District employee: Consider chaotic conditions when reporting FCAT scores

C. Roberts, a Hillsborough School District employee, shares observations on student discipline problems from working in schools  in a letter published on ItsYourTimes.com.

Roberts describes lunchtime as a "chaotic, social hour with mishaps just waiting to happen."

And the students ignore any nutritious food that is served in the cafeteria, Roberts writes. "Schools cook enough vegetables to feed just one grade, and still have several portions left over daily."

Then, after lunch, "students return to class with a sugar high, cell phones, i-Pods, and a bad attitude."

Read Roberts' letter, share your views.

High school junior shares downsides of FCAT

Marissa Shearer of Tampa writes a letter on ItsYourTimes.com asking why the state grades her school based upon the FCAT. Once students learn the science portion doesn't affect their personal grade --only the school's -- they don't show up or don't take the test seriously, she writes.

"With these negative factors, why would they still enforce this method of grading our school system? I feel that this affects me directly, as my school could possibly have a lower grade for my college to look at, and indirectly, through the cost that the state pays to administer these tests," Marissa writes.

Read her letter, share your views.

Guest post: Florida should allow private-school vouchers

Money is tight. Florida needs to do more with less. Former New York educator Dan Insdorf, who has written columns for the Winter Haven News-Chief, suggests the answer lies in vouchers. They cost less than public school education, he argues in a guest column that takes shots at much of the education establishment.

On his site schoolvoucherpetition.com, Insdorf goes so far as to advocate changing the Florida Constitution to say give all Florida students a voucher worth 75 percent of a public school education. Check out what he has to say and then let the discussion begin:

It costs approximately $14,000 per year to send a child to a Florida public school. Graduation rates average 60% to 70% with 50% of those entering college needing remedial education.  President Obama and Vice President Biden send their children to private school as do 50% of Florida elected officials. The average private/parochial school tuition is $6000.

A simple solution to the current budget crisis is to offer parents of public school students a $6000 voucher.

This would save Florida Counties 50% of the cost of educating our young people and the quality of the education would be vastly improved.  

If vouchers for all grades would not be acceptable, vouchers for high school are an absolute must.  Academic high schools are a big waste of time and money and do not properly serve their population.

Rep. Stargel: Florida deserves 'a great teacher in every classroom'

The teacher tenure debate has reared its head in Florida, with Rep. Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland, leading the charge. Her bill to extend the number of years before a teacher can earn tenure, expand performance pay options and other related changes comes to its first stop in the House this afternoon.

Stargel contends in a guest post to the Gradebook that her effort is in line with President Barack Obama's plans for education reform, and suggests that Florida should do no less. [The Gradebook welcomes original guest columns on Florida education issues. E-mail your contributions to solochek@sptimes.com for consideration.]

Here's what Stargel has to say about her proposal:

"This session, Florida has an unprecedented opportunity to create a world-class workforce that will attract investment and high wage jobs, and help return our economy to a path of prosperity for the long term. Elected officials from both sides of the aisle agree that great teachers produce great students.

"In his speech on [March 10], President Barack Obama said, 'From the moment students enter a school, the most important factor in their success is not the color of their skin or the income of their parents; it's the person standing at the front of the classroom.' In fact, research confirms effective teaching is the most important factor in determining a student’s success in school. Policy experts at the Education Trust, Stanford University and the University of Tennessee confirm that good teachers accelerate student progress, and produce student gains almost four times greater than the least effective teachers in the system.

"To transform education in Florida, I filed House Bill 1411 — the 2009 Teacher Quality Initiative. The initiative is a comprehensive approach to raising student achievement by ensuring a great teacher in every classroom.

Pinellas teacher frustrated with students who don't care

A Pinellas County teacher writes a revealing account of life in her high school classroom, asking what to do about students who don't care. Virginia Oliva's letter, published on ItsYourTimes.com, describes being hamstrung by school regulations and uninvolved parents, as well.

She says students show up for her class "equipped with electronics capable of playing their favorite downloaded music, mostly rap, playing television shows, videos or movies, e-mailing, texting or talking to friends and family members."

"On any given day, these teens walk into the classroom with plugs in both ears, a phone in one hand and the other hand holding up their pants -- but no paper, pens or pencils."

She lists eight possible solutions for the problems in schools. Her final one: parents who care.

Read her piece, share your thoughts.

Rep. Kiar: Don't go backward on class size

With budgets tight, Florida's 2002 class-size reduction amendment has come squarely in the cross-hairs of lawmakers looking to cut back spending. They argue that the state need not spend close to $1 billion more moving to maximum classroom counts of students.

The Florida Education Association and many of its supporters don't buy the pitch. State Rep. Marty Kiar, the House Democrats' education point man, suggests in a guest post to the Gradebook that Florida can find flexibility in the rules without altering the state Constitution again. [The Gradebook welcomes original guest columns on Florida education issues. E-mail your contributions to solochek@sptimes.com for consideration.]

Read on for Kiar's views on the class-size amendment:

"More than six years ago, Floridians approved the constitutional Class Size Reduction Amendment, which demands that the Legislature provide our children with smaller class sizes and better learning environments.

"In the current lawmaking session, a proposed joint resolution would place on the 2010 ballot a new amendment that significantly alters class-size requirements for public schools.

"I have concerns about putting another joint resolution on the ballot. It is my belief that the current class-size requirements should be made more flexible through statute rather than another constitutional amendment. A statutory fix by the Legislature would be the best and most efficient way to provide relief to our school districts. Such a move would provide needed flexibility.

Hey, senator, leave evolution alone

Florida State University physics professor Paul Cottle, who's also a member of the Florida Science Standards Committee, is none too pleased with Sen. Steve Wise's proposal to change the way public school teachers teach science. He calls the ideas behind Wise's bill a threat to modern science education.

It's an issue Florida dealt with last year, Cottle says in a guest column for the Gradebook, and one we shouldn't be considering now. [The Gradebook welcomes original guest columns on Florida education issues. E-mail your contributions to solochek@sptimes.com for consideration.]

Read on for Cottle's views on evolution education:

"Stephen Wise, the powerful Chair of the K-12 Appropriations Committee in the Florida Senate, has filed a bill (SB 2396) that would require that science classrooms in Florida's public K-12 schools provide a "thorough presentation and critical analysis of the scientific theory of evolution."  To the casual reader, such language seems as if it should be good news to someone like me who is both a scientist and an educator who helped write the state's new science standards.

After all, who could be opposed to a "thorough presentation and critical analysis" of such an important scientific topic?

But I, along with nearly all my colleagues on the science standards committee, recognize Senator Wise's language as a threat to the teaching of one of the most important ideas in modern science.