(TruthAndLiberty.com) – On Wednesday, Florida’s Board of Education approved new standards for Black history instruction within the state. The rules faced immediate backlash as many have claimed that these mark a step backward for the state.
According to the controversial guidelines, all lessons on race needed to have an “objective” viewpoint and should not attempt to indoctrinate or convince pupils of any specific viewpoint. Previously the state had also blocked a pilot Advanced Placement high school course that was focused on African American studies claiming that it was in violation of state law which would require any classes to provide educational value.
The new standards for the instruction of African American history set “benchmark clarifications” and guidance for the teachers. In one of these standards, teachers are instructed to talk about how slaves had developed skills and what benefits those had to their personal lives. A different benchmark noted that there should be instruction on violent acts perpetrated by and against African Americans during lessons about the destruction of Black communities in the Reconstruction period.
The statewide teachers union along with the Florida Education Association blasted the administration for these new standards, pointing out that the standards adopted for teaching African American history are a confirmation of the fears that educators expressed during the signing of the Stop Woke Act.
Andrew Spar, who is the association’s president also noted that students will not be allowed to be ready to face the future if they are not given the full picture about their background. He added that DeSantis was pushing forward a political agenda that was going to put people against one another and would harm the children in the state.
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