After reading the cover story “Welcome to room L9,” by Alexa Chryssovergis on Oct. 30 in the Indiana Daily Student, I would like to present a different point of view on the issue investigated.
The article was centered on Jen Waltz, a kindergarten teacher, and Katie Russell, an IU student teacher. The piece outlined what Russell experienced in the classroom and also the daily routine of Waltz. In this column, I would like to present a different interpretation of the data regarding the statewide teacher supply.
The fears surrounding a teacher shortage came as the result of a Department of Education announcement earlier this year that the state had issued an unusually low number of new teacher licenses. Ball State University’s Center for Business and Economic Research study would suggest otherwise. The study, released Oct. 28, claims the state has had an overall teacher surplus that began 15 years ago. That in turn has led to a decline in enrollment in state education schools. To add to this notion, the study found that there are actually around 39,000 certified teachers working in other fields in Indiana.
“There is much rhetoric about a looming teacher shortage, but beyond this anecdote there is no evidence of a teacher shortage in Indiana,” said Mike Hicks, the study’s author and the CBER director. To clarify, the study did find that there was unmet demand in niche areas, such as STEM and occupation-related fields.
The so-called teacher shortage has become a political issue within the Indiana state legislature. This year, Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz created a commission to investigate why people aren’t becoming teachers. “There is not increased demand for teachers in Indiana, and the number of teachers in Indiana has been among the most stable occupations in the state over the past 30 years,” Hicks said.
A similar article that came out earlier this year — published by the Indianapolis Business Journal and Chalkbeat Indiana, a nonprofit organization examining educational change — yielded similar results. According to Indianapolis Public School District spokeswoman Kristin Cutler, there were more than 2,000 teaching jobs total within the district, yet IPS had just 44 unfilled jobs as of Aug. 17, and only 25 of those were classroom teachers. “Just before the school year started, the district had 69 open teaching jobs, compared to 117 at the same time last year,” according to IBJ. The example of IPS, the largest school district in the state, exemplifies the lack of a shortage.
Teaching is hard work, and teachers, such as Waltz and Russell, have my utmost respect. Teachers have been incredibly influential in many ways throughout my life in terms of mentoring and in my education.
But it’s essential to understand the factors concerning the climate around teaching jobs in Indiana. We can and must do everything in our power to support our teachers, but focusing on a perceived teacher shortage instead of pressing education issues such as standardized testing, student achievement and professional satisfaction hurts our teachers — and our students — instead of getting them the real help they need.
staranyi@indiana.edu
