Tennessee Must Join Florida in Adopting New Anti-Woke Education Standards

Image Credit: Laurie Cardoza-Moore / Facebook

By Laurie Cardoza Moore –

America is at a turning point. Millions of parents around the country have woken up to the fact that their children’s education has fallen into the hands of leftist ideological fanatics. These “woke” ideologues posing as educators have introduced sexualized materials to children in the very earliest grades. They are bringing the racist and anti-Semitic Critical Race Theory (CRT) into their classrooms.

In light of the infiltration of this grooming and racist ideology, a coalition of concerned parents, together with education-minded organizations like mine, worked with Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida to implement a new and far stricter set of education standards aimed at protecting children. Among other things, these standards prohibit the teaching of CRT and Social-Emotional Learning in Florida’s classrooms, as well as Common Core. Just recently, out of 132 textbooks submitted to Florida’s education department for approval, 54 were rejected—the highest number ever.

Tennessee needs to follow Florida’s lead by implementing similar standards. We are coming to the end of the school year, which gives us a narrow window between now and the fall to make the changes necessary to protect our children.

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Our agenda should include three priorities.

First, I urge Governor Bill Lee and Speaker of the Tennessee House Cameron Sexton to immediately call for an emergency session of the legislature to adopt new educational standards similar to Florida’s. We need to overhaul our civics programs, and ensure our children won’t be indoctrinated by CRT or any other extremist ideology to explore adult-hate their country at the expense of their parents’ tax dollars. One of the even darker sides of CRT is the anti-Semitism of some of its proponents. Therefore, we must also reevaluate and improve our Holocaust education standards to ensure there are absolutely zero loopholes through which CRT can undermine it. Tennessee also needs to once and for all rid itself of Common Core.

Second, we must immediately review the textbooks currently being used in our schools, and replace any that include CRT, Common Core, or Social-Emotional Learning. The textbook publisher Pearson has a near-monopoly on grade school textbooks. When you take all of its various subsidiaries into account, it controls approximately 80% of the textbook market in the United States. Unfortunately, this educational monology drives a very woke, anti-American message in its textbooks, and thus to our kids. This needs to stop, and alternative textbooks need to be found.

Third and finally, we must reassert our state’s sovereignty over the education of its citizens. Since the earliest days of our republic, education was a state responsibility. The Federal government only has the powers it has been specifically delegated by the Constitution. Nowhere in the Constitution is education assigned to the Federal government. The U.S. Department of Education should not have any power whatsoever over our state’s education standards. In fact, it should be abolished. Our Governor and legislature must not shy away from exercising our sovereignty over education.

Thomas Jefferson once observed that “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.” Our Founders understood that maintaining our liberties requires a knowledgeable and virtuous people, and that this begins with our children.

Compare the wisdom of our founders to the teachings of CRT, which instructs children to see themselves as nothing but their skin color. It denigrates American history and our Constitution. It teaches children to hate their country. CRT robs children of what America needs most—gratitude. If you don’t love your country, despite its imperfections, how can you improve it? If you don’t admire our Constitution, why would you preserve it for future generations?

Tennessee must stand up and join the growing number of states who are resisting “woke” ideology, and its designs on our children. The wind is at our backs. Parents across our state will support us, and one day our children will thank us that we protected them from ideologies that sought to destroy their minds and crush their souls.

About the Author:

Laurie Cardoza-Moore is a respected “go to” voice on the frontlines of battle for the ideological, social, moral and religious mind of this generation.  As Special Envoy to the United Nations for human rights and anti-Semitism on behalf of 44 million Christians, to her leadership in statehouses through PJTN’s anti-Semitism Awareness Resolution, Laurie is a tireless advocate.

A home schooling mother of five, Laurie Cardoza-Moore’s original “wake-up call” was the discovery of anti-Semitic, anti-Christian, and anti-American content in her children’s textbooks.  The revelation of the early seeds of indoctrination of America’s children began her quest to bring awareness and change through every avenue she could reach:  Legislative, media, advocacy, and ultimately the development of PJTN programs and documentaries that are shared and educate on a mass level.   PJTN programming in support of Israel today reaches over 950 million potential viewers on a regular basis through a network of close to two dozen TV affiliates and satellite broadcasters.

Laurie has been appointed, awarded and recognized by her peers for her leadership, including:

• The President’s Council of The National Religious Broadcasters, (NRB)
• The “Top 100 People Positively Impacting Israel” by the Algemeiner
• An Honorary Doctorate Degree in Theology from the Latin University of Theology
• The “Friend of Israel Award” by The Center For Jewish Awareness
• The “Goodwill Ambassador to Israel Award” given by Israel Consul General of the Israeli Foreign Ministry.
• Tennessee Textbook and Instructional Quality Control Commission