Don’t Impose Failed, Dangerous Education Proposals on Indiana Students, Teachers, Communities

Posted by on January 20, 2022 1:16 pm
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Categories: State News

Score one for Indiana students. Their teachers would be allowed to teach that Nazism was bad, under a bill that had to be amended to make clear this universally accepted fact after the bill’s sponsor suggested that teachers should remain neutral on fascism, Nazism and Marxism. But that’s about the only bone Indiana lawmakers are throwing to Indiana students. 

At least two bills of exceedingly questionable merit are circulating in Indianapolis right now. Both would harm the quality of education that our students receive. One is the so-called divisive concepts bill, HB 1134, which would restrict the way racism, sexism and discrimination are taught in classrooms so as not to indicate that one individual or group is inherently superior to another. It would create a nightmare scenario for teachers, leaving them to either not fulfill their instructional duties to adequately educate their kids or choose to teach as they have (teaching honest history) and risk career-ending repercussions. How should educators teach about slavery, Jim Crow laws or the disability rights movement, for example? Teachers teach facts and the truth, and students decide for themselves how to interpret the subject matter.

The other bill specifically targets Gary. It calls for a state takeover of the Gary Community School Corporation—and would create a permanent state-appointed advisory school board, allow the emergency manager to become the superintendent and outlaw the existence of a teachers union and collective bargaining. This would be devastating for students, as teachers are the voices from the classroom, who advocate for what kids need.  

This is bad for kids and bad for the entire Gary community, which should be able to vote for school board members. We live in a democracy, remember? State takeovers have been tried across the country out of an arrogant belief that the state, from afar, can do better to improve student achievement than locally elected education officials. The truth is, however, that virtually all state takeovers fail. They are power grabs that don’t include even a modicum of effort to invest in the programs, services and funding that would truly move the needle. 

And let’s be clear: State takeovers usually are targeted at school communities of color, like Gary, in need of real investment. Like most takeovers, this proposal isn’t backed up with specifics on how to improve the district. Rather, it’s an announcement that shouts, Look at us, we’re doing something about poor student achievement. But is it? It’s just a stunt without any beneficial substance, and it can have very real damaging consequences since kids lose so much time when proven programs are not implemented. Detroit’s disastrous state takeover lasted 15 long and unproductive years, from 1999 to 2015. Providence, R.I., has been under state control since 2019 with nothing to show for it except angry parents, teachers and students who are shut out of decision-making and have called for it to end. In Washington, D.C., the decade-long mayoral control has been marked by various scandals, including a cheating scandal in light of the district’s obsession with student testing, unfair teacher evaluations and the graduation of ineligible students. 

Students don’t need bans on so-called divisive concepts that deprive students of learning honest history, and they don’t need undemocratic state takeovers that shut out the voices of the community. Students need programs and services that have a positive track record of making improvements. For Gary, students need more tutoring and enrichment programs; social workers and counselors to help with social and emotional assistance; health clinics in schools; and greater financial investment. These are proven strategies to help low-income students in challenging circumstances.

GlenEva Dunham is the president of the Gary Teachers Union.

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