Think about your high school education. What did you learn? What about junior high and elementary school?

Do you remember your teachers from these educational periods of your life? You may have had teachers who were bitter and cruel and scared you to death. I did. You may have had teachers who were indifferent and really didn’t care if you learned anything. I did. You may have had teachers who were fantastic and taught you things you remember to this day. These were teachers who relished in seeing the light go on above your head. They wanted you to learn, and they enjoyed helping you learn. I had these types of teachers.

Hard-working, dedicated teachers are what every student, no matter what age, deserves. By law, our parents are required to send us off to school, and thus, the law ought to provide us with a good education that is paid for by our tax dollars.

Everyone in this state hails Iowa as the great education state, and I’d like to think that, too. I think I received a pretty good education here. I still remember world geography from social studies time-tests when I was in fourth grade. Now, my little sister Caitlin is in fourth grade and taking those same tests. It makes me happy that when she is older she will know where a country is when she hears about it on the news. I think that is quality education.

I remember my junior high algebra classes. I learned a lot there that helped me with math skills in high school, college and real life — even though I am not that fond of tons of numbers.

From high school, I remember literature and history classes where I learned about the world. I became fascinated with the two world wars and with Charles Dickens.

But we must not forget that teachers are instrumental in helping us learn. They are important to making Iowa students well-educated and prepared for the world.

And Iowa lawmakers need to remember this, too. The Iowa Senate just passed an educational reform bill, now headed to the House Education committee. The bill deals with a variety of issues, including K-3 improvement, the possibility of an extended school year and teachers.

The most debated part of the bill is a minimum teacher salary. It has been 11 years since the Senate set the current minimum salary for educators at $18,000. The newly passed Senate bill upgraded that amount to $21,000, but it still falls short of Governor Branstad’s recommendation of $23,000 to $27,000. And it also falls short of what teachers deserve, especially if we want to remain a state known for good education and excellent students.

I think that teachers aren’t paid enough. My mom is a high school Spanish and French teacher. I don’t think her salary is equal to the time, attention and quality she gives to her students. I had to take “Se¤ora’s” classes, and she challenges students. She encourages them (especially her own children) to work hard. She teaches — it’s her job. But like many teachers in my hometown and around the state, she is not paid enough.

In order for Iowa to keep good teachers in the state and to encourage college graduates to stay here, the state must be competitive in wages. Sure, the cost of living may be lower in Iowa, but the goal is to reward teachers for their hard work, and thus advance the education of each student in the state.

We don’t want to have teacher shortages either, because that decreases the quality of education for Iowa kids. The Senate did not put forth a proposal to handle this issue, but the governor recommended that money be allocated to pay the student loans of teachers in areas of high demand. It doesn’t sound like a bad idea to me.

And yes, there are some sour apples in the bunch of teachers. The new law is trying to address that, too. Branstad wanted assistance to bad teachers, and if they don’t improve, they face getting fired. The Senate-passed bill gives school boards exclusive authority to evaluate teachers and abolishes grievances for teachers on educational probation. It is good that lawmakers recognize that Iowa needs to maintain a quality educational force, instead of sticking uncaring, unqualified people in a classroom with young minds eager to learn.

Students are the future of this state. I want them to know who wrote the Gettysburg address and how to form a complete sentence. But this can’t happen without quality teachers. Let’s keep the good ones here.

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Erin Payne is a senior in journalism and mass communication and political science from Rock Rapids.