Crist’s Veto of SB 6 ends Round One. More heated battles to follow

Opponents of Florida’s SB 6 were some of the happiest people you’d ever want to meet Thursday afternoon and they had good reason to be. Governor Charlie Crist vetoed the bill, citing among several reasons the Florida Senate’s failure to give the bill an adequate hearing from all sides and the rush to push it through without amendments. An overwhelming display of opposition from teachers, students, administrators, parents, politicians, civic groups, social networking groups and ordinary citizens didn’t hurt either. He really should be thanked publicly for vetoing bad legislation, but before all these people start popping their champagne corks and saying nice things about him they had better read the letter he sent to the Senate. In the last paragraph on page 2 he said that he agreed with the stated goals of the legislation, just not the process, so let’s not get any warm fuzzy feelings yet about Charlie. There’s a lot more legislation coming up that he should also be vetoing.

 

The groups on Facebook know this and are asking all members to keep up the effort and not to relax their guard. They are actually asking members to suggest new members to join so that they can show solidarity for future causes that they know are going to be arising. What they know is that Jeb Bush’s not-so-invisible hand has been stung severely, and Jeb (with his political cronies) is not going to take this lying down.

Dear Gov Crist

Dear Republican Legislator:

I am a registered Republican in Florida and a retired teacher. I have 5 grandchildren in the public schools.
I am so proud that you voted against SB6. The integrity and character that you have shown has not gone unnoticed. SB6 would have been the demise of public education throughout the state. You obviously were able to read the bill and recognize the flaws.

 I am so disappointed that the Republican Party has become the Jeb-lican Party. I feel that the interests of Florida’s children are not served by the Jebbies. I thank you for any political disfavor you may endure because of your vote.
I am proud to publish your names on Facebook as supporters of Florida’s children. I hope you will have the courage and fortitude to remain true to your convictions as the Yellow-Bellied Jebbies try to revive this bill over the next two weeks. If you hold true to your original vote, I can be proud to be a true Republican through the election process. May God richly bless you, and your families, as we proceed through the rest of this hellish session!

Teachers are watching, parents are watching, and even the children are watching the votes on this and other school-related issues. I am proud to count you as part of the good guys.

Yours,

Carol King

First published in Moms and Dads Against SB6

Teachers’ target: Atwater: If they want revenge, he’s their candidate.

This is an excerpt from an excellent article that is a must read for all Florida teachers.

Teachers can’t get to each individual legislator who arrogantly dictated merit pay. But by knocking off Sen. Atwater, they could let it be known that any legislator who has statewide ambitions can’t afford to tick off teachers.

Teachers should go after Sen. Atwater early and hard. If they can’t deprive him of office, of course, nobody will take their threats seriously. But that’s already the situation. Politicians have decreed that they’ll misuse a bunch of tests to gauge teacher effectiveness. Make Sen. Atwater’s bid to become CFO a test of teachers’ political effectiveness.

A Father’s Letter Re: SB6

This letter was spotted on twitter and posted on Capital Soup.com

The Honorable Charlie Crist
Governor
State of Florida
Office of the Governor
The Capitol
Tallahassee, Fl 32399

Dear Governor Crist:

Without doubt, you are receiving volumes of emails, phone calls, and letters, the majority of which are steadfast in their opposition to SB 6. This letter is not only to add my voice to those of my colleagues, Senate Democratic Leader Al Lawson, Senators Dan Gelber, Dave Aronberg, and Nan Rich, all urging you to veto this deplorable piece of legislation, but to add my daughter’s as well.

Tiffany C. Hill is a national board certified teacher and a math instructional coach at Thurgood Marshall Elementary School in Ft. Lauderdale. She teaches in the heart of the inner city, where 95% of her students are low income. She is up against incredible odds in educating these children. Many of them were already at a severe disadvantage from the moment they first passed through the schoolyard’s entrance. But she is determined; in the eight years she has taken her place at the front of her classroom, my daughter will tell you that this is her calling. She is no foe of accountability. She is a foe of inequity.

