Monthly Archives: August 2023

I don’t think I should have to apologize for insisting on excellence. I want the students in my own introductory calculus-based physics classes to build a deep understanding of the concepts of physics and to develop the ability to use … Continue reading →

Earlier today, a visiting professor who will be teaching a seminar for Honors Program students here at FSU on American Public Education tweeted out (sorry, I just can’t say “X’ed out”) that he is “stoked” for his seminar. It made … Continue reading →

If your school is having trouble hiring a physics teacher, it’s not alone. There is a nationwide shortage of physics teachers. That shortage is reflected in a sharp decline that has taken place during the last few decades in the … Continue reading →

Florida’s Board of Governors has now told us which university majors are economically valuable, at least tentatively, and at least to Florida businesses and institutions. At the bachelor’s degree level, it’s majors that prepare professionals in finance, accounting and information … Continue reading →

Which bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs at Florida’s public universities are important to the state’s businesses and educational institutions? At the prompting of the Florida Legislature, the Board of Governors addressed this question at its June meeting. For years, the … Continue reading →

Dear Parents of Florida K-12 Students, Your job as parents is tougher than it was when my wife and I brought our three kids up through the K-12 system. Our youngest graduated high school in 2014, before the pandemic and … Continue reading →

Being an educator is a central part of my identity. As a professor, I have different roles – researcher, teacher, public servant. But of those three, the one I have embraced most fully during the latter stages of my career … Continue reading →

When my Florida State University physics class meets for the first time on August 28, I will not be worrying about whether my class violates Florida’s new laws regulating college instruction. My students may not be happy with me this … Continue reading →

The cancellation of AP Psychology in Florida’s public high schools only a week before the beginning of the 2023-24 school year is likely causing mad scrambles in many of the state’s public high schools as administrators, counselors and teachers try … Continue reading →

Florida’s K-12 teachers are being buffeted from multiple directions. Vaguely written laws are causing teachers to walk on eggshells in their own classrooms, undermining the sense of autonomy that brought many of these professionals into the field in the first … Continue reading →