Wow...there's a Republican teacher in New Jersey? W's gonna win BIG folks!
Seriously, do you think that, if back in 1996 a teacher had had a pic of Clinton and Her Heinous that this same principal would have had a problem with it? Notice how the article HAS to mention that she's not only a Republican but an RNC volunteer.
bump
Hey Kat - it's called a lesson in civics! Bush is the President and sKerry is not (and never will be!). And I hope it will be a rude awakening for the unprincipled Principal.
I think the folks at NASA have a photo of John Kerry that would look nice on that classroom's bulletin board.
But seriously, notice how the parents demanded only that John Kerry's photo be included if the Bush one stays up. What about Nader? What about all the other candidates? The Democrat parents are the ones who were being political, not the teacher.
I think this the teacher in question is an Indian by birth(most probably from South India)from the sound of her name-ive heard that NJ does have a lot of Indians.
Heck, he's not even a Senator for Massachusetts.
What kind of shullbit is that?
Those parents need a civics lesson: Like it or not, George W. Bush is President of the United States, just like George Washington was! John Kerry is not the president of anything except the John Kerry Fan Club!
Besides, this is an elementary school! What is it that they are accusing her of doing? Trying to deliver the 6-12 vote for Bush?!
Oh, yeah. He's already done so much to "help."
She told The Post she was not sure if she would return to school Monday.
I hope she goes to the wall on this. Teachers get scads of publicity all the time for less.
Hatred? For pinning up a picture of the President of the United States?? Jeez. . .
South Campus
195 Major Road
Monmouth Junction, NJ 08852
732-329-4633
Principal, Dr. Jim Warfel
Assistant Principal, Ray Tucholski
Assistant Principal, Mark Daniels
Assistant Principal, Sondra Hinson
Does this school receive federal funds? Or will they wait until a president they like is in charge to accept them?
Do you think a picture of Jacques Chirac or Kofi Annan been considered appropriate?
IANAL, but if she is fired she will OWN that district. I'll bet that FIRE and the Rutherford Institute are calling her right now.
I'm speechless.. something has gone terribly wrong in America.
I only know it stems from the 8 years of Clinton's immoral and valueless era.
Year 2004 - our president is still George W. Bush so what is the problem? - petty biases and liberal leftie hatred.......that's all this is.
732-329-4633 School phone number 3491 extension for principal.
Dr. James Warfel, Principal
james.warfel@sbschools.org
Dr. Gary P. McCartney
Superintendent of Schools
Gary.McCartney@sbschools.or
Following is a reply to an email from Mark Daniels with the Monmouth school....... for what it's worth......
Thank you for your comments. Below I am including and attaching a statement
from the District that was released to the press Sunday, October 3, 2004
with the facts surrounding the incident. Hopefully these facts will help
clarify the situation.
October 3, 2004
District Statement Regarding Bulletin Board at Crossroads Middle School
In an incident that has recently been reported to several media sources, a
claim has been made by South Brunswick Middle School teacher Shiba
Pillai-Diaz, that she was fired for not removing a picture of President
George W. Bush from a classroom bulletin board. The claim is false. While
I am normally reluctant to discuss personnel matters in public, Ms.
Pillai-Diaz¹ distortions of the facts, along with her aggressive efforts to
get herself national media attention, leaves the district no choice but to
set the record straight.
The facts are as follows:
Ms. Pillai-Diaz is a new Language Arts teacher in the South Brunswick
Schools. Recently, the school administration began receiving complaints
from students and parents that Ms. Pillai-Diaz was using her position,
classroom and teaching time to engage in partisan politics. Students
reported that she had made statements which denigrated one party over the
other. The conversations included Ms. Pillai-Diaz telling some students who
offered opinions contrary to her statements, that she was ³glad they were
not old enough to vote.² Other comments to students, including such
statements as, ³you should be ashamed to be a Democrat² have been verified
through student interviews.
A classroom bulletin board, normally intended for curriculum-related
matters, was set up as what she herself described as a ³personal bulletin
board.² On the bulletin board she placed a picture of the President, the
President's dog, the Oval Office and several other Presidential artifacts.
In addition, she placed a stuffed elephant on a classroom cabinet, which
generated student reaction and discussion about partisan politics.
Following receipt of complaints from parents, the Assistant Principal met
with Ms. Pillai-Diaz and cautioned her not to engage in partisan political
discussions in her Language Arts classes. He did not initially ask her to
remove the picture of the President. As the issue grew in intensity, the
teacher herself chose to remove the stuffed elephant because of student
comments. In the ensuing days, parents expressed increasing concern about
the teacher's classroom behavior, the misuse of classroom instructional time
and the personal bulletin board. The level of concern resulted in a
classroom confrontation between some parents and Ms. Pillai-Diaz at the
Back-to-School night program. It was at this point that the school
administration decided to intervene again.
On Friday morning, October 1, Ms. Pillai-Diaz was directed by the Assistant
Principal to remove bulletin board materials because they were being viewed
as contributing to an ongoing disruption of the teaching-learning
environment. She refused. She then met with the Principal who repeated
the directive. At this point, Ms. Pillai-Diaz abruptly left the building,
abandoning her post of duty and her classroom responsibilities.
At no time was she told to leave, asked to leave or given authorization to
leave. School was still in session. At no time was she told she was
suspended or fired. With professional responsibilities of a classroom
teacher waiting, Ms. Pillai-Diaz chose, of her own volition, to walk out of
the school, contact various media sources and claim she had been fired.
I had occasion to meet with Ms. Pillai-Diaz, along with a union
representative and a police escort that she had requested, for approximately
two hours when she returned to the building later that same afternoon. After
listening to her story, I asked if any member of the administration had used
the phrase "you're fired" or anything that remotely sounded like it. She
admitted that no one had used any such language. When I further pursued why
she reported to media sources that she had been fired, she said that she
"thought" that she had been. I explained that principals cannot fire
employees, that only Boards of Education can do so. With her union
representative present, she said that she now understood. I asked that when
she next spoke with the media, that she clarify her new understanding.
I fully support the actions of the Principal and Assistant Principal. It is
never acceptable for a teacher to utilize the classroom to advocate for
political purposes or advance personal beliefs. The courts have always
admonished teachers for proselytizing in public school classrooms. This
issue is not about a picture of the President, but rather a zealous misuse
of seventh and eighth grade student instructional time.
The South Brunswick School community is enormously respectful of the Office
of the President of the United States, President Bush and the democratic
process for choosing our President. Anyone trying to suggest the contrary
has the worst of intentions. Under other circumstances, the display of a
picture of the President would have been viewed as completely appropriate
and uncontroversial. It is important to note that pictures of President Bush
are openly displayed in all of the South Brunswick Schools. The teacher¹s
own actions here, however, took it out of the realm of education and made
the presentation appear partisan to many of our students and parents. Under
these circumstances, our actions in directing the removal of the display
were singularly appropriate.
Gary P. McCartney Ed D.
Superintendent of Schools
South Brunswick School District
This Marks the end of the statement.
Respectfully,
Mark Daniels
Assistant Principal, Crossroads South Middle School