The headline in the July 11 Times reads Fla. students join writing elite, which is positive but certainly a misuse of the word elite in the context of results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress. The negative slant would be that 67 percent of Florida's fourth-graders and 68 percent of its eighth-graders are not writing at grade level or above.
Does any parent, educator, taxpayer or lawmaker really find this impressive and acceptable in light of the considerable financial and human investment made in public education? A better Florida ranking is nice but not when weighed against the number of students who fall below the threshold on a national test. Is this confirmation that most students are indeed being left behind?
As a supporter and advocate of public education, I have become accustomed to reading mostly about problems with public education with dollops of small improvements and favorable signs. The NAEP scores are good signals but also a measure of the enormity of the achievement gap. Note that fourth-graders are approaching middle school and eighth-graders are about to enter high school, but only a minority of students seem prepared to progress.
I don't mean to depreciate evidence of success but self-congratulations should be muted. Elite is simply not the correct word, and the improvement noted doesn't conceal the fact that we have huge gaps in public education before we can believe the mantra of "leave no child behind."
-- James R. Gillespie, St. Petersburg
They don't want to pay for education
Re: State behind in matching college gifts, July 5.
As a teacher in the state of Florida, I am in complete agreement with Herbert Gimelstob, who took back his $750,000 gift to Florida Atlantic University because the Legislature failed to match his donation. Under a law that requires Florida to match private donations above a certain amount, the leaders of our state have decided to ignore Gimelstob and all the other good people who are trying to help educate the young people of Florida.
Gimelstob stated, "They all want better education, but they don't want to pay for it. They should put their money in education or they're going to have imbeciles in this state."
It may very well be possible that we already have a great number of imbeciles in Florida. As a middle school teacher, I sometimes ask general history questions that I feel every American should know. Invariably one hand goes up while the other students seem to be somewhere out in space. A few years ago, this happened, and I said, "Well, you are obviously not a product of Florida's school system." The student said he had just moved here from Connecticut.
Gimelstob is completely correct. For those Floridians who read how well we did on the FCAT, this may come as a shock, but if the reader continued along, he'd find out that Florida still lags behind most other states in national test scores. It is beyond sad! I am absolutely ashamed to be from this state. We have a Legislature that will go down in the history books as grossly incompetent. Gov. Jeb Bush and his cronies not only do not care, they are promoting ignorance.
What's bad is that eventually many people will decide not to move to sunny Florida; their children's lives are too precious. Perhaps the greatest bunch of imbeciles run the government in Tallahassee.
-- Melanie Woods, Palm Harbor
Show us a better way
Thank you for the excellent analytical study, All FCAT A's are not created equally (July 6).
You have confirmed that the Florida educational system has shortchanged its students and parents even more than we realized. By any measure to date, students are learning less than they should.
The old adage, "If the student hasn't learned, the teacher hasn't taught," applies.
Since the teachers (and their union) have been most vocal in criticizing the FCAT, why don't they come up with a better way of providing objective accountability?
-- Stanley E. Mallen, Bayonet Point
Migrants need tuition break
Re: A boost for migrant students, editorial, June 30.
Your excellent comment on the University of South Florida's praiseworthy summer educational program for children of migrant workers omitted one sad fact. Many of those like Elizabeth Maldonado may not be able eventually to attend college because the state of Florida requires children of undocumented workers to pay out-of-state tuition rates, most often an impossibility for their impoverished families.
Many of these young people have lived in this country since they were 2 or 3, thinking of themselves as nothing but Americans. Some have achieved academic or other distinctions. Then they hit the glass ceiling at ages 17 or 18.
With their tradition of strong family values, parents like the Maldonados are willing to sacrifice for their children. Surely the state of Florida has an evident self-interest in assisting in ending the cycles of poverty by offering in-state college tuition to those children of migrant workers who have lived here for many years. Their parents will have contributed to Florida's economy through sales and other taxes, but most especially by taking jobs almost all Americans are unwilling to do.
-- Francis Gillen, Dana professor of English, University of Tampa
Too quick to place blame
Re: Robbed of trust in the air travel industry, July 2.
It seems that Bill Maxwell is a bit too eager to blame and discredit one party - his government - to the exclusion of other persons that could have been involved in the misadventure of having materials taken from his luggage. He is careful not to name the airports or airlines that also had access to his luggage but doesn't mind fingering the Transportation Security Administration as the culprit. He also maintains it was directly responsible for his situation.
Multiple airline baggage handlers were involved on both ends of his trip. The TSA was responsible for handling the luggage once at his point of departure.
