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Putnam County teachers attend Red for Ed rally
INDIANAPOLIS -- Cloudy weather with a period of light rain did not at all dampen the spirits of at least 16,000 teachers from across Indiana as they rallied for public education funding Tuesday.
Among them were three contingencies from Putnam County, with teachers from the Greencastle, Cloverdale and South Putnam school corporations taking part in the day-long event centered around the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis.
Kim Clements-Johnson of the Indiana State Teachers Association (ISTA) reported that 147 school districts throughout the state were closed due to teachers who were traveling for Red for Ed Action Day. This means that half of all Indiana school corporations were represented in some form.
The impetus behind the mass protest at the Statehouse occurring on Tuesday was because it was Organization Day for the Indiana General Assembly. All representatives are required to attend to be sworn in, as well as to be counted in the first roll call. As such, the idea was that the teachers, all wearing red in some fashion, could not be ignored.
The Banner Graphic followed the Greencastle teachers as they joined the other thousands of educators and supporters who descended upon the capitol to voice their frustrations.
The group departed from the McAnally Center parking lot shortly after 7 a.m. Rolling through fog as the sun continued to rise, the two school buses traveled on U.S. 40 and then merged onto Interstate 70 for Indianapolis. A short stop was made to pick up more participants.
It was about 8:20 a.m. when the buses parked a short distance from the Statehouse. This was essentially right on time, as others wearing red were still heading the same way.
As they made their way to make sure they were registered for the rally, They ran into their colleagues from South Putnam and Cloverdale. However, they all could not keep together because of the sheer volume of people which quickly crowded the south lawn.
From 9 a.m. until about 10:30 a.m., a band made of up music teachers from various schools led the crowd in short renditions, with some taking on variations appropriate for the occasion. For example, the line from Bruce Channel’s “Hey! Baby” which goes “If you’ll be my girl” was changed to “If you’ll fund my school.”
However, it was remarks given by ISTA President Keith Gambill and Becky Pringle, the vice president of the National Education Association (NEA), which fired up everyone on the south lawn.
Both touched on educators’ frustration with ILEARN testing, and how scores on these tests reflect poorly on teacher evaluations. The fact that Indiana ranks 51st among other U.S. states and territories for teacher pay and salary growth was met by boos and jeers.
“Pencils down, your time is up!” Gambill said to a roar of applause.
However, he also suggested that Indiana lawmakers could set the state’s revenue surplus toward public school funding. His overall message came down to investing not just in teachers, but in other personnel such as bus drivers as well.
Pringle’s message was simple: Teachers need to do whatever it would take to get lawmakers’ attention on the issue of school funding. She professed that the rally was doing just that with encouraging a collective voice.
She also referenced another point behind advocating for increased teacher pay, which is that the work teachers do day in and day out must be regarded as a profession with significant social benefit. Following this up, she added that teachers must still be able to support their own families.
Pringle also got a loud applause when it seemed that she could turn ILEARN, and standardized testing in general, against Indiana’s legislators making decisions on education.
“No, you learn!” she said to the crowd, while also advocating that the time was “Now!” for teachers to act and rise up for the cause.
After Gambill’s and Pringle’s remarks, the mass of red began a march around the Statehouse, and at first spilled onto Senate Avenue. However, everyone was quickly directed onto the sidewalks on either side of the road.
When the march reached the east steps of the Statehouse, where a statue of Indiana’s 14th governor, Oliver P. Morton, stands, a long line of teachers who wanted to take the protest inside was formed. Some went inside the ISTA Center across the street, while others, including the Greencastle group, ventured over to Circle Centre Mall for lunch.
When the group returned to the Statehouse lawn where the rally began, it was not long before everyone made their way to the waiting buses at about 2:30 p.m. Everyone was accounted for when the buses rolled back into the McAnally Center lot at 3:30 p.m.
In the end, the large demonstration of teachers and their supporters which had converged on the Statehouse and participated in the march was enthusiastic, well-tempered and orderly. Perhaps most importantly, no trash seemed to have been left.