Protecting children in Fla

[stephenpe]

More from dickheadsantis...........protecting our children with his enlightened sense of censorship (calling it Making Fla FRee)

I'm a Florida teacher who's been forced to cover up the books in my classroom. Here's why I'm suing Ron DeSantis.

Don Falls teaches high school social studies in Manatee County, Florida. Courtesy of Don Falls.© Provided by Business Insider

• This year, a new law in Florida requires that all books in public schools be vetted for children.
• High school social studies teacher Don Falls said he covered up his books to comply with the law.
• He shared with Insider an account of what it's like to be an educator in Florida right now.

Insider's Yelena Dzhanova spoke to Don Falls, who teaches high school social studies in Manatee County, Florida. The district recently began implementing a new Florida law requiring all books in a public school to be vetted by a trained media specialist. Many teachers, including Falls, chose to cover un-vetted books in their classrooms rather than remove them.









Full screen







Falls is lead plaintiff in a lawsuit against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis over the Stop WOKE Act, which was passed in 2022 to "fight back against woke indoctrination." Falls hopes to block the law on first amendment grounds.
[COLOR=var(--neutral-foreground-rest)]
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The Stop WOKE Act is one of several laws passed recently aiming to restrict teaching on race and gender in Florida. Earlier this month, DeSantis also blocked the teaching of AP African American history in the state.
Falls said the new legislation makes it harder to teach, and that Florida may lose educators as a result.
This transcript has been edited for clarity.
This year I'm teaching government and economics. I've taught just about every subject in social studies over the course of my 38-year career. I love teaching. And I love it every day.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis openly said in his swearing-in inauguration that this is the state where woke goes to die. And so he has made it his goal to do everything he can to stop what he perceives as a woke ideology that's prevalent, particularly in schools.
It's all fabricated. If you know anything about education, you know that that doesn't really exist on any scale and in schools, especially in Florida. But that's what he campaigned on. That's his base, and so he has continued to push those things.
The latest change is a sweeping act of legislation that requires all public schools to go through a vetting process for their books. The books have to be reviewed by a trained media specialist or librarian to make sure they're appropriate for children.
So, last week, I, an educator of Manatee High School in Bradenton, Florida, got a memo that gave me three choices: I could pack up all the books from my classroom, cover them up, or run them through their vetting process.
If I chose to go through with the last option, I'd have to get approval for them to remain on my classroom shelves.



But of course dickhead knows better than a teacher of 38 yrs......... (We gotta inspect your subversive wokeish indoctrinating Marxist books.............)

[Chris]

More from dickheadsantis...........protecting our children with his enlightened sense of censorship (calling it Making Fla FRee)

I'm a Florida teacher who's been forced to cover up the books in my classroom. Here's why I'm suing Ron DeSantis.

Don Falls teaches high school social studies in Manatee County, Florida. Courtesy of Don Falls.© Provided by Business Insider

• This year, a new law in Florida requires that all books in public schools be vetted for children.
• High school social studies teacher Don Falls said he covered up his books to comply with the law.
• He shared with Insider an account of what it's like to be an educator in Florida right now.

Insider's Yelena Dzhanova spoke to Don Falls, who teaches high school social studies in Manatee County, Florida. The district recently began implementing a new Florida law requiring all books in a public school to be vetted by a trained media specialist. Many teachers, including Falls, chose to cover un-vetted books in their classrooms rather than remove them.









Full screen







Falls is lead plaintiff in a lawsuit against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis over the Stop WOKE Act, which was passed in 2022 to "fight back against woke indoctrination." Falls hopes to block the law on first amendment grounds.
[COLOR=var(--neutral-foreground-rest)]
"Game-Changer" for Americans in Debt: 0% Interest Until 2024








The Stop WOKE Act is one of several laws passed recently aiming to restrict teaching on race and gender in Florida. Earlier this month, DeSantis also blocked the teaching of AP African American history in the state.
Falls said the new legislation makes it harder to teach, and that Florida may lose educators as a result.
This transcript has been edited for clarity.
This year I'm teaching government and economics. I've taught just about every subject in social studies over the course of my 38-year career. I love teaching. And I love it every day.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis openly said in his swearing-in inauguration that this is the state where woke goes to die. And so he has made it his goal to do everything he can to stop what he perceives as a woke ideology that's prevalent, particularly in schools.
It's all fabricated. If you know anything about education, you know that that doesn't really exist on any scale and in schools, especially in Florida. But that's what he campaigned on. That's his base, and so he has continued to push those things.
The latest change is a sweeping act of legislation that requires all public schools to go through a vetting process for their books. The books have to be reviewed by a trained media specialist or librarian to make sure they're appropriate for children.
So, last week, I, an educator of Manatee High School in Bradenton, Florida, got a memo that gave me three choices: I could pack up all the books from my classroom, cover them up, or run them through their vetting process.
If I chose to go through with the last option, I'd have to get approval for them to remain on my classroom shelves.



