Following high-profile accidents at the hands of illegal immigrants who entered the U.S. from &#8220;sanctuary&#8221; states, Florida is taking action to restrict driver&#8217;s license tests to only English and bar any translation support.
On Friday, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) announced the new measure, which is clearly being implemented as another safeguard for Florida residents.
Starting February 6, all tests statewide &#8220;will be administered exclusively in English,&#8221; the department said in a press release. &#8220;This change applies to all driver license classifications, including exams administered orally.&#8221;
<div>
Previously, exams for most non-commercial driver&#8217;s license classifications were offered in multiple languages, and Commercial Learner’s Permit (CLP) and Commercial Driver&#8217;s License (CDL) knowledge exams were available in English and Spanish.
&#8220;FLHSMV has updated its driver license testing system statewide,&#8221; the department added. &#8220;Language translation services will no longer be permitted for knowledge or skills examinations, and any printed exams in languages other than English will be removed for use.&#8221;
</div>
The change follows a devastating crash in Florida that occurred over the summer. Harjinder Singh, an illegal who entered the U.S. through California, was charged with three counts of homicide after he <a href="https://www.flhsmv.gov/2025/08/16/illegal-u-turn-truck-driver-arrested-for-vehicular-homicide/">recklessly</a> attempted to execute an illegal U-turn on the Florida turnpike, resulting in the deaths of three Americans.
According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Singh entered the U.S. illegally into California, a sanctuary state, back in 2018. He was quickly arrested and processed for expedited removal, but after claiming he feared returning to India, he was released on bond. Then, Singh somehow obtained a Commercial Driver’s License in California.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Illegal alien issued CDL by California. Doesn’t even speak English. Sanctuary policies are deadly.
Must hold the illegal alien accountable but also the other actors involved including the company. <a href="https://t.co/GRCOkGJLI3">https://t.co/GRCOkGJLI3</a>
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) <a href="https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/1957434978016387420?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 18, 2025</a></blockquote>
Commercial Driver&#8217;s Licenses for illegals or people with improper status have been the target of scrutiny for months, due to devastating crashes &#8212; like the one involving Singh &#8212; that have killed Americans. 
The Daily Wire’s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/illegal-immigrant-trucker-with-california-license-accused-of-killing-newlyweds-in-tragic-collision?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Jennie+Taer&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=Illegal+Immigrant+Trucker+With+California+License+Accused+Of+Killing+Newlyweds+In+Tragic+Collision">Jennie Taer</a> reported in December, for example, that a newlywed couple was tragically killed in a collision allegedly caused by an illegal immigrant truck driver with a California license.
<div>
&#8220;FLHSMV remains committed to ensuring safe roadways for all Floridians and visitors by promoting clear communication, understanding of traffic laws, and responsible driving behavior,&#8221; the department said. 
</div>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/republican-bill-takes-aim-at-democrat-states-giving-truck-licenses-to-illegal-aliens">Republican Bill Takes Aim At Democrat States Giving Truck Licenses To Illegal Aliens</a>

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, holds a press conference to speak

Florida Takes Action On Foreign Drivers: ‘English Only’

Drivers Licenses

English

Florida

Illegal Immigration

U.S.

Massachusetts Mayor Brian DePena made waves for requesting the assistance of a translator during a court appearance on Friday.  
DePena requested that his personal assistant act as a translator during the proceedings, which the judge overseeing the hearing denied due to concerns that the staffer had not been independently verified. Because the judge and opposing counsel do not speak Spanish, it was determined that mistranslations could negatively affect the case, either intentionally or unintentionally, <a href="https://thepostmillennial.com/massachusetts-mayor-asks-for-translator-in-court-hearing-due-to-his-poor-english">per</a> The Post Millennial.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
The mayor of Lawrence, Massachusetts who is from Dominican Republic gets a translator in court because he can’t understand English <a href="https://t.co/9rcre4kLRN">pic.twitter.com/9rcre4kLRN</a>
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) <a href="https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/2002911459387605464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 22, 2025</a></blockquote>
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The incident occurred during a Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission and quickly went viral. It’s been <a href="https://www.brianforlawrence.com/about">revealed</a> that DePena hails from the Dominican Republic and immigrated to New York in the early 1980s before moving to Lawrence, Massachusetts, in 1989. 
The hearing concerned former Lawrence Police Chief William Castro, who lost his policing credentials after a 2024 police chase and subsequent false report. Castro was accused of driving the wrong way down a city street during the chase. He later filed a report saying he was responding to an armed bank robbery. In reality, he had been going after someone who had allegedly cashed a bad check.  
Documents <a href="https://www.nbcboston.com/investigations/lawrence-mayor-police-chief-investigation/3614726/">uncovered</a> by the NBC10 Boston Investigators revealed that DePena tried to curtail the investigation into the acting police chief, who is a political ally of the Lawrence mayor. 
Social media users have been reacting strongly to the clip, saying it’s shocking that an elected official is not able to speak fluent English.
“How is this even real life?” one response <a href="https://x.com/PlanetOfMemes/status/2002911650094211150">said</a>.
“This is absurd. We live in a parody world,” another person <a href="https://x.com/BraedenSorbo/status/2002953268541153776">echoed</a>. 
“If you can&#8217;t speak English, you shouldn&#8217;t even be eligible for citizenship, much less public office,” a third commenter <a href="https://x.com/OldeWorldOrder/status/2002913607743602801">wrote</a>. &#8220;How are you supposed to represent Americans if you can&#8217;t even understand our language?&#8221;
Per <a href="https://datausa.io/profile/geo/lawrence-ma/">census data</a>, Lawrence, Massachusetts, is over 82% Hispanic.

