Anonymous wrote:Ever since Glenn Youngkin squeaked to victory on a bad-faith platform that exploited suburban fears about public schools, Republicans everywhere have been adopting the playbook. Yell about “parental rights” and attack the phantom CRT menace. Lambast “equity” programs, especially if commitments to those can be juxtaposed against changes to academic programs that are tailored to higher-achieving students like honors classes.
Obviously we all know beyond being a cynical attempt to win elections, the real agenda behind this attack on education is to dumb down the future electorate since poorly educated people tend to vote more conservative. It’s also about trying to redirect taxpayer dollars to fund public schools to for-profit companies that run charter schools and also to religious-based private schools.
In Florida, Ron DeSantis has taken it a bit further and, in the name of protesting “liberal indoctrination” at post-secondary education (something that doesn’t actually exist, like CRT being taught in grade schools, but the dumbed down and frightened electorate doesn’t grasp this) but deliberately doing things like trying to turn a public school into a bastion of right-wing, reactionary education (see what’s happening at the New College).
But this has all gone completely meta now. Even as Republicans complain that the focus on equity in K-12 is resulting in things like honors programs being emphasized, DeSantis (whose policies and rhetoric are copied as much as Youngkin’s) is planning to do with AP courses IN THEIR ENTIRETY in Florida high schools. Because they’re too woke or something.
https://www.tampabay.com/news/education/2023/02/18/4-things-know-about-ron-desantis-idea-slash-ap-courses-florida/
Make it make sense.