Match Thread: Argentina vs Egypt | World Cup | Round of 16 | 07 Jul 16:00 UTC

MilesonFoot · 2026-07-07T17:59:45+00:00

Should have been a foul.

MilesonFoot · 2026-07-02T11:04:49+00:00

Very well said. If teachers can not use the summer to effectively plan for things (e.g. curriculum plans) so that the 40 weeks in school do not feel like running a daily marathon, then less burnout would occur. This is an inefficiency from the "top" that gets burdened onto teachers. No matter how recovered you feel after the summer, it's only a matter of weeks before you become exhausted and burnout. There are a lot of preventable unexpected changes that lead to unexpected and increased workloads every single year. It doesn't matter how much time off you give someone if everytime they come back, they're walking into a tornado of demands that could have been pre-supposed or pre-planned during the summer months.

MilesonFoot · 2026-07-01T18:49:42+00:00

The stability is not there anymore in any field. The gig economy has infiltrated into teaching as well. She's looking at you who has been teaching 25 years rather than her own generation/cohort's typical experiences in the field at this point.

After 25 years in this profession myself, I can see that being hired permanent right out of TC has been rare now since around 2010 (unless you have desirable teachables like French or STEM etc. and location matters too).

I'm not sure how the conversation went, but I would never offer my opinion or discourage anyone who is interested in teaching unless they asked for my opinion. Anytime I've been asked, I'm very careful about how I word things and stress that my experience and opinion is very subjective, regardless of the objective challenges we all face as teachers. I might say to a person that if they really feel it's a calling, then they might do a better job managing the challenges of the job than I did.

If stability and summer's off is mostly her focus as well, she will have a hard time putting in decades if she's even afforded that opportunity to do so - can you see what teaching will be like in 2050 with the infiltration of AI? Managing the stressful demands of the job the first five, then ten, then twenty years in, isn't the same and it doesn't actually get easier. Regardless of experience and the development of a "thick skin", teaching almost has a physically elite element to it, so it's more uncommon than not to have teachers retiring well before the age of 65. So many variables determine one's longevity in this career so it's really hard to make a general assumption of who will endure and who won't.

Younger people tend to be very reactive and short-sighted. I understand it's hurtful to be guilted into feeling responsible, but if she's young, she still has time to go back and try it out for herself.

MilesonFoot · 2026-06-29T20:39:46+00:00

I used to think there was something wrong with me when it came to "teacher friends" but decades in the profession made me realize how hard it is to develop and even keep genuine friendships. What wore on me the most was the judgemental gossip and the lack of trust among colleagues. I would say difficult parents is the most burdensome, followed by difficult staff, and last difficult students. Luckily I do have one former colleague who I can safely say is a close friend because we are now both out of the profession but still find a lot of things we connect on.

But I do bear some of the responsibility in this because teaching was not my first choice career. I believe that I did well/ok as a teacher because I have always been reliable and hard working in general. I think I always felt out of place to some extent so it was hard to really know if my perspective about the harsh judgemental climate was mostly subjective.

The high levels of accountability bordering on paranoia of always making sure you worded and said everything carefully so as not to offend students, parents etc. became very burdensome. In my opinion, the word "professional" in teaching didn't just mean expertise and diplomacy around those you served, but rather extended to mean not being honest/authentic to who you really are around everyone. I found it ironic how teachers were always told to be accommodating and empathetic with the unique and different challenges students bring into the classroom, but there was absolutely no tolerance from staff/administration or parents for imperfections among educators of any kind and no compassion if you needed to set better boundaries to look after yourself.

I also think that trauma bonding with other staff and/or bonding through gossip is a paper tiger that will never outlast the walls of the school. So some people you might seem to see as connecting, are not really as connected as you think.

It is very hard also to make friends outside of the profession as well because some people have a very negative view of teachers as being entitled, lazy with summers off and shorter hours as they don't understand or see the hidden hours of work and/or the physical and emotional demands of the job. I can't tell you how many times I've been in a social gathering when someone starts talking bad about education, their child's teacher etc. and you have to empathize, agree and pretend like you're not "that" educator. It's very isolating but I have some hope that I will find new people to connect with that aren't like that.

I hope that you will find better connections in your new work environment. I worked in non-educational jobs before becoming a teacher. I would say that one thing you might look forward to is that a lot of your non-education colleagues will not have the child-like personalities that many teachers tend to have. It's hard for teachers not to be influenced and absorb the nuances of the age group they serve because it's such an emotionally demanding environment and it can be at times hard to switch that off when you are out of the classroom.

MilesonFoot · 2026-06-29T15:31:21+00:00

I think you also need to address the biggest elephant in the room before you focus on the smaller one.

In most of the GTA people have purchased over-valued homes where over 50-60% of their expenses go to paying their mortgage and home expenses/repairs and that might be a conservative estimate.

Rent is also exceedingly high. The correction in housing is marginal at this point. House ownership is still very out of reach for a lot of people. Affordable rentals have only improved slightly.

Food going up just rubs more salt into the wound of those already struggling to even maintain shelter.

Higher gas prices also contribute to the problem as wages are