The State of Education

   As a teacher in Florida for 19+ years, I have pretty much seen every possible trend come and go.  The latest trend in Florida centers on tightening up standards for all students and making teacher evaluations and conversely administrators evaluations more stringent.  I allow for the notion that some teachers are bad teachers, but I strongly believe that most teachers are good and well-intentioned.  The state's lawmakers, most if not all of whom have never been in a classroom, feel that every student has the same capabilities and that all of them should be able to do well on standardized tests.  That is preposterous to me.  Not everyone in the regular sea of humanity has the same abilities.  Who says that you have to do well on standardized tests to be successful in life? My husband was a poor student and yet he makes a very decent living. Why aren't we trying to find alternative ways to reach these students that test poorly and show no interest in school.  When I was in school, students could go to vocational schools.
     I would like each and every one of those lawmakers to take the new and improved FCAT.  If they can't pass it, they should be impeached.
     They new evaluation system will eventually tie in test scores with teacher pay.  What about parents?  There are kids that don't make it to school.  There are others who fail and their parents don't care.  Why is it that the public sector is made solely responsible for student performance.
    We should tie welfare benefits with student achievement. Parents who have money should pay fines for D's and F's. The only exceptions would be for those students who try and whose parents are involved.  You would be amazed at how many conferences parents of struggling kids have missed over the years or at how many phone calls and emails have not been returned by yes parents.  Why the heck not?  If you can't raise your children properly, why should we pay you to raise them. They might possibly dock teacher's salaries for the same reasons.  Don't teachers have families?
     I do know this, I practice what I preach.  I back my kids teachers up 100%.  I am on my kids like white on rice about their grades. My five year old is grounded and was sent to bed early for getting in trouble in school this very day.
      The state keeps raising standards and yet the budget for education is never enough.  Benefits for students that excel are simply not there. What are we going to do once we miraculously get all of these children to become Shakespearean scholars?  Who is going to pay for their college education?  We can't even afford to pay for the current crop of high-achievers we have.  It is becoming increasingly difficult for students in the middle and lower classes to go to college.  Many of them are graduating with mounds of debt.
       Frankly,  I don't know what the solution is, but I know with great certainty that what they have currently planned is not going to work.