News/Education
By Michael Hernandez, 5-2-24
FERNANDINA BEACH, FL—Jack Knocke, Nassau County Executive Director of Citizens Defending Freedom (CDF), has filed an objection against the county school district re: the Savvas World History textbook up for adoption by the Nassau School Board. The Nassau County School Board is also considering the adoption of Savvas US History and Science textbooks. Knocke filed the textbook objection before the April 28 deadline. A public hearing on this is scheduled for May 20 (date keeps changing, so keep your eyes open).
A Citizens Defending Freedom press release (4/27) claims “several references to world history are inaccurate, misleading and confusing” and the textbook complaint was issued because of “specific textbook content, Savvas/Pearson Social Emotional Learning (CASEL.org) relationship, and Pearson alignment with Gender Spectrum Symposium and their family of transgender advocacy and indoctrination organizations. This textbook vendor, Savvas Learning LLC, should never be selling textbooks in our Nassau County Schools. See: the substance of the complaint
“These are Social Emotional Learning” social studies textbooks, said Knocke. “Everything looks harmless in the 1,160 page textbook but then go to the reading materials and the links by non-binary and LGBTQ authors…which are about indoctrinating children. We need to be on a war path against its adoption.”
Knocke wrote us: I’m hopeful that I am able to have a dialogue with each board member and district leadership to understand why they would feel compelled to vote to adopt this textbook and this publisher in our Nassau County schools. The information provided in the objection is very specific, proves that there are errors of fact, interactive online information that is not available for review – all in violation of state statutes. So far, I have had one conversation with a board member. Have not been able to connect with others.
Publisher’s note: This article seemed somewhat one sided. But we learned that is because district officials would not even acknowledge our multiple inquiries, which is fairly typical. You may have to wait for the hearing to learn that.
The Goal Is Social Justice Warriors
“The Savvas goal is to produce social justice warriors,” said Rich Lampken, Citizens Defending Freedom Advisory Board Member. “We (shouldn’t) don’t have time to create social justice warriors when less than half of our students are doing math at grade level…These are our children, not the district children, not community children.”
A Heritage Foundation article states: “Pearson wants consumers of its materials to be social justice warriors.” A book featured in Pearson resources—’Sociology Structure and Change’—promotes the use of gender identity over biological sex to describe individuals. The company partners with Tavistock and Portman in the United Kingdom—the largest provider of transgender services in England.
Savvas and Educational Publishing
Savvas goes back to Albert and Scott which became Scott, Foresman and Company (1896) and began publishing educational materials in 1909. Eventually they became a Pearson K12 company and were sold to Nexus Capital for $250 million in 2020 and rebranded as Savvas Learning Company which is available to 13,000 districts and 40 million students. The CEO is Bethlam Forsa.
More on SEL
Other Concerning Issues
Citizens Defending Freedom (CDF) takes issue that online dynamic resources as well as interactive resources are not available for review. According to CDF, Savvas Online reviews only received a score of only 1.25 stars out of 5 on their own web site. To see more about Savvas Learning textbook adoption challenge go to the Citizens Defending Freedom Website (April 25) which challenges content throughout the social studies textbook: https://www.counties.citizensdefendingfreedom.com/fl-nassau/resources/2024-social-studies-textbook-adoption-challenge-savvas-learning-llc/.
Citizens Defending Freedom also takes issue with Pearson’s broader Global Editorial Policy that will be re-released later this year and speaks of a “commitment to changing the racialized dynamics of publishing and the contents of its books…to disrupt how bodies of knowledge are presented with regards to texts and learning resources…and advance Pearson’s commitment to being a fully inclusive and diverse organization.”
In a July press release from last year, Citizens Defending Freedom wrote about a documentary of the destructive path of Social Emotional Learning featuring Lisa Logan (who speaks out against Second Step, a SEL program) and Kelle England (Davis County, Utah) released by Utah Parents United. See: https://massexodusmovement.com/proof/.
