March 21 Update - Good article in the NY Post - the Rubber Rooms are so secretive, that I got the wrong count on the number of rooms in NYC:
8 rubber rooms citywide
675 educators in them every day
140 for misconduct
117 for corporal punishment
102 for arrests outside school
45 for incompetence
$40.5M paid to these teachers in last fiscal year
12 years one teacher had been in a rubber room
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/bored_of_ed_in_fPRMkAqNVBQ4hWAs1XYICM/1#ixzz0ioIRDlLk
Update from Friday, December 11, 2009 Post
I sent the below letter to the Rubber Rooms in Staten Island (through the assistance of a teacher) and to one in Brooklyn and Manhattan (by stumbling upon addresses mentioned in news accounts). I am on a quest to find the address for the Queens Rubber Room, since that is where I grew up. Here's the letter sent to Brooklyn and Manhattan:
February 2, 2010
NYC Department of Education
Teacher Reassignment Center
333 7th Ave.
NYC Department of Education
Teacher Reassignment Center
333 7th Ave.
New York, NY 10001-5004
25 Chapel Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201-1952
Re: Enclosed Book - Unlocking Your Rubber Room
Dear Teachers:
I am a native New Yorker from Queens (PS 184, JHS 194, Bayside HS) and a Legal Studies professor at Georgia State University in Atlanta, who recently read about your ordeal in The New Yorker. One of the most telling quotes in Mr. Brill’s piece concerned a teacher’s situation, when the city official stated: “Our standard is tighter than ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’.”
I had never heard the term “Rubber Room” used in the school system context, until I started researching the title for my book, Unlocking Your Rubber Room. I also didn’t appreciate the depth of NYC Rubber Room issues until after the book was published. Unlocking Your Rubber Room is a humorous look at law and life (Sections I & II), with my own bent perspective on the justice system (Section III). While the book isn’t about teacher Rubber Rooms, I believe its lessons will offer you some needed levity (starting with the book title!), and possibly help maintain or regain your perspective on the teaching profession, as you await due process hearings.
Please e-mail me with any comments on my book or just to say hello. I wish you peace of mind and happiness in 2010.
Sincerely,
Perry Binder
Book Web Site: http://www.yourrubberroom.com/ Crazy Classroom Teacher Blog: http://yourrubberroom.blogspot.com/
Brooklyn, NY 11201-1952
Re: Enclosed Book - Unlocking Your Rubber Room
Dear Teachers:
I am a native New Yorker from Queens (PS 184, JHS 194, Bayside HS) and a Legal Studies professor at Georgia State University in Atlanta, who recently read about your ordeal in The New Yorker. One of the most telling quotes in Mr. Brill’s piece concerned a teacher’s situation, when the city official stated: “Our standard is tighter than ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’.”
I had never heard the term “Rubber Room” used in the school system context, until I started researching the title for my book, Unlocking Your Rubber Room. I also didn’t appreciate the depth of NYC Rubber Room issues until after the book was published. Unlocking Your Rubber Room is a humorous look at law and life (Sections I & II), with my own bent perspective on the justice system (Section III). While the book isn’t about teacher Rubber Rooms, I believe its lessons will offer you some needed levity (starting with the book title!), and possibly help maintain or regain your perspective on the teaching profession, as you await due process hearings.
Please e-mail me with any comments on my book or just to say hello. I wish you peace of mind and happiness in 2010.
Sincerely,
Perry Binder
Book Web Site: http://www.yourrubberroom.com/ Crazy Classroom Teacher Blog: http://yourrubberroom.blogspot.com/
Dec. 11 Post:
NYC Teachers Sue for a Pass Out of Rubber Rooms
While this blog is dedicated to inspiring teacher stories, I'd be remiss if I didn't post this story about K-12 teachers who believe they are being unjustly treated:BROOKLYN (CN) -Some 2000 schoolteachers say New York City is discriminating against them by confining them on trumped-up charges in infamous "rubber rooms" until they retire. Rubber rooms are study hall-like places where teachers are paid full wages to do nothing -- sometime for years. Continue reading - http://www.courthousenews.com/2009/12/01/Class_of_Teachers_Sues_NYC_For_a_Pass_Out_of_Rubber_Rooms.htm
I stumbled across the rubber room issue when selecting the title of my book.
NYC Teachers Sue for a Pass Out of Rubber Rooms
While this blog is dedicated to inspiring teacher stories, I'd be remiss if I didn't post this story about K-12 teachers who believe they are being unjustly treated:BROOKLYN (CN) -Some 2000 schoolteachers say New York City is discriminating against them by confining them on trumped-up charges in infamous "rubber rooms" until they retire. Rubber rooms are study hall-like places where teachers are paid full wages to do nothing -- sometime for years. Continue reading - http://www.courthousenews.com/2009/12/01/Class_of_Teachers_Sues_NYC_For_a_Pass_Out_of_Rubber_Rooms.htm
I stumbled across the rubber room issue when selecting the title of my book.
In my book Intro:
Rub·ber Room (noun)A confining mind-set where thoughts and possibilities bounce aimlesslyIn my book
Epilogue:Rub·ber Room (noun)An isolated place where schools send unruly teachers awaiting disciplinary proceedings
After the fact, I dug deeper into the NYC Rubber Room problem, and discovered some reasons (justly and possibly unjustly) that teachers get sent there. One of the biggest issues is how long teachers must wait until given a due process hearing to get reinstated (they are suspended with pay until a resolution). Though my book has nothing to do with the NYC Rubber Room issue, a couple of months ago I wrote this letter to provide moments of levity for Rubber Room occupants awaiting a hearing:
September 28, 2009
Michael Mulgrew
President, United Federation of Teachers
52 BroadwayNew York, NY 10004
Re: The Rubber Room New Yorker article – Your Letter to the Editor
Dear Mr. Mulgrew:
I am a Queens, New York native (PS 184, JHS 194, Bayside HS) and a Legal Studies professor at Georgia State University, who read your Letter to the Editor in The New Yorker with great interest. One of the most telling quotes in Mr. Brill’s piece concerned the city official’s statement: “Our standard is tighter than ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’.”I had never heard the term “Rubber Room” used in the school system context, until I started researching the title of my enclosed book, Unlocking Your Rubber Room (2009).
The reason I am writing is because I am interested in supplying each borough’s “Rubber Room” with a copy of my book (at no cost). http://www.yourrubberroom.com/ Unlocking Your Rubber Room is a humorous look at law and life (Sections I & II), with my bent perspective on the justice system (Section III). I believe that the book would help Rubber Room occupants maintain or regain perspective as they await their hearings. If anything, the book’s title and content would offer some needed levity. Please let me know if you have any thoughts on how to accomplish the above task. Thank you for your time and consideration.Sincerely,Perry BinderMr. Mulgrew's Letter to the Editor of The New YorkerBrill captures the Kafkaesque quality of Rubber Rooms, in which teachers linger while the Department of Education ponders accusations against them.
To date, I have not heard back from Mr. Mulgrew, but a couple of people are attempting to assist me and get free copies of my book into the five NYC Rubber Rooms.
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