authentic history, haven't they?

Those genuinely interested in the subject typically delve into authentic historical learning after leaving the confines of that indoctrination institution. Despite being subjected to severe limitations by the US Government and the majority of "we the people" at that time, slaves were resilient & strove for betterment within their circumstances.

A brief, yet not exhaustive, snapshot of their endeavors reveals:

1. They created their own music and art, thereby cultivating a unique cultural identity.
2. They learned to read and write despite educational prohibitions.
3. They orchestrated acts of resistance, which likely constitute the referenced instances of violence.
4. They built robust social networks, proving their collective strength and unity.

This was all achieved in the face of persistent governmental interference, and often with the aid of valiant individuals from various ethnic backgrounds including white, Asian, Latino, and others (but mostly from their own people).


If that's the history they're talking about, it's all good.

 

[Derec]

Schools, especially public schools, should not be a venue for political indoctrination. From either side.

Florida/deSantis did not start this. Things California's ethnic studies curriculum and the 1619 Project, which seek to push leftist political ideas even in math class, long predate it.

 

[bilby]

They built robust social networks

How did they even manage to get hold of a computer??

Oh, wait. They probably used their smartphones. Sorry, I should've thought of that.

 

[bilby]

Schools, especially public schools, should not be a venue for political indoctrination. From either side.

Schools, especially public schools, were largely founded as venues for religious and political indoctrination.

The idea of unbiased teaching of factual information is fairly recent, and remains an impossible goal as long as the curricula are set by human beings.

All education unavoidably contains bias.

 

[laughing dog]

Schools, especially public schools, should not be a venue for political indoctrination. From either side.

Florida/deSantis did not start this. Things California's ethnic studies curriculum and the 1619 Project, which seek to push leftist political ideas even in math class, long predate it.

A whataboutism is irrelevant to the discussion on what is happening in Florida.

The notion that education does not involve "political indoctrination" is naive. Since education involves making choices on what to include and omit in the curriculum, as well as how to teach and what examples to use, education is inherently "political indoctrination" as that term is currently used.

 

[Gospel]

Schools, especially public schools, should not be a venue for political indoctrination. From either side.

Florida/deSantis did not start this. Things California's ethnic studies curriculum and the 1619 Project, which seek to push leftist political ideas even in math class, long predate it.

I'm shocked you view the 1619 Project as a leftist political idea. Shocked!

Nobody needs the 1619 project to learn that slavery was an integral & deeply consequential aspect of American history. Its indelible mark is felt even today, manifesting in both conspicuous and subtle forms across the United States.
Irrespective of our discussions concerning its portrayal in schools, slavery constitutes an integral part of American history, and in fact all of our own personal heritages across the entire globe. Surely, you wouldn't categorize that as an exclusively left-wing political notion, would you?

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

So anyway... there is nothing in the new curriculum about teaching "both siders" of Holocaust, right? Right?!?!

Schools, especially public schools, should not be a venue for political indoctrination. From either side.

*slams head on desk*

Florida/deSantis did not start this.

No, he didn't start the fire. It has always been burning since the worlds been turning... well... after some lucky primate evolved an opposable thumb and climbed out of the trees... but that doesn't rhyme easily.

Things California's ethnic studies curriculum and the 1619 Project, which seek to push leftist political ideas even in math class, long predate it.

*slams head on desk*

One thing is whitewashing an atrocity of our history which must not be forgotten for the convenience of a bunch of white people who haven't gotten over losing the Civil War! Christ, imagine if Europe was like this!

The other involves sometimes overstepping social commentary into other subjects. These two things, they aren't remotely similar. I've yet to see a math problem in my Daughter's work that was bothersome.

 

[ideologyhunter]

Just a few months ago, Studies Weekly, which markets educational periodicals to Florida's K-6 grades, revised its paragraph on Rosa Parks to omit race from its account. The original wording said that Parks was "told to move to a different seat because of the color of her skin." The new text says, "She was told to move to a different seat. She did not. She did what she believed was right." Of course, a valid interpretation of Rosa's action would be that she wanted an upgrade, and in the free enterprise system, there should be customized options for the consumer. This is called a diversified marketplace. Rosa understood consumer rights because her ancestors had the experience of being studying commodities in Alabama in the olden-timey days.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

Schools, especially public schools, should not be a venue for political indoctrination. From either side.

Florida/deSantis did not start this. Things California's ethnic studies curriculum and the 1619 Project, which seek to push leftist political ideas even in math class, long predate it.

I'm shocked you view the 1619 Project as a leftist political idea. Shocked!

