Florida education leaders on Thursday approved a set of principles that would teach a conservative-backed vision of the United States.
The State Board of Education, which also approved social-studies changes intended to highlight ideological evils of communism, signed off on Florida becoming the first state to adopt the Heritage Foundation’s “Phoenix Declaration: An American Vision for Education.”
The declaration is a statement of principles described as fostering “a love of country,” teaching children to “seek the good, true and beautiful” and aiming for students to “achieve their full, God-given potential.”
Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas said the declaration establishes an “affiliation” with the Heritage Foundation and promotes what the board supports rather than what it opposes.
“We often call out what is problematic in education, pushing an ideology over indoctrination, whether that’s the instruction of sexual orientation and gender identity in elementary schools or divisive concepts like critical race theory and DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) that treats people differently based on the way God created them,” Kamoutsas said. “Well, this talks about what we want to see. We want to see parents empowered. We want to see curriculum, transparency, we want to see academic excellence in all of our students.”
The Washington, D.C.-based Heritage Foundation has a stated mission of building and promoting conservative public policies. Critics addressing the education board Thursday described the Heritage Foundation declaration as promoting indoctrination.
Marihelen Wheeler, a retired teacher from Alachua County, said the state should increase teacher pay before adding to their work.
“Talk to teachers about what you’re discussing now,” Wheeler said. “I don’t know how often you include teachers, but you’ve got to do it because you’re not going to be able to keep Florida teachers with this kind of addition to the teacher’s load.”
Board of Education Chairman Ryan Petty suggested the declaration can unite people and that “it’s important to be for something.”
“We shouldn’t allow ideologies to take over and replace their version of truth with objective truth,” Petty added.
The declaration lists a series of principles such as parents being the primary educators of their children and public education money always following the children.
The principles also call for:
— Schools to be fully transparent with parents.
— Schools to prioritize proven teaching methods “rooted in foundational subjects over fads or experimental teaching methods.”
— Education to be “grounded in objective truth, free from ideological fads,” while also being focused on “America’s founding principles and roots in the broader Western and Judeo-Christian traditions.”
— Students to be prepared for challenges and responsibilities of adulthood and taught “the whole truth about America — its merits and failings — without obscuring that America is a great source of good in the world.”
Also Thursday, the board approved new standards tied to a 2024 law (SB 1264) that requires instruction on the history of communism.
Among other things, students will be asked to compare the Communist Manifesto and the Bill of Rights; communist and socialist thought; the effects of anti-communists on American communism between 1917 and 1956; the harm done by communist espionage; and the roles of anti-communist politicians, including the late President Harry Truman, the late President Richard Nixon, the U.S. House Un-American Activities Committee, and the late U.S. Sen. Joseph McCarthy.
While at the Freedom Tower in Miami last Friday to mark Victims of Communism Day, Gov. Ron DeSantis said that while America won the Cold War, the communist ideology hasn’t gone away.
“It comes back and it’s repackaged, and they try to do it under various different banners. And so you have to understand what’s at stake here,” DeSantis said.
“I think it’s important to talk about it in a very clear eyed way, the destruction, the lives of 100 million dead at the hands of Marxism, Leninism,” DeSantis said. “But I think it’s also important that we just recognize the whole absurdity of it all, of the whole idea of communism and Marxism, Leninism.”
–Jim Turner, News Service of Florida
Samuel L. Bronkowitz says
Will they be mandating a statewide brown shirted uniform and will they be issuing knives to all children that can recite the 14 words?
Atwp says
Conservative backed vision of the USA. Very scary. Am sure nothing about African American achievements will be taught. Nothing about slavery, and lynchings will be taught. Am pretty sure all white achievements will be magnified and glorified. All people of color crimes will be magnified! All crimes of the white race will be blocked out or taught the whites were always the victims and over comers. We will see what happens.
Nephew Of Uncle Sam says
The Party that always points the finger at “indoctrination” is now the Party of Indoctrination, as well as the Party For Pedophiles.
JW says
Are we talking about education or indoctrination?
Is it going to address our declining democracy following the decline of communism and the changing world order?
