Wednesday, June 30, 2010

#4 We Are Treated As A Group, Not As Individuals

The building that we were in was not only dedicated to the Rubber Room, but to other student services as well.   A Rubber Room colleague told me that she overheard a conversation between a staff member and a parent.

"Do you see all of these people walking out the door?  They are teachers from the Rubber Room.  You know what that is, don't you.  Bad teachers are sent here and they sit around all day getting paid for doing nothing."

Another RR teacher told me that she overheard a group of people in the hallway who were headed to a workshop that was taking place on the same floor as the Rubber Room.  They were commenting that all the teachers in the Rubber Room were lazy good-for-nothings.

And if you have any doubt at all, go check out the comments to the article by Jennifer Medina titled, " Last Day of 'Rubber Rooms' for Teachers".   Each negative comment is a stone thrown at all of us, because we are all "rubberized".

Here's a taste of what some of these ignorant assholes have to say about us.  I've included replies that probably would not have made it onto the NY Times website.  

Tokyobound from San Francisco:  "can't wait for my taxes in new york city to go up again so that these lazy ingrates can get their pensions"

Ms Untamed replies:   Do so hope your plane doesn't crash in deep water, tokyobound.

Scarlett from Miami:  "Were any of them reading, or learning new employable skills?"

Ms Untamed replies:  Look at the picture, stupid.  Would you be able to read in that room with a person sitting in every chair while a novice guitar player tries to "learn an employable skill"?

Nat from Wilmington:  "The very concept of a "Rubber Room" is a shame on the entire teaching establishment and the teacher unions."

Ms Untamed replies:  Do your homework, Know-Nothing Nat.  Mayor Bloomberg established the Rubber Room, to get rid of teachers based on salary.   He can't do that legally--hence the bogus charges of incompetence and misbehavior.

Tenured Teacher from Los Angeles:  "It is embarrassing that these teachers were kept on with full pay."

 Ms Untamed replies:  Embarrassing to whom, Judas?   One of the tenured teachers in my rubber room was there because he patted a student on the shoulder and told her he was proud of her in front of a room of 30 other students.  When he was sent to the rubber room for sexual harrassment, his school's scores plummeted and a college level course that only he could teach had to be cancelled, never to be reopened.  I'm embarrassed by sanctimonious teachers like you.

I could go on and on, but it's really not worth it.  Nothing's sure but death, taxes, and idiots.

You know the old saying about shooting fish in a barrel?  Well we're the fish, and the barrel is the Rubber Room.  I don't know what's waiting for us in September, but I'm glad to be out of the Rubber Room barrel.

Moriah Untamed

4 comments:

Ricochet said...

Since you have spent your time in Hell, I hope you land someplace better.

Pissedoffteacher said...

I'm glad your sentence there is ended as well, I just pray it is not continued somewhere else. You need vindication, not a change of venue.

Good luck. I will always be around to slay any negative comments I hear about rubber room teachers.

Chaz said...

Great post. If only the ignorant would see the real story about the rubber room.

False or embellished allegations.
Age discrimination.
Salary dumping.
Vindictive Administrators.
Unfair investigations.

However, you can't educate the outsider because they don't understand the real purpose of the rubber room.

Moriah Untamed said...

Thanks, Ricochet. I hope so, but if it's not better, I'll have more to write about.

Thanks, Pissed Off, I do want vindication, but I think I'm going to have to wait a long time for it--at least until Bloomberg is out of power. Keep on slaying.

Thanks, Chaz. I still think that a critical mass will be reached when a larger number of teachers are terminated or forced to retire. There's no better way to understand than to be made to walk in our shoes.