When In Doubt, Blame The Teachers

It must be the teacher's fault that little Johnnie can't perform better on tests.

Apparently, that is the battle cry of the Florida Legislature with their passage of SB 6. All of a sudden the Florida legislature decided that this (punishing teachers) is the issue to demand "accountability" on. (Heaven forbid that we have reform on Legislators' campaign financing, but I digress....)

When it comes to funding education in Florida, we must have "In Jeb We Trust Reform"--damn the torpedos-type reform, without fact-finding, and with no amendments allowed, ram-it-through "reform." (Hey, and, if they happen to rough up or bust up the Teacher's Union in the process, so much the better.)

But, in the end, don't a handful of elected officials know a helluva lot more about education than thousands of teachers and professional educators? The Legislators certainly think so.

Is it the Teacher's fault that Johnnie's parents let him skip school frequently?

Is it the Teacher's fault that Johnnie has trouble focusing because he is falling asleep in class?

Is it the Teacher's fault that Johnnie is falling asleep in class because his family is now sleeping in a car after losing their home in foreclosure?

Is it the Teacher's fault that Johnnie is distracted because he is living in a shelter with his mother and 2 sisters who had to flee their home and leave all of their belongings behind in the middle of the night to escape an abusive father or boyfriend?

Is it the Teacher's fault that Johnnie doesn't do his math homework because he prefers going baseball practice after school, and his parents encourage him to work harder on his baseball skills than his life skills?

Is it the Teacher's fault that they don't have sufficient funding to do the things in their classroom that will excite children to learn?

Is it the Teacher's fault that the Teacher must use her own funds or beg for donations from others to provide adequate materials and supplies for her classroom?

Is it the Teacher's fault that Johnnie decided on the night before the FCAT to stay up until 4 AM trying to reach the 4th level of his favorite video game?

Is it the Teacher's fault that Johnnie has discovered drugs and alcohol after school and has made new friends that tell him he doesn't need to go to school?

Is it the Teacher's fault that Johnnie is living in his 6th Foster home, while there is a Lesbian couple who both have Master's Degrees in education who are ready, willing and able to adopt Johnnie and provide a stable, supportive home for him, but cannot because Florida is the only state in the nation that prevents gay adoptions?

And yet, this "reform" will hold the Teacher responsible for Johnnie's performance--no matter what else is going on in Johnnie's life.

There is no research to show that SB 6 will improve educational learning in any way. It will, however, launch a cottage industry in test preparing and test grading. (Is Neil Bush still in that business? Just asking.....)

What continually amazes me is that the Florida legislature doesn't ever look to other states with higher national test scores for guidance. When your state is always at the bottom of the nation in educational achievement, and your state has steadily had declining test scores in the ACT and the SAT (when compared to the national average), and that decline has continued each and every year since the FCAT was instituted, you'd think that we'd copy someone else who is doing it much better.

Jeb! brought us the FCAT and a Governor-appointed Educational Commissioner and Governor-appointed State Board of Education (comprised of business leaders supportive of the Governor). He brought us vouchers that the Supreme Court struck down. He has his fingerprints all over SB 6. This law will place more authority in the Governor's appointed friends.

In Jeb We Trust? I don't think his system has worked very well over the last 10 years. If it had, our test scores would be rising. Let's look elsewhere for guidance based upon something that has a proven track record.

Don't take it out on the Teachers. We were all inspired by teachers. They deserve our support.

Write to Governor Crist TODAY and urge him to VETO SB 6! HE MUST ACT BY NEXT FRIDAY OR IT WILL BECOME LAW WITHOUT HIS SIGNATURE.