Cindy was born to inspire others. She became a teacher and has been inspiring students, friends, parents, and colleagues her entire life. Her elementary bus driver called her “smiley”. She was severely pigeon toed and classmates made fun of her often. She wore a brace to correct her feet. When Cindy was 10, she lost her 13 year old bother. He was hit by a car while crossing the street to go to his bus stop. She learned at an early age the importance of living life everyday as if it was her last day. This was the first of many more difficult experiences she had to struggle with to find her smile again. Her father died of cancer when she was in college and she worked in between classes to pay the bills for her family. It was his wish for Cindy to graduate in the education field. She did. She married soon after college which ended in an ugly divorce. Friends talked about all the bad breaks she had and wondered how she managed to keep a positive attitude. Even so, she considers herself the luckiest woman on the face of the earth. She found inspiration in the littlest of details to keep a sunny attitude. She finds appreciation in everything she sees, touches, hears and feels. She even gives thanks for dirty laundry, knowing it is a blessing to have the clothes to wash. She is an educator, a wife, a mother of two, and owns her own business now. She is an inspiration to many. Now, she wants to inspire the world! Vote for her to win her OWN talk show with Oprah called iInspire! Support her dream to inspire others to follow their dreams and make inspiration infectious. Press the link to vote and watch her video.
CLICK HERE TO VOTE AND SEE CINDY'S AUDITION VIDEO
(written by her best friend)

I had the students trace their foot, with their shoes on, using construction paper. Then, they cut out the shoe print, added bunny ears, wiggle eyes, cotton ball for the tail, and drew on the nose and mouth. In small groups, one group colored the tree, another painted the word Spring, and another group made the garden with water colors. I had the balloon already, which I found at a party store. I used the basket I usually put my pens in from my desk, for the hot air balloon basket. Next, I printed a group class picture, cut the individual students out and taped them into the basket. The students loved making this bulletin board. They even asked me to leave it up for the rest of the year. I might just change the theme to Summer, keep the balloon and add a beach scene.Charlie Crist, Florida's Governor, is holding hope for teachers who want to stop SB 6, which was regretfully passed by the House on April 9. The bill will radically change the way teachers are paid, hired and retained. One controversial feature of SB 6 is that it will eliminate tenure for teachers hired after July 1. Teacher unions have rallied against the merit-pay plan, to no avail. Yet, Gov. Crist has said, "Shame on any public servant that doesn't listen to the people." Republicans supporting the bill claim it will reward effective ...
President Obama announced stronger federal efforts to help lower the high school dropout rate that he believes is hurting America's future economic potential. He is committed to reforming middle and high schools, focusing on America's lowest performing schools.
The administration has committed $3.5 billion in federal support to 5000 underperforming schools. The Department of Education is encouraging states to identify and take new measures to improve ...
<< MORE >>Since the death of Governor Lawton Chiles, and the subsequent GOP takeover of Florida’s state government, Florida’s education system has been on a rapid downward spiral. As one of the first states to comply with the NCLB model, we have suffered longer and harder than any other state. Now, a Republican controlled state senate has voted to bring Florida Education down another step, with the ultimate goal to destroy public education once and for all.
Teachers were so hopeful
that a Democrat controlled federal government would bring back some sympathy
for public education. Unfortunately we haven’t seen that, which gives Florida
Republicans more power to do with schools whatever they wish.
If you don’t really know
anything firsthand about educating children and you don’t like paying taxes to
pay for education, you certainly aren’t going to worry about whether reasonable
and logical decisions are made on behalf of public schools. You might not think
much about the fact that you could end up in a hospital or nursing home one day
and one of those kids your tax money went to educate will be grown up and
taking your vital signs. You might not contemplate that when you call the
police for help, the responding officer was most likely educated in a public
school. You might forget that plumbers and electricians and carpenters need to
go to public school before they can go to trade school.
Let’s say you do realize
these things, and reluctantly agree that public schools are necessary. Do you
care about whether your tax money is spent effectively? Because, if you do
care, you might not be aware that you are being cheated.
Billions of dollars are
annually wasted on the industry of standardized testing. That industry puts
dollars in the pockets of people who are glad to take it and don’t give two
flying flips about whether any good has come of it. Preparation for the tests
take up all of our teachers’ time and energy, out of fear, and the learning
that takes place in the classroom is short term and without depth. But
teachers’ hands are tied. They have to do what they are told to do.
Now, Florida is taking it
even farther. Republican politicians have voted to punish and reward teachers
and students on the basis of standardized test scores. Test scores - acquired
by spending more tax money on creating, grading, and analyzing tests instead of
providing rich learning environments, classrooms, and teachers. It is a
completely counterproductive move that will hurt our state and securely situate
Florida at the bottom of national rankings for a long, long time. They
might as well let you keep your tax money, for all the good it will do.
Adding insult to injury,
Republicans have allocated more money to school vouchers, so certain
disgruntled families can use your tax dollars to send their kids to private
school, where state and federal regulations do not exist, while the rest of our
children continue to be pounded with Republican created rules that destroy our
teachers’ ability to do an effective job. Let me clarify: Republican
politicians are giving away Florida tax dollars, in the form of vouchers, to
help some children escape the destructive system that they, Republican
politicians, have created. Private school children are exempted from the
Republican created standards, regulations, and punishments to which public
school students are subjected.
Let’s just be up front about
this. No Child Left Behind, and anything designed on that model of public
school reform, is about destroying public schools. Republicans don’t like
public school. They think it is unconstitutional and have arguments to prove
it. They think education is meant to be a personal responsibility, not a public
one. A personal responsibility - like in those third world countries where
they film commercials for Americans to donate three dollars a day to help a
little hungry eyed child learn to read.
If Americans don’t wake up
and pay attention to what is being done; if they don’t think logically about
this issue and utilize some foresight; if they don’t stop agreeing with
politicians about education reform on the basis of their stand on other issues,
like capital gains taxes and abortion, our education system is doomed.
Education is not an industry. Schools are not making widgets. They are working
with human beings, millions of individuals who will one day take over the
running of our country. American voters need to be careful with our children
and the people who do the work of preparing those children for their future.
They need sound decision making, not flippant, careless, and punitive actions
based on flawed philosophies.
If we don’t take the time to care for our future citizens, how can we ever expect them to care about us?
Article contributor : Canyn Flynn, NBCT