Posted on 10/02/2004 10:43:17 PM PDT by 11th_VA
SOUTH BRUNSWICK: A middle school teacher walked out on her job after being asked to remove a picture of the president from her classroom, she said.
Though she says he has not resigned, the teacher's situation at Crossroads Middle School South is not yet resolved.
Shiba Pillai-Diaz's walkout involved the local police, left school officials mum and appalled the local Republican Party.
Pillai-Diaz, 33, a volunteer with the Bush campaign and an English teacher, has had a publicity picture of the First Couple hanging in her classroom since the start of the school year, she said.
The photo became an issue last week.
Parents e-mailed an assistant principal accusing Pillai-Diaz of suppressing free speech because the teacher refused to talk to pupils about why the color photo hung in the room.
"Students said, 'You like George Bush? He's killed people,' " Pillai-Diaz said. "As a rule I don't talk about my politics in the classroom."
According to Pillai-Diaz, Assistant Principal Mark Daniels said he had no problem with the photo, which hung next to posters of the Constitution and Declaration of Independence. But Daniels told the teacher she should address questions that arose because of the photo.
"He wasn't giving me the power to direct conversation in my classroom," said Pillai-Diaz, who regarded the picture just as an image of the current president.
Thursday, at back-to-school night, the controversy exploded after a parent asked why the picture was up, Pillai-Diaz said.
"The way she asked was a political assault," the teacher said.
Then the parents started their own debate about the picture, and one mother stormed out of the classroom, Pillai-Diaz said.
Friday morning, the teacher, who is in her sixth year of teaching and her first in South Brunswick, was called into the assistant principal's office. Daniels told her to remove the picture, Pillai-Diaz said.
"He said, 'If you care about your job, you'll take the picture down,' " she said.
Pillai-Diaz told the assistant principal to take the picture down himself. Then she sought Principal Jim Warfel, who gave her an upbraiding.
"He said, 'You've caused more disruption, hatred and anger than anyone I've ever known,' " she said.
The teacher said the principal told her to "get out," so she left and headed to the South Brunswick Police Department.
An officer accompanied Pillai-Diaz back to the school because she said she feared for her safety when she went to collect her belongings, police said.
Once Pillai-Diaz felt safe at the school the officer left, police said.
In the school, Pillai-Diaz had a two-hour meeting with Superintendent Gary McCartney and a representative from the teachers' union. Both parties told the teacher she would lose any fight she would try to start about the picture, Pillai-Diaz said.
"They weren't interested in the substance of the issue," she said.
The superintendent said no one has resigned, been fired or suspended. McCartney would not discuss the incident, calling it a personnel matter.
When reached Friday night, Sylvia Lee, president of the teachers' union, said no teacher had been fired and she didn't know about the incident. Lee did not return multiple telephone messages left for her yesterday.
Board of Education President Robert Long declined to comment on the incident, calling it a personnel matter.
He did say he could not find any district policy addressing the presence of pictures of presidents in classrooms. He said it would be too early to tell whether the incident merited a policy change.
"We don't want to develop a policy for something that is not needed," Long said. "Whatever the facts may be, it is something we will certainly take a look at if needed."
Democrats dominate South Brunswick's government, holding the Mayor's Office and three of the four council seats.
Of the 40,000 people living in the township, about 5,000 are registered Republicans. Registered Democrats outnumber them by a 3-to-2 margin, said local Republican officials.
"It's horrible that a teacher was asked to take down a picture of the president of the United States," said Dawn Smith, chair of the local Republican Committee. "It's unconscionable."
Smith said she would expect the same procedures to apply whether it was President Bush or former President Clinton.
"When did we stop honoring our country's leaders?" Smith asked.
Pillai Diaz said the only way school officials may have known she was a Republican is because she could not attend a meeting with teachers on the day she volunteered at the Republican National Convention in New York.
"I never once said 'I am a Republican' or 'I support the president,' " Pillai-Diaz said.
Pillai-Diaz turned in the keys to her classroom on Friday. She packed up the picture and her classroom decorations, taking them with her when she left. She is unsure about her future employment, but said she is supposed to speak with district officials about it tomorrow.
