Depicting racism in art is not racist

clearly intentional on the part of the observer,” according to a statement from President Patricia Maguire Meservey.

Down the Eastern Seaboard, two older works addressing American bigotry found themselves in similar crosshairs.

Last month, Accomack County, Va., public schools temporarily pulled “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” from classrooms and libraries because a parent complained about the racial slurs they contain. After a local uproar and a formal review, the novels were reinstated Tuesday.

Meanwhile, South Carolina’s Winthrop University is threatening to expel a student who created a “deeply hurtful and threatening” anti-lynching art installation.

These are hardly the only recent instances of anti-racist works being targeted by anti-racists for being insufficiently antiracist.

“Mockingbird” and “Huck Finn” are frequently challenged. More recent works, lacking the protection afforded by generations of fans, are more vulnerable. Last year, students in an Alabama high school history club were forbidden from seeing the film “Selma” because of its use of slurs.

To be clear, calls for censorship are hardly unique to the left. But real threats to the safety and rights of people of color do seem to have led to heightened policing of the “correct way” to condemn bigotry and tell more diverse stories, says Joan Bertin, executive director of the National Coalition Against Censorship.

Works depicting historical events are often the casualties. The problem, alas, is that history is inevitably laden with upsetting details. Needless to say, such details are precisely why we must face our own history and protect the art that helps us process it.

Although disagreement exists about the prospect of a major teacher shortfall in Wisconsin, certain facts appear inescapable.

For starters, the number of young people entering the teaching profession across the country has declined dramatically in recent years, and Wisconsin is no exception. According to the Public Policy Forum, enrollments in our state’s teacher preparation programs are down sharply, nearly 28% from 2008’09 levels.

The outlook is even bleaker in Illinois and Michigan, where the number of graduating teachers has dwindled by 38% and 32%, respectively, over that time period. These reductions are ominous, because Wisconsin draws educators from these states.

Concurrently, an aging workforce of veteran teachers soon will flee the profession in droves. Many baby boomers who needed to extend their careers due to the recession have now recovered financially and intend to retire. Some who might otherwise have stayed will depart rather than lose various benefits to a next contract.

Disenchanted teachers in their first five years also now leave the profession at estimated rates ranging from 20% to 50%, and mid-career teachers vacate more often, too. Some leave for economic or family reasons, but several simply burn out.

Now add to the forecast recent demographic projections that Wisconsin must educate some 10,000 more children by the year 2020. Consider also that restrictive new federal regulations for teacher preparation programs threaten the stream of graduates and that multiple assessments for state licensure can thwart new teachers entering the classroom.

With these factors converging, our P-12 schools in Wisconsin must soon brave a perfect storm of supply and demand, one that is tracking toward a limited availability of talented teachers at best and a tempest at worst. The swath that the storm is cutting carries major implications for student achievement, educational costs to schools, and the long-term economic wellbeing of our region and state.

Ironically, employment opportunities for teachers are excellent and should remain so. Placement rates for graduates of teacher preparation programs have been extraordinary. With so many openings and diminishing numbers of applications, superintendents and principals seeking well-trained candidates now actively recruit educators from other districts and schools.

Plenty of theories abound for why high school graduates sidestep teaching and opt for other careers, and why new and midcareer teachers increasingly exit the classroom. My own take is that the profession of teaching has become so devalued publicly that it carries little long-term appeal. It’s one thing for teachers to resign themselves to modest compensation and nurturing school children as the ultimate reward. But it’s quite another to do honorable work, yet feel disrespected.

Changing the perception of teaching represents a community problem, as is creating incentives to attract truly effective professionals to the classroom and retain them. There are ways to overcome this quality teacher pipeline challenge, such as media campaigns to celebrate teaching, increased scholarships, loan forgiveness, bonuses and competitive salaries, future teacher organizations, and teacher preparation that is even more intense to help narrow the achievement gap.

The first step requires acknowledging the severe storm warnings. Wisconsin should be on high alert.