I have written about how my book was banned by the Johnstown Area Heritage Association in much the same way that Art Spiegelman’s was banned by a school board in Tennessee. I have also written about the message I received from Google about my blog posts on the Ukraine war. Now it’s math textbooks in Florida that are being banned because they supposedly discuss critical race theory (CRT). In the video above, the Lt. Governor of Florida and Fox News talk about why this ban is a good thing with no examples of why these books were banned.
In this video, reporter Judd Legum discusses his review of some of the textbooks that were banned. His group found no discussion of CRT or Social and Emotional Learning (SEL). Now SEL is seen by many on the right as synonymous with CRT. Why these things are a bad thing is beyond me.
CRT is a college level theory to study racism in institutions. SEL is intended to teach children the emotional skills to better relate to one another. The fact that many on the right cannot distinguish between the two suggests the need for more education of parents as well as children in critical thinking.
As an educator of statistics, I can tell you that it is always better to have teaching examples that students to which students can relate. African American and Hispanic students often lag behind white students in math achievement. These are important skills not only for balancing one’s checkbook but for critical thinking in a variety of areas.
None of the skills learned in school are learned in a vacuum. What is taught in one subject area spills over into the others. Governor Ron DeSantis (who is hoping to take on former President Trump in 2024) emphasized “education not indoctrination” to justify the banning of books and his “don’t say gay” bill.