Using the online sample material provided by the publisher to the Florida school district, the New York Times was able to review 21 rejected books and determine why the state rejected them. It’s unclear if these examples led to the rejection, as Florida has released few details about the textbook review process. However, they do show how these concepts appear (or do not appear) in curriculum materials.
Most books rarely touch on race, so don’t worry about academic frameworks like critical race theory.
However, many textbooks contained social and emotional learning content. This is a practice with roots in psychological research and helps students develop a mindset that can support their academic success.
The image below is from marketing material provided by Big Ideas Learning, a primary textbook rejected by Florida, which is one of the common ways teachers are trained to think about social and emotional learning. is showing.
The circular diagram shows the five core skills students should develop: self-awareness, self-management, responsible decision-making, social cognition, and relationship building. This framework was developed by CASEL, an educational non-profit organization.
Until recently, the idea of building social and emotional skills was fairly indisputable in American education. Studies show that students with these skills get higher test scores.
However, right-wing activists such as Chris Rufo, senior researcher at the Manhattan Institute, have sought to link social and emotional learning to a broader debate about racial, gender, and sexuality education in the classroom.
In a March interview by e-mail, Rufo said that social and emotional learning sounds “positive and indisputable” in theory, but “in reality, SEL is critical. It acts as a mechanism for providing radical education such as racial theory and gender deconstruction. “
“SEL’s intent is to soothe children at an emotional level and reinterpret their normative behavior as an expression of” oppression, “” whiteness, “or” internalized racism. ” Is to rewire their actions to: Directs the ideology of the left wing. “
Rufo also raised concerns that teachers “need to act as psychologists and are incapable of doing so” for socio-emotional learning.
Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida, in his view, spoke more generally about social and emotional learning as a distraction from mathematics itself.
“Math is to get the right answer,” he said at a press conference on Monday, adding, “it’s not about how you feel about the problem.”
Stephanie M. Jones, a developmental psychologist and expert in social and emotional learning at Harvard School of Education, opposed.
“Emotions always happen, when we work in the office, and when our kids are learning things,” she said. “It makes sense to tackle and wrestle with those emotions in order to be more effective in what we are doing.”
Relieve math worries
Many rejected textbooks encourage students to think about their feelings. In McGraw Hill’s fifth grade book below, students reflect their feelings about the subject and how math skills can help them enjoy their hobbies and achieve their goals at the beginning of the school year. I am encouraged to write a “biography of mathematics”. ..
“A math biography is a way to help children,” said Professor Jones. “If we can highlight uncertainty and anxiety about something, there is a fair amount of evidence that it is easier to work on it and manage it.”
She added that the teacher was able to read the biography and find out which students needed additional support.
Some McGraw Hill pages contain socio-emotional prompts that have little to do with math problems, such as the following example in a fifth grade book. Under ordinary math problems, students are asked, “How can you understand your feelings?”
Give students a “growth mindset”
Some of the theories related to socio-emotional learning are deeply ingrained in popular culture and the world of business. Some of the most popular are the concept of a “growth mindset” developed by Carol Dweck of Stanford University and the closely related concept of “grid” developed by Angela Duckworth of the University of Pennsylvania.
These theories could attract more criticism from the left than from the right. Some educators praise the field of socio-emotional learning for behaviors related to white middle-class culture, for example to grow in poverty, or for many students to work hard academically. Race, language, and class that can be difficult.
Understand the debate over critical race theory
Conservative education professionals, on the other hand, often praised efforts to teach “personality,” a concept that largely overlaps with social and emotional learning.
Textbooks rejected by Florida are full of references to personality traits such as patience and cooperation. The publisher Savvas Learning Company’s first-year textbook (formerly known as Pearson K12 Learning) repeatedly mentions the importance of “hard learning,” “learning together,” and “growth mindset.” increase. Throughout the book, cartoon children appear next to the page to remind students of these thoughts:
High school books are also drawn from these concepts. The geometry textbooks rejected by the publisher Study Edge below encourage students to rate 1 to 4 in math to “try new things” or “do their best when something is difficult”.
Accelerate Learning, a Houston-based company, has approved more primary math textbooks in Florida than any other publisher. Sample materials show that texts tend to have less explicit references to emotions and emotions, but some activities emphasize the importance of students’ attitudes and attitudes towards mathematics.
Over the past year, social and emotional learning has been criticized as Republican activists have increasingly focused on what they call an excess of progressive education.
In June 2021, the Florida Department of Education sent a note to a math textbook publisher advising not to include “social and emotional learning and culturally sensitive education” in the material.
Timothy Doller, director of teacher leadership at Northwestern University, calls it “short-sighted,” and research shows that incorporating social and emotional learning into textbooks helps students learn social skills. Said showed.
“When we ask 100 CEOs what skills they need for new employees, the top five skills are about social and emotional learning, not algebra,” he said.
“Are you a good person to talk to? Will you be a good colleague?” Dr. Doller added. “The best way to teach it is to combine it with math, social studies, etc.”
Race and diversity
Despite its importance, Professor Doller said that social and emotional learning is involved in discussions on critical race theory. A critical history of American race.
“SEL has nothing to do with critical race theory, yet it has to do with local school board levels, local communities, and national dialogue,” he said.
Publishers have often taken care to include ethnically diverse names and food textbooks such as empanadas, but there are few mentions of race throughout these math textbooks. However, this rejected McGraw Hill pre-algebraic textbook, shown below, contained a mini-biography of a mathematician throughout history. Almost all of them were women or people of color.
In a statement, Savvas said, “We will work with the Florida DOE to resolve perceived issues,” stating that it is common for publishers to revise their materials to meet state standards. rice field. Other companies said they didn’t want to comment until they had time to consider why their book was rejected. The publisher has 21 days to appeal a decision under Florida law.
Vincent T. Forese, president of Tampa-based publisher Link-Systems International, has submitted a curriculum of three high school math subjects that were rejected for reasons unrelated to social emotional learning and critical race theory. did. Announcement that the book was rejected.
“I don’t know what the value proposition of making such an announcement is other than its political value,” he said.
Audio generated by Adrian Hurst..