Higher Education, Certificate Programs

"In Higher Education, More Weight Should Be Given to Certificate Programs, Perhaps Degrees Should Be A Matter of Certificates" by v. johns

When it comes to pursuing educational dreams, I’m well aware of the personal motivational implications that may or may not present a challenge to the person in pursuit of those dreams. I don’t need any lectures from so-called “Conservatives” on values and drive. What I’d like to see is a higher education system that keeps tradition at its core but is innovative and flexible enough to address the needs of those of us whose lives aren’t always so neatly ordered and perfectly primed. You may call it welfare or handouts to people who are lazy and don’t deserve so much as a leg up in life; I call it wanting a system that works and is able to accommodate anyone who uses it: athletes, people with medical problems, family problems, etc.

Like any other product or service, education is one that requires frequent updates and modifications to keep pace with customer demands. While the way we watch TV and listen to music has brought more options, the way we are educated has yet to fully evolve into the digital world we find ourselves living in. In Florida, the standard 15-week slog, found in most of our public colleges and universities, while marginally optimal for kids fresh out of high school, with no job or family commitments, can prove to be quite tiresome and unproductive for a 50 plus individual with a wife, two toddlers, a “tween” and a teen, and who has been recently laid off.

One unsung solution I see, for working adults and other people who are not able to acquire full-fledged academic degrees, is Florida’s state certificate programs. I’ve seen certificates in everything from urban planning to web design to real-estate licensing. I myself have just completed a web design certificate at Palm Beach State College, with the intention to follow it up with yet another certificate in digital media production. The idea being that these two certificates, along with perhaps a third, will not only make me more marketable to work in Florida’s on-the-verge-of booming film industry, but will also prepare me to study at Florida State University’s forthcoming School of Motion Picture Arts to be located in downtown West Palm Beach, should it become a reality.

Since I’ve essentially been unable to acquire a full-fledged degree, in any one specific thing, I’ve decided to focus on acquiring certificates in closely related areas of study as a means of achieving some significant degree of educational and vocational progress. The question is, will these certificates be attractive to employers at entry level? I’m not so sure that my web design certificate will be, because of the nature of the information technology industry, but because of the film industry’s traditionally low barriers to entry, and an allegedly constant demand for film editors, I’m pretty sure I’ll have little trouble, if any, finding work in that industry.

All this, along with the way Palm Beach State College offers its certificate programs (as a component of a degree), has gotten me thinking about whether or not degrees, themselves, should actually be a matter of certificates. Perhaps degrees should be composed of certificates of achievement. 

Consider this… When we first enter college, we are told to pick a major and slug it out over 120 hours of homework, papers, late-night studying and real-life problems in between. The result: Not many people finish on time and even more drop out altogether.

The tradition of leaving home, learning to be responsible for one’s self,  and finding one’s own way is fine, but also not very efficient at getting most people where they need to go: out into their filed BEFORE their knowledge and skills become obsolete. This is especially true in the information technology industry and is one of the main reasons why I believe that in addition to the traditional way of approaching higher education, I’d like to propose that degrees be broken up into specific, concrete, visual levels of achievement that are awarded with certificates at each stage. I recommend the following guidelines to be of concern:

• GORDON RULE CERTIFICATE: This stage of degree completion would consist of 30 hours of Gordon Rule classes, general electives, academic development classes and the opportunity for those who are behind to catch up with remedial classes.
• LIBERAL ARTS CORE CERTIFICATE: This stage of degree completion would consist of 30 hours of more general electives, preparatory electives for future major(s), and an opportunity to apply for a traditional A.A. transfer degree upon completion.
• MAJOR CORE CERTIFICATE: This stage of degree development would consist of 30 hours of any core classes pertaining one’s chosen major. Double majors would acquire two major core certificates.
• PRE-GRADUATE CERTIFICATE: This stage of degree development would consist of upper division classes needed to complete the degree, as well as any professional development classes, seminars and internships. The actual degree, as always, would need to be applied for, evaluated and either mailed, picked up by the student or presented to them upon graduation.
• POST-GRADUATE CERTIFICATE: These certificates already exist in a number of interesting fields of study. Some, however, are reserved not for people who want to start anew, but for those who are already working in their chosen field of endeavor.
• TECHNICAL CERTIFICATE: These certificates already exist in a number of interesting fields of study. They range from web design, to nursing, to firefighting, to systems administration, to real estate and range from study for entry-level employment to continuing education for those already working in their filed of choice.
• NON-ACADEMIC GENERAL EDUCATION CERTIFICATE: This type of certificate does not exist and would serve as a way for those who simply love to learn (via art classes at the Armory in West Palm, or history classes at FAU’s Lifelong Learning Society in Jupiter, or Beginning Photoshop classes through Palm Beach State College’s Center for Corporate and Continuing Education in Lake Worth or any other non-credit study) to showcase their desire to learn, on paper. This certificate would be useful to those with no formal education or those with gaps in their education, should they find themselves having to change jobs, re-enter the workforce or would like to distinguish themselves in some way to move up in their company if they lack formal academic training, or as credit for those who are attending college late in life.       

