First I could care less about who you vote for dog catcher, city council or the mayor of your hometown. I myself voted for a republican candidate in the mayoral primary in Jacksonville in 2015, but if you are voting for a republican for governor and as a member of the state legislature you are voting against your profession and kids too, don't forget the kids.
Let me lay some knowledge on you. The republicans have been in complete control of the state government for over twenty years. That means they have been in complete control of education policy and we all know they have done everything in their power to starve and harm public education.
They have voted to enrich their donors, family members and for more than a few even themselves with the expansion of charter schools of which over 330 have taken public money and failed.
They have starved public education. This year only allocating an additional 47 cents per student to pay for increased costs and teacher raises and speaking of teacher pay, when you factor in cost of living, Florida teachers are the lowest paid in the nation.
They have funneled billions into voucher schools that don't have to have degreed let alone certified teachers or recognized curricula.
They ignored the will of the people TWICE with the class size amendment in effect gutting it.
I could go on and on about how they have attacked public education and the teaching profession and by extension children. That is unacceptable to me and how somebody could be a teacher and continue to vote for those policies is mind blowing.
Now are all state republicans horrific and all state democrats saintly? No and I am looking at you Kimberly Daniels but if you are playing the odds your chances of finding a pro public education politician are a lot greater if you support a democrat.
It is like this, I rail against Teach for America all the time, but I know there are some great members and I also know there are some professional teachers that have chosen the wrong field, but if I am playing the odds I want a professional teacher every time.
My republican teacher colleagues, you can be pro gun and anti abortion and vote democrat too. Reasonable gun restrictions are not confiscation and will keep us all safer. You want to keep abortions down? Well allow democrats to put in meaningful sex education, and provide family planning and birth control.
Look I get it, it isn't going to be easy. I thought Obama's education policies were dreadful and in 2012 I looked hard for an alternate but there wasn't one. The thing is if you care about the teaching profession, if you care about public education and the 2.7 million children that attend our schools, don't you have to look hard for an alternate to the republican party? Don't you owe it to yourself, and your family and the states children. Don't you?
It's time for a change.
Let me lay some knowledge on you. The republicans have been in complete control of the state government for over twenty years. That means they have been in complete control of education policy and we all know they have done everything in their power to starve and harm public education.
They have voted to enrich their donors, family members and for more than a few even themselves with the expansion of charter schools of which over 330 have taken public money and failed.
They have starved public education. This year only allocating an additional 47 cents per student to pay for increased costs and teacher raises and speaking of teacher pay, when you factor in cost of living, Florida teachers are the lowest paid in the nation.
They have funneled billions into voucher schools that don't have to have degreed let alone certified teachers or recognized curricula.
They ignored the will of the people TWICE with the class size amendment in effect gutting it.
I could go on and on about how they have attacked public education and the teaching profession and by extension children. That is unacceptable to me and how somebody could be a teacher and continue to vote for those policies is mind blowing.
Now are all state republicans horrific and all state democrats saintly? No and I am looking at you Kimberly Daniels but if you are playing the odds your chances of finding a pro public education politician are a lot greater if you support a democrat.
It is like this, I rail against Teach for America all the time, but I know there are some great members and I also know there are some professional teachers that have chosen the wrong field, but if I am playing the odds I want a professional teacher every time.
My republican teacher colleagues, you can be pro gun and anti abortion and vote democrat too. Reasonable gun restrictions are not confiscation and will keep us all safer. You want to keep abortions down? Well allow democrats to put in meaningful sex education, and provide family planning and birth control.
Look I get it, it isn't going to be easy. I thought Obama's education policies were dreadful and in 2012 I looked hard for an alternate but there wasn't one. The thing is if you care about the teaching profession, if you care about public education and the 2.7 million children that attend our schools, don't you have to look hard for an alternate to the republican party? Don't you owe it to yourself, and your family and the states children. Don't you?
It's time for a change.
The top two democratic candidates for governor of Florida are Philip Levine and Gwen Graham.
ReplyDeletePhilip Levine was former mayor of Miami Beach and his campaign priorities are expanding needs-based college tuition grants, diverting tax dollars from charter schools, responding to climate change by promoting the solar energy industry, increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour, and pushing for a ban on assault weapons.
Gwen Graham is the daughter of former Florida Gov. Bob Graham and the former U.S. House Representative from Florida's 2nd Congressional District. She was first elected to the U.S. House in 2014 and did not seek re-election in 2016 due to redistricting. Her campaign priorities are expanding Medicaid in Florida, deemphasizing standardized testing in public schools, and increasing environmental standards in the state, particularly water quality and the Florida Forever land program.
Florida is currently under a Republican trifecta (it holds the Governor’s office, State Senate and State House). It has held this status since Scott took office in 2011. The 2018 elections might change this due to 100,000 people moving out of Puerto Rico and into Florida due to Hurricane Maria. Puerto Ricans normally vote Democratic.