‘Enough is enough’ — thousands of Florida teachers protest
Florida teachers protest in Tallahassee against state’s education policies. (Photo by Mike Archer, Used with permission)
“Enough is enough.” That was the chant during a protest by up to 3,000 teachers in Florida who traveled to Tallahassee, the state capital, to send their message to legislators that high-stakes testing, for-profit charter schools and other market-based reforms are hurting public education.
The Thursday rally — called by the Florida Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union — was held in a spot where lawmakers could hear the proceedings, which included speeches by educators who said it was past time for change.
Education battles have been escalating in Florida, with educators, parents and others opposing the state’s standardized test-based school accountability system. Not only did the state’s association of district school superintendents issue a statement in September saying members have “‘lost confidence” in the system, but the Sun-Sentinel in south Florida warned in an editorial that the accountability system could collapse under the weight of its own problems.
Florida’s superintendents have called for the state to suspend the accountability system for a year — meaning that the scores from this spring’s administration of the exams will not be used in evaluations — and a full review. Their September statement said in part:
In this high stakes environment, students, teachers and schools should not be impacted by a rushed and flawed administration of new, untried assessments. While direct negative consequences were avoided for students, the results of a flawed assessment will impact teacher evaluations (VAM) and be used to judge the quality of school
Here’s a speech delivered to the protesters Thursday by Wendy Bradshaw, who resigned last year as an educator in Florida’s Polk County who specializes in working with children — infants through fifth grade — living with disabilities to help improve their educational and life experiences.
Bradshaw, in an open resignation letter, said she loves to teach but she had reached a point where she could not tolerate working within an education ‘Enough is enough’ — thousands of Florida teachers protest - The Washington Post:
