Florida sticks by social studies standard teaching ‘benefit’ of slavery

Critics, including Rep. Byron Donalds, urged the state to reconsider that language. And others criticized the state’s phrasing on crucial lessons surrounding the 1920 Ocoee massacre and the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, which are labeled as violence perpetrated “against and by” African Americans. “And that is a concern, as well as making sure that our students have a complete and honest history around both the African American experience and all experiences in our country.” Civics: In one change, the state is requiring students to learn about the influences of ancient Jewish traditions on the founding of the United States as a constitutional republic. One organization, the Florida Freedom to Read Foundation, claims the addition could lead to schools teaching about the Ten Commandments, and that standard is “mandating that teachers expound on the Founding Fathers’ Christian faith and how that might have played into their framing of the Constitution.” Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. defended how the state teaches civics during Wednesday’s meeting, saying students need to “understand clearly how the country was founded” and the issue is “not to be confused with religious freedom.” “We are not going to back away from the founding of this country and the principles that it was founded under,” Diaz said. These lessons are meant to lead students to “recognize terrorism as being politically or ideologically driven acts of violence.” Another change requires high schools to teach about the history of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, giving specific attention to the history of Japanese internment camps and the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II.