August 16th 2023.
Florida's new education policies are causing a lot of distress and confusion amongst teachers. Richard Judd, a social studies teacher at Nova High School in Broward County, expressed his worry and uncertainty: "I don't know how to approach the year. There's a lot of different ways you can get in trouble. And that's what's so insidious about these policies."
The changes include how schools teach African American history and topics surrounding the LGBTQ+ community, sexual relations, and more. In early August, Hillsborough County Public Schools announced students will only be allowed to read excerpts from William Shakespeare’s plays after new laws restricted classroom materials from content that can be deemed sexual.
Any book in a classroom must now be deemed appropriate by a librarian or a “certified media specialist”. This has left teachers feeling less confident in their lesson plans. Richard Judd said it's difficult to work without "clear-cut definitions".
In response to the changes, a group of protesters have taken a stand. In Miami-Dade County, “teachers, students, community members, and Teamsters” marched to the Miami-Dade school board headquarters on August 16th. They were particularly concerned about the state’s new standard to teach middle school students “how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.” As close to 20% of the students in the county are Black, they felt the phrase was "disgusting" as it attempted to "soften and whitewash history".
The state is now facing a teaching crisis as there are 6,920 advertised vacancies for teachers statewide. It's clear that the new policies have added more stress and confusion for teachers and students alike.
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