The Rubber Room documentary

Jeremy Garrett is a former NYC school teacher who directed and produced a documentary film called, 'The Rubber Room'. The rubber room is slang for holding rooms operated by the Department of Education which house teachers who have accusations or charges against them but cannot be fired or let go due to lengthy union regulations. They cannot be allowed with students until they have been given due process, but cannot be let go due to union rules. 40 million is spent on salaries for teachers in the rubber room. They exist in a purgatory where the innocent mingle with the guilty and no daily activity is asked of them other than signing in and out.

In an interview on NY1 Garrett talked about the new legislation which came out today that will close down these rubber rooms. Garrett spoke about how the problems created by these rooms is not the sole fault of the teacher's union but the Department of Education as well. At one point there were, by his estimation, almost a thousand teachers in rubber rooms all awaiting a resolution. There was one teacher he knew of that had been in the rooms for 12 years.

This film shows actual footage from these rooms and interviews with the educators. Teachers only have to show up to sign in, take a hour lunch, and sign out at 2:45. Garrett says one of the worst things is the mindless passing of time these teachers must endure, they're given no guidance, no suggestions, and really no rules. Many of the interviewed teachers voice concerns about false accusations of ill behaved students, or the black mark being sent to the rubber rooms puts on your records making it almost impossible to get a new job. Garrett states how difficult it was to make this film, he was denied interviews many times from Joel Klein, the school chancellor, the teacher's union, and teachers themselves who were afraid to speak out. He actually pulled out a camera in a Brooklyn rubber room and was arrested by police called by suspicious teachers. The irony he said is that if the DOE had found out he would have been taken out of his substitute teaching job and placed in a rubber room himself!

Hopefully this film will make people aware of exactly where their tax dollars go and the injustices enabled by this money. Of course, now that these rooms are closed solutions must be found and due process must be sped up so that those accurately and falsely accused can move on. Not everyone is meant to be a teacher but that doesn't mean they should be punished by "teacher jail". Many of them should just be given the merciful treatment of the pink slip.

Visiting the Noguchi Museum *

The Noguchi Museum is near the waterfront in an industrial area of Long Island City, in Queens. It was formerly a factory and exists on a strange triangle of property purchased by Noguchi’s estate especially for this museum. It is a great location near beautiful city parks, though difficult for city transportation.

The space is beautiful and its austere interior is perfect for the artist’s aesthetics. After a long renovation they have almost the entire catalog on exhibit. The stone sculptures are perfect in the environment where they have plenty of space to breathe. Using archival notes from the artist himself, everything is presented as closely to his specifications as possible. The wonderful thing about the artist having lived in the 20^th century is that he was able to have input to how his legacy would be perceived. Since Noguchi was also adept at interiors, exteriors, and gardens it’s especially fascinating to see works displayed as he would had created them to be. The exterior works are a beautiful example of the Japanese aesthetic that Westerners sometimes have a difficulty appreciating. It’s interesting to note they also offer family programs here in Japanese. What a wonderful way to incorporate more of the diverse communities of NYC with arts institutions.

I can’t help but wonder if more artists had spaces dedicated to their work how enjoyable it would be to observe their work as they had intended it to be. Space is expensive and few artists truly have the catalog Noguchi had, but it is a wonderful fantasy to think of museums all over the city, next to coffee shops, above hair salons, down in the subway. I mention to the special teacher there for the family Grandparent’s Day activities how great it would have been if the city had worked together with the museum to put a Noguchi designed playground across the street where there are many waterside public spaces. Her response was, “…the city really dropped the ball on that one…”, implying to me that the bureaucracy of the city had won over the people yet again.

Reading Reflection on Children and Internet Useage

The NY Times printed a piece about a curriculum designed to teach children about internet usage and its dangers. The piece; http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/09/education/09cyberkids.html?partner=rss&emc=rss , doesn't assume children already know these dangers or that parents are aware. The truly amazing thing is that a curriculum like Common Sense, as mentioned in the article, hasn't been implemented sooner. Children don't seem to realize that the world wide web is a public domain, that things they write can be read by everyone, parents, friends, and enemies. And that information on the web lives on indefinitely. At a young age children may learn to type or blog or search for popular toys or clothes, however I don't think they understand the breadth of what they may put out into the electronic world. As they point out in the article kids forget that this information will still be out there years from now when they apply for college, look for a job, interview for bank loans, and move forward with their lives. The immaturity of their internet actions can have serious consequences to their future selves. This needs to be just as important a lesson as using Word or learning Photoshop. Lectures about bullying in the schoolyard are just as important as lecturing about bullying online. As the suicide of a freshman girl who was being bullied points out-words can hurt. Children are always taught "sticks and stones may break my bones but names can never hurt me".. and now, as adults, we unfortunately know that is not true.

Observing at the Zoo

Observing at Racine Zoo is actually more of an exercise in childhood freedom than interactions. There is something about a zoo on a beautiful sunny day that takes each of us back to childhood memories. The zoo is situated just off the beach of Lake Michigan in south eastern Wisconsin. Once you enter the iron gates cut in the shapes of animals its like entering a large garden that just happens to have animals. Being it was the beginning of the warm weather season, and only April 1 there were fewer than a dozen animals out for observing.

