Honesty in education?

 Hi Mike, or Whom It May Concern

My name is Terry Fitzgibbons.  I'm an A/R in EA of Passaic, and I enjoyed your presentation this past week at our rep council.  Thank you for coming out and for all of the information you provided.  I agree with all the points you shared.  My wife is a state employee and in CWA, and we are seeing mailers targeting her to drop her union too. 

If I may, I would like to push further on the Honesty in Education front.  If not the elephant in the room, the elephant in my head the other night was, What about Palestine?  

Many rank and file educators here in Passaic, across the state, and across the nation are concerned that "the union" (however they perceive it: the local or the state/national affiliates) may or may not have our backs when it comes to teaching honestly about Palestine.  In NJ, this perception stems in part from President Sean Spiller's statements, which we view to be very one-sided, ahistorical, and politically convenient.  We are concerned, in part, because NJEA PAC backs candidates who, yes, are decent on public education but who are complicit in the ongoing genocide of Palestinians.  This is true of almost the entire NJ congressional delegation, and it is also indirectly true for NJ state leaders.  For instance, NJ state legislators, both Dem and Rep, have criminalized the nonviolent BDS movement.  (See the Ben and Jerry's/New Jersey/Unilever story from a couple years ago as an example.)

Perhaps this is not in your purview.  It may be more of an academic freedom/legal question.  (And forgive my PAC tangent above--I share that as an example of why some teachers do not feel safe and feel that the Honesty in Education is circumscribed.  Perception for many folks is their reality.)  If so, could you please direct us toward NJEA resources and/or personnel on academic freedom?  The Council on American Islamic Relations has excellent resources, but we are looking for resources internal to the union, too.  While we don't expect the NJEA to make better public-facing statements and resolutions anytime soon (like the UAW or the postal workers have done), it would behoove members to have a flow-chart, for instance, for what to do if we're targeted or disciplined.  For in-the-classroom work and also for out-of-the-classroom advocacy.  If this already exists on the local level, I apologize for that lack of knowledge.  Or, if it's as simple as "keep detailed notes and call Frank," that will work too.

I have not heard of incidents yet in Passaic in recent months, fortunately, but we want to be prepared.  A couple years ago, a teacher in our district was smeared by an outside group as being anti-Semitic for her pro-Palestinian advocacy in and out of the classroom.  Thankfully, the union stood by her.  But she was tenured and well-respected in the district and union.  Not everyone has her "social capital."  And that was before the mass hysteria and McCarthyism that has enveloped us since October 7.  I do know of teachers in Montclair and Teaneck, for instance, who have been targeted by outside groups or by less informed colleagues and who have been disciplined by administrators.  I know of professional development workshops focusing on Palestine that have been cancelled by superintendents (e.g. Scotch Plains) and books that have been pulled from school libraries (e.g. Newark (not NJEA)).  

Thank you for listening and your consideration and any help in advance.  Thanks so much for your work and commitment.  

Solidarity!

-Terry Fitzgibbons