In a deep red Florida county, a student-teacher revolt shames the right(hurl alert)

Washington Post ^ | June 1st 2023 | Greg Sargent and Paul Waldman

[Ennis85]

By now, it’s obvious that the reactionary culture warriors who want to reshape American education are inspiring a serious liberal counter-mobilization in response. Remarkably, this backlash to the backlash is gaining momentum in some of the reddest parts of the country.

A raucous school board meeting in Hernando County, Fla., on Tuesday night captured what’s striking about this new phenomenon. The scene featured teachers pointedly declaring that right-wing attacks are driving them to quit, even as parents and students forcefully stood up on their behalf, demanding a halt to the hysteria.

“I have never seen such fear from my colleagues as I have seen in the last two months,” social studies teacher Victoria Hunt told the board.

The whole affair really put the culture-war-mongers to shame. Not that they’ll see it that way; as the meeting also showed, scenes like this — with maximum rage, fear, tension and suspicion surging between parents and educators — are precisely the outcome they want.

This county, north of Tampa, voted for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2022 by a 41-point margin. It’s where fifth-grade teacher Jenna Barbee recently enraged local enforcers of right-wing orthodoxy by showing her class “Strange World,” a Disney movie with an openly gay character. The Florida Department of Education is investigating whether she violated DeSantis’s “don’t say gay” law restricting classroom discussion of sex and gender.

Barbee is resigning, but she’s hardly the only one. At Tuesday’s meeting, local teacher Daniel Scott gave a moving speech, declaring that the climate of rage is driving him out

“I don’t feel that I can adequately provide a safe environment for my students anymore,” Scott said, denouncing the “draconian working conditions that are causing many such as myself to abandon this honored career.”

Meanwhile, Alyssa Marano, a math teacher who has resigned,

[Ennis85]

"rejected the oft-heard charge of LGBTQ indoctrination of students. “No one is teaching your kids to be gay,” she told the room. “Sometimes, they just are gay. I have math to teach. I literally don’t have time to teach your kids to be gay.”

Are they?

[BenLurkin]

” reactionary “

Only communists use that term.

[ConservativeInPA]

The scene featured teachers pointedly declaring that right-wing attacks are driving them to quit,

Good. Quit you eff’n failures.

[fieldmarshaldj]

It’s “reactionary” to oppose your child’s indoctrination and grooming into sexual perversions, according to the media.

[bk1000]

I think concerned parents should drive queers and communists out of the schools 100%. No exception. Once it’s known someone is queer they have to stay away from all children.
There used to be groups of concerned citizens who would deal with such. Perhaps that wasn’t such a bad thing.

[17th Miss Regt]

Yep. And see BenLurkin’s comment in post # 2.

[teeman8r]

and it is not reactionary to quit when asked just to teach the subject at hand and not gayness.

[uranium penguin]

There is no shortage of Ed graduates matriculating every year.

The issue for these people has always been finding full time positions.

Golden opportunity here!

Maybe this is the straw that can break the teacher’s union back in Florida!

Hire those quitting teachers with fresh grads. Hire them as non union. Make it a “right to work position”.

[Lurker]

“I don’t feel that I can adequately provide a safe environment for my students anymore,” Scott said, denouncing the “draconian working conditions that are causing many such as myself to abandon this honored career.”

So leave. And truth be told the only people “honoring” your career these days is the mutual masturbation society found in the teachers lounge.

L

[DaBroasta]

A third said the removal of books from classrooms is what’s really “indoctrinating students.”

I bet you can't find a copy of 'Fahrenheit 451' in the school library let alone in the home of this "student." Biden's diaper wipers at the WAPO must be working overtime to dig up tripe like this to attack Desantis.

[GingisK]

... ♫ Happy Trails to you, I hope we’ll not meet again ♬ ...

[goodnesswins]

The “normals” fighting back upsets the GIBLETS, eh?

[metmom]

The scene featured teachers pointedly declaring that right-wing attacks are driving them to quit,

Good. The problem solves itself.

[j.havenfarm]

Or the governor can do what he did with cops. Offer a bonus to teachers who don’t have purple hair and nose rings, just want to teach and are willing to follow the law, to move to FL and fill the vacancies

[Joe Brower]

“I don’t feel that I can adequately provide a safe environment for my students anymore,” Scott said.

Florida Freeper

I'm compiling a list of FReepers interested in Florida-related topics.
If you want to be added, please FReepMail me.

[Jan_Sobieski]

The scene featured teachers pointedly declaring that right-wing attacks are driving them to quit

Perhaps they wouldn’t be so paranoid were they not indoctrinating our children into Sodomy behind parent’s backs?

[Pox]

Excellent! The tactic is working if these scumbags are fleeing.

These whiners want to continue with the Status-Quo, and that is unacceptable.

[napscoordinator]

Teaching in Florida has always been difficult. Pay is low. A lot of schools have substitute teachers filling in at most schools. I’m sure they can continue that with teachers leaving for next years school year. 100 bucks a day for a teacher with a masters degree substituting is not bad. Full time teachers start around 30-40K.

[napscoordinator]

https://drive.google.com/file/d/14BdigYLVF6E7gW-DhftiT87ZY4xa-xOG/view

I’m sure they can find teaching jobs in other states that pay.

[17th Miss Regt]

That could help with the pay position and union affiliation. But how many of those Ed graduates come out of Ed schools as screaming radicals? You have to screen carefully to make sure your prospective social studies teacher is not a socialist studies teacher.