FCAT Week

Well, it is that time again in Florida, FCAT time, my daughter is already planning her breakfasts for the week and stressing out about this ridiculous test. Luckily she is an excellent tester and I refuse to entertain her insecurities about this test. Here is the official FCAT site if you are interested in reading the drivel and propaganda surrounding this test. Here is the FCAT Explorer which is designed to provide resources for parents and students to achieve better results on this test. The schools hold workshops for the parents, send home packets of information and put so much emphasis on this test. So why in the world do they schedule it the week of Daylight Savings Time?

Don't Forget The Teachers

School's out tomorrow, my third grader made a great point this morning. She said "Mom, school is out tomorrow, don't forget our teachers." I am ashamed to say I almost did. Each year the kids pick out a small gift for their teachers and we also give them a gift card. I almost forgot. Luckily I have a 9 year old who has the memory like an elephant and often serves as my conscience.

Volusia County teachers have had a really rough year, they are the victims of our brilliant government leaders, the voters and the school board. Much of what is happening to them is not their doing, my son's teacher is losing his job at the end of the year, he is young energetic and enthusiastic. There is a lucky school district out there that is going to get him, through all the turmoil, and knowing he is losing his job he has taught on and done a great job.

I believe that it takes a special person to be a teacher, they sure don't do it for the pay or the glory...so take a minute and recognize your children's teacher. They will appreciate it, it does not have to be fancy or expensive just let them know you appreciate all their efforts.

Please Pick Charlie

This is a plea to John McCain....please help save the State of Florida. Please help save the education system in Florida. Please help save Volusia County Schools.

Please pick Charlie Crist to be your running mate!!

Lets start with the schools, behind our buddy Charlie, the biggest problem Volusia County Schools has is Margaret Smith the Superintendent. The Beacon has a great rundown on the school boards latest antics and their cutting of 659 positions including 384 teachers. The teachers union says the numbers don't support that deep of a cut, I would say they are right. Nothing else this idiotic board has done has made sense so why should this?

Local 6 reported this morning that our brilliant Governor was unsympathetic to Volusia County teachers and basically said they should quit whining. That is not a quote, I missed the whole story but that is the message he sent.

Rewind...to THE PEOPLE'S GOVERNOR, this website is insulting to our intelligence, there are references to President Lincoln, Martin Luther King, and he has quotes by Ronald Reagan, go check it out, if it does not make you want to vomit I will be amazed.

Now after you are done reviewing that ridiculous bit of propaganda, go take a gander at this..... FLORIDA GOVERNOR if you can get past the garbage news headlines he has listed take a look at the right hand side, the links to the Hope Task Force(Foreclosure Prevention), they sure say nothing on that one.

Amendment ONE this one needs no words, other than to point out what a success this plan was, it has without a doubt contributed to the destruction of our public school system, yes, each and every homeowner will save a couple hundred bucks and 384 teachers in our county alone will be out of work, only our children suffer, yes Charlie that was sure a smart one!

But my favorite by far is FLORIDA KIDS CARE he actually touts this on his website. Did you see the latest ranking on childrens healthcare? Florida is 50th? The only state that is worse is Oklahoma, now think about this for a minute....Florida does not beat West Virginia, Kentucky, and some other notable states that are not known for healthcare, we are only better than OKLAHOMA. You are kidding me.

So all of the above speaks for itself. Now our buddy Charlie has also jumped into the child custody arena, he signed a bill that takes away the term "primary custody" and replaces it with "parenting plan". Along with a variety of other nonsensical garbage that makes no sense. He obviously has not a clue about the reality of some of these "custody" situations. How will a "parenting plan" work for a mother who has children who have not seen their father in months or years, or those that receive no support, or a variety of other situations, use your imagination. Great plan Charlie, it is right up there with Amendment One and Florida Kids Care. Love it. I wonder if he read it before he signed it....or spoke to any actual parents...

So in conclusion, Mr. McCain, I am sad to say that it is unlikely that you can win the election, so do us a favor in Florida, pick Charlie to be your running mate, you may not be able to save the country but least you can save one state from total destruction.

Growing Up

Do you remember 5th grade? I remember it well, my teacher was Mr. Jones, he was the first teacher to make me stand in the hall. I think he threw an eraser at me once or twice.....

My son is in fifth grade, headed to a small private middle school next year, Volusia County and their nonsense forced that decision. Anyway, this past Friday was the "fifth grade video". You remember the one....the boys see one video, the girls another. The "sex video"

We all saw it in fifth grade, when I saw it the mom's came and saw it with the girls and the dad's with the boys. Here I had to sign a permission slip for him to see it and if you really were worried they would send it home for you to preview....apparently the video has not changed much since we were in
school in the 70's.

My son came home with a little pamphlet about puberty and a little thing of Old Spice deodorant. I asked him if he had any questions about what he saw, he looked at me sort of cross eyed, like "WHAT???" I said to him if you have questions that you don't want to talk to me about you can talk to your Uncle Rick or Uncle Robby, I was dead serious.

The kid looked at me and burst out laughing..."MOM, I know all this, and I can ask you anything"....OK, this is good that he can ask me anything, since DAD is no where to be found...BUT WHAT? you know all this???

Perhaps they need to start showing the video in third grade, since my third grade daughter was quick to point out that she "heard" the video was stupid....please help me.....I feel like I am a hundred years old...and I really want someone to send me to the hall and throw an eraser at me....

FCAT & Daylight Savings TIme

I am pretty sure the people running the schools in this state do not have children. This week is Florida Comprehensive Achievement Test(FCAT). The big state test that all the teachers must teach to in order to keep their school at a high grade. The brilliant No Child Left Behind Program, yes that was sarcasm.

Daylight Savings Time started this weekend, so the kids who have to take the FCAT, lost an hour of sleep, have to wait for the bus in the dark and the best part is the buses in Volusia are coming 15 minutes earlier starting tomorrow, in order to be sure no one is late. (ARE YOU KIDDING ME?)

If you have kids you know how hard it is to get them to bed, try doing it the first few days of Daylight Savings Time. I am curious as to why the brilliant powers that be in this state did not have the FCAT the week before spring break, or last week, or any other week but this one? That would make sense.