'They insult us in an attempt to gaslight us': Harris torches Florida’s new 'anti-woke' education standards
Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday impassionately decried Florida's new educational standards that took effect on Wednesday which Republican Governor Ron DeSantis enacted to combat what he views as "woke" indoctrination.
The updated policies are "backed unanimously by the state Board of Education" and "encompass the controversial 2022 law regulating how race can be taught in Florida schools — something that was specifically sought by the Republican governor and presidential contender. Board members and state officials defended the updated curriculum that they say touches on the 'darkest' parts of US history against charges by opponents, including the state's largest teachers union, that the changes are an attempt to 'whitewash' what students are learning," Politico's Andrew Atterbury noted.
"The state tweaked its history curriculum to match the so-called Stop WOKE law that takes aim at lessons over issues like 'white privilege' by creating new protections for students and workers, including that a person should not be instructed to 'feel guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress' due to their race, color, sex or national origin," Atterbury explained. "The law specifically requires schools to teach about how freedoms have been infringed by sexism, slavery, racial oppression, racial segregation and racial discrimination — and be delivered in an 'age-appropriate manner.'"
The country's first Black woman vice president was having none of it.
"Extremists pass laws that target our friends and neighbors because of who they are and who they love, and at this moment in our country, we just witnessed the United States Supreme Court strike down affirmative action, give businesses the right to discriminate, and deny debt relief to millions of Americans with student loans," Harris said.
"Amen," voices in the audience rang out.
"All the while, these same extremists in most cases refuse to pass reasonable gun safety laws to keep our children safe. And speaking of our children, extremists pass book bans to prevent them from learning our true history — book bans, in this year of our Lord 2023. And while they do this, check it out," Harris continued. "They push forward revisionist history. Just yesterday in the state of Florida, they decided middle school students will be taught that enslaved people benefited from slavery. They insult us in an attempt to gaslight us and we'll not stand for it. We who share a collective experience in knowing we must honor history and our duty in the context of legacy. There is so much at stake in this moment."
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- College Board won’t change AP courses to comply with DeSantis' anti-education law ›
- White House 'won’t allow' DeSantis success in lawsuit against Department of Education: report ›
- Florida law targets education unions that Ron DeSantis says 'defied the state' ›
- Little Rock Nine members condemn Arkansas Department of Education’s 'attempts to erase history' - Alternet.org ›
- Making sense of Florida’s nonsensical history curriculum - Alternet.org ›
- DeSantis’ laws 'set the scene' for racist Jacksonville shooting: professor - Alternet.org ›
- DeSantis’ school voucher program gives parents taxpayer dollars for PlayStations and paddleboards - Alternet.org ›
- Florida’s new 'Christian' standardized test is how conservatives 'shove religion in public schools': analysis - Alternet.org ›
