Florida school bans Shakespeare as 'sexual'
On August 8, 2023, the Hillsboro County, Florida Board of Education ruled that William Shakespeare's works such as 'Romeo and Juliet,' 'Hamlet,' and 'Macbeth' are sexual and deviate from state educational standards. announced that it would ban students from reading full-text plays. In Hillsborough County, going forward, when Shakespeare is used as teaching materials, censored ones will be used, and violations of the ban may be subject to complaints from parents and disciplinary lawsuits from schools.
Hillsborough schools cut back on Shakespeare, citing new Florida rules
'Romeo and Juliet' banned from Hillsborough, Florida schools
https://nypost.com/2023/08/09/romeo-and-juliet-banned-from-hillsborough-florida-schools/
The new regulations follow revisions to a teaching guide for teachers that forbids school teachers from reading full texts of Shakespeare's works, including racy content, to their students in class.
School district spokeswoman Tanya Arja said of the change in educational policy, ``This was also a consideration of the law,'' explaining that it was based on state law.
The state law Alja refers to is theFlorida Parental Rights in Education Act, which was enacted in 2022 under the initiative and signature of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
Also known as the 'don't say gay law' due to debates about LGBT education, the law prohibits sexual content in classes in Florida unless it relates to certain standards, such as health classes. In principle, it is prohibited to use it as a topic for discussion.
Governor signs Florida's ``Don't say gay law'' to ban LGBT education for lower grade children-GIGAZINE
The school district said that since Shakespeare's works were not outright banned, if children wanted to read through the play, they could obtain a copy of the book or script, perhaps with the help of their parents. is.
Until now, English classes in schools in the area had to read two full-length novels or plays in the fall and spring, respectively. Excellent Student Thinking contains excerpts from 5-7 books, including a novel and a play.
The new policy is not well received by educators. Joseph Kool, a reading teacher at Gaither High School, a public high school in the Northdale area of Hillsborough County, told local news media, ``There is certainly something about Shakespeare's work that is a bit vulgar. Because tickets were sold with that,' he said.
On the other hand, Cool said, 'I think a large portion of the American public, or rather the whole world, is laughing at us because the relationship between Romeo and Juliet somehow exploits minors. It is a completely ridiculous story to take up the whole Shakespeare from a child, ”he questioned the excessive regulation.
Also, School Board Commissioner Jessica Vaughan said, 'There are a number of decisions being made at the district level in Hillsboro County that were not made known to me until shortly before or shortly after the information was released to the public. has caused a great deal of anxiety and concern for our communities, families and staff,' he said, revealing that he was not aware of this decision.
Commissioner Vaughn added, 'I believe that the Department of Education, as appointed by the legislators and the governor, does not reflect 'parental rights', does not have thoughtful feedback from the community, and does not fully understand how to implement it. It is very disappointing that education laws and regulations are enacted wildly without proper guidance, which have no positive impact on student performance and receive little feedback from teachers. The penalties for the new laws and regulations have not been clarified,' he said, arguing that the cause of the problem was the tyranny of the state's Ministry of Education and Congress.
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