New Jersey students punished for participating in school walkout

[Hannah Bell]

Many of the tens of thousands of students who walked out from their high schools on Tuesday to protest draconian cuts to education now face disciplinary action from school authorities.

The walkout, which was organized largely through Facebook, was called to protest the mass layoffs of teachers and steep budget cuts in school programs enacted by New Jersey’s Republican Governor Chris Christie. School districts will lose an average of 11 percent funding.

Christie responded to the walkout by trying to pit students against their teachers, saying that the protests made him wonder “why the students are protesting only against what the governor is doing, and not against what their teachers are doing.” He insisted that teachers were to blame for the cuts because they “have not stepped up to join the shared sacrifice...”

The New Jersey Education Association, the statewide teachers’ union, has played a shameful role in refusing to support the protests. The union, which has worked systematically to impose concessions on its own membership, denounced the walkouts. According to The Star-Ledger, on Wednesday the union “urged districts to punish students based on existing rules on skipping class, with no exceptions: ‘They’re going to have to pay the piper,’ NJEA spokesman Steve Wollmer said.”..

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2010/apr2010/newj-a30.shtml

[sharp_stick]

1. Good for them

a couple of hundred of us got disciplinary notes for walking out of school to protest the unjust firing of a custodian many years ago.

I'm curious about Christies ratings right now, the honeymoon didn't last long for that POS did it?

[tabbycat31]

11. he's at about 33%

There's a serious case of Buyer's Remorse here. People thought I was nuts for working my ass off on the Corzine campaign but I told them that Christie's going to be worse.

The Facebook page NJ against Chris Christie has 33K members already

[waiting]

2. My daughter participated in the walkout today.

And will likely receive a Saturday detention for it. Breakfast Club anyone?
I supported her choice to support our teachers and our school's programs that are being cut. Unlke our Governor, who refuses to cut administrators pay or put a higher tax on those making over $400,00 a year.

[TK421]

5. "I got a question..does Barry Manilow know you raid his wardrobe"?

[stray cat]

3. Of course - the idea of a protest or civil disobedience is that you do it in spite

of the rules and consequences that already exist. If you have an unexcused absence its not excused because you went to a protest - it defeats the idea of a protest otherwise its just a holiday

[woo me with science]

9. Exactly. nt

[stray cat]

4. The headline should probably be that it was treated as an absence

[waiting]

6. Both my daughter and I knew that there would be consequences

for walking outside of the school and missing class, but she decided that it was worth it.

[ejpoeta]

7. ehat will they do if nne of those kds show up?

[damntexdem]

8. Sounds like it's time for another walkout.

Keep it up until the bastards back down.

[Bitwit1234]

10. Just think....Christie

gave the wealthiest in the state, those that make over $400,000 a tax cut that amounted to 850 Million dollars. Then he turned around and cut education %850 million from the education fund...so WHO IS RESPONSIBLE for the fiasco in education funds.