Education is not indoctrination Commentary – Orlando Sentinel

Our education system has flaws like many other institutions. Unfortunately, however, ignoring historical context and accommodating political agendas in higher education tends to diminish the need for inclusivity and fairness in institutions as diverse as the subjects taught and the people learning.

Many people are now familiar with the latest support for Governor Ron DeSantis HB999, the latest legislation proposed by Florida Rep. Alex Andrade. Key features of this bill include provisions that prohibit universities from spending state and federal funding on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. In addition, it authorizes boards of trustees of public universities to review and remove pedagogical methodology for programs including, but not limited to, critical race theory, race studies, feminist theory, gender theory, queer theory, or intersectionality, many DEI programs.

DeSantis’ position is that canceling these programs will ostensibly prepare students for STEM careers after college. He believes this is better for the country with increased accountability in the higher education system for faculty members.

However, for DeSantis to say this is new legislation It encourages the “requirement of a solid educational foundation that discourages ideological indoctrination” and is exceptionally short-sighted due to the history of our education systems and workforce. In higher education, we promise higher education in our learning environment, but let’s be honest, we need help to ensure it.

Contrary to popular belief, the sixties were not from time immemorial: people still live from those times. Movements such as the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 Prevent our diverse workforce from discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, and national origin. Regardless of political affiliation, addressing inequality and protecting marginalized classes, ethnic groups, and genders should not be referred to as a political candidate. a perceived filter that encourages radicalization of political affiliation; Instead, addressing inequality serves as a standard to ensure we comply with a standard that enforces anti-discrimination laws.

However, conservative lawmakers, including Gov. DeSantis and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, feel DEI programs reinforce discrimination in the workplace and higher education against whites. Gardner Butt, Abbott’s chief of staff, said these initiatives violate the law Because they “explicitly favor some demographic groups over others”. Although he never mentions which groups are favored by DEI programs, we can assume that he is referring to marginalized groups as defined by DEI programs.

As a political moderate and independent with conservative and liberal views, I believe Pat’s statements are misleading. Even surface-level research clearly shows that there is more evidence that we lack diversity in higher education and the workplace. In Florida, DeSantis’ administration requested data from colleges and universities across the state regarding race-specific DEI-related programs and courses, and asked employees to “Reporting how much money they’re using on things like DEI and critical race theory programs[برامجنظريةالعرقالنقدي[criticalracetheoryprograms. “

As someone who supports DeSantis on many initiatives, I think HB999 is offensive and unfortunate, especially from a minority perspective. I still feel the need to pay more attention to many roles when my CV proves my professional and educational qualifications. The evidence is from personal experience and research, such as the one conducted by Kimberl Crenshaw, shows that white women benefit more from affirmative action. Then nepotism in high education and the workforce She continues the “Good Boy” network where less-than-qualified white men often receive high-ranking positions.

DEI is in demand in our society today. This gap between entry-level positions is particularly noticeable in higher education, where the shortage of professors of color does not reflect the students they teach. From 2022, 42% of undergraduates are white, 39% are a minority, and 17.8% are unknown. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, NCESAs of 2020, nearly three-quarters of the faculty is white. 39% were white males, and 35% were white females. The next group was of faculty from Asia/Pacific Islands: 7% were male and 5% female. Finally, 4% of full-time faculty members were black females, and 3% were black males, Hispanic males, and Hispanic females. The elimination of interactive education programs, mostly from learning environments, is likely to increase the need for more variety. To address these persistent problems, we must counter the conservative backlash against DEI rhetoric that willfully misrepresents and misreads these programs and theories by lumping anything DEI or race and gender into one interconnected bucket.

DEI is not a political candidate but a standard to ensure that we not only learn about DEI in the learning environment but also to comply with a standard that enforces anti-discrimination laws in education and the workforce.

Karvis C. Dorr is a Teaching Assistant and Ph.D. Student at University of Central Florida. He is a member of the Scholars Strategy Network.