The following is a speech that Carl gave to the the Greater Democratic Club Dinner
Meeting this past Thursday…

Fellow Democrats, it’s an exciting time to be a Democrat. It’s even more exciting to be a candidate running on the Democratic ticket.

As a teacher, the best news that I have heard in a long time was the decision by the Florida Supreme Court to throw out Jeb Bush’s voucher program. Unfortunately, it will take a change in leadership to reform the unfair accountability system (FCAT) imposed by Jeb Bush and his Republican dominated legislature. Let us hope that the door will be open to eventually eliminate the FCAT, a test that has done more to destroy schools than it could ever have done to help.

Just like every Republican led educational experiment, FCAT has been a dismal failure.

In the twenty-two years that I have been teaching, things have never been worse. Graduation rates are at 50% - - - the lowest in the nation. Teacher and student morale across the State has never been lower. Few students enjoy school anymore, and that is sad.

You cannot keep slamming a child’s head into a book and think they’re learning. We need to find ways to account for our children’s progress without torpedoing their self-esteem in the process. Not everybody learns the same way. Not everybody does well on tests. And not everyone is going to college. Out of all the incoming high school freshmen, only 20% will ever get a four-year degree, and we are doing nothing to prepare the other 80% for a successful future.

The Republicans have had their chance; it is now time for the Democrats to step up to the plate and make the changes that Florida voters are demanding such as smaller classroom size and better ways of accountability for our students, teachers, administrators, and school districts.

Learning should be exciting, enjoyable, and life changing. We need to get back to trusting our teachers to take our children on a journey, an adventure that opens up the possibilities of what their futures can hold. We need to let our children dream again of what may be and what they want to be.