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June 23, 2009
Teachers Kill Time on Your Dime in Rubber Rooms
Ever wonder why we spend more and more and more on education, and yet kids keep learning less? Here's a clue:
Hundreds of New York City public school teachers accused of offenses ranging from insubordination to sexual misconduct are being paid their full salaries to sit around all day playing Scrabble, surfing the Internet or just staring at the wall, if that's what they want to do.
Because their union contract makes it extremely difficult to fire them, the teachers have been banished by the school system to its "rubber rooms" — off-campus office space where they wait months, even years, for their disciplinary hearings.
The 700 or so teachers can practice yoga, work on their novels, paint portraits of their colleagues — pretty much anything but school work. They have summer vacation just like their classroom colleagues and enjoy weekends and holidays through the school year. …
Because the teachers collect their full salaries of $70,000 or more, the city Department of Education estimates the practice costs the taxpayers $65 million a year. The department blames union rules.
Teachers goof around in the rubber rooms for as long as six years. Some have been known to hang out all day in nearby bars. Others play dominoes, sleep, sell real estate, "or teach each other yoga and tai chi."
Reports teacher David Suker:
It's sort of peaceful knowing that you're going to work to do nothing.
If you're not enraged yet, consider this: Thanks to Comrade Obama, now the auto industry, then the healthcare industry, and after that every other corner of our society will be run by the same unions and moonbat bureauweenies that have made a farce of our schools.
On a tip from Name.
Posted by Van Helsing at June 23, 2009 9:54 AM
Comments
As someone said at Michelle Malkin, Capitalism punishes failure... socialism rewards it.
Posted by: Gregory of Yardale at June 23, 2009 10:02 AM
Also, who's responsible for the ridiculous delay in the hearings? Seems to me these things could be knocked off in a week. Some of my goddamned property taxes go down state to these assholes!
Right now Albany is a whirling dirvish of insanity, it's truly a circus. People crossing lines, then crossing back; it's sheer goofiness. Serious work such as addressing this article don't have a chance to get done.
Posted by: Karin at June 23, 2009 10:16 AM
NYC is run by socialists - its one hand washing the other. Both sides are in on it. And people wonder why Education is in such a sad state in America?
Posted by: Anonymous at June 23, 2009 10:43 AM
Gov. of NY Blind Melon Patterson needs to take a hard look at this.....Uh....you know what I mean.
Have you seen Gov. Patterson's house?.....neither has he!
Definition of eternal love: Gov. Patterson and Stevie Wonder playing tennis.
Posted by: Bryherb at June 23, 2009 11:09 AM
I think this is a good thing. Anyone who would accept so much taxpayer money to actually do nothing has no business whatsoever "teaching" students.
Also, since most teachers today are liberals, the more put into romper room limbo, away from students, the better, although they should maybe at least require them to clean the restrooms and sweep the hallways of the school - SOMETHING - to EARN their salaries.
Posted by: We Are So Screwed at June 23, 2009 11:20 AM
One more thought:
A new twist on an old addage:
"Those who can do, those who can't goof around all day on the taxpayers dime"
Posted by: We Are So Screwed at June 23, 2009 11:25 AM
This what happens when the NEA or the teachers unions take total control of the way they brainwash the kids and lay around on their backsides doing nothing
Posted by: SPURWING PLOVER at June 23, 2009 11:42 AM
Lazy socialist locusts are always looking for capitalist prosperity to feed off of.
Posted by: J at June 23, 2009 11:45 AM
It bothers me that we are forced to pay these people to sit around and do nothing, but what bothers me even more is that we are paying them to teach our kids in the first place!
Posted by: Darrel at June 23, 2009 11:46 AM
I wonder what ever happened to the BEE GIRL from that Blind Melon video from way back when?
Posted by: Anonymous at June 23, 2009 11:53 AM
Union contracts won't allow them to do anything else: No clerical work, no janitorial duties, no nothing! Teach or sit on your ass collecting my tax dollars.
I don't even have kids, yet my tax dollars pay for this crap! They say it's an "investment" in the future. Yeah? Well, I ain't getting my money's worth!
BTW, I used to work for the local USD; I've seen much worse...
Posted by: Henry at June 23, 2009 12:16 PM
Make them show up and teach in the crappiest, most dangerous (i.e., most liberal-infested) schools in NY. I hear South Bronx High is lovely. Cover me - I'm going to the cafeteria!
Posted by: Jay Guevara at June 23, 2009 12:57 PM
The school district should start offering classes to adults in prisons and homeless shelters. Force these people to work for their salaries. I guarantee half of them would quit or demand a speedy hearing so they could get back to a regular classroom.
Posted by: Sandra at June 23, 2009 1:28 PM
This seems like nice work if you can get it. It would be great if de guvmint would pay me $300,000 a year to sit around and do nothing. Not for other people tho, just me. I mean if we cut all this guvmint spending on stuff we don't need, no one would notice $300,000 a year going into my bank account. Mr Obama, can I have some money? It doesn't even have to be de guvmint's money, ill accept a personal check or cash delivery.
