Thanks Naomi. It's so darn hot here in August that the only thing the kids are likely doing, if they are home at all, is playing video games and watching TV. The novelty of the swimming pool has worn off by now and it's not like they want to go to the playground or out to ride their bikes! I'd rather have them in school.
Further, you are right to point out the real facts about the FCAT. Dave Barry, like the rest of his whining liberal ilk, love to blame everything from an October 8 start date to the athletes foot fungus some high school football players might contract in the showers on the FCAT!!! It's silly.
The FCAT has been a boon to education in Florida. The liberals hate Jeb so much that they will attack it at every turn. I just disagree how much the teachers harp on it with the kids. I mean, it's important but they shouldn't get the kids all riled up about it. It adds unnecessary stress to the children.
Dave should just be glad that he doesn't live in Hillsborough County (Tampa), the schools there started last Wednesday!!!
I recall why we needed an FCAT in the first place. We had no standards and large numbers of children were putting in their 12 years + of public school and graduating without the ability to read and write. The colleges had to test incoming freshman to determine if they could read and write and do any math. The public colleges had to do remediation to bring students up to a level where they could manage the college textbooks and write assignments.
The only way to have accountability in education is to test. Sure it is hard on the teachers, but without some standard test that is fairly administered and universal, the public can have no assurance that any teaching and learning has taken place.
I notice there is far less talk these days of "different learning styles," and evaluating a student's work with "portfolios" and such. Also, I believe our local schools have had to drop the week of self-esteem training they used to provide the elementary school children each year. The schools are also less understanding about poor behavior and less accommodating of it. "Whole language" and "rainforest math" are unlikely to make much headway in Florida because they prevent children from learning to read and do math and will therefore lower a school's overall FCAT score.
Our #1 elementary school in my county is a no-nonsense, back-to-basics school where the student and parent must get on a waiting list to apply to attend there. If accepted, they are required to sign a contract that covers behavior, manners, homework and volunteering for the parent. This school produces a 92% level on the FCAT.
I applaud the FCAT. We lost an entire generation of children to fads and failed programs. The FCAT keeps the focus on what the schools are supposed to do which is educate the children to read, write and do math.
Well, strange, we got out around May 31 - June 5th and had two months of vacation BEFORE band camp at a college, which was two weeks in August. We went back to school the Tuesday after Labor Day, and I had two different kinds of music, concert band and marching band, football games every week, concerts, and gee, we still managed to get a great education, pass our classes, and even do well on the SAT and get into college. And we had Thanksgiving and Christmas for long holidays and spring break too. Imagine that.