Broward Education

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Thank you,
Bob Goldfarb
editor@browardeducation.com

According to the Miami Herald (http://www.miamiherald.com/458/story/408136.html), the Florida Legislature is considering a law to require teaching that the Theory of Evolution is a “theory.” Don’t we have bigger school problems than this? Do we really want Tallahassee politicians deciding what our children should be taught? Let’s leave education policy to people who have an education.

* Apologies to Judge Gideon J. Tucker, who wrote in 1866 that “No man’s life, liberty, or property are safe while the Legislature is in session.”

Last week the Broward School Board once again discussed changes to the school uniform policy. This issue seems to come up year after year, with well-meaning people arguing for and against uniforms.

But where are the facts on uniforms? Does the school district have any hard numbers that show the relationship between uniforms and student achievement? Or is this just a feel-good issue that distracts attention from things that do affect student success?

Last week our schools administered the FCAT pre-test known as BAT (Broward Assesment Test). During this two-day ordeal, education ground to a halt in many schools.

If we had lost two days to a hurricane, we’d be talking about how to make up the time. But if the time is sacrificed to testing madness, no one cares. Combine this with the time lost to the FCAT itself, and we’re talking about at least six days of missed education.

Some may say that the time is needed to evaluate our children’s progress in school. But teachers have had evaluation tools for hundreds of years — they’re called classroom tests and quizzes.

Last week’s school lockdown was handled quite well. At my son’s school, the principal told the students what was happening and why. The district made a robot phone call to all parents with information as well.  Giving people information during a crisis relieves some of the stress and allows them to better deal with the situation.

The school district has learned a lot since the September 11 attacks. Very little information was given out then. This just added to parent stress.

The following letter to the editor from an astute high school student appeared in the November 8, 2007, Sun-Sentinel. The young lady makes a very good point. When thinking about the FCAT’s, most high school students will ask “what’s in it for me?” The answer, “nothing.” This is why high school FCAT scores are below those of elementary and middle schools. The kids didn’t get stupider, they got smarter. They realized that the FCAT’s do nothing for them.

Over the years, the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test has become more of a burden than a help to both students and teachers. Many students, who excel well beyond the standards, are slaving over pointless FCAT practices.

Why should we waste time practicing for FCAT when there are more important matters at hand, such as Scholastic Aptitude Tests, American College Tests, and class curriculum? We should focus less on teaching FCAT and more on what will prepare us for the real world.

Jen Nguyen
Age 17 Coral Springs High School Margate

It is easy to read negative news about our schools in the newspapers and blogs . Maybe that’s what sells.

But there’s good news — not a big story; just day-to-day good news. Every day our teachers work hard to provide a good education to our children; and do it in a safe environment. And they do this in spite of politicians in Tallahassee and Washington who do everything to put obstacles in the way.

It’s great to see a site with independent thinkers. Every group should be so lucky! Happy blogging–and Happy New Year~

Here is my recent letter to the editor in the Sun-Sentinel:

As reported on Sept. 26, “Broward School Board: Let’s stop FCAT mania in classes,” our schools would like to take the focus away from a test and restore it to our children. However, before we say goodbye to the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, two things must be kept in mind: First, as long as money and recognition are determined by FCAT results, the focus will remain on the test. Second, we still need a way to measure our schools.

The main reason for the failure of the FCAT/A-Plus scheme is that it uses a single measure. Broward can do much better by establishing an alternative to the FCAT that uses multiple measures — call it the “Five Diamond Award.”

Ratings will be assigned to schools,and money allocated, based on things like: ratio of students to teachers, education level of teachers and administrators, experience level of teachers and administrators, diversity of programs for children, and FCAT scores. Improvement in each of these areas over the past year would be a major part of computing the grade.

Money, as well as recognition, plays an important role in the FCAT/A-Plus scheme. Schools that get an “A” under the FCAT/A-Plus system get extra money. But schools that get less than an “A” or don’t improve over the prior year don’t get a reward. With the Five Diamond Awards, money should also be given to schools for high rankings. But instead of giving just the top-rated schools extra money, schools that get four or even three diamonds would get some money.

Although Broward cannot get rid of the FCAT on its own, we can draw attention away from FCATs if we give our own Five Diamond ratings and money to schools. Plus, the Five Diamond system will give a better indicator of the success of our schools. Let’s not wait for Tallahassee to fix this testing insanity.

My son and his classmates get a great deal homework from our school. One of his friends in another school gets little homework.

I’m not complaining about homework, and I realize that different schools need to serve different communities. But shouldn’t a child who walks in the front gate of one school get the same education he would get if he walked in the gate of another school?

Why are we constantly fighting a battle with school funding? Simply put, education is not important to the prosperity of “old” Florida. Aside from the viciousness of certain politicians, no other explanation makes sense.

Florida’s economy is based on tourism, retirement and agriculture. Traditionally, these businesses do not need a high number of educated employees. However, we constantly hear politicians saying the Florida needs to move to a high-tech, or “knowledge based,” economy. This is supposed to be the “new” Florida. Remember the hubbub about getting the Scripps institute to move here?

The problem is clear. Without educated, knowledgeable people, these knowledge-based business will not survive in Florida. All of the tax breaks and land giveaways will not help. Giving business and institutions the right people will help.