Fidgety: Be Careful of What You Wish For...

June 2, 2008

Be Careful of What You Wish For...

Last Wednesday, we lost a fellow inmate. Rem got a call from his school district sometime around 1:00 PM and just like that, he was going back. "I'm out of here," he said after his very brief phone call. Allegations unfounded, EXONERATED of all charges. It was exactly 7 months from the day he had arrived in September. Seven months of sitting and waiting. There was no 3020 or investigation. "They couldn't get one kid to talk- not one kid to back their story". "Rem's leaving us", Geo grunted. There was a quiet moment as many of us stood there in disbelief. As happy as we were for him, come tomorrow morning there would be an empty seat at our table. It was almost as if we felt betrayed. "That's great news. I'm really happy for you," I said. "You'd better not be showing up here again", said Geo. For a second I could see a look of terror in Rem's eyes. There was no real comfort in returning to the "Lion's Den" when you're feeling like a zebra. Anything could happen. God knows, we're living proof. We've all read the news and seen enough. Our stories alone could scare away the whole graduating class at Molloy. Everyone wants to go back, but no one really wants to go back to the way it was----the way it still is. At least here we have each other. You guys out there in the jungle-- you're the ones we feel sorry for. Out of danger- we are- at least, for the moment.

5 comments:

JUSTICE not "just us" said...: I don't know whether to be happy for him or to pity him!

That's the situation we are all in in going back to the trenches.; June 3, 2008 at 3:45 AM
Margaret English said...: May I be ignorant and ask: "what, exactly, is "the rubber room"? And why are you there?; June 5, 2008 at 1:20 PM
FidgetyTeach said...: Your question is anything but ignorant. I didn't know about the Rubber Rooms either until I was reassigned by my new Principal who took over my school in September of 2007. She was sent via the "NYCDOE Leadership Academy"- "Instant Principal With No Prior educational experience" (created by the Kleinberg Administration)

I suggest that you read an earlier http://fidgetyteach.blogspot.com/2008/03/like-being-stuck-in-elevator-elbow-to.htmlpost;

--and watch the videos on this site.
Please let me know what you think.; June 5, 2008 at 1:50 PM
Chaz said...: Good for Rem but don't expect the newspapers to tell his story of seven months in the "rubber room" without charges or proof os misconduct. Hang in there, 93% of the teachers end up back in the classroom.; June 5, 2008 at 7:51 PM
FidgetyTeach said...: Dear Urban School Teacher... Sorry about the broken link. RubberRoomMovie.com -watch the trailer...; June 7, 2008 at 5:30 PM

Origin of The Rubber Room...(From Rubberroommovie.com)

Exact specifics as to when, why and how The Rubber Room came into being are next to impossible to come by, although wild speculation abounds. The likelihood is that, rather than being consciously created by any one person or group, The Rubber Room slowly but surely developed over a period of years through a process of trial and error, whereby teachers deemed unfit to remain in the classroom where "reassigned" to the nearest empty and available administrative space.
The term "The Rubber Room" appears nowhere in the formal legislative code governing New York City schools. When a New York City educator is sent to The Rubber Room, that educator is not openly or specifically told that he or she will be going to a place called "The Rubber Room". Moreover, if you telephoned an official in the New York City school system and asked for directions to "The Rubber Room", you may very well likely receive a response, possibly masked in faux confusion, telling you that there is no such place called "The Rubber Room". Nevertheless, "the room" undoubtedly exists and, because it has no official name, those three provocative and inflammatory words, "The Rubber Room", make up the default epithet by which it has come to be known, even by high-ranking school officials, many of whom find the phrase distasteful.
The exact meaning behind the words "The Rubber Room" is a topic of hot debate, particularly for occupants of The Rubber Room itself, some arguing that it is a reference to a padded room where mentally ill patients are placed, others proposing it is a room where once normal people are slowly and steadily driven crazy, still others believing it to be simply a generic allusion to a prison cell. There are even some -- more than one might initially suspect -- who claim to have been present during the exact moment when the phrase was coined, or even to have coined it themselves. Aside from etymological differences, however, almost everyone agrees that "The Rubber Room" is a pejorative term used to describe a room where New York City teachers are sent, usually involuntarily, to sit idle day after day while still collecting their salaries, often for months and sometimes for years at a time.
Over the years, many have made efforts to eradicate The Rubber Room entirely. For example, in March 2002, then Chancellor Harold Levy vowed to close The Rubber Room after becoming frustrated with a particular case, and in January 2004 Randi Weingarten, UFT President, called for an unconditional end to all of New York's Rubber Rooms. Despite best efforts, however, "the room" remains. http://www.rubberroommovie.com/

Do not believe...

Do not believe because you read it in a book,
Do not believe because you saw it on television,
Do not believe because science says so,
Do not believe because a famous person says so,
Do not believe because a wise person says so,
Do not believe because a wise person believes it,
Do not believe because your best friend believes it,
Do not believe because everyone else believes it,
Do not believe because others have believed it for a thousand years,
Do not believe because you've heard it many times before,
Do not believe because you are told you must,
Do not believe because others expect you to,
Do not believe because it gets you accepted
Do not believe because it will make your parents happy,
Do not believe because it will get you noticed,
Do not believe because you want to believe,
Do not believe because you can't afford not to,
Do not believe because it helps you cope,
Do not believe because you'd go mad if you didn't,
Do not believe because you must believe something
Do not believe because there's nothing else to believe,
Do not believe because it feels good to believe,
Do not believe because it makes sense,
Do not believe because your eyes tell you it is so,
Do not believe because it is your own experience,
Do not believe because it feels true,
Do not believe because you know it is true,
Do not believe any of this, Believe only that you are,
And do not even believe that,
For that is beyond belief.

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