The Day I Met Jeb Bush, and Why He Earns an F in Education
Years ago I met Jeb Bush under rather unusual circumstances. It was before he was governor and during the time his father was running for President. When I met him I liked him. He struck me as a genuine person. Unfortunately, today, like he grades public schools, I’d give him an F in education. There are other concerns I would have with him being President, but I will stick with education.
At the time, my husband and I were looking for a place to live in Tallahassee. We spotted a modest house for sale in a quiet section of a nice neighborhood. We met the realtor and began our walk through the house. Everything seemed normal, until we entered the living room. There were many lovely pictures of the Bush family, and I said, “These folks must really like the Bushes.” The realtor replied, “The house belongs to Jeb Bush.”
This struck me as unique. The house was nice but not fancy. I felt like I was trespassing. My husband was not fazed and proceeded to turn faucets on and off and look for leaks et cetera. Unlike other houses we’d looked at, I didn’t peek in closets. I didn’t think it polite.
After going through the house, the realtor guided us into a homey family room. Jeb was watching, golf, I think, and he jumped up and shook our hands. He wasn’t at all pretentious. I remember telling him my grandmother was Republican and would be voting for his father. He laughed and said “GOOD!” Then my husband talked with him more about the house, and Jeb said that he’d include a rider lawn mower. I thought that was nice of him.
Well, we didn’t buy the house, not that it wasn’t nice or that we didn’t appreciate the possibility of a rider lawn mower. It didn’t have the right floorplan for us and it was a bit too expensive.
A few years later, Jeb became Governor. I would have liked to cheer him on, but little by little I realized I didn’t like his education ideas. By then, as a teacher, I had pretty good insight into school problems. And I had developed research skills as a graduate student in education at FSU.
Why would I give him an F? Well first and foremost, Mr. Bush and his Foundation of Education Excellence and Chiefs for Change base reforms on ideology and not legitimate research.
For everything from Common Core State Standards, to grading schools, to retention, to The Day I Met Jeb Bush, and Why He Earns an F in Education:
