A disparaging attack on teacher professionalism was made at a recent Tennessee Education Conference hosted by Dr. Larry Earn, president of ultra-conservative Hillsdale College in Michigan. In a meeting with Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, Earn said, “Teachers are trained by the dumbest part of the dumbest colleges…” I have a degree in education because I don’t “need to know”…anything. ”
This far-right pillar has been adopted by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to denigrate Florida’s public school education. Such a humiliating view of teachers is used by governors to degrade education standards and address the ongoing teacher shortage.
Dedicated teachers are true civil servants and unsung heroes of the pandemic. Low wages and attacks on professional integrity are some of the fundamental reasons teachers leave the profession. Instead of lowering teacher standards, the governor may consider raising a teacher’s salary to her national median of $65,420.
By politicizing education, DeSantis and his administration are reflecting their narrow views and sidestepping the main problem – money is needed to strengthen public education and support teachers and students.
Antonio White, vice president of United Teachers of Dade, said that if Republicans were to truly support public education, “they should expand pre-kindergarten education and address the shortage of teachers, nurses and guidance counselors.” will advocate for the success and well-being of Florida’s children by increasing access to AP classes and career and technical education that lead to high-paying jobs, while teaching critical thinking skills and helping young people with depression, anxiety and suicide. We will better equip schools to deal with the surge in the number of children.”
White goes on to say that politicians are doing the opposite, banning books while demanding teachers present “both sides” of Nazism, slavery and other historical atrocities. He also added that they disrespect and dehumanize LBGTQ students, teachers, and same-sex families.
Legendary actress Cicely Tyson said in her memoir, published shortly before her death in 2021, “Blinding our history did not save us from its consequences.”
Karen Adler, Jacksonville
Again about taxes
Another bill is in the works for the US federal income tax.
There are strong arguments for and against on both sides of the aisle. The big trivia question is how many pounds (or should I say tons) of paper do you need to record all the federal tax laws?
In the mid-1970s, I lived and worked in Hong Kong, a British colony. Many very smart, very hardworking, very smart Chinese businessmen ruled the economic roost. Over lunch, one of them showed me his personal tax return. If I remember correctly it was only two pages long. His tax rate was his 15% of his gross income, like everyone else.
There was no personal tax credit, so it didn’t matter if the expenses were tax deductible. These businessmen were never saints. Some of them may spend eternity in the inner circle of business hell. But cheating on their personal income tax was not one of those sins. As for the British colonial tax inspectors, I think there were some, but I never met them.
Sam Hefner, Ponte Vedra Beach
election police waste of tax money
On November 4, 2020, Governor DeSantis boasted about the efficiency and integrity of Florida’s election process. He repeated what many observers were saying at the time: “Why can’t the state be more like Florida?” Then a stolen Trump campaign speech took hold in the Republican Party. Correspondingly, DeSantis’ aspirations for higher office necessitated throwing himself into an election fraud conspiracy.
Although he has never publicly taken a position on Trump’s allegations, DeSantis has made moves to pander to Trump’s base. , and other irrational actions, he proposed using $5.7 million in tax dollars to set up an Election Fraud Bureau (later reduced by Congress to $3.7 million).
Should I be proud of this decision? The agency successfully identified 20 of her ineligible voters. These are all former felons who have simply failed to navigate the complex process of recovery. This equates to approximately $185,000 spent per offender.
This new felony conviction will likely return them to prison, costing taxpayers more than $25,000 per year of imprisonment. is insane and violates conservative principles.
Steve Entman, Jacksonville
State Vaccine Policy Takes Lives
Thank you for posting the August 22 article “DeSantis slams low vaccination rates in children”. It’s important for voters to know how detrimental Governor DeSantis has been to Florida. It is unconscionable to allow children to get sick or die because they refuse to listen to real doctors and scientists.
Allowing parents to decide for themselves whether to vaccinate their children is one thing, but actively blocking other parents’ access to vaccines through state policies is immoral. . And the impact that anti-vaccine surgeon generals and governors have on vaccination rates by actively spreading narratives of disbelief and anti-science at the cost of our lives cannot be underestimated.
The numbers speak for themselves. As the article reported, Florida has the lowest vaccination rates for her children under the age of five, and he is one of the areas with the highest hospitalization and death rates for the same group. Please don’t vote for DeSantis in November. We need a governor who really cares about us and our children.
Heather Montagnier, Atlantic Beach
Bean’s Creative Campaign Ads
I have to agree with Aaron Bean’s campaign commercial.He, as a part-time auctioneer, gives you 20 seconds to rattle off all the shortcomings of Joe Biden’s time as president. has run out of time, but will ask for another chance.
His follow-up commercials are run-of-the-mill — basic America and apple pie, Second Amendment, pro-life, and never our tax increases. Remember George H.W. Bush? That comment came back to bite him.
To Bean’s credit, to my knowledge, he doesn’t chant the “like Trump” mantra, and (again, to my knowledge) he doesn’t carry a shotgun, a semi-automatic rifle. . Campaign commercials are like many other candidates trying to look tough. My take: If you have to use a gun in a campaign commercial, it’s not that tough.
I’m firmly on the blue line right now, but if I was in his district, I could have voted for this guy.
Michael Connelly, Jacksonville Beach
Backyard Housing Needs More
A proposal to the City Council to encourage the addition of smaller buildings to land already occupied seems like an easy choice. We assume that all structural requirements apply, but we must insist that some other non-negotiable requirements must be met.
- New buildings must be well within the site’s sewage system, electrical capacity, and water capacity tolerances.
- Buildings must not include the removal of shade tree coverings that prevent areas from becoming heat sinks and reduce oxygen levels.
- Off-street parking should be included in the building plan.
- Entire parcels of land on which structures will be constructed shall be left uncovered to prevent rain from penetrating the soil and depriving Florida’s aquifers of vital supplies, with at least 50% uncovered. must be
Sharon Shoal, Atlantic Beach
Democrats Improving the IRS
It’s interesting to see Republicans like DeSantis attacking Democrats for making the IRS easier to pay taxes. They certainly recognize their obligation to help pay for government services such as the military and homeland security. energy and infrastructure; regulations to keep predators at bay; In addition, there are general laws and regulations that we follow, as well as education, training and research.
Yellen and Biden have repeatedly said these increases apply only to individuals with annual incomes above $300,000 and high-profit businesses. Perhaps the opposition thinks the quickest way to destroy our democracy is to rob it of support, and that seems to be their goal.
Peter Bishop, Jacksonville
City Helps Dispose of Old Grill
I’m helping relatives in Jacksonville do some much-needed spring cleaning. As a longtime TU member, I knew the city of Jacksonville’s contact phone number was 630-CITY.
One call to that number was answered by a positive and helpful lady who explained how to remove a non working grill. The grill was at the collection point the day after normal household waste collection. Problem solved, old grill gone.
Thank you City of Jacksonville!
Paul Williams, Orange Park