Guess what issue is going to decide the FL-Sen race. I bet you are wrong.
We are the teachers of Florida, and we are going to make or break this election.
Don't believe me? Check out the percentage of OUR questions swamping the Fox News comment section for tomorrow's Crist vs. Rubio debate.
It's simple. If Charlie Crist vetoes or significantly alters Florida Senate Bill 6, he beats Rubio. We are the teachers of Florida, and we are going to make or break this election.
Charlie Crist has a repugnant Repulican Florida Senator to thank for this opportunity. John Thrasher is as distasteful as it gets. He is directly connected to the same companies that milked the FCAT standardized testing system for millions thanks to Jeb Bush and his rampant nepotism. He is railroading through a bill that would take away my 27 years of experience and make my Masters Degree worthless. The bill will make it impossible to attract quality teachers to Florida. Here's some background from the Washington Post education blog.
It’s no wonder that many teachers, students and parents feel that public education is under assault in Florida.
Despite a growing chorus of opposition from teachers, students and even school superintendents, the Republican-dominated state Legislature is intent on passing a bill that would make eliminate teacher tenure, link teacher pay to student standardized test scores, and add a heap more tests on already test-plagued students.
Each one of those items will negatively impact every student in a Florida public school.
You might think that the Democratic administration of President Obama would say something about all of this. But so far, there has been silence.
I asked the Education Department if Secretary Arne Duncan had taken a position on any of this, and the answer came back today. It was simple: "No."
The most egregious of the bills was passed Wednesday by the Senate, and a companion bill was approved by a House committee Thursday.
According to the Miami Herald, sergeants-at-arms had to form a barrier when the panel ended because they were afraid of the wrath of angry educators who had come to protest. Republicans ignored amendments and cut off public testimony to force a vote on the bill.
The bill, like Senate Bill 6, requires school systems to evaluate and pay teachers primarily on the basis of student test scores, which assessment experts say is an ineffective evaluation method.
In addition, no longer could experience in the classroom, or professional credentials, or advanced degrees, have any value in a teacher’s salary. That’s a great way to tell students that education is valuable, don’t you think?
Yep, this is going national. The Florida Repulican Congress is going to steamroll it through, so our focus is Charlie Crist. Either he helps us, or Rubio dominates him. See, teachers are both Republicans and Democrats.
If Crist stays the course and allows Jeb Bush to decide this for him, then Kendrick Meek is going to get every teacher's vote. It's that simple. We are the teachers of Florida, and we are going to make or break this election.
More from the Washington Post:
There is an Orwellian cast to the words of Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who said that the bill "focuses on trying to help children and encouraging better teachers," when, in fact, it will, without a doubt, do the opposite.
Any teacher could tell that to Crist, but I’m betting he doesn’t talk to any.
I wish Secretary Duncan would call up the governor and tell him that if he signs this bill, the state will have a hard time keeping and recruiting good teachers. Who would want to work there?
You can see the effect that all of this is having on teachers and parents by going to a page on Facebook called "testing is not teaching," at http://www.facebook.com/...
Here’s what one teacher wrote on the day the Senate passed its version of the bill. It’s enough to make you cry:
What a devastating day for teachers...and the teaching professionals state-wide. Not in all my 17 years as a special education teacher have I been so disheartened! I just can’t make ends meet...and it’s going to come a time, as my mom says, to "fish or cut bait". I think I’ll be leaving this profession.
We may feel disheartened, but we also love our jobs. Teachers are the future of America, and we will not give that up to the corporate interests that want to turn our children into mindless sheep.
We are the teachers of Florida, and we are going to make or break this election.