The Florida Board of Education’s newly-passed Black history standards are drawing the ire and reproach of numerous education advocates and civil rights organizations.
On Wednesday, the board approved a sweeping new set of criteria for teaching Black history in Florida’s K-12 schools as Gov. Ron DeSantis and his constituents continue a statewide campaign to drastically shift social studies education and related curricula.
The standards impose language that dampens the uglier and more inhumane parts of slavery, appearing to make the historical occurrence more palatable for instruction. For example, the standards include statements like “slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.”
That note appears in a section pointing middle-school Black history courses to “examine the various duties and trades performed by slaves (e.g., agricultural work, painting, carpentry, tailoring, domestic service, blacksmithing, transportation).”
The passing of these new standards comes after the board banned instituting an AP African American Studies in high schools earlier this year, claiming the course “significantly lacks educational value” and challenged Florida law.
The Florida Education Association, the state’s teachers’ union, called the standards a “disservice to Florida students and a big step backward.”
“How can our students ever be equipped for the future if they don’t have a full, honest picture of where we’ve come from,” asked Andrew Spar, president of the Florida Education Association. “Gov. DeSantis is pursuing a political agenda guaranteed to set good people against one another, and in the process, he’s cheating our kids. They deserve the full truth of American history, the good and the bad.”
While the state’s education commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. says the standards are wide-ranging and comprehensive, advocacy groups aren’t convinced, believing that…
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