Dec 2021-Jan 2022_Advisor

ADVOCATING

DECEMBER 2021 - JANUARY 2022 CEA ADVISOR 9

behavior against educators, and our elected leaders must pledge to support and expand education equity programs intended to make schools diverse, inclusive, and effective for all students.” In an episode of CEA’s new podcast, Two T’s in Pod, Perone discussed with Dias and CEA Vice President Joslyn DeLancey what has since happened in Greenwich. She said that coming together at the board of education meeting further united the GEA. “We stood for a cause, and not just for Greenwich teachers. We’re representing all teachers in the state. That which you tolerate, you accept, and we’re not tolerating this behavior.” At the next meeting of the Greenwich Board of Education, Perone said the mood was entirely different. Many parents who had been fearful about speaking out found their voice. “That meeting was wonderful, because a lot of parents came out to say, ‘We love our teachers, we support our teachers,’ and that was so powerful.” DeLancey said that parents need to know how much their public advocacy matters to their children’s teachers. “When you support teachers, and you show that support, it makes a big difference.” What to do if you’re targeted Dias says that any teacher who is targeted shouldn’t hesitate to seek help. “It’s immensely stressful for any educator to be attacked,” she says, “and the person who’s the focus of an attack doesn’t want any more attention. They just want it to stop. But your union leaders will challenge those false narratives, and together, we will stand with you and stand up for what’s right.” She also stresses the importance of forming relationships with parent allies and empowering them to speak out. Legal challenges to attacks can be tricky, Dias says, because educators are public employees. “However, when criticisms take on a personal or vilifying angle or are blatantly untrue,” she explains, “that makes a case more viable and helps to meet the elements required to prove a defamation case.” If you experience an attack on your teaching, Dias recommends reporting it to your local union president, who will contact your CEA UniServ Representative and CEA’s legal department when appropriate. “Your district has a legal obligation to have a safe working environment for everybody in the building.” NEED HELP OR TALKING POINTS? LISTEN IN! What’s really being taught about race and equity is often misunderstood or misconstrued by those outside the classroom. What’s Real in Education is a one-hour discussion hosted by CEA, AFT, and CAPSS that helps you understand and respond to attacks, questions, or misperceptions about your curriculum. Missed the webinar? Watch it at cea.org/cea-webinars . WHAT’S REAL IN EDUCATION

EDUCATORS PUSH BACK AGAINST ATTACKS ON THEIR CURRICULUM AND PROFESSION

As the COVID-19 pandemic lingers on, teachers are facing real challenges at school from substitute teacher and bus driver shortages to mental health crises and significant behavioral problems among students. On top of these many stresses, teachers are being further burdened by unfounded attacks on what they teach when the subjects of race, equity, or diversity are part of the conversation. Small but vocal groups have in some cases targeted specific teachers for harassment. “These attacks must stop,” says CEA President Kate Dias. “Those who seek to censor what our children are taught and prevent students from learning in age-appropriate ways about the history of racial injustices in our nation do our children great harm. When students learn the truth about our history, they are better prepared to confront injustices when they see them and build a more perfect union.” CEA has joined together with AFT Connecticut and the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents (CAPSS) to support educators and counter baseless attacks and misleading information about what is being taught in Connecticut classrooms. During a recent webinar Dias hosted with AFT Connecticut President Jan Hochadel and CAPSS Executive Director Fran Rabinowitz, the three education leaders spoke about the challenges these attacks present and the supports that the three organizations have to offer any educator being targeted. “Schools are becoming increasingly diverse, and most of them

CEA leaders and staff join Greenwich teachers at a board of education meeting in a show of support for equity and honesty in education and a stand against racism, harassment, and manipulation.

educators go unanswered. We will not let curriculum be manipulated. We will not let the reality of what

American history that we shouldn’t be super proud of? Of course. But the story of America is that we’re always getting better. The miracle of America is that we never were perfect, aren’t perfect, but we are the one country in the world that does a self-evaluation continuously and commits to do better and better and better. That’s the story of American history. That’s something to be proud of.” Teachers’ unions stand strong From Greenwich to Guilford and beyond, teachers have turned out in support of each another and their schools, and they have rallied their communities. In Guilford, voters turned out in large numbers on November 2 to defeat board of education candidates who had looked to censor teachers and micromanage classrooms. The election, which made national headlines, swept in a slate of five candidates endorsed by the Guilford Education Association who defeated their opponents by a two-to-one margin. Coventry also demonstrated that attacking educators and lessons about race and equity is not a winning strategy in Connecticut. Coventry voters defeated all four board of education candidates who ran on a platform that disparaged teachers and claimed that educators push an ideological agenda. Teachers in Greenwich refused to remain silent and came out in force to show their solidarity with colleagues who had been targeted by attacks. CEA leaders and staff joined nearly 100 Greenwich Education Association (GEA) leaders and members in a show of support at an October board of education meeting. “We will not be silent,” GEA President Lillian Perone told Board of Education members. “These attacks have taken an ugly and personal turn, with a small group targeting some of our distinguished and highly respected teachers, threatening their employment, and making defamatory statements against them. We cannot allow our friends and colleagues to be harassed, bullied, and threatened. We are all entitled to a safe workplace, free from intimidation, and our students deserve welcoming classrooms. The Greenwich Board of Education needs to take a firm stand against threatening and harassing

students are learning in our classrooms be distorted.”

In a statement condemning attacks against Connecticut educators, CEA, AFT Connecticut, the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education, CAPSS, and the Connecticut Association of Schools said, “Our classrooms must remain safe havens where students learn about their world through honest, truthful, age-appropriate, and fact-based curriculum, even if some lessons are difficult and uncomfortable. We are confident that the overwhelming majority of Connecticut residents agree with us that racism is wrong and that attacks against our educators and policymakers by a small group must stop. Our educators must be allowed to provide their students with the high-quality education that our state is known for, to ensure the world they inherit is a

Greenwich Education Association President Lillian Perone (left) is a guest on CEA’s podcast, Two T’s in a Pod, hosted by CEA President Kate Dias (right) and Vice President Joslyn DeLancey (center).

are trying to address this new reality in a way that upholds the value of diversity and promotes fairness and equity,” said Hochadel. “Public education is paid for by taxpayers for the public good—and public means everybody. Public education requires that everyone’s needs are met and everyone’s stories are told.” As educators became the targets of attacks for teaching about racial justice, Dias said she, Hochadel, and Rabinowitz knew they had to take action and send a firmmessage that these attacks are not acceptable. “We recognized that this needed to be something that we, as a coalition of education leaders, stood up to,” Dias said. “We are not going to let attacks on our hard-working

place where liberty and justice for all is a reality, not just a slogan.” Dias, Hochadel, and Rabinowitz were recently featured on an episode of an AFT Connecticut podcast in a conversation with Senator Chris Murphy, who voiced his support for teachers facing unfair attacks. Murphy said attacks on educators are part of a political agenda to divide the country and make us fear each other. He said that those fomenting divisions are inventing a narrative that educators and school curricula are teaching white students that they should be ashamed of their race or background. “That is not happening,” Murphy said. “Are we teaching American history? Yes. Are there things in