Legislative attacks hurt students and teachers

In 1979 on that first day of teaching, I oozed anxiety. After all, there were 30 sets of unknown eyes waiting for the show to begin. I was the show. Am I going to be the tough guy not smiling until Halloween or the open arms teacher? Will my deodorant hold so I don’t pit-out before first period?

That was then; this is now.

Teachers are in the political crosshairs of politicians aiming to please a base that didn’t exist when I was teaching in the 80s. It’s a scary kind of worry, and it’s making teachers as scarce as liberals in Orange City.

Some political attacks are noisy and noticed by concerned parents and students. They spark walkouts and protests. That’s positive. Then there are those quiet attacks, that cause the fabric of the teaching profession to unravel. Attacks on the teaching profession are really attacks on public schools, kids, and Iowa values.

Here are a couple of the quiet attacks.

House File 255 passed the Iowa House. This bill provides two new routes to become a teacher and to a non-teacher, they may sound like a step in the right direction. They aren’t.

The first new way is by having a bachelor’s degree in anything with work experience for 3 years in any field. This allows a person to be a teacher intern to teach in grades 6-12.

The other new path is to have a four-year degree in anything with an online teacher license. The only other requirement would be a mentoring program.

This weakens quality of teaching. Research shows teacher quality matters in student outcomes.

Most teachers will say their education classes were dreadful and student teaching was hard. But like military basic training, this is the crucible educators must endure to begin readiness.

Student teaching and education classes don’t fully prepare a teacher, but it helps understanding. I can’t imagine going into a classroom with a degree in fashion design and trying to teach, special education, math, English, or science. Those are the jobs with shortages.

People choosing this new route may be doing it for all the right reasons, or may be trying to escape because they saw an old teacher movie like “Dangerous Minds,” and decided teaching would be a cool adventure.

But that’s not the only law directly targeting educators. House File 430 gives parents seats on the Board of Educational Examiners (BOEE). This board governs the profession by investigating and disciplining educators who violate standards.

Now, this board is comprised of education practitioners appointed by the governor. Under the new law, the BOEE would be comprised of 5 parents, 5 licensed practitioners, and one school board member.

Why is this an attack? All other professional boards in Iowa are governed by only professional practitioners. Gov. Kim Reynolds has shown the parents she listens to are those sharing her political ideology.

The BOEE is a board that judges licensed school employees. It’s to be unbiased and base decisions on facts. This change sends the message educators are less than any other profession. It also puts innocent educators at risk who are falsely accused.

The once proud, public education tradition in this state is dying slowly by a thousand attacks.

Bruce Lear of Sioux City has been connected to public schools for 38 years. He taught for 11 years and represented educators as an Iowa State Education Association regional director for 27 years until retiring.

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