<p>On one of the back pages of our newspaper was a little story today saying that Florida was considering a law mandating that all high school students would be forced to declare a major, and the course concentrations that might entail.</p>
<p>Does anyone here know what this is all about? How is the conversation going in Florida, with pro’s and con’s ?</p>
<p>Here’s a link to the story that I found. <a href=“http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0323highschoolmajor0323.html[/url]”>http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0323highschoolmajor0323.html</a></p>
<p>Seems really odd to me, almost like the British system of education of O and A levels, which tend to make kids specialize earlier than Americans are used to. I know of schools that OFFER things like internal “academies” in areas like health care, law and justice, science and engineering, etc. but those tend to be optional (at least the ones I know of). This goes much beyond that.</p>
<p>Read about the initiative here:
<a href=“http://www.myflorida.com/myflorida/eogadmin/showPress.jsp?press_id=7321[/url]”>http://www.myflorida.com/myflorida/eogadmin/showPress.jsp?press_id=7321</a></p>
<p>It’s HB 7087, passed the state House on Thur.:
<a href=“HB 7087 (2006) - Education | Florida House of Representatives”>HB 7087 (2006) - Education | Florida House of Representatives;
<p>Funding? That’s always the heart of the matter. Well, it looks like he’s throwing a bone or two… Voters passed a constitutional amendment a few years ago mandating class-size reduction. Gov. Bush has tried everything in his power to avoid complying–and has been defeated every time, but he keeps trying. He’s a lame duck governor now due to term limits and claims he has no aspiration to other elected office. Who knows?</p>
<p>Can’t find a copy online of the bill’s text, but I have my suspicions that it’s laying the groundwork for letting some kids opt out of the state-mandated FCAT test by offering a vocational track in HS. Buried in the summary: “… FCAT administration and use of alternate testing…” Fact is, there is a pool of kids who, for many different reasons, never have and never will pass any generalized test. Maybe somebody’s trying to figure out a new way to massage the numbers. </p>
<p>Reaction in the local newspaper from HS kids was mixed, ranging from very happy to confused to worried. Nobody really knows how it will play out. It does appear to favor a more European model of earlier career tracking but includes careful language about allowing kids to change majors.</p>
<p>Personally, I’m all in favor of offering kids as many educational options as possible. One HS here offers a program in Cisco network certification to kids who graduate into jobs paying $35,000+. Good for all concerned.</p>
<p>mudders_mudder: what you posted had a strong ring of truth. Makes a lot of sense. I had a suspicion it wasn’t for the altruistic benefit of the students! Thanks to you and iderochi for the info/insight.</p>