I think that some kind of enhanced state certificate program that integrates smoothly with the traditional higher education system we already have would not only allow better tracking of students readiness and success, but would lend heavily to continuity of knowledge and skill. Furthermore, I believe that even if many students are not able to complete a full four years of college, they’d feel that they have something to show for their efforts as they check the “some college” box on a job application. 

Instead of separating education and training, as I’ve previously suggested, this system would acknowledge academic training, job training, corporate training and civics as being part of what we call “education,” in a clearly delineated manner. In order for our education system to thrive, the last mile, higher education, must be flexible and competent enough to accommodate those arriving from all walks of life, not just those fresh out of high-school with parents who can pay. Even those with little or no formal education and training must feel that they have a vital stake in our education system.

It has become abundantly clear to me that Florida has all the tools it needs to build and establish a world-class education system… one that cultivates the talents of the brightest among us, but also reaches and caters to those who would like to begin their own journey toward tapping into their own genius. The question is does it have the will to put education front and center in state culture and life… Does Florida really have what it takes to refine one of the core components (education, transportation, good governance, scientific innovation) that will allow it to become the best place in the world to live, work, study, play, relax and do business?   

Education, The Best and the Brightest

"Education and Training: BUILDING The Best and the Brightest vs. ATTRACTING the Best and the Brightest" by v. johns, 8/30/10, 9:58 PM

One thing I want to to make clear is that while I support education, whole heartedly, and believe that it is the key to Florida’s future – to America’s future – I am, by no means, a proponent of elitist sentiments of education that have more to do with Ivory Tower egos than with genuine contribution to the American way of life. And it saddens me to see how education has become more of an instrument designed to acquire jobs and income, rather than of its original intent of producing a more enlightened, productive and civic-minded citizenry. Thus, I would hope that, at some point, with special regard to our higher education systems, as opposed to simply funneling and straining only “the best and the brightest” into “good jobs” or “cushy jobs,” perhaps we would instead focus the “education” portion of “education and training” on building minds, while making the “training” portion of the phrase “education and training” ever more realistically accessible and flexible to suit the needs of ordinary working Americans. This is already the case in many places, but there’s always room for improvement. Furthermore, how can all of this be achieved with regards to continuity of knowledge and skill? 

As of late, I can’t seem to get my mind off a book I ran into, while in college, that I regretfully failed to purchase when it was on the shelf. I don’t remember the title, but I remember that it listed and profiled colleges that allegedly took generally “average” students and transformed them into “A” students. And I’m beginning to wonder if colleges and other educational institutions are really serving their purpose – to educate – by going after those who, for all intents and purposes, are pretty much already educated and skilled by way of their inherited privilege or raw talent.

As far as I’m concerned, any college in this nation can ATTRACT the so-called “best and brightest.” But how many can boast of taking nearly ANY student and transforming them, via various learning systems, strategies and technologies, into the “best and brightest.” Not many. And while I respect such hallowed institutions as Harvard and Yale… MIT,.. could it be that in simply “attracting” the best and the brightest, rather than “building” the best and the brightest, from the roots on up, they are at best… cheating? Like it or not, the authors of the controversial book, “The Bell Curve,” were somewhat right in predicting the rise of an educated elite that would rule and control an overwhelmingly undereducated underclass. A nightmare finally come true, but with profound limitations, as seen in the current “jobless recovery” aftermath of the “Great Recession.” For all those concerned, even if marginally sustainable, is this REALLY the kind of nation you want? Are you even remotely aware of the bloody, revolutionary implications that such disparities present? 

