Texas school leader tells teachers to provide opposing Holocaust views
According to an audio recording obtained by NBC News, teachers in Carroll Independent School District in Texas were told that if they have a book about the Holocaust in their classroom, they should also offer students access to a book from an “opposing” perspective. The comment made by Gina Peddy, the Carroll school district’s executive director of curriculum and instruction, happened during a training session with educators on what types of books they could have in their classrooms. The training allegedly followed a complaint by a parent whose child came home from school with an anti-racism book. The school board voted to reprimand the teacher who kept the book in her classroom. Peddy’s comment has faced both significant backlash and praise. Those in favor of the requiring “balanced education” on topics like the Holocaust have also rallied in recent years to keep curriculum about racism, LGBT+ issues and more out of Texas schools.
Family in Indiana mistakenly given covid vaccine instead of flu shot
Last week, at a Walgreens in Indiana, a family of four was mistakenly given the COVID-19 vaccine instead of the flu shot. Joshua and Alexandra Price were alerted that a mistake had been made after they and their two children ages 4 and 5 had received what they thought was the flu shot at their local Walgreens. While they intended to get a flu shot, they had all mistakenly been given adult doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. Although both adults were already fully vaccinated, only the children exhibited adverse reactions to the shot. According to an article from CNN, both children are expected to be ok. However, they were given a dosage three times higher than the one currently being tested in clinical trials for children under the age of 5. As of last week, Walgreens had declined to comment on the mix-up.
High school students in California required to take ethnic studies course under new law
According to an article from the NY Times, a new law in California requiring high school students to take a class in ethnic studies in order to graduate is among one of the many “firsts” signed into law by governor of California, Gavin Newsom. Under the new law, an ethnic studies course will teach students about the contributions and struggles of ethnic groups including African Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos and others. According to the state’s model ethnic studies curriculum, the requirement is a way to educate students about groups whose history have often remained untold by U.S. history classes.
FDA panel votes to recommend covid booster shots
Last Thursday, an independent panel of experts voted to recommend a booster shot for the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. Booster recommendations for the Johnson&Johnson vaccine are also being considered. The Pfizer-BioNTech booster has already begun to be administered to individuals over the age of 65, those in nursing homes, individuals with underlying conditions and frontline workers. Booster shots for the other vaccines are expected to be approved in the future.
