New Jersey teacher underattack by the governor
Published: Wednesday, November 17, 2010, 6:25 AM
Alissa Ploshnick, a special education teacher from Passaic, had her conversation about teacher tenure videotaped without her knowledge. Now. Gov. Chris Christie is pointing to her as a symbol of what's wrong with the NJEA.
NJEA should support the teacher
My heart goes out to Alissa Ploshnick, who was once recognized by President Bill Clinton for throwing herself in front of an in-coming van to save children and in now vilified for quoting someone else using the n-word (“She sacrificed for students, now she’s being sacrificed for politics,” Nov. 14). One thing she did wrong, however, is she apologized. With her history, she could quit and write about this. But probably she shouldn’t because children need teachers like her.
The NJEA could do a lot to help this poor woman by organizing and giving her public support. As for the “N” word, we empower its destructive intent by making it taboo.
Instead, we could disempower the word by repealing prohibition and hijacking it, for example, creating buttons that say “I’m an n-lover (the whole word) and proud of it!”
I’d like to see every teacher in the Passaic