Florida teachers told to remove books from classroom libraries or risk felony prosecution
popular.info
Teachers in Manatee County, Florida, are being told to make their classroom libraries — and any other "unvetted" book — inaccessible to students, or risk felony prosecution. The new policy is part of an effort to comply with new laws and regulations championed by Governor Ron DeSantis (R). It is based on the premise, promoted by right-wing advocacy groups, that teachers and librarians are using books to "groom" students or indoctrinate them with leftist ideologies.
I can't imagine being a parent and considering moving to Florida and sending my child to a public school. Perhaps free states that are vying for new businesses and more jobs should begin promoting their states' support for free speech and intellectual curiosity.
We'd lived in Florida for a number of years; my husband the longest, as he was finishing his 30 years working in one of the city departments. ( I'd had enough of Florida & it's hurricane evacuations; moved up to Georgia, bought a home & took a new position near Atlanta.)
I read him your story this morning and he, looking disgusted, said, "Glad we got out when we did. Welcome to Nazi Germany folks. Hopefully they'll vote this DeSantis guy out of office. "
People who vote for people like this with dictatorship like tendencies, appeal to some people, who not only admire control on some level, but like to be controlled, unconsciously or not. Some perhaps think it brings a certain order ( safety) to their lives & life in general imo. But the thing with people like him, he has a certain populist appeal to a certain group, for a time. But these folks also tend to made edicts by whim over time. I think it appeals to an inner need for power. Narcissists with strong sociopathic tendencies ( like 45) feed off of this & the more they get, the greedier they get. (Wait until he starts attempting to have the content of your TV news limited, or goes after newspapers that critique his policies. ) Yes, it will be challenged in the courts as unconstitutional. But meanwhile, people like this & governments (local, state or national) create chaos for folks; while they make their best attempt to exercise their stifling, repressive, policies. (And i have to wonder if he thinks the large population of seniors in Florida have their own concerns to deal with daily. As they have no children any longer at home, no skin in the game, they wont push back. )
As we recall with trump & his administration, chaos reigned...daily.
So we have another governor with macheavelian tendencies, twisting truth & limiting one's personal application of COMMON SENSE, by placing limits on EVERYONE'S freedoms. Not allowing parents to take some responsibility in making their own judgements for THEIR OWN CHILD'S education. It means you dont have to think about it. But what they see, hear, experience on the streets when they're not home, is another matter.
A, "ONE SIZE FITS ALL EDUCATIONAL" strategy tends to lead to mediocrity, a deadening of enthusiasm, creativity & the soul, dare I say, imo. When teachers must teach in an atmosphere of fear; you tend to have the best & brightest, the most inspiring, leave the field. What you have left, are often the uninspiring, unenthusuastic & " dull;" happy to plod around the ring on a lead.
But you can bet, an expensive private education bought for the children of wealthy community leaders & the elite, will be free of many of these restraints. Someone's got to be " groomed" to think critically, or at least to aspire to the trappings of power; to be leaders of industry, political office and mind the docile sheep.
This is such a travesty. They talk about cancel culture on the left but this is exactly what it is on the right. So very sad to see our country going to hell in a hand basket.
Florida is in a race to the intellectual bottom with several other states. Their economies are destined to deteriorate with their children's educations.
This has been going on for a while in places like Gainesville, Texas. The Holier-Than-Thou, racist hypocrites ban literature like, “The Help.” Their egos are bruised by knowing others have correctly seen through their ignorance, their lack of sophistication, their inability to think critically and their tendency to latch onto people they perceive as “stronger” than they are . . . Rather like cows.
The future of the Floriduh Republican Party, and the Trump Cult known as the National Republican Party, depends on their ability to keep people ignorant and unable to compete in the 21st century. Banning books at the elementary level is the first step. We I a teaching, I would build a bookcase with clear but lockable doors and proudly fill it up with books banned by DeSantis and his thugs. I would add little labels that spoke to why they were banned. Any kid over about third grade will quickly understand. And because the books are inaccessible, Floriduh Intelligence Kops would have no recourse.