Brian DePena

Massachusetts Mayor Can’t Understand English, Needs Translator In Court

Massachusetts Mayor Can't Understand English, Requests Translator In Court

Court

Hispanics

Immigration

Massachusetts

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday announced a major immigration overhaul that doubles the residency requirement for citizenship and imposes stricter English language requirements, declaring settlement in Britain &#8220;a privilege, not a right.&#8221;
The new policy increases the residency requirement from five to ten years before migrants can apply for citizenship, with exceptions for those making a &#8220;high contribution&#8221; to the island nation.
The overhaul is being <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/new-english-language-and-british-citizenship-requirements-for-migrants-13365884">spearheaded</a> by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, promising English language requirements across every visa route, extending to adult dependents for the first time.
&#8220;We will create a migration system that is controlled, selective, and fair &#8211; a clean break from the past,&#8221; Starmer said at a press conference on Monday, per <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tw5oI3qJmFA">Sky News</a>. “When people come to our country, they should also commit to integration and to learning our language.&#8221;
The reforms come as net migration to the U.K. <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg4vlyly0l2o">reached</a> record levels, climbing to 906,000 in June 2023 and standing at 728,000 last year, according to the BBC.
&#8220;That is what this White Paper will deliver: lower net migration, higher skills and backing British workers,&#8221; with the reforms estimated to cut migrant numbers by 50,000 annually.
Starmer accused industries of being &#8220;almost addicted to importing cheap labour&#8221; instead of &#8220;investing in the skills of people here and want a good job in their community.&#8221; He singled out engineering as a sector &#8220;where visas have rocketed while apprenticeships have plummeted.&#8221;
The government&#8217;s immigration White Paper reflects months of research and comes after Reform U.K. made significant gains in local elections, applying political pressure on Labour to address migration concerns.
While previously critical of Conservative immigration policies, Starmer now finds himself implementing restrictions that in some ways go beyond those proposed by his conservative predecessors.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
If you want to live in the UK, you should speak English. That’s common sense.
So we’re raising English language requirements across every main immigration route.
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) <a href="https://twitter.com/Keir_Starmer/status/1921872765428109714?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 12, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Conservative critics remain skeptical of Labour&#8217;s commitment to immigration control, as <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/live/ce810e3z6dkt?post=asset%3Ae2d3062c-3d44-4892-8559-94757c56adaa#post">polls</a> show increasing popular support for reduced immigration.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp dismissed the proposal, saying the idea that Starmer &#8220;is tough on immigration is a joke&#8221; and promised to push Parliament to introduce a binding cap on migration, which Starmer has declined to implement thus far.
Labour Party MP Sarah Owen, who chairs the Women and Equalities Committee in Parliament, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/live/ce810e3z6dkt?post=asset%3A9a4b165e-3442-46ba-a81f-b0ea797d5317#post">slammed</a> Starmer from the Left, writing on Bluesky that the PM is &#8220;chasing the tail of the right&#8221; and is putting the U.K. on &#8220;a very dark path.&#8221;
Starmer <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/12/uk-risks-becoming-island-of-strangers-without-more-immigration-curbs-starmer-says">warned</a> that without &#8220;fair rules,&#8221; Britain risked becoming &#8220;an island of strangers, not a nation that walks forward together.&#8221;

PM Keir Starmer Holds Press Conference On Immigration

‘Island Of Strangers’: U.K. Raises English Proficiency Requirements In Sweeping Immigration Overhaul

Global Politics

Great Britain

Keir Starmer

Labour Party

U.K.

United Kingdom

World

President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order Monday requiring truckers to display proficiency in English, citing road safety concerns.
The move will reverse a 2016 memo from the Obama administration, which told the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration that it was <a href="https://hageman.house.gov/media/in-the-news/lawmaker-asks-dot-reverse-obama-era-english-proficiency-memo">not required</a> to place drivers who could not read English out of service.
“President Trump believes that English is a non-negotiable safety requirement for professional drivers, as they should be able to read and understand traffic signs, communicate with traffic safety officers, border patrol, agricultural checkpoints, and cargo weight-limit station personnel, and provide and receive feedback and directions in English,” a White House <a href="https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2025/04/28/exclusive-trump-to-sign-order-ensuring-truckers-can-speak-english/">document</a> first viewed by Breitbart News explains.
It goes on to explain that Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy will be required to “rescind and replace guidance to strengthen inspection procedures for compliance with English proficiency requirements.”
The impending order, which is expected to be signed at 5 p.m. Eastern time on Monday, will mandate the revision of “out-of-service criteria to ensure drivers violating English proficiency rules are placed out-of-service, enhancing roadway safety.”
Representative Harriet Hageman (R-WY) and Kevin Hawley, the President of the Wyoming Trucking Association, recently called for the federal government to enforce requirements that truckers be proficient in English.
“Many of our members have expressed frustration and concern over safety issues involving drivers who lack English proficiency — particularly those who are unable to read highway signs or communicate effectively during inspections or emergencies,” Hawley said, adding that the concerns are rooted in “a strong, shared commitment to safety.”
Trump’s impending order comes after the 47th president signed an <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/designating-english-as-the-official-language-of-the-united-states/">executive order</a> designating English as the official language of the United States.
“To promote unity, cultivate a shared American culture for all citizens, ensure consistency in government operations, and create a pathway to civic engagement, it is in America’s best interest for the Federal Government to designate one — and only one — official language,” the order asserted, adding that the decision will “reinforce shared national values, and create a more cohesive and efficient society.”