But of course dickhead knows better than a teacher of 38 yrs......... (We gotta inspect your subversive wokeish indoctrinating Marxist books.............)

Don Falls looks like a dickhead, I agree with you.

[Chris]

DeSantis is motivating the legislature to create these laws. That’s called leadership. I know that in some circles leadership goes unrecognized.

That is true. For that I give him much credit.

[Tahuyaman]

That is true. For that I give him much credit.

DeSantis is indeed a strong leader.

[FindersKeepers]

Indoctrination is an interesting word. Might be more concerned with parent and media influence in that realm ("media" includes social media).

Adolescents tend to consider the source, at least on a subconscious level, and value information differently. A lifelong influence of parents and family has the power of longevity and proximity. Social media has the power of being what adolescents choose to view and listen to. A high school teacher for 4-5 months in one class? Probably not going to cause some massive change in anyone.

And, it's an AP class to boot. That means it isn't a required class.

AP students--my eldest son was one--are not sponges for indoctrination. They typically dominate the Debate/Forensics team and they're not the sort to complacently sit while someone introduces something questionable. They'll challenge it. And any teacher will have to be on their toes.

To me -- teaching a class like this isn't going to hurt the type of students that qualify to take it. We're talking Juniors or Seniors who have already tackled all the basic history and social studies courses and need to be challenged.

If a parent finds the course controversial--by all means--opt the student out.

But a governor usurping the parents' role? That doesn't sit well with me. Perhaps at an elementary or middle school level, but high school AP students? That's regressive, in my opinion.

The problem is that we've become too partisan and too many people will back a partisan figure rather than thinking for themselves.

[Peter1469]

For those who believe Advanced Placement (AP) classes are great it should be pointed out these began in earnest in the 1970's with the forced integration of schools, especially in the South. These school districts were run mostly by Democrats and the Advanced Placement class was a method of keeping black kids out of better, and more pertinent, classes. The vast majority of AP classes were more than predominantly white. AP classes were nothing more than a ruse to keep schools segregated. It absolutely must be noted that these classes were overwhelmingly controlled by white Democrat school officials.

Today we see the AP classes, once again run by Democrats segregating by race (how many white parents do you think will allow their children to be indoctrinated with an anti white education?)

AP courses can also be a disadvantage in college if your future plans depend on a very high GPA (lawyer, doctor). AP course credit doesn't count for GPA, and you are better off taking the course in college for an easy A.

[Peter1469]

Most college students are adults--18 years old or older, so worries of grooming don't really apply. Adults can make their own decisions.

This is grooming, and this nearly always happens within the confines of religion.

We are talking about HS AP courses.

[FindersKeepers]

We are talking about HS AP courses.

I know, and I think parents should be able to make the decisions about whether their Juniors and Seniors are ready for controversial classes that are typically taught in college.

It's not like elementary or middle school kids are involved.

It's AP so it's not a required class. Let the parents decide--they know their children far better than any governor.

[Peter1469]

And, it's an AP class to boot. That means it isn't a required class.

AP students--my eldest son was one--are not sponges for indoctrination. They typically dominate the Debate/Forensics team and they're not the sort to complacently sit while someone introduces something questionable. They'll challenge it. And any teacher will have to be on their toes.

To me -- teaching a class like this isn't going to hurt the type of students that qualify to take it. We're talking Juniors or Seniors who have already tackled all the basic history and social studies courses and need to be challenged.

If a parent finds the course controversial--by all means--opt the student out.

But a governor usurping the parents' role? That doesn't sit well with me. Perhaps at an elementary or middle school level, but high school AP students? That's regressive, in my opinion.

The problem is that we've become too partisan and too many people will back a partisan figure rather than thinking for themselves.

If you are going to teach a political theory course, don't call it history.

[FindersKeepers]

If you are going to teach a political theory course, don't call it history.

They could call it a Social Studies class. We've all had taken those classes.