Monthly Archives: January 2024

“College majors in STEM fields are overrated.” Occasionally, an op-ed or something else that seems to make that argument gets under my skin. The most recent piece like that was syndicated into the print editions of both the Tampa Bay … Continue reading →

Professors and Deans from Florida State University’s campuses in Panama City and Tallahassee turned out last night to honor 160 middle school students who were inducted into the Future Physicists of Florida. The inductees, who were nominated by teachers at … Continue reading →

What is Florida State University for? I’ve read many commentaries on what universities are for during the last few years, and I haven’t once recognized the university I’ve known for my thirty-seven years here at FSU. In all of my … Continue reading →

Given Florida’s poor results on the SAT math section, there should be no disagreement whatsoever that improving the math understanding of the state’s middle and high school students should be a high priority for education policymakers. And yet, as far … Continue reading →

While there are still some very strong students in my college physics classroom and the classrooms of my colleagues at both the college and K-12 levels, there are many more students (both in my classroom and in the classrooms of … Continue reading →

About two miles from my office in FSU’s Keen Building, which is the headquarters of the university’s physics department, the Florida Legislature will begin its annual regular session on Monday. Legislators will be considering the deregulation of the K-12 schools, … Continue reading →

With the encouragement of its president, the Florida Senate is considering three bills that would “deregulate” public schools by removing many of the rules that have been imposed on these schools by the state since Jeb Bush’s A+ Plan was … Continue reading →