RUBBER ROOMS AND THE MEDIA

I don't want to rehash articles about the Rubber Rooms. By now everyone interested knows what they are. There was "Class Dismissed" by Mara Altman in the Village Voice, and "Where Teachers Sit, Awaiting Their Fates" written by Samuel G. Freeman in The New York Times, and a scattering of other articles in other publications. If anyone's interested these articles are free floating on the internet. What I want to address here is how these articles have turned Klein into a prosecuting bully. He seems to think if he prosecutes enough teachers and finds them guilty, or, at least, hounds them into quitting or retiring, the Klein Laws and their casual disregard for any human rights, or feelings for that matter, will be redeemed. Since the articles began all deals are off. I know of one teacher who went through the entire hearing process just after the article in the Village Voice came out. All the evidence of the case had been reviewed and it was decided all the offense merited was a letter in the teachers file. At the end of the hearing the teacher was told to return to the classroom. The next morning the decision was rescinded. No reason was given. The DOE doesn't have to give reasons. That teacher is now suffering a second year in the Rubber Room. Hearings that used to take a few days now take fifteen.

Teachers are silenced, and their lawyers sit mute, while the DOE lawyers shout and abuse even their own witnesses if the witnesses don't say what they want to hear. One teenage girl was recently brought to tears after 43 minutes of badgering by the DOE lawyer. She said the teacher was innocent. She said she didn't want to lie. She didn't know the DOE finds no teacher innocent, and that lies are the only way to find every teacher guilty. 43 minutes and the Union lawyer never protested. 43 minutes and the arbitrator never interfered. 43 minutes until the teenager broke down completely. Why was this child allowed to be abused? Shouldn't everyone who allowed the abuse be put in a Rubber Room? Isn't that what Rubber Rooms are for?

We should be grateful that the media finally paid attention to the plight of teachers trapped in the Rubber Rooms. But they can't stop there. They have to continue to expose the whole corrupt system and show it for what it is: a Kangeroo Court. Wikipedia gives a fitting description-"an elaborately scripted event intended to appear fair while having the outcome predetermined from the start." That is Klein's Law in a nutshell. The media can't just open a can of worms and walk away, especially since their exposure of the Rubber Rooms the DOE has tightened the noose around every teacher's neck. I've spoken to some of the teachers trapped in the Rubber Rooms, and all they're asking for is true justice and fairness. That New York City teachers should have to beg for these basic rights is an outrage. What does it take to make it news?