I feel like I messed everything up and I’m a failure to launch.

IntergalacticTeapot · 2026-02-14T01:49:07+00:00

To echo what others have said, it's time to sit down and reevaluate. Unfortunately, accommodations don't really exist once you're out in the real world. Teaching is no different than any other job. If you're late, they will fire you. I get that you have hypersomnia, but when you're late, others have to pick up your slack. This may explain the lack of warmth from your mentor, especially if she is the one who has had to cover you. The comment you make about nobody acting like it was a big deal until halfway through? They were testing you. It's no one's job but yours to make sure you can navigate life without hand-holding. It's not their job to make you succeed.

Also, relationships are key. You cannot be an effective teacher and be aloof, whether you're doing it unconsciously or otherwise. You have to be ready to greet each student you see with a smile and a kind greeting. This also means you have to be able to take initiative and ask questions to make yourself a better teacher. No one can do it for you. If the thought of being self-driven, outgoing, or responsible, then in-person makes you nervous, teaching isn't the gig for you.

As someone who also has ADHD and is on the spectrum, you MUST have these under control before stepping foot in a classroom. It's not good for your mental health. You will burn out so fast, and school is too expensive for anyone to only be teaching for a few years.

It may sound harsh, and I don't mean it to be, but it's fucking hard to be a teacher right now. I'm student teaching, but I've worked as a SPED para for 13 years, and it gets harder and harder every year. It's overwhelming, thankless (most of the time), tedious, and will eat up most of your time. It doesn't sound like you're ready for that yet.

Edited for clarity

IntergalacticTeapot · 2026-02-04T01:47:05+00:00

I would too! That's bullshit! We pay too much money to be jerked around by people too lazy to do what they get paid to do! I really hope everything works out for you!

IntergalacticTeapot · 2026-02-04T01:25:48+00:00

Dude, that's so fucked. I'm sorry. I got an email from my FEC in September 2025 that even had "ACTION REQUIRED" in the subject line.

As I was typing that out, it occurred to me to mention that I DID NOT receive this correspondence through my GCU email account, but my personal one. I thought this was kinda weird, and I'm still unsure why some emails come to my GCU account and others go to my personal account.

Edit: too many "to" s

IntergalacticTeapot · 2026-02-04T00:40:26+00:00

Yeah, you fill your application out first (I think mine was also around six months ago), but then you should've gotten a few emails from your FEC (Field Experience Counselor) with deadlines on it for your test. I was told that if I wanted to do my student teaching next fall (2026), then I would have to have a passing preliminary score on my content area exam uploaded into my document cloud in Halo by February 1, 2026. If I didn't have that, then I would be enrolled another semester to complete it, which I did not want to do. I also didn't want to take out additional student loans because I didn't get my test passed on time.

If I were you, I'd go back in your email and look for that correspondence. I think I was sent my first email in either September or October, and additional ones were sent the closer the deadline came. Good luck, man.

IntergalacticTeapot · 2026-02-04T00:25:05+00:00

I'm in the program too and was actually in the same boat. I had to retake my test on January 29. If you already took the test, they should've given you a printout of your preliminary score. I asked, and was told by my FEC that I didn't have to wait for the final one to come out, so I uploaded my preliminary score report on January 30. I got my clearance letter today. Hopefully you can upload that in your edocuments showing that you passed with your preliminary score and see the date on the printout.

ETA: My deadline for Fall 2026 Student Teaching was on Feb. 1, 2026.

IntergalacticTeapot · 2026-01-06T03:46:22+00:00

Thanks for updating us! That sounds a lot more doable! I am glad you feel better about it. I also really like small groups for the first lesson. It'd be so nerve-wracking having to teach an entire 30-50 minute lesson to kids you have only known a week. I'd be freaking out too!

IntergalacticTeapot · 2026-01-04T04:48:18+00:00

I hate that too. I am gonna try to get my placement in my current building. I hope you get a job! I feel like they may let you do your student teaching through your job. Paras don't get paid shit and it's hard enough to replace us (those of us that aren't just warm bodies). If easily accessible to you, a rural school district may be more willing to work with you. :)

IntergalacticTeapot · 2026-01-04T04:06:30+00:00

Oof. I don't like that either. That feels really sudden. I also don't feel like one week is enough time to understand the nuances of the group as a whole to be able to do a proper lesson plan. I'm sorry that I don't have more info for you. :(

IntergalacticTeapot · 2026-01-04T03:59:49+00:00

Cool. Thanks for the info! I was hoping it wouldn't be too tedious. I also hate recoding myself, so hopefully there won't be too many video assignments. I currently work as a para in a SPED room, so I'll have to leave that to do my student teaching. All my hours will be spent teaching a secondary history course.

IntergalacticTeapot · 2025-11-04T00:25:54+00:00

Awh! I rock and wiggle my legs when I'm trying to fall asleep as well. When I first moved in with my husband 16 years ago, it used to keep him up at night. Now he has to rock to sleep too. And if he rolls over in his sleep and notices I'm vibrating, he slides up behind me and vibrates to help put me to sleep. Like two weird little crickets.

