“We are not trying to indoctrinate people or make them like the governor. We are just making suggestions,” the principal said.
Last weekend, politically focused social media was in an uproar after it was revealed that Governor Ron DeSantis’ memoir, “The Courage to Be Free,” made it to Chiles High School’s 2024 summer reading list for the Advanced Placement Language and Composition course.
The list, first published on X by Florida Politics editor Peter Schorsch, sparked controversy on the left because it alleged “indoctrination” of high school students.
On Tuesday, Chiles Principal Joseph Burgess said the list is not new, but the governor’s memoir was a recent addition. The school’s English department wanted to provide students with a diverse list of options, he explained.
The titles featured are suggestions, Burgess added, meaning students could read any autobiography they wanted for their summer assignment, not just those listed.
DeSantis’ memoir, due to be released in 2023, focuses largely on his resume as governor of the Sunshine State, including his leadership during the pandemic and his defense against allegations of media attacks as he abolished critical race theory and what he called “woke ideology” in classrooms and the workplace. A request for comment was made to the governor’s press office.
“It’s not our job to say, ‘Here’s who you should like.’ We’re not trying to indoctrinate people and make them like the governor. We’re just making suggestions for people to look at,” Burgess told the Tallahassee Democrat.
Advanced Placement (AP) provides high school students with college-level education and testing. DeSantis has previously clashed with the College Board, which administers AP courses and curriculum, over critical race theory and gender identity standards for AP African American Studies and AP Psychology, both topics he has publicly opposed.
“This is a contentious issue between the governor’s office and his views on AP. As a school, we don’t really get involved in that,” Burgess said. “We offer the kids a selection of books that they might enjoy at home.”
Burgess is running as an independent candidate in the general election for Leon County schools superintendent, facing one of two Democrats: incumbent schools superintendent Rocky Hanna or Star Swain, the elementary school principal at FAMU Developmental Research School in Tallahassee.
The list includes a total of 13 memoirs by various authors, including South African comedian Trevor Noah, the late U.S. Senator John McCain of Arizona, and author Stephen King. Students were instructed to analyze the memoir of their choice for word choice, tone, sentence structure, audience, and context by the first day of class.
Novels required by the College Board include Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, which are read in class throughout the school year.
Alaijah Brown covers children and families for the Tallahassee Democrat. You can reach her at [email protected]Follow her on Twitter/X: @AlaijahBrown3.
