Florida: The Artificial Sunshine State

You know what really grinds my gears?

The new bill currently in the Florida Legislature that plans to ban the use of tanning beds for children under 16 is completely unimportant and is perhaps a detriment to the already suffering Florida economy.

Artificial tanning, basically using a tanning bed, is currently being attacked for causing melanoma and other skin cancers based on the high amounts of UV radiation. State congressmen and congresswomen are now attempting to regulate the way that teenagers either use tanning salons or how often they use tanning salons to receive their tan. If we are now suddenly concerned about the possible cancerous side effects of tanning beds, why are we not regulating its use for everybody, adults and children?

It always appears to me that when it comes to politics, children always get the short end of the stick (pardon the cliché). Whether the issue is education, health care (although we do have Kidcare now), or commerce, the children of Florida are always the least (or most, depending on how you look at the situation) impacted in the realm of public policy.

With the new bill, teenagers under the age of sixteen would be prohibited from using the tanning bed, and those teenagers from ages sixteen to eighteen would be required to wear protective eye wear, have parental consent before tanning, and would be restricted on the number of times tanning beds could be used.

Now being the younger brother of a once teenage sister, I know that from 16 to 18, she had to receive parental consent in order to tan. All people are required to wear protective eye wear in a tanning bed, so the only difference would be a regulation on how often a teenager can visit a tanning salon. In all honesty, is this bill necessary? Aren't we currently in a economic recession and shouldn't the state legislature deal with those economic issues before dealing with a frivolous matter as tanning? Now I am only a teenager, unable to vote, so as a non-constituent, my voice plays no role to a congressman.

Once again, the government is stepping in and playing the role of parent in determining how teenagers can or cannot use a tanning bed. At this time, the government has a lot more to deal with to recover the ailing economy, so this matter seems pointless and irrelevant.

Remember, we are in an economic recession, so businesses are relying on the consumer to maintain their business from closure, so if you remove a large customer base from a business, it is likely to fail. The possibility of regulation would be crippling to the tanning salon industry, which should be helped in anyway possible as should any other business.

Now from a scientific viewpoint, the process of tanning relies on UV (ultraviolet) rays to stimulate production on melanin, which gives a darker appearance to the skin. Congressmen are attacking tanning beds for damaging UV rays, yet the sun is always emitting UV rays, which are just as damaging as tanning bed UV rays because they are the same. So we might as well regulate the time we stay indoors or the time we wear long sleeves and pants to protect from the rays. That would prove as effective in protection, wouldn't it?

In my opinion, it is the parent's role as a parent (duh!) to take control of when their son or daughter tans, how long they tan, and how they moderate the tanning. That is the key word: moderation. Tanning in moderation is okay, just as if you were tanning in a bed or out in the sun. There is no difference in the two, so if you plan to prevent tanning bed use by teenagers, you have stopped one, perhaps more efficient mode of tanning, but you will not have ended the true cause.

In politics, it all flows down to the dollar, as opposed to the moral standpoint that some people actually think congress stands for (check their combined criminal records). Maybe congress wants to boost tourism, so by making pre-teens go to the beach to tan would increase tourism revenue. Who knows? All we know is that the bill proposal is idiotic with no true purpose except to diminish the role of the parent and place unnecessary restrictions on teenagers. They already cut education funding, so what else can they do? Thanks Florida Legislature.

And that is what grinds my gears.

Cameron

On Education: Local #1

You know what really grinds my gears?

For those of you that either have experienced or are experiencing the thrills of the wonderful Hillsborough County education system, you probably have experienced my grief when I discuss the one of many faults of the education system. I am going for a local approach, but from then I will expand to state and national level.

Today, I will discuss my anger of having to take final exams for my AP classes, of which I am required to take the AP exam for the class.

I love the Advanced Placement system set by College Board. I feel that AP classes are a happy medium between college-level classes and the Springboard program. Now I hate the Springboard program, but I will save that topic for a later date.

AP classes give students the opportunity to receive college-level credit for classes based on a 1-5 grading scale for the ETS/CollegeBoard AP Examination in early May. For most colleges and universities, a score of 3 or higher on the AP exam will allow students to receive credit for classes in college. The higher the score you receive, the more classes you may be able to exempt.

Teachers of AP level curriculum teach the AP classes in order to prepare students to take the AP examination; they do prepare students for semester grades, but the teacher's priority is to ensure a student is well prepared for the AP exam in May.

For students and teachers alike, this is a grueling process. The extensive curriculum of the AP exam is then condensed into a 3-4 hour exam in early May that is draining both physically and mentally. Students study long hours to ensure that they can receive the college credit for the class.

Now here in Hillsborough County, we have semester exams, like most school districts. But what really grinds my gears is that even after taking the exhausting AP exam, the school district requires that students take the final semester exams, unless they have exam exemptions that they may use.

Once the AP exam is finished, most AP teachers stop teaching because the war is over. They have prepared for the exam and now they are done. The time after the AP exam is time to relax and celebrate the tough commitment made. However, a few unfortunate students then have to return after about two weeks of no lessons to take a final exam for the county. Does this seem fair?

In my opinion, no. Students have to dedicate many hours to practice and study to take an AP exam that means the world to us, and yet we then must go back and take a meaningless exam that may drop our grade, even though we may have earned the 4 or 5 on the AP exam. So why are we forced to take a final semester exam? I honestly do not know. It could be the usual "money" factor, but what money is made or saved by having exam papers printed and having teachers write the exams (that usually requires some stipend)?

I don't know, but I really feel that taking a semester exam after the AP exam is ridiculous. Hopefully some of you agree with me. I would like action done to remedy this problem, but appealing to the school board is about as difficult as telling Sneakers O'Toole to take his sneakers off (Family Guy reference).

And that is what really grinds my gears.

Please look for my new blogs on education, where next I will narrow my subject to my school and discuss something else that grinds my gears.

Cameron