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So many of my friends seem to think that education would be better served by private and charter schools, a market based solution. In my opinion, there is a segment of our population that would not fare any better, regardless of the methods used for instruction. Let me illustrate:

For the past two weeks, my biology students have been learning about the human reproductive system. This is so that they are in compliance with the following Florida educational benchmark:

L.16.13 Describe the basic anatomy and physiology of the human reproductive system. Describe the process of human development from fertilization to birth and major changes that occur in each trimester of pregnancy.

There are 85 of these benchmarks that students need to master during the 36 weeks we spend in biology, so time is short. This is how I presented the unit:

• Day one: Students learned the anatomy of the male and female reproductive system. They then completed a worksheet where they had to label anatomical diagrams of each. Then they had to describe the function of each organ (testes, ovaries, uterus, etc.)
• Day two: Students learned about sperm production and the three main hormones that regulate it. 
• Day three: Students learned about the menstrual cycle and the hormones controlling it. They also completed a crossword puzzle that had the chapter vocabulary words as answers.
• Day four: students completed a worksheet that allowed them to apply what they have learned about the physiology of the human reproductive system.
• Day five: students learned about the stages and major landmarks of pregnancy, including major events of each trimester, effects of drugs on birth defects, and the three stages of labor.
• Day six: Students watched the film “Life’s Greatest Miracle” which includes videos of a developing fetus and an actual childbirth. 
• Day seven: Students completed a worksheet with questions about the stages of pregnancy and labor.
• Day eight: Students played a review game that was boys versus girls in a “Family Feud” format. 
• Day nine: students took a quiz on the material. 4 questions were true/false, 16 were multiple choice. 

I have 63 Biology students. During the nine days of this unit, 28 of them were absent at least once. Seven of them were absent more than four times, one of them because he is in jail for weapons and drug violations and hasn’t been able to make bail. Of the four worksheets that were assigned, 41 students got a zero on at least one of them for failure to even attempt to complete it, twenty of the students got more than one zero. Six of my students do not speak English, so I am required to give them no less than a ‘C’ no matter how they perform. Apparently, some judge ruled that to fail a non English speaker is a violation of their Constitutional rights. They know this, so most of the students who fall under the “shelter” rule don’t even try.

One of the questions during the Family Feud review game was “Name a hormone that is involved in human reproduction.” The answers were testosterone, estrogen, progesterone, follicle stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, and gonadotropin releasing hormone. They knew testosterone and progesterone, but beyond that, they were lost. I got several answers that were not even close. One answer was “I forget, but isn’t it a hormone that makes you horny? The human horniness hormone?” 

They took the unit quiz today, and the results were heartbreaking: the highest score earned was an 80. The average was a 46. The low score was a 20.  If I spent more time on this, I might get better scores, but then I would be losing valuable time that needs to be spent on one of the other 84 things that I have to teach them.

In my school, we separate students into three categories: college prep, honors, and ‘regular track’ students. The regular track is made up of students who have made it clear that they don’t want to be here. One of my regular track students recently told me “I don’t want to graduate. The only reason that I am here is because my probation officer said that I have to be. As soon as I can, I am dropping out so I can take my GED.” This is why, when I was asked to take over biology, administration told me that my goal was to increase the pass rate on the standardized end of course exam from 26 percent to 50 percent.

Truth:

Bill Clinton was impeached after a multiyear grand jury investigation by Independent Counsel Ken Starr and an impeachment inquiry in the House of Representatives in which Clinton’s lawyers participated and were able to present and  cross-examine witnesses…
In marked contrast, the House voted to impeach Trump for non-crimes of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress after a relatively brief 78 day investigation by the House Intelligence and Judiciary Committees most of which took place in camera in a secret underground bunker. For all but the last week (by which time it was too late to affect the outcome) Trump’s lawyers were excluded, not allowed to call or cross-examine witnesses, and questioning of witnesses by Republican committee members was severely restricted.

The Democrats are crying foul, but their one sided impeachment is what caused the situation that they currently find themselves in. Go read the whole thing.

Florida passed a law allowing teachers to be armed. Not one single school district has done so. Most have simply paid to have police officers stationed in every school. A couple have opted to hire dedicated armed security guards. Both of these options cost money, but are less than ideal.

There is a story in Central Florida news media about a man who studied “hospitality management” in college and is complaining that he cannot get a job that pays him what he wants to be paid. I used to interview candidates and was responsible for hiring people, so I want to try and figure out why he can’;t get a “career.” Let’s start by taking a look at his qualifications:

First, his resume (pdf warning) and cover letter (pdf warning) have multiple grammatical and spelling errors.
Education:
He has a two year degree in hospitality management that he earned 18 years ago. Two year hospitality degrees are a dime a dozen in hospitality focused Central Florida. The college that he went to is out of business, so no way to confirm his degree or education.

Let’s see what his experience looks like:

He mentions being in JROTC and says that he dedicated 3 years of his life to the “core.” JROTC is a high school program, and it is spelled “corps,” not “core.” I wouldn’t mention this any more than I would mention being in the high school chess club.

While earning that two year degree, he worked as a cook and waiter at an assisted living facility.

After graduation, he claims to have taken over as the “supervisor” of Yvonne’s Southern Cuisine for the next four years. That restaurant had poor Yelp reviews before it went out of business ten years ago.

That’s it for hospitality management. He then went on to be a driver for a trucking company that owns exactly one truck. He worked there until the place went out of business. Maybe he was the owner?

In fact, he worked at five different companies in less than three years and claimed to have supervisory duties at three of them.

This guy can’t get a “good job” that pays more than $10 because he has no real education, certifications, or experience. The fact that there is no record at all of the real estate company he claims was his employer for the past two years, and the three jobs he had before that lasted only a couple of months each makes him look like a poor employee.

His resume just doesn’t make me want to hire him for anything other than an entry level position. He needs to be more realistic. The comments on that article claim that his inability to get a job is because people are racist.

Cop has a Negligent Discharge, blows a hole into his neighbor’s apartment.

If a person tells you that they have HIV while they are trying to bite you a lethal threat?

The standard is a five part test, according to self defense attorney Andrew Branca:
– The person claiming self defense (you) must be innocent (didn’t start the fight)
– You must have tried to avoid the fight
–  The lethal threat must be imminent
– Your use of force must be proportional

I really don’t want to turn this into a discussion about the first four points. The one I want to focus on is the point that makes this situation unique: the last one. If a person is attempting to bite you while claiming to have a deadly disease presenting a lethal threat? Would using lethal force against such a person be proportional? In other words, if a person is threatening to give you AIDS by biting you, would shooting them be legally defensible?

What say ye?

Yesterday, a 17 year old central Florida high school student was caught with marijuana and a loaded handgun while attending a sporting event at a high school soccer game. It was an away game, so it wasn’t at his school, but rather an away game at a nearby school.

It is a Federal felony for anyone to have a firearm within a school zone unless they fall under a number of exceptions, none of which applied here.
It is a third degree felony in the state of Florida for anyone without a CWP to have a firearm on school grounds.
It is a third degree felony to carry a concealed firearm without a CWP.
It is a felony to possess marijuana on school grounds.

So was the student arrested? No. In fact, the incident occurred before 10 p.m. and the teen was at home, sending out posts on social media that same night. 
Was he suspended? Not as of today.

Schools lose funding if there are too many suspensions and arrests in a school district. Schools, not wanting to lose that sweet, sweet funding, often overlook criminal behavior so that their statistics look good. I am sure that we all remember this was why the Parkland shooter and Travon Martin never got in trouble before they progressed to big boy crimes.

It appears like our schools have learned nothing from the MSD shooting.