Lest we forget

This photo reminds us of how horrible the Holocaust was and teaches us that we must never let it happen again.

However, we have not been taught the early warning signs of a holocaust to come, much less how to go about stopping it before it gets out of control.
Last week I spent my time in the rubber room reading this book, "Unmasking Administrative Evil".

According to its authors, the Holocaust could not have happened without the complacent compliance of thousands of law-abiding, church-going people who were just doing their jobs. "Without the full complicity of professional civil servants (and a myriad of other professionals), it is virtually inconceivable that the mass murder of Europe's Jews could have been accomplished." Those working in economic affairs, tax collection, social security, statistics, railroad service, foreign currency, and municipal government carried out essential roles in the killing process, while believing themselves to be uninvolved.

But there are other psychological mechanisms involved as well. One is called the "Dirty Hands Choice" in which one knowingly and deliberately inflicts pain and suffering on others for the greater good. Today we call it collateral damage. The other is called "Moral Inversion" in which something evil has been defined as something good.

I think that we should become very concerned when Dirty Hands and Moral Inversion become systemic as it has in the New York City Department of Education.

My holocaust alarm went off when I realized that corrupt Department of Education administrators were encouraging children to lie. I have now learned a term for it: Moral Inversion. The DOE justifies this moral inversion with the Dirty Hands Choice--we need to do "whatever it takes" to replace "failing" public schools with private charter schools in order to "leave no child behind". Veteran teachers are seen as one of the primary obstacles to this hostile private takeover. Because they are tenured, "extraordinary measures" must be taken to get rid of them, such as framing them for things they didn't do by encouraging children to provide false testimony.

This is not a conspiracy theory. People smarter than I am have tried to figure out where the holocaust started, how it was driven, and how and when it might have been stopped by whom.

If we learn how to recognize preholocaust conditons, and take measures to stop them, we can ensure that it won't happen again.

Moving Forward

Spring vacation is over, and tomorrow I go back to the rubber room. Even though I knew I was headed there, it was still a shock when it actually happened. However, after meditating on my new status, I now realize this isn’t the last stop. I did have a plan, which was to become a writer after my teaching career was finally over. The rubber room is probably my last stop as a teacher, and my first stop as a writer.

When I walked into school as a teacher, I was prepared to teach science to 150 students every day. The conditions weren’t perfect, but I did my job to the best of my ability because I enjoyed teaching, and I thought I was doing something necessary and important. Besides, what else was I supposed to do with 150 adolescents? The kids themselves drove instruction.

No one drives my writing but me. There are no deadlines, no editors, no bill collectors. Conditions still aren’t perfect. I have to overcome my own mental state that cycles from worry to fear to anger to sadness, and then back around again. I am surrounded by people who are dealing with the same emotions in their own individual ways. Some are loud, some are silent. Some are gregarious, some are introverted. Some are welcoming, some are hostile.

Some are conflicted about who deserves to be here and who doesn’t. Which of us are BAD teachers and which of us are GOOD teachers falsely accused of being BAD?

This is my take on the subject. No matter what people have done to get sent here, no one has done as much damage to children and their education as Bloomberg and Klein. In any given year a teacher has access to 30 students in the elementary grades, and about 150 students if they are middle school or high school teachers. The “damage”, whatever it might be is contained to single or double digits.

Bloomberg and Klein have instituted a corrupt and fraudulent system that abuses millions of children per year. Principle P. is one of many principals who have been trained to institute and perpetuate the BloomKlein regime in their schools. They can each abuse hundreds to thousands of students per year.

The people who really deserve to be in the rubber room are not here. They are sending scapegoats in their place. This, for now, is what I want to write about.

Last Stop: Rubber Room

I was reassigned to the Queens Rubber Room today.

Happily there's a song that fit's every occasion. This one is dedicated to billionaires everywhere.



Note: On November 15, 2011 I came back to this post in order to link it to another song and found that it had been removed by "The Owner". I suggest that "The Owner" go refer to this post. I have now reestablished the link.

