'The Jeb Bush Nobody Knows' -- Part 16: A young FL homeschooler's interview with FL's Fabulous Gov

The St Petersburg Times ^ | May 20, 2002 | Intro by summer; Interview by Autumn Siegel

[summer]

Note to FR:

I was so moved by reading "My Adventure in Miami with President Bush" -- the recent essay written by Andrew, FR's own 15 year-old writer who posts as "walrus954" -- that I was inspired to turn over my space here to another talented young writer.

Consequently, Andrew, and everyone else, please say hello to: Autumn Siegel, a FL homeschooler who recently interviewed Gov. Bush.

I hope you all enjoy this interview, below. (I know I did!)

Sincerely,

summer :) -- a former Dem, now an independent and a FL certified teacher


FL homeschool student and budding journalist, Autumn Siegel, left, along
with a FL newspaper staff member, at a journalism conference --
as explained HERE.

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Monday, May 20, 2002
St. Petersburg Times



An online interview with Governor Bush

By Autumn Siegel

As a homeschooled student enrolled in the Florida Virtual School, the online high school that has served students across the state for the past four years, I got the chance to interview Gov. Jeb Bush online for the Virtual School's newspaper, News in a Click. (Darn it, no photo op when you interview by computer!)

We talked about lots of issues that affect young people in Florida, from education to teenage smoking to politics. Here is an edited version of our conversation:

AUTUMN: Growing up in a political family, when did you decide that this would be the area that you would go into? What other fields had you considered?

GOV. BUSH: I first got involved in politics to help my dad, whom I truly love. I overcame my fears of speaking in public and began to understand the joys of service by watching my dad in his public service. In 1993 I decided to make the leap. I had been in the private sector until then.

AUTUMN: Has it been difficult to maintain your own identity instead of just being one of "the Bush boys?"

GOV. BUSH: I stopped worrying about what people think a while back and now focus on how I can serve and help others.

AUTUMN: Integrity is an important quality for all of humanity, but especially those who have achieved celebrity status as political figures. What suggestions do you have for the next generation of voters who are exposed to negative campaigning and apparent lack of morality on the part of some elected officials?

GOV. BUSH: Say what you are going to do and do what you said you would do. Don't veer from principle. Be honest with yourself. Show humility. Fight hard but fight fair.

AUTUMN: What do you think of such government-based shows as NBC's The West Wing? Do you feel that these give an accurate portrayal of political life?

GOV. BUSH: I don't watch The West Wing.

AUTUMN: The SWAT (Students Working Against Tobacco) program, which was founded under the Chiles administration, received a considerable budget cut in October, with a large portion of that money being redistributed to enhance road development. Do you think that it will be important to restore the funds for this program?

GOV. BUSH: The tobacco program is doing fine. We are spending $39-million. That was what was being spent last year. That is a lot of dough!

AUTUMN: If funding is not able to be replaced, what are some of the initiatives that can be taken to continue efforts to decrease youth smoking?

GOV. BUSH: Teen smoking is down in our state, which is a good thing.

AUTUMN: There has been a considerable amount of media coverage on the recent cell-phone controversy facing school districts across America. Some believe that students should be allowed to keep these devices on campus as long as they are not turned on; others protest that the phones are too much of a distraction. Where do you stand and why?

GOV. BUSH: I have not followed the issue, but now I will!

AUTUMN: Due to increased security after Sept. 11, do you think that there has been a decrease in youth involvement in the government, such as the TeenPact program for Christian homeschoolers, or the Senate page program?

GOV. BUSH: I have not noticed a decline in youth involvement. In fact, I think there has been more civic involvement than before that I hope can be sustained.

AUTUMN: Why do you think it is important to support the Florida Virtual School?

GOV. BUSH: It has the potential of helping to redefine education. It is student-centered and can be used in so many ways . . . remediation, honors-AP (advanced placement) classes for students who can't access them, etc.

AUTUMN: Do you think online learning would have been beneficial when you were growing up, or perhaps would have benefited your children?

GOV. BUSH: Gosh, I am so old I can remember black-and-white televisions! Online learning would have been very useful to me.

AUTUMN: Do you think the Virtual School will be able to issue diplomas to its students in the near future?

GOV. BUSH: I hope so.

AUTUMN: Many critics argue that Florida Virtual School is not an effective educational medium because of the lack of interaction among students and faculty. However, AP scores among Virtual School students exceed the national average by nearly 9 percent. What is your comment about this apparent contradiction?

GOV. BUSH: The Virtual School is not for everyone. But it is a good means to accelerate learning for kids who don't need as much attention.

AUTUMN: I am sure that you are aware of the teacher shortage facing Florida. What would you say to high schoolers or college students to encourage them to pursue a career in education?

GOV. BUSH: The laws of supply and demand apply to the teaching profession. There will be great opportunities in teaching in the next decade. Teaching is a very noble profession.

