For Those Who Care About Educating "Our Children" for their future's success…
Author: Janis Sexton
Retired elementary public school teacher; all thirty-eight years in Florida... Now spending my time advocating for our children, and their right to strong public school education...With an appreciation for the arts, and the magic in each day✨...
The way we treat our children directly impacts what they believe about themselves…
Ariadne Brill Positive Parenting Connection
How very true… These are most challenging of times… Directly impacting how our precious children deal with their lives…They are not insulated…
With such a divisive government, the critical funding of essential programs with the necessary teachers required to provide children with an education to keep up, is lacking…
Schools being controlled by authoritarianism…Gun reform is extremely necessary to keep our precious children safe…
They are so filled with anxiety about going to school… Thus causing, many of our precious children dealing with mental health issues…
We are have opportunities and are extremely fortunate to have a president who cares… However Congress’ gridlocked is causing the chaos…
We must do better for our precious children…We have opportunities coming, and we must do much better!!!
I am feeling hopeful that this extremely restrictive, authorian government will be pushed back!!!
Our precious children deserve so much better…
By Cydney Tucker and Ivan Pereira September 13, 2023, 8:24 AM
People need to walk in the places where these things happened...
ABC News’ Victor Oquendo reports from Florida as parents and educators take on Gov. Ron DeSantis’ “War on Wokeness,” fighting to make sure African American history is not erased from the curriculum.
After Florida’s governor and education department rolled out a controversial updated curriculum regarding Black history lessons, many students, parents, educators and elected officials raised their voices over how slavery was being presented.
The new curriculum included instruction for middle school students that “slaves developed skills which, in some instances, can be applied for their personal benefit.”
“That’s mean,” Marvin Dunn, a professor at Florida International University, told ABC News. “That’s mean to say that to Black people that there was some advantage, some positive benefit to being enslaved. They weren’t even considered to be persons. So how could they have personal benefits?”
Dunn and other educators have banded together with parents and students and formed a non-profit coalition, the Miami Center for Racial Justice, to protest Florida’s new curriculum and raise awareness for the Black history that they say is being erased from classrooms…
The group has held rallies and teaching tours at Florida’s historical sites to counter some of the misconceptions they say are now being taught.
One of the tours was in Rosewood, Florida, where a Black community once prospered until a white mob destroyed it in 1923…
The Miami Center for Racial Justice leads a rally against Florida’s new history curriculum has held historical tours across Florida. ABC News
“People need to walk in the places where these things happened so that they become meaningful to them, so that you carry the experience beyond just the academic histories, not just facts,” Dunn said. “If you only teach history as facts, you’re really teaching a catalog, not really emotion.”
They’re probably going to show that some of the folks that eventually parlayed, you know, being a blacksmith into things later in life,” DeSantis said during a news conference in July.
The governor further defended the curriculum changes in an interview with Fox News in August contending the curriculum’s wording lets teachers show “how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.”
“That particular passage wasn’t saying that slavery was a benefit. It was saying there was resourcefulness, and people acquired skills in spite of slavery, not because of it,” he said.
Juana Jones, a Miami middle school teacher and parent, however, told ABC News she was concerned about this major change to teaching slavery.
“I do believe that kids should know the truth about how this nation came about, and then they can form their own opinions afterwards,” Jones said. “There’s a level of trauma, and I do believe that everyone should know the truth in middle school [and] high school.”
Dunn warned that the country is not far away from a period of severe anti-race violence, and the only way to solve this problem is to educate people about the truth.
“It’s important to know history, to not repeat history. It’s important to note so that we don’t do it again,” he said…
Reflecting on my teaching career, as I do quite often…
It’s been almost 10 years now since I was that first grade teacher, and my heart breaks for all the extremely difficult challenges teachers of today are dealing with…And I am frustrated that we are allowing this to happen….
Yet, I do still hold onto hope…For that better day to come… I so believe the reelection of President Biden and Vice President Harris will make that difference…And here in Florida we elect a governor that supports our public schools…
Then ..Whenever I am out and about in our community, and I have an opportunity to interact with one of our precious children…
I always let them know I was a teacher…And they definitely still check me out ..I am so delighted to realize…They are still that innocent.. I still do have that special connection with them heart to heart… Their parents close by, are there for them…
Just recently having had a conversation with a second grade, little girl, asking her how her school year was going, and her telling me she liked second grade…
Then wishing them a “Happy Halloween 🎃”
It so warms my heart…
Children are still children… Parents are still wanting the best for their children…
Because we in Florida have an authorization government .. School has just begun and are dealing with book bans, lack of inclusion …
We definitely are living with an alternate reality…And our precious children are paying the price…
And now without the scientific data...nor caring about our precious children, teachers and essential staff...
