By Hannah Gunnell
Carolyn Woodruff pushed back the interview for this story because she got held up donating plasma to be able to purchase Christmas presents for her family — her teacher’s salary wasn’t sufficient enough.
That’s why she skipped class and travelled an hour and a half to Indianapolis on Nov. 19 to participate in the Red for Ed rally in front of the Indiana Statehouse.
Nov. 19 was Organization Day for the legislators, meaning they would prepare for the 2020 session, which begins January 6. Activists chose to rally that day because they wanted to send a message — legislators need to make public education a priority.
Woodruff was one of more than 15,000 activists who participated in the event. Activists hailed from all over the state of Indiana, sporting red and carrying posters that read witty remarks such as “I’m here because my wife couldn’t get a sub.”
Dr. Emily Hoffman, an assistant professor of Early Childhood, Youth and Family Studies at Ball State University, said the activists had three central demands: increase teacher pay, improve standardized testing, and let teachers control their own professional development.
The sea of red became so big, it bled onto the streets outside the designated marching area — proof that the Indiana educators can be an overwhelming force when joined together.
Woodruff, a BSU student and Muncie Community Schools (MCS) teacher, said the event was about serving students by serving teachers.
A group of public school students handed out muffins and coffee to Woodruff and other teachers, thanking them for teaching and trying to improve classroom conditions.
“It was the most empowering thing I’ve done as a teacher,” she said. “It’s good to know [students] did understand what we were doing.”
Hoffman said the poor wages push people away from an education career, resulting in a teacher shortage that actually forced many schools to close for the rally — those districts couldn’t get enough substitute teachers.
MCS was not one of the 300 school districts that cancelled school for the event.
Muncie residents told MCS that they have a hard time finding child care when schools close. Also, MCS provides free meals to many of its students, so if the district closed those kids may not have been able to eat that day.
Despite not closing, it was clear MCS wanted the same goals for its students as the activists who ventured to Indy — a better environment for their students.
Besides pay, activists focused on other issues as well. Standardized test scores are not reflective of the teacher’s ability to teach or the student’s ability to learn, but if a student does poorly on an exam, then both are penalized.
Additionally, teachers have a series of requirements they need to reach each year to keep their teaching license — referred to as Professional Development, Hoffman said. The goal of professional development is to help teachers become better educators, but Hoffman said more often than not teachers just try to check the boxes and don’t actually progress.
If a student has a teacher who half-asses their “improvement” just to check a box, then that student is not going to have as good of an educational experience as students with teachers who exceed their state expectations.
Hoffman said she enables her students to overcome these obstacles by encouraging them to stay up-to-date on legislation regarding public education, attend public rallies, follow organizations geared toward improving education, and vote for the parties and people who will act in favor of public schools.
“Teaching is not a profession where you just stay in the classroom,” she said.
Those who couldn’t make it to the statehouse lined up in front of the Teachers College to participate in a rally hosted by Educators for Equity and Justice, a student organization.
“Education is a right; that’s why we have to fight!” student activists chanted.
Hoffman brought her seven year old son to protest at Ball State. She pulled him out of school so she could teach him how to advocate for improvement on a state and national level.
“It’s important to stand up for what you believe in,” she taught him. “It’s important to do the right thing even if it’s against the rules.”
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