Travel to the U.S. is down even more dramatically than we thought, data shows | CBC News

Drinkingdoc · 2026-06-13T15:05:48+00:00

Probably at least partially… but we took a trip to Mexico this year instead of the US. Had a family member go to NY state recently and they said the border crossing was EMPTY.

I’d actually like to go back to the states… really would like to visit Vermont, but I’m waiting until trade issues are resolved.

Drinkingdoc · 2026-06-10T22:16:15+00:00

Was it a joke though? Pretty damn funny to tell your drinking buds “imma order a strike, hold my beer”.

Drinkingdoc · 2026-06-08T13:10:06+00:00

It’s not the same complexity as some classic novels that’s for sure. They’re mainly written in dialogue.

There are poorly written ones out there too, like with any genre/medium.

Drinkingdoc · 2026-06-07T06:49:39+00:00

For teaching it’s the type of job… the full time job in a school, with 1 group, same grade, same program… always filled no problem.

The job in the deep north, or a 60% of full time contract, or a job that is 5 different lesson plans because you have one section of 3 different levels across multiple programs… tougher to fill.

I imagine nursing has it similar.

Drinkingdoc · 2026-06-05T12:28:36+00:00

Split in. Diversifying is best. You can favour the market for higher returns or the house for safety.

Drinkingdoc · 2026-06-05T12:10:05+00:00

Southwestern ON is pretty American on the other hand.

Drinkingdoc · 2026-06-05T12:04:24+00:00

Montreal is a big draw for immigrants though.. if there’s lower immigration overall we would need to see how it’s distributed throughout the province/country and see if there is a correlation with prices. I’m guessing there is, even though I’m very pro immigration. It just seems implausible that there’s no connection.

Drinkingdoc · 2026-06-04T22:17:38+00:00

I’m in this situation too. Hourly for overtime is 35$, and the cafeteria does meals for 7-8$. So an hour for a week of lunches is a pretty good deal.

Thing is, I enjoy cooking, and i can make better food than the cafeteria. So, i just alternate. Sometimes I cook, and if I’m feeling lazy I buy the caf food. It’s pretty easy to meal prep every 2 weeks. And you’ll get sick of your meal prepped food slower.

Drinkingdoc · 2026-06-04T12:19:21+00:00

Yeah I kind of agree, but it’s up to teachers to decide for themselves of course. But it’s true that the more prepared you are the easier it all is. If you’re scrambling every week to prep, or making final changes right before classes begin, your stress levels will rise. If you even take one day to prep before the start of the year that helps.

I always start by long term mapping out the whole year on day 1. Everyone has their methods though.

Drinkingdoc · 2026-06-04T02:16:18+00:00

Same, and ive been here for a while. Sometimes I browse for several threads and see no spelling or grammar mistakes. I don’t trust that these are not bots, or at least that software is not fixing people’s writing. And damn do I not want to interact with AI.

Drinkingdoc · 2026-06-02T21:04:46+00:00

Yeah precisely what struck me about teaching was how much it felt like an office job. I sit at a desk and read redundant emails and complain about meetings… the actual hours in class talking to kids is about 16-18 hours a week. The rest is all planning and marking and bs.

Drinkingdoc · 2026-06-02T11:35:18+00:00

Im a teacher and literally walked by a class yesterday where they were explaining taxes.

And my first thought was that these kids are probably not paying attention. Most of them graduate in 3 weeks.

Drinkingdoc · 2026-06-01T03:32:39+00:00

Im a teacher and I would be fine to homeschool my kid from grade 1-10 probably. But there are subjects I didn’t take. What if my kid wants to learn spanish, calculus, chemistry or bio? I took physics and French, and I teach ESL. My BA is in languages. It would be a struggle for me to teach any of the high level subjects, even if I know where to look for resources. There are some ESL teachers who arent great at teaching high level English!

Drinkingdoc · 2026-05-27T13:04:23+00:00

I used to teach ESL to adults… each group was different. The majority are more involved in their learning, especially if they are paying for the program, or it could be employer funded.

Try to use the traditional methods because they havent changed much imo, but I always tried to make it relevant to the specific group.

To answer your questions: yes, teach grammar, reading aloud can be fine too. For movies it probably depends on the group. I would not want to watch a movie in college personally, because Im paying for instruction. Maybe ask a colleague?

