Iwear many hats in Monroe Township, Middlesex County: mother, grandmother, wife, teacher and union member, to name a few. To my consternation, scapegoat must be added to this list.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a scapegoat as “one that bears the blame for others” or “one that is the object of irrational hostility.”
I wear the label of scapegoat both singly and collectively. I have been an educator for more than 20 years. I have sat at the hospital bedsides of students who were ill and scared. I have worked Saturdays and evenings to enrich the lives of my students. What I am not, however, is a person who uses children as “drug mules,” as Gov. Chris Christie recently alleged.
Yes, I am the third-grade teacher upon whom the governor leveled that outrageous insult. He was wrong to do so, and I suspect he knows that every word he put forth to the public surrounding that insult was untrue.
I was made a scapegoat for his agenda to demonize my union and the people in it.
I kept silent because he has made it abundantly clear that he cares nothing about the tens of thousands of talented educators who give their hearts and souls to children every day. I did not expect an apology, because it takes a certain level of decency to admit when a mistake is made.
The public has lost sight of the “people” who are part of the New Jersey Education Association and who work diligently to educate their children. It is easy to place blame where it does not belong. I work alongside colleagues whose husbands or wives have lost jobs.
I can no longer remain silent. Dedicated public employees have been made to feel worthless, or somehow guilty for merely having jobs with benefits.
Step inside any school in the state. See what these constant attacks have done to the morale of some of the most dedicated people I have ever met.
The 33-bill “tool kit” introduced by Gov. Christie stands to rip the public education system apart at the seams. The educational “reforms” the governor has also introduced will be the finishing blow.
It is time for the public to take a step back and remember who we were before we became the scapegoats for everything that is wrong in our state. Tell the governor enough is enough.
Sandy Villegas Monroe Township