A couple weeks ago I was listening to "This American Life" and heard about "The Rubber Room." It aired on 29 February.

This is some sort of Orwellian creation of the New York City Board of Education... I heard it and said to myself: "In America? You must be kidding!"

Here is the description from Radio Diaries:

The true story of little-known rooms in New York City Board of Education buildings. Teachers are told to report there instead of their classrooms. Usually, no reason is given. When they arrive, they find they've been put on some kind of probationary status, and they must show up every day until the matter is cleared up. Teachers continue to receive their salaries, but it can take months, sometimes years, until they are either returned to the classroom or fired. So every day the teachers report to the "Rubber Room"... to wait.

The show was not available for on-line listening for a couple weeks, it is available now here at This American Life in Episode 350: Human Resources at about minute 7:27 of the broadcast.

Someone is intending to make a movie about it here.

Has anyone heard of such a thing? Is this for real?

Message edited by its author, Mar 22, 2008, 3:33pm.

I heard that TAL. Certainly it's a compromise between administration and unions. If someone is suspected of something serious and put on probation, should they get months off while the situation is resolved? No. Should they continue to teach? No. So, warehouse them. I'm not saying it's a good idea, but you can see how it would happen.

The Rubber Room was recently re-aired, and the whole time I was listening to it I was thinking to myself, "I know thise story from somewhere..."

Well, here it is.

Sad story, though!