You're An Animal!

1. You are an ANIMAL because you can't make sugar from water and air. (Kingdom Animalia)

2. You're a Chordate ANIMAL because you have a stiff, though flexible rod up your back.(Phylum Chordata)

3. You're a Vertebrate ANIMAL because the stiff rod in your back is made of lots of little bones called vertebrae. (Subphylum Vertebrata)

4. You're a Mammalian ANIMAL because you have breasts and/or nipples and a belly button. (Order Mammalia)

5. You are a Primate ANIMAL because you have a short snout, a large brain, and grasping little hands. (Class Primata)

6. You are a Hominid ANIMAL because you have a larger brain than other Primates, and you like to use your grasping little hands to groom your mate--among other things.(Family Hominidae)

7. You are a Human ANIMAL because you have a larger brain than other Hominids; your arms don't drag on the ground; you invent tools that save you time and energy and allow you to make lots of stuff--including fire. (Genus Homo)

8. You are a Sapient ANIMAL (Species Sapiens) because you have a Big Head that holds a Big Brain that has a BIG HUGE FRONTAL LOBE, that allows you to come up with all kinds of ideas about WHERE YOU COME FROM, WHAT YOU ARE DOING HERE, AND WHERE YOU ARE GOING.

The classification scheme that I have used was made up back in the 1700's by Carl Linneaeus, a sapient ANIMAL, 99.99% like yourself.

According to that scheme I am an animal and you are an animal. All my students are animals. Supervisors, teachers, paras, secretaries, school aides, cafeteria workers, custodians. Mayor Bloomberg and his attorney Klein are animals. Doctors, lawyers, police officers, fire fighters. Homo sapiens all.

Some people don't like to be classified as animals. They think that humans are very different from animals because we were created in the image of God. I don't agree with them, but I don't have a problem with their beliefs. Our differences are just proof that the BIG HUGE FRONTAL LOBES of our species are hard at work trying to figure out WHERE DID WE COME FROM? WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE? WHERE ARE WE GOING?

Anxiety Attack in Progress--Request for Information

Today I talked to someone who is pretty familiar with the 3020a process. I told this person about the two letters that I received on March 6. (See posts "Behaving like Animals" and "Swear to God"). This person seems to think that these letters could constitute formal charges, and that I should have filed for a 3020a hearing within ten days of receiving the letters. I showed these letters to my Chapter Leader when I got them, but he didn't tell me to file for a 3020a hearing. I just e-mailed my DR, but she hasn't gotten back to me yet. The last I heard from her was that if investigators showed up from the DOE, to take their card and tell them not make any statements. I've been sitting in the basement ever since, trying to keep positive and keep busy.

Does anyone know if those letters could constitute formal charges and if I am no longer able to file for a 3020a hearing?

Out To Lunch

As usual, I took excellent notes in my meeting with Principal P. on February 11. The disciplinary letter I published in my last post is based on this meeting. Also as usual, the difference between the disciplinary letter and the "transcript" of the meeting is truly amazing.

Meeting with Principal P. February 11

PRINCIPAL P: Ms. Moriah on Friday, February 6 you punched out and left the building without informing the Principal.

MORIAH And you want to know why? OK. First of all I don’t understand why this would be considered something wrong. Could you share with me your concern?

PRICIPAL P According to the Faculty Handbook on page 14 “all teachers must obtain permission from Principal to leave the building.”

CLYDE BAKER Is this a Chancellor’s regulation, or a school regulation?

PRINCIPAL A school regulation. Can you tell me why you punched out ?

MORIAH First of all, I punched out because it was my lunch period. I was not with students, nor was I going to be with students, because you had reassigned me to the conference room. I punched out on Monday (February 9) when I left for lunch as well.
I have also been punching in and out for over a year as I come into the building in the morning and leave the building in the afternoon.

PRINCIPAL Punching out is not school policy for lunch. We sign out for lunch.

