While I realize that this article is not about higher education per se, it’s a development that we need to keep an eye on. If you recall, our former Chancellor, Judy Hample, came out of the Florida State system. The mindset that you see in this article from the “Answer Sheet” blog from the Washington Post, is not far from Hample’s logic. And given our current Chancellor’s interest in “education reform,” the connections between Florida and Pennsylvania are a little too close for comfort.
If you haven’t checked out my post from last week about PASSHE’s interest in looking at higher education reform and the recent U Penn conference exploring the current economic crisis as a potential opportunity to fundamentally change higher education, you should check it our here. Once again, some disturbing connections to the issues raised in the story below.
The Answer Sheet – Florida ed reform passes: Is it a model or disaster?.
A couple of points–
1. Notice the repeated point: no teachers had any input into the legislation. Gee, what a surprise. Apparently, teachers in Florida are the people who least understand teaching and learning.
2. Keep in mind that Florida is a very hard-core “Right to exploit workers” state. I’m not always thrilled about the way NEA and AFT do their business, but this kind of thing is an exact example of what happens when there’s no formally, legally organized response.