Trucks at truck stop

Trump To Sign Executive Order Requiring Truckers To Be Proficient In English

Donald Trump

Executive

Executive Orders

Politics

Transportation

President Donald Trump is set to issue an executive order making English the official language of the United States, according to reports. The U.S. has never implemented a national language at the federal level.
In August 2000, five months before he left office, President Bill Clinton issued an <a href="https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/crt/legacy/2010/12/14/eolep.pdf">executive order</a> to aid what he called “limited English proficiency” (LEP) persons, writing, “To assist the agencies with this endeavor, the Department of Justice has today issued a general guidance document (LEP Guidance).”
The Department of Justice’s Coordination Regulation corresponding to Clinton’s executive order <a href="https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-28/chapter-I/part-42/subpart-F/section-42.405">stated</a>, “Where a significant number or proportion of the population eligible to be served or likely to be directly affected by a federally assisted program (e.g., affected by relocation) needs service or information in a language other than English in order effectively to be informed of or to participate in the program, the recipient shall take reasonable steps, considering the scope of the program and the size and concentration of such population, to provide information in appropriate languages to such persons.”
Trump’s executive order would eliminate the Clinton mandate. “Agencies will still be able to provide documents and services in languages other than English, according to a White House summary of the order viewed by The Wall Street Journal,” The Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/trump-executive-order-english-official-language-5c0b7665">reported</a>, adding, “The summary of the order said the goal of making English the national language is to promote unity, establish efficiency in the government and provide a pathway to civic engagement.”
In 2021, Oklahoma GOP Senator James Inhofe introduced a bill to make English the official language of the United States. The bill stated, “Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall issue for public notice and comment a proposed rule for uniform testing English language ability of candidates for naturalization, which shall be based upon the principles that (1) all citizens of the United States should be able to read and understand generally the English language text of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, and the laws of the United States which are made in pursuance thereof; and (2) any exceptions to the standard described in paragraph (1) should be limited to extraordinary circumstances, such as asylum.”

Albany Times Union

Trump To Issue Order Making English Official Language Of U.S.

Bill Clinton

Social Issues

This topic doesn&#8217;t get discussed as much as it used to, but some folks like <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jd-vance" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH)</a> and Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) believe that as a country, America should adopt English as its official language. This week, the two senators introduced legislation to do just that.
“This commonsense legislation recognizes an inherent truth: English is the language of this country. That is why the overwhelming majority of the American people support this proposal,” Vance said in a press release.
It should be noted that the majority of states — 31 and all U.S. territories — already recognize English as their language.
“The English language has been a cornerstone of American culture for over 250 years,” Vance added. “It is far past time for Congress to codify its place into law, which is exactly what this bill does.”
Fittingly named “The English Unity Act,” all laws, public proceedings, regulations, publications, orders, actions, programs, and policies would be in English under this bill. This is actually the latest version of the bill, as the “The English Language Unity Act&#8221; has previously been introduced, though never signed into law.
The bill also states that “Representatives of the Federal Government shall have an affirmative obligation to preserve and enhance the role of English as the official language of the Federal Government. Such obligation shall include encouraging greater opportunities for individuals to learn the English language.”
Radio host Michael Savage has often said that a nation can be defined by its “Borders, Language, Culture.”
In 2005, a similar bill <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/19/washington/senate-votes-to-set-english-as-national-language.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">earned 64 votes</a> in the Senate. It effectively died thereafter, but that doesn&#8217;t mean that it&#8217;s officially settled business.
<a class="c-link" href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://onelink.to/dwapp" data-sk="tooltip_parent" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-15488">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
While our borders are wide open and it&#8217;s unclear what our culture still values (equality or equity?), Vance and Cramer’s bill would at least get the U.S. one step closer to having a recognized, unified language — which can go a long way in restoring America’s motto “E Pluribus Unum” that seems to be slipping away more and more each year.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

American flag

Should English Be The Official U.S. Language? These Two GOP Senators Think So.

