Florida graduates, want a career with purpose? Try teaching | Column, June 5<\/p>\n
I appreciate the recent guest column by James V. Shuls encouraging college grads to go into teaching. After all, I\u2019ve long believed that there is no more important and respectable job in the world than being a teacher. Because of that, I heartily encourage grads to do anything else if they possibly can.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m sad to say that Florida treats and pays teachers as if they\u2019re necessary evils. Earlier this year, the governor and Legislature passed laws designed to eviscerate the power of the state\u2019s teachers\u2019 unions. They don\u2019t want those in this honorable profession to have the power to improve their salaries, benefits and working conditions. Additionally, even ICE agents make far more than our state\u2019s new teachers \u2014 with bonuses, the pay difference is insultingly wide.<\/p>\n
So, let\u2019s say you can\u2019t get anything else and have to go into teaching. Based on what I\u2019ve heard from friends and colleagues who have taught here, you\u2019ll be stuck dealing with poorly behaved, entitled, disrespectful brats whose parents will blame you for their kids\u2019 lousy behavior and\/or grades instead of taking responsibility for their own failures. You\u2019ll also have to deal with the supremely academically unaccomplished parents telling you exactly what you should and shouldn\u2019t be teaching.<\/p>\n
Our teachers deserve so much better, and the only way I can see actually happening is to create a teacher shortage to force the powers-that-be to step up and pay them and treat them as they deserve.<\/p>\n
Bob Lasher, Clearwater<\/p>\n
Florida graduates, want a career with purpose? Try teaching | Column, June 5<\/p>\n
James V. Shuls\u2019 guest column encouraging Florida graduates to pursue teaching is certainly well-intentioned. Unfortunately, many graduates interested in teaching are already pursuing that career \u2014 just not in Florida. Before selling young people on the virtues of a teaching career in the Sunshine State, it might be wise to mention that Florida consistently ranks near the bottom nationally in teacher pay. As for retirement benefits, former Gov. Rick Scott and his allies spent years chipping away at what was once a meaningful incentive for educators to stay in the profession.<\/p>\n
Shuls suggests that teaching offers purpose, fulfillment, and the opportunity to make a difference. On that point, I completely agree. Our public school teachers deserve enormous respect for the work they do every day under increasingly difficult circumstances. But purpose does not pay the rent, fulfillment does not cover homeowners\u2019 insurance, and making a difference does not keep up with Florida\u2019s rising cost of living.<\/p>\n
If Florida\u2019s leaders truly want more graduates to become teachers, the solution is remarkably simple: pay them. Stop treating educators as political talking points and start compensating them like the professionals they are.<\/p>\n
David Burg, Tampa<\/p>\n
The Republican Party has spent years showing us exactly who they are\u2019 | Column, June 7<\/p>\n
More than 150 years ago, famed abolitionist Frederick Douglass boasted, \u201cThe Republican Party is the ship, all else the sea.\u201d That\u2019s because the GOP in those days was the major political party that led the fight to abolish slavery, give Blacks the vote and guarantee due process regardless of race. These efforts earned Republicans the allegiance of most Blacks well into Franklin D. Roosevelt\u2019s New Deal.<\/p>\n
Today, Douglass would be very hesitant to sail on the USS GOP. Starting with President Richard Nixon\u2019s \u201cSouthern Strategy\u201d in 1968, right-wing extremism has slowly taken over the party. President Donald Trump\u2019s white nationalist agenda, along with stunts like Gov. Ron DeSantis\u2019 \u201cwar on woke,\u201d give Black Americans little reason to consider boarding that ship again.<\/p>\n
Joseph Brown, Tampa<\/p>\n
The Republican Party has spent years showing us exactly who they are\u2019 | Column, June 7<\/p>\n
I am a conservative, but guest columnist Dick Batchelor\u2019s opinion of the current Republican positions reinforces my choice years ago to register as No Party Affiliate.<\/p>\n
Having not voted for the GOP presidential candidate in the last three elections, and not able to vote for the Democrat due to my abortion convictions, I have admittedly thrown my vote away by voting for third-party candidates.<\/p>\n
I truly miss the Reagan-era Republicans and recall that the last president to have a balanced budget was Bill Clinton, who could actually get along with and work with the other side. Not only has the right changed, but I honestly wonder if John F. Kennedy would be embraced by today\u2019s left.<\/p>\n
Kenn Sidorewich, Oldsmar<\/p>\n
$250 bill could feature Donald Trump | May 29<\/p>\n
What a great idea! But in honor of the falling economy, let\u2019s make that a $2.50 bill.<\/p>\n
Elizabeth Korosec, St. Petersburg<\/p>\n
The Golden Dome: A $1.2T missile shield built on bad economics and worse strategy | Column, June 5<\/p>\n
Criticism of the Golden Dome missile defense system focuses only on its projected cost while largely ignoring the potentially catastrophic consequences of failing to defend the United States against emerging missile threats. National security cannot be measured solely by a price tag. Throughout history, America has invested heavily in capabilities that critics initially dismissed as too expensive or technologically impossible. Many of those investments ultimately became essential pillars of our national defense.<\/p>\n
The reality is that adversaries such as China, Russia, North Korea and Iran continue to develop increasingly sophisticated ballistic and hypersonic missile systems. Waiting until a threat materializes before building defenses is just plain stupid. The purpose of the Golden Dome is not to guarantee perfect protection, but to increase the difficulty and uncertainty for any nation considering an attack on the United States. Even a partial defense can strengthen deterrence and save millions of lives.<\/p>\n
Comparisons to the Reagan-era Strategic Defense Initiative overlooked how dramatically technology has advanced over the past four decades. Improvements in sensors, artificial intelligence, satellite networks and missile-tracking capabilities have made concepts once considered impossible a reality.<\/p>\n
The authors assume that diplomacy, intelligence and cyber defenses are alternatives to missile defense. They are not. Effective national security requires multiple layers of protection. The government\u2019s first responsibility is to protect American citizens. If the Golden Dome can reduce the risk of a devastating missile attack, then pursuing it is not wasteful spending; it is a prudent investment in America\u2019s future and survival.<\/p>\n
Mark Khan, Tampa<\/p>\n
\u2022 \u2022 \u2022<\/p>\n