An education on Indiana education

I have always wanted to be a teacher. From, oh, I don't know, infancy, there was nothing else I wanted to be (well, there was a short-lived time period where I wanted to be an elephant (hey, I took it to heart when my mom said I could be anything I wanted)). I am so blessed to say that I love my job. I love going there. I love my students. I love my coworkers. 

But at this moment, I would be hard pressed to recommend anyone in Indiana to go in to education. 

But, WHY?!, you might ask. Because Indiana is losing its darn mind. 

Because the state won't allow the woman we elected to be the Superintendent of Public Instruction to do the job we chose her to do. 

Because more and more funding keeps getting taken away from public education. 

Because we have to turn our students who have thoughts and feelings and emotions and struggles and triumphs and tragedies into nothing more than numbers on a spreadsheet. 

Because so many standardized testing changes keep coming down the pipeline that teachers constantly, and I mean constantly, have to switch gears in order to best prepare students. 

Because teachers are having to spend more time preparing students for a test than they spend preparing them for college and careers. 

Because teachers are constantly under fire, seen as the enemy, or blamed for failures that might have nothing to do with them. 

Because even the happiest, most positive teachers I know are feeling burnt out. In January. 

It has been SO hard to be positive lately, because there are so many things that feel so wrong. It feels like Indiana's teachers are under attack. And just when we start to feel comfortable again, everything switches. 

It's not even that change is difficult (which, I'll admit, it is). It's that the changes are severe and sweeping and in no way shape or form are in place to benefit our students. 

And that makes me want to cry. If your children attend Indiana schools, or if you live in Indiana, or if you care about education, I encourage you to research what's happening in our state. Email your legislators. And make good choices on election day. 

Because education IS important.