America

Congress

JD Vance

Senate

United States

A poet&#8217;s job is to point to the moon and transport souls beyond the human dimension. But can poetry bloom under the reign of woke culture? Or is this ancient art destined to become a political tool in the service of woke culture and male-phobic feminism? 
As founder of an international movement like Poetry Renaissance, traveling the world to create spaces of free expression for poetry, I want to put in my two cents.
If we look at contemporary poetry in the West, especially in America, we see that in recent years the presence of woke and feminist themes have become very invasive. The method of this very powerful ideology is always the same: enter the circuit, impose your value, cancel all others. And it works.
Competitions, events, and publishing houses have clearly started to favor poetry of a certain political flavor.
Many (not all yet, fortunately) of the poets laureate who are chosen by public institutions have started, often openly, to smell woke.
And so, little by little, poets disappear to be replaced by conscious or unaware woke activists. It almost seems that you can no longer make poetry if you are not a woke activist. And one does not necessarily have to write a poem about &#8220;God,&#8221; &#8220;Homeland,&#8221; and &#8220;Family&#8221; to be excluded from many poetic circuits. Just don’t write about what they want to impose and you are not welcome.
&#8220;Feminist poetry&#8221; flourishes as a genre in its own right, as if it made sense to divide poetry on the basis of ideology. If you are not a feminist today it is very difficult to find a proper space in universities, festivals, poetic institutions. And especially among the major publishers.
While, ironically, the most famous American poet abroad remains Charles Bukowski.
I don&#8217;t want to be misunderstood, however. I am not advocating for woke and feminist themes to disappear in poetry. It would be nice, though, if they don&#8217;t become the only ones.
So the American poetic tradition — the same that gave birth to Walt Whitman and Robert Frost — ended up proposing to the world an inexplicable phenomenon like Amanda Gorman. Unfortunately, I am not an American, and observing this process from the outside, I assure you, I find it even more worrying.
Let’s be clear, political poetry has always had a place in the world of poets. History shows us this very evidently: Horace, Dante, William Wordsworth &#8230; many of the great poets also had a political side. Today, in this period, America is pervaded by the politicization of everything, so it’s not strange that there’s a lot of political poetry in America.
But to make poetry you need a variety of colors. Instead, the current political world is black and white.
As the poet laureate Tracy K. Smith said: &#8220;Issues are polarizing and you fall into a camp, [but] poetry doesn’t allow that to happen.&#8221; And I hope that quoting her in this post is not enough to get her canceled as I will be.
Because in their black-and-white world, everything that’s not the color that they want gets canceled. You’re either feminist and woke, or you’re misogynistic, racist, and homophobic and so you need to be canceled.
And this way of thinking is exactly the opposite of poetry, that tries to embrace the whole and the unity of things.
For a poet, the main problem of wokeness and feminism is that they censor any word that undermines the foundations of their ideology. Poetry is based on the flight of the word. If the word is not free, poetry cannot fly.
Also, poetry should not speak to one group while ignoring  another. Poetry has the exact opposite effect, it should break down the walls of humanity to become universal. Walt Whitman is a great poet not because he was an American patriot, but because he spoke to the whole world from his American experience. 
So this wave that is invading the delicate universe of poetry filters the world through political categories and ends up labeling every person through that dimension. 
But a poet, an artist, is precisely one who uses art to escape from simplistic social logic. I find it difficult to define myself politically, so much so that when I am forced to say I define myself as &#8220;anarcho-monarchist,&#8221; just like Tolkien. After all, we do not remember Lord Byron for his defense of the Luddite movement, we remember him in the words of Don Juan.
Certainly, in the conservative arena, there does not seem to be much interest in the flourishing of poetry. 
For example, since Robert Frost was selected by John F. Kennedy as the first presidential inaugural poet, there have been six other inaugural poets selected by four presidents, all of whom have been Democrats, while Republicans never chose an inaugural poet. This is certainly a mistake that only strengthens the woke agenda.
However, it is not Republican poets that can save poetry from wokeness — but free poets. Poets who know that there is something above all ideological and political divisions. And that “something” is what real Poetry deals with.
Poetry should not walk on human paths, but fly in the dimension of the soul. Poetry is a mystical matter, &#8220;mysticism for beginners&#8221; as Adam Zagajewski would say. This was expressed very well by poet laureate Charles Wright: &#8220;I believe in the mystery of things, and I believe the poet’s job is to try to corral that mystery.&#8221; I still hope that he will not be canceled for being unknowingly quoted in this post.
The good news is that poetry is flourishing around the world again. Thanks to social networks anyone who has verses in their heart can respond to the invitation of Walt Whitman &#8220;and you may contribute a verse.&#8221; My experience with Poetry Renaissance, with all its readings, contests, free activities, shows me that there is no better flourishing for poetry than in freedom of expression. 
That is what is so badly needed: freedom, a value that once made America known in the world, but today seems obscured in the prevailing woke agenda.
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
<a href="http://www.paologambi.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Paolo Gambi</a> is an Italian multimedia artist, poet, and a contributor to “Il Giornale,” Italy’s primary conservative newspaper. He is the founder of Poetry Renaissance, one of the main networks of poetry in Italy, present in various countries. He has published more than thirty books. 
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

