How to improve Florida's schools
 

(Sorry, this was gong to be a part of the "4 more years of Jeb" thread, but I think I've posted way too much on that one & thought at least this msg could start its own thread..)



There are PLENTY of good teachers being graduated each year by not only the Florida schools, but also Ivy League schools. And yes, many of them want to teach in Florida but are turned down because
1) they are not a "minority"
2) they will be put in a terrible school
3) they will be put in a portable or not even assigned a classroom.

What needs to happen for Florida's education to improve:
1) build more schools; end the building sprawl
2) fire the incompetent teachers once & for all
3) teachers who have been in the classroom for 10 years should have to take the high school FCAT. They are given 3 tries. if they don't pass - see ya! (just like the high school students). And yes, the state should pay for any "prep" classes they might need...i guarantee you, many will not pass.

Fraternally,
Annie (again)
B.S. in Journalism, Univ. of Florida
M.S. in Education, Univ. of Miami
High School teacher in the Miami-Dade Public School System, 1992-2001.

kd, I think you must be my soul sister or something...

I completely agree.

Oh, and why do I agree? Because I am a first year teacher seeing how sad the schools are and how stupid many long-time teachers really are.

I am in Rhode Island now. However, I went to school in Texas (and had always planned to work in TX...I am only up here 'cause my husband is a grad student at Brown...then we are returning!) and although the schools could use improvement there, I would say that they are like heaven compared to the corrupt disaster that RI schools are. The difference in my opinion: TX does not have teacher unions. They do not have tenure. If you suck, you get fired (most of the time). People here in RI are too comfortable and feel that nobody can touch them once they get a job. I say shake 'em up a little. Hold them accountable with competency testing. That'll weed them out just like you said!

kdonline I agree with you about weeding out the bad teachers . . . it would make more room for me! I'm graduating in May and according to all of my co-ops thus far I'm a great teacher. There are not too many jobs for teachers compared to the number of qualified applicants graduating every year from NCATE accredited institutions in PA right now though so I'm hoping that I can find a job without having to move.

As a Floridian who teaches, I want to add my two cents. Though I do not work at a public school, I think I understand it fairly well. Why do I not work in the public school system? Well, some of the schools around here can be VERY scary and my local district is nutso.

1.) Shake things up a bit.
I have to agree with dzsaigirl on this point. We've all seen the horrible teachers, but we also know that if they do nothing short of incompetence or immorality there is nothing that we can do to get rid of them once they achieve tenure. Some people are picture perfect examples of what a teacher should be until they become tenured and then they start slacking off slowly but surely.

2.) Mandatory APPROPRIATE testing.
This goes along with what kdonline was saying. True, we do have tests that teachers must pass in order to warp young minds, but what are they actually testing? This is a big issue to me because I just finished taking my subject area examination and it asked questions that had to be at least as old as I am.

I know there are big differences between elementary education and mathematical majors, but it would seem like we could get independant reviewers to make sure the information being asked on all of the exams is pertinent.

3.) Teachers need incentives.
"So, let me get this straight. You want me to quit my job where I make $50,000 a year to become a beginning teacher and make maybe $28,000? HAH! That's a good one."

Something has got to be done to attract the best and brightest to our classrooms. We all know the three best reasons to teach are June, July and August, but that doesn't help when you have to pay the bills. I'm not just saying this because I am an educator; it's the reaction I get when I tell people I teach. If we can lure teachers either to come to Florida or encourage college students to join the profession, there is no way we will ever be able to lower the average classroom size.

4.) Find someone who actually WANTS to be the Commissoner of Education.
Everyone has been using this post as a political stepping stone and not really giving it the attention it deserves.

5.) Restructure the DOE.
I think this is self-explanatory. It's gotten too large and doesn't work efficently anymore.

6.) Make local districts accountable
Again, this is self-explanatory.