Another Utah resource is ‘The Invincible Family—Why the Global Campaign to Crush Motherhood and Fatherhood Can’t Win’—by Kimberly Ellis. See: https://invinciblefamily.com/. The above documentary featuring Logan and England also promotes the HomeFront.ProjectKids website (https://homefront.unitedfamilies.org/kids/) that provides parents with topics they can discuss with their kids.
Citizens Defending Freedom also recommends a Breitbart News article on ‘The War on Children’ by filmmaker Robby Starbuck on the sexualization of children. Read: https://www.breitbart.com/entertainment/2024/02/21/exclusive-the-war-on-children-filmmaker-robby-starbuck-it-paints-a-hard-to-ignore-picture-about-how-evil-the-war-to-sexualize-our-children-really-is/.
More On Social Emotional Learning
“It’s one thing to direct your own moral, ethical, and emotional development or that of your children,” said Jane Robbins, co-author of ‘Social-Emotional Learning: K-12 Education as New-Age Nanny State.’ “But having a government vendor or unqualified public-school officials implement an SEL curriculum based on coffee-table psychology is quite another.
“SEL is designed to change students’ values, belief and behaviors. Teachers conduct assessments of children’s emotional and social development, a task for which they are not qualified, using assessment tools unsupported by underlying research. SEL assessments are including in children’s permanent school records, with certain privacy safeguards. SEL curricula, resources, and assessments may touch on private or sensitive matters without parental notice or consent.”
Jane Robbins is an attorney and a retired senior fellow with the American Principles Project in Washington DC. She is a graduate of Clemson University and the Harvard Law School. She is an author, speaker, lobbyist, and researcher.
“Social Emotional Learning is the process of developing the self-awareness, self-control, and interpersonal skills that are vital for school, work and life” says educator Nancy Huff, who is the Founder and President of Teach the Children International (TCI), a nonprofit organization that reaches out to children at risk in hard-to-reach places in the United States and abroad.
“With such vague definitions, the danger of SEL lies with the form and substance of the programs as the tendency is to teach students to embrace New Age techniques. Also, SEL can serve as a catch-all umbrella under which different social, emotional, and mental health programs may operate.”
“Public school administrators have the authority to implement any program they deem fit under the SEL category, i.e., Critical Race Theory, gender choice, and sexuality. Not concerned about morals, the potential dangers of SEL loom large and dark over our children,” writes Nancy Huff, author of ‘Taking the Mountain of Education: A Strategic Prayer Guide to Transform America’s Schools.’ Available: https://www.amazon.com/Taking-Mountain-Education-Strategic-American/dp/0692268588.
Besides, being part of the national Core Curriculum, Social Emotional Learning is connected with CASEL (CASEL)—the 30-year Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (https://casel.org/fundamentals-of-sel/).
The CASEL website states: “We define social and emotional learning (SEL) as an integral part of education and human development. SEL is the process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions, and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions.”
“SEL advances educational equity and excellence through authentic school-family-community partnerships to establish learning environments and experiences that feature trusting and collaborative relationships, rigorous and meaningful curriculum and instruction, and ongoing evaluation. SEL can help address various forms on inequity and empower young people and adults to co-create thriving schools and contribute to safe, healthy and just communities.”
What Others Say About Social Emotional Learning
The Truth in Education website states: “Parents hold a God-given right and ultimate authority to protect, nurture, and educate their children.”
What’s wrong with schools’ teaching SEL with K-12 SEL standards?
- Will place additional burdens on teachers and reduce classroom instruction time.
- Inevitably delves into, and may seek to change, student and family values.
- Will necessitate breach of student and family privacy.
- Is highly subjective, especially with young children and will result in unreliable assessments and inappropriate “remediation.”
- Even SEL proponents oppose rating schools with SEL measures.
- Will result in inclusion of this unreliable data in the student’s digital records, thus risking exposure to breaches and misuse of the data in future years.
