The Crusade Against Truth, Facts, and Education
Photo via AP
SAM SMULYAN: DeSantis is basing his case to be president on his ability to stoke the fear and anger of the Republican base. Rather than elevate the national discourse, he has chosen to cater to the worst instincts in our society.
He has made classrooms in Florida his battleground and truth his enemy. He is attacking teachers and censoring information that students should learn. He is banning books and demonizing the accumulation of knowledge. Why? Because DeSantis believes that feeding into a heated culture war is his ticket to becoming the Republican presidential nominee in 2024.
The outright bans and restrictions on information in classrooms highlight DeSantis’ authoritarian abuse of power.
The “Stop WOKE Act” was one of many bills DeSantis and his Florida legislators passed in order to censor topics within classrooms. It was designed to combat “woke indoctrination” in Florida, according to the Florida State Legislature. In other words, prohibiting the discussion of any topics related to race, sex or nationality that could upset children or cause them to feel responsible for historic wrongdoings.
Good teaching should never make a child feel responsible for the atrocities that occurred in the past. If a problem ever arose on the basis of these topics, it would not be the material, but the way a teacher presented the information.
Regardless, we have a responsibility to teach younger generations about our past. Not everything learned in classrooms is pleasant, but it is essential in forming a better understanding of our nation's history.
Additionally, House Bill 999, also known as Public Postsecondary Educational Institutions, is the most recent dystopian measure taken by DeSantis. Proposed on February 21 and updated on March 15, the bill aims to bar Florida public colleges and universities from offering majors or minors related to gender studies, critical race theory, or “intersectionality.” It also prohibits diversity, equality, and inclusion programming and any promotion of campus life that embraces “woke ideology,” according to ACLU.
“We are not going to let this state descend into some type of woke dumpster fire. We’re going to be following common sense, we’re going to be following facts,” said DeSantis during a press conference in August.
It’s hard to see the logic in Florida’s banning of the AP African American Studies course. If he really cared about the facts, he would be more concerned with how education in Florida is rapidly deteriorating. According to the National Association of Education, as of 2021, Florida ranks second lowest in the country when it comes to paying teachers.
Additionally, Florida has been experiencing an embarrassing drop-off in performance between the fourth and eighth grades according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress. While the state ranks third in the nation for fourth-grade math, eighth-grade test scores ranked 31st in the nation. Maybe instead of banning books, censoring topics, and attacking Mickey Mouse, DeSantis could start taking actual measures to improve the Florida educational system.
This is not the kind of leadership America needs. Stoking anger and fear instead of tackling serious problems is a recipe for societal disaster.
Sam Smulyan is a guest contributor for On the Record. She is originally from Indianapolis, Indiana, and is a freshman in the College of Arts & Sciences majoring in American Studies and minoring in Philosophy. In her free time, she enjoys watching the Indianapolis Pacers and Colts along with reading about military history.