William Shakespeare

In Honor Of World Poetry Day, Let’s Take Back What The Woke Have Stolen

In Honor Of World Poetry Day, Let's Take Back What The Woke Have Stolen

Italy

Poetry

Readers Pass

Shakespeare

Woke Culture

It is true that &#8220;you don&#8217;t always know what you got til it&#8217;s gone,&#8221; (even if that is improper English), but a lot of misery can be avoided by understanding <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/american-history" target="_blank" rel="noopener">history</a> and looking at data rather than relying solely on <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/shop/products/smiley-facts-t-shirt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">feelings</a> when implementing change.
For example, let us take look at the latest story out of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/california">Oakland Unified School District in California</a>. Oakland once had one of the most successful reading programs in the entire Golden State for inner-city kids. It was based on phonics and utilized tried and true methods of learning to read and sounding out letters, rather than memorizing words.
Then, the teachers worried that they were promoting so-called colonialism — which is another word for white supremacy. They convinced the district to use a whole language approach, and the reading rates plummeted.
The whole language method encourages children to guess at words, memorize words, look at pictures to find hints as to what the word could be, and other poor techniques. It does not prepare students to read new words.
“For seven years in a row, Oakland was the fastest-gaining urban district in California for reading,” Kareem Weaver, a fourth and fifth-grade instructor, <a href="https://time.com/6205084/phonics-science-of-reading-teachers/">told</a> Time Magazine.
“And we hated it,&#8221; he lamented.
Time noted that the phonics-based approach &#8220;worked for the students, but not so much for the teachers.&#8221;
What did work for the teachers? A social justice approach, of course.
&#8220;This seems dehumanizing, this is colonizing, this is the man telling us what to do,” Weaver recalled how teachers felt at the time. “So we fought tooth and nail as a teacher group to throw that out.&#8221;
“Those who wanted to fight for social justice, they figured that this new progressive way of teaching reading was the way,&#8221; the educator claimed.
The phonics approach was eliminated by 2015. Now though, Weaver is part of a nationwide movement fighting to bring back the phonics-based approach.
“In Oakland, when you have 19% of Black kids reading — that can’t be maintained in the society,” Weaver explained. “It has been an unmitigated disaster.”
The problem began in the 1980s when California <a href="http://www.sdkrashen.com/content/articles/great_plummet.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">implemented</a> the whole language approach. Nationwide, schools followed and debate ensued as to what worked best for the children. Phonics or whole language?
As Time explained, the &#8220;debate was supposedly settled in 2000, when the National Reading Panel, a big group of literacy experts that examined hundreds of studies on what instruction kids need to read, <a href="https://www.nichd.nih.gov/sites/default/files/publications/pubs/nrp/Documents/report.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">released a report</a>. It recommended explicit instruction in the things Weaver’s petition asks for: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.&#8221;
However, districts across America advocated a &#8220;balanced literacy&#8221; approach instead which was a hodgepodge of phonics and a whole disaster.
Timothy Shanahan, who was on the NRP board, told Time, &#8220;The idea was each group would get some of what they wanted.&#8221;
“I’ve got to admit, I always thought that was a bad idea,&#8221; Shanahan continued. &#8220;It seemed to me that you should just go with the research.&#8221;
Indeed, Shanahan is correct.
It is a lesson that Weaver should have known as well.
Had he and his colleagues looked at the data when ditching phonics in the name of social justice, he would have avoided implementing a system that makes children dumber and illiterate.
Better yet, had he listened to conservative icon Phyllis Schlafly, this entire ordeal would have never happened.
In 1994, Schlafly published the best-selling educational book &#8220;First Reader.&#8221;
As her online store <a href="https://store.phyllisschlafly.com/product/first-reader/">explained</a>, &#8220;First Reader exclusively uses the time-tested method of using phonics to learn how to read.&#8221; It&#8217;s easy for students, teachers, and — perhaps most importantly — parents to use in instructing their children.
The book was created as a direct response to the whole language method.
&#8220;It&#8217;s been a disaster,&#8221; she said bluntly of the whole method approach in a 1995 interview. &#8220;Their own reports show it&#8217;s a disaster and what that means is the child is taught by a guessing method, and I&#8217;ve read these instructions to the first-grade reader. They&#8217;ll tell a teacher to tell the child to memorize a couple of dozen frequently used words, have stories that use those words over and over again, teach the child to skip over words he doesn&#8217;t know, to substitute another word that seems to fit to guess at the words by looking at the picture on the page.&#8221;
&#8220;Now this is a fraud, it&#8217;s a fraud on everybody and this is why people and children don&#8217;t learn how to read,&#8221; she explained.
Schlafly in the mid-1990s sounded an awful lot like how Weaver does today.
Regarding his school district&#8217;s decisions, Weaver admitted, &#8220;There have been choices made where our children were not in the center.&#8221;
&#8220;We abandoned what worked because we didn’t like how it felt to us as adults, when actually, the social-justice thing to do is to teach them explicitly how to read,&#8221; he proclaimed.
It&#8217;s great that Weaver learned from his errors, but sadly his comment is a perfect example of leftism in action.
Leftists seek to “dismantle” everything old while arrogantly thinking that new and “progressive” is better.
They do not realize that destroying is a lot easier than building something of value.
Worse, as of late, they put the adults&#8217; feelings over what is truly best for the child, damaging their education and America&#8217;s future in the process.
Schlafly&#8217;s First Reader interview can be viewed here:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Phyllis Schlafly Interview on First Reader 1995" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/87J1jnCEy4E?start=1&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Phyllis Schlafly

Oakland Teachers Found Out The Hard Way The Social Justice Model Of Reading Is A Disaster