I have attached her full letter and hope that you will give it the consideration it deserves. She speaks on behalf of many teachers like her – dedicated, passionate, caring and often under-appreciated. She is one of the legions of educators who have fought to raise the test scores we hear so often about, but are now on the defensive because a political agenda is using them as a stepping stone for personal ambitions.

On behalf of all the Tiffany Hill’s in this state, and all of their school children, I strongly urge you to veto this bill. It was crafted without their input and over their objections by a small group of Tallahassee insiders with absolutely no insight into life on the front lines.

It does not deserve your endorsement.

Sincerely,

Senator Anthony “Tony” Hill
District 1

Gov Crist, I Implore You to Veto SB6

April 9, 2010

Dear Governor Crist,

I implore you to veto SB6, not only because I am a teacher, but because I was once a child and I know what arbitrary sweeping reform does to children. You see, I saw it first hand.

I was born in 1956 and the Sputnick Satellite was launched by the Soviet Union on my first birthday. The Cold War was in full swing, so this event precipitated the “Sputnik Crisis” and spurred the “reforms.”

As a child in Department of Defense (DOD) schools, I was on the front line.  I had a talent for science and remember much of what we did.

We sang about being astronauts and did “new math’ that was way beyond the abilities of a little girl whose parents didn’t have the slightest clue of how to help me. I don’t think my 4^th grade teacher understood the math she was teaching us. The existence of an entire generation of women my age who are math-phobic due to these reforms is not lost on me.

The irony is all of this is that I continued to love science and became a science teacher. I know from experience, that shoving programs down teacher’s throats causes long-lasting harm to the students. Teacher “buy-in” is essential and teachers need to feel supported. The harsh approach of this bill is punitive and will ultimately hurt our children and our future.  Do you want to be responsible for a generation of test-phobic Floridians?

In closing, I once again ask you to veto SB6. If you are inclined to sign this bill, please call me first. My cell is XXX-XXX-XXXX

Sincerely,

 

XXXXXXX XXXXXXXX

Letter to Gov Crist From a Teacher

Please listen to the teachers, the parents and your constituents.  There are too many pieces of SB6/HB 7189 drastically wrong. Vote No on Six!  It is too expensive to put in place with the call for test designs.

It is places all the burden of student learning on teachers who only have them during the class times they choose to attend, in the condition they arrive, with the baggage they bring, in a setting they do not control due to outside the classroom calls for classes and students.

Listen to the teachers, the parents and your constituents.  There are too many pieces of SB6/HB 7189 that are drastically wrong. Vote No on Six!

Katie Murphy, Teacher

I Teach Middle School Science and SB6 is a BAD Bill

I am a middle school science teacher. I teach and use the scientific method daily at a Title One school. I don’t get many of the “good” students. Most of the kids who will do their work are in the pre-IB program. All of the kids in the pre-IB program walked into school on the first day of this year able to pass the Science FCAT. Not my students.

You see, it took me 3 weeks at the beginning of the year to get my “Z” period class to walk in quietly and sit down. Yes, we practiced every day 2-3 times at the beginning of class. I have still not won the battle to have every student enter the room with a pencil. Yes, you read that correctly, a PENCIL.  They are in 8th grade and do not have a pencil every day!

Before you blame their previous teachers, how about a little background? One is the child of a broken home where the mother is a former drug addict. One is gone now gone due to being expelled for bring drugs to school. One has a serious mental illness and medication doesn’t work. One has been suspended multiple times this year for who knows what. Eighty percent of them are in intensive reading classes. None of them like to read. Most are behavior problems. Several are unable to see the whiteboard because they need glasses or have lost their glasses or won’t wear them because glasses conflict with their image of themselves. Do you see where I am going with this? With the exception of a bright, but lazy gifted student, none scored above a “2” on the fifth grade FCAT test.

But you know what? I love this class now. They know how to enter the room. Everyone has made learning gains this year. We work, we  have fun with labs and yes, I still have the occasional struggle with discipline. I have the few responsive parents on speed dial and stay late at night to update parents. We have come so far this year. But is it enough?

