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© St. Petersburg Times, published October 28, 2002
Re: Willy-nilly meddling gums up our Constitution, by Howard Troxler, Oct. 14.
While I respect Howard Troxler's constitutional philosophy, the fact remains that Florida's schoolchildren do not live in the political utopia to which he aspires. His sarcastic remark about holding classes in tiki huts is of little help to the more than half a million Floridians who signed petitions to ensure our children would no longer be trapped in overcrowded classrooms -- many of them portables.
In a perfect state government, the citizens would not have to resort to amending their Constitution with such "willy-nilly" notions as the safe and effective education of their children.
Troxler is right, we send our elected representatives to Tallahassee as the embodiment of our collective will hoping they will set policy accordingly. When it comes to education, though, they haven't been listening. Florida's parents, teachers and business leaders have been demanding real education reform starting with smaller class sizes for years. The Legislature has failed to act.
While we're on the subject of constitutional philosophy, let us not forget that the original framers of Florida's Constitution saw the wisdom of allowing one final check and balance with the people: The power to change their Constitution when their Legislature and their governor fail to heed their collective will.
Amendment 9 doesn't usurp the Legislature's policymaking authority, but it does give parents the power to more narrowly direct that body's attention to the pressing needs of the state. Solve the problems of public education now so that the Legislature will be able to respond to the crises of the day that will always be part and parcel to self-government.
Now is the time to reduce class sizes, and Amendment 9 is the way.
-- Sen. Kendrick Meek, chairman, Florida's Coalition to Reduce Class Size, Miami
Re: Willy-nilly meddling gums up our Constitution, Oct. 14.
Thanks to Howard Troxler for telling the story correctly. The Constitution of the state of Florida is only diluted with the addition of amendments like 9 and 10.
But I see this as only half of a problem. The rest of the story centers around acceptance of responsibility by the Florida Legislature. If the Legislature didn't pass the law then the Legislature is not responsible. It was the decision of the people so the Legislature is not responsible. If the lawmakers weren't ultimately responsible then it wasn't their fault so we can vote for them because they have done no wrong.
Our state government is based on representative democracy. Hey, legislators, it's okay to make a decision. That's why we elected you.
-- David L. Miller, St. Petersburg
The proposed Amendment 9, also called the "Class Size Reduction Amendment," would limit the size of classes in Florida public schools.
Many fear that more classrooms and teachers will come at the expense of other state institutions and student financial aid. I am a St. Petersburg resident attending Stetson University in Deland. I receive assistance from the state in the form of FRAG (Florida Resident's Access Grant) and Bright Futures. Both have been the target of budget cuts in the last two years (at least) and many fear that Amendment 9 will seal their respective fates.
Lawmakers find it easier to cut assistance to the needy than to tax the wealthy. Class reduction is a good idea and a worthy goal but not at the expense of many other state agencies and student financial aid. Vote no on Amendment 9 for the sake of those reliant on state financial assistance.
-- Daniel Carlson, Deland
Has any candidate considered the fact that a good teacher can handle a class of 30 students better than a poor teacher with a class of 25? This fact alone would lower the cost of reduced class size by several million dollars per year. The same philosophy applies to smaller classes from kindergarten to high school senior classes.
Also more leeway is needed for teachers to eliminate disruptive students from classrooms without fear of being sued or fired. Vote "no" on Amendment 9 and advocate a more logical proposal in the very near future. Include higher teacher salaries in order to recruit and keep good teachers.
-- Sumner M. Sapiro, Tampa
Re: Smaller class size amendment.
The paper recently carried several letters giving the pros and con of adopting Amendment 9. Those against it cite the high costs. Those in favor claim improved learning. If this amendment is approved by the voters, there is a way to achieve the primary goal without the anticipated cost problem.
The solution is to require our public schools to eliminate those costs that do not serve the primary goal of the public education system. This would mean elimination of nice-to-have programs such as athletic teams, bands, art and music appreciation, etc. The public schools would be limited to the teaching of those things that are essential, such as English, math, history of our country, how our government works and physical fitness.
