Ron's Gone Wrong, Con't

Twenty years from now, not only do I expect that Republicans like Ron DeSantis will have ended the Civil Rights era, but that the history of the Civil Rights era will no longer be taught in any public school, college, or university.

On March 9, at the Cocoa campus of Eastern Florida State College, the students in a U.S. Government class ended up having a free period. That’s because one of the students said that they were uncomfortable in the day’s lesson on civil rights.

A dual student at the college and Cocoa High School, 15-year-old Jacob Dailey was in the class. He walked in that day just as the professor was telling students that he’d have to cancel class.

“The topic was civil rights, no specific bit of it, just in general. As far as I’m aware,” Dailey said. “So the teacher basically had to cancel this class of about 20 students in total because of the student’s discomfort.”

He told WESH 2 that he was disappointed that he had to miss the class for a topic that was on the class schedule and required for his degree.

“I think that there could have been a better method of handling it, but the teacher’s concerns were valid I’d say,” Dailey said.

Jacob Dailey’s father Matt Dailey is a teacher at Cocoa High School. He said that he has heard good things about the teacher Josh Humphries. But he said, “If I have a student who is uncomfortable, I usually have backup assignments. ‘Hey, go to the library.’”

The leadership of the college is standing behind their teacher and pointed out that he has invited a variety of state and local political leaders to speak in his class.

In a statement to WESH 2, John J. Glisch, associate vice president at Eastern Florida State College, said: “Mr. Humphries is an excellent educator who regularly receives high grades in student satisfaction surveys. To avoid a disruptive situation, Mr. Humphries decided to cancel class early in what he believed was a prudent move. He is working with his supervisors on alternative ways to handle such potential problems to ensure future classes can continue.”

There is no word yet on when and how the lessons will continue.

 

Spoilers: they won't. Not in Florida. This will be banned across the state because all a student has to do is say "this makes me uncomfortable" and it's gone. They understand their assigned roles in making non-white classmates miserable, relegating history relevant to them as beneath the feelings of their white classmates. They know they can veto Black, Latino, Native history now, and they will expect to be able to use that veto power in the future outside of class, as well.

 

It's not coming back in Florida as long as Ron DeSantis and the GOP are in charge, and that will continue for years. Not in my lifetime, at least. And if we're not careful, it'll be gone from the entire country.