Education Reform: Florida Textbooks Will Blur Any Character Who Learns Empathy Too Early
Officials said students can encounter compassion later, once parents have been given time to opt into the feeling.
Florida education officials have approved a textbook policy requiring publishers to blur any character who learns empathy too early.
Under the rule, students may still read about sharing, kindness, and understanding another person's pain, but only after those concepts have been moved to later chapters and surrounded by enough flags to calm everyone down.
"We are not banning empathy," said curriculum review board member Dennis Hoke. "We are simply making sure children do not encounter it before parents have had a chance to decide whether their household is ready."
Publishers have begun revising elementary readers so lonely children are described as "experiencing an unapproved interpersonal condition" until fifth grade.
Officials said any book with a dog that loves everyone will receive additional review.