With regard to higher education, in particular, there’s nothing wrong with keeping with our high-school to University traditions. I enjoyed my freshman year in college (even if I didn’t enjoy many other years after that). Nothing can compare to that first year of meeting new people daily, partying every week and constantly learning new things. However, now that I am an older adult in need of an education that I failed to acquire when I was younger, I find myself on the other side of the coin… Not young and bright, just starting out, but older, burned out, a bit disillusioned, starting over again, and often surrounded by kids in community college classes who are much smarter, perhaps, and much younger, certainly, who will be competing with this old man for a chance at landing the very same jobs.

So, what becomes of the 45-year old dishwasher with a rather meager income who, though he may actually enjoy his job, is suddenly faced with an overwhelming desire to do something else (Something in the medical field perhaps)? Without going bankrupt or too much into debt, how does he get educated and trained for a job in a field that requires significant personal and professional input to develop? What systems (support, learning technologies, etc.) are available to facilitate his success? I already KNOW the individual, personal, conservative, self-motivation answer to this question. What I want to know is the answer with regards to the overall interactive interface of the system itself. Interface and ease of use, mind you, is why Apple is such a successful company. Understand?

Since it is generally agreed upon that Florida is in need of a serious educational overhaul, I would hope that, starting with pre-school and continuing up, Florida would begin building a more well-defined and accessible educational system by establishing a civics-based education core with enhanced individual and institutional training capabilities. And while education and training go hand in hand, their roles should be somewhat separate, yet easily accessible from either end of the learning spectrum. Education should not only prepare us for the training needed to secure and manage our jobs, it should also prepare us for full societal participatory citizenship. Training, on the other hand, is -- or should be -- the specific refinement and expansion of that core common civic knowledge into actual personal, professional and public productivity.

As I mentioned before, in my brief series on Florida’s anti-intellectual environment (Labels: Education and Culture), in addition to political tom foolery, various cultural attitudes towards education and learning have also helped to cripple education’s role in bettering our lives and MUST change. Even people who are IN school seem to regard it largely as as joke, a burden or simply a means to an end (a job). There’s no sense of duty to one’s society to learn more and apply it to making our nation and world a better place to live. On the other hand, I’ve seen some foreign students, here on visas, with a clear and definite urgency to learn all they can so that they can take what they know back to their own home countries and help build sorely needed infrastructure and systems. While our kids look forward to making it big and buying more toys, kids from other, less developed countries, here on a mission to learn, seem to look forward to making their own countries better places to live.   

In the meantime, I have not only observed many poor people’s seemingly general disdain of education and training, I’ve also witnessed the so-called “best and brightest” among us drift along in frightening contentment that THEY are particularly special while others just, inherently, flop and fail. Not very bright. Furthermore, I’ve also witnessed those who flop and fail make “lifestyles” of their condition. At the heart of all this, an anti-intellectual climate, stateside and nationwide, leftover from both Bushes, that culturally, and personally, punishes those who aspire farther, further and greater, civically, personally and financially (Minorities especially). So, while I despise the arrogance of the powerful and the privileged, I severely deplore the attitudes of those of us, here on the bottom, that feed into the cycle of abuse that pits the powerful against the poor… and the poor against themselves. The poor, nowadays, being anyone who makes under $250,000 per year.

In our dumbed-down society, one needs only to look at where we are to witness what happens when education is either not taken seriously or is used to position the privileged and the powerful above the middle class and the poor. And though we’ve been here before, via the Great Depression, this time is different. Our moral core is all but gone. Sadly, the lessons learned from all this may only be short term. Furthermore, there are only so many more times in our ever unfolding history that America may be able to absorb and shake off the kind of morality-deficit induced economic rot and decay that has befallen our nation as of late. Our moral resolve has faltered to the point of Americans being against themselves amid growing corporate and political control. The greed, selfishness and self-hate that permeates our national character, and seems to be magnified here in South Florida, almost ensures that the point where now find ourselves -- a nation paralyzed economically, socially, politically and morally -- will almost certainly be revisited again.

