I am the daughter of Indiana educators, one who is a retired assistant superintendent

I am the daughter of Indiana educators, one who is a retired assistant superintendent. I am the sister of an Indiana educator. I am friends with Indiana educators. For the past twelve years, I have been a proud Indiana educator. I am also a parent, and I vote.Today, however, I am not very proud. Today, I am disappointed and disheartened. I always believed what our Constitution set forth and what our forefathers wanted for this great nation: a limitation on government, keeping government as local as possible. I believe Thomas Jefferson said it best, "What has destroyed the liberty and the rights of man in every government which has ever existed under the sun? The generalizing and concentrating all cares and powers into one body . . . . The way to have good and safe government is not to trust it all to one, but to divide it among the many . . . . It is by dividing and sub-dividing these republics, from the great national one down . . . that all will be done for the best."

And yet, here we are, with a state government dictating what each public school should do about insurance, about teaching licensure, and about school facilities, instead of leaving it up to a district or a county, where the decisions should lie. I have been greatly offended, but more importantly, I have been disturbed by Governor Daniels comments insinuating that teachers are greedy and only out for money at the expense of students. Truthfully, if it was not for teachers, we would not have doctors, attorneys, entrepreneurs, engineers, accountants, or even governors. Education provides the skills and knowledge for people to pursue the professions they desire.The teachers I know teach not because they couldnt hack it in another profession, not because they thought teaching was so lucrative, not because it is a high-profile, highly respected position, which recent legislation has shown it is apparently not. They teach because they love students, love sharing knowledge, love being part of a students support system, love sharing in students highs and picking them up from their lows. They know that a standardized test score does not define a child. They know that the 35 students in each of their crowded classrooms are individuals, and even though those classrooms are crowded, they teach every child in that room with the same passion and attention.In my district, we agreed to take a pay freeze and to give up some our benefits. As a teacher over the years, I have purchased many supplies for my room that could not be covered in a school budget; I have taken multiple college courses over the years, as well as getting my masters degree, to satisfy my continuing education requirements, all paid out of my pocket; I have attended workshops and conventions for professional development; I have gone to football games, plays, and choir concerts. I have chaperoned dances and field trips. I have written letters of recommendation for seniors applying to colleges, sponsored classes, and sponsored numerous extra-curriculars. I have helped a student work for that last credit in order to graduate. I have volunteered for collaboration in the summer. I have done none of this for great financial rewards. I have done all of this because I love my job.

The majority of teachers I know give of themselves in the same fashion. To generalize all of Indiana education as failing, as Governor Daniels and Tony Bennett do, is short-sighted. Are there teachers who should not be teaching? Likely, there are. How is allowing non-licensed teachers into the classroom going to fix this? Are there some business principles that could help public education? Again, it is very likely. However, why is our state government intent on passing legislation that treats each district and each teacher as if they are all damaged goods? Should we not be working to pass legislation to bring the bottom up to the top, not the top and the bottom to a mediocre middle?

I am not against reform, even reform in education. I am not afraid of change. I readily embrace those changes that help me better myself professionally and personally, and I am very willing to listen to both sides of an argument, seemingly unlike Governor Daniels. I do not believe the sweeping legislation that our state government is proposing and passing is that good change. Put education decisions where they belong: in the hands of the people.

I appreciate Donald D. Quinns analogy: If a doctor, lawyer, or dentist had 40 people in his office at one time, all of whom had different needs, and some of whom didnt want to be there and were causing trouble, and the doctor, lawyer, or dentist, without assistance, had to treat them all with professional excellence for nine months, then he might have some conception of the classroom teachers job. I encourage our legislators, including Governor Daniels, to respond to their constituents not with a form email, but with an individualized response, the same kind that thousands of Indiana teachers give their individual students every single day.