After making teacher recruitment a priority, the Indiana Department of Education helped host the state’s first-ever “Be a Teacher Day” in Indianapolis.
“There’s a lot of negative things out there about teaching,” Indiana State Superintendent Glenda Ritz said to a room full of high school students thinking about going into education. “But I think we’re on the right track.”
The event at Bankers Life Fieldhouse gave students a chance to meet with representatives from colleges that specialize in education. The day was part of a renewed effort to get teachers into Indiana’s classrooms after fears that the state might be facing a teacher shortage.
“You should always be thinking a step ahead,” Ritz told the students. “Go find those shortage areas. We have them in science, we have them in math, we have them in special education.”
Ritz said specializing in shortage areas, if that’s a subject a student is passionate about, is a great way to make sure a teacher always has job opportunities.
After hearing from Ritz, high school students from all over the state got a chance to meet representatives from the 18 schools in attendance and find out about their programs.
Braeden Ford, a senior at Beech Grove High School, said she is thinking about going into education but has some concerns — specifically if there will be a job for her when she graduates.
“I hear how scary it is to go out there,” she said. “You hear there’s not enough jobs and schools are getting rid of teachers.”
After talking to people from the various education programs, Ford said the job prospects seem more encouraging than she thought.
"I talked to a few people and they seem very promising that there are spots open…," Ford said.
Carol Werham, an education professor at Purdue University, said this was a day to help high school students help themselves.
"We want you to be asking questions," Werham said to the students. "Find out as much as you can. Maybe a school you've never heard of will surprise you." She also mentioned the option of community college for aspiring teachers. She said most education majors think they need to go to a four-year school and get started in education right away.
She encouraged the students to look at all possibilities, especially if they are unsure about cost or worried about leaving home as soon as they graduate high school.