Home Scandal and Gossip Did Marylin Zuniga, NJ school teacher deserve to get fired over cop...

Did Marylin Zuniga, NJ school teacher deserve to get fired over cop killer get well letter?

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Marylin Zuniga
Marylin Zuniga’s firing has led to fierce debate as to the role of educators …

Debate has ensued since the firing of NJ teacher Marilyn Zuniga who was given her marching orders after the third grade teacher had her students write a get well letter to cop killer and former Black Panther leader Mumia Abu Jamal.

The woman’s dismissal came after an Orange school board meeting voted Tuesday evening to terminate the Forest Street Elementary School teacher despite calls for her reinstatement.

Asked to comment on the board’s decision, Orange Superintendent Ronald Lee declined to make to make a statement only to say, ‘Lastly, as this is a personnel issue, I have no further comments on this matter.’

Whilst some public speakers expressed outrage that the teacher had her 8- 9 year old students write a get well letter to the 61 year old felon who is serving a life sentence for the 1981 murder of Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner others praised the woman for teaching students compassion.

The convict who is dealing with health setbacks stemming from diabetes had become a darling of celebrities and activists who helped have the man’s initial death row sentence commuted to life without parole.

Since her firing, Zuniga’s attorney, Alan Levine, has said he is now considering legal action to challenge his client’s firing.

Marylin Zuniga
Marylin Zuniga and Abu Jamal

Reiterated the lawyer: ‘They lost a teacher that everybody agreed was a remarkable teacher,’

‘There isn’t a school district around that wouldn’t be happy to have Marylin Zuniga teach in it.’

During the meeting, foxnews reports several speakers praised the teacher for teaching her students to express compassion and forgiveness, including Essex County Freeholder President Britnee Timberlake.

Offered Timberlake at the meeting: ‘You ought to be ashamed of yourself for trying to crucify her.’

That reasoning though didn’t fly too well with one Orange, NJ resident, Gloria Stewart who told the board that Zuniga did not deserve to hold her job.

Said the woman: ‘Even when I heard that the letters were written…because of compassion, you could’ve written to somebody in a nursing home,’

‘You could’ve written to someone else that was sick to show compassion.’

A reasoning that perhaps betrays the contested nature of Abu Jamal’s status as a polarizing author and activist whose views Marylin Zuniga may or may not support which nevertheless found her going too far for the tastes of the local school board.

Marylin Zuniga

Which is to wonder how far can a teacher go in raising awareness of issues and ideas (the very definition of education some would argue) and would the teacher’s firing still have been forthcoming irrespective of the age of her students?

And then there was this recent reflection from the president of the State Troopers Fraternal Association of New Jersey, Chris Burgos who opposed the teacher’s solicitation of writing to the felon that made me wonder. See what you think:

‘We, as law enforcement officers protect and uphold the constitution and the rights of citizens, including the 1st amendment. However, the forum used by Zuniga, with the encouragement and aid of Johanna Fernandez, goes beyond what any reasonable person would believe as educational in nature,’

‘If nothing, it is a clear indoctrination process similar to other groups throughout history taking advantage of the young developing mind, to carry their misguided and dangerous agenda forward for selfish individual gain and profit.’

 

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9 COMMENTS

  1. She deserved to be fired and have her teacher’s license revoked in my opinion. The recipient of these well-wishes murdered a police officer in cold blood. Police officers are charged with enforcing the rule of law. Murdering them is a capital crime punishable by death in most states. Abu Jamal cheated justice when his death penalty was commuted to life in prison where he has languished these many years. He brought it on himself. Impressionable people should be taught to understand that murder has consequences. Save your compassion for innocent victims of the likes of Abu Jamal.

  2. forget your personal belief… it is not this teacher’s responsibility to teach compassion, it’s her responsibility to teach the ABCs and 123s. Compassion starts at home, and if she truly felt that strongly about this project, parents should have been notified why it was being done, and to whom their children were writing so they could make the call if it was appropriate for their child or not. It is the parent’s responsibility for the moral upbringing of their child save for those sending their child to a Christian school where moral and religious education is expected. So in the end, it should have been the parent’s call and they were not notified of the extent of this lesson in compassion. So yes… she should have been fired

  3. If a white teacher asked her third graders to send letters of support to George Zimmerman, the left would have gone insane and Al Sharpton would be getting ready to gin up some riots. You can’t just have it your way liberals.

  4. If a white teacher asked her third graders to send letters of support to George Zimmerman, the left would have gone insane and Al Sharpton would be getting ready to gin up some riots.

  5. simple answer: YES, she deserves to be fired. I don’t want this lady anywhere near children.

  6. Listen to your lawyer. Pay him thousands and thousands of dollars to lose in court anyway! When you’re broke then go to boston. They’ll welcome you with open arms there.

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