Going to Ball State University has been the best choice I've ever made. Journalism education has prepared me for the "real world" that is quickly approaching just beyond student teaching. I have taken courses in my content, courses that have helped me with diverse learners and pedagogy courses that have taught me how to teach. With the threat of pedagogical classes being reduced, now is the time not only for future educators at Ball State, but for everyone invested in ensuring effective public schools in Indiana to take a long, hard look at these proposed licensing changes.
I'm writing in response to the past few articles in the Daily News and most recently, "More debate on education," which was printed last Wednesday. As I read through the article, my mind was reeling with questions. First, who is supporting this initiative? It is not representatives from teacher education colleges, such as Ball State, who have been said to give "scathing criticism" of these meetings and roundtables. Yet, some say charter schools support the changes because they will allow them to bring in more professionals to teach the adolescents.
But my question is this: What high-paid professional is going to leave his or her career to teach in a high school with the low pay, lack of respect and increasingly difficult circumstances public educators face in their schools and classrooms? Nobility like that only happens in the movies.
Next, I want someone to define these "top-notch teachers" that Indiana schools chief Tony Bennett is looking for and are apparently not in our current classrooms. They have far less pedagogical knowledge and will have less experience in the educational field than I will after graduation. Experience in the "real world" means nothing when you have to teach an adolescent who just cannot or will not even try to understand. The real world has nothing to do with adolescents with special needs. And, the real world has nothing to do with the ability to explain something you find simple in a variety of ways so that students better understand the concept.
This is what teachers face every day. Teaching is a profession that takes training, hard work, continuous reflection and professional development, passion, commitment and tons of patience. I don't think solely working in the real world can give you that.
In the article last week, the Associated Press said, "Bennett contends education schools have piled on too many classes on pedagogy, or how to teach, and that limits are needed."
So, let me get this straight. Bennett believes we are making teachers take too many classes on how to teach. This is like saying our nursing majors take too many classes on how to take care of their patients.
I support the effort that educators are making with this bill. This is a time to come together and discuss the future of public education in our state. This proposal will change a system that is not broken at Ball State. Our program here is one of the best in the nation and can help us get a job in almost every state with few, if any, additional requirements to qualify for another state's license. With this proposal, we will not be held to the rigorous state and national standards to which we have become accustomed to at Ball State. We will have to bend over backwards and, surprise, take more pedagogical classes elsewhere.
Bennett believes educators are fighting him on this because we don't want to change our system and we want to save our jobs. While it is certainly true that no one wants to lose his or her job, it is not true that educators are reluctant to change the system. We just want to make sure that the changes address the real issues and problems of public education and do not result in less effective teachers in our classrooms. We have to show him that this is a fight for the future of Indiana education, not just our welfare. As a future parent, I want my children to have every benefit of education possible, and this includes the best trained teachers possible who have graduated from reputable colleges of education with programs dedicated to preparing pre-service and in-service teachers to meet the immense challenges they'll face in public classrooms.
So what can we do? We can go to the Indiana Department of Education's Web site and submit an opinion on various pieces of the proposal. We can also look for petitions or start our own. And we can e-mail our state representatives and senators.
If these changes go through, the consequences will reverberate through public schools for years to come and have the potential to damage an incredible number of students, especially those in the neediest schools.
So let me make my public statement: I do not support the proposed changes because they are not rooted in the best pedagogical practices and nationally recognized research or standards. They will not put more effective educators in our classrooms and they are not in the best interests of children.
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