I have no faith whatsoever in most of our political leaders. Our educational leaders, on the other hand, through the life-altering and transformative power of the institutions they command, may very well be our last great hope against permanent internal destruction. IF they can find the will to stand on a united front against the tyranny of the anti-intellectual powers that be. For us they must fight. “Affirmative ACCESS” is key…Access to the knowledge types needed to become a better citizen and access to the training systems needed to secure and manage our jobs and public duties. And most, certainly, access to highly-efficient public mass transit. Thus, in considering our educational needs, in the state of Florida, I want citizens, business and lawmakers alike to take one good look at our society, as it is now, and as they imagine where they would like it to go, to ponder this a few basic questions: What kind of people are we producing in our society? The same old people who got us where we are now? Or are we producing the kind of people, of good quality and character, who will take our state and nation into the future we believe we deserve?

It is my fear that, because of education’s high price tag and overall distorted role in our lives, the former may well be the case…

Signs of Intelligent Life

"Signs of Intelligent Life... in South Florida" by v. johns

For blue-collar, white-collar, gray-collar and no-collar workers alike, a solid education -- no matter if its in degrees, apprenticeships or certifications -- remains the number one ticket to achieving the American Dream and the general security and peace of mind that comes with it. Considering its poor record, compared to other states, it almost seems that Florida has only a mild, cosmetic interest, at best, in producing well-rounded and exceptionally educated citizens. It seems to be quite content that its visitors and citizens value the fantasy of living in a tropical paradise over the real substance of educational and industrial gears working prudently in the background to make all this fantastic tropical beauty a reality...

Culturally and legislatively, our citizens generally don't seem to hold much interest in creating a region that's heavy on arts, culture and a life of the mind. On a personal level, this dynamic can make life pretty uncomfortable for university types like myself as it limits my enjoyment of life in my own backyard. But besides that, on a broader level, many Floridians, natives, long-timers, visitors and newcomers alike, are left to feel that there's just not enough here to make our region as livable and enjoyable as it could be.

Its one thing for transplanted northerners, used to various amenities that we may not have, to be uneasy about this dynamic. But their social structure compensates for it as any of them seek out, bump into and network with each other to make this strange place feel more like home. It's quite another for natives such as myself to have to not only be deprived of more amenities but to have to explain to outsiders why Florida slacks so much on education, social equality and diversity of life. 

On a personal level, my general classification as a "nerd" or "square" among blacks, and other minoroities, and as a "big, scary suspicious-looking black man" among whites, and various other minorities, not to mention my lack of wealth, places some limits on my social life. On one hand, I don't adhere to ethnic constraints or class or ettiquite. On the other hand, I still fall victim to class warfare, discrimination and racial mistrust. Very little refuge, if any, for people such as myself. That's just me, personally. But, in terms of what I believe we need in South Florida for our our region thrive and work well for all who live here, I'm asking you this: Even if you just love this place and fit into the South Florida landscape perfectly, with no hassle, honestly, does it not frighten you that our state government allows its education system to run on fumes? Does it not frighten you that people who could be and should be participating in an evermore diverse state and regional society are opting out and giving up? If it doesn't, chances are, you're just here for the party and not for the monumental task we all have ahead of us in building this region into the dynamic regional powerhouse and metropolitan paradise that it has been rumored to be.

Only through education, character-building civics and other middle-class values can this building of a real international regional powerhouse be done. Otherwise, we will continue to flounder and be known as a very pretty place but with bizarre, rude, poorly-trained and severely under-educated people. All style and no substance. In that regard, our general neglect of education, arts and culture is quite appalling.

The mere thought that education, diversity, character and things of the mind are secondary, at best, in this part of our state -- the economic backbone of this state -- and hold no real, significant influence or sway in South Florida's leisurely, hedonistic and over-gentrified environment should offend anyone who truly embraces the plight of the middle class in America. While the Old Middle Class was built on labor and toil, the New Middle Class owes its currently dwindling fortunes to its information and knowledge-based economy that peaked in the late 90's and early 2000's. Both models of success require hard work, drive and talent, by the way. But if there is no system to facilitate the gathering of the fruits of all that hard work, the American Dream, what point is there in dreaming to begin with? What fool works hard with no expectation of life, liberty and happiness?

Getting back to my fantasy of a New York City-style intellectual and cultural environment existing and thriving abundantly here in our version of the tropics, as I mentioned in my last article, I don't want to espouse the snobbish northern notion that we Floridians are all a bunch of uneducated and culturally illiterate dummies. My argument is that a more diverse, scholarly and intellectually welcoming environment would benefit our state in ways that would make New York and California jealous. I see many things on that level taking shape as we speak --the luring of Scripps and Max Planck, for example.

