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Teachers Sue Over Right to Politic
New York Times ^ | October 10, 2008 | Jennifer Medina

Posted on 10/11/2008 6:13:04 AM PDT by reaganaut1

The New York City teachers’ union filed a federal lawsuit on Friday claiming that a policy banning political pins and signs in schools violates teachers’ First Amendment rights by blocking them from political expression.

The lawsuit comes nearly two weeks after the Department of Education sent a memo to principals directing them to enforce the longstanding regulation, which requires that all school staff members show “complete neutrality” while on duty. The policy also prohibits teachers from using school property to promote a candidate.

Randi Weingarten, president of the union, the United Federation of Teachers, said that while the policy has been on the books for more than two decades, it has rarely been enforced, and that teachers have routinely worn political buttons as recently as this year’s presidential primaries.

But in the lawsuit, the union — which has endorsed Senator Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential nominee — states that the principal of Community School 134 in the Bronx removed an Obama poster that a teacher placed on the union bulletin board, and that a teacher at another school who wore political buttons was warned against it.

Ms. Weingarten, who is also president of the American Federation of Teachers, and spoke at the Democratic National Convention in August, said that for a quarter of a century she had watched teachers “balance their obligations as professionals and their responsibilities as citizens.” She added that “teachers, maybe more than others, understand how important democracy is and how important the Constitution is, particularly the Bill of Rights.”

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: New York
KEYWORDS: edcuation; indoctrination; lawsuit; nea; obama; publicschools; publikskoolz; randiweingarten; teachersunions; unions
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1 posted on 10/11/2008 6:13:05 AM PDT by reaganaut1
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To: reaganaut1

“teachers sue over the right to politic”

they want to politic but they don’t want to see nativity scenes at Christmastime.

double standard anyone?

IMHO


2 posted on 10/11/2008 6:15:49 AM PDT by ripley
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To: reaganaut1

Fine, start your own school but stay the hell out of my wallet.


3 posted on 10/11/2008 6:16:35 AM PDT by listenhillary (Should we turn Alaska or Texas into our Galt's Gulch?)
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To: reaganaut1

Voucher the schools. Problem solved.


4 posted on 10/11/2008 6:18:23 AM PDT by sphinx
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To: reaganaut1
They want to politic = no government $.
5 posted on 10/11/2008 6:20:16 AM PDT by boomop1
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To: reaganaut1

They are already using MY tax dollars to pay union dues that support Democrats 99% of the time.

Question are union dues tax deductible?


6 posted on 10/11/2008 6:24:03 AM PDT by listenhillary (Should we turn Alaska or Texas into our Galt's Gulch?)
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To: sphinx

Yeah, here in Mexico politics is in the classroom, and every day in Guerrero and Oaxaca they see a portrait of Che Guevara hanging over the teachers head. Teachers on strike blocked the turnpike in Acapulco, coming and goin for 6 hours, Teachers in Morelos want eternal tenure, THEY get to choose who fills THEIR slot upon retiring, (they can sell or barter for the highest bidder, make no matter if they are stooges or dumb)...


7 posted on 10/11/2008 6:32:46 AM PDT by rovenstinez (#)
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To: reaganaut1

Communist Campaign Button = DoublePlusGood.

Cross around your neck = DoublePlusUNGood!!!

8 posted on 10/11/2008 6:32:57 AM PDT by Chode (American Hedonist - McCain/Palin'08 = http://www.johnmccain.com/)
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To: reaganaut1

Teachers like to flatter themselves by calling themselves “educators.” Actually they’re just indoctrinators.


9 posted on 10/11/2008 6:38:04 AM PDT by clintonh8r (Apologies to Shakespeare: First thing we do, we kill all the "journalists.")
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To: ripley

They can thank the ACLU for this mess by the restricting of Freedom of Speech in the public schools. What is good for the goose is good for the gander. There is NO freedom of speech in public schools for ANYONE!

If the teachers win the suit, then the “Equal Protection” under the law applies to all.


