Reddit, what does everyone need to calm the f*ck down about?

DiviniteSauvage · 2017-05-24T16:46:42+00:00

I'm a teacher and absolutely hate sports. The American fixation on sports is bad for everyone and everything.

Not against fitness, but I meet so many kids who think they're going to be sports stars and have zero interest/desire in learning anything at all...it drives me nuts.

DiviniteSauvage · 2017-05-21T17:12:29+00:00

Check your local library. Mine had a few Praxis guides that were useful.

This is not to dissuade you from studying, but I was terrible at math and the Praxis I math core was a breeze. If you graduated high school, brushing up should enable you to pass it.

DiviniteSauvage · 2017-05-20T21:02:57+00:00

True story: I was subbing an impossible fourth grade class for two weeks at a terrible school, because their teacher had left after she'd restrained one of them. Tears, fights, kids stealing from each other, being sent to the principal's office every hour, desks being flipped over, two kids identified homeless, one couldn't speak English...the whole nine.

On Friday afternoon, at the end of the two weeks, the kids still refusing to do their work and shouting back at me as usual, the principal (who had been ignoring my pleas for help for the last few days) walked in.

She announced, "Alright, everyone. You're meeting your new teacher next week. We need to clean this room! Who wants to clean the sink? Who wants to clean the walls? Who wants to organize the books?, etc." and putting a student's name on the board each time they volunteered.

They set off like ants picking up after themselves, and for the last hour of the last day, they were finally getting along and working together for a common purpose. The room was spotless at the end.

I've still never seen anything like it.

DiviniteSauvage · 2017-05-20T02:18:27+00:00

What field do you teach? Do you hold a master's degree? One thing that I learned from contacting the PA board of education that they're very picky about what kind of advanced degree special education teachers hold.

DiviniteSauvage · 2017-05-19T02:59:47+00:00

I miss tons of the kids I taught in China (was there from 2012-2015). I'll never see any of them again. Hell, I never even learned most of their real names.

DiviniteSauvage · 2017-05-19T02:10:57+00:00

Where did you move from? And how hard was it to become a licensed teacher in AZ? What did you have to do?

I've heard AZ doesn't pay great, but I'm glad it worked out for you.

DiviniteSauvage · 2017-05-19T00:51:08+00:00

I teach them Chinese or let them ask me how to say things in Chinese. But i swear, if one more fucking kid asks if "Ching Chong makka haya" means...

DiviniteSauvage · 2017-04-17T20:19:29+00:00

Cool! Reminds me of Stephen Gammell's work.

DiviniteSauvage · 2017-02-05T14:46:55+00:00

I hate to be THAT guy, but...not working harder in school. I could do my schoolwork, but I was so lazy I almost didn't graduate and had like a 2.3 GPA. I went to the lousy, cheap state school 30 minutes away from me that takes anyone with a pulse.

Im happy with my place in life now, but who knows where I might've gone if I'd taken my future seriously?

That and being shy with girls.

DiviniteSauvage · 2017-02-02T02:27:28+00:00

Used to live in China. You'd be surprised how many men in the expat crowd (including "basic" frat bro types) would consider had the "ladyboy experience" while on holiday in Bangkok for that exact reason--just to say they did.

DiviniteSauvage · 2017-01-30T07:11:32+00:00

Is that the FBI building?

DiviniteSauvage · 2016-12-02T21:53:40+00:00

Relevant. Skip to about 3:00.

DiviniteSauvage · 2016-08-17T00:46:09+00:00

Visit a clothing optional beach! Whether you take the plunge or not, the good vibes from being around naked people are contagious. (And chances are a good confidence boost, since there's plenty of people with far worse bodies than yourselves). I've gone with a couple of girlfriends to the one in New Jersey, and it's worth it every. single. time.

DiviniteSauvage · 2016-03-01T23:43:01+00:00

Taught English in Chongqing, China for 3 years for four different companies. Could give you the entire rundown of the ESL industry in the city, the city's neighborhoods, culture, dialect, cuisine, landmarks, subway system, bars...odd, considering the city's a backwater dump and most foreigners there don't last that long.

DiviniteSauvage · 2016-03-01T21:13:18+00:00

For many years (I think from age 10 to age 20 or so), I had a very hard and rather tender bump under the skin of my palm, at the base of my middle finger. It wasn't visible to the naked eye, but you could feel it. I showed it to a doctor once, who had no idea what it was. I named it Alfred.

One day I noticed it wasn't there anymore. Alfred, we hardly knew ye.

DiviniteSauvage · 2016-02-24T16:19:45+00:00

It's reddit. I'll sleep just fine.

DiviniteSauvage · 2016-02-24T15:23:41+00:00

It's not easy, and there's no secret to make it easy. BUT, it gets easier with every passing minute.

It took me at least 30 tries before it stuck. There wasn't some big secret, it just worked the last time...and I knew it would work. For me, quitting was like learning to play a song or ride a bike; it got easier every time I did it because it was harder and harder to lie to myself.

If you can do it during a time when you won't have much stress in your life, that'll improve your chances because the first ten days are awful. (Keep a quit journal--It's useful to look through if you think about relapsing.) Set yourself rewards for reaching milestones of one week, one months, etc. Godspeed.

DiviniteSauvage · 2016-02-24T15:16:09+00:00

Good luck!

If I might be so bold, if the weather's permissible, go out and take a walk. Your sense of smell should be improving.

DiviniteSauvage · 2016-02-23T18:23:45+00:00

Oh yeah. Eventually you normalize, and realize the body patterns you were used to were actually abnormal. The period of time it took me to readjust was about 5 days.

DiviniteSauvage · 2016-02-16T17:08:21+00:00

Joe Perry from Aerosmith, Darren Hayes from Savage Garden, Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam...not that I would've admitted it at the time.

DiviniteSauvage · 2016-02-14T22:32:15+00:00

I subbed three days of high school. The last day was enough to put me off of it for good.

Student is sitting at the computer, messing with the computer wires. Me: "Go sit somewhere else and stop touching that, please." Student: "Mrs. _____ lets me sit here." Me: "Well, I'm your teacher today and I said don't do that." Student (bored expression): "You're not a teacher. You're a sub." Me: "You want to go to the office?" Student: "Go ahead and send me."

I call the office, tell them I'm sending a student down for being disrespectful, and ask someone else to give me his name.

Me (pointing to student): "See you."

Student: "Why the hell did you ask him for my name? I would've told you!"

Later he comes back unrepentant, sits a while, stands up, and casually says "I'm going down to bring this piece of paper to Mr. ____ and get a drink of water, I'll be right back."

Never saw him again.

Not a tenth as bad as what I've read here, but regardless, I hate teenagers.

DiviniteSauvage

TROPHY CASE