As reported in my Press Herald story today, the Foundation and the "Florida model" it promotes are now being given center stage at Gov. Paul LePage's forthcoming education conference. The Press Herald piece also reveals new information on how foundation officials -- including some who will be presenting at the Mar. 22 conference -- have helped support the administration's non-digital education agenda, including the new "letter grade" system for public schools.
Florida public schools have many long standing ills that go unaddressed. Privatizing benefits people at the top, and can't benefit a teacher or a student. What can help is changing teacher student ratios in middle and high schools, and abiding by education law, especially ESE law. Teachers are scapegoats for poor school grades, and students are scapegoats for everything else. With all the administration in the school, school board, and state department of education, you have too many cooks in the kitchen. If we really care about improving education in Florida, Maine, anywhere, stop looking at teachers and students as a way to make money, and start making changes IN THE CLASSROOM.
ReplyDeleteFlorida public schools have many long standing ills that go unaddressed. Privatizing benefits people at the top, and can't benefit a teacher or a student. What can help is changing teacher student ratios in middle and high schools, and abiding by education law, especially ESE law. Teachers are scapegoats for poor school grades, and students are scapegoats for everything else. With all the administration in the school, school board, and state department of education, you have too many cooks in the kitchen. If we really care about improving education in Florida, Maine, anywhere, stop looking at teachers and students as a way to make money, and start making changes IN THE CLASSROOM.
ReplyDelete