Hack Job

Last week I submitted a letter to the editor of The Gainesville Sun regarding how the school board chose to devote part of their meeting last week.  That letter was published this morning and can be found here: http://www.gainesville.com/article/20120124/OPINION02/120129895/1017?p=2&tc=pg

For those who do not want to click on the link (and after you see how bad they butcher my letter and hide my argument, I would urge you not to), here is the text of what THEY chose to print.

Last Tuesday night the School Board agenda had an item restricting teachers from providing candy as an incentive in their classroom.

While most can understand the health benefits of this action, my frustration lies more with the fact that the School Board continues to micromanage; now all the way down to telling teachers what is an acceptable form of incentive to their students.

I wonder if the board, or the teachers who offer such incentives, know what the greatest reward to their students should be: Their education.

It is quite possible that living in the times of FCAT and teaching to the test, that may no longer be the case.

There needs to be a movement away from the “what's in it for me” mentality and more toward employing teachers who can provide the education necessary to their students without any added incentives.

Now I completely understand that letters need to be trimmed to fit and edited for grammatical reasons one way or the other, but I urge you to read my actual letter.  What you will find is a direct and purposeful attack on the state of education not only in our state, but our country.  The Gainesville Sun has chosen to cut it up and make it look like not only do I not know what I am talking about from personal experience, but that I do not know the first thing about education.  Here is my original letter:

The state of affairs within the educational system in our county was hurt once again Tuesday night when there was time on the school board agenda given to an immediate initiative forbidding teachers from providing candy as an incentive in their classroom.  While most can understand the health benefits of this action, my frustration lies more with the fact that the school board continues to micromanage; now all the way down to telling teachers what is an acceptable form of incentive to their students. Time is being devoted at board meetings to the harmful effects of candy while the greater issue, a reliance on incentives themselves in order to induce student performance, is not mentioned.

I wonder if the board or the teachers in the district who offer such incentives have ever mentioned what the greatest reward to their students should be, and that is their education.  It is quite possible that living in the times of FCAT and teaching to the test, that may no longer be the case.  In order for the country to continue to be competitive with the rest of the world, there needs to be a movement away from the “what’s in it for me” mentality instilled upon the current generation and more towards employing teachers able to provide the education necessary to their students without any added incentives.  

I should have known better than to trust a media outlet not to twist my words around to protect a failing institution, but I wanted to get my point out there and with only a few people reading my blog entries; the local newspaper seemed like a good place to start.  I cannot wait for someone to write in and defend the school board based on the fact that The Gainesville Sun left me vulnerable in this argument, instead of pinning the responsibility on those who run the system. 

America's Wake Up Call

For far too long, the United States of America has been enduring an era of gross bipartisanship that does not show any signs of stopping anytime soon.  The line has been drawn and far be it from either side to make an attempt, let alone have a desire, to cross it.  This was and continues to be the country that most are familiar with.  You are either a Democrat or a Republican and there is no gray area.  The days of patriotism are in the past.  Politicians today slander the good name of this country in order to gain popularity and respect amongst their party and with the hopes of drawing a few voters from the other side. 

When Jon Huntsman nobly bowed out of the race for the White House this morning, the hope and chance of a candidate willing to put party allegiance aside for the betterment of the country went with it.  The more I read about Governor Huntsman, the more I was excited that for the first time that I was going to vote for a candidate who had what it was going to take to restore the trust of the American people.  Having the opportunity to meet him and hear him speak to the voters was something special.  Being able to volunteer in New Hampshire and spreading the word and awareness amongst my friends on Facebook and Twitter has been an honor.  It is one I continue to look forward to doing in the future should he decide to run again.

With the candidate I was going to vote for out of the race, I am now where I started after the 2008 election.  I do not know who I am going to vote for in November.  I know that I do not like either of the candidates that the media is forcing us to choose from.  I understand that there is a focus and an agenda of the Republican party to want to vote for anyone as long as they are not Barack Obama.  That sentiment is why I feel that the political process has lost its mind and is no longer valid.  Americans on both sides are content to vote for someone because they have a letter next to their name, whether it be a “D” or “R”.  Americans are lazy and want things in the simplest form and for most, there is nothing more simple than the choice between Democrat and Republican. 

Wake up America because this is how we ended up in the situation we are in now.  For too long the country idly voted based along party lines without doing any real homework into who the candidates were and what they actually stood for.  This happens every election and it is going to take a movement, a revolution of thinking, in order to change the ways of the past.  Before I strongly endorsed Jon Huntsman, I made sure I read everything I could about him.  Then I wanted to see him in person and judge for myself whether or not he was being a politician or if he was being himself.  From what I gathered and one of the reasons I liked him so much was because he was as real as one could hope for. 

I know, unfortunately more than most, that this country is not functioning properly.  I am a recent college graduate who is now unemployed thanks to a system that rewards tenure.  The education system in this country is broken and needs to be fixed.  Not only are the lives of hardworking Americans being effected, the future of this country is in jeopardy when tenured teachers, who are only still teaching in order to make it to their retirement, are being favored over someone who could be more qualified to inspire the kids to want to make their lives better than what they see.  The United States is raising a generation based on an either/or system and they will see it at its worst over the next eleven months.

Between now and November I will do the responsible thing and listen, research, and make an informed decision on my own.  I am not going to bow to a will of a political party just because they do not like the other guy.  That being said, everyone in Washington needs to go.  Nothing is being accomplished for the American people anymore and we need leaders willing to do what is necessary to bring this country back to the level of greatness that the founders had in mind when they decided the status quo way of doing things had run its course.