Florida's K-12 educational system is not remotely elite. You either lack reading comprehension or are being intentionally dishonest. Either ways, read the thread. Because that again is not what people are saying.
Im not talking about this thread. Are you going to tell me the hyperbolic doomsday types havent been losing their minds over a few books being banned or whatever the complaint of the day is?
If you mean that people have gotten angry over DeSantis being responsible for hundreds of books being banned, school libraries being emptied, and relentless attacks on free speech, you are correct. People have pointed out the damage it is doing and the impact to come (teacher shortages, successful academics leaving the state, our universities losing prestige/grants, etc.).
Years ago, my wife--young in her education career--came at me with how horrible Jeb Bush and Republicans were for education, and how horrible the FSA was. I had to educate her on Florida's history, and let her know that for 50+ years of Democratic rule, our peers were Alabama and Mississippi, locking down the bottom 3 places. Over the years, we saw steady increase, imo, thanks on no small part to the seemingly harsh "no child left behind". So yeah, it takes years to see results, and they can go either way, but i must point out that the FSA was highly UNpopular with educators. Had it been a Dem who got rid of it, dude would be exalted as a demigod. But it was a pub...who undid what another pub did...and therefore they're both horrific shitheads!!!
My wife was still in K12 back then. She said Jeb was too heavy handed, but given how craycray it was, he didn’t have much of a choice. Context, she loves Rachel…….
JEB! was the absolutely the worst governor for education. His plan was to prove Florida schools were failures, so he instituted plans that would move Florida away from the public school system, and toward a privatized voucher system. This system worked in conjunction with voucher companies in Brownsville, Texas. Private prep schools refused to participate in voucher programs opting to provide scholarships to high level athletes. His plans included an increasing number of tests in writing, reading, and math which could have been graded in house by teachers free of charge. However these tests were sent to a company in California to be graded by minimum wage employees costing millions of taxpayer dollars. He collected a mountain of data used to shame teachers and schools, and as a result there is a massive teacher shortage. So parents can now use taxpayer money to send their kids to voucher religious schools with zero requirements on teacher qualifications, accountability on the money spent, and parents no longer can rely on the school system to transport, feed, or provide a credentialed teacher. In short in Florida a kid can drop out of school, pass the GED, and then go straight to work teaching children math. Edit: I forgot to mention these voucher school teachers may also have criminal records.
Yeah, im familiar with the party line. Just that results took a massive dump all over the narrative. (Which seems to happen a lot to high brow libby delusions of grandeur...).
^^^in other words, we accidentally stumbled forward under and in spite of Republican leadership, while accidentally spun wheels and languished right along with missi-freakn-ssippi, and ala-dumbass-bama, under and on spite of, enlightened libby Democrat leadership. Dang those inconvenient accidents...
Except that it’s been explained to you ad nauseum that you don’t understand the data. Here’s a dose of reality for you that the republican plan for destroying public education is working perfectly. Florida’s education system is vastly underperforming | Column
"ps..SAT scores in Florida rank 45 out of 50 states. how is that doing great when you are in the bottom 10% of all states in a apples to apples measurement of high school education?" That could be due to the influx of Republican voters.
School libraries are emptied? I need some photos of this… Teacher shortages have been going on in Florida for years btw it’s not a new thing.
While I don’t always agree with you my wife a former teacher has echoed this sentiment. I certainly defer to her in this arena.
So as is often the case context is everything. The local board decided to take out all the books to be reviewed. That wasn’t some edict by the Governor to remove all books. Local leaders doing it for effect. Makes a nice news story.
They (and it wasn't just Duval removing books) did it because of DeSantis's law that threatened severe consequences. And instead of offering clear guidance as to what they could and couldn't do, DeSantis's inept clowns at the DOE told schools to "err on the side of caution." Guess what? They did. Florida Teachers Are Emptying Classroom Libraries to Avoid Going to Jail Some teachers removing classroom libraries to comply with new Florida rules, officials say Escambia schools pulling books from classrooms to review after florida law Funny how we went from "show me proof" to "okay, yeah, that's proof, but it's not DeSantis's fault!!!!"
Still seems like the went baby out with the bath water just make a point. My kids schools libraries certainly weren’t empty.
The problem is that the law is so vague and guidance from DOE nonexistent, districts were left to figure it out on their own. The penalties for not complying “properly” is a criminal felony. On top of that, it just takes ONE Moms for Liberty nut job to complain and the book is removed. Principals and media specialists don’t want the fight. I’ve seen it happen at my own school.
What's been 'explained' ad nauseam? That we didn't suck out loud for 50+ years before Jeb? That would be denial, not 'explanation'. The 8th grade drop off is compared to the country, not to Florida pre-Jeb. Can we do better? Sure. But we sure as shit were doing WORSE, before Jeb. .. and as CCH pointed out, it's just yoo early to guage where RDs policies will take us. Imo hes a mixed bag. Jacked up starting salaries for teachers--good. Did not increase existing experienced teachers pay....could actually be good. Might be bad. Taking a stand against woke bullshit.... good. Making it a felony to have certain books in class...not good. Very not good, imo. Way too far. ...but we'll see.
You oughtn't. Educators are conditioned to group think, and wind up echoing hollow nonsense, out of partisan indoctrination. To wit: Jeb Bush sucked for doing X...and Ronny D sux for undoing X. The only possible reconciliation here, is the evil "R" affixed to both their names. C'est la vie.
