Just when you think you’ve seen the last of the ramifications of the so-called voters’ mandate for fewer students per classroom, yet another one surfaces. Just when you think you’ve heard all the budget scenarios and been privy to all the possible ripple effects, another legislative stone comes skimming across the people’s pond in Tallahassee.
Florida lawmakers will now permit students to graduate with fewer credits: 18 instead of 24. Thus they can leave school with a diploma sooner — bypassing their senior year.
Republican Rep. Joe Pickens of Palatka then muddled matters more by declaring that this really wasn’t a money-saving move, but a strategy to “give bright students an opportunity to move on.”
Say what? Especially motivated students can already graduate early via extra-credit courses. And not everyone agrees with that option. So what is this? An early out for the merely bright? Then they get to overcrowded universities a little sooner?
Time out.
Somebody apparently needs to tell legislators what the purpose of high school is. It’s not only about credits earned.
It’s also about going through adolescence. It’s about socialization. It’s about maturation. It’s about preparation for life.
It’s about time certain adults recognized that.