"My ultimate goal is to teach," she said.
If this teacher had hung up a poster of Che Guevara, or Fidel, or Malcolm X,she would have been on the Fast track for promotions...
I'm a teacher and have never heard of this. I do need to earn more money since my wages have gone down about 15% the past two years. Can you tell me where I can find these posters so that I can teach my kids other things besides the boring reading, writing, working hard, having strong families, respecting parents, being honest, etc.?
I would really like a promotion so again, please let me know where I can find these pictures
Try the mall, Paul.
Thanks, I'll have to try there. I'll have to put them right by the American flag. Actually, I think I'll get a bunch of them as seat mats for my kids. Then they can have them looking up at them from the bottom up. My name's not Paul though, though you're not that far off. If guess my name, then you won't have to spen straw into gold anymore.
Several of us were talking over the summer about schools in different areas. One of our friends (married to a public school teacher) offered their daughter the opportunity to go to the private "academy" for High school starting this year. His daughter and friends were appalled at the idea. They say the drug problem at the "academy" is worse than all the public schools in the county combined.
So, many times it has nothing to do with the type of school, and always has to do with the type of parents.
You sound like the kind of teacher I have encountered in my daughter's school........and that is part of the reason we chose to move to this particular district.
Parents are expected to be involved here and we are, and the teachers do appreciate it.
I know there are some districts that just don't care, but if one looks, they are going to find those that really do care with teachers that want to teach and work to help their students excel.
I spend 4-8 hours a week tutoring my students, 2-3 hours a week calling parents to tell them how their kids are doing, about 3 hours a night correcting or doing things for the classroom, about 10-20 hours on the weekends doing the same, work 1-2 hours extra a day, spend my lunchtimes tutoring or providing extra learning opportunities for the kids, serve as a community advocate at City council meetings for kids, spend at least a month's salary on things for the kids (only a small amount on treats), spend several dozen hours on breaks working on classroom things, often make home visits to drop off things or if there is a concern, drop off my student of the week award each Sunday to two exemplary students, emphasize such values as having strong families and spending time together when I talk with parents and the kids, etc. etc. etc. Oh yeah, I try to have each of my kids reading above grade level by the end of the year and the great majority do.
Moog, I'm sure you are one of the great teachers, and I can see you do care and go the extra mile.
My experience with my children in a "world class school district" (as they liked to call themselves) was that there were a handful of teachers like you, but the majority simply weren't. In most classes, the teachers didn't grade most of the work - the kids graded each others. I had to intervene several times when my children complained to me (not to the teacher) that their classmates would mark things as wrong when they were right.
The teachers weren't there to help when my children missed classes due to illness - they needed at least 2 days notice to provide the homework assignments that I could pick up at the school office between 3 and 4 pm (a little tough when working my job from 7 to 5).
Many assignments were group projects with little direction from the teacher, following the education philosophy that they learn from from each other anyway.
In my 9 years as a public school parent (my kids were in Montessori till 4th grade), I never once received a phone call from a teacher. My daughter had great grades, so I suppose there was no reason to call about her, but my son did the absolute minimum he needed to to get by. He figured if he got an A on one assignment, he didn't even need to do the next few (or even the tests) because all he needed was for it to average out to a D. Wouldn't you think SOMEONE would have called me at some point about his attitude, or his failure to work to his potential?
Teachers in our school district average +$60,000/year, and I can see in the parking lots that 95% DON'T stay late after school for anything. On Back-to-School nights, the teachers were the first out the door at the end of the evening, usually discussing what parties they were going to.
Again, I applaud you for your dedication, and I have personally thanked the few dedicated teachers my children had (and those few did make a difference in my children's lives). But do you represent the majority? Sorry, not from what I've seen.
"then you won't have to SPEN straw into gold anymore"
Let me gess, ur an englush teechur?
Several of us were talking over the summer about schools in different areas. One of our friends (married to a public school teacher) offered their daughter the opportunity to go to the private "academy" for High school starting this year. His daughter and friends were appalled at the idea. They say the drug problem at the "academy" is worse than all the public schools in the county combined.