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is criticizing efforts across the U.S. to tamp down a recent jump in COVID-19 cases through temporary restrictions or masking
ByThe Associated Press September 7, 2023…
Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a Republican presidential primary debate hosted by FOX News Channel, Aug. 23, 2023
September 7, 2023, 12:08 PM
Gov. DeSantis and Florida surgeon general warn against new COVID-19 restrictions and vaccine Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is criticizing efforts across the U.S. to tamp down a recent jump in COVID-19 cases through temporary restrictions or masking
ByThe Associated Press September 7, 2023, 12:08 PM FILE – Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a Republican presidential primary debate hosted by FOX News Channel, Aug. 23, 2023, in Milwaukee…
DeSantis says he got a $1 million cash bump after Wednesday night’s presidential debate. His campaign says that amount came in over the first 24 hours after DeSantis and seven other contenders met in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, File)
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday criticized recent efforts across the U.S. to tamp down a recent jump in COVID-19 cases through temporary restrictions or masking, and his state surgeon general warned against getting the latest COVID-19 vaccine, which is expected to be available this month.
The criticism from DeSantis at news conference in Jacksonville, Florida, arrived the same day that his campaign for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination sent out an email to supporters vowing to “fight back against every bogus attempt the Left makes to expand government control” when it comes to COVID-19 precautions.
At the Jacksonville news conference in an Irish pub, DeSantis and Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo promised Florida won’t be joining states, cities or school districts across the U.S. in temporarily closing schools or mandating mask-wearing because of the recent uptick in COVID-19 cases.
“People are lurching toward this insanity again,” DeSantis said. “As we see these things being orchestrated … there needs to be pushback.”
Lapado said there were no arguments for getting the latest vaccine. “There are a lot of red flags,” he said.
Ladapo’s previous warnings against COVID-19 vaccines merited a public letter from federal health agencies saying his claims were harmful to the public. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sent the letter in March to Ladapo, a DeSantis appointee who has attracted national scrutiny over his close alignment with the governor in opposing COVID-19 vaccine mandates and other health policies embraced by the federal government.
Ladapo last year released guidance recommending against COVID-19 vaccinations for healthy children, contradicting federal public health leaders whose advice says all children should get the shots.
“It is the job of public health officials around the country to protect the lives of the populations they serve, particularly the vulnerable. Fueling vaccine hesitancy undermines this effort,” said the letter signed by FDA Commissioner Robert Califf and then-CDC Director Rochelle Walensky.
DeSantis’ news conference in Jacksonville came almost two weeks after three Black people were fatally shot by a 21-year-old white supremacist who authorities say left behind ramblings that read like “the diary of a madman.” At a vigil the day after the shootings, DeSantis was booed by the crowd during his speech.
This year, DeSantis signed a bill allowing people to carry guns without getting a state permit. He has antagonized civil rights leaders by deriding “wokeness.”
During a question-and-answer period at Thursday’s news conference, an unidentified man suggested the governor’s policies contributed to the shootings. The governor responded angrily, saying he shouldn’t be blamed for the actions of “some madman.”
“I’m not going to allow you to accuse me of committing criminal activity,” DeSantis said. “I’m not going to take that…
God blessed you with a strong spirit. You laugh, even if sometimes you are sad. You’re loving and giving, even if sometimes you’re exhausted. Your motto is: What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. You never give up, and that’s what makes you truly strong …
Having had a challenging childhood; losing my mother at seventeen… having that strong spirit has been such a blessing…
Being told by those I needed to rely on, their telling me that I couldn’t…
Gave me that passion to move forward…
I was told as a freshman in college I didn’t belong… My test scores were not the best…due to testing anxiety…
I proved them all wrong… Receiving a Bachelor’s in Education… Master’s in Administration and Post graduate work in Counseling Education…
Making a promise to my mother before her unexpected death, I was to go to college…
Working so very hard … Starting out as a young, married mother, living on very little; loans, grants and food stamps… just to do it!!
Complicated with health issues throughout my life, and raising my daughter alone without my family, made my spirit even stronger …
Hearing those painful words that I did not belong, nor would do it… left me always having to prove myself…
And so deeply appreciating those dear and special people in my life who I do believe were sent from above...
One being, my very dearest friend and colleague Mary Towers, who I believe, was sent by mother… because, she was about that same age as what my mother’s age would have been, always giving me that comforting feeling like I felt with my mother, a loving heart and wisdom…We team taught together from 1975 to 1984 , remaining friends until last year when she died at 103…She was such a beautiful, blessing and inspiration…
There have also been those special professional mentors that recognized and celebrated my talents their advocacy ; colleagues, principals, county school personnel and superintendents…
One of whom awarded me a paid sabbatical for one year to work on a graduate level School Counseling Program, attending the University of Florida…
Another special mentor was a dear college professor in Elementary Education, who gave me an assistantship, teaching students in a college level seminar and monitoring their field placements at elementary schools in our district…
Opportunities and setbacks… throughout these years… has characterized my journey… Still advocating and volunteering, along with my teaching, in community programs that advocated for children…
Retiring on my thirtieth year, unsure of my future, due to health issues… A teacher’s pension and little savings does not last…Even losing everything…
I was to start over…Taking the Florida Teacher Exam; taking an online class for recertification…
My blessed county hiring me back … And that blessed assistant principal, who professionally knew my past… We were colleagues together at my previous school, appreciating my talent… Advocating for my being hired on the spot, by the principal, giving me a chance…
I began again at 58… Teaching first grade, at a diverse elementary school…This was to be my most challenging role as a teacher, due to lack of funding and that divisive political climate, yet my most rewarding teaching experience… Teaching from 2007 to 2015…
And this was where my voice got louder… speaking out for our precious children….
