We trust experts to fix us. We should trust them to teach us.
Iam a firm believer in trusting experts. When something is wrong with my body, I trust my primary care physician to figure out what’s happening. When my car makes a funny noise, I trust my mechanic to sort out the issue. I do not attempt to fix my own furnace, nor do I attempt to fix my eyesight. There are experts for that.
When it comes to curriculum and education, I trust the experts too.
A good portion of the folks reading this will automatically assume I’m a Liberal Progressive for having said that, which to me, is wild — I don’t understand how trusting experts became a “Leftist” opinion.
Maybe this all began with the presidency of George W. Bush? Anyone who pointed out an error the president made was called a bully, and the idea of an nefarious “intellectual elite” became mainstream, which is funny when you realize how much money the average college professor makes.
Or maybe it became acceptable to discredit scholars during the rise of Sarah Palin? Or of President Trump? I have a friend who believes that the separation of science and religion during the Enlightenment is to blame — the smugness of the technically correct proved insufferable. It’s why so many scientists have been tortured throughout history.
Whatever the reason, we’ve entered a strange reality where the average person’s opinion is somehow more pertinent to decisionmakers in our government than the opinions of people who have spent their entire lives studying a relevant microcosm of the universe to a degree that grants them expertise.
What is wrong with an intellectual elite? I do not mind the idea of there being folks smarter than me. I accept that as a reality. Someone who has studied giraffes probably knows a whole lot more about giraffes than I, a person who has often frequented the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium. I should probably not be writing giraffe policy or speaking over giraffe zoologists trying to teach a class on basic giraffe zoology.
So why would the state of Florida’s Department of Education send a group of non-academics to engage with scholars of African American History regarding the Advanced Placement African American Studies curriculum?
Members of the College Board who met with FDOE officials, appointed by the governor, described them as “absent of substance” and rather focused on “vague, uninformed questions.”
I’m not saying that the experts get it right all the time. But I’d rather work with a group of highly educated people willing to admit they’re wrong than with a group of civilians eager to prove themselves right.
By sending uninformed state officials, who asked point blank if the AP course would “promote Black Panther thinking,” the state of Florida is politicizing and disrespecting the process. Asking a question like that reveals an embarrassing ignorance of the Black Panthers, American history, and the rich and full spectrum of African American studies. We can do better.
At least send some smart people to disagree. I’m sure they’re out there. Intellectuals disagree all the time, and there are many reputable scholars who disagree with the College Board’s curriculum.
It’s all a PR stunt. Continuing down this road promoting ignorance can only do more harm. There are people who honestly believe that a non- required course that grants college credit to high school students willing to study a niche topic has somehow been developed with racial indoctrination in mind. The mental gymnastics alone are exhausting.
I’m happy to live in a state where these conversations aren’t happening, but I worry that there’s an imaginary “yet” waiting to attach itself to that thought. If the governor of Florida becomes president, will we all be subject to this ridiculous demonization of scholarship and scholars alike? How do we expect to compete on a world stage if we keep dumbing ourselves down?
Most of the people taking an African American studies course probably already know about “Black Lives Matter.” The state of Florida is only robbing those students of the ability to fully and critically examine that subject in the classroom. Robust classroom discussions allow for disagreement. A class where everyone agrees is both impossible and boring.
Look, I don’t know everything that’s in the curriculum. But when I look at the list of scholars who developed it, I see actual experts who have devoted their lives to investigating the complex questions that define this course of study. And I trust them.
It’s time to believe in experts — and to educate ourselves. Knowledge is not political. It’s just facts.