By Mikayla Silcox
Elm Staff Writer
As his time in office is moving forward, Governor Ron DeSantis, R-FL, is moving the state backwards not only with his policies like the Don’t Say Gay bill, but by restricting literature and education in schools.
Educators are now threatened with felony charges if they do not remove books deemed inappropriate by the new state-approved reading list.
Parents and the local public are now allowed to help select books to get rid of. The number of books being taken away is exponential and school boards are even tasked with reviewing the content of libraries.
“I’m past being angry about school districts banning my book. Now I’m just incredibly sad for the students. If we don’t help young people learn about and confront the painful mistakes America made in the past, how can we ever hope to progress?” Author of “Unstoppable: How Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team Defeated Army,” one of the 176 books banned in Duval County Public schools, Art Coulson said.
Coulson is the author of “Unstoppable: How Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team Defeated Army,” one of the 176 books banned in Duval County Public schools.
The 1982 Supreme Court case Island Trees School District v. Pico set the book banning precedent, stating that school officials can remove books only if it’s inappropriate for children, according to the First Amendment Encyclopedia.
There is a difference between inappropriate works and those that teach kids about harsh or difficult, yet necessary topics.
“Trying to erase history does not make the truth of the matter go away. It just makes the lack of information and the lies we’re being fed all the more obvious,” Sophie Kerr Scholar in Residence and English Professor Andy Nunn said.
Through his endeavors, including the deletion of AP African American History from Florida schools, DeSantis is attempting to shield children from undeniable events simply because he ‘does not like the ideas,’ which goes against the last Supreme Court case proceeding.
Schooling is an important way to ensure students receive correct information about sensitive societal and political subjects.
“The problem is the initiative is on the individual and there is so much bad information out there. Assigning material in a classroom setting is still the best way to compel students to learn diverse perspectives that I know of,” Professor Nunn said.
In an academic setting, children are able to learn and discuss discriminatory parts of history and social issues of the present.
The common theme with banned books is not the violence people are trying to keep out of their children’s hands. If that was the case, books like “The Hunger Games” would not turn into a major movie franchise. Books are banned when they deal with real issues that privileged parents want to shield their children’s eyes from.
All kids can benefit from learning about poverty and disability from “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” or racism in “Huckleberry Finn.”
Through readings on these intense, yet real, subjects, kids can learn to empathize with the struggles of others.
Kids may also go through these difficult situations in life, and if they are reading about them in school, they may have a better understanding of their life.
Nowadays with the Internet, this information is easily accessible to children. Yet by implementing this learning in schooling, teachers have the ability to monitor this, and guide students to view these issues in a reflective and impactful manner.
Without learning from history, it is destined to repeat itself, and arguably, through his anti-progressive intentions, DeSantis is hoping for just that.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Photo Caption: Florida governor Ron DeSantis is looking to regulate and ban specific books in schools, as well as remove the AP African American Studies course in schools.
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