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HE'S BACK, AND HE WANTS AN AUDIENCE“Hey, it’s Mike. Remember?"My voice rang with a note of holiday cheer as I walked around the shopping mall in Leesburg, Florida, hunting traces of my old...
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WHAT DOES "HIGH QUALITY" EDUCATION LOOK LIKE?“You asked about high quality - it seems to be … a vague generality,” writes Vance Jochim.The Florida constitution requires a high-quality school system....
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“Now, let me be clear: This is not about the kind of testing that has mushroomed under No Child Left Behind. This is not about more tests. It's not about teaching to the test. And it's not about...
View ArticleOpen letter to Florida PIRG
To Florida Public Interest Research Group:I am a former journalist who often benefited from the accuracy of your organization. I retired and became a teacher.I believe education warrants Florida PIRG's...
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Florida Senate Bill 6:No respect for experienceLucky me. During my introduction to the classroom, veteran teachers freely shared advice and knowledge. Experienced administrators coached me about...
View ArticleHow the news talks down to teachers
Florida Could End Teacher Tenure, Embrace Merit Pay. This story from NPR shows how the specific concerns of educators can get trivialized in the news.Mr. Scott Finn, the author, gives the first quote...
View ArticleGetting it right
A facebook group called Moms & Dads Against Senate Bill 6 asked for solutions to the problems schools experience today. My response: Number 1: Get rid of the myth that student bubble-test...
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Teaching: The perfect prepfor political serviceElaine Renick, Linda Stewart honed leadership skills working in the classroom When I left the news business and became an educator, I saw something I...
View ArticleGuest blogger: LCEA President B Grassell
URGENT APPEAL TO TEACHERS, PARENTS AND SCHOOL SUPPORTERS: THE EDUCATION VOTE IS CRITICAL IN THIS ELECTIONAs you know, a collective vote from the education community can and will make a huge difference...
View ArticleGuest blogger: E.K. Emery
Education leads the wayto economic recoveryBy E.K. EmeryI am running for Lake County Commission because our future depends to a great extent on what path we travel today. We have a new Comprehensive...
View ArticleWhat you may not have heard about Amendment 8
Many parents and educators are receiving information from school districts and public officials about the requirements of the current class size amendment and the changes that have been proposed by the...
View ArticleFrank Wood for Florida House
Florida House candidate Frank Wood’s endorsement by Republican Frank Sargent, well-known and well-loved, was music to my nonpartisan ears.My voter card over the years bore the stamp of the Republican,...
View ArticleJumping elephants
Straight-ticket Republican voters who don’t happen to be wealthy may have jumped off a cliff on election day.These middle-class Republican voters said yes to the corporate agenda of low wages, more...
View ArticleSay no to the Florida education bills
The Florida Legislature is trying to make schools better because, compared to schools around the world, our schools lag behind. You heard about this. We need more testing, says the Florida legislature....
View ArticleSchool year begins under a cloud of official dishonesty
"The system will crunch FCAT data while taking into account factors outside a teacher's control, such as a student's absentee rate." This lie, or something like it, has been repeated in newspaper,...
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