April 27, 2001
Mr. Charlie Crist
Commissioner of Education
Florida Department of Education
Plaza 0-8 The Capitol
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0400
Dear Commissioner Crist:
The current status of social science education in the curricula of public schools in Florida is deplorable. Most of the teachers in our systems who are charged with carrying out the mandates of F.S. 233.061k are (a) woefully ignorant of the requirements of the statute and (b) poorly equipped to meet the barest requirements in terms of content.
As the Executive Director of Florida’s only statewide historical society, I deal with Florida teachers on a periodic basis. The Society offers several in-service days of Florida history each year, and the comments from the teachers who attend generally are the same—“We had no idea that Florida’s history was so long and exciting!” The sad fact is that most of the government officials, state legislators, and even graduates of institutions of higher education never have to take a course in Florida history, nor is there any concrete measure in place to ensure that any student in public education institutions have to study and master such a course. What this will mean in the long run is that today’s Florida will cease to exist, replaced by some weak version of New York, Cuba or Michigan! The history of the Sunshine State is rich and varied, and it deserves a valued position in the educational process.
One of the best measures for ensuring that Florida history is an important and integral part of a student’s overall education is to include this subject as part of the FCAT testing program. Florida students become Florida voters. It would certainly make sense that before we arm Floridians with the vote that we prepare them with the knowledge to use that vote wisely and in the context of Florida’s past.
We fully support the Florida Association of Social Studies Supervisors in their effort to get Florida history included in FCAT testing.
Sincerely,
Nick Wynne, PhD
Executive Director