This is easy for me to say, so excuse me for suggesting it. What if all the teachers in Florida went on strike? Would that finally arouse the non nut job parents to rise up and say enough? I don't believe these "Moms for Liberty" are in the majority even in that state.
Any parent objecting to a book should be required to fill out a form with a 500 word summary of the book and a list of specific passages that "violate" the regs, and why. The forms should be onerous enough to deter trolls, and require a nominal processing fee of say $5 or $10 each. A small price to pay for "liberty", right?
What's especially galling about this "movement" is that it ignores the rights of parents who want their children to read widely and learn about others. It's time THOSE parents stepped up.
Nazi Florida…..so sad…. I won’t be vacationing there any time soon! I feel so sorry for those school kids! If I were a teacher in Florida I’d be packing my bags. Teachers are needed everywhere….go find a state that allows you to teach and appreciates your hard work. Thank god I’m retired from teaching. I could NEVER put up with this insanity!!!
1. Again where is the outrage by organizations like the Simon Wiesenthal Center? They should know book banning is only step 1.
2. If I would have to hire people I would really have a lot of doubt about anyone who has gone through todays Florida school system. I wonder about long term impact of these policies on Florida’s competitiveness in the job market.
I read these comments and people are all so resigned. There has to be someone in Florida willing to fight back or offer resistance. I wonder, is there no legal way to challenge this travesty?
One of the problems trying to stop this fascist behavior and many others is the result of Gerrymandering.
It is hard to evoke change when state legislatures are primarily Republican. Florida can't get Gaetz out of office, but neither could they defeat DeSantis nor Rubio in statewide elections.
The problem is the Florida majority vote for the people who promote book bans, threats to teachers and the list is long of other right wing ideals voted in to law.
This one sits in the lap of Florida voters and the future for education there is bleak
Why teach kids to read? Close the schools and burn the books. We need more Cotton pickers.
Better yet, lets just round up anyone who is darker skinned than DeSantis and send them straight to prison when they're born because that's what this is really about.
This type of thing will be happening more and more in the future. Red state governments are telling physicians how to provide medical care via mandated abortion restrictions. It's not really a stretch to say they won't trust teachers and librarians not to toe politically drawn lines defining state censorship standards.
I can't imagine being a parent and considering moving to Florida and sending my child to a public school. Perhaps free states that are vying for new businesses and more jobs should begin promoting their states' support for free speech and intellectual curiosity.
Guess the book ban won’t matter since half the kids can’t read anyway — let’s just keep them stupid (and voting for idiots) 🤯
Wow, welcome to the USSR. The GOP loves citizens to be uneducated and intolerant.
We'd lived in Florida for a number of years; my husband the longest, as he was finishing his 30 years working in one of the city departments. ( I'd had enough of Florida & it's hurricane evacuations; moved up to Georgia, bought a home & took a new position near Atlanta.)
I read him your story this morning and he, looking disgusted, said, "Glad we got out when we did. Welcome to Nazi Germany folks. Hopefully they'll vote this DeSantis guy out of office. "
People who vote for people like this with dictatorship like tendencies, appeal to some people, who not only admire control on some level, but like to be controlled, unconsciously or not. Some perhaps think it brings a certain order ( safety) to their lives & life in general imo. But the thing with people like him, he has a certain populist appeal to a certain group, for a time. But these folks also tend to made edicts by whim over time. I think it appeals to an inner need for power. Narcissists with strong sociopathic tendencies ( like 45) feed off of this & the more they get, the greedier they get. (Wait until he starts attempting to have the content of your TV news limited, or goes after newspapers that critique his policies. ) Yes, it will be challenged in the courts as unconstitutional. But meanwhile, people like this & governments (local, state or national) create chaos for folks; while they make their best attempt to exercise their stifling, repressive, policies. (And i have to wonder if he thinks the large population of seniors in Florida have their own concerns to deal with daily. As they have no children any longer at home, no skin in the game, they wont push back. )
As we recall with trump & his administration, chaos reigned...daily.
So we have another governor with macheavelian tendencies, twisting truth & limiting one's personal application of COMMON SENSE, by placing limits on EVERYONE'S freedoms. Not allowing parents to take some responsibility in making their own judgements for THEIR OWN CHILD'S education. It means you dont have to think about it. But what they see, hear, experience on the streets when they're not home, is another matter.
A, "ONE SIZE FITS ALL EDUCATIONAL" strategy tends to lead to mediocrity, a deadening of enthusiasm, creativity & the soul, dare I say, imo. When teachers must teach in an atmosphere of fear; you tend to have the best & brightest, the most inspiring, leave the field. What you have left, are often the uninspiring, unenthusuastic & " dull;" happy to plod around the ring on a lead.
But you can bet, an expensive private education bought for the children of wealthy community leaders & the elite, will be free of many of these restraints. Someone's got to be " groomed" to think critically, or at least to aspire to the trappings of power; to be leaders of industry, political office and mind the docile sheep.
This is such a travesty. They talk about cancel culture on the left but this is exactly what it is on the right. So very sad to see our country going to hell in a hand basket.
Florida is in a race to the intellectual bottom with several other states. Their economies are destined to deteriorate with their children's educations.
It's been said that democracy dies in darkness. Perhaps but it also dies in the sunshine of Florida.
This has been going on for a while in places like Gainesville, Texas. The Holier-Than-Thou, racist hypocrites ban literature like, “The Help.” Their egos are bruised by knowing others have correctly seen through their ignorance, their lack of sophistication, their inability to think critically and their tendency to latch onto people they perceive as “stronger” than they are . . . Rather like cows.
The future of the Floriduh Republican Party, and the Trump Cult known as the National Republican Party, depends on their ability to keep people ignorant and unable to compete in the 21st century. Banning books at the elementary level is the first step. We I a teaching, I would build a bookcase with clear but lockable doors and proudly fill it up with books banned by DeSantis and his thugs. I would add little labels that spoke to why they were banned. Any kid over about third grade will quickly understand. And because the books are inaccessible, Floriduh Intelligence Kops would have no recourse.
This is easy for me to say, so excuse me for suggesting it. What if all the teachers in Florida went on strike? Would that finally arouse the non nut job parents to rise up and say enough? I don't believe these "Moms for Liberty" are in the majority even in that state.
Any parent objecting to a book should be required to fill out a form with a 500 word summary of the book and a list of specific passages that "violate" the regs, and why. The forms should be onerous enough to deter trolls, and require a nominal processing fee of say $5 or $10 each. A small price to pay for "liberty", right?
What's especially galling about this "movement" is that it ignores the rights of parents who want their children to read widely and learn about others. It's time THOSE parents stepped up.
Nazi Florida…..so sad…. I won’t be vacationing there any time soon! I feel so sorry for those school kids! If I were a teacher in Florida I’d be packing my bags. Teachers are needed everywhere….go find a state that allows you to teach and appreciates your hard work. Thank god I’m retired from teaching. I could NEVER put up with this insanity!!!
1. Again where is the outrage by organizations like the Simon Wiesenthal Center? They should know book banning is only step 1.
2. If I would have to hire people I would really have a lot of doubt about anyone who has gone through todays Florida school system. I wonder about long term impact of these policies on Florida’s competitiveness in the job market.
I read these comments and people are all so resigned. There has to be someone in Florida willing to fight back or offer resistance. I wonder, is there no legal way to challenge this travesty?
Everyone should be in an uproar.
One of the problems trying to stop this fascist behavior and many others is the result of Gerrymandering.
It is hard to evoke change when state legislatures are primarily Republican. Florida can't get Gaetz out of office, but neither could they defeat DeSantis nor Rubio in statewide elections.
The problem is the Florida majority vote for the people who promote book bans, threats to teachers and the list is long of other right wing ideals voted in to law.
This one sits in the lap of Florida voters and the future for education there is bleak
Why teach kids to read? Close the schools and burn the books. We need more Cotton pickers.
Better yet, lets just round up anyone who is darker skinned than DeSantis and send them straight to prison when they're born because that's what this is really about.
This type of thing will be happening more and more in the future. Red state governments are telling physicians how to provide medical care via mandated abortion restrictions. It's not really a stretch to say they won't trust teachers and librarians not to toe politically drawn lines defining state censorship standards.