By Mike Lednovich
The Nassau County School Board was unanimous in voting to deny Citizens Defending Freedom’s (CDF) objections to a world history textbook for grades nine through 12 classes in the upcoming school year.
Earlier this year, Jack Knocke, executive director of Citizens Defending Freedom (CDF), filed a formal complaint against the world history textbook approved by the Florida Department of Education and Nassau County School Board and published by SAVVAS Learning LLC.
On Thursday, the school board followed the recommendation of Hearing Officer Sharyl Wood, who issued a two-page advisory to the board denying Knocke’s objection.
“The objections were not due to students’ needs not being met nor students’ inability to understand the material. The stated objections cited Mr. Knocke’s personal opposition to the material based on political, philosophical, and/or religious ideology,” Wood wrote in her recommendation.
The recommendation also stated: “Materials and evidence submitted by Mr. Knocke did not define student needs nor show evidence of those needs not being met.”
Wood wrote, “It is reasonable to conclude that the book does provide ample means for students to understand the materials.”
During the meeting, Knocke again voiced his objection to the textbook.
“Citizens Defending Freedom is not a fringe group. We are local people and we are parents,” Knocke said. “Kids are God’s creation and we owe it to them to make sure they are being taught facts. You as a school board have an opportunity to accept or not accept a textbook based on the facts. You should do that very carefully. Because if you don’t do it today, it will be harder to do it in the future.”
During a May preliminary hearing on CDF’s objection, Knocke told school board members, “Today’s issue is a continuation of clean-up of woke, DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion), racist content in our public schools. Our objections relate to inappropriate, inaccurate, and non-scientific information being presented as scientific fact. We don’t want to confuse, manipulate or indoctrinate students with woke, social or political ideology.”
CDF took issue with the textbook teaching evolution over creationism as articulated in the Bible. CDF objected to the content overlooking Judeo-Christian beliefs.
During public comments, Margaret Weeks, a scientist, told school board members, “The truth does not need apologists or indoctrination. Our goal in education should be to teach our children how to think, not what to think. Teaching creationism with science undermines our children’s ability to engage in critical thinking. It’s not about differing viewpoints. It’s about maintaining educational integrity. Religion has its place in homes and in places of worship, but it should not replace evidence-based science in our schools.”
Why didn’t the first graph of this story say why the board rejected this ridiculous objection?
CDF took issue with the textbook teaching evolution over creationism as articulated in the Bible.
Knocke’s objection didn’t fly 99 years ago in a Dayton Tennessee trial (Scopes)……..it still doesn’t fly today.
I’m very proud of our school board today!
It’s about time a school board stood up for their values against these religious fanatics. So hypocritical that Knocke would talk about facts and indoctrination. Being a religious organization, CDF does not deal in facts, and their particular brand of Christianity are all about indoctrinating our children in their hateful and intolerant world philosophy. Makes you wonder what sins they are hiding from themselves to be so adamant about exposing the so-called sins of others.
Nassau County Schools are ranked at the top of the state, we have excellent teachers, trusted state-vetted curriculum and our students have been well educated for decades. Now we see an outside group (funded by a national right-wing organization) come to our county with a political agenda that would harm the educational system we have. This is a blatent political ploy — SHAME!!
Evolution IS a religion. Atheists want and need an alternative to the creation story, and evolution fits perfectly. None of us were around for either, so first-hand experience is not available. It takes faith to believe either. If one digs with an open mind, there is ample evidence for both. Closed minds don’t research, dismissing what they don’t believe as trivial. The question isn’t new. The answer is personal.
So glad that the School Board didn’t move Nassau County backwards a century. The Scopes Trial addressed this issue many years ago. Children in public schools need to be taught science, not religion.
What Mr. Knocke and CDF do not understand is that world history IS about wokeness, diversity and inclusion. Wokeness that slavery is wrong. Diversity which opened doors for people of all races and nationality to contribute to medicine, science and the arts. And inclusion which creates an American marketplace of over 360 million producers and consumers, the reason why the World Bank just recently said the exceptionalism of the U.S. economy is “powering the growth of the global economy.” Life is not a zero-sum game. When more people participate, everyone benefits.
Bravo, School Board! You are just what we need help keep our country from sliding back in time to the Dark Ages, which organizations like his want to happen. He would also probably want women to sit down and shut up. Thanks for this great decision.
This is a misleading article on the book objection presented by Nassau CDF. The objection was so much more than just on the theory of evolution being taught as a FACT. (and whatever you do believe….evolution is just a theory…as Bob stated in a previous comment.)
But of course…evolution/creation is the topic Mike chose to hone in on!
The book challenge was more about the book publisher, Saavas, pushing DEI, SEL and general wokeness throughout this book(paper and online)…and all the unknown online learning links.
But, you would actually have needed to attend the first School Board meeting to know this information…not just read Mikes biased fly by summary. (Did Mike even attend the first meeting?)
It’s all about our students…and parents need to know what their kids are learning. You can live in an “A rated” school district…and still have many issues in the schools…times have changed!
Go to google, and look at Saavas reviews for yourself…and you’ll need to go further into google than page 1 or 2. A deeper dive in to Saavas will be enlightening…