SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — When Gov. Ron DeSantis announced a new civics curriculum proposal for Florida classrooms, Seminole County middle school teacher Steve Kornya was watching.
What You Need To Know
- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis proposes new civics curriculum in state
- DeSantis wants to use federal pandemic funds to pay for developing it
- The governor cited "unsanctioned narrative" and pointed to critical race theory
- RELATED: US as “a Place to Love” Drives Florida Civics Education Bill
“The state of Florida has a very good civics course that focuses very strongly on the fundamentals, and all students take it,” according to Kornya, who teaches seventh-grade math.
But now DeSantis wants to double the state’s efforts — outlining a civics curriculum proposal that would incorporate foundational concepts. The proposal calls for about $17 million of federal pandemic funds to go toward developing the new civics curriculum and more than $16 million to train educators. The proposal also includes a $3,000 bonus for teachers who would complete the civics training program.
“A high quality education begins with a high quality curriculum, which is why we’re going to be laser-focused on developing the best possible civics instruction standards,” DeSantis said.
The governor went on to say the curriculum would not include what he calls an “unsanctioned narrative” and pointed to critical race theory, which he says has no place in Florida classrooms.
“Teaching kids to hate their country and to hate each other is not worth one red cent of taxpayer money,” DeSantis said.
The new proposal sounds like a solution in search of a problem, Kornya said. Florida schools already have a robust civics curriculum, leaving out critical race theory, Kornya said.
“It’s not part of the curriculum,” Kornya said. “It’s not going to be part of the curriculum because, again, the Department of Education hasn’t put this into our curriculum, and teachers aren’t teaching it.”
According to Rollins College philosophy professor Dr. Eric Smaw, critical race theory “simply teaches people to analyze their state institutions from the perspective of race.”
Critical race theory includes thoughts about institutionalized racism on opposite ends of the spectrum, Smaw said. Some have extreme ideas, and others are more in the middle, he said.
“I think it’s always best to take on these issues, with well-trained teachers and professors who can deliver the information to the students in an appropriate way,” Smaw said.