AUTUMN: What factors influenced your decision to attend the college that you did?

GOV. BUSH: I went to high school in the northeast U.S. and wanted to go back home, so I attended the University of Texas.

AUTUMN: What is something that you now know that you wish you would have known while in school?

GOV. BUSH: I know now not to be in quite the rush I was in back then. I graduated in 21/2 years.

AUTUMN: Your mother seems to be a pretty amazing woman. What is the most important piece of advice that she gave you, and have you shared this with your own children?

GOV. BUSH: Love my wife and children more than life itself. That is easy to do.

AUTUMN: What advice would you give to the siblings of particularly high achievers?

GOV. BUSH: Work hard.

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FL's hard working governor, Jeb Bush, online in the
interview above -- and working at Orlando's Dr. Phillips High School,
where he answered questions from Florida students.

[summer]

LOL! :)

[summer]

Re your post #68 -- A Bush bump--good answers, Governor.

I'll second that, skr. Thanks for your post here! :)

[summer]

Re your post #69 - I was thinking that too! LOL....

[summer]

Good one!!! Bump.

JimSEA, thank you so much for your post here! :)

[summer]

Mega bumps for the future leaders of America !!...

BTTT! And, David, thanks for pinging people to this thread! :)

[summer]

...the questions asked by the young lady to the Governor were more incisive and thoughtful than the totality of those I've seen flung at Ari Fleisher by the so-called pros in the WH corps over the last four weeks.

Jeb Bush's actions during that Florida recount circus were a remarkable display of honor, duty and unselfishness. His immediate recusal from involvement in any part of the contested legal process, his grace throughout the onslaught of slimy innuendos and partisan lies, his respect for the prerogatives of his officers both Pubbie and Rat (the AG who wimped out of defending the State against the despots in the Florida Supreme Court), and his measured steps to repair the damage left after the a-hole Gore lawyers and operatives left the state and went back to their dungeons - he's proven to me that he's a damn good man of integrity and duty. Like big bro. Both Bush's conducted themselves with spectacular maturity and wisdom during that mess. He's going to blitzkrieg Reno ... in fact, I predict she'll withdraw from the race citing medical reasons.

Arne, BTTT to your entire insightful post. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your thoughts here.

BTW, I too have predicted Reno will withdraw at the 11th hour, less than a week before the election, citing medical reasons. If she doesn't, I predict the biggest landslide in history for a FL gov race, with Gov. Bush making history twice -- for the largest margin of victory, and, as the first GOP FL gov to ever win a 2nd term. So far, you are the only one who has agreed with me that she will withdraw at the last moment. I think the onslaught of so much negative publicity for the Dems for such a huge loss in FL will be too much for her, and she will seek to deny Gov. Bush that history-making record of the largest win. We'll see. But, I bet you and I are right on the money with this.

[Victoria Delsoul]

What a great interview! Thanks so much for posting this, Summer.

Thanks also for the link to Jeb Bush's site.

[tracer]

First Amendment bump. And please stock up on hip waders and rubber gloves and make sure that you have received all of your shots before venturing further into your chosen career..... 8~]

[Alamo-Girl]

bump!

[UCANSEE2]

BTTT

[kinganamort]

will upload tonight...

[summer]

Utah Girl, See Arne's post #72 and his comments about the White House press reporters. LOL... :)

[summer]

A summer, Jeb, young journalist bump!

pt17, I really appreciate your bump here! Thanks. :)

[summer]

Re your post #74, Thank you, sistergoldenhair. A lot more people saw this thread, thanks to your early morning bump! :)

[summer]

Re your post #76 - What a terrific patriotic bump! Thanks, Brownie74. :)

[summer]

Re your post #77 and #78 - Thanks so much, E.G.C. David has been just wonderful pinging people to these Jeb threads, and I so appreciate that people are responding. Thanks again! :)

[ArneFufkin]

WH Press Conference:

Ari: Yes Autumn?

Autumn: Have you looked into my inquiry yesterday about the three temporary Executive Orders issued by President Clinton that will take permanent force of law should no action be taken by midnight Saturday?

Ari: Yes, we are grateful that these executive orders -one of which designated the entirety of Texas as a Wildlife Refuge banning any economic development or human habitation - were able to be found, addressed and reversed before they became law. Thank you for your perceptive heads up, Autumn. Helen?

Helen: Why won't the President tell us about Enron and all the Big Oil of his? He's hiding something from the American people, is it payoffs to his Big Oil? Why won't he tell us the truth?

[summer]

LOL....Helen, here's what truly happened:

[summer]

Re your post #79 - Thanks, xsmommy! So nice to hear from you! :)

[summer]

summer, thanks for posting this and for letting me know about it. It's great!

My pleasure, Boxsford. And, thank YOU so much for taking the time to check it out! :)