California

conservative

Education

Public Schools

Schools

A <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> administrator has placed a pause on edits to Wikipedia&#8217;s &#8220;Recession&#8221; page by unregistered users until early August to stop &#8220;vandalism&#8221; and &#8220;malicious&#8221; content after the page was edited 41 times in the past seven days with repeated attempts to alter the historical definition of a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/recession">recession</a>.
On Thursday, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-in-a-recession-after-second-straight-quarter-of-negative-growth">estimated</a> that the U.S. economy shrank for the second straight quarter at a 0.9 annualized rate. In recent weeks, the Biden administration had <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bidens-economy-identifies-as-growing">argued</a> that there is no agreed-upon definition of a recession, despite economists consistently saying a recession can be signaled by two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth. The plethora of Wikipedia revisions come as the Biden administration attempts to go around the commonly held definition of the term.
On Wednesday, writer Ann Bauer flagged the edits, tweeting, &#8220;Here is the revision history from roughly the past 24 hours on Wikipedia&#8217;s RECESSION page,&#8221; while showing the extensive list.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Here is the revision history from roughly the past 24 hours on Wikipedia&#39;s RECESSION page: <a href="https://t.co/LxU5RiEEZ9">pic.twitter.com/LxU5RiEEZ9</a>
&mdash; Ann Bauer (@annbauerwriter) <a href="https://twitter.com/annbauerwriter/status/1552417150731751427?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 27, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
For example, an editor by the name &#8220;Soibangla&#8221; — the third most prominent member of the Recession page by authorship — repeatedly <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Recession&amp;diff=prev&amp;oldid=1100801950">deleted</a> additions by other editors who used the textbook definition of a recession as being two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth.
The editor, who contributed to more than a thousand other Wikipedia articles, replaced the historically-applied indicator with various ambiguous explanations. For example, one of Soibangla&#8217;s edits claimed, “There is no global consensus on” what a recession is.
Other editors, however, tried changing or reverting the definitions, only to be foiled by other editors who removed their changes.
There have been so many edits to the page in such a short time that a Wikipedia administrator named “Anarchyte” had to pause all additions due to “Persistent addition of unsourced or poorly sourced content,” requiring all edits to be confirmed by trusted users.
Wikipedia editors are not paid by the company and can be banned if they repeatedly violate its rules. 
As of publication, many of the changes made by users have been deleted, and the historical definition is live on the site, albeit with added context. 
The administrator Anarchyte also tagged the post with “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Twinkle">Twinkle</a>,” which is used to &#8220;stop vandalism, or the malicious addition and/or deletion of content on a page.&#8221; This verification process will be in place for weeks, if not months. 
On the national stage, White House economic advisor Brian Deese has claimed that a recession is not universally defined as two straight quarters of negative growth.
“It’s not the definition that economists have traditionally relied on,” Deese recently said regarding the aforementioned definition.
In 2008, Deese <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/07/27/white-house-takes-heat-after-biden-adviser-accused-of-redefining-recession/">told</a> the media, “Economists have a technical definition of recession, which is two consecutive quarters of negative growth.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Brian Deese, yesterday: &quot;Two negative quarters of GDP growth is not the technical definition of recession.”
Deese, 2008: “Economists have a technical definition of recession, which is two consecutive quarters of negative growth.” <a href="https://t.co/MzVk7drq3v">pic.twitter.com/MzVk7drq3v</a>
&mdash; RNC Research (@RNCResearch) <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1552355645055270912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 27, 2022</a></blockquote>
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On Sunday, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen also refused to acknowledge that the U.S. was heading toward a recession and claimed that the economy was in a “transition” with growth “slowing.”
“This is not an economy that’s in recession,” she <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/yellen-were-not-in-a-recession-were-in-a-transition-in-which-growth-is-slowing">told</a> NBC News&#8217; Chuck Todd. “But we’re in a period of transition in which growth is slowing and that’s necessary and appropriate and we need to be growing at a steady and sustainable pace. So there is a slowdown and businesses can see that and that’s appropriate, given that people now have jobs and we have a strong labor market.”

Wikipedia

Wikipedia’s ‘Recession’ Page Shows 41 Edits In One Week, Attempts At Changing Definition

Wikipedia's 'Recession' Page Shows 41 Edits In One Week, Attempts At Changing Definition

Economics

language

Recession

The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) published a position statement on Tuesday that has decided reading books and writing essays is overrated and that it&#8217;s time to &#8220;decenter&#8221; those traditional activities.
The new emphasis focused on the need to increase focus on digital media and popular culture.
&#8220;Students should examine how digital media and popular culture are completely intermingled with language, literature, and writing. The time has come to decenter book reading and essay writing as the pinnacles of English language arts education,&#8221; the <a href="https://ncte.org/statement/media_education/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> read.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Literacy is expanding. ELA educators must help learners develop knowledge, skills &amp; competencies needed in a digital &amp; mediated world. We address 3 core themes that make media education fundamental to teaching &amp; learning in ELA in a new position statement: <a href="https://t.co/Olbiwar4ru">https://t.co/Olbiwar4ru</a> <a href="https://t.co/1cAOeBYzIP">pic.twitter.com/1cAOeBYzIP</a>
&mdash; National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) (@ncte) <a href="https://twitter.com/ncte/status/1513909923587018756?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 12, 2022</a></blockquote>
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The statement also claimed its position was needed to help &#8220;address inequalities&#8221; regarding digital technologies.
&#8220;To address inequalities in digital technologies and competencies, continuing curricular innovation in the ELA curriculum at all levels of K–12 education is needed,&#8221; the statement noted.
Reading and writing are now apparently insufficient for the public education of students in language arts.
&#8220;Educators value the use of teaching and learning practices that help to identify and disrupt the inequalities of contemporary life, including structural racism, sexism, consumerism, and economic injustice,&#8221; the statement highlighted.
One Twitter user took to social media to declare that not all educators agree with the council&#8217;s new statement.
&#8220;This is so disheartening,&#8221; he wrote alongside a link to the statement.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
“The time has come to decenter book reading and essay writing as the pinnacles of English language arts education.”
This is so disheartening.<a href="https://t.co/RuW6ptbnDl">https://t.co/RuW6ptbnDl</a>
&mdash; Matt Ryan 🟦 #CanonChat 📕: War and Peace (@MatRyanELATeach) <a href="https://twitter.com/MatRyanELATeach/status/1514348742262104072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 13, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The emphasis on race, sexual orientation, gender, and social justice continues to find more ways to enter America&#8217;s classrooms, including language arts.
The &#8220;woke&#8221; trend has led several states to push for laws to remove teaching regarding certain areas from classrooms, such as Critical Race Theory (CRT), or sexual orientation and gender identity to younger students.
South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem announced earlier in April an executive order to ban the teaching of CRT in the state’s K-12 schools.
Noem addressed the topic during a town hall discussion with residents in Mobridge. The governor shared a video from the event on social media featuring her upcoming signing.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Critical Race Theory has no place in our South Dakota public education.
That’s why yesterday I announced I will be signing an executive order to ban the teachings in our K-12 schools. <a href="https://t.co/nPYye6E4oT">pic.twitter.com/nPYye6E4oT</a>
&mdash; Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) <a href="https://twitter.com/KristiNoem/status/1511343623568306184?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 5, 2022</a></blockquote>
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“Critical Race Theory has no place in our South Dakota public education,” Noem wrote.
“I brought two bills this legislative session that banned Critical Race Theory from being taught in our classrooms, in our K-12 schools and another one that banned it in our universities,” the governor said in the video.
“The legislature supported and passed it and I signed into law the university one. So now, in South Dakota going forward, Critical Race Theory cannot be taught in our universities. They killed the K-12 one. So tomorrow, I will be signing an executive order to make sure that Critical Race Theory is not taught in our public school systems, too,” she added.