Posted by: Frank White at June 23, 2009 1:34 PM
Quite a conundrum: Have these indoctrinators sitting around on their asses, with full pay, not force-feeding their Liberal crap to children every day, all day, or have them actually working (well, indoctrinating; no telling how much they actually "teach" kids about anything other than how great Carter, Clinton, Obama and Marx all were/are, how America sucks, the Islamonazis are "discriminated" against, etc.) to at least earn their pay. Hmmmmmmmmm . . .
Sandra, good point: should they have to work, perform at a job (any job) every day, they'd be screaming for a quick hearing on their cases (great to see that some involve "inappropriate contact" [to be euphemistic] with students, idn't it? Yeah, wow! Just great!), so they could get back to indoctrinating instead of really working for a living.
Posted by: jc14 at June 23, 2009 1:48 PM
"If you're not enraged yet, consider this:"
What do you mean, "if"? Of course I'm enraged. I'm always enraged! Grrrr; fear me libtards, grrr!
Posted by: J. Coelacanth, Esq. at June 23, 2009 2:38 PM
Can anyone say Union?
Oh by the way.. I have worked my ass off since the age of fifteen. I'm fifty one and now don't have anything and I have no intention of ever working as hard as I have in my lifetime. Why? For what? So that the rich can get richer, I can serve the rich all my life then have nothing? I think not. Consider me a Socialist, leaning toward Communism. Somebody owes me something...
Posted by: HoosierDONK at June 23, 2009 3:39 PM
Good fakepost there, Hoosier.
Posted by: I'm A Lasagna Hog at June 23, 2009 3:44 PM
I don't assume that anyone at the NYC teachers' union has ever heard the phrase 'Rubber room' used as a euphemism for a padded cell in an mental hospital.From what I've seen of some of the lesson plans, the old fashioned "Rubber Room'might be more appropriate.
Posted by: James McEnanly at June 23, 2009 4:55 PM
What's worse is the attitude these teachers have that taking money for not working is perfectly okay or "peaceful". I would go crazy in 2 weeks. But then I have pride.
Posted by: Gregory at June 23, 2009 4:57 PM
Nice work if you can get it.
Posted by: KHarn at June 23, 2009 4:57 PM
Consider me a Socialist, leaning toward Communism. Somebody owes me something...
Nobody owes you shit.
Posted by: Evil Otto at June 23, 2009 7:10 PM
I can think of some teachers I'd pay to stay away from kids.
$70k a year is a little steep - but then how much does it cost to keep them in prison?
I'm not saying, I'm just saying...
Posted by: Jimbo at June 23, 2009 8:45 PM
There's not enough uneducated people using the cliche, "rich getting richer." I'd like to read and hear it more please.
Posted by: J at June 23, 2009 9:22 PM
Obama has plans for these teachers, as organizers of the new Obama-Hitler Youth.
Watch their rise at:
http://www.infowars.com/the-obama-youth-corps-and-the-wave/
Anyone who thinks this guy hasn't co-opted the Nazi's playbook is damn fool.
Posted by: ZMarshall at June 23, 2009 10:08 PM
Reading this article seriously angers me. Thousands of people have lost their jobs in this s**thole economy and yet these "teachers" are paid to do NOTHING. ALL of these 700 teachers need to be given the pink slip pronto. There are more QUALIFIED individuals than these 700 teachers that can DO the job and make a difference in kids lives.
These 700 "teachers" are NOTHING but a WASTE of taxpayers money. I'm surprised there's not a lynch mob organizing in New York. These teachers give others a bad name. They give the whole education/school system concept a bad name. Nobody needs to wonder why education in general is a "joke".
This article is just sickening beyond belief.
Posted by: ace at June 24, 2009 4:21 AM
What even more sickening is that this sort of thing goes on wherever you find unions. Union rules force companies to use more employees than needed and stand in the way of technological advances because it would cost union jobs. Unions have only 1 purpose - maximize the number of members and get as much pay as possible over the life of the contract. They dont stop and think what happens when prohibitive union costs sink the whole company or result in mass layoffs due to massive losses - Steel and Auto Industries are a prime example of that. Its why companies operating in right to work states are in far better shape than those in the rust belt
Posted by: UNION - NO ! at June 24, 2009 6:23 AM
Union-No, you can also see it in the paper industry. U.S. companies compete with subsidized European paper companies, so our costs have to be as low as possible. This cannot be accomplished with a workforce bloated in membership due to work rules restrictions, and very high wages.
I've seen a mill employing 600 go belly-up because of this, and the unwillingness of the union to bend. Close the doors, goodbye everyone, and not another employer in site.
These skilled papermakers can now be seen as greeters at the Walmart.
(BTW, I don't really begrudge these papermakers a high wage; it's a special skill and it's tough work. I object to the work rules restrictions which bloats the headcount and maximizes goofing off time. Guys could catch up on a lot of sleep at work, or sleep it off, even.)
Posted by: Karin at June 24, 2009 7:03 AM
For chuckles, or teeth grinding, check this out. Teacher in jail, convicted of sex crimes, still collecting full salary. If her lawyer can keep the appeal process going for another 2&1/2 years, she will be drawing her full pension. In prison.
http://www.al.com/news/press-register/metro.ssf?/base/news/124479816351530.xml&coll=3
Posted by: mike h at June 24, 2009 8:08 AM