Despite my fatalistic view of paradise's pitfalls, there are signs of hope. If you look more closely, you'll find that curiosity and genius do exist in South Florida. In surprisingly large quantities. Its just that support for these attributes are not as celebrated, organized, centralized or abundantly clear as it is elsewhere. You generally won't find entire neighborhoods of authors, writers, actors, dancers, etc. like you would find in a crowded, centralized place like New York City. But the talent and the brains, outside engineering, are definitely there. Without it, South Florida would not be as vibrant and alive as it is today!

The culture of art, science, enlightenment and a life of the mind, though fueled heavily by retirees and other outsiders, exists throughout the region and shows many signs of promise. Look at all the museums, libraries and art galleries that popped up during the housing boom. Look at the record numbers of people that showed up to see the King Tut exhibit in Lauderdale in 2006. Thousands of people throughout the day, lined up to see a dead man's bling. Imagine that. I went to this exhibit, by the way. It felt pretty darn good to see that many people getting out and enjoying something that much other than a big sports event of some sort. Even if most of the people there were from elsewhere, it's still proof of a growing hunger and demand for a more prominent and accessible intellectual scene in this part of the country. Many people here are apparently thirsting for more of this kind of entertainment and aesthetic stimulation. On that note, I envy Chicago. We all should. Where's our Millenium Park?

In conclusion, while other areas like New York, Boston, Chicago and Atlanta are well-known for their arts and culture and their solid educational, industrial and business assets, Miami and the rest of South Florida continue to be seen as primarily leisurely, hedonistic and lacking in any real substance. Still, the opening of the Kravis Center in west Palm Beach years ago, the revival of the Sunrise Theatre in Ft. Pierce and the recent christening of the enormous Carnival Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, shows that there is a mild, but growing interest in creating a more arts, culture and education-centered environment all over South Florida. And with the arrival of biotech brandnames like Burnham, Torrey Pines, VGTI, Scripps and Max Planck, this injection and attraction of more and more brain power to our state will benefit professionals, service workers and tradesmen alike --creating core jobs that in turn create other jobs from other supporting industries. Our economy is already one of the most diverse in the nation. Thus, adding more biotech and strengthening other burgeoning industries will only further and improve our standing among other regions and states...

Anti-Intellectualism

"Florida's Anti-Intellectual Climate... and its Eventual Costly Consequences" by v. johns

My county is full of tough people. Many with tough lives. Many who think their lives are tough (See: Darfur). The "cool vs. nerdy" dynamic is strong here. Even among adults. Nerds and geeks, minorities especially, need not apply. Haves and have-nots abound and prioritize things very differently. Trade, service and office workers all seem to be worlds apart. If you fall somewhere in the middle, or don't fit particularly neatly in any category, you feel almost forced to take a side. 

Since I, myself,  don't fit neatly into any one particular scheme, I not only feel like a stranger in m own backyard, I also feel that there's no outlet for my interests. Thus, my social life here is severely less than spectacular. Then again, maybe I don't get out enough --I work, I go home, I read the paper, I rest a bit, I sleep. Then I do it all over again. Maybe it's the fact that I have to make plans to get out as opposed to when I was in college and could get up and go get a brain-full at the drop of a dime. Maybe I can't see past my own personal preferences and prejudices. Maybe college life in education-laden Tallahassee has changed me and spoiled me to the point of ignoring or losing touch with real life. Maybe my experience would be different if I worked in an office environment instead of a grocery store...

Who knows which case applies. Maybe they all do. But aside from my own personal dream of an NYC-style intellectual environment existing and thriving right here in South Florida across 7000 plus square miles of seven large counties, I also realize that the general reality of a good or bad quality of life for our children and families hinges on education. For many people, education is not a matter of casual discussion, but a matter of survival. At any rate, on either level, South Florida's overall intellectual environment, culturally and functionally, leaves much to be desired...

Whatever you do, please don't laugh at what I just said. Even if you cram to imagine the words "intellectual" and "South Florida" in the same sentence, it is that particular notion -- the notion that Florida, where leisure looms larger than learning, is somehow not a place where intelligence can thrive on all levels and among all classes -- that has doomed this region and this state to the bottom ranks of job quality and educational rankings. Add to that a very uninspiring, if not uninviting, social environment that stresses differences and lacks the rich texture of diversity and choice.

