Opinion

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Opinion April 26, 2011

New teacher pay law stifles student learning

By Cal Colgan | jcolgan@flagler.edu

Class is about to begin. Today’s lesson starts with a simple question: How effective are state tests at determining student performances?

Ah, good. You realize this is a loaded question. After all, the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test is one of the most controversial standardized tests in the Sunshine State’s public schools. Since its passage in 1996, the FCAT has garnered praise from lawmakers and harsh criticism from teachers and their advocates.

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Opinion April 25, 2011

Merit pay hurts teachers, taxpayers

By Alex Bonus | gargoyle@flagler.edu

Lawmakers are forcing failed reforms on failing schools, hoping two wrongs makes a passing grade.

The Student Success Act, signed by Gov. Rick Scott on March 24, ties teacher salaries to student achievement. Starting July 1, professional evaluators will rank teachers on a four-part scale to determine their eligibility for bonuses, pay raises and promotions.

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Opinion April 25, 2011

Newt, a social conservative, I don’t think so

By Mari Pothier | gargoyle@flagler.edu

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich seems to be playing that typical political game of do as I say not as I do.

Despite the fact that he has been married three times, Gingrich is pursuing a possible run for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination as a social conservative. But wait a minute. Aren’t social conservatives supposed to represent fundamental Christian values, one being the sanctity of marriage?

But good old Gingrich still thinks he is the man for the job.

Opinion April 25, 2011

College life in a landmark

By Kelly Gibbs | gargoyle@flagler.edu

When I moved to St. Augustine from Gainesville two years ago, I never dreamed I’d one day sit on a sidewalk shooting the breeze with two older black men taking pictures of a former slave cabin and sharing neighborhood gossip.

I was excited to find my own cheap apartment down the street from campus in Lincolnville in August 2009. I was told I was moving into a “mixed neighborhood” by my landlady, but didn’t understand the phrase.

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Opinion April 25, 2011

Florida educators hurting because of government

By Mari Pothier | gargoyle@flagler.edu

Florida’s done it again, shooting itself in the foot when it comes to public education.

The state already struggles in this department, but Gov. Rick Scott signed into law the Student Success Act that will make standardized tests like the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test the basis for teacher evaluations and pay. Also with the act, new teachers coming into the system will not be able to receive tenure.

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Opinion, Top Stories April 21, 2011

Mental disorders or mad gifts? Reflections from a dysfunctional graduate

By Cal Colgan| jcolgan@flagler.edu

I am about to graduate college, and I can’t even sleep soundly in my own bed. My bedroom makes a homeless camp look like a palace: dirty clothes seem to creep out of every corner and nook. Papers, posters, Power Bar wrappers and old Arizona Tea cans cover the floor, and I create “walking space” just by shifting the pile of refuse from one end of the room to the other.

My room is a testament to my life: a disorganized, erratic mess. I’ve been this way ever since I can remember.

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News, Opinion, Top Stories April 15, 2011

Veg-head learns moderation through meat-eating

By Caroline Young gargoyle@flagler.edu

I looked up at my boyfriend’s face and then back down into my bowl where the dead bird was floating. It was day one of seven in my omnivorous experimentation after being a vegetarian since I was 12-years-old, which was ten years ago.

My first meal was organic chicken and dumplings. My boyfriend, who is a proud meat-eater and believes we are made to eat flesh, decided to order tofu. I am not sure if he was actually in the mood for the soy meat substitute that usually serves as one of my main sources of protein, or if this was some sick joke. Nonetheless, I had committed to eating this chicken, so I took my first bite.

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Opinion April 15, 2011

Business mentality to blame for college students’ lack of learning

By Cal Colgan | jcolgan@flagler.edu

The eggheads are at it again.

The New York Times recently review a book published by two professors called, “Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses.” In it, the authors found 45 percent of current college students show no gains in critical thinking during their first two years at college. According to the Times article, the study also found that 32 percent of students surveyed did not take any courses with a significant amount of reading per week, and half of them did not take any courses with more than 20 pages of writing per semester.

In other words, the students want a degree, not an education.