Monthly Archives: January 2017

There are about 2.7 million students in Florida’s public K-12 schools. It looks like I need to talk with their parents.  All of them. I spent a relatively small amount of time last week watching the webcasts of meetings of … Continue reading →

Bills have been filed in both Houses of the Florida Legislature to initiate a very modest loan forgiveness program for teachers in STEM fields. The bills, SB 274 and HB 403, would provide $16,000 in loan forgiveness for teachers who are … Continue reading →

The Purpose of Education is to provide opportunities to lead fulfilling and productive lives. That is my own formulation.  This statement of the Purpose of Education really shouldn’t be objectionable to anyone.  It says that we should prepare students both … Continue reading →

Two Republican legislators from Polk County have filed companion bills to authorize a study of why Florida’s middle schools are performing significantly worse than the state’s elementary schools. The two legislators, Senator Kelli Stargel and Representative Colleen Burton, are the … Continue reading →

We know that the social interactions among students and between students and instructors in a studio physics learning environment dramatically improve student learning. But can those social interactions and the collaborative hands-on learning environment that characterize a studio physics experience … Continue reading →

There is a great deal of hand-wringing (and not much else) going on about the shortages of math and science teachers in Florida.  Inevitably, the state’s college- and university-based math and science teacher education programs come up during these discussions. … Continue reading →

I frequently talk with FSU undergraduates or recent graduates who realize – too late – that the decisions they made in high school not to take courses like precalculus, chemistry or physics either limited their career options or put their … Continue reading →

This post is a heartfelt thank you to Cheryl Etters and her colleagues on the Florida Department of Education public information staff.  Their hospitality to me – as a private citizen who is not by any means a professional journalist … Continue reading →

Former Florida Senate President Tom Lee mentioned preparing high school students for the “political science business” during yesterday’s Senate Education Appropriations Subcommittee meeting, and it tweaked my interest enough to spend a few minutes going back to the report “The … Continue reading →