Byron Donalds outlines ambitious education vision

Gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds moved to the state for his higher education at Florida State University. And as he prepares to potentially lead the state, he sees education as paramount to its future.

Central to that is the acquisition of basic skills from “pre-K through 20.”

“Our goal is that every child in our state masters math, reading and writing by the time they graduate high school. Because the economy of the future is going to be even more dynamic than the economy that we know today. The economy of the future is going to be much more based upon information and leveraging information than it is today,” Donalds said.

“And for our children in Florida, for them to be the leaders in the world, they are going to have to graduate with a robust liberal arts education based in cultural literacy and mastery of mathematics, of reading, and then being able to communicate in writing to their fellow men, to their community. And they’re not going to be able to rely on ChatGPT to do it.”

Donalds, a Congressman from Naples, argues that “it is now time to relook at how we not just grade our schools, but how we communicate to parents, what the various schools in the state of Florida bring to the table — how they’re going to prepare their children to be excellent, how they’re going to prepare their children to be able to have the skills or the credentials or the academic knowledge to make them economically viable in the world that they are going to inherit.”

To that end, all children need an individual learning plan, which currently is something relegated solely to “children who have special needs or other learning disabilities” or have “fallen behind the curve.”

The goal, he said, is to “chart their trajectory towards mastery by the time they graduate high school.”

“And we can begin to educate them and their parents, and help them and their parents realize the opportunities economically when they leave high school,” Donalds added.

As children benefit, so too will the state that nurtures them.

“The success of our children is going to bleed to the success of our economies. The success of our children is going to preserve the Florida that we all know and love. And the success of Florida’s children is going to lead the way — not just in the United States, but in the world.”

Donalds also argues for “cultural literacy” to be part of the child’s educational journey before they “walk across that stage in high school with your diploma.”

“A robust basis of knowledge — and not just cultural literacy, but Western civilization, the pillars of our economy, the pillars of what makes America great — that shouldn’t just wait for college or university. That should be done in high school. And so part of the revamping of the grading system is going to be to make sure that, yes, you are making sure the kids are getting the key fundamental building blocks of math, reading, writing, history, sciences, but also what used to be taught: basic home economics,” Donalds said.

“What is it to balance a checkbook? What is time value of money? How does it impact you? Why do you ignore the credit card guys on college campuses? Because those rates are way too high. I didn’t ignore them, had to find out the hard way.”

Apprenticeships and internships should begin earlier, he said, with children learning real world skills as young as 15 or 16. But even before that, identifying children’s strengths in middle school is key to help them “chart their lives however they choose” and develop their strengths and passions.

“Bring that entrepreneurial mindset into education,” Donalds said, saying that fields like welding need young talent and that students with aptitude can and should be identified as part of a “world-class education” that gives them the “skill set to be economically viable.”

AI and quantum computing, meanwhile, are “force multipliers” for young people.

While Donalds acknowledged the need for parents to be “fully aware” of interactions with chatbots and the like, he said it is folly to “put our heads in the sand” and not “embrace the change.”

“I want the kids of Florida to be prepared,” he said.