ink L
I
N
G
Crown Point High School @InklingsCPHS Oct. 30, 2015 Vol. 80 Issue 2
S
PHOTO BY BOB STREMPKA USED WITH PERMISSION/www.strempkagallery.com
Read about the volleyball team’s victory over LC on page 13
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY NATALIE BRIGHAM
An absence of teachers has led to a national shortage in which many Indiana schools have been left with more job positions than qualified applicants.
FADING FAST
BY NATALIE BRIGHAM editor-in-chief
Indiana is experiencing a drought. Unlike the drought in California, this drought is due to a significant decrease in teachers. There has become more teaching positions than qualified candidates. Fewer are going into the education field and earning their licenses, and those that do get degrees and education licenses often decide to work in other fields. Superintendent Dr. Teresa Eineman is concerned about Indiana’s current state. “The drop is catastrophic and striking.
and then they devalue a teacher’s grades of college graduates in the nation and make the students pass a certain test with education in order to graduate like ISTEP, Algebra I degrees are not working in the ECA and English 10 ECA,” McGee said. education field “Instead of focusing on how to pass a stupid test, I would rather just teach them the Decrease in teacher training important material the way I know how to get them ready for the next level which ultiprogram enrollment in Indiana mately gets them ready for college.” universities from 2008-2013 McGee has taught for 11 years and 70.00% has instructed an estimated 2,000 students. 60.00% During this time, he has discovered that many students overlook teaching as a ca- 50.00% reer option. 40.00% “I think when students decide on a ca64.60% 63.70% reer that teaching isn’t even on their mind 30.00% 49.10% because maybe it doesn’t seem as pres- 20.00% tigious to them; maybe they don’t think they’ll make enough money. It’s not like 10.00% 6.40% my students always tell me ‘I want to be a 0.00% Valpo teacher. I want to be a teacher.’ They always BallBall State IU Purdue State Indiana Purdue Valparaiso say they want to go into engineering... or University University University University University something like that,” he said. Between 2000-2012, Indiana Even though Indiana is experiencing a shortage of teachers, some data collections teachers experienced the second still view the state as a decent state for eduhighest constant dollar salary cators.
Decrease in enrollment in Indiana universities
decrease in the nation
See teachers on page 3
News
Feature
Krampen Compost Brothers strive towards a cleaner world
Haunted Attractions Visit nearby attractions for a Halloween scare
page 3
59%
percent decrease
Indiana among leaders in teacher shortage
It doesn’t happen overnight, but it’s happened very quickly in Indiana. Indiana is one of the leaders…and that’s embarrassing to say,” Eineman said. The most popular factor to blame for the shortage is the salary. Salaries are determined by the state, and the current system in place mandates that the highest achieving schools in Indiana receive the least amount of funding. Only nine states in the country have this system implemented. Eineman’s biggest complaint is that teacher salaries have not kept up with the cost of living. “The reason a teacher becomes a teacher is because they have a heart for their students and learning, but they do deserve and merit a living wage. A living wage should be afforded to all teachers. …The salaries have never been what they should be. But when (the state) started to not keep up with inflation, when they started to cut the budgets across the boards, it became below a living wage—that’s wrong,” Eineman said. Educators like calculus teacher Jason McGee find themselves frustrated by the demands of the state. “...The state seems to change their standards or the assessment that they use for students every time you turn around,
Quick Facts
Information for quick facts from Indiana Daily Insight
A&E
page
9
The Martian The Martian lands among the stars page
14
Decrea training enrollm