It is not unreasonable to inquire and wonder about the TSA. However, to paint its people as thieves or tolerating thieves before all possibilities are explored and reported is a bit disingenuous to those attempting to make our travel safe. My comments would have been the same if he had accused the airline without acknowledging that the TSA could also be the problem.
-- Gary Franck, Trinity
Make Pinellas more bike-friendly
Re: For a cyclist, the ride rules, July 8.
Jeff Klinkenberg's article did not stress the dangers of Pinellas road cycling. I am an experienced bike tourist. I have ridden my bike across many states. In fact, I just returned from a trip along the Mississippi River, riding from St. Louis, Mo., to Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, the head waters of the Mississippi. This year's two-week trip took me through Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Whenever I return from bicycle-friendly states to Pinellas County, I am deeply depressed. The lack of concern for bicycle safety is deplorable. In northern Pinellas, new roads have been built with nary a bike lane or road signage. It is not a great eye-opener to me to read that Pinellas County is one of the worst places to ride a bike.
In Pinellas, motorists and cyclists seem to compete on the same terms, in the same field, for territorial rights - turf wars, and how ridiculous! In bicycle-friendly places, this hostile attitude simply does not exist. Great care is given to cyclists' needs and safety. In bike-friendly places, the cyclist is viewed as a potential victim.
You do not need to travel far to experience an emerging bicycle-friendly community. Sarasota County is increasingly becoming friendly toward cyclists. Official road signs are popping up warning motorists of bikes sharing roadways, and bike lanes are increasing in number. Compare Pinellas and Sarasota barrier islands. Ride Gulf Boulevard and it won't take you long to realize that cyclists are in great danger. Ride Longboat Key and the tension subsides due to a very wide bike lane that runs the entire key. Two similar roads, but two totally different biking experiences. Riding Longboat is relaxing; riding along Gulf Boulevard is tense. These two roads are very similar but the difference is that one is in a bike-friendly community while the other is in a bike-hostile community. It comes from leadership and a progressive conviction that bike-friendly communities are wonderful places to live and work.
The cycling community is deeply grieved over this recent tragedy. Perhaps, my way of grieving is to plead for cyclists' safety and beg for better cycling conditions in our county. It can be done with little cost and effort. Help make Pinellas a safer place to bike.
-- Dianne Franz, Palm Harbor
Respect each other on the road
I am responding to the July 10 letter writer's claim that Cyclist arrogance is frustrating. Frustrating arrogance is not exclusive to cyclists. Motorists seem to have cornered some of that market. I am not currently a cyclist but what I see displayed on the roads around the Tampa Bay area will definitely keep me from becoming one.
Daily I see cars passing on a double yellow line, passing on the right to get around someone making a left-hand turn, and the ever popular running of red lights. We all have to follow the traffic rules, not just cyclists.
I believe that once we drivers sit behind the wheel, we become isolated from what is outside the car. There is a sense of power that overtakes us. This power does not give us the right to harass, taunt and harm individuals who choose not to use the same kind of transportation we do. The road does not belong exclusively to drivers. The roads are wide enough for both kinds of traffic if you pay attention.
As for riding on the trails around the area, I understand why cyclists choose the roads. First there are different kinds of cyclists and the ones on the roads are not usually the casual riders. The trail system is full of casual riders, novice skaters, joggers and pedestrians. I find it difficult to walk on these trails let alone bicycle.
I am not saying that it is always the motorist's fault, but as the driver of a vehicle that can do a lot of damage, I feel it is my responsibility to yield to the less protected cyclist and pedestrian. We have to realize that it is not just about us the individual motorist. We need to step outside our small isolated vehicular worlds and see that we are a fraction of the whole. Cars, bikes, skaters and pedestrians make up this whole and we need to respect each other on the road. You may have the right of way but it doesn't do much good if you have killed or are killed.
-- A.J. Haselwood, Tampa
A disturbing picture
Re: Letters about cyclists, July 10.
Car crosses line, drives on wrong side of road, hits bike riders head on and we have people writing in whining about the bike riders. This is a disturbing snapshot of what our society has become. Had it been a pack of dogs that was run over people would have formed a lynch mob!
Maybe if drivers would get out of their steel cocoons and interact with nature and other people, they might recapture some compassion and caring for their fellow man. Do we always have to put ourselves ahead of everyone? Drivers don't stop for red lights, use turn signals or pull over for emergency vehicles and our city leaders can't or won't do anything. It's up to all of us to foster safety in our community.
-- Stephen Di Giacomo, St. Petersburg
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