Spellbinding Jeb Bush Speech on Education Ruined by Reality-Based Journalist

• Thomas ... You are right on all counts. Florida is VERY low in education .. very low in hope-for-the-future ... and very HIGH in taxes and Insurance premiums ....and ALL of this is due to JEB (The Moron Brother of the Moron President) BUSH. I moved from Fla, this year, due to most of these reasons. The economy may NEVER recover as a result of his SELLOUT to insurance companies. 100s of thousands of people lost their homes there, for just these reasons. My ( modest ) $250k home in Tampa cost me $4200 / yr in property taxes and $4500 in insurance. Gas was out of sight .. and the state lottery was being robbed of it's value to pay for STATE NEEDS. Anyone who thinks Fla is #10 in anything GOOD .. has not lived there in the last 10 years.

• Seriously. Haven't we had enough of the Bushies? Do you really want them in power? I'd be hard pressed to vote for Jeb to be on a local Beautification Committee...

• Live4Literacy, I am not arguing that teachers have never measured the reading skills of their students. I remember SRA and all the different reading tools. My argument is that there have not been standards which were used in order to determine if a child should advance. From my perspective, as a parent, I want my child to master the things he needs to in order to succeed...those things being reading, math and writing. When you suggest that this is all that is taught as a tradeoff with the sciences, you are simply being disingenuous. Jeb proposed adding sciences to FCAT. That said, if a child cannot read AT THE THIRD GRADE LEVEL, how in the world can you suggest that they should be advanced? Yes, 100 percent of the kids that advance from the 3rd grade should be able to read at grade level. All the evidence shows if they cannot, they will not finish high school. They just continue to get further behind. YOur argument that we should not have a 100% goal is part of the problem. With all due respect, the people we compete with for jobs now - Asia - are not having this debate. Its non-debatable. What Bush put in place was using the FCAT to measure performance, holding kids back who cannot meet grade level requirements, and providing them with extra assistance to get them to a point where they can advance. Its not like they just cast these kids aside. The schools are provided support for other resources, like reading programs, etc. My argument here is not about what the right reforms are for education, although I believe in what Bush did - and the results are proven, so that's not even debatable either. My point here is that for Thomas Francis to suggest Jeb Bush "fucked up" education, is simply an overgeneralization and its wrong on its face. Education in this state has been "Fucked up" for generations, and i'm tired of the apologists for that who attack Bush for trying to take it on. Francis, I like your work, but you should retract that comment. Its not true, not fair, and not worthy of your work.

• Live4Literacy, I am not arguing that teachers have never measured the reading skills of their students. I remember SRA and all the different reading tools. My argument is that there have not been standards which were used in order to determine if a child should advance. From my perspective, as a parent, I want my child to master the things he needs to in order to succeed...those things being reading, math and writing. When you suggest that this is all that is taught as a tradeoff with the sciences, you are simply being disingenuous. Jeb proposed adding sciences to FCAT. That said, if a child cannot read AT THE THIRD GRADE LEVEL, how in the world can you suggest that they should be advanced? Yes, 100 percent of the kids that advance from the 3rd grade should be able to read at grade level. All the evidence shows if they cannot, they will not finish high school. They just continue to get further behind. YOur argument that we should not have a 100% goal is part of the problem. With all due respect, the people we compete with for jobs now - Asia - are not having this debate. Its non-debatable. What Bush put in place was using the FCAT to measure performance, holding kids back who cannot meet grade level requirements, and providing them with extra assistance to get them to a point where they can advance. Its not like they just cast these kids aside. The schools are provided support for other resources, like reading programs, etc. My argument here is not about what the right reforms are for education, although I believe in what Bush did - and the results are proven, so that's not even debatable either. My point here is that for Thomas Francis to suggest Jeb Bush "fucked up" education, is simply an overgeneralization and its wrong on its face. Education in this state has been "Fucked up" for generations, and i'm tired of the apologists for that who attack Bush for trying to take it on. Francis, I like your work, but you should retract that comment. Its not true, not fair, and not worthy of your work.

• Thomas, Jeb Bush came in and tied monies to performance and yes, ALL kids were tested for reading levels prior,Really, are you kidding me, what do you think was happening? There have been reading groups and reading testing since I was in school in the 70s! ...and I never belonged to the union so it's not union bs. I taught for 11 years and when the testing was instituted once tied to money, curriculum changed dramatically. ASk any teacher, there is no science or social studies taught until AFTER FCAT in March. In fact, last year in my son's 3rd grade at a well heeled public school, science was taught by me on Fridays until Decemeber when there "wasn't time, we have to focus on FCAT". Prior to FCAT, you were required to teach every subject every day! You know, a well rounded curriculum. The ACTUAL point is the retention numbers and drop out numbers. THe kids who drop out are not even counted...they just disappear and that inflates graduation rates. How are kids being set up to succeed when they are dropping out? Many drop out because, despite the fact they are performing well in classes, they can't pass the stupid test, which is filled with trick questions and detractors, and leave the system. Roger, Exactly, in what universe could 100% of the people run a mile in 3 minutes? There is a reason there are bell curves...All children can make progess, but not all children can achieve the same success in reading...there are kids who come to school who have never even seen a book, there are kids who have low IQS, there are kids who don't have help at home, there are kids who have learning disabilities (and let's not even get started on how there is little help for those kids), and there are kids who are worried about where their next meal is coming from,there are kids who don't test well, there are kids who read well but slowly, etc. WE are not talking widgets here, we are talking about humans who have a wide range of abilities and there will NEVER be a time when all kids will ALL be reading at grade level. Won't happen. So when do we require that all kids have to understand Calculus by the time they leave 12th grade? Teachers have ALWAYS busted their butts to get kids to read and have tracked progress...it's how you form guided reading groups, duh. FCAT has done nothing but ruin education and ask any PARENT and they will agree. It's amazing how we all went to school without FCAT and we all got into great schools...what were teachers doing then...teaching kids to read by assessing and grouping. THomas you have no idea what you are talking about. Look at the dropout rates...there is your answer.

