What is "The Rubber Room?" Simply put, "The Rubber Room" is a room where hundreds and hundreds of New York City schoolteachers presently sit, being paid full salary to do absolutely nothing. But, like so many things, it's not quite so simple... What Happens? Each year in New York City hundreds of schoolteachers are suspended. Their teaching privileges are temporarily, but indefinitely, revoked. Accused of a wide range and varying degrees of misconduct, these teachers are no longer allowed in the classroom. Instead, while awaiting a lengthy adjudication process, they are compelled to report to an off-campus location commonly referred to as The Rubber Room.
Read this newspaper article about it. Look at the trailer for a documentary film about the rubber-room. Look at the film's website. Listen to the radio broadcast on NPR's This American Life.

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Judgment Day

Tomorrow Ms. Elena Papaliberios will review my case and decide whether I ought to be terminated or not. I've tried to meet with her but I haven't been granted an audience yet. I don't know how she'll weigh the circumstances. I know that she is well-acquainted with my boss and that such a background will surely influence her decision They most likely have a relationship of trust already built and established, and any attempt on my part to gain her sympathies will likely fall upon deaf ears. How can I convince her that a man she thinks she knows professionally is not as noble or trustworthy as he may present himself? What can I say to her? That he lies? What form will my rebuttal take? Should I defend myself? Explain myself? Excuse myself? I felt just as helpless and ridiculous in the emergency room trying to tell the doctors what was happening to me when I barely understood it myself. It's difficult for me to talk about this kind of thing, to injure myself further by seeing it unresolved but having it reappear and then trying to have to make it go away. I just wanted my pain in the emergency room to go away and never return, and likewise I want the misery from this case to go away and never return. Perhaps I should have faith in Ms. Papaliberios and share these words with her, and write her a letter explaining my feelings and condition.

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