Are we going to address the killing by judeochristian military nations, including our own civil war, the Vietnam war and most recently the Gaza war (funded by the US)?
I know America is a feel good society, nothing wrong with that. But we need to learn from historical mistakes otherwise we will repeat them as we do right now in many ways.
We are now going through another pandemic without recognizing it: the rapidly growing IGNORANCE pandemic fueled by AI which kills all critical thinking.
Pierre Tristam says
I’m thinking Pol Pot reeducation camps, part of the Alligator Al-Crapsize franchise.
Bo Peep says
Hooray lets educate our students with math, science, and literature and do away with the theme of things to hate about America and the need to accommodate all things weird and abnormal. We can accept but we do not have to believe.
Laurel says
I don’t know Bo Peep. I grew up in Florida, and got my education here, and I’ve never, in those decades, seen the one sided restrictions that I’m seeing proposed now. Not through the 50’s, not through the 60’s, not through the 70’s, and beyond, until this recent dystopian, current assault on public schooling. I commented earlier, that there was more respect for individual religion in the late 50’s than this is now. That is the truth. We learned math, and English, and science, and geography, and unlike recently, we learned civics and history. So what do you have against that?
Make yourself clear, please. Was history perfect? No. Columbus sailed the blue in 1492, but did not discover America. Our history was whitewashed enough. Do you want it moreso by the Heritage Foundation? Or, would you rather explain it with all its glory and blemishes? We tend to learn more from our blemishes.
We also do not want to turn our children into single-minded morons. We want them to think critically, and explore beyond our, personal teaching, right? Right.
Sherry says
@peep. . . speaking of things “abnormal”. . . isn’t it “abnormal” to have a “twice impeached, convicted felon, guilty sexual abuser” as President? I feel forced to believe trump is President, but I do not “accept’ him as “my” President!
Laurel says
We sit here while the beautiful State of Florida descends into the Dark Ages. So, now Joseph McCarthy is some sort of hero? Really? He was a destructive, nasty SOB who hurt a lot of innocent people! My God, people are stupid! I’m sorry, but it is true. Y’all can meet at the intersections of Charlie Kirk Road and the Jimmy Buffet Memorial Highway. How about the McCarthy Causeway? Florida continues to be the laughing stock of the country. Some heroes, we have.
Since when is only one way of thinking considered “freedom” here in the United States of America? “Transparent” my ass. The lying bastards. It all about controlling the masses. So very few people here are communists, and they have the right to be so. There is no threat, none whatsoever, of communism spreading here in the U.S.. That’s simply a scare tactic used to control people. The liars!
Florida is f**ked. If any of you are good with this, why don’t you take YOUR indoctrination crap and go home, please, and leave Florida alone. How about Guyana? You can surround your compounds with rifles.
Come here, boys and girls, let me think for you! We’ll turn you all into lovely, little Karoline Leavetts. You can be blonde, white and wear a doorknocker cross, and spew hatred. Stupid people.
check yourself says
Bo Peep– you left out history- that’s interesting. Why would you believe that learning all sides of history creates hatred of America? I think it should show the good, bad, and ugly. The horrible and tyrannical and unforgiving behaviors; but also those that have risen in the true nature of Americanism that we can overcome. Lord knows it takes centuries with steps gained and lost. The point is knowing is half the battle, knowing instills empathy and lends to making the world a better place for all, no matter who they are. That’s the equity via understanding, which leads to caring, which leads to change for the better, which leads to more people feeling included- like they are human and belong in their space. You’re flippant reply seems soaked in closed mindedness.
Atwp says
Increasing the pay for teachers sounds good, but under this administration is a long shot.
Atwp says
With this approval will they teach the truth about the white man’s demonic satanic actions against my African Americans. They say communism is so bad, lynching, raping, and burning my people is ok. Will they teach about the the word Mother F. Will they teach about butt breaking. Am sure all things white men did will be taught, nothing about the above statements. Just asking.
Deborah Coffey says
What part of “NO” don’t these NAZIS understand? No. No. No. No. No. Stand up to them, people! Call them. Protest. Write to them. Tell them NO!