[DougB]

Originally Posted by gomoho

Gracie - I think you hit on an interesting point about the unions. They have tremendous power so why didn't they fight to keep reading, writing and arithmetic in the classrooms to give these kids a good basis to build upon. And whose crazy idea was it to not teach cursive anymore???

I don't get what part you guys are not understanding. Why would you think reading, writing, and arithmetic are not being taught in our Florida schools. Did you know by Florida law, grades K - 5 must provide 90 minutes of uninterrupted reading instruction every day? If an elementary school has a 6th grade, then 6th grade also is required the same. When was the last time you looked at the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards and the newly implemented Common Core State Standards? And uh, cursive writing is being taught in our schools. It is introduced in the second semester of second grade.
Finally, this is Florida. Teacher unions in Florida do not tremendous power. I can't think of any union in Florida that has any power.