There were the hugs goodbye, the exchanges of phone numbers and the almost sure to be broken promises of keeping in touch. They packed up their bags one last time and left Room 619, which had been their daytime home for months, if not years. At the "rubber room" on West 125th Street, New York, June 28 was the end of an era.

　　6月28日，纽约西125大街，619房间里的人们紧紧拥抱，互留号码，相约再见。这些遭“白日禁闭”数月甚至数年的教师，最后一次打点行李，然后离开。这一天，见证了纽约一个备受争议的教育制度的终结。

　　For the last several years, teachers accused of incompetence or wrongdoing have been forced into rubber rooms, formally called Temporary Reassignment Centers, where they receive a full salary but do not work while they wait for the Department of Education or a hearing officer to decide their fate. But in April, city officials and the teachers’ union agreed to eliminate the rooms, which had been a source of embarrassment for all. Beginning in the fall, those teachers will perform administrative duties or be sent home if they are deemed a threat to students.

　　上世纪90年代，纽约教育部门专门成立“教师再分配中心”——亦称“橡胶屋”——用以容留“不达标或做错事”的教师。这些教师拿薪水，但不能被解雇，且在教育部调查清楚前不能返回课堂，他们于是被迫每日白天在“橡胶屋”度过。教师眼中臭名昭著的“橡胶屋”自出现伊始就成了纽约教育制度的最大尴尬。今年4月，纽约政府不堪压力，最终与教师联合会达成决定取消这一机构。今年秋天开始，被诉教师将从课堂调离到行政办公室从事临时工作，与学生隔离开来，或者回到家里等待最终调查结果。

　　So Monday was the last day for the roughly 700 teachers and administrators spread among seven reassignment centers, where they were sent after being accused of transgressions as small as persistent tardiness and as serious as sexually harassing students.

　　于是，28日，滞留于纽约7家“橡胶屋”的700名教师与“橡胶屋”永久告别。这里的教师所犯错误程度不一。最严重的莫过于被指控对学生进行性侵犯，还有一些人只因“上课拖拖拉拉”就被送了进来。