More than seeing the animals it seems the children enjoy the freedom of running ahead, going to see this animal or that, without an adult glued to them. In urban areas, I often feel what children are missing, even more than outdoor space, is the freedom to spend time outdoors on their own. While visiting a friend in Michigan, she suggested the children go outside to play. I started to follow the children outside like the typical urban parent, but my friend just stood there and said, ‘Where are you going?’. Where was I going? The yard was large, enclosed, with a swingset, fort, green grass, some woods in the back. There was no need for me to go outside, these children had the freedom to go outside when they pleased and to spend time by themselves, with no adults making decisions, mediating arguments, or suggesting activities. The zoo allows for a small dose of that freedom. Because it’s a family destination, and fairly safe, parents can relax and allow for wandering.

Being allowed to explore was one of the most positive experiences, choosing which cage to look in next, which path to take, and how much time to spend at each display. The kids would run far ahead and climb on the railings separating the animals from observers. They didn’t have as much interest in the few animals out as they did jumping from sidewalk square to square. There was a little train that took them on a ride along the beach lakeshore. Even though it was such a brief ride and they didn’t see anything but the backside of a sleeping bear, it was an exciting diversion too. They were so happy to be sent into the monkey house by themselves that they dashed back to their adults to report what they saw.

Spending an afternoon someplace like this is a great experience is letting go and allowing everyone to observe, walk, and enjoy being together at their own pace. Too often children are forced to do things at an adult pace, walk along a busy sidewalk, jump onto a subway car, get ready for school, rush home from school. As soon as we realize that children observe and input stimulus at a different rate we can learn to adjust ourselves to try to see the world as they do.

Observing at Monkey Joe's

Observing kids at Monkey Joe’s, a party/ play space with roughly 10 bouncy slides, castles, and mazes, is a bit like watching kids in the thrall of legal drug usage. Monkey Joe’s is a warehouse size space decorated in vibrant yellow, purple, and greens with cartoon monkeys on every surface. There are chairs and tables in several central areas and party rooms for birthdays on the side wall. In the front of the space, by windows overlooking the parking lot, is a lounge of black leather chairs around a large flat screen TV and several computer workstations with free wifi. There are signs everywhere advertising the special chemicals used to sanitize the bouncers to make them “99.9%” germ free. They’ve clearly learned in this space, that to make parents happy as well as the kids is the key to return customers. Because, after all, it’s the parents who pay the bill.

The kids are so overwhelmed by the size of the warehouse space, the vibrant colors, and the constant hum of the blowers keeping the bouncers inflated they’re not sure where to go first. The first bouncer is a obstacle course of sorts with 3 climbing ridges culminating in a slide. This leads them to the back of the space where a giant enclosed bouncy space with sports balls and hoops are inside. The children need no encouragement to bounce higher to attempt to make baskets. They run around and around the enclosure bounding, rolling, galloping, and running into each other in a mindless frenzy. The seem to feel no pain when they collide, the adrenaline is so powerful in their system now they just jump right back up, completely oblivious to the inconvenience.

Soon, like any drug, the children begin to come down off their high and aren’t sure what to do with themselves. There are so many options, so many good things, they don’t know what to possibly chose. They start to get confused, which one should they try next, should they run, should they climb? Some start to get ravenous for lunch, their little metabolisms hard at work. Some get close to admitting defeat and say, “I’m tired”. Their sweaty foreheads are matted with damp hair and their sock feet are clammy. This is how you know its time to go, time for detox.

GuysRead.com

In an effort to encourage reading for boys and men alike there is a wonderful blog; http://www.guysread.com/blog/

This blog covers everything a male of any age could be interested in reading from pre-literate to mature adult. The importance of this site is that it makes it…cool. One of the problems with encouraging boys to read is that so much popular children’s reading is devoid of things which attract boys; trucks, action, mystery, adventure, and according to the site, “..at least one explosion…”. And even if there are stories boys are interested in, the desire to read is often a ‘nerdy’ or ‘geeky’ endeavour. This is an ideal place for older children to become involved too, suggesting books and starting their own group. This is a tool the parents of boys can truly use.

There is another popular book called, Stories My Son Needs. It is similar to this site in that it has age appropriate suggestions for movies and books for boys. Parents can learn from sites and books like this as well. They can learn how to encourage learning in a language boys can understand. After all, my husband learned how to read because he was desperate to understand his comic books!

Reading Reflection on NY Times Op Ed piece: Boys and Learning

Men may still be the dominant force in the halls of political and business power, but the facts presented in this Op Ed piece show the reality of what is really going on in the classroom, boys are falling behind.

As one of my favorite books, Raising Cain, points out, the majority of teaching techniques are geared towards female styles of learning. Boys do not do well with sitting still and being quiet which are both major skills required to get ahead in most schools. Studies in Raising Cain have shown that in schools where boys have an option to learn standing up or have frequent physical play times they do much better. A friend of mine from Finland told me that the children have 10 minutes of running around outside in between every class. Most schools only have Physical education once a week and recess sometimes only once a day. This is not to say that children should not learn the skills of quieting their bodies and mouths in a group school setting. But we are doing boys a real disservice if we assume both sexes have the same learning methods.

All this is not to say that girl should be pushed aside. Girl athletics are well known to be shortchanged financially and the gains mentioned in the article in girls’ performance in science should not be forgotten. But as long as boys are falling behind, being disciplined more frequently, and are consistent low scorers on major aptitude tests something needs to give in the way we approach their education. This is not to say that special attention to other groups fall by the wayside while white middle class boys take the focus. But the more attention that is given to the way boys learn will do more than help their scores, it will help to manage their behaviours (which will benefit all students with fewer interruptions taking focus from the class), help them to focus on their work, and allow them to have physical outlets of a positive nature.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/28/opinion/28kristof.html?src=me&ref=homepage