Editorial

Our Opinion: Wear ‘Red for Ed’ Tuesday

Friday, November 15, 2019

Go to your closet and pick out your red to wear Tuesday, Nov. 19 as a gesture of support for educators in Greene County and across the state.

Local administrators have put a call out to the community to participate in Greene Goes Red for Ed -- a local culmination of the Red for Ed Action Day scheduled for Nov. 19 at the Statehouse, coordinated by the Indiana State Teacher’s Association (ISTA).

Legislators will be back in session on Tuesday, Nov. 19 to organize for the upcoming General Assembly, and teachers from across the state plan on turning out in full force to make sure their voices are heard.

According to the ISTA, the three goals of the event are to encourage legislators to “invest budget surplus in teacher compensation; hold students, teachers and communities harmless from iLearn; and repeal professional growth experience/externship requirements.”

Take a moment to think about everything you know. Even more than reading, writing and arithmetic, educators dedicate so much of their lives to teaching youth about life. Teachers lead classrooms full of students of all abilities, using their skills to teach at state standards and sprinkling in real-life scenarios to prepare them for the future.

Wearing red in support of the men and women in our classrooms is just a small gesture we can make in order to show we see them and their frustrations are valid.

The ISTA reports 90 percent of Hoosier kids attend public schools, per the Indiana Department of Education. Based on the NEA Rankings of the States, Indiana is 36th on the list for teacher pay across the nation -- ranking the lowest paid in the Midwest. Furthermore, the NEA Rankings of the States shows that Indiana public school funding is 47th across the nation.

Those numbers are scary as more restrictions and changes are placed on the shoulders of our educators. What was once a safe space for teachers to lead future generations, has now become a place where changes at the state level have clouded the goal of educating our youth

But, with all of that being said, Greene County is lucky to have educators so willing to push through to provide our students with the best education they are able. Greene County teachers put in their own time and money to keep their classes running efficiently. Despite the funding losses and cut backs, teachers and administrators work so hard to keep the school day going without a hitch.

The way our schools have to operate may be changing by the day, but our schools ensure that students only have to focus on their studies in the classroom.

So, on Tuesday, we will be wearing red because we support our educators, and we support education.