Shannon Snyder’s first year as City Commissioner was less than smooth. From the get-go he caused a ruckus by suggesting we tear down the G.WIZ museum and sell the land. Turned out we couldn’t. Another idea had the City using eminent domain to lay claim to the Quay property though it didn’t qualify as such, nor could we afford it. The best use for our $650,000 worth of parking meters—target practice. And though Shannon has since improved—as mayor he ran a well-paced, civil meeting—his approach to public policy has remained all over the place.

It’s no wonder then Shannon’s last minute decision to enter the County Commission race against fellow City Commissioner Paul Caragiulo left a lot of people scratching their heads as to why.  I’ve heard it all, from the cynical (its about money and power) to the diabolical (he wants to sabotage the City Commission thus forcing his dream of consolidation closer to fruition).  I don’t believe it has to do with any of that, or for that matter with any bias “against” Paul.  I think that after co-chairing three joint meetings of the City and the County, Shannon looked around at the folks on either side of him and simply liked how it felt to be working with grown-ups. 

And who could blame him? The difficulty would lie in how to differentiate himself from Paul Caragiulo, not an easy task given how often they have voted in sync, many times with Paul taking the lead—especially on complex questions of public policy and budget. However, if the proliferation of Snyder/Lourdes Ramirez signs popping up around town tells us anything, Shannon appears to have fallen, almost by accident, into an uneasy alignment with the very same anti-growth, grindingly argumentative and distrustful of government in general County cohort of those in the City from whom he wishes so fervently to escape.

And then there is this. City Commissioner Shannon Snyder, despite it being in his job description to do so, will tell you himself with some pride that he has not spoken or met with his own employee, City Manager Tom Barwin, in over a year. He doesn’t allow City staff to manage his schedule, nor does he use his City phone.  How does this behavior bode for his potential as a County Commissioner? If he is dissatisfied with the County Administrator, will he just stop speaking to him? And hasn’t he already begun to set the stage for a bad beginning there as well by parroting his supporters insistence—based on pure speculation—that there is something amiss with County Administrator Tom Harmer’s dismissal of ethics director Uebelacker?

It begs the question, what does Shannon bring to the grown-ups table?  Although he has always treated me with respect and I consider him to be a good person, I have to ask, did it not occur to Commissioner Snyder that by refusing to meet with City Manager Barwin to work through issues and challenge him to do better, he might have contributed to the awful dysfunction of our City Commission? His campaign signs claim his is “proven leadership.” I respectfully disagree.

SRQ Daily Columnist Diana Hamilton, after living 35 years in Sarasota, labels herself a pragmatic optimist with radical humorist tendencies and a new found resistance to ice cream 

Common Core will be the issue of 2014 in Sarasota County—and with good reason.  From a pedagogical perspective, the Common Core of State Standards Initiative is an abomination.

The K-2 standards promote abstract thinking, a skill young children cannot perform due to their still-developing brains. Flaccid curriculum in the high school years only compounds this problem.  This academic disaster is best presented by Dr. James Stergios, executive director of The Pioneer Institute, a Boston-based think tank, as follows: 

“Common Core emphasizes experiential, skills-based learning while reducing the amount of classic literature, poetry, and drama taught in English classes. Its more vocational bent includes far greater emphasis on jargon-laden ‘informational text’ extracts, and it supports analyzing texts shorn (cut) of historical context and background knowledge…Common Core draws from the so-called ‘21^st century skills’ movement, which elevates soft skills like global awareness, media literacy, cross-cultural flexibility and adaptability, and creativity to equal footing with academic content… Stanford University emeritus professor of mathematics James Milgram, the only academic mathematician on Common Core’s validation committee, refused to sign off on the final draft of the national standards. He describes the standards as having “extremely serious failings,” reflecting “very low expectations,” and ultimately leaving American students one year behind their international peers by fifth grade and two years behind by seventh grade.”

Academics are being sacrificed for the lofty goal of application of knowledge.  The problem with this “progressive” thinking is students need some knowledge before they can apply it.  In other words common core emphasizes process over content.

Beyond the shoddy pedagogical practices is the clandestine process of putting Common Core into action. Back in 2008, the D.C.-based drivers of Common Core and national tests (Gene Wilhoit, of the Council of Chief State School Officers, and David Coleman, president of the College Boards) convinced Bill and Melinda Gates to bankroll Common Core.

The idea of saving American education was too much for Bill Gates to resist.  Like Mighty Mouse he opened the nearest window and shouted: “‘Here I come to save the day!’ That means that (Mighty Bill) is on the way...”

With a net worth of $79.2 billion, Bill and Melinda Gates rigged the public policy process (spending $1 billion) along with President Obama’s scheme, Race to the Top. This happened even though the federal government is expressly forbidden to direct school curriculum. That didn’t stop President Obama and his “Race to the Top” Stimulus scheme ($4 billion) trying to avoid explicit federal law.  The “Race to the Top” did the trick and enticed 45 states (including Florida) to sign on and adopt the Common Core Standards.  States like Kentucky were so giddy about the money they signed on prior to the standards even being completed.  These 45 states were also given a waiver from the oppressive No Child Left Behind requirements.

