I am a teacher of young minds. Students look to teachers for guidance in the world they will be entering in to and I try very hard to make sure they can see all sides of discussion and make logical choices using the information they are given. All the information.
In Florida today, history teachers are really treated like second class citizens. If you need to put something in school about character, have the history teachers do it. What about Flag Day and Veteran's Day. Yep, those are also included in history classes, even when you don't teach American History. Each year there is something else inserted in to history classes on top of everything else the state of Florida wants us to cover.
Social Studies has 653 standards that our lessons are supposed to cover. 653 plus all those other things we are supposed to include. These standards are divided in to American History, Civics and Government, Economics, Financial Literacy, Geography, Humanities, Psychology, Sociology and World History. They run the gamut of things students should learn. One of my standards for World History: SS.912.W.4.15 Explain the origins, developments, and impact of the trans-Atlantic slave trade between West Africa and the Americas. There are 13 related courses and 3 related access points.
DeSantis,has spent weeks ridiculing teaching "critical race theory" which examines the role race which race has played in shaping American history and modern society. Huh? Cancel history? Cancel what we all grew up watching happen or experiencing it? What, are we stupid?
According to DeSantis, we are supposed to be teaching them the basics and let them decide for themselves? Are you kidding me? Students are much more attuned to what has happened in the United States than many adults are. They understand that if we do not address these issues which are confronting the country, they may lose what little bit of power they have.
This comes after other boneheaded rules which are supposed to begin this next school year including teaching how the Electoral College cannot be eliminated and should not be eliminated. No discussion of how it has come to a vote several times and why. No discussion about what happened. Just don't teach that.
Oh, and Civics needs an adjustment. Having the students take Civics in middle school and then an EOC, (end of course exam) which they must pass to go to high school. Now let's require seniors to take another American Government class, which they must pass to graduate. Does anyone think this repetition is going to help the students? I hate to break it to the politicians but this is going to cause they students to really hate school.
How about you let teachers teach? How about you stop putting all these new, required caveats in place which do not help students and simply create more busy work for teachers, who struggle now to find time for planning?
The politicians think they know education and by trying to use their office as a bully pulpit to push forth an agenda which continues to dumb down our students, teachers have to work twice as hard to keep the students on track. I am disgusted with the state of Florida at this time, particularly the Governor and the Education Commissioner.
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