Submitted by Mark Kuhn, Oct 17, 2007 08:41

I was an "member? of the rubber room at 501 Courtlandt. I was there because of an external situation I had that has since been resolved and I am back at my closing school. ( another issue)

While there I had the good fortune to meet a 28 year old male teacher who spoke Mandarin, Punjab and English all fluently. He was in the rubber room because he chose not to teach a class where his safety was threatened. After utilizing the ladder of referral, referals, phone calls, meetings, the student was never held accountable for the behavior. When the male teacher told his AP that he still did not feel safe with the student in the classroom, the AP told him not to teach that one class that day.

Subsequently, after not teaching that one class, the teacher was assigned to the rubber room for not teaching the class and with just a few mmonths before bing eligible to be granted tenure, he was fired.

This was a young teacher with excellent language skills in three languages that could easily be defended as important as the "globalization" increases.

The Department of Eduation ie the newly hirred principals of is using the rubber rooms to act as a holding area for the teachers who create hassels or for teachers who may be at the end of their careers and therefore draw a substantial salary.

I take umbrage with Mr. Cantor's statement that teachersr are there for serious offenses. The UFT needs to monitor the new principals and hold them accountable for their agregious actions.

Professionally

mark J Kuhn

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