It’s About the Students, Too

A group of parents have filed an amicus curiae brief on behalf of Rebecca Friedrichs and her fellow plaintiffs.  The case will be heard on January 11, before the Supreme Court, is built  upon victories won by The National Right To Work Legal Defense Foundation, seeks to free teachers from paying forced dues to teacher unions in order to obtain or keep a job.  They are truly putting students first.  Their participation illustrates the importance of the issue, not only as a matter of teachers’ personal freedom, but the very students they teach.

Charleen Sciambi, a 13-year veteran California teacher honored in 1983 as the state’s best “Foreign Language Teacher of the year”, was fired for refusing to pay union dues in a lump sum in advance or by payroll education as demanded by union officials.  In her own words,

“I wrote a letter to my students when I resigned so that they would know the truth.  I always spoke the truth to them and I cared that they would understand my reasons and, not be deceived.

As I told them then, I believe there are sacred relationships in life and they and I had shared one.  The relationship between teacher and student takes on its own very special character that includes caring, friendship, and trust.  They deserved to be taught by those who merit their respect.

Carolyn Phencie has the story on T74.