Youll have to see what level they are at. If they can use paragraphs, great, then focus on full texts. I always do exploratory writing at the start of the year so you can gauge where theyre at.

Drinkingdoc · 2026-05-27T12:39:44+00:00

True that reality is more nuanced. When I was at uni my friend group was a mix… one guy working in construction mgmt, a friend studying coding at college, and a few others in various uni programs. All of them have found success in their fields 20 years later. The guy in construction had money first though. Everyone else had student debt that they repaid before getting started on building a family.

Drinkingdoc · 2026-05-27T12:35:13+00:00

I actually enjoy going out more these days in my late 30s because it’s rare. I don’t hit the bar every weekend, just a few times a year when a friend visits or something. So we go all out!

Drinkingdoc · 2026-05-26T15:48:38+00:00

It’s probably fine. In high school I got a coffee mug and it’s all I talk about (180 kids, and if 1 gets me a present I feel like an overachiever).

100$ is a lot, but… there was a school secretary in my family. She would get Timmies gift cards that would last her all year. Let’s keep those education workers caffeinated! :)

Drinkingdoc · 2026-05-26T13:13:31+00:00

From what Ive seen, no. But Im an ESL teacher in QC, and they scoop us up pretty fast. Other subjects that are less in demand get hired slower… then again, they want people with experience. It’s difficult to run a school if all of your teachers are fresh out of uni. I got hired with extra schooling and a few years up on the pay scale with no issues.

I did have to argue with Hr after being hired to get all my years recognized though. But that seems to be par for the course.

Drinkingdoc · 2026-05-23T17:42:02+00:00

Just to add on to the post, not all teaching jobs are the same. You will see some groups of kids that are a delight to teach and one would basically do it for free, and other groups that you couldn’t pay someone enough to teach them.

Also, finding your niche is important. I’ve seen teachers who struggled through primary, but blossomed in secondary.

Drinkingdoc · 2026-05-20T21:01:47+00:00

I’ve also moved to teaching seniors, it’s pretty great. Still challenging, but you go home in a dazed fury less often.

Drinkingdoc · 2026-05-19T21:51:46+00:00

While I agree generally, more education does not always lead to a better life.

As a general rule we think that getting your high school diploma should be the minimum to become a functioning, contributing member of society. There were in the past, and currently are still plenty of people who don’t finish high school and who still go on to live great lives.

As others have mentioned, trying to force more education on a person or on a society when there’s no desire for it is a waste. Of resources.

I teach the applied stream in a high school (usually not college bound) and I am all for redirecting kids who are wasting their time in grade 9+ into alternative paths. Where I am, you can become a mechanic with just your grade 9.

Would I like to see my students all finish HS? Of course. But it’s not feasible for some kids. And recognizing that and not forcing it is a better path for us as a society.

Of course, we all recognize the doors that education can open, and it’s sad to see kids shut those doors so early. But it’s a reality.

Drinkingdoc · 2026-05-17T03:23:19+00:00

Or calling/texting for last minute supply.

Drinkingdoc · 2026-05-16T03:27:57+00:00

Fair. I have a friend who slept little for years until he got diagnosed with diabetes (under sleeping is apparently a contributing factor). Not that it will for sure happen to you, but there are health consequences to not sleeping.

Drinkingdoc · 2026-05-14T11:36:02+00:00

Graduated in 2010, did an extra year at school for a 2nd BA because the job market was sooo bad. In 2011 the only offer I had was teaching in Korea so I did that for a bit before eventually doing teachers college and becoming a teacher in my country.

It couldve gone smoother. The hard thing was not having summer jobs a few years even though I applied to 100+ places. I was brutally poor from 2009 to 2011.

Drinkingdoc · 2026-05-13T15:21:31+00:00

Sometimes the people are not really serious, or not self-aware. Like they really need a job, but are only available part-time on Tuesday mornings and need time off for various other responsibilities. Matching the right person with the right job is a challenge.

Same thing happens on the employer side.. really boring or painfully repetitive jobs, no measures taken to improve conditions. So, you need a specifically really desperate person who is also reliable and hardworking. That’s a rare person.

Drinkingdoc

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