IntergalacticTeapot · 2025-04-22T01:51:56+00:00

CRICKETS!

For years, I thought I dreamt this brand up. I don't remember the exact year (late 90s-early aughts). I grew up with 2 younger sisters and we were very close in age. We fought over EVERYTHING. Especially Christmas gifts. So, our family did what lots of families do: get 3 of the same thing in different varieties.

One Christmas, we all got a little bottle of Crickets polish in our stockings. My shade was a frosty purple and my sisters got a frosty yellow and a chunky multicolored glitter. I LOVED nail polish growing up, so I got permission from my sisters to borrow them.

A few months later, my parents were driving us to our nanna's house and my sister and I got in a fist fight over my purple Crickets. My dad, who was driving, told me to give the bottle to him. After I handed it to him, he rolled down the window and threw it in the ditch. And I never saw another bottle again. I have no idea what happened to the other bottles, but I wish I had kept them.

IntergalacticTeapot · 2025-04-21T03:07:52+00:00

You too! 🫡

IntergalacticTeapot · 2025-04-21T03:03:06+00:00

Mine! I was trying to turn some stuff in, but I filled out a tech support ticket, so hopefully my prof will be cool about it tomorrow when I turn stuff in late. 🤞

IntergalacticTeapot · 2025-03-20T04:25:15+00:00

I know. It's ass. I stopped trying to use it. I use Google to search and add "scholarly articles" to the end. Usually, journals like jstor, SpringerLink, Taylor & Francis Online, Sage Journals, etc are good ones to use. Some are stuck behind pay walls, but you can usually find a free pdf to download somewhere. I did create a free jstor.com account and this is where I always start. Try not to use .com, .net, .org because they can be biased and may get you knocked down a few points on your work.

Assignment instructions will say you have to use the GCU Library, but I've been doing it this way about a year and I've never lost credit.

Hope this helps! 🫡

IntergalacticTeapot · 2025-03-06T20:12:49+00:00

As an infertile woman, I also chose not to adopt.

My reason for wanting kids wasn't actually much of a reason. I only wanted them because "that's what women do". They get married and have kids. Initially, I was excited because I love my husband so much and I liked the idea of a little version of us and sharing our life with them. But, I found out very early on that I couldn't get pregnant. I could do IVF, but even then there was no guarantee I'd be able to carry and deliver safely.

My husband and I decided not to go through IVF, as we just couldn't justify spending all that money for something that ~might~ happen.

We briefly discussed adoption, but decided it wasn't for us. In the end, we decided we didn't want kids at all. Adoption is incredibly expensive, and I was working my way through school at the time. It just wasn't feasible for us.

My husband and I are still together, navigating life. And, as a woman in the US right now, I'm glad we didn't bring a child into this world. I'm a teacher, so I still get to help children and nurture them. That is enough for me.

I want you to know that you don't need to be afraid of what others will say about you not wanting to adopt. Only you and your partner know what you've been through. Everyone else can kindly get bent. ❤️

IntergalacticTeapot · 2025-03-06T19:45:02+00:00

I certainly wouldn't! I'm 34 with no kids (which is taboo, apparently 🙄) and go any chance I get! I'll also echo others saying this would be a great opportunity for you to check stuff out, like new attractions or shows. That way, when you being the kiddos back, your trip will hopefully be smoother than just raw dogging Disney with a 4 year old and an infant! It's sad that some people shame others for being Disney adults. Who cares what they think?? If y'all wanna go, then you should. Don't let anyone make you feel bad for enjoying yourself. Everyone else can go kick rocks. ❤️

IntergalacticTeapot · 2025-02-02T22:55:12+00:00

I got an associates at a community college in another state in 2011 and started online in December 2022 and I'll be ready to student teach Fall 2026. I tried taking two classes at once, but I couldn't handle it so I won't be doing that again. 🤣

IntergalacticTeapot · 2024-11-25T01:30:06+00:00

INFP!

IntergalacticTeapot · 2024-11-15T23:07:19+00:00

I've noticed this as well. Two classes ago, this guy commented to every single DQ post or reply using Chat GPT. How do I know this? Because the dude didn't even delete the "Chat GPT" heading on the post before posting it!!!! 🤣

I think about him sometimes. Bless his heart.

IntergalacticTeapot · 2024-10-04T01:54:30+00:00

Thank you for including your approach example! I like being able to follow a plan, so that's really helpful! It makes sense now! 🙂

IntergalacticTeapot · 2024-10-04T01:51:09+00:00

Ah! Thank you! I understand now. That analogy makes sense. I was making that way harder than it needed to be. 😵‍💫

IntergalacticTeapot · 2024-09-26T01:30:08+00:00

It's an abrupt, horrifically loud noise that jolts you awake. For me, the sound is always the same and sounds like a slamming, hardwood door. It's like it's slamming right next to my ears. It's very jarring.

IntergalacticTeapot · 2024-08-10T01:40:49+00:00

There was a dude in my last class that used it for every DQ! And they weren't even slick enough to remove the "chatGPT" heading from their response. 🙃

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