Let those communities that want athletic teams and bands set up programs like Little League baseball. Since schools have the facilities for these sports, the groups of citizens who organize and run these programs could rent them from the schools. Thus you free up classrooms now used for the nonessential classes and make them available for use.
-- David C. Holliday, Clearwater
The issue of class size is not just how many children are in a classroom. Today's schools are very different from those of 15, 20 and 30 years ago. During the '70s, scandals caused institutions that housed young people with severe disabilities to be closed. The civil rights movements of the '60s and '70s brought about desegregation of black people, and also desegregation of children with handicaps. Many other changes have occurred such as the influx of people from South American countries, Asia, and European cultures. With them come children who attend schools but speak no or little English. Add to this the strange increase in children with ADD, ADH, autism and other behavior problems. Then at least one half the children in any given class have been or are going through the divorce of their parents.
I have taught for many years and it is not unusual in a class of 35 children to have four with SLD (severe learning disabilities), one student with a 72 IQ, six students with ADD or ADH, three with IQs over 135, three students who speak Spanish and little English, one Chinese child with little English skills, and then all the quirks and uniqueness of any so-called normal children.
Money for education now is spent for aides to help non-English speaking students, those with SLD and the physically handicapped to have the right all children in America have: the right to a free education. Money is needed to adapt classrooms, schools and teaching materials to these unique but average challenges. Sometimes money is even spent to help the poor teacher figure out how to teach and discipline such diverse populations found in the average classrooms.
Yes, I will vote for smaller class size, because it is fairly easy to teach the same thing to similarly grouped learners. It is damn hard, next to impossible to do that to a "normal" classroom of 30-plus children these days.
-- Barbara Blackman, Tarpon Springs
Re: Amendment 8 (voluntary universal prekindergarten education).
I want to remind your readers, kindergarten started out as optional. We all know what happened. What is next? School for babies? Perhaps crib etiquette. Do we want to trust the government to raise our children?
Schools need to concentrate on the education of the school-age children they now serve. Schools are crowded and underfunded. Why add more children to an already overburdened system that doesn't know how to educate the children already in the system?
-- Grace Lynch, St. Petersburg
Re: The history hurdle, Oct. 21.
Why don't American students learn history? Because the country has an obsession with the future, because their parents are themselves ignorant of history, and because most teachers have been trained to make the subject dry-as-dust boring.
I learned this in the '60s when my children were in school. I had to teach them history at home to counter the misinformation and pedantic learning that spewed from the schools.
Personally, I learned to love history at the age of 5 when I sat next to my uncle and he spun stories. ("Tell me again of how poor Harold had to fight two battles. How he had to run so fast to fight that Duke William at Hastings and how he lost. And how it changed the way we live and speak today.")
History should be taught as an exciting story. Forget the dates. Remember the plot and see the flow of life. Why start with American history when little kids love dinosaurs? That's history. Start them with caves and pyramids and how civilizations grew. Tell them what it was like to live in the past and always tell them the truth. I believe that between prekindergarten and about fourth grade, history should be a grand good story; after that it should be an adventure with wars and heroes and ideals; in high school students should be taught to investigate as in a good mystery. By the time they reach college, they should know how history is the basis for world civilization.
We live in a historically illiterate country where our president does not understand the meaning of the word "crusade" in an Islamic context; where our citizens walk past Westminster Abbey and ask "is this important?" and where Americans are unaware that long before gladiators, Rome was a Republic much like ours. The similarities are too close for comfort.
-- Mary T. Dresser, Clearwater
Re: Hinesley to retire in 2004, Oct. 23.
I just knew Pinellas County school superintendent Howard Hinesley would "bail-out" before the choice program was completely implemented.
More and more parents are coming to the realization that the program should have been named "Wish." The chaos, dissent and eventual lawsuits over the choice plan are on the horizon. And where will the man who negotiated us into this mess be? We needed the captain of our education ship to stay at the bridge and face the consequences of choice.
-- Rick Foster, Palm Harbor
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