Yesterday, I wrote a lengthy Facebook post about Indiana HB 1134. In it, I shared my frustrations about how teachers are being treated here in Indiana and what is headed our way. The time to act is now. Clearly Indiana teachers aren’t intrinsically motivated by money – if so, schools would already be closed because no one would be willing to teach. We ARE deeply impassioned by the relationships we build with our students and our immense enthusiasm for the subjects we teach.
Here is that post in its entirety:
“There are 851 jobs open in Indiana on the Department of Education Job Bank Website. EIGHT. HUNDRED. FIFTY. ONE. That’s a lot of empty classrooms, friends.
HB1134 is a huge problem for Indiana. Here’s why:
Please take a moment to ask yourself these simple questions: Why are there 851 teaching jobs open in Indiana right now? What in the last few years has made teaching in Indiana so difficult?
Here is a bit of information to help inform your answers. Let’s take a closer look at the profession. Since I am a Spanish teacher, I will use my experience in teaching Spanish as the lens from which I provide my answers.
1. Teachers make more than 1,500 decisions per day. PER DAY. That means decisions related to our jobs, not decisions about “what’s for dinner?” or “what am I going to wear tomorrow?” Real-time decisions. Guess what? That’s MORE DECISIONS PER HOUR THAN A BRAIN SURGEON MAKES. Are the decisions as critical as a brain surgeon’s? That totally depends on your perspective (and your respect for teachers/lack thereof).
Here is a run-down of the decisions I make in a single class period:
Who is here? Who is missing? Why are they missing? Did I start the google meet? Did I remember to hit record? I see Johnny, he hasn’t been here for a few days. I need to remember to catch him up on his work. Did Maddie make up that quiz from two days ago yet? Blake looks really tired, I’m going to walk to his desk and subtly make sure he’s OK. Is he sick? I wonder if he has Covid? Oh, covid. Does everyone have their mask on and covering their noses? Why isn’t Jane answering any questions today? Wait, that kid over there looks lost. I must need to back up in the lesson and go over something again. Crap, George is wearing a hoodie. Do I ignore it because I know it’s cold in my room? Do I send him to the office where they will keep him for the rest of the period thus causing both George and I more work tomorrow? He’s participating, can’t I just let the dress code go for one day? Will I get in trouble with admin when the teacher in period 2 sends George to the office and I didn’t send him in period 1? Wait, no one is responding to that last question I just asked. Did I ask it wrong? Was it too fast? Do I need to repeat info? Or are they just worn out? I definitely said that last bit too fast, they couldn’t “hear the spaces between the words” (remember, this is Spanish, so I use Spanish in class NOT ENGLISH) so they couldn’t keep up. Better slow down. That last word I said was a new one for them. How can I act that out or draw on the board so there is 100% understanding and I still remain in Spanish?
THESE ARE QUESTIONS I LITERALLY ASK MYSELF THE FIRST 10 MINUTES OF CLASS. This is constant. All day. Every day.
Then there are the questions that all teachers ask themselves at the end of the day:
What went well today? How can I make sure more of that happens? What was a flop? How can I avoid that flop again in the future?
2. Social Emotional Support
Teachers notice what’s going on with students. We offer support and encouragement. Every day we prove to students they CAN face the challenges of school and life. We are the ones who notice when Sally is more withdrawn than usual. We are often the ones students come to with “dark thoughts” and desires to self-harm. We walk these students to the guidance office or social worker’s office or someplace SAFE so students are not alone. So, so many of us teach students ways to self-regulate (calm) so they can make it through the day. Would you, reader, be able to stop your class when a student (someone else’s child) comes to your door in a panic because they have suicidal thoughts and attend to that student? Can you put them on suicide watch and make sure they are not left alone? I can. AND I HAVE. MORE THAN ONCE. When this happens, can you sleep at night or do you lie awake worrying about the student? I can tell you that I lie awake. All night. Until I see that student again the next day.