When retiring, again, my grand finale…
One of those special principals who recognized my spirit and talent to our young faculty as a teacher... They should aspire to become...
All my passion for teaching , volunteering, and advocacy for speaking out …
I felt I would be that teacher for all our precious children to inspire … Never to Give Up…
When I began teaching in 1972…My voice was strong and hopeful…We were making strong strides in educating all children… We were now integrated, making our schools inclusive; federal programs…
I was even traveling 90 miles a day, just to teach at what was once an “all black school”…And even involved in Head Start and an Early Childhood Preventative Curriculum Program…for high risk first graders…We had opportunities and hope …
Then, as years went by, and politics was influencing our public schools with a republican agenda, that by the 90s, there was an emphasis on privatization, developmentally inappropriate curriculum and over testing…
My teacher voice was becoming extremely frustrated… I always did what I was supposed to do…Most of my colleagues, and I being apolitical…
Still trying to teach, and giving my all, in spite of the consequential slow dismantling of our public schools, especially over these years since the millennium…My voice became loud… always doing what was expected…
However, since my retirement…My voice is strong…
I must speak out for our precious children and my dear former colleagues and wonderful support staff…
We must not accept this divisive political agenda as the norm… Our precious children…are definitely not getting the best education and we have a teacher shortage!!
As I do so very often, especially dealing with the educational issues of the day…. Almost ten years have passed since my retirement… Devoting thirty-eight years of my life for our precious children… I must continue advocating for our precious children…
Reflecting, As politics became more intrusive in our public schools…Teaching had become so much more of a challenge… It was never ever about the children…They were our Hope…
Politics interfering…with such blame, because of such a divisive political climate; thus creating schools with less revenue, less regard for educators; being blamed for the wrongs in education….. We were always the scapegoats because children were not learning…
That was and very much still is the rhetoric of the day….Lack of funding and the promoting of vouchers and privatization… And now in this present day of the utmost challenging issues; adding book bans…schools being unsafe, a non inclusive curriculum… child isolation, and a drastic shortage of teachers…
However, even through it all, I so believe …. having always held on to our precious children…that Hope…
Being that teacher of young children those thirty-eight years, My passion for teaching, I believed was my calling…
I felt it was my role to create a safe; loving and accepting classroom… Hoping to instill within my precious children that motivation to do what was needed for their desire for learning…
As I drew upon, from my own challenging, personal life… I was better equipped to empathize with many of my children’s own struggles…Yet, not enabling, nor making excuses…
They could do it….I spent a great deal of effort reaching out to their parents…Many very busy…Even making home visits…
Follow your Dreams…
Empathy, and not enabling … Fostering an independent spirit; ware part of that emotional support…I wanted to equip them with strategies to succeed… that I myself used…I did not want my children to give up…
So here we are today… Teacher shortages, book bans… schools without the necessary resources… etc…
Are we going to accept this as the norm? We are better than this…We must want better for our precious children…
Our public schools are now dealing with the realities of the day…Especially here in Florida…
Teachers do not get the respect they deserve… Inadequacies in pay, and fear of being fired because of book bans and inclusivity issues…
Thus, many of our most creative and talented young people do not become teachers…and many who are, are not staying… creating that critical teacher shortage…
Our precious children may be coming back to such anxieties…
They are so looking forward to meeting their new teacher!!
However…The new realities….They may be coming back to schools where they will not get that special teacher, nor those much needed programs and the support they may need …
New school year starts with teacher vacancies, concerns about enrollment… By Ryan Wyatt Turbeville and WCJB Staff Aug. 10, 2023 at 2:40
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) – Many schools in Florida are starting off the new academic year with a shortage of teachers. The Florida Education Association (FEA), the state teacher’s union, reported 7,000 teacher vacancies in districts across the state.
The Alachua County School District started the year with 69 teaching positions open, down from about a month ago when the district reported 83 classroom teacher vacancies. At that time, Marion County Public Schools needed to fill more than 300 job openings, they now have 150.
According to the FEA, districts in Florida are advertising 6,920 vacancies for teachers, about 900 more than this time last year. Support staff vacancies total 5,072, about 300 more than the year prior…
Following the state’s expansion of the private school voucher program, some are raising concerns about a possible drop in enrollment at public schools in the state. The total enrollment numbers for the public schools will not be released until after the first 10 days of school…
Having such an authoritarian governor, who uses our precious children as pawns for his own greed for power and control…
My heart is filled with worry and frustration for our precious children, teachers, and staff…Yet, I feel many of us, especially here in Florida are willing to speak up and vote!!
Jill reminds me all the time that teaching is not just what you do, it’s who you are.
So as educators head back into schools and classrooms across the country, I wanted to say: Thank you.
Thank goodness for our Educational Unions for Support!!!
Ron DeSantis is a disgrace. It's not shocking that his extreme, hateful, and unpopular policies have made him a failure not just as a governor, but as a politician at the national level.
Janis Sexton...Teacher...Advocate 