NJ teacher blamed of "causing disruption and hatred" for picture of President in classroom.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - NJ teacher blamed of "causing disruption and hatred" for picture of President in classroom.

Posted: 10/4/2004 4:50:04 PM EDT

Shiba Pillai-Diaz, is an English teacher at Crossroads South Elementary School in Monmouth Junction. I would like to go and show my support if that is possible. Does anybody know if there are any demostrations planned? This shit has to stop in NJ. We WILL take this state back one person at a time!

www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/29545.htm

October 2, 2004 -- A New Jersey public-school teacher claims she was bushwhacked by her principal yesterday when he ordered her to "get out" of the building after she refused to remove a photo of President Bush and the first lady from her classroom.
The White House-issued photo of the Bushes was pinned to a bulletin board that held portraits of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and a copy of the Constitution.

"I wouldn't touch politics in my classroom with a 10-foot pole, but [the principal] felt I was making a political statement," said Shiba Pillai-Diaz, 33, a seventh- and eighth-grade English teacher at Crossroads South Elementary School in Monmouth Junction.

"It was meant to be a picture of the current president, nothing partisan about it," said Pillai-Diaz, a Republican mother of one who volunteered at the party's convention in Madison Square Garden.

The controversy erupted Thursday night when a handful of parents objected to the photo during a back-to-school parent-teacher conference. Pillai-Diaz said three parents demanded the photo be removed — or complemented with a picture of Sen. John Kerry.

Pillai-Diaz said she notified the assistant principal, Mark Daniels, of the brouhaha during a break in the conference and that Daniels defended her right to post the photo.

But yesterday, Pillai-Diaz said Daniels changed his tune and demanded she remove it before her first class.

"He told me that if I care about my employment at the school, I would take down the picture," she said.

When she refused, the matter was taken up by the principal, Jim Warfel, who Pillai-Diaz said accused her of "causing disruption and hatred" with her "inflammatory politics" and told her to "get out" of the building.

Pillai-Diaz said she stormed out of the building and was told by Warfel to hand over her keys.

When she returned for her belongings — after The Post placed calls to school officials — Pillai-Diaz said she was greeted by the superintendent, Gary McCartney.

Pillai-Diaz said McCartney warned her against telling her story to the press, saying "it will be beyond [his] ability to help" her if she did. She told The Post she was not sure if she would return to school Monday.

"Basically, I'm being told to choose [between] my job and my principles," she said.

In a brief interview, Warfel described the issue as "a personnel matter at the school" and said, "No one at this school was fired today."

A spokeswoman for the South Brunswick Board of Education declined to comment, saying she did not know the details of the dispute.

Posted: 10/4/2004 5:22:04 PM EDT

[#1]

Not sure what the whole story is but there seems to be 'more' to it. From: South Brunswick School District

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-Diaz’ 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 “glad they were not old enough to vote.” Other comments to students, including such statements as, “you should be ashamed to be a Democrat” 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 “personal bulletin board.” 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 teacher’s 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

Posted: 10/4/2004 9:35:44 PM EDT

[#2]

If it was Kerry's picture, it would be a non-issue.

Posted: 10/4/2004 9:47:14 PM EDT

[#3]

Are you fvcking kidding me? You can't have a picture of the current President of the US hanging from the walls among all the other Presidents. It is history of course. You are right...this is BS.

I wonder if perhaps they would rather have pictures of Karl Marx, Joseph Stalin, Vladimir Lenin or Putin hanging instead. This smacks of communist overlording my friends. If you don't take a stand now, mark my words, the Hammer and Sickle will reign and you will have to worship at the altar of Hillary Clinton. It's bad enough now and it will only get worse.

Posted: 10/5/2004 1:09:32 PM EDT

[#4]

Quoted:
Not sure what the whole story is but there seems to be 'more' to it. From: South Brunswick School District

The truth is probably somewhere inbetween what both sides have said. I saw her interviewed and she seemed to be telling the truth.

We all know how stupid Democrats can be.

Posted: 10/5/2004 1:16:58 PM EDT

[#5]

This falls short of surpising me.

Failure to tow the party line or live in silence is a career death sentance in the Ed. community.

Thus is the way of things, the way of the farce.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - NJ teacher blamed of "causing disruption and hatred" for picture of President in classroom.

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