Last Tuesday Indiana teachers, who claim to love their
students, abandoned their classrooms to “plead for more money and less bureaucracy.” America, in any given survey, pays a per
pupil cost for education that ranks #1 or #2 in the world. But when it comes to world education rankings,
America doesn’t crack the top ten.
But wait, it gets much worse for America when we are compared
to the world in math, science and reading scores. In those categories, although America far
outpaces nearly every country in the world for education funding, the good ol’
US of A cannot crack the top 20 in educational results.
How is that possible?
Given the current expenditure and the benefits achieved from that
expenditure, can money really be the problem?
We are spending far more to educate our children than nearly every
country in the world, but we are getting abysmal results for those tax
dollars. So do we really need to
reinforce the clear failure that public education has become in America by
throwing more money at a problem that the world is managing far better than we
are and is kicking our butts with far less resources?
By bureaucracy, I suppose the protesters are talking
about standardized testing requirements.
In essence the protesting teachers are demanding more and more money
while at the same time demanding less accountability for achieving suitable results
for the money spent. In essence the protesters
are saying, “We demand more money, but we also demand that the public ignore
the results of our lack luster efforts.”
Here’s the truth Mr. & Mrs. America, the American
public school system has been ruined by 60 years of leftist control and
policies. Education of children in the
public schools system, particularly America’s inner city public schools, has
become secondary to social justice propaganda being peddled by the left.
It is far past time to turn the public education
model on its head. The left talks about
wonderful teachers. I suppose in 80% of
the cases they are correct. But nobody
points out that in 2019 every single student in America has access to the very
best teachers in every subject in real time.
Why aren’t we taking advantage of the technology that would put the very
best teachers in all of our classrooms?
Wednesday,
November 27, 2019 1:00 am
Letters
Daily public support essential for our teachers
Last Tuesday saw one of the largest protests in Indiana history,
thanks to the heroes who fight for our kids and work hard every day. These
selfless heroes are concerned for our children's tomorrows. They know if we
don't have funding for resources for the classrooms, if we don't have
adequately paid staff and are not able to keep staffing levels where they need
to be, if our classrooms are too big to give any personal attention, then we
are not investing in our children's future. If we use unfair and inadequate
testing practices to determine a child's destiny, we are forcing a square peg
into a round hole.
Teachers deserve to be heard and supported because they speak
for many of us who could not be with them.
The state is the boss of the teachers and that is whom they have
to ask for a raise. The legislature already used the Great Recession to lower
teachers' income and pay raise opportunities. So this is the natural outcome
from ignoring these needs for more than 10 years. These teachers have
families who need to further their dreams, buy or fix up a home,
replace old equipment, pay off their student loan debt, send someone to
college, or invest in a business. All of these will help our economy and grow
the “velocity of money,” as financier Asher Edelman says.
I have an idea: Let's double taxes on
corporations that refuse to give living wages, and double the budget
for the schools and teachers. Then let's see where that gets us. Support our
teachers today, tomorrow and all through the next election cycle if these legislators
don't support our needs. Make phone calls, emails, talk to your neighbors and
friends about this, and vote.
Rachel Reagan
Wednesday,
November 20, 2019 1:00 am
Teachers make voices heard
Thousands
in red swarm Statehouse to confront lawmakers
NIKI KELLY AND MATTHEW LEBLANC | The
Journal Gazette
INDIANAPOLIS – It was a sea of red at the Indiana Statehouse on
Tuesday as thousands of teachers vented their ire at state lawmakers – pleading
for more money and less bureaucracy.
“We hope to hear from the lawmakers that they are ready to take
bold action,” said Keith Gambill, a middle school teacher from Evansville and
president of the Indiana State Teachers Association. “If they don't there's an
election coming in November 2020.”
More than 5,000 Hoosiers entered the building to show their
support but thousands more stood out in chilly November weather carrying signs,
drumming on buckets and wearing every kind of red clothing imaginable on Red
for Ed day.
Lawmakers were there for the ceremonial start of the 2020
session, and teachers used that opportunity to advocate for higher teacher pay,
less testing and licensing changes.
About 20,000 Hoosiers registered before and during the event but
it was unclear how many showed up.
One person who didn't attend was Gov. Eric Holcomb – who was in
Florida at the Republican Governors Association meetings.
Gambill said he missed a “golden opportunity” to spend time with
dedicated teachers.
Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch said Holcomb had his trip on the
calendar for almost a year but he supports teachers. She met with educators in
her office and in the hallways throughout the day.
“I'm excited about it and I know the governor is excited about
it. He welcomes their participation,” she said. “Often times we don't feel like
people are involved in the process and so to have people engaged in the process
and actually have taken time to come here to participate and let their voices
be heard to me is very hopeful.”
Both sides had dueling facts and figures throughout the day, and
even dueling signs and poster boards.
Educators said the state controls the purse strings and despite
increases, lawmakers aren't providing sufficient funding for teacher pay, which
lags the Midwest and the nation.
But GOP House Speaker Brian Bosma said some studies don't adjust
for cost of living. He also noted an increase in the number of administrative
staff in schools at the same time the number of Indiana public school students
and teachers dropped.
Gambill said the districts are doing the best they can with the
resources provided and the state needs to invest more into education instead of
putting it in the surplus.
“Pitting administrators against teachers and educators has to
stop,” he said. “It's a distraction created by the legislature to try to divide
educators.”
Bosma said in the past 10 years the legislature has provided an
increase of funding to K-12 education of 18% but local districts haven't passed
that on. During his speech on the House floor he was interrupted several times
by boos and yelling from the hall.
“This is America and it's a democracy with free speech; ... I
fault no one for being here and expressing their opinions,” he said, adding the
interruptions and chanting “probably wasn't a positive but no harm no foul.”
Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray was clear that there would
be no movement on teacher pay because lawmakers are waiting for long-term
recommendations from a task force assigned to study the topic for 2021.
“You are not going to see us talk a lot about finding more
dollars for schools because it's not a budget year,” he said.
Bray said both the House and Senate are ready to pass a
hold-harmless provision immediately that protects schools and teachers from the
consequences of a drop in test scores due to a new test being implemented.
Leslie Clark, an AP history teacher at Carroll High School,
drove from Fort Wayne because she believes state rules tying testing to teacher
pay and school funding are driving people away from teaching. She comes
from a long line of educators, including five children who earned degrees in
education.
“The emphasis on the amount of testing of a measurement of
student learning ... is replacing time we spent inspiring (students),” she
said.
Then there is the issue of a 15-hour requirement for teachers to
learn about local employment needs as part of licensing that was passed this
year with little public discussion.
Bray said it might be wise to tweak the law because kindergarten
teachers don't need to be dialed in to local workforce needs the same as high school
teachers. But he pointed out it is not an externship requirement as teachers
claim. It can also be accomplished through use of webinars or local employers
coming to schools to speak to teachers.
Jenna Thiele, a biology teacher at Northrop High School, said it
needs to be repealed because it is burdensome and unnecessary.
“(Lawmakers) don't think people can teach without this extra
experience,” Thiele said. “No one else (in the workforce) has to go work in a
school.”
If you think that leftist “propaganda” is over the
top rhetoric consider that while the protestors complain about lack of money,
they are inviting drag queens into elementary schools to read to our children. If a parent dare to protest the social just
BS, the parent is ostrisized and shouted down by the “education experts” who
demand that the freak show be allowed to go on.
If you doubt that read the following:
You can google “drag queen reading” and get 1,000s of
results.
Happy Birthday to my older sis who will share the day
with the turkey.
Have a great and blessed Thanksgiving.
GBBM
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