Public education has long been a battleground in America, from the Scopes trial to desegregation to climate change. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis recently called for greater control over public education and student bodies under the guise of “parental rights,” and to encourage conformity and non-judgmental thinking, public It fuels this conflict by rejecting the importance of learning as a benefit of
As a historian of fascism and fascist education in Italy, I am disturbingly familiar with the movement to wield greater power over education. Ignoring the damage, efforts to limit the information available to students in important ways reflect fascist ambitions and threaten the very democratic foundations that their supporters claim to defend. increase.
History shows that such efforts harm us all.
Last summer, lawmakers in Florida enacted two laws limiting access to information in public education. The first is the Stop Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees, or the Stop WOKE Act, which allows people to “same race, color, gender, or national origin.” The Act, formally the Parents’ Rights in Education Act, prohibits “classroom instruction” regarding sexual orientation or gender identity through fourth grade.
Several other bills passing through the Florida House and Senate are designed to further stifle critical thinking, debate, and the broader awareness of the society in which we live. Examples include a broader ban on “classroom instruction” (or recognition) of non-binary gender identity and sexual orientation. Legally define “gender” as binary and “immutable”. Remove all sexual health education from the elementary and secondary school curricula.
Critics, including academics and politicians, have condemned such measures not simply as a symptom of America’s “culture wars”, but as plainly “fascist”. I am often frustrated by the way things are applied uncritically instead of ‘things’. Nonetheless, highlighting the similarities between DeSantis’ ambitions and those of fascist dictator Benito Mussolini exposes a common threat to democracy.
Central to the fascist political strategy was the expansion of state control over public and private life under the guise of popular support and public interest. Mussolini could have legally been appointed Prime Minister of Italy in 1922, but by 1927 all political parties had either been banned or absorbed into his Fascist party. In the Ministry of Education, Mussolini appointed nine ministers in his 21 years. He was the only five to have ever taught, but more importantly, all but one (who resigned after six months) were devoted party members who largely dissented Mussolini’s directives. I mean, it didn’t.
DeSantis has not eliminated dissenting parties from the Florida legislature, but has used the governor’s immense, constitutionally-recognised influence over the education system to eliminate dissenting voices. As in a dozen states, the governor appoints all members to school boards. Under this system, members are not asked about their educational background or work history. As evidence, Florida’s current school board includes only three lawyers, one doctor, two managers, and he’s one teacher (who was appointed in March). yeah.
Another similarity to fascism related to prioritizing loyalty over training is the targeted sidelines of experts and the outright rejection of contradictory viewpoints. As Mussolini consolidated power in his 1920s, he placed increasing restrictions on school curricula (and public discourse) until the regime announced the development of a national textbook created by a handful of party followers. I was. These texts favored a fascist ideology and prioritized content that fit into a pseudoscientific worldview, including Mussolini’s revival of ancient Roman glory. The racial superiority of Italians and their right to invade a sovereign kingdom. A woman’s national duty to become the mother of a future soldier. And, later, the racial inferiority of the Jews.
Similarly, DeSantis’ call to censor content by pretending to revert lessons back to “facts” ignores the findings of those entitled to clarify those “facts” unless they support a desirable narrative. increase. This lack of expertise is doubly dangerous for students and democracy. First, it means that a minority of people rely on their personal priorities for their child’s education to determine the school curriculum for every student. Our reliance on individual perspectives, as well as research and expert knowledge, increasingly merge faith and science, memory and history, dogmatism and truth. Second, they are unwilling to provide subject-appropriate material developed by experts who introduce students to new ideas, which limits their ability to assess the reliability and accuracy of sources. Moreover, challenging one’s own experiences and confronting evidence-based material that presents different perspectives develops citizens who can use information from a variety of sources to best solve society’s problems. essential for
Just as fascism promotes an idealized and entirely fabricated Italian race, Florida’s curriculum decisions aim to mold students in the image of a small fraction of our country’s population. I don’t think the behavior has reached the level of Italian fascism under Mussolini, but there are very real parallels that are very dangerous. DeSantis’ continued efforts to focus power and focus to “protect” Floridians from views that are offensive or simply dissimilar further the principles of open debate and collective responsibility that underpin democracy. can erode.
But to focus solely on Florida and DeSantis is to ignore a larger problem in American public education. By doing so, you avoid homegrown roots and minimize outright danger. From the public school system’s chronic underfunding to its defiant book bans to its oversimplification of our nation’s past, Florida’s laws lament knowledge and ridicule academic inquiry for its own sake. and just the latest in a long history of attempts to discourage intellectual curiosity. among our children and the American people. As a nation, we overemphasize the role of public education in training students to be “successful” (as defined in economic terms), and we do not rely on information with critical thinking and reasoning skills. It neglects to create a society of connected citizens.
Becoming part of a democratic republic that embraces a pluralistic society requires diverse views and an informed assessment of them. Avoiding disagreement, controversy and offense, as Florida’s new law requires, is not only a child’s ability to evaluate and articulate arguments, but also our ability to see the world as it is. It also hinders ability. After all, whether you call it fascist or not, that’s the biggest danger.
This is an opinion and analysis article and the views expressed by the author or authors are not necessarily Scientific American.