Since the standards were adopted by non-elected State Boards of Education (including Florida) the American people were hoodwinked by this clandestine process.

Bill Gates became an understudy to Don Corleone:  “I'm gonna make him (former Governor Charlie Crist) an offer he can't refuse. Okay? I want you to leave it all to me.”  Crist took the $700 million in RTTT money in 2009 followed by Shirley Brown and the rest of the Sarasota County School Board, who accepted the $3.5-million “slush fund.” This was a de facto agreement to relinquish control of Sarasota County curriculum to President Obama in 2010.  To this day, Democrat Charlie Crist is tied to Common Core at the hip.  The only way Governor Rick Scott can win re-election is to draw a clear distinction between himself and political chameleon Crist, and that is to pull the plug on Common Core 2.0, the Florida Sunshine State Standards, and re-institute the Florida Next Generation Standards from 2009.

Geoffrey G. Fisher is a federally designated Highly Qualified state-certified history teacher living in Southwest Florida.  He holds a bachelor's degree in History from the University of Connecticut and a master's in Public Policy from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.  In addition to teaching he is a former elected education official and speechwriter 

On October 4, 2014 join SRQ | The Magazine for our signature black tie gala, Bal Masqué. When you purchase your ticket, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to a beneficiary of your choice. One of our fabulous beneficiaries, The Circus Arts Conservatory, has been making a difference on the Suncoast since 1997. Today, approximately 80% of The Circus Arts Conservatory’s ticket proceeds go towards helping support their community outreach programs including the Humor Therapy Program, Education Program, and Sailor Circus Academy.  

Get Tickets

Graci McGillicuddy was recently awarded the 2014 Catherine Stuart Schmoker Principled Leadership Award from the Delta Gamma Fraternity for her many leadership and philanthropic roles and as a changing force in the lives of abused children. With the award, a contribution of $6,000 was directed from the Delta Gamma Foundation to the charity of her choice, the Child Protection Center here in Sarasota.  “It is wonderful to be recognized with this distinguished award and to make CPC the beneficiary,” McGillicuddy said in response to the honor.  “The funds will be used to support CPC’s programs and their important work in the prevention, intervention, and treatment of child abuse.”  

Child Protection Center

This August, the culinary team at Michael’s On East will present a specialty menu delivering innovative cuisine derived from the diverse regions of Chile.  Traditional flavors and spices of the country are melded to create this unique dining exploration. “The expanse and beauty of Chile’s coastline with its abundance of fresh seafood, and the European and Middle Eastern flavor influencers in their culture offers a wonderful opportunity for our Chef to create a menu that will delight the palate of all,” explains Michael Klauber.  

Michael�s On East

Fun Facts about Jean-Pierre Knaggs, Owner of Bijou Cafe: 1. He spent 10 days on a private yacht with Sean Connery and his wife in the Caribbean and Sean had to borrow some of JP’s clothes.   2.  He’s been bitten by a monkey, a baboon, and numerous dogs with no problem but spent 4 days in a hospital from a run-in with a stingray. 3. One of his favorite comfort foods is chili he learned to make while working in Texas as a chef to a very wealthy JR Ewing- type oil magnate.  4. He can operate a John Deere backhoe as well as a Cuisinart. 5. He learned to fly at age 18 and soloed a Cherokee 140 around the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. Interestingly, he’s been in airplanes, helicopters, hot air balloons, blimp airships, and gliders and yet has a fear of heights attached to the ground like the Empire State building. 6. In high school he worshipped David Ogilvie and wanted to be in advertising. For sheer adventure, he also wanted to be a bush pilot in Alaska. 7. One of his favorite ingredients is Biltong, a type of jerky made in South Africa, which is very hard to replicate here, and the only way to get it is to smuggle it in the country because the customs agents will seize it at the airport. 8. If he had not been sent as a young child to boarding school where the food was terrible he might never have become a chef. 9. His inspiration in business life came from Roy J Carver who did not know the meaning of the word “fear”.  10. He absolutely hates Cilantro.  

Bijou Cafe

SRQVolunteen students raised $310 and 157 pounds of food for All Faith’s Food Bank at their Spaghetti dinner held recently in Sarasota.  75 people attended the event which featured food and drinks donated by Whole Foods Market, and baked goods from SRQVolunteen members and other volunteers. The SRQVolunteen class chose addressing hunger in Sarasota for their community service project.  As part of the research on the issue of hunger, students volunteered at All Faith’s Food Bank where they sorted produce and learned more about the summer meals program for Sarasota County students. “We are so proud to have been selected by the SRQVolunteen students,” said All Faiths CEO Sandra Frank. “Their hard work and generosity not only helps us feed families, but they get to experience how wonderful it feels to make a difference in our community.” 

Community Youth Development