- Will be carried out by inadequately trained personnel.
- Do parents know about all that’s being implemented and taught, is there an opt out provision?
- What other questions should be asked about SEL?
- Whose standards or criteria will be used to decide what the right answers are for SEL questions?
- Will parents have access to the assessments?
- How will the state measure bias of a child?
- What behavior is “appropriate” and to what degree?
Rhonda Thomas is the Founder and President of the Atlanta-based Truth in Education, a 501(c)3 that educates parents through exposing harmful anti-Christian trends, curriculum, and policies in the school systems. See: https://www.truthineducation.org/.
Alternatives
“We can take action to ensure that the materials used to teach children in public school are academic—clear of bias, Marxist ideals, Critical Race Theory, sexualization, and values in conflict with family, American and Judeo-Christian values,” said Knocke.
“Our recommendation is to adopt textbooks from vendors who support family, American, and Judeo-Christian values such as Hillsdale College or Liberty University.”
CLICK HERE TO SEND AN EMAIL TO THE SCHOOL DISTRICT LEADERSHIP TEAM.
Parent Resources
For more resources go to: https://www.citizensdefendingfreedom.com/nassauresources or download for five dollars, the Parent Navigator resource guide, by Marsha Metzger, President and Founder of Parents on the Level, a 501(c3) organization. See: https://theparentnavigator.net/. On this website, Metzger and Linda Harvey, President of Mission America, wrote and posted an article (June 28, 2023) on: “Sex Education and SEL: Exposing Inclusion Methods that Connect SEL and Comprehensive Sex Education. (See: https://parentsonthelevel.com/blog?blogcategory=SEL).
The article is broken up into 7 sections:
- An Eye-Opening Experience: Marsha Metzger Discovers the Deep Influence of SEL…
- A Quick Overview of SEL and the Whole Child Framework…
- Diversity: The Enforcement Arm of SEL…
- SEL Divorces Abstinence from the School Culture…
- How is CSE (Comprehensive Sex Education) connected to SEL…
- Partnership with Federal Government…
- How to Preserve Abstinence/SRA Education.
Metzger, is presenting (via Parents On The Level) a Monday, May 6th webinar (hosted by Protect Ohio Children) at 1 pm (EST) on “They’ve Crossed The Line on Title IX.” She states: “The Biden Administration expanded ‘their’ definition of sex discrimination on April 19th. The unconstitutional regulation (not law) that allows boys in girls’ bathrooms along with forced pronoun use by children K-12 is now realized, testing the ‘resilience’ of parents and state governments.”
Metzger, presented a December 4, 2023 webinar where she exposed the Second Step SEL curriculum with Diane Stover, President of Protect Ohio Children. This year, she has done a three-part webinars series (January 15, February 5, and March 4 on ‘The CASEL Doctrine.’ See: https://parentsonthelevel.com/sel-exposed.
“My mission the last seven years, said Metzger, a pastor’s wife, has been to inform parents what is taking place in the schools. I have visited with school administrators to gain access to the Social Emotional Learning programs they are using. So much of what is used in the schools is hidden. They are rewriting worldviews and the parents don’t know it. I am exposing it.”
No District Response to Savvas Social Studies Textbook Objection
Mark Durham, Nassau County Assistant Superintendent of Instruction, could not be reached by Citizens Journal Florida for comments concerning Jack Knocke’s textbook complaint (and the Nassau County district textbook adoption process); neither could Misty Mathis, Executive Director, Curriculum and Instruction; nor Nassau County School Board Chair, Dr. Cynthia Grooms. We encourage them to respond.
Michael Hernandez, from California is co-founder of the Citizens Journal—Ventura County’s online news service. He is a former Southern California daily newspaper journalist and religion and news editor. Mr. Hernandez can be contacted at [email protected] and is editor of the weekly “Stories Speak Volumes.”
