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Today, the education system in Florida is sinking just about as fast as the state itself - no, im sorry, let me correct myself, it is more akin to the Titanic. And the students in the system are like the drowning, floundering passengers, awaiting their impending doom. It is sad and crude but truthful. When you compile factors such as Bush's No Child Left Behind, the classroom cap, not enough quality teachers (heck - not enough teachers period), and a never ending flood of apathetic students, it is no surprise that only 33 percent of 10th graders passed the FCAT. Thirty three percent! The only hope for students in my county - Hernando County, is to hope, wish, and pray that they get picked in a lottery to attend one of two magnet schools. As a child in a regular public school, not only are they being shuffled around in portables because the schools are too overcrowded, but the teachers are being forced to dumb-down an already sub-par curriculum to prevent students from failing. Since when has America invested so little time, money, and energy into educating the youth? Why is education such a low priority? What is to come of the future of our nation?
Perhaps a change is soon to come. On Wednesday, Hernando County School Board members took a trip to a gifted magnet school in Sarasota County, with several members hoping to commence a similar program in Hernando. As a Hernando County Public School graduate, and also a Gifted student, all I can say is, it's about damn time! When I was first put in gifted in elementary school, I loved it, the gifted students in my grade in Spring Hill were bussed once a week to Suncoast Elementary where we had about 15 students. It was fun, I learned a ton, not only facts about history and reading, but other valuable skills that weren't taught at my regular school, like creating presentations, public speaking, the importance of being literate, and portraying ones literacy - but most importantly I received what I desperately needed but was missing from my regular school, the desire to learn and question as much as I could. Even though I was sometimes discouraged by my regular teachers (by having important lessons or tests on days we were in gifted and not letting us make them up), gifted was my favorite class up until High School, where I was forced to choose between the Advanced Placement Academy and Gifted. It was a simple decision - the most important thing to me in high school was getting as much college credit as possible. The AP academy I attended that was instated my freshman year was abolished by the time I was a senior, and instead of allowing only the elite to participate in the AP classes, they were opened to everyone - and I can say from first hand experience, it is a disaster to allow students who are not emotionally or educationally prepared for such classes, in said classes. But I digress, currently Hernando County has very little to offer their gifted/driven students, and as a result, many are commuting to other schools in Hillsborough or Sarasota. To be honest, when it comes to your child's education, distance should not be a factor when a better education lies on the frontier. The Sarasota magnet school that was called a "public elite" by Newsweek is Pine View, and the majority of attendees not only had IQ scores of 130 or higher, but also had good grades/test scores, and a desire to learn. At Pine View, 98 % of students passed the FCAT, and the school receives over 8,000 a student to ensure that the education they receive is elite.
I am ecstatic to see that Hernando County is finally realizing the potential of some of its students and is considering a gifted school that goes up to 12th grade, and also encourages students to take Advanced Placement classes, but also promotes the academic atmosphere that is absent in the majority of high schools nationwide. Hopefully it will be built in time for me, and other dedicated, educated individuals, to teach at this school. It is something that Hernando County desperately needs.