Nobody needs the 1619 project to learn that slavery was an integral & deeply consequential aspect of American history. Its indelible mark is felt even today, manifesting in both conspicuous and subtle forms across the United States.
Irrespective of our discussions concerning its portrayal in schools, slavery constitutes an integral part of American history, and in fact all of our own personal heritages across the entire globe. Surely, you wouldn't categorize that as an exclusively left-wing political notion, would you?

I doubt Derec is aware the Declaration went through several drafts, the first of which struck its reference to Africans being equal and deserving of freedom. Those "property owners" were having none of that. In hindsight I guess they just didn't want to ruin things for all those slaves that had it so good.

 

[Toni]

Schools, especially public schools, should not be a venue for political indoctrination. From either side.

Florida/deSantis did not start this. Things California's ethnic studies curriculum and the 1619 Project, which seek to push leftist political ideas even in math class, long predate it.

The 1619 Project is hardly leftist. I’m not personally familiar with California’s ethnic studies programs.

Even as an ignorant school girl, I knew that the virtually all male/all white history we were taught was so incomplete as to be a lie. I’m glad that a more complete history is now being taught in some places.

 

[Shadowy Man]

Just a few months ago, Studies Weekly, which markets educational periodicals to Florida's K-6 grades, revised its paragraph on Rosa Parks to omit race from its account. The original wording said that Parks was "told to move to a different seat because of the color of her skin." The new text says, "She was told to move to a different seat. She did not. She did what she believed was right." Of course, a valid interpretation of Rosa's action would be that she wanted an upgrade, and in the free enterprise system, there should be customized options for the consumer. This is called a diversified marketplace. Rosa understood consumer rights because her ancestors had the experience of being studying commodities in Alabama in the olden-timey days.

Clearly we can’t truly know the thoughts of those who told her to change seats so to ascribe racism to their motivations would itself be a vile act of racism. Right?

 

[Bronzeage]

We need to remember, most of the people who construct these kinds of policies are the product of Florida public education.

"Product" is the correct term and as with any product, it has a market value. In my neighborhood, there's always a lot of whining about the graduates of Louisiana's colleges and universities who leave the state to find jobs. The reality is, their newly produced skills are worth more someplace else. It's free market economics hard at work. It's a supply and demand thing and the problem is, we produce more graduates than jobs.

A person who earned a degree in economics would say the solution is more jobs, thus keeping the wealth invested in graduates closer to home, where it can be reinvested. Most economic problems are fairly simple and one wonders why it takes a college degree to be an economist.

Florida has decided to take a different approach. Instead of increasing the demand for jobs, they want to decrease the out of state demand for their graduates. After all, Disneyland is hiring. It will take quite a while for the results to show in statistics, but the first Floridians to understand how market forces operate will be high school seniors who are applying for admission to out of state colleges. They will discover that being the valedictorian of a Tallahassee high school doesn't carry as much baggage as it expected. Don't be surprised if Desantes institutes a new exam program titled the FATs(Florida Aptitude Test) and passes a law requiring Disneyland to hire only Florida graduates.

 

[Derec]

I doubt Derec is aware the Declaration went through several drafts, the first of which struck its reference to Africans being equal and deserving of freedom. Those "property owners" were having none of that. In hindsight I guess they just didn't want to ruin things for all those slaves that had it so good.

I am fully aware of that. Even that early there were marked differences between the Colonies in terms of settlement patterns and economy.
What does that have to do with my thesis that public education should not be used to indoctrinate kids into political positions from right or from left?

 

[Derec]

Oh, wait. They probably used their smartphones. Sorry, I should've thought of that.

Duh! But how did they recharge them?

 

[Derec]

The idea of unbiased teaching of factual information is fairly recent, and remains an impossible goal as long as the curricula are set by human beings.
All education unavoidably contains bias.

As some sort of platonic ideal, it is an "impossible goal". But it is not impossible to strive to keep education as objective as possible.
And that should be from either direction. If you are against Florida inserting RW politics into the curriculum, you should be just as opposed to California or Massachusetts inserting left wing politics.

By the way, same goes for criminal prosecutions. Federal prosecutors, for instance, should not go easy on a deadly arsonist just because they agree with the politics that served as the motive for the arson.

 

[Derec]

A whataboutism is irrelevant to the discussion on what is happening in Florida.

It is not. They are two sides of the same coin.

The notion that education does not involve "political indoctrination" is naive.

So you and bilby should have no problem with what Florida is doing then?

Since education involves making choices on what to include and omit in the curriculum, as well as how to teach and what examples to use, education is inherently "political indoctrination" as that term is currently used.

Not necessarily. One can choose what to include and what to omit without pushing a political agenda.