Indiana students, parents and teachers deserve so much better.
As a senior in a public high school, I now have nearly 12 years of experience in this state’s education system. So believe me when I say that I am deeply concerned not only about the changes that have already been made to our education system, but also about the powerful threats that lie ahead. This is not a partisan issue. It is an educational issue. The same politicians who promote the fundamental and cherished ideas of small government and leaving choices to less centralized authorities are, perhaps unintentionally, taking away autonomy from individual school boards, teachers, and yes, parents and students. The list of recent and proposed changes to Indiana’s education system is long and alarming. New mandates designed to boost test scores statewide have required all student transcripts to include SAT scores, effectively eliminating students’ freedom to take “Test-Optional” exams and potentially keeping them out of college. The ambiguous “phone ban” law takes away teachers’ freedom to run their own classrooms. The upcoming approved changes to degree types may be good for technical work, but they could not only undermine vital programs in the arts and humanities, but also diminish Indiana’s value for college admissions.
Mike Braun’s promise as governor to ban “discussion of sexual orientation” and other topics in schools risks stifling free speech and pushing for regulations (like Senate Bill 128) that could burden already struggling school districts and put teachers at risk of being laid off from jobs already in short supply across the state. It’s all part of a troubling trend where state politicians across the aisle, while mostly well-meaning, have forgotten the true meaning of education. It’s not about memorizing historical dates and the periodic table. It’s about learning relevant life skills like civic discourse, a good work ethic, and how to communicate with peers, all in a healthy, free-flowing environment. Teachers know this. Students know it. Parents know it. And it’s time we reminded the Indiana General Assembly of this, too. For an Indiana where what you can and can’t discuss in school is regulated by the state, where teachers lose autonomy over their own classrooms in favor of state regulation, where students are taught to be nothing more than memory repositories, where school music and arts programs are cut, where Hoosier families are disadvantaged in college admissions, where teachers don’t feel welcome in their much-needed profession… is not something that families, teachers, or even most state politicians really want. Across the political spectrum, we can all agree that Indiana deserves so much better.
Most voters haven’t had a K-12 education in years, so it can be easy to worry about gas and grocery prices instead of the real consequences of education policy. But as we enter perhaps the most formative election in our nation’s and our state’s modern history, this state faces a crossroads of the utmost importance. Do we allow ourselves to continue down a path of devaluing public education, enacting extreme and bureaucratic education regulations that have far-reaching consequences, including diminishing teacher support, exacerbating statewide brain drain, and, most importantly, diminishing the preparedness of the next generation to become leaders in our society?
Or do we demand, in a bipartisan manner, that our leaders value and uphold the principles of freedom and prosperity in our state’s education system, so that teachers’ jobs become easier, employers and universities value them more, and the next generation is educated to be the leaders and architects of the future we all need?
I do not have the right to vote in this election, and neither do most of my colleagues. But I hope that all voters, from whatever background, will take a moment to consider the true implications of this great choice for us, and will speak out in building the educational environment we need for the success of our students and communities, our great state and our country.
Matthew Deahl is a student at Penn High School. He is a member of the South Bend Common Council Youth Board.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Changes in Indiana’s education system are alarming.