• how does any elected official vote for something that calls for 100% literacy? Utopian indeed.

• And here's the story from the year before, when Florida moved to 14th. My point here, Thomas, is not to claim that our schools are perfect. My point is merely to rebut your statement that Jeb Bush fucked up our schools. It is a totally unfair generalization, when in fact, there was measurable improvement in our outcomes. If you ask Jeb, I'm pretty certain he'd say graduation rates suck. But first things first...set kids up to succeed. And that means make sure they can read at grade level, give their families the choice to take them to a better performing school, and reward those schools that improve. Here's the story from January, 2008.. Florida schools 14th in nation, says Education Week report BY BILL KACZOR THE ASSOCIATED PRESS TALLAHASSEE -- Florida's schools ranked 14th nationally with a grade of C-plus on a report card issued Wednesday by Education Week magazine, although the state placed only 38th in public education spending. Much of the credit for Florida's overall finish -- up from 31st last year -- among the 50 states and District of Columbia goes to high marks for its teaching profession and system of standards, assessment and accountability. Those are two of six categories measured in the annual Quality Counts report. "Given the financial resources of the state and the complexities of the state of Florida we are certainly on the right track," said Florida Education Commissioner Eric Smith. Smith, though, said Florida has much more to do. "A grade of C-plus is not what I would want my kids to bring home from school," he said. "While the highest grade is only a B, we'd like to be the first A." The report did little, though, to quiet critics of the state's education policies. "Florida has had one of the worst graduation rates in the country for years," said House Democratic Leader Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach. "Our teachers are paid woefully below the national average, and our overall financing for public schools is pitiful." Gelber acknowledged the state's high score for its assessment standards but said the report failed to "examine the impact these standards have had on Florida's curriculum or, ultimately, achievement." Florida, though, also had a high seventh-place ranking in kindergarten through 12th grade achievement although the state received a grade of only C in that category. Florida was so high this year because the average national grade was a dismal D-plus. Florida's current achievement remained below average, but its high overall ranking in that category was due to "very strong improvements in recent years and relatively small poverty gaps," the report says. The biggest drag on Florida's achievement grade was its 2004 graduation rate of only 60.5 percent -- 45th nationally.

• Live4Literacy, Since you are a teacher, you will then recall that the FCAT was started by LAWTON CHILES, not Jeb Bush. And no, there was no standard measure for kids reading at grade level. That's why less than half our minority kids couldn't read at the third grade level, yet were promoted anyway to higher grade levels where they continued to fall behind. You can spout all the teachers union garbage you want to, but the facts are what they are. Read below exerpt from St. Pete Times Story, and Thomas, TAKE IT BACK... Florida Improves to 10th in Achievement Ron Matus, Times Staff Writer Published Wednesday, January 7, 2009 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Today, pigs fly. Florida ranks No. 10 among states in education quality, according to the latest annual report card from the highly regarded Education Week newspaper. The rankings, released this morning, are based on six broad categories � including student achievement, standards and accountability, and funding � and dozens of specific indicators, such as licensing requirements for teachers and scores on Advanced Placement exams for high school students. Florida earned a B- this year, up from a C+ last year. The national average is a C. In three years, Florida has climbed from No. 31 to No. 14 to No. 10. "It's extraordinary news," Florida Education Commissioner Eric J. Smith said. "This is a very credible evaluation of state performance against other states." Education Week's conclusion comes despite the fact that Florida has one of the worst graduation rates in the country and among the lowest rates of per-pupil funding. It also clangs off a perception, ingrained in the collective psyche of Floridians , that their schools are lame. Ron Matus can be reached at matus@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8873.

• Jeb possesses Jedi Mind Control? Shit, say it ain't so, 'cause that totally blows away my belief that The Shrubs were actually Ewoks.

• Thomas, Here is your lie....we didn't measure student's reading level before FCAT. Really?? How the heck did I teach first grade WITHOUT knowing the reading levels of my students? That is the biggest load of crap I have EVER heard. Children were assessed and given on going assessments called IRIs, Running Records, etc. as well as various standardized comprehension tests.We were better able to monitor progess. THe FCAT has done nothing to improve reading education or writing for that matter. THe curriculum is narrowly focused and it's not about teaching children to read for meaning, or think critically, or problem solve....it's teach to the test and nothing more. But that was Jeb Bush' goal all along...make the schools look terrible so that the public will vote in vouchers thereby releasing millions in public money to the private sector. Oh and guess who runs the testing company all our tests are scored through... none other than his brother...it's been a masterful plan and a very lucrative one for the Bush family but terrible for children and learning. thomas, unless you are an educator or a parent, shut up!

• Thomas, your column here is totally unfair. If you look at the numbers that matter - african american and hispanic kids reading at grade level - the undisputable fact is that Bush closed the achievement gap. Black kids went from 45% reading at grade level to more than 70%. That's why Education Weekly moved Florida's ranking in student achievement up from near the bottom among states to #13. That's not to say there are not other areas where attention needs to be focused, but Jeb believed as Governor that the first step is to make sure kids can read at grade level. Who can disagree with that? How can you say he totally fucked up education? Remember, he assumed an education system that DIDN'T EVEN MEASURE KIDS READING AT GRADE LEVEL. OK, so you don't like the guy. But as a journalist, perhaps it would be fair to give credit where its due. And for you to assume that just because the ACLU says what they say that they don't have an agenda of their own, you are being naive.

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