Teachers, parents must speak out against misguided education policies
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Gov. Ron DeSantis and his allies are issuing edicts and passing laws to prohibit schools from teaching whatever might make a student feel “discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress on account of his or her race, color, sex, or national origin.” This now includes teaching about social justice and fostering social-emotional skills.
This is absurd. It is impossible to teach about American history and culture without teaching about social justice. Without social justice movements, the American revolution never would have happened. Nor would there have been an abolitionist movement, the Civil War and Reconstruction, an end to child labor, the right to vote for women or an end to Jim Crow segregation.
Should students not learn about the progress made in ending various kinds of oppression? And what about the Holocaust? The Florida Resource Manual on Holocaust Education for Grades 4-6, written for teachers, states that “it is our responsibility to make children aware of the horrors that can accompany racism and intolerance of ethnic and religious differences” in order to “develop respect and appreciation for diversity and human rights.”
Devoid of substantive arguments against teaching about racism and injustice, DeSantis and company assert that students are being “indoctrinated” with liberal ideology. Such statements intentionally conflate the content taught with a method of teaching that is nowhere embraced by educators. Indeed, the declared aim of the historical profession is to cultivate critical thinking by examining evidence, comparing different interpretations, asking questions, and discussing and debating conclusions.
The DeSantis administration would also have us believe that “social emotional learning” distracts from learning “the facts” and that textbooks that encourage “managing emotion, developing relationships and social awareness” should be banned.
This is laughable. Every educator, from kindergarten through college, knows how important cooperative learning, emotional awareness and a “growth mindset” are to helping students manage their behaviors, relate better to their classmates, engage with their course material and succeed in school.
Under the buzz-phrase “parents’ rights,” DeSantis is exploiting parents, all of whom have an abiding interest in their children receiving a well-rounded education and developing life skills that will help them grow and succeed.
The authors have 55 years of teaching between us, from elementary education to adult literacy to university classes. We have helped students critically examine history and used methods to help build confidence, competence, resilience, self-respect and respect for others. We have used “culturally responsive” materials, including state-approved textbooks that may now be prohibited, which highlight the contributions of underrepresented people and social justice advocates.
We are both retired but continue to write and produce educational materials. We urge teachers and parents to stay strong and speak out against the misguided policies of this backward-thinking administration and do what’s right. Champion the truth.
Anne Meisenzahl is a retired exceptional education and adult education teacher In Leon County and author of “Taking Care of Yourself: Making the Transition from Corrections to Work, Education & Daily Life.”
Roger Peace, a former instructor at Tallahassee Community College, is the coordinator of the U.S. Foreign Policy History & Resource Guide website.
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Anne Meisenzahl, Roger Peace: Florida's social justice ban is absurd