MORIAH: I choose to punch in and out. It is characteristic of my time card. On Friday, I wasn’t feeling good, but I intended to come back.

PRINCIPAL: But you didn’t.

MORIAH: I intended to come back. I wasn’t feeling good. I thought the walk would do me good. I was halfway between the school and my home. (which is a 15 minute walk away) when I started feeling nauseous and dizzy. I kept walking to my home and I called the school. I believe I signed out as well as punching out, but I don’t remember.

PRINCIPAL: You did not inform me when you left the building.

MORIAH: That was my lunch period.

PRINCIPAL: There is no record of you having called the school. No one took a message from you.

MORIAH: Are you saying that I am lying when I say that I called the school?

PRINCIPAL: I am saying that no one got a message from you.

MORIAH: So no one in the office is taking responsibility for taking my message?

BAKER: Have you asked the secretaries and the school aides?

PRINCIPAL Yes. Patty Kramer said that she (Moriah) told her (Patty) that she (Moriah) was leaving the building.

MORIAH: Patty Kramer said that I told her that I was leaving the building? Principal P, I did not speak with Patty Kramer, and I did not tell Ms. Kramer that I was leaving the building.

PRINCIPAL That will be all Ms. Moriah.

MORIAH I have one more thing to say.

PRINCIPAL That will be all Ms. Moriah.

MORIAH (turning to speak to BAKER). Mr. Baker, I think this is unfair, and I am going to call Verizon to get evidence that I did call the school.

About an hour later Principal P. called me back into her office.

PRINCIPAL Ms. Moriah, I just spoke to Patty Kramer and I said “Ms. Moriah told me that she did call the school”. Patty Kramer then said, “Oh, yes. She did call. That’s right. She did call the school, and said that “I will not be back”. Even though when I asked did you call Friday, and no one remembered, now when I reminded them, they said, “Yes, she did call.” You told them that you would not be back. Is that what you said?

MORIAH Yes, that I was feeling ill and would not be back.


Meeting Ended

Even though she grudgingly admitted that I did call the school, I didn’t trust Principal P. I called Verizon to ask for a record of my phone calls on Friday, February 6. They took two weeks to send it to me, but it does verify that I called the school when I said I did. This was from my HOME phone, not my cell. I’m glad I went to the trouble, because this Principal has shown a consistent pattern of ignoring any and all evidence that would support my version of an incident. On the contrary she twists and fabricates facts to support a negative version.

Dereliction of Duty

I received this letter from Principal P. first thing this the morning.


February 27, 2009

Dear Ms. Moriah

On Wednesday, February 11, 2009, I met with you and your union representative, Clyde Baker, to discuss your unauthorized departure from work on Friday, February 6, 2009.

On Friday, February 6, 2009 at approximately 1:26 PM, I verified that you were not in the building to provide instruction to you for the following day. My payroll secretary and I searched the building for you and could not find you. You could not be located in the school. I asked several individuals in the main office if you had reported that you were leaving, however no one could provide any information as to your whereabouts.

During our meeting, I asked you why you left the building without notifying a supervisor. You stated, “I punched out because it was my lunch period. I was not with students, nor was I going to be with students because you had me reassigned to the conference room. I always punch out and in when I come and leave the building. I wasn’t feeling good, but I intended to come back. I thought a walk would make me feel better. I was half way between here and my home, and I started feeling nauseous and dizzy, so I kept walking to my home and I called the school and left a message.” I asked you who you spoke to, and you responded, “I do not know”.

I conclude that your conduct exhibited dereliction of duty by not informing a supervisor on February 6, 2009 that you were not returning to the school. I note that you were given a copy of the Faculty Handbook at our first Faculty Conference in September 2008 (See attached copy of your signed acknowledgment of receipt) that indicates the policy of informing supervisors when you are leaving the building.

You are hereby advised that the above described conduct may lead to further disciplinary action including an unsatisfactory rating and disciplinary charges that could lead to the termination of your employment.