Currently Browsing: Op-Ed / Top Stories
No Longer In Our Hands
Photo Courtesy of Aussiegal at Flickr.com
Written by Leah Berkowitz
What if your job depended on the performance of someone else? If they fail, you’re fired—end of story. It’s ludicrous that one’s future can lie in the hands of another, but for teachers in ‘the sunshine state’, it’s on the verge of becoming a reality.
Because the state’s legislature feels that the education in Florida is not good enough, they’re considering passing a bill, the SB 6, which could jeopardize the education of all students. The teacher’s job and salary would be based on the FCAT scores of their students. They would be put on an annual contract, and would be at risk of losing their job every year. Teachers would be in fear of being without work, so they would only teach for the FCAT, preparing us students for nothing else. Currently, this bill is in the hands, or rather on the desk, of Governor Charlie Crist, and on Friday, April 16, he will make the final decision on the future of this bill. Hopefully, he will happily reserve a spot for it in the trash can, which is where it rightfully belongs.
Teachers’ raises won’t depend on their experience anymore, but rather on the performance of their students. What if the teachers have the all too pleasant type of student who simply does not care if they pass the FCAT? Will the teachers be left to pay for their students’ actions? This is a system that’s designed to fail. It will cause everyone to become livid, not just the students. We already hate the FCAT. The information has been shoved down our throats since the third grade, and soon enough our stomachs will be far too full to deal with it any longer.
The school districts who choose not to comply with the new bill will also be penalized. They will not only lose 5% of their funding from the state, but they will have to make up that lost money through their property taxes. The state should be able to trust the teachers they employ, especially if they went through all of the examinations and schooling to become certified.
If Florida really wants their students to do well on the exam, then they should entice them with a reward, not threaten the job of their well qualified teachers. Whether it’s the state or district’s decision to do so, kids will start to improve their scores if they are given motivation.
There’s no need to torment teachers with such a bill. Their effectiveness as a teacher can’t possibly be measured on the basis of one assessment. There are many other outside factors besides the teacher that determines how well a student performs on any test.
Many people have already voiced there opposition on this issue, some even staid in bed. Many teachers across the counties (Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade) have been staging “sickouts.” But who can blame them? The state government just slapped them across the face by telling them they’re doing a poor job at teaching. It’s like getting engaged to someone, and telling them, the day before the wedding, you don’t want to get married. It’s mind boggling.
There’s no reason to have this education reform, because our teachers are doing their jobs. Florida’s Legislature shouldn’t be penalizing the whole state just because a few students aren’t performing well on the FCAT; it’s not always the teacher’s fault. We are all individuals. It would be far more effective to pinpoint specific problems, instead of punishing everyone for someone else’s mistake.
Email This Post
Print This Post
Leave a Reply