10 posted on 10/11/2008 6:42:52 AM PDT by DownInFlames (C)
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To: reaganaut1

They have no business indoctrinating our kids.


11 posted on 10/11/2008 6:43:33 AM PDT by popdonnelly (Does Obama know ANYONE who likes America, capitalism, or white people?)
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To: reaganaut1

12 posted on 10/11/2008 6:49:10 AM PDT by johnny7 ("Duck I says... ")
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To: clintonh8r

Hey, could you please say some teachers. Many of us are educators,and likewise, many try to be indoctrinators. But I consider myself to be a very good teacher who is in the profession for all the right reasons. And I don’t like being lumped into your category.


13 posted on 10/11/2008 6:49:21 AM PDT by ladymac
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To: DownInFlames

“there is no freedom of speech in public schools for anyone.”

not true. there is freedom of speech in public schools only for enlightened, liberal, brilliant, self-appointed-intellectual, atheist, elite “ed-yoo-kay-tours”? all others are worthy of contempt and scorn.

(dontcha know that there are people in this world who are brilliant and worthy of being worshipped by those who are not as genetically well-endowed with brilliant intelligence?)

IMHO


14 posted on 10/11/2008 6:55:35 AM PDT by ripley
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To: listenhillary

99%?! I (respectfully) defy you to find even a single New York City Public School Teacher willing to wear a McCain - Palin button to work. They may quietly vote that way but they’ll never come out fo the closet and subject themselves to the wrath of their peers.


15 posted on 10/11/2008 6:56:53 AM PDT by tcostell (MOLON LABE - http://freenj.blogspot.com - RadioFree NJ)
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To: ladymac
Hey, could you please say some teachers. Many of us are educators,and likewise, many try to be indoctrinators. But I consider myself to be a very good teacher who is in the profession for all the right reasons. And I don’t like being lumped into your category.

Are you allowed to use your own curriculum or are you forced to use the school system's?

16 posted on 10/11/2008 6:56:54 AM PDT by raybbr (You think it's bad now - wait till the anchor babies start to vote!)
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To: clintonh8r; ladymac

“Teachers like to flatter themselves by calling themselves “educators.” Actually they’re just indoctrinators.”

That is a really unfair statement that slanders millions of dedicated and hard working teachers who put up with all sorts of garbage (including attitudes like that) in order to perform one of the most important functions in society. There are some bad apples but almost every teacher i’ve had personal experience with is a dedicated professional. The unions and the school boards are where the problems usually come in but we have some amazing people in the school systems who have dedicated their lives to educating young people to go onto do great things and its unfair to crap on all of them.


17 posted on 10/11/2008 7:01:29 AM PDT by DemonDeac
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To: raybbr; ladymac
I teach middle school reading to students with reading disabilities. I choose my own books, reading materials while working within the goals set by the state. ie: students will identify similes, metaphors, hyperbole, etc, or any number of literary goals. There is not one piece of literature in my room that would be out of place in any christian school or Catholic school.

I too ask to not be lumped in with the likes of Randi Weingarten as I have nothing to do with the AFT or NEA or any of the subsidiaries

Thanks

18 posted on 10/11/2008 7:02:17 AM PDT by SoftballMominVA
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To: tcostell

Referring to federal state and local public service unions in general.

The NGO grants of our tax dollars to fund democrats are a travesty. Also NPR, community reinvestment act.

ACLU getting our tax dollars when they sue cities and states.

Our tax dollars to the Democrats again and again.


19 posted on 10/11/2008 7:02:34 AM PDT by listenhillary (Should we turn Alaska or Texas into our Galt's Gulch?)
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To: sphinx

“Voucher the schools. Problem solved.”

You are absolutely right. Of course, Obama is against vouchers. Ahhhh well, he has the money to send his girls to private school. Hypocrisy? Yep!!!!


20 posted on 10/11/2008 7:06:08 AM PDT by SumProVita ("Cogito ergo sum pro vita." .....updated Descartes)
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