I was on a field trip to a zoo this week and was quite shocked at what I saw the students from the private schools doing there. I had to steer my class around them.
So, many times it has nothing to do with the type of school, and always has to do with the type of parents.
I completely agree. I am so thankful that my parents taught me good family values. I try to spread these to my students and their parents. It breaks my heart when families break apart for stupid reasons. Often, the kids in difficult circumstances may act out at school or crave attention because of the situation at home. Yet we, as teachers, are expected to be miracle workers and deal with each situation separately. Often, we become personally involved in efforts to keep families together, but sometimes it just doesn't happen.
I had a new girl move in, one of the best-behaved I have ever seen. Unfortunately, her dad has been out of work for some time and isn't looking real hard, the in-laws do not get along with the mom so they kicked them out of their house, the mom is mad at the husband for not getting a job, etc. etc. Now the husband has moved to a different place and the wife is living with her sister. I spent hours getting them ready to have their daughter come to our school and more time trying to help them, but to no avail. It really does make me sad. A couple of years ago, I had many hard home situations to deal with. I worked my tail off that year and while it was my hardest year, it was also my most rewarding. Note that I live in an area famous for family values and that is middle class.
There is no more important thing to me than keeping good families together. I have learned it firsthand. It helps the kids function much better as well. Such is the case with involved families, particularly having involved dads (something I really stress).
I am one who wishes that I could help every situation and I often try to, but it is really hard. If I do get extra money, I will use it to help my student's families. For me, it's not the money I teach for, it's to make a difference in people's lives and to be of service in any way I can.
I heard he was in Cambodia too.
Typo, typo. I gat mi lift hend confoosd wish mi write. Yus, i im a Englich teechr.
And schools wonder why people pull their kids out of such places, or why they are inundated with legal costs that drain resources from the classroom.
IMHO, they cross the line when they threaten or harass you for your views. Seems like they're actually afraid of free speech
Seriously,where in Tophet do you teach that you have sustained a 15% pay cut ??(Some of our denizens may want to move there,)
I have teachers in the family,and, although they make the obligatory complaints about salaries,they're both doing rather well,thank you !
Deport all democrats...they are all French deep inside anyway.
You are a good person and I commend you.
I love my daughter's teachers, and appreciate the work they do. I like to believe they appreciate that we pay attention to what is going on. They know they will see one or the other, or both my husband and I on parent/teacher days, and that calls or notes sent home are appreciated in this house.
We are not parents that will always side with our child no matter what. We are the first to acknowlege that she has a tendency to talk incessantly, and can be as stubborn as a mule when she makes up her mind - two things we deal with on a daily basis and are not surprised when the same traits are noticed in the classroom.
I don't know how much time the teachers spend dealing with other parents because it is none of my business, but if the level of contact, at their instigation, I have with them is any indication, all I can say is we did the right thing in choosing to live in this school district.
Moog, I'm sure you are one of the great teachers, and I can see you do care and go the extra mile.
Thanks
My experience with my children in a "world class school district" (as they liked to call themselves) was that there were a handful of teachers like you, but the majority simply weren't. In most classes, the teachers didn't grade most of the work - the kids graded each others. I had to intervene several times when my children complained to me (not to the teacher) that their classmates would mark things as wrong when they were right.
That is not really allowed too much anymore except for a few things. Actually I've never heard of "world class" schools.
The teachers weren't there to help when my children missed classes due to illness - they needed at least 2 days notice to provide the homework assignments that I could pick up at the school office between 3 and 4 pm (a little tough when working my job from 7 to 5).
It does take a LOT of work to get them to the parent. It is hard when parents don't take the time to just call the school, explain why their child is absent, and to see if they can send someone to get the work or to have the work sent home some way. In my experience, I HAVE (and generally) to do the work of contacting parents, getting the work home (in many cases taking it by myself), etc. Then often, the WORK does not get done.
Many assignments were group projects with little direction from the teacher, following the education philosophy that they learn from from each other anyway.
