The Florida Department of Education has banned 54 math textbooks from its state curriculum, claiming that the books are a covert attempt to “indoctrinate” children by referencing critical race theory. This ruling is just the latest of many things to happen in the state that makes you wonder, what is going on in Florida?
Florida bans 28 math textbooks in panic over Critical Race Theoryhttps://t.co/Nvs2tXCjMo
— Raw Story (@RawStory) April 15, 2022
- I mean… isn’t it just math? Apparently not. It was determined that 41% of the 132 math textbooks slated for next year’s curriculum were deemed inappropriate and removed since they were not “aligned with Florida standards or included prohibited topics and unsolicited strategies.”
- Most of the books were for levels K through 5. As the department said in a statement to justify their decision: “Reasons for rejecting textbooks included references to Critical Race Theory (CRT), inclusions of Common Core, and the unsolicited addition of Social Emotional Learning (SEL) in mathematics. The highest number of books rejected were for grade levels K-5, where an alarming 71 percent were not appropriately aligned with Florida standards or included prohibited topics and unsolicited strategies.”
- Florida Governor Ron DeSantis thinks critical race theory “promotes hatred.” Not only that, but he takes issue with educating kids about the history of racism (which continues today) since it can make people “feel guilty” about the racism of the past.
- DeSantis believes banning the math textbooks is a fantastic thing. “It seems that some publishers attempted to slap a coat of paint on an old house built on the foundation of Common Core, and indoctrinating concepts like race essentialism, especially, bizarrely, for elementary school students,” he said. “I’m grateful that Commissioner [of Education Richard] Corcoran and his team at the Department have conducted such a thorough vetting of these textbooks to ensure they comply with the law.”
- Florida still believes they’re going to educate their kids the best. Florida Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran said: “We’re going to ensure that Florida has the highest-quality instructional materials aligned to our nationally-recognized standards. Florida has become a national leader in education under the vision and leadership of Governor DeSantis. When it comes to education, other states continue to follow Florida’s lead as we continue to reinforce parents’ rights by focusing on providing their children with a world-class education without the fear of indoctrination or exposure to dangerous and divisive concepts in our classrooms.”
- The Department of Education has accused textbook manufacturers of trying to be slick. They take issue with publishers trying to slip in social justice lessons and are having none of it. “It is unfortunate that several publishers, especially at the elementary school grade levels, have ignored this clear communication and have attempted to slip rebranded instructional materials based on Common Core Standards into Florida’s classrooms,” the department said. “While others have included prohibited and divisive concepts such as the tenants of CRT or other unsolicited strategies of indoctrination – despite FDOE’s prior notification.”
