From ABC News.
"A pot of gold at the end of the standardized test is not going to make me work harder with children," Holland said. "I'm going to work harder with my children regardless."
Instead Torres thinks teachers will be demoralized by the bill and will be less motivated.
"It's a demoralizing, almost bordering on unethical, treatment of us," Torres said.
It is unethical treatment, and we will not let it stand. We will fight until this tragic bill is defeated. We will remember in November. We will not allow Jeb Bush to destroy our profession. And we will take his lap dog down with him.
If Jeb Bush called for more forest fires, Marco Rubio would fetch the matches.
UPDATE: The "Sickout" in Miami today has already shut down at least one school, and I got a personal message from Kendrick Meek. See below the fold.
We are being assaulted by vague legislation that is an unconstitutional unfunded mandate, in an attempt to destroy our unions. In the process, the teaching colleges of Florida are experiencing mass exodus. The students are suffering, the teachers are stressed, and the Republican legislature has finally stopped laughing. They are taking us seriously.
We are making sure.
"There's nobody at school,'' said 17-year-old Stephanie Barrios. ``Everyone's being relocated to the cafeteria and gym.''
She said a two-page handout listed the number of absent teachers on Monday -- about 180 out of 600, Stephanie estimated.
It is a drastic move. In Florida, a strike would be illegal. A "sickout" is covered in the contract. Some may consider a "sickout" unethical, but it is also classic American civil disobedience, and it only affects one day.
Senate Bill 6 is unethical treatment of 240,000 teachers, forever.
Why is SB6 unethical treatment?
It will revoke teaching certificates according to test scores.
They have not told us what kind of tests.
They are not factoring a student's home environment into the process.
They are including all students, including special needs and autistic, in this state mandated "progress or termination" scheme.
This is big government controlling local schools, down to revoking certificates and denying raises based on anything other than test scores.
They laughed, actually laughed, at the National Board Certified Teachers to testified to the validity of their credentials.
They thumbed their nose, actually thumbed their nose, when University officials testified about the damage that would be caused when Masters and PhD degrees were no longer considered meaningful.
They are funded by Jeb Bush directly. He has organized the Florida Chamber of Commerce to attack us in the media. He stands to make millions off of this.
"It's a demoralizing, almost bordering on unethical, treatment of us," Torres said.
How many times do I have to tell you?
If you would like to help us in our struggle, you can sign the petition that was created by Alex Sink. We will be doing everything we can to elect her as our next Governor. She is fighting with us, and the petition has already gotten 10,000 signatures in three days.
You can email Charlie Crist and tell him to Veto Senate Bill 6 at charlie.crist@myflorida.com or call him at (850) 488-4441.
You can find out much more about our protests by simply googling Florida Teachers Protest. This is going national, and it is going to swing November in Florida.
I will be updating this diary throughout the day to keep you current about today's Sickout in Miami.
We have their attention now, we made sure. The parents of 380,000 students are absolutely aware of how much Senate Bill 6 will destroy education in Florida.
Thanks for all the support, I have some signs to make.
UPDATE FROM MIAMI HERALD:
Miami-Dade schools are open Monday and parents were told their kids should come to class as usual, despite hundreds of teachers planning to call in sick to protest controversial legislation that would overhaul teacher pay and tenure.
But 50 teacher absences out of 70 at Charles Hadley Elementary in West Miami-Dade resulted in the school canceling regular classes.
About 8:15 a.m., dozens of parents clustered outside the main entrance, many looking confused. Outside of the school, traffic came to a standstill along Northwest Seventh Street.
Parents didn't know what to do.
``They're saying it's going to be like a daycare,'' one father shouted across the courtyard to his wife, who remained in the family car with their young son.
Many parents elected to take their children home.
The kids, dressed in their forest green school uniforms, celebrated as they returned to cars with their parents.
Francesca Lopez, 8, danced all the way to the car. ``No school today!'' the second-grader sang.
``I understand why the teachers are doing this,'' said her mother, Maria Ordonez. ``If this is what they need to do, I support them.''
UPDATE 2:
Despite the hassle of not having teachers at school, Quintero said he understood some of their concerns.
``I think they're right to be protesting,'' he said.
Another parent, Carla Schmid, agreed.
Schmid took her kids home after learning that several teachers at Winston Park K-8 in West Kendall were out and substitutes were taking their place.
``So many teachers didn't show up,'' Schmid said. Schmid took her sons, who are in third and first grades, to school and then decided to take them home -- even though that would count as an unexcused absence against them.
``One day a year won't hurt,'' she said. ``I have to support the teachers.''
UPDATE 3:
TAVARES — When Gov. Charlie Crist arrived at downtown Tavares this afternoon, he was greeted by dozens of protesters who had one word for him: Veto.
The protesters, most of whom wore red shirts and carried signs that read "Veto 6/7189," ran up to the U.S. Senate hopeful to urge him to veto a merit-pay bill that would base a teacher's salary on their students' performance. Crist was making a campaign stop at the grand opening of a seaplane base and marina in the Lake County community.
"I'm not going to make a political speech because this is about your festival today. But I'm glad these people showed up to have their voice be heard," Crist said to the crowd of hundreds. "There's lots of things that people who do what I do need to listen to you about."
As Crist worked his way around the crowd, protesters shouted, at times in unison: "Don't turn our children into dollar signs."
One protester, Shanna Fox, 32, a seventh-grade teacher from Winter Haven in Polk County, stopped the governor and continued to hold onto his hand until she pleaded her case that Crist should veto the bill.
"I hope he's listening," said Fox, a teacher from Daniel Jenkins Academy in Haines City. "I hope he stays true to teachers in Florida."
Eustis resident Helen Stones said she hoped for her family's sake that Crist keep the protesters' opinions in mind. As a mother of a 12-year-old special-needs child, she fears that the bill will frustrate current teachers who already perform well and make it more difficult for her daughter.
"Good teachers need to stay and not leave," she said.
UPDATE 4:
I got a personal message from Kendrick Meek:
Good morning, Rian.
I stand with teachers and always have. I was raised by a Florida educator and know how hard teachers work. No to SB6. And, let's work to defeat the effort to weaken the class size amendment.
Have a wonderful week ahead.
Kendrick Meek