Ron DeSantis claims Florida is teaching 'real history' as school censorship laws take effect
As the controversial "Don't Say Gay' law goes into effect in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) recently expressed concern about what he believes to be an attempt to "distort history" although he and Republican lawmakers in his state have moved to silence truth.
On Friday, July 1, the Republican governor delivered a speech about the newly-enacted law as he criticized other regions of the country. "What we've seen in different parts of the country is to try to distort history as a way to pursue an agenda here in the present day. We have said that that is not appropriate in the State of Florida, and so you're learning the real history."
DeSantis' remarks come as other Republican-led states have also made attempts to enact similar laws. In Texas, an educational advisory group has proposed abdicating the word "slavery" from educational tools and replacing the term with "involuntary relocation." Already, that proposal is facing blowback as State Board of Education Member Aicha Davis shared her opinion with The Texas Tribune.
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According to Davis, referring to slavery as “involuntary relocation” is “not going to be acceptable.” The Tribune also emphasized: "Part of the proposed social studies curriculum standards outlines that students should ‘compare journeys to America, including voluntary Irish immigration and involuntary relocation of African people during colonial times.'”
The latest outlandish push to rename slavery follows Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's signing of the SBC law" which per Dallas Morning News, “prohibits teaching certain concepts about race.”
\u201c.@GovRonDeSantis: "What we've seen in different parts of the country is to try to distort history as a way to pursue an agenda here in the present day. We have said that that is not appropriate in the State of Florida, and so you're learning the real history."\u201d— The Hill (@The Hill) 1656680460
Further dabbling into the education stratosphere, DeSantis has also joined former U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos' push to privatize public schools in the state of Michigan. However, recent developments suggest his support of Devos has very little to do with education. Back in April, it was reported that over the course of the last four years, DeSantis' campaign had received nearly $500,000 in campaign donations from the DeVos family.
DeSantis' education track record also includes a number of other disturbing facts. The Republican governor also faced backlash and ridicule for his misplaced attack on Critical Race Theory (CRT). Also in April, the Florida governor's Department of Education issued a press release, titled “Florida Rejects Publishers’ Attempts to Indoctrinate Students," banned where it was announced that "41 percent of all math books in grades K-12, including a whopping 71 percent of books in grades K-5."
Many have criticized the governor for pushing certain agendas for political gain while neglecting real issues that matter.
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