On today’s NOTICE News: The governor of Florida has banned a new AP class on African American studies. We’ll tell you why. Plus: Netflix’s long proposed crackdown on password sharing has arrived. Here’s a transcript of today’s show.
Discussion Questions
- What reasoning did Governor DeSantis give for rejecting the AP African American Studies class in Florida?
- How is this move by Governor DeSantis similar to his other recent efforts to manage the K-12 curriculum in Florida?
- The College Board not only administers AP classes, but also the PSAT and SAT tests, the latter widely being used for college entrance. What could be some potential consequences of certain states restricting how or whether students access something put out by the College Board?
- With Vice President Pence, a Republican, now added to the controversy over mishandled classified documents, that originally was focused around President Trump, and more recently included President Biden, how might it affect the politics of the issue?
- Why is Netflix taking action on the sharing of passwords used to access their platform?
- How does the economic situation of Netflix affect their programming?
Writing Prompts
- There are several AP classes that focus on cultures (like AP Spanish Language and Culture and AP French Language and Culture), which students often take at the end of their studies in a foreign language. Do you feel that an AP African American Studies class is similar or different from these courses, and how so? Does its relation to these classes matter in the call for it to be a new AP class?
- Traditionally, state governments are responsible for managing education. Keeping in mind the recent efforts by Governor DeSantis, what might be some advantages and disadvantages of state control over education, rather than it being at the federal or national level?
- Especially in an age of streaming services, a lot of password sharing goes on, just as Netflix once encouraged. Why might a company encourage this practice even if it costs them subscribers? Who else might be affected–other than the streaming service itself–by funding lost from diminishing subscribers?
Further Reading
- Our top story: Florida Schools Will Not Offer AP African American Studies Course (Reuters)
- NBC News has a great rundown of what’s in the new AP class…
- And here’s the College Board’s official info on the pilot class
- More on the classified documents found at former Vice President Mike Pence’s house (Reuters)
- Asian actors made history in this year’s Oscars nominations (Variety)
- Netflix is preparing to charge for password sharing: Here’s what we know (The Hill)