DeSantis: Educate Kids, Not Indoctrinate Kids

Thursday’s Fox News debate between Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and California Gov. Gavin Newsom saw the two spar on the issue of education and parental rights. DeSantis, a GOP presidential candidate, passionately criticized the use of woke books in California classrooms, arguing that schools should prioritize age-appropriate materials and not push political agendas on young students.

DeSantis highlights the smut in woke children’s books that Newsom supports children being indoctrinated with. pic.twitter.com/UFbcyuQPgD

— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) December 1, 2023

“The role of the school is to educate kids, not indoctrinate kids. It’s not to impose an agenda. It’s to do the basics. And what we’ve said in Florida is it’s inappropriate to tell a kindergartener that their gender is a choice, it’s inappropriate to tell a second grader that they may have been born in the wrong body,” DeSantis said.

Driving his point home further, he pulled out a copy of the controversial book “Gender Queer: A Memoir,” written and illustrated by Maia Kobabe.

DeSantis argued that it is inappropriate to introduce kindergarteners to the concept that gender is a choice or to tell second graders that they may have been born in the wrong body. He emphasized that Florida adheres to a different set of standards and would not tolerate such content in their schools. According to him, such materials are not age-appropriate for young students, as he pointed out that some of the imagery in the book are blurred out.

In his words, “You would not probably be able to put this on air…It’s cartoons. It’s aimed at children and it’s wrong. So this should not be in schools when people like on the left say that is not age appropriate.”

The Florida governor also stressed the importance of respecting parental rights, stating, “Now California has that, they want to have that injected into the elementary school, my wife and I have a seven, five and a three year old, but we don’t think that that’s appropriate. I know most parents do not think it’s appropriate. It’s also important to respect parental rights to know what curriculum is being used in the classroom, and everything should be age appropriate.”

In an attempt to score one over DeSantis, Newsom accused him of being on a “book ban binge.”

“I don’t like the way you demean and humiliate people you disagree with, Ron,” he stated.