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.

Thursday, May 3, 2007

Surface Area

Today there are representatives from the borough union office, including the district representative. A couple of other union representatives came into our room to measure the length and width, to check the space in the rooms and the number of people packed into each room. Somebody said that they think the union representatives came today as a result of the newspaper article, although others said the union representatives do visit twice a year. I wonder if they'll also count the flies in the room - yesterday there were two, and today there are three. I wonder if they'll count the number of times a car alarm blares in the morning before turning off. I find I am more protective of my mornings because it is a period of continued or extended rest my mind enjoys in addition to the night's slumber. I can empathize with the Dutch in Amsterdam who are petitioning their government to recognize a group within their society that consider themselves B-people, distinguished by the later start they prefer in the mornings matched with the later finish in the evenings, rather than follow the current majority earlier-schedule, of what they call A-people. They want to stop being reprimanded at work if they can complete their tasks on their own schedules. Quite frankly, I would like that myself, and feel more comfortable as a B-person. If I lived an agricultural lifestyle I could wake up with the sun, but electricity at night tempts me too greatly to fall asleep before it's quite late. In addition, I am more productive with my personal projects after the world retires around me. Hence I can't tolerate car alarms much in the mornings.

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