(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Ron DeSantis battling the College Board would be funny if it wasn't terrible for public schools [1] ['Daily Kos Staff', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-02-20 “AP is kind of with the College Board,” DeSantis posited during a recent press conference, as reported by Vice. “Who elected them? Are there other people that provide services?” He went on to say it’s not “clear to him” that this “particular operator” is what will be used moving forward. Enter, apparently, CLT. Who is behind the CLT? Is it really that bad of an alternative? In a word: Yes. Jeremy Wayne Tate founded Classic Learning Initiatives back in 2015 with an eye allegedly toward the Socratic teaching method and a focus on the Western literary canon, as reported by local outlet News 4 Jax. Per the outlet, Chad Pecknold, who serves on the board of CLTI, referred to the exam as an alternative to the College Board that “orients people to the perennial truths of the great classical and Christian tradition.” If that sounds like a focus on dead white men, you’d be right! Another way of approaching this is who isn’t included… and that’s quite the curious overlap when we consider DeSantis is deadset on getting rid of books by and about LGBTQ+ folks and people of color. We don’t even need to dig deep to make the argument. For example, as covered here at Daily Kos by my colleague Rebekah Sager, DeSantis’ education department already rejected a new Advanced Placement (AP) course on African American studies. In fact, he hypothesized about getting rid of AP classes in Florida public schools, period. Mind you, AP classes are a chance for high schoolers to earn college credits while still in high school. It’s arguably preparation for college in terms of workload and skill, but it’s also a chance to earn “free” credits by placing out of introduction-level courses once at college. For students who are low-income, on scholarships, or simply trying to keep costs low, AP classes can be a great way to save money. AP courses can also be a valuable boost to a young student’s self-esteem and self-image; applying for college (or jobs, for that matter) can be incredibly stressful and competitive, and AP courses can let students get a taste of college-style courses while still having camaraderie and support from their peers and high school teachers. If a student is interested, and the courses are actually accessible, they’re a real win-win. But it really does go without saying that DeSantis isn’t interested in young minds actually getting a diverse and nuanced education, or else he wouldn't be spreading mass hysteria about Critical Race Theory and parental consent. And if you're curious about Tate, it’s a real… challenge, to give his views the benefit of the doubt, association with DeSantis notwithstanding. In speaking to the Herald, for example, Tate accused the SAT of censoring the “entire Christian-Catholic intellectual tradition” and said it’s become “increasingly ideological.” He denies that his company is explicitly right-wing…. but he does serve on an anti-abortion advocacy group, per the HuffPost, and his social media includes rants about the decline of the West because people have moved away from Christianity. Sometimes, the simplest explanation is the most honest one. Especially as we move into an election year. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/2/20/2154007/-Ron-DeSantis-battling-the-College-Board-would-be-funny-if-it-wasn-t-terrible-for-public-schools Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/