Yahoo Sports Florida Middle Schoolers Will Now Be Taught That Slavery Had ‘Personal Benefit’ for Enslaved People
New academic standards slammed as "a big step backward" will require teachers to instruct that enslaved people "developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit"
Newly approved academic standards from Florida’s Board of Education will require middle schools to teach that enslaved people "developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit" — a line that has ignited significant controversy among teachers' groups.
The standards, which were approved Wednesday, come in response to the state's 2022 "Stop WOKE Act," which stated that race must be taught in "an objective manner" that does not "indoctrinate or persuade students to a particular point of view." The measure pushed far-right lawmakers' rhetoric that teaching Black history makes White people feel ashamed, instructing that no student should be made to feel "guilt" or "responsibility" for actions previously committed by members of the same race.
According to the new education guidelines, middle school teachers must now teach students about "the various duties and trades performed by slaves (e.g., agricultural work, painting, carpentry, tailoring, domestic service, blacksmithing, transportation)." A benchmark clarification listed in the standards includes the note that teachers should also instruct that enslaved people developed skills, "in some instances... for their personal benefit."
Another guideline directs teachers to instruct high schoolers about “acts of violence perpetrated against and by African Americans” when teaching about the rebuilding of Black communities during Reconstruction. The standards list the 1920 Ocoee Massacre, in which more than 30 African Americans were killed by a White mob while attempting to vote, among the examples of "acts of violence perpetrated against and by African Americans."
According to the Florida Education Association (FEA), a statewide teachers' union, several organizations and individuals spoke in opposition to the proposed standards in a public hearing Wednesday, and asked the board to table the standards until they could be revised. But, "when public comment ended, the board voted to adopt them. There was no discussion," the FEA wrote on Twitter.
In a press release sent immediately after the standards were adopted, the FEA called them "a big step backward."
"How can our students ever be equipped for the future if they don't have a full, honest picture of where we've come from? Florida's students deserve a world-class education that equips them to be successful adults who can help heal our nation's divisions rather than deepen them," FEA president Andrew Spar said in the release.
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In its release, the FEA also noted that the new standards require students to be taught to "identify" famous African Americans including Rosa Parks and George Washington Carver, but does not include any requirement that they learn who those individuals were.
"Evidently in an attempt to protect students from wokeness, these new standards will make sure that, through the fourth grade, elementary school students' knowledge of African American history doesn't extend beyond being able to know who a famous African American is when they see them," the release states.
The approval of the new standards around how children learn about slavery comes after the administration of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis rejected a new Advanced Placement course on African American history in January, saying in a letter that the course "lacks educational value and is contrary to Florida law."
"In the future, should College Board be willing to come back to the table with lawful, historically accurate content, FDOE will always be willing to reopen the discussion," reads the letter, which was sent to the College Board from the Florida Department of Education Office of Articulation.
According to TIME, the course covered more than 400 years of African American history and is the College Board's first new offering since 2014.
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The move is the latest in a long string of attempts by DeSantis, who formally entered the 2024 presidential race in May, to reshape education in his state — either via legislation or through his re-shaping of school boards themselves.
DeSantis has dominated headlines since assuming the office of governor, particularly when it comes to his focus on education.
Perhaps the most controversial of DeSantis' moves governing education has been his vocal support of the so-called "Don't Say Gay" law.
The "Parental Rights in Education" bill — which first took effect last July and has since been expanded — blocks the discussion of certain LGBTQ+ topics (like gender identity and sexual orientation) in elementary, middle and high schools.
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DeSantis was also a proponent of the "Stop WOKE Act," which prohibited teaching certain concepts related to race. In his January inauguration speech, DeSantis slammed what he called "philosophical lunacy" in schools, saying: "We must ensure that our institutions of higher learning are focused on academic excellence and the pursuit of truth, not the imposition of trendy ideologies."
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