Miami-Dade Teachers and Students Rally Against Florida State Bill 6

Posted by noah on April 12, 2010 under Preparing for Midterm Elections 2010 | Read the First Comment

Teachers gathered at Tropical Park in Miami this morning, “sicking-out” from school – to protest against Florida State Bill 6, which if Gov Charlie Crist signs into law, mandates that their pay be tied to student performance based on increased standardized testing. Students throughout Miami-Dade County organized their own sit-ins, protests, and walk-outs in support of the teachers. They are urging Gov Crist to Veto the bill.

I am covering these demonstrations throughout the day, moving from school to school, and back to Tropical Park later this afternoon where more teachers will gather after school. Speaking to young people about this issue, and finding out whether this will influence their support for candidates running for U.S. Senate (Charlie Crist is running against Marco Rubio in Republican primary in August).

What do you think about teacher pay being tied to student performance? Is this the best way to ensure we have good teachers? How should teachers’ effectiveness be measured? What do students think? Should this be a political issue? Is this an issue important to you? Are you planning to vote in the midterm elections on November 2, 2010? In the primaries (Florida’s primaries are in August)?

Here’s what it looked like around 10:45 a.m. this morning.
Teachers protest at Tropical Park