Bless your wife. What an impact. I'm sure you have experiences like we occasionally do, especially if we're in Miami where my wife taught in the 80s, when some adult woman comes up and gives her a hug and refers to her by her birth name. We always know it's a former student. (She only taught girls at a Catholic school so it's always women).
Florida is also short one rooster. 'Chickens die every day, people': Florida man arrested for killing neighbor's rooster claims self-defense
I haven’t read the story but I am tell you from growing up with chickens and roosters… Roosters can get MEAN! And their spurs are no joke. I can see a neighbor legit killing a mean rooster in self defense.
I googled it and in 2019 Florida had 202,125 public school teachers if they are short 9,000 they have about a 4.5% shortage. That seems pretty typical from what I hear from other companies I hear from.
Your username reminds me of a poster we used to have, don't think he posted on THFSG, but I think it was "stillabum3" or something like that. Anyway, I'm not suggesting taking anything away from the higher end schools. I'm suggesting pouring more into the lower end schools. The idea is that the additional effort towards promotion of our youth will pay off in terms of less individuals falling by the system's wayside. Is it idealistic? Perhaps, but at this point, I'm willing to give it a go. One caveat, as I've mentioned above, I'd like to see some trimming at the administration level, and I'm not just talking about personnel, but in the requirements they put on teachers. No problem if we disagree. Go GATORS! ,WESGATORS
They are not doing a good job in reaching out to the communities that they serve. I understand that they, in theory, exist to serve the teachers, but the teachers would be better served by connecting the dots between the voters and the problems that the teachers face. Is that too much to ask of the union? Maybe I'm misunderstanding the value that the union actually provides. I just don't hear favorable things about the union from those on the inside. Seems like communication is a fairly easy problem to address, but their has to be a desire to address it. Go GATORS! ,WESGATORS
I disagree on your first point, and I would suggest that the second point needs to be re-evaluated in terms of how the union can be more effective. In theory, the purpose of the union is to serve the educators. Do you see room for improvement in that area? I think maybe they should think outside their self-constructed objectives if communication with the voters (not just parents) is not part of their scope. Go GATORS! ,WESGATORS
As a parent, I get nothing but blank stares and lack of direction when it comes to seeking out ways we can help with specifics (not just from the teachers, but from principals as well). Maybe the problem is specific to our district, but that doesn't seem to be the case. I don't fault the teachers, but I would think their union would take this up as an important issue. Outreach is sorely lacking. If it's not the unions job to commit to the outreach, who should do it on behalf of the teachers? Go GATORS! ,WESGATORS
You have a lot right. Then you throw in the ridiculous statement that she would be charged with murder because a kid hit her and killed her baby.
The issue is that today a first year teacher is making the highest salary of their career, adjusted for inflation. Going forward their raises will be minimal and usually in the form of a bonus which will not impact their retirement. Unlike LEOs and others we can’t pad our retirement with overtime. Fortunately for those younger teachers they can opt out of FRS and use individual accounts that are portable. More than 50% of new teachers leave within five years and take that with them, which is all part of the plan. The result is a steady stream of inexperienced educators.
Sounds like you are just complaining to complain. I point out that salaries have increased significantly under DeSantis so now you move on to the next talking point. Pure garbage. Parent's don't want to be involved anymore? Go look at the school board meetings across the country the past 2 years.
You sound like the person who complains even after they get their way. Now complaining that DeSantis raised the starting salary? When you stop playing politics let everyone know. Yes, the raises for teachers who've been doing a good job(no idea how to assess that) need to be better, but to say DeSantis has done nothing is just politics. Back to your complaining...
Your second paragraph is complete hyperbole. Our local charter system has been in operation for over a decade, occupies no convenience stores and requires all teachers to be certified. We also graduate a higher percentage of seniors than any other HS is the county with many grads being accepted at UF and even ivy league schools and service academies. And fwiw the founder of our system is one of the most liberal dems i’ve ever met. He’s a stalwart of the community and a great guy. He would disagree with your broad brush characterization of charters.
