[Gatornation]

Engineering is the best program UCF has and is ranked well like stated above. While it's a tier 2 or 3 school overall it has a couple really good programs.

[vman650]

Originally Posted by Rhett_Butler

I CLEP'ed out of math as well and never touched it in college (went to a Florida university)..... It depends what classes were taken in High School in most cases...

As for becoming a teacher? Math is SUCH a high-needs area that in MANY states all you have to do is take a crash course in being an educator and pass your Praxis II subject mastery test in whatever subject you want to teach and you're on your way....

I'm in Virginia and actually considering doing this.... I'd be a History Major who never took a college math course (in college anyway) and could become a math teacher in 4 months here if I decide that's the route I want to take career-wise.... It isn't just Florida doing it.....

Good luck trying to pass the praxis without having taken any college math classes. The person I was referring to was not taking the praxis to prove math ability. The highest math she has ever taken is Algebra 2 in High School. No Trig, No statistics, No calculus at all. They are laying off competent math teachers in Florida and replacing them with people who are not nearly as well qualified to save a few bucks. Let me assure you that this is not happening in Virginia. There are math majors in Virginia who are having trouble passing the praxis.

[TANaples]

Originally Posted by vman650

Good luck trying to pass the praxis without having taken any college math classes. The person I was referring to was not taking the praxis to prove math ability. The highest math she has ever taken is Algebra 2 in High School. No Trig, No statistics, No calculus at all. They are laying off competent math teachers in Florida and replacing them with people who are not nearly as well qualified to save a few bucks. Let me assure you that this is not happening in Virginia. There are math majors in Virginia who are having trouble passing the praxis.

Don't you have to take "core" courses in college, no matter what your major? Even if you can prove efficiency to TAKE college level math courses, you are still required to take a certain number of math core courses to get a degree, even an associates degree.

I will not go into what I had to take in HS way back when, but just to get my associates degree (1996), I had to take at least one math course. My daughter graduated HS in NY in 2002. She HAD to take a minimum of 3 years of math in HS to get a diploma. She majored in elementary education in college (Maine and NY). It was required that she take one general math course (took statistics) and one math course for education (teaching grades 1-6 math).

It's that different in Florida?

[Rachael84]

Originally Posted by TANaples

Don't you have to take "core" courses in college, no matter what your major? Even if you can prove efficiency to TAKE college level math courses, you are still required to take a certain number of math core courses to get a degree, even an associates degree.

I will not go into what I had to take in HS way back when, but just to get my associates degree (1996), I had to take at least one math course. My daughter graduated HS in NY in 2002. She HAD to take a minimum of 3 years of math in HS to get a diploma. She majored in elementary education in college (Maine and NY). It was required that she take one general math course (took statistics) and one math course for education (teaching grades 1-6 math).

It's that different in Florida?

No, I had to take about 3 classes about teaching elementary math, plus 2 regular college math classes.

[jojajn]

Originally Posted by FLBob

Your context is a bit skewed... Florida has 3 port cities and has a strong import/export industry, Florida feeds the US, Florida leads the US in senior care, if you watch business news you may note that many of the pundits are speaking from Boca Raton and Naples, so there is a blossoming investment industry. Florida's economy is NOT just tourism.

The industry that got hit was the construction/ housing industry not so much the tourist industry. Tourism is still strong here in Florida. Seasonal residents are still coming to Florida and loving life here.

Florida has and will continue to attract people from all walks of life. There are areas where homes were built that have been historically less desirable. Price is driving the sale of these homes, and people are buying. Some are retirees, some are families. I think Florida will do just fine.

Florida tourism is suffering.

Florida tourism down - USATODAY.com

The trend is for fewer Seniors to retire in Florida.

Fewer boomers retire in Florida | 10connects.com | Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater

Finally, I didn't know that "senior care" was an industry or an economic advantage.

[vman650]

Originally Posted by TANaples

Don't you have to take "core" courses in college, no matter what your major? Even if you can prove efficiency to TAKE college level math courses, you are still required to take a certain number of math core courses to get a degree, even an associates degree.

I will not go into what I had to take in HS way back when, but just to get my associates degree (1996), I had to take at least one math course. My daughter graduated HS in NY in 2002. She HAD to take a minimum of 3 years of math in HS to get a diploma. She majored in elementary education in college (Maine and NY). It was required that she take one general math course (took statistics) and one math course for education (teaching grades 1-6 math).