3. Contract employees.
Can we once and for all understand that teachers do not get summers off? We are contract employees. We are contracted to work 180 days. We are paid to work 180 days. We do not determine when those days are, the school corporation makes that decision. We do not get “paid” for our “time off” because it isn’t time off! We are not obligated to do anything at all for our employers outside of those 180 days. Our contract expires after 180 days. The time outside that contract is not “time off.” But guess what? WE DO SPEND OUR OWN TIME FOR THE BENEFIT OF OTHERS. We attend workshops, trainings, webinars, and we work on improving our lessons. I do not know a single teacher that honors their 180 day contract time – we ALL work outside of our contracted days. Do you? Do you punch a clock and go home? Or do you take your work with you? Do you lie awake at night worrying about someone else’s kid? I sure as hell do.
4. Can’t anyone do this job?
I mean, do we have to require licenses and specialized training? Can’t any adult just open a textbook and read it aloud to the children sitting in front of them?
The short answer is NO. Not just anyone can do this job. Let’s face it. If you COULD you WOULD. But you CAN’T so you WON’T.
I AM A MEMBER OF A SPECIAL BREED OF HUMAN: THE BREED WHO CARES SO MUCH ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE’S KIDS THAT I’M WILLING TO DO A JOB DAY AFTER DAY THAT OTHERS ARE “TOO GOOD”, “TOO IMPORTANT”, AND “TOO DAMN LAZY” TO DO.
Yes, I said it.
This is not a job for the faint of heart. This is not a job for lazy people. This is not a job where you will get a lot of glory or make a lot of money.
5. Let’s talk degrees:
I have a bachelor’s degree in Spanish, a Master’s in Second Language Acquisition, and loads of specialized training in how to make Spanish accessible to all students from all demographics. I also hold three Graduate Certificates in 1) Cultural Awareness, 2) Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, and 3) Applied Educational Neuroscience. I specialize in teaching to the brain so that my practices are inherently equitable (that’s a lot of really big words, but I’m sure you understand them all. I mean, anyone can teach, right?). My students regularly test out of Spanish at major universities: IU, Purdue, and Notre Dame to name a few. My students also test into Intermediate High on the ACTFL proficiency scale via nationally standardized tests.
I invite anyone and everyone to come and spend a day in my classroom. I invite you to take my materials and teach them. Show me how to be a better teacher. Train me to do more. I am always up for more training. Oh, but wait, you “took 3 years of high school Spanish and don’t remember a word.” Hmmm…
Now answer the question:
Why are there so many teaching jobs available in Indiana right now?
In short, we’re sick and tired of Indiana legislators and the general public demeaning us. We’re in constant worry over the futures of other people’s kids. We’re really tired of being so exhausted we can’t function in our personal lives.
Go ahead and pass HB1134. Watch those 851 job openings increase to the thousands.
Are my comments snarky? They sure as hell are.
And it’s about damn time.”
What’s missing from my post?
I did not address Chapter 12.5 that requires schools to create committees to approve curricular materials and that committee must include parents. While my students are acquiring the ability to USE Spanish, their parents do not have that ability. They all “took 3 years of high school Spanish and can’t remember a word.” How exactly is a parent committee going to be able to do this? This is incredibly short-sighted.
Chapter 21, Section 15 lays out that “a student shall not be required to participate in a personal analysis, an evaluation, or a survey that reveals or attempts to affect the student’s attitudes, habits, traits, opinions, beliefs, or feelings…” And yet, my state and national standards ask me to do just that! Self-reflection is what learning is all about, people. Taking the information that is provided in schools and being given the opportunity to determine what one believes IS EDUCATION. The intention is that we teach only what they want us to teach and never give students the chance to agree or disagree.
Did no one think that the committee members might not agree with what should be taught? Whose opinion is the right one? Everyone can object to everything. Therefore, nothing will be taught!
This bill also states that school corporations have to publish all curricular materials 365 days prior to teaching them in class. Where is the student voice and choice in that? Where is the differentiation? What happens when the class discussion on Monday is so good and so deep a teacher becomes inspired to change what was going to happen on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday? I’ll tell you what: NOTHING. No opportunity for further growth. No chance to draw students in. No voice and choice. This bill completely REMOVES the student from student-centered teaching!
HB 1134 also eliminates social-emotional training. It opens up individual teachers for being sued by individuals. It limits what can be taught in Indiana schools. There is so much more to address, but you’ve likely stopped reading by now.
PLEASE TAKE ACTION!!!
