The following letter from Priscilla Yother, the Principal of Eura Brown Elementary School in Gadsden, appeared Tuesday in the Gadsden Times.

After reading the full page advertisement that AEA printed in Sunday’s newspaper assaulting Sen. Phil Williams, I felt compelled to respond. The ad was a personal attack against a good man and a tactic that was disrespectful, uncalled for and vengeful.

As a longtime educator, this is not the first time I have seen the spitefulness of this organization. I was a member of AEA years ago. When I chose to no longer be affiliated with it, I received a letter from the director stating that I was like a church member who feasted at the after-church luncheon without bringing a dish. Just a year ago, some teachers at school noticed that our Teacher of the Year’s name was omitted from the AEA newsletter’s local Teacher of the Year listing, just because she was not a member.

In years past, this organization would never have stooped to such lows, but now it has become vindictive and embarrassing to some of us who have spent the majority of our lives loving and educating children. While I do not know the individual responsible for these tactics, I do know that AEA should be and is better than this.

Please know that I respect the views of those who support AEA, including my daughter, who represents educators for AEA. However, like her mother, she is an independent thinker and her thoughts and mine do not always agree. While we may disagree on certain issues, we always speak the truth and are civil and respectful to one another. This is a lesson AEA should learn.

Priscilla Yother

Gadsden

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