library

English Teachers Announce Book Reading Is Overrated, Claim It’s Time To ‘Decenter’ Reading And Essays

Critical Race Theory

Kristi Noem

During a nationally televised appearance on MSNBC to criticize Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ (R) educational policies, a Democratic lawmaker touted his credentials as a former teacher before saying the state’s “children are more smarter” than DeSantis believes. The statement was one of numerous grammatical and factual errors made by Florida State Senator Shevrin Jones (D) on “The ReidOut with Joy Reid” Thursday night as he condemned DeSantis&#8217; efforts to have the state’s public schools focus on the basics, like math and English.
“Let’s be extremely clear about something: As a former teacher, I want to make it clear that these children are more smarter [sic] than we think they are,” Jones said, as Reid nodded.
Jones claimed that DeSantis “is not dealing with the things that is [sic] more important, the kitchen table issues,” like “the up in rent that has taken place in South Florida,” apparently referring to rent increases. “But yet, and still, we’re dealing with the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/what-is-critical-race-theory-breaking-down-the-ideology-thats-hitting-schools-across-the-country">Critical Race Theory</a> and <a href="https://therightswriter.com/2020/05/the-1619-projection-3-lies-pulitzer-should-not-reward/">The 1619 Project</a>, an issue <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/here-are-5-ways-the-media-is-trying-to-mislead-you-on-critical-race-theory">that is a non-issue</a>.” Jones did not discuss his own history as the primary sponsor of <a href="https://www.watchtheyard.com/alphas/alpha-phi-alpha-shevrin-jones/">legislation</a> to remove all Confederate statues and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/florida-city-council-removes-confederate-street-paul-bois">erase the name of all Confederate soldiers</a> from public property statewide.
Reid, who has dedicated numerous segments over the past week to the Florida governor, invited Jones to critique DeSantis for removing CRT from the state’s curriculum and supporting a bill that would stop teachers from discussing sexually explicit material in the classroom. Jones opposed the bill, which would prevent elementary school teachers from discussing sexual orientation or gender fluidity with children as young as 5.
“Basically, parents could sue if they believe a school’s procedures are infringing on their fundamental rights to make decisions about education,” Reid said, summarizing the bill. “How is that freedom?”
“Well, not freedom,” replied Jones, starting to call Ron DeSantis “president” before correcting himself. “President —Governor DeSantis, he calls this the free state of Florida, but it’s not the free state of Florida. The governor is trying to not just censor how you teach black history, but he is also trying to censor whether or not teachers can say the word ‘gay’ in our classroom.”
The bill in question (SB 1834) does not ban people from uttering the word “gay” in school, nor prevent children from having spontaneous conversations about any topic. The legislation <a href="https://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Documents/loaddoc.aspx?FileName=_s1834__.DOCX&amp;DocumentType=Bill&amp;BillNumber=1834&amp;Session=2022">says</a> that a “school district may not encourage classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in primary grade levels,” nor in a way that is not age-appropriate in public secondary schools.
The mere proposal proves “it is becoming dangerous every single day to live in the free state of Florida,” Jones said, as he bent his fingers into air quotes.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/ShevrinJones?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ShevrinJones</a>: &quot;It is becoming dangerous every single day to live in the &#39;free state of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Florida?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Florida</a>.&#39;&quot; <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheReidOut?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TheReidOut</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/reiders?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#reiders</a> <a href="https://t.co/4bWzlnCwWl">pic.twitter.com/4bWzlnCwWl</a>
&mdash; The ReidOut (@thereidout) <a href="https://twitter.com/thereidout/status/1484327203517067277?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Reid then <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/no-a-proposed-florida-law-doesnt-make-it-illegal-to-make-white-people-feel-discomfort-its-a-hit-piece-against-desantis">erroneously accused</a> DeSantis of backing a proposal that would make it illegal “to teach history that would make white people uncomfortable.” She asked Jones, “Does that law include saying you can’t make black people feel uncomfortable or indigenous people?”
Governor DeSantis’ office debunked Democratic charges that the bill would criminalize making white people feel discomfort on Wednesday morning. “The word ‘white’ (or any other race) is not even in the bill,” wrote the governor’s press secretary, Christina Pushaw. “The bill was introduced by a Hispanic lawmaker to prevent any kind of race essentialist indoctrination. But you wouldn’t know that if you rely on American Pravda,” her term for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/call-out-gop-extremism-brian-stelter-tells-associated-press">the Associated Press</a>, which has come under criticism for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ap-quotes-mayor-attacking-ron-desantis-doesnt-mention-hes-married-to-desantis-political-rival">numerous stories</a> about the potential 2024 Republican presidential contender.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The word “white” (or any other race) is not even in the bill. The bill was introduced by a Hispanic lawmaker to prevent any kind of race essentialist indoctrination. But you wouldn’t know that if you rely on American Pravda and its “kind” Tallahassee reporter for news. <a href="https://t.co/9FR4CLKS0D">https://t.co/9FR4CLKS0D</a>
&mdash; Christina Pushaw 🐊 🇺🇸 (@ChristinaPushaw) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChristinaPushaw/status/1483792441148940292?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 19, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The <a href="https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2022/148/BillText/Filed/PDF">text of the bill</a> states that no “individual should feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress on account of his or her race, color, sex, or national origin” as a result of mandatory sensitivity training or subject matter taught in businesses or public schools. Jones had <a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-florida-lawsuits-ron-desantis-racial-injustice-3ec10492b7421543315acf4491813c1b">falsely told</a> the Associated Press on Tuesday, “This bill’s not for Blacks, this bill was not for any other race. This was directed to make whites not feel bad about what happened years ago.”
He also accused DeSantis of spouting “racist rhetoric.” An AP employee later approached the governor’s office for comment, stating, “I asked Sen. Jones if he thought Gov. DeSantis is racist. He said his policies are. Do you have a comment?”
“I just want to clarify – that you, without any context, asked a sitting State Senator if the Governor of Florida is a racist, while on the clock, being paid by the Associated Press?” replied Communications Director Taryn Fenske. The AP story originally claimed the governor’s office did not respond.
Jones made yet another grammatical faux pas during the segment as he apparently intended to accuse the governor of violating citizens’ constitutionally protected rights but forgot to use the word “not.” Jones charged Florida Republicans with “constitutionally protecting freedom of peacefully protesting … the freedom to succeed and access real economic opportunity.”
According to a <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Shevrin_Jones">biography</a> posted at Ballotpedia, Jones worked “as an AP Chemistry teacher with Broward County Public Schools and as the executive director of South Florida Reading Corps.”
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at a press conference at

