Chamber must answer for issues

Suddenly, it seems, it’s difficult to find young teachers to fill open teaching positions in Indiana.
Whose fault is that?
Let’s start with the Indiana Chamber of Commerce.
For at least the past 25 years, the Indiana Chamber of Commerce — something completely distinct from the Jay County Chamber of Commerce, which has a local agenda of its own — has waged a war against public education.
Vouchers and charter schools trace their roots directly back to lobbying efforts by the state chamber dating back before 1990.
Virtually every effort to undermine teachers’ unions, promote teacher ratings on “effectiveness” and transform public schools into learning factories has sprung from the Indiana Chamber of Commerce and its relentless lobbying of the Indiana General Assembly.
But for all its success, that movement has its unintended consequences. And one of those if the fact that fewer and fewer young people are interested in a career in teaching.
A generation ago, teaching was viewed as one of the most valued and meaningful career paths a student could take. Today, that’s simply not the case.
Young people see what their own teachers have to go through. They see their teachers’ contribution devalued and undermined by politicians. And they hear retiring career educators advise them to seek another path.
Meanwhile, thanks to a similar set of priorities, funding for public education hasn’t kept pace. That’s forced school corporations all over the state to put together retirement buyouts to “get rid” of teachers who were too expensive so they could be replaced by young teachers at a lower salary.
But guess what? Thanks to the message that has been conveyed, those young teachers willing to work at a lower salary are in smaller supply. According to The Associated Press, the number of first-time teaching licenses in Indiana has dropped by more than 60 percent in recent years.
Through this entire process, the animus against public education has been hard to figure. After all, universal public education played a key role in making this country great. And if you ask folks — particularly in rural communities like ours — if they’re generally pleased with their schools, the answer is yes.
Even stranger is the fact that so many Indiana public school teachers identify themselves as culturally and politically conservative. They may belong to a union, but they are generally centrist or right-of-center in their outlook.
So, how did we lose our way?
Ask the Indiana Chamber of Commerce. It has much to answer for. — J.R.