Florida chooses wisely…maybe

That means he's most emphatically not conservative. He's a radical, revolutionary neoliberal.

hmm, so when the article says:

Smith supports vouchers, charter schools and other conservative educational policies. He pushed for accountability based on test scores in the districts he ran even before the federal No Child Left Behind initiative.

we should instead interpret that as the "neoliberal" position.

?

I must be wearing the wrong glasses again. Ever since the "hanging chad" incident, I can never figure out how the hell to interpret anything coming from the media in Florida.

;)

Maybe I missed it. But I am surprised you seem not to have noted your friend Larry's presented videos on the Canadian CBC on atheism.

http://sandwalk.blogspot.com/2007/10/atheists-spreading-word.html

There is some education students could use. I doubt we will see it on an American MSM.

$195,189 to $275,058 salary, and Yecke was a finalist??? So how much money can you make in Florida if you're qualified and competent?

This state is a festering shithole. And not the good kind.

Smith was run out of NC on a rail. He royally screwed up the education system down there. When he got to MD, he did the same thing. His first act in office in a county that desperately needed updated books? Gutting the offices at the board of ed and bringing new furniture, new carpet, new paint, new lighting, and new "art" to the tune of a few million dollars.

Florida is screwed.

He's a true conservative.

EFFFF the poor is their motto.

Private enterprises fail all the time. Big ones, little ones, good ones and not so good ones. I am curious to know what the privatizers will do with children whose schools fail - as they inevitably will in a competitive market. When Bob's EduMart goes titsup from mismanagement and crappy marketing, will all those students be placed in holding pens while EducationsIsUs ramps up to handle the increased demand? Or will Bob's get a government bailout? Just curious.

Coincidentally, here's Bob Herbert's op-ed in today's NYT: "It's time to rein in the test zealots who have gotten such a stranglehold on the public schools in the U.S."

Oh, and off-topic, here's another mention of McCain and the "Christian Nation" lie.

Meanwhile, Krugman sings "Same as it ever was."

Public schools also fail all the time--but they don't go out of business, they continue operating.

Arizona's charter school system--where private entities provide education at public expense--has produced both good and bad schools. The good ones include the first high school in Arizona to make U.S. News and World Report's top 100 high schools list--BASIS High School, which came in at #3. The bad ones go out of business and the students go to other charter schools or public schools.

I don't think there's any reason why government should be *operating* schools, as opposed to mandating standards and revoking charters for those that fail to meet them.

Any argument which has a consequence that the BASIS school shouldn't have been allowed to come into existence strikes me as a flawed argument.

Smith supports vouchers, charter schools and other conservative educational policies.

None of which is conservative. The conservative candidate in 2004 was Kerry.

Public schools also fail all the time--

In the USA, yes.

I don't think there's any reason why government should be *operating* schools, as opposed to mandating standards and revoking charters for those that fail to meet them.

Maybe it should mandate a few more standards instead of leaving so much to micro-local institutions...

Which conservatism are you talking about?

Conservatives want to kill the pulblic schoo system. They do make mandates and then don't supply adequate funding to the schools to meet the mandates.

Then they can point to the schools as failing and then move the funds to "private" schools that actually aren't required to meet the same mandates.

That is American Conservatism on education.

And THIS is another reason why I homeschool.

Jim,

Of course you wouldn't want to mention that BASIS High School also has the ability to pick and choose which students it will accept and incorporates a very stringent entrance exam that students must pass in order to even be considered for admission. University High School, a public school also in Tucson, and also able to pick and choose the students it accepts is consistently ranked 2nd or 3rd in the State of Arizona.

Your argument is actually, whether you acknowledge it or not...

"When schools get to pick their students they are successful."

Amazing.

I truly enjoy people slamming public schools when the schools are required to provide education to all students, regardless of their lack of interest or motivation, and are effectively, virtually across the board, underfunded for the task set before them.

None of which is conservative. The conservative candidate in 2004 was Kerry.

ah, wait, I see what's going on...

you need to flip the mirror you are looking through to the other side.

"Florida Chooses Wisely" ... by Florida standards, actually, yes!

(I.e., we somehow didn't get the Bushevik.)

(Dogmeat gets my vote.)

I believe that David means:

The "conservative" (small c) stance is to preserve the public school system as it is, with improvements. (This is typically associated with Democrats/Liberals).

The [nominally] "Conservative" (read: Republican) stance is to apply radical changes to the system, which in no way "conserves" the system as conceived by the Founding Fathers.

According to the Florida Times-Union article "Yecke out as Florida's K-12 chancellor" (19 Dec 07):

Cheri Pierson Yecke is leaving as Florida's kindergarten-12 chancellor after losing a bid for education commissioner, Florida's top public schools job, state officials announced Wednesday. ... [snip] ... Yecke, one of three finalists for commissioner, approached Smith to say she was looking for another position in higher education and did not submit a formal letter of resignation, said Department of Education spokesman Tom Butler.

That means he's most emphatically not conservative. He's a radical, revolutionary neoliberal.

Smith supports vouchers, charter schools and other conservative educational policies.

None of which is conservative. The conservative candidate in 2004 was Kerry.

Public schools also fail all the time--

In the USA, yes.

I don't think there's any reason why government should be *operating* schools, as opposed to mandating standards and revoking charters for those that fail to meet them.

Maybe it should mandate a few more standards instead of leaving so much to micro-local institutions...