That actually comes from the team-oriented direction that businesses want our schools to go (remember that many of them are conservatives). I don't see it a lot in my state though.
In my 9 years as a public school parent (my kids were in Montessori till 4th grade), I never once received a phone call from a teacher. My daughter had great grades, so I suppose there was no reason to call about her, but my son did the absolute minimum he needed to to get by. He figured if he got an A on one assignment, he didn't even need to do the next few (or even the tests) because all he needed was for it to average out to a D. Wouldn't you think SOMEONE would have called me at some point about his attitude, or his failure to work to his potential?
I have had some Montessori students. One was my lowest student (but did catch up) and another is my worst-behaved (though it has more to do with the divorce situation). Sometimes it does take a parent to initiate communication with the teacher. I know I pay attention to parents who do such (working with, not against the teacher). There are some whom I do not call as much because I do not ever hear from them (something that drives me nuts) and/or they are always to busy. It goes both ways.
Teachers in our school district average +$60,000/year, and I can see in the parking lots that 95% DON'T stay late after school for anything. On Back-to-School nights, the teachers were the first out the door at the end of the evening, usually discussing what parties they were going to.
Where the H--- is this district??? Our top salaries aren't even close to $60,000. I would love to make that much money. After 9 years, I don't even make half that much. Our average salaries are just over half that. After all the extra hours I work, that comes down to much less than $10 an hour. I am of the opinion that teachers should NOT be paid as much as computer programmers and other more technical positions. However, we should be paid enough to live on. I work just as hard as any computer programmer, but I can't qualify for a housing loan. I DO make more than minimum wage, so I am not crying poverty.
As for discussing parties, so what?? It is nice for me sometimes to discuss other things other than school, as I spend 95% of my conversations doing just that (with parents or first graders).
Again, I applaud you for your dedication, and I have personally thanked the few dedicated teachers my children had (and those few did make a difference in my children's lives). But do you represent the majority? Sorry, not from what I've seen
I would say that I do represent the majority in my state.
Yes, not every teacher is going to be the best. I hardly ever see anyone in business today who is honest with a lot of integrity and who doesn't act out of his/her self-interest. However, I do look for those who do and for the good in everyone.
I guess it's just me, because I get this ALL the time. I see it as a teaching opportunity (my profession, after all) and proceed to elucidate the truth. When they can't refute me, I'm usually left alone in a great hurry. But then I won't let them disengage. eventually, although they may continue to disagree, I earn some gruding respect. It's one reason I was the 2001 social studies Teacher of the Year at my ultra liberal inner city high school.
And many people call me a pessimist,tin hat wearing fool for saying this country is finished. We will have to water the liberty tree to change it.
I like that I am changing my tagline.
You are a good person and I commend you.
I love my daughter's teachers, and appreciate the work they do. I like to believe they appreciate that we pay attention to what is going on. They know they will see one or the other, or both my husband and I on parent/teacher days, and that calls or notes sent home are appreciated in this house.
We are not parents that will always side with our child no matter what. We are the first to acknowlege that she has a tendency to talk incessantly, and can be as stubborn as a mule when she makes up her mind - two things we deal with on a daily basis and are not surprised when the same traits are noticed in the classroom.
I don't know how much time the teachers spend dealing with other parents because it is none of my business, but if the level of contact, at their instigation, I have with them is any indication, all I can say is we did the right thing in choosing to live in this school district.
You are absolutely the kind of parents that kids (and teachers) need. I really applaud you for being such. It's parents like you that really make teaching worth it. When I had a parent the other day say, "I just can't say thank you enough for all you do," it made my day, Despite all the rhetoric of the propagandists (both liberal and conservative), it really comes down to parents and teachers working together and having a common-sense attitude. It's your getting involved that will help your children be a success. I appreciate my parents for having been the same way.
Steve Malsberg had her on his show first thing this morning.She did not walk out the prinipal told her to get out. Later I think they realized what they had done and the superintendent told her that only the Board of Education can fire a teacher.
That's it. Pull down all pictures of all government officials hanging in any public building. I'm tired of my free speech rights being violated!!!
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