Friday, November 8, 2013



WFTV (Volusia County), November 4, 2013

Hundreds of people in Volusia County are preparing a protest against a textbook that’s in public schools across Florida.  They believe a world history book dedicates too much material to Islam and doesn’t focus equally on Christianity and other religions.
Some protest organizers want students to go home and tear the section on Islam out of their textbooks.
The controversy started unraveling after a 15-year-old Deltona high school student showed her mom her 10th-grade history book, which has an entire chapter dedicated to Islam but none of the other world religions.
A conservative activist flocked to Facebook, calling for a curriculum overhaul, and nearly 200 activists are planning a protest at tomorrow’s Volusia County School Board meeting.  {snip}
Proponents say people need more time dedicated to the religion because is tied to a great deal of the United States’ foreign affairs, yet few know much about it.  {snip}
The district said it has no plans to change anything about the book.
Statement from the protest organizer:
An entire chapter is dedicated to Islam while that of Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism and other religions are not focused equally. I did acknowledge that other religions are included throughout the textbook but in snippets with no dedication of a chapter for easy reference as is the case with Islam in Chapter 10.
Also, my statement about the tearing up of Isalm sections in the textbook was simply a suggestion to counter any possible claims from officials of budgetary concerns regarding the issuance of new textbooks, supplements to the curriculum and so on. I then suggested that a simple remedy to correct the issue for the current school year would be for the school to ask for student volunteers who would be willing to take the textbook home and tear out the pages to the chapter so as to quell the controversy, all at a whopping tax payer cost of $0.
I agree that many of the comments from others may appear to be intolerant, but I as the organizer of the event have made it CRYSTAL CLEAR on the events page that such comments need to cease but cannot control the mindset of such individuals as I am NOT intolerant of minority religions here in the U.S.
–Rick Sarmiento

Statement from the Council on American-Islamic Relations:
“The name of the FB page and intolerant comments is troubling. This group is holding a protest and rally to oppose the teaching of the historical and basic Pillars of Islam to students in Volusia County. This group is displaying an alarming level of intolerance and brazen disregard of minority religions here in the US. We find their  actions Un-American and against every core principal that makes this country so great,” the Muslim civil liberties group said.
Statement from the Volusia County School District:
Volusia County Schools is one of many school districts in Florida that have chosen Prentice Hall’s World History textbook as a primary resource for teachers to use as they ensure quality instruction on Florida’s Next Generation Sunshine State Standards for World History.
World History was chosen in accordance with the State of Florida’s standard procedure for textbook adoption. First, the State of Florida approves a list of textbooks from which Florida school districts may choose potential textbooks to adopt. As the State is considering which textbooks will make its list, the public is offered the opportunity to participate. World History was one of three state-approved textbooks that met the state’s criteria for the adoption process. A committee of Volusia County Schools Social Studies teachers selected the Prentice Hall World History textbook after reviewing all three potential texts. Volusia County Schools procedures for textbook adoption provide for public participation and viewing of the textbooks chosen by the committee before a final decision is made.
One key factor in selecting a textbook is its ability to accurately convey information aligned to  Florida’s Next Generation Sunshine State Standards (NGSSS). These mandated standards are established by the Florida Department of Education. Teachers may use the adopted textbook, as well as supplemental materials, to teach the mandated standards.
Prentice Hall’s World History textbook presents coverage of the standards for World History, which require students to learn information about world religions and their relationship to the development of civilizations. The textbook covers information related to Muslim Civilization in one chapter and information about Christianity and Judaism in seven chapters.