Six days after rejecting dozens of math textbooks over fears of “illegal” content, the Florida Department of Education quietly released several examples Thursday that it found undesirable.
One element of algebraic expressions called polynomials is, “What? I? Racist? More than 2 million people have tested their racial prejudices using the online version of the implicit association test. It continues to provide mathematical models that measure deviations.
The Florida Department of Education has identified this issue as an “illegal” issue in math textbooks set for 2022-23. [ Florida Department of Education ]
Lea Mitchell, director of leadership and training for schools in Pasco County, said she could see how this type of question could lead to a heated conversation in her community.
However, she reacted differently to another example given by the state. It states that one of the goals of the numbering lesson is to “build students with social awareness skills while practicing empathy with classmates.” The goal was entitled social and emotional learning.
“It would be good for me, really, really,” Mitchell said. She suggested that helping students stand up for themselves and feel confident in their work and other goals is necessary and positive.
Socio-emotional learning refers to strategies for teaching students how to manage their emotions, develop empathy, solve problems and make decisions. This was one of two “forbidden topics” cited by the state on April 15 as part of the rationale for recommending that school districts not use dozens of math textbooks.
The other unwanted topic was “critical racial theory,” an academic term that Governor Ron DeSantis and others have adapted for their own use as they discuss social and historical issues related to race that they believe are accusatory and divisive.
In a disclaimer on its teaching materials page, the education ministry said members of the public had complained about the questions during a two-week commentary period in January on the proposed math books.
“These examples do not constitute an exhaustive list of information received from the department,” the statement said. “The department continues to enable publishers to address any deficiencies identified during the review to ensure that the widest selection of high-quality teaching materials is available to school districts and Florida students.”
The state needs to provide more examples and explain them, said Morgan Polikoff, an associate professor at Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California who studies state standards and textbooks.
“It is not clear what the problem is that (the books) have been canceled,” he said. “This does not answer any of the questions I had before. If nothing else, this raises additional questions. “
Keep an eye on what’s going on in Tampa Bay schools
Subscribe to our free newsletter
We will analyze the development of local and state education, which you should know every Thursday.
You are all registered!
Want more of our free weekly newsletters in your inbox? Let’s start.
Explore all your options
The published questions are not clearly related to any of the books on the list of countries with rejected titles. It is not clear what grades the books were written for.
By providing a small number of items that are probably the most impressive available, Polikov said, the department avoids responding to major criticism.
The department came under fire from skeptics who questioned whether any of the 54 rejected books contained insulting material that Governor Ron DeSantis and others claimed appeared in it. Publishing the materials Thursday, the department aimed to counter critics who accused Republican leaders of creating controversy to push through a political agenda.
Related: Florida has yet to explain why it rejected math textbooks
As part of their initial announcement, DeSantis and his team say textbook publishers are working together to indoctrinate children. The accusations puzzled many teachers, not to mention the publishers who were caught unprepared by the action.
On April 15, the department sent two single-line emails to publishers. The first warned them that the list of approved math textbooks was published online, and the second advised them that they could appeal the decisions if they wished. Some publishers, including Savvas and Big Ideas Learning, said they intend to seek additional reviews from the state.
Related: Here are the math textbooks that Florida rejected because of unwanted topics
Meanwhile, several Florida school districts are reviewing titles they have already adopted or plan to approve, based on a state announcement. They are not required to purchase books from the state-approved list, but can only use half of their state funding for teaching materials for non-state-listed items.
• • •
Sign up for the Gradebook newsletter!
Get the latest updates on what happens in schools in the Tampa Bay area every Thursday times Education Reporter Jeffrey S. Solocek. Click here to register.
Add Comment