[Go4It!]

Some of the comments after the end of the news story are funny.

Florida ranks 14th nationwide in education accountabilty - Northwest Florida Daily News (broken link)


Im guessing that while florida education continues to make headway in improvements that there are many that feel it is way behind at the world level.


not my comment but,

"I bees proudds of dems kidz. Dey bee gittin sum goodz edumacations!

14th place in the country that is almost last in the world!! Way to go teacher's unions and non-competitive, government education system! U beez gr8t!"

[TriMT7]

Well, considering the way SOME people around here talk about how AWFUL the schools are, this isn't actually that bad in a nation of 50. Besides, Florida has tremendous demographic and population issues and challenges that many other smaller states don't have to worry about.

Way to go Florida!

[novanative75]

Originally Posted by TriMT7

Well, considering the way SOME people around here talk about how AWFUL the schools are, this isn't actually that bad in a nation of 50. Besides, Florida has tremendous demographic and population issues and challenges that many other smaller states don't have to worry about.

Way to go Florida!

Bad education is bad education no matter what numbers say. There are population and demographic challenges in many states. It is not an excuse for poor education.

[TriMT7]

Originally Posted by novanative75

Bad education is bad education no matter what numbers say. There are population and demographic challenges in many states. It is not an excuse for poor education.

And those states and districts with population and demographic problems are typically going to "perform less well."

I'm sure Small Town, Vermont has a nice, stable population of people rooted to the community and involved in their children's lives.


Try living somewhere where X% of your students are migrant worker kids who come and go throughout the school year, speaking some strange hybrid of Spanish and Native Indian, so that even Spanish teachers have a hard time communicating. Or, somewhere with a transient population.

Things like that matters. It's like wondering why schools in the inner city underperform vs. schools in wealthy subburbs and blaming it all on "the school!"

[novanative75]

Originally Posted by TriMT7

And those states and districts with population and demographic problems are typically going to "perform less well."

I'm sure Small Town, Vermont has a nice, stable population of people rooted to the community and involved in their children's lives.


Try living somewhere where X% of your students are migrant worker kids who come and go throughout the school year, speaking some strange hybrid of Spanish and Native Indian, so that even Spanish teachers have a hard time communicating. Or, somewhere with a transient population.

Things like that matters. It's like wondering why schools in the inner city underperform vs. schools in wealthy subburbs and blaming it all on "the school!"

I work in the school you are describing!! No, I agree with you but also have worked in Virginia and Georgia and there are population and demographic problems in every state but not every state is notoriously as bad as Florida. I laugh at work everyday at how terrible it is here and I live in a wealthy area in Florida, for the most part. There are a lot of migrant workers, etc. too but it is a wealthy area.
I think the government of Florida needs to take responsibility for the crappy education and not blame it on the population, etc. Not that you are, but you see what I mean. Other states have done a much better job at making up for those issues while Florida lets things like that make it worse for everyone.
It is a sad state of education here, I am out of here before my kids are in school.

[New England Yankee]

Well I think if you laugh at a bad situation,you are not bright!.I must not be understanding your meaning,since I don't see the humour?

[TriMT7]

I'm still not understanding why "14th" in a nation of 50 states is "terrible"?

I'm surprised it's not worse.

[Petertherock]

So that means Florida is in the top 50% in the country. Actually...if my math is correct in the top 60-70% in the country. Of course it could be better. The entire education system in this country is messed up. With liberals that control schools (teachers unions are overwhelmingly liberal) and teach outcome based education where 2+2 can equal whatever you want it to, and they worry more about teaching homosexuality is normal behavior and abortions are good instead of teaching reading, writing, and math it's no wonder this country is last in the world in education. I had a teacher in high school tell all of us who were old enough to vote that we should all vote for Al Gore. Can you imagine what would happen if any teacher told students to vote for George Bush or any other Republican? They would be fired on the spot.

The unions are responsible for messing up the schools. I had a teacher in 3rd grade call me a useless nothing and when my parents went to complain to the principal he told my parents there was nothing they could do because she was tenured. So teachers can abuse kids as long as they have tenure. Teachers can sit at their desks and do nothing as long as they have tenure. We need to get rid of the unions and make teachers accountable for teaching kids how to read, write, and do at least basic math so they can at least ballance a check book...actually...we should teach everyone in government how to do that since none of them seem to have mastered that skill.

And when I say write, I mean write...not typing on lap tops. Let's teach kids to write the old fashion way...with paper and pen and after they master that skill then they can graduate to computers.