Controversy
Florida affiliate, FEA, has seen a number of scandals. In March 2001, a secretary in the Port Charlotte, Florida embezzled $66,000. In October of the same year, long-time Broward Teachers Union president Tony Gentile was arrested on child pornography charges. The local union paid him a golden parachute valued at $140,000. In February 2003, $40,000 was embezzled from the St. Lucie County Classroom Teachers Association. And in April 2003, the FBI and Miami police raided the headquarters of the United Teachers of Dade after receiving a tip that president Pat Tornillo had embezzled or misspent millions of dollars in union dues. Critics charge that the scandals are symbolic of deeper organizational biases and problems within NEA .
The NEA was criticized in August 2002 for the appearance of a lesson plan on the website, originally reported by the Washington Times, that encouraged teachers to remove all references to Muslim terrorists in lesson plans for September 11th Attacks. One of the lesson plans, compiled together under the title "Remember September 11" and appearing on NEA's Health Information Network Website (www.neahin.org)-- suggested that teachers discuss "historical instances of American intolerance" and cites the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II as an example. The American Federation of Teachers spokesperson commented on the plan saying, " disagrees with the lesson plans found on the NEA Website. The AFT does not support a blame-America approach in particular and wishes to distance itself from the entire document." Critics cited the controversy as an example of a political agenda and indoctrination by the NEA until it was ultimately removed from the website.
On October 1, 2008 the Virginia NEA affiliate president Kitty Boitnott was caught emailing teachers encouraging them to dress up on "Obama Blue Day" and "to sway John McCain supporters." Residents criticized the move saying, "They should teach students how to think, not what to think." while Virginian Republicans criticized the attempt to sway students of voting age saying, " are a completely inappropriate place for teachers or education staff to be politicking on behalf of any candidate. Parents send their kids to school to get a bipartisan education." Boitnott later admitted the letter was inappropriate.
Read more about this topic: National Education Association
Famous quotes containing the word controversy:
“Ours was a highly activist administration, with a lot of controversy involved ... but I’m not sure that it would be inconsistent with my own political nature to do it differently if I had it to do all over again.”
—Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter, Jr.)
“And therefore, as when there is a controversy in an account, the parties must by their own accord, set up for right Reason, the Reason of some Arbitrator, or Judge, to whose sentence, they will both stand, or their controversy must either come to blows, or be undecided, for want of a right Reason constituted by Nature; so is it also in all debates of what kind soever.”
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