Here is my concern: My students are benefitting from my 20 plus years in the classroom. But will that translate to enough to maintain my salary if SB6 and its companion bill in the house pass? I think not. So Florida will lose another teacher because I will take my skills and degrees somewhere else. This is about self-respect. I will have none if SB6 passes because the students and parents will know that all responsibility will fall on my shoulders.

Is the real purpose of SB6 to get teachers such as myself to leave so we can be replaced with brand new teachers who wouldn’t last the day in my “Z” period class? It can’t be because scientific studies back it up because they don’t.

In parting, let me share what a child psychiatrist told me about this bill, “If Florida wants to be at the top of the world in education, why don’t they look at what the countries at the top do? They observe children carefully, nurture them, and put them on an educational track commensurate with their abilities. We don’t want to do that and this plan will never work because it is not educationally valid. Too bad we’re so short-sighted.”

There is nothing I can add.

Last night, proponents of HB 7189 taught us all a big lesson. We get it.

HB 7189 scheduled for a third reading and final passage today.

House Representatives are determined to blatantly ignore the will of the people.  Over 70 parents were denied their chance to speak at Monday’s Policy Council meeting.  Speakers from the Florida Chamber and Council of 100 were ushered in, nestled into front row seats and were the first to speak.  Short view: money talks.  Long view: voters make legislators walk.

House Bill 7189 is NOT fiscally responsible.  It is a $2 Billion dollar unfunded mandate.  This bill takes money away from our classrooms, does not help teachers, removes almost all local control and allows state government to intrude into every aspect our kids’ school experience.  We already have a $3.2 Billion budget shortfall.  What are they thinking?

We are being micro-managed to death by Legislators who are not educators themselves and the truth is that most don’t even have their kids enrolled in public schools.

Teachers stand against education bill

Updated: Wednesday, 07 Apr 2010, 6:16 PM CDT
Published : Wednesday, 07 Apr 2010, 6:03 PM CDT

• Christina Leavenworth
• Photojournalist: Eric Lowe

PENSACOLA, Fla. (WALA) – A bill could change a whole lot for Florida schools. The senate and house bills will link teacher pay to student performance. It will also do away with tenure for future teachers. Even teachers who would financially benefit from it, are rallying against it.

Amanda Lagergren is Escambia County’s Teacher of the Year.

“I teach everything, writing math, science, social studies, reading, everything” said Lagergren.

She teaches fourth grade at N.B Cook elementary. She’s has a contract, and in the past her students have done extremely well on Florida achievement tests, but she says the education bill in both the senate and house will take the fun out of learning.

“Basically what we’ll be having to do is teach to a test, because our salaries depend on it, that’s not going to teach them to love to learn.” said Lagergren.

I am a Teacher in Florida

2/6/10 Editor: This was found a a Facebook page during the days immediately preceeding the vote for the House version of SB6. The post was so long it was painstakingly broken up into the alloted comment space, one comment after another. It is posted here in full because it is easier to read in one location. I do not know Cagle Miller-Jamee, but she speaks to me and many others. It is her story and, at the same time, our story too.  Enjoy.

 

I rise before dawn each day and find myself nestled in my classroom hours before the morning commute is in full swing in downtown Orlando. I scour the web along with countless other resources to create meaningful learning experiences for my 24 students each day. I reflect on the successes of lessons taught and re-work ideas until I feel confident that they will meet the needs of my diverse learners. I have finished my third cup of coffee in my classroom before the business world has stirred. My contracted hours begin at 7:00 and end at 3:00. As the sun sets around me and people are beginning to enjoy their dinner, I lock my classroom door, having worked 4 hours unpaid.

 I greet the smiling faces of my students and am reminded anew of their challenges, struggles, successes, failures, quirks, and needs. I review their 504s, their IEPs, their PMPs, their histories trying to reach them from every angle possible. They come in hungry—I feed them. They come in angry—I counsel them. They come in defeated—I encourage them. And this is all before the bell rings.