Last week, Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis said not just no, but hell no to the curriculum for College Board’s pilot AP African-American Studies (APAAS) course. In doing so, he said, he was rejecting Critical Race Theory education in public high schools.
And, in a shocking turn of events, he was right to do it. Check out National Review’s piece for proof:
Wait till you read what's in this course. https://t.co/E4Yvr3ubFu
— Brit Hume (@brithume) January 23, 2023
There’s some very, very bad stuff in that curriculum, and it’s pretty clear that its chief intent is not to educate students about African-American history.
Of course, woke leftists are purposely glossing over that fact in order to shame DeSantis and anyone who opposes the APAAS curriculum as right-wing racists. Woke leftists like Florida Democratic State Rep. Angie Nixon, who is using DeSantis’ opposition as evidence of some deeper, far more sinister conservative agenda:
I think it’s important to highlight that yes DeSantis is attacking Black history in schools, but what’s even worse, he’s seeking to defund and bankrupt the entire public school system. He’s using these attacks on Black curriculum as a distraction for something more insidious.
— State Rep. Angie Nixon (@AngieNixon) January 22, 2023
He’s pitching this as school choice. I believe in choice, but not at the expense of our public schools. It’s going to allow anyone that goes to private schools, many of which have discriminatory practices, anyone that wants their kids to homeschool, to be eligible for thousands.
— State Rep. Angie Nixon (@AngieNixon) January 22, 2023
Narrator: Angie Nixon does not believe in school choice.
Her Twitter thread is quite extensive, but in the interest of saving time, we’ll cut straight to her conclusion:
We ARE NOT getting a successful return on our investment. Be cognizant of this when they prop these Black & Brown private schools up and say they’re saving our babies. BC the reality of it is, they ain’t. Many of them are failing them, only for the PS to come in and save em.
— State Rep. Angie Nixon (@AngieNixon) January 22, 2023
But y’all know it’s all by design. Why would they educate our babies when they make more money on them in private prisons! This is the school to prison pipeline folks. And it’s real. And Ron DeSantis is rushing it in at an alarming rate.
— State Rep. Angie Nixon (@AngieNixon) January 22, 2023
Thanks for that, Angie.
And now, for a saner take on public school education in Florida. This one comes courtesy of Twitter @just_mindy, who has graciously taken it upon herself to comb through Nixon’s tangle of tweets and tease out everything that’s wrong with it. And there’s plenty that’s wrong with it.
So as a certified teacher in Florida and a parent of a public school student in Florida, I’d like to spend some time debunking this thread of falsehoods funded by Randi Weingarten’s Union dollars. Let’s get it…. https://t.co/wS7IU5IEgw
— Just Mindy 🐊 (@just_mindy) January 23, 2023
First of all, tax dollars are set aside to educate students in Florida. Those dollars are not to support failing institutions and government buildings with zero accountability. For decades, we’ve been told they are “fixing” education. They don’t. Times up. pic.twitter.com/hTh7FPZqDB
— Just Mindy 🐊 (@just_mindy) January 23, 2023
Rep. Nixon says she believes in “choice” but not at the expense of public schools. Well, then you don’t believe in choice. You believe in parents using their own money to send their kids to a different school while the government schools fail kids. We refuse. pic.twitter.com/tyQawx9jks
— Just Mindy 🐊 (@just_mindy) January 23, 2023
Stating “the money is coming from public schools” is interesting framing. Actually the money is coming from tax payer dollars and public schools are a recipient of those dollars. The money belongs to the state to distribute to qualifying institutions to educate children. pic.twitter.com/MnnNV2Oxix
— Just Mindy 🐊 (@just_mindy) January 23, 2023
Currently most school choice options have limited seats or are income tested. The goal is to open up choice to more families. Every school isn’t a fit for every child. There are some schools of choice specifically created for populations with exceptional needs. No 1 size fits all pic.twitter.com/jfes31CRjm
— Just Mindy 🐊 (@just_mindy) January 23, 2023
I’m not going to get into the weeds of studies and results (there are plenty showing schools of choice outperform public schools) but at the end of the day, parents are in charge. Shoddy curriculum? Parents can withdraw kid. Bad teacher? Parents can take the dollars. Period. pic.twitter.com/z2HVJUNCC1
— Just Mindy 🐊 (@just_mindy) January 23, 2023
If Rep. Nixon were really interested in the “school to prison” pipeline, she would want to give students stuck in failing schools options. She doesn’t. She wants them stuck with no alternatives while wealthy parents have options. Period.
— Just Mindy 🐊 (@just_mindy) January 23, 2023
Because, again, Angie is lying when she says she believes in school choice.
Finally, if government schools are doing an amazing job and this is all propaganda by DeSantis, why are parents desperate to get out of those schools? Because the schools are so wonderful and successful? pic.twitter.com/HDqWmLVLLe
— Just Mindy 🐊 (@just_mindy) January 23, 2023
So funny how school choice opponents are never willing or able to get into that, isn’t it?
My own child who is a Junior in high school takes advantage of open enrollment in our district. She chose a magnet health academy and she could go there even if we moved. All kids in my county have that option. Public Schools can innovate like this to attract students.
— Just Mindy 🐊 (@just_mindy) January 23, 2023
Competition is good FOR EVERYONE! It forces public schools to set up and design programs to attract students. Schools of choice offer different options, often smaller class sizes. No one size fits all.
— Just Mindy 🐊 (@just_mindy) January 23, 2023
If @RepNixon is interested in advising public schools on how to survive, she should tell them to stop allowing teachers to use their classrooms as their personal political pulpit, stop emphatically SEL nonsense and focus on the basics and cut bloated admin funding.
— Just Mindy 🐊 (@just_mindy) January 23, 2023
She won’t do that though because then the Union won’t finance their campaigns. The Union is for the benefit of teachers specifically, never your student.
— Just Mindy 🐊 (@just_mindy) January 23, 2023
Ding, ding, ding!
I’m fired up so one last thing. The same politicians who call for disbanding the police and taking their funding because “they’re not meeting community needs”, want us to funnel dollars to public schools when they are failing our communities. Funny that.
— Just Mindy 🐊 (@just_mindy) January 23, 2023
What can they say? Teachers’ unions are a helluva drug.
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