It's that different in Florida?

The young lady I am talking about was an art student, majoring in education. She learned that there were no jobs available in teaching art but lots of openings in math. She told me that all she had to do was pass a test and she would be qualified to teach middle school math. She also told me that she had never taken a math class in college. She is related to my wife and I am assuming that she is telling the truth. She is a bright kid and a good student. She has been substitute teaching for two years while attending college. According to her, she was also able to get student teaching waived and has already been offered a job teaching math. When I asked her how she was able to substitute teach while going to school, she told me that most of her classes were online.

[Rhett_Butler]

Originally Posted by vman650

Good luck trying to pass the praxis without having taken any college math classes. The person I was referring to was not taking the praxis to prove math ability. The highest math she has ever taken is Algebra 2 in High School. No Trig, No statistics, No calculus at all. They are laying off competent math teachers in Florida and replacing them with people who are not nearly as well qualified to save a few bucks. Let me assure you that this is not happening in Virginia. There are math majors in Virginia who are having trouble passing the praxis.

Oh trust me.... I didn't say it'd be easy, but there was a reason I CLEP'ed out of math in the first place..... I was pretty good with it and had taken my college required courses in High School.....

That said, IIRC you are correct in that Florida doesn't take the Praxis. I may be wrong on that......

Are you seriously aware of Florida schools actually laying off experienced teachers in core courses in order to hire on new, inexperienced and cheaper teachers for those classes? Are you sure it isn't a situation where they are offering them early retirement and such in order to bring about this result? It may be semantics, but there is a difference.

[TANaples]

Originally Posted by vman650

The young lady I am talking about was an art student, majoring in education. She learned that there were no jobs available in teaching art but lots of openings in math. She told me that all she had to do was pass a test and she would be qualified to teach middle school math. She also told me that she had never taken a math class in college. She is related to my wife and I am assuming that she is telling the truth. She is a bright kid and a good student. She has been substitute teaching for two years while attending college. According to her, she was also able to get student teaching waived and has already been offered a job teaching math. When I asked her how she was able to substitute teach while going to school, she told me that most of her classes were online.

This only goes to show what the standards are for teaching in Florida. I am not knocking your relative, by the way. Many of us here are from other states and can see the difference, especially those of us who work in the Florida schools as I do.

That is all I am going to say.

[Moderate Guy]

Originally Posted by TANaples

That is all I am going to say.

Oh TAN, just when you whet my appetite for info, you leave me hanging! I know you to be a verbose person who doesn't pull any punches!

J/K, I like you quiet!

[TANaples]

Originally Posted by pianogal

Interesting...my son works at Lockheed Martin as do several of his friends and several of my husband's friends. ALL of them are Florida natives, born and educated in Florida. According to him, most of the employees in his area are also Floridians. Interesting also, that the University of Central Florida's PHD program in Computer Science is rated in the top 10 in the US. My son is in that program along with a number of young men from China and Korea. WOW - they came all the way from China to study at a program that is substandard!!

I can't imagine why DS was offered jobs with high tech companies such as Northrup Grumman and NavAir in Maryland and Virginia. They flew him up from Florida - knowing he was educated in Florida - and offered him great packages. Obviously, the NE has much better school systems, nobody would offer someone educated in Florida that kind of job, right?

It's a pity Florida's kids are so dumb and our school systems so incompetent.

By the way, I am a teacher at one of the best and most academically challenging schools in Central Florida - very few of our teachers are from out of state.

in comparison to Central Florida. I did live in Gainesville years ago. It was nothing at all like here in Naples. Nothing. I know people don't like blanket statements, but I would say generally that the majority of people living in Naples are from someplace else. This is an area know for transplants, tourists, retirees, and snowbirds. So why would it be that unusual the most of the staff in the schools are from someplace else?

As I said on another post, I met teachers who retired from other states and went back to teaching here. I met people who retired from other occupations and went into teaching. I met people who just plain moved from other states and went to work here.

I have met very few native Floridians in Naples. When I lived in Gainesville, there were very few NON NATIVE FLORIDIANS, even among the college students.

Different parts of Florida are just not the same.