EDUCATION NEWS __________________________
The Shot Heard 'Round The World Fired By
A NYSUT Attorney Who Is More Than Brilliant _____________________________________________________________
After being consigned to the "Rubber Room" for almost two years and having known the bitter taste of four different Rubber Rooms during the past four years (as retaliatory punishment by the NYC Dept of Education for having been a Whistle-Blower), today my long awaited second Teacher trial finally officially commenced.
The fact that this trial even began today, May 13, 2008, is in and of itself, already a victory for teachers everywhere. The Board of Education believed, incorrectly, that if they delayed the trial of an accused teacher long enough, I would finally throw in the towel, capitulate and retire.
How blind are they that have eyes but cannot see.
Few teachers have been in as many Rubber Rooms as I have been and for as long as I have been. Yet I never ceased to hold on and to have faith that one day I would have "my day in Court" and get the opportunity, with the generous assistance of NYSUT attorney Christopher M. Callagy, Esq., to clear my family name of the baseless allegations, both venal and fabricated, made against me.
Only in the Kafkaesque and twisted world of Joel Klein, Esq., a former Federal Prosecutor, and the other sickly denizens of the former Tweed Courthouse, (named after a nefarious scoundrel of the past century, named Boss Tweed), does one encounter such a dark Universe where black is white and where lies are truth and truth becomes lies.
This news release is meant only for the moment, to allow the countless individuals around the country who have been following this case, to be apprised of the fact that after so much time gone by, the Wheels of Justice have finally begun to turn.
And I must say that only people who have been mightily and unjustly wronged and seen their good name smeared and dragged through the mud, can begin to know how sweet to the ear are the creaking sounds of those very old wheels.
They finally started to turn today and though I had to listen, once again, to a typical and predictable, run of the mill, hack NYC Board of Education attorney recite all over again the vile and malicious lies and absurd allegations made against me, yet was this one of the happiest days I have known in many a year.
Even as vile and pathetic lies fell from his lips, dripping with the sanctimonious and false certitude such as only the ultimate hypocrite can utter, yet I savored the certain knowledge that before this trial would be over, this attorney stooge representing even bigger stooges, would be exposed for what he is- just another Joel Klein lackey.
In an unusually long opening pre-Hearing conference session, I sat in respectful awe and admiration as my NYSUT attorney, Christopher M. Callagy, Esq. responded to the nonsensical and ridiculously flawed statements, positions and allegations being put forth by the hack lawyer representing the NYC DOE.
Only in the strange and often almost insane world of the New York City Board of Education, could a lawyer, keeping a straight face, demand the termination of a "Teacher of the Year" because he brought a plant to the school (and other similarly preposterous allegations).
Only the New York City Board of Education would have the unmitigated gall and unbounded Hubris to try to advance the idea that a Teacher does not share the same rights enjoyed by all other Americans under the United States Constitution and The Bill of Rights. Only would a person like Chancellor Joel Klein, Esq. try to claim a Teacher does not enjoy the Right of Free Speech and may not speak to a newspaper- may not speak the truth.
If such charges were made against a policeman, doctor or IBM executive it would make front page news as the epitome of The Theatre of the Absurd. And yet the fact that the Chancellor of the largest school system in the nation would encourage and allow such insane and deviant behavior on the part of City attorneys says much about the way Education and educators are perceived and viewed by the public and society at large.
Perhaps in the end, that one salient fact is the greatest tragedy of all.
How heartbreakingly sad is it to contemplate that the very people who should be most valued and honored in our Society for the priceless contributions they make on a daily basis, under the most challenging and difficult conditions, should be treated in such a humiliating and demeaning manner as if they were the most contemptible human beings among us.
It is enough to make the Gods avert their eyes from seeing the shame of it all and enough to make the angels bow their heads and weep.
__________________________________________________________
David Pakter, M.A., M.F.A. Teacher of the Year
Decorated by former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani in New York City Hall
For Exceptional Achievement in Education
NOTE:
The Hearings will definitely be open to the Public and that the dates will be announced as soon as they are known. And also add the link to Jim Callaghan's story in the NEW YORK TEACHER. http://www.uft.org/news/teacher/top/axed/
2 comments:
Who is David Pakter's private attorney in his lawsuit against the DOE?
I support you Mr. Pakter. All the best and I would love to be present when you are vindicated.
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