Recently public organization Florida Citizens’ Alliance drew public attention to the books used in Florida schools. Members of the organization examined 60 school textbooks and found that they are full of political propaganda, the imposition of religious belief, the disputed historical facts, and generally distort the values and principles of today’s youth.
Therefore, activists have created a bill that would allow parents and any other residents of the state to challenge the use of textbooks and teaching materials that they consider undesirable by holding an independent judicial hearings.
One of the founders of the Florida Citizens’ Alliance, Keith Flo believes that many of the textbooks downplay the importance of individual freedoms and contribute to the formation of dependence on the Federal government and what he calls «the mentality of the nanny-state».
Activists see school books and other issues, including how some textbooks describe Islam and interpret the themes of evolution and climate change.
According to Flo, a law signed by the Governor on June 26, aims to provide a balanced view of scientific theories. For example, some argue that evolution should be viewed not only from the standpoint of Darwinism, but also from the standpoint of creationism, because both of these approaches are theories. However, from a scientific point of view, a theory is something supported by facts and experiments. Cell theory, theory of gravitation and the theory of evolution — all this is based on well-tested explanations of aspects of the natural world.
Under the new law, the school district continues to reserve the last word. However, some fear that the law will lead to the fact that teachers, for the sake of avoiding large-scale conflict, will only superficially touch on controversial topics and to give students knowledge in full.
Currently, the Department of education of Florida is developing recommendations for school districts on how to comply with the law. The Association of school councils state that the problems with textbooks adopted by the schools of Florida will be much more.