All of this is my personal observation combined with the many opinions of others I have discussed these issues with --as well as what I've read in the news and seen on TV . Therefore, I want to caution you that, regarding my argument that the state and the region's intellectual environment are not powerful or influential enough, its not so much that the people of our state and region are all dumb and need to be captured and forcibly educated by the big, benevolent, all-knowing education system. My concern is that the culture of education and learning just isn't that prevalent nor all that respected here in our region. And its connections to our social, commerce and industrial components are not as strong as they should be.

My argument in this article streams from one river with two forks... One personal and one of great concern for my region and state... On one hand, I can't seem to personally find settings, outside of an occasional community college class, where I feel welcome and can be as delightfully enlightened as I want to be. On the other hand, I see real problems that affect everyone's overall quality of life that I believe stem from a culturally-induced, but governance-enabled, lack of affinity for, and access to, a solid educational foundation. We tough-talking, hard-living southerners tend to brush aside such things as non-applicable fluff. But it's not... We shouldn't ignore national surveys and think tank findings or brush them off as intellectual fluff. Stressing over national statistics and rankings is not for academic discussion only. And while I admire our people's noble gestures in keeping Florida's social culture down to earth and free of culturally and intellectually snobbish extremes, we can't allow anti-intellectualism and neglect of our children's minds to take hold and limit their futures.

Though not always reliable or complete in forming a total picture of things, there are some cold, hard realities hiding behind all those fancy numbers. Low high-school graduation rates are not good. And while lack of formal education doesn't make one dumb, it does limit what they can do in a marketplace that demands more than raw talent alone. There's nothing more humiliating than knowing that a better life exists while having not a single clue as to how to get there. And I believe many of our citizens unwittingly find themselves resentful of the very attitudes and tools they need to succeed. Hence, a hands-on citizenry who's cultural beliefs about life plays right into the hands of those who would short them their change...

Despite all that I have told you, regarding my own personal dissatisfaction with the spread-out life I have here versus the more centralized and convenient life I once had in Tallahassee, it can easily be solved by saving up and getting out more. Though I live in Martin, I tend to gravitate toward Palm Beach County for leisure, movies and shopping. I like the more urban environment there. I like Ft. Lauderdale, as well. The only problem is that I usually stop short of things like plays, lectures, clubs and sports. I usually end up opting for the cheap entertainment value of a movie or bookstore. So, perhaps sometime in the future, I will muster up enough courage to get out and meet people and do something out of the ordinary. For now, however, I must work for that privilege.

Even though South Florida, somewhere in one of its seven counties, has something for everyone, not everyone feels welcome here. I could be wrong, but it seems to me that enlightenment seekers, many with modest incomes but with special talents and tastes, are the most neglected constituency in our region for the time being. Sportsmen and party-goers will not be disappointed in South Florida life. But if you're an academician or intellectual, if you're artistic or into television and film, opportunities to gather and grow and gain recognition remain rather limited. South Florida, oddly enough, is loaded with talent, but if you're looking for a vast networked community of artists, actors and scientists, some of these communities are still in their early stages of development and are far from becoming a prominent part of our social fabric here. I do believe that I am not entirely right about this, but upon surface-level observation, this is what I see at this time.

On a much broader level of concern, outside my own personal concerns, I see that my region is not as complete as it could be. The infrastructure lags just as much as the overall social culture and character does. I live in a region where only on half of the region is fully served with mass transit and affordable housing is still not much of a priority. All of this is made worse with all that's going on nationally. But even with those things in mind, our commitment to a more complete region with more amenities and provisions, should not falter. We owe it to ourselves to be much better than we are. Even if we can't have all the things we want now, it's still in our best interest to aggressively plan what we want to become and to anticipate any future problems that might occur on our way there...

Realistically and perceptually, South Florida has had more than its fair share of problems. Adding to our own specific woes, the state that harbors our region continues to rank pretty low in most national indicators, benchmarks and standards in education, justice, fairness and quality of life. Even with all other states doing just as badly, at this time. Still, I believe, our promise of paradise for all remains a very real possibility. Florida has changed -- and is changing -- in ways that many of us have yet to accept, understand or absorb... But once the housing bust is over and the market rebounds, and bigger budgets commence, we'll all see our currently strained commitments to a greater vision of ourselves restart and resume with even more vigor than before. That is what I hope...