‘Children Are More Smarter’ Than Ron DeSantis’ Education Policies: Democratic Teacher-Turned-Senator

Joy Reid

MSNBC

Ron DeSantis

In July, a subcommittee of an organization called the Conference on College Composition and Communication that named itself the “Why We Cain’t Breathe!” subcommittee published a <a href="https://cccc.ncte.org/cccc/demand-for-black-linguistic-justice">list of demands</a> calling for the abolition of “White Mainstream English” to make way for “Black Linguistic Justice.”
Five English professors and a writing scholar created the list of demands, claiming students needed to “decolonize” their minds as well as the English language, as <a href="https://www.thecollegefix.com/black-linguistic-justice-professors-demand-end-to-standard-english-as-the-norm/">The College Fix</a> reported.
The five chief demands of the infuriated group were:
<blockquote>We demand that teachers stop using academic language and standard English as the accepted communicative norm, which reflects white mainstream English.
We demand that teachers stop teaching black students to code-switch! Instead, we must teach black students about anti-black linguistic racism and white linguistic supremacy.
We demand that political discussions and Praxis Center Black Language as teacher-researcher activism for classrooms and communities.
We demand black linguistic consciousness.
We demand that black dispositions are centered in the research and teaching of black language.</blockquote>
The six authors included Michigan State University Professors April Baker-Bell and Lamar Johnson; Cal State University Fullerton Professor Bonnie Williams-Farrier; Boston University Professor Davena Jackson; Texas Christian University Carmen Kynard, and English scholar Teaira McMurtry, reportedly affiliated with the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Some of the document’s statements included:
<blockquote>We are witnessing institutions and organizations craft statements condemning police brutality and anti-Black racism while ignoring the anti-Black skeletons in their own closets. As language and literacy researchers and educators, we acknowledge that the same anti-Black violence toward Black people in the streets across the United States mirrors the anti-Black violence that is going down in these academic streets. &#8230;
Socially constructed terms like academic language and standard English are rooted in white supremacy, whiteness, and anti-Blackness and contribute to anti-Black policies (e.g., English only) that are codified and enacted to privilege white linguistic and cultural norms while deeming Black Language inferior.
We demand teachers and researchers acknowledge that socially constructed terms such as academic language and standard English are false and entrenched in notions of white supremacy and whiteness that contribute to anti-Black linguistic racism. teachers STOP telling Black students that they have to “learn standard English to be successful because that’s just the way it is in the real world.” No, that’s not just the way it is; that’s anti-Black linguistic racism. researchers, educators, influencers, and public scholars reject notions of a single nonmainstream language category that erases the linguistic, cultural, and political specificity of Black Language and Life struggles. &#8230;
We demand that teachers and researchers decolonize their minds (and/or) language of white supremacy and anti-Black linguistic racism and study the origin theories and sociolinguistic principles that exist about Black Language. &#8230;
And in case you’ve forgotten what WE mean when WE say Black Lives Matter, we stand with the words of the three radical Black organizers and freedom dreamers/fighters—Alicia Garza, Patrisse Khan-Cullors, and Opal Tometi—who created the historic political project #BlackLivesMatter.</blockquote>

McDonald’s Unhappy Over McJob Addition To Dictionary

Black Professors Demand Abolition Of ‘White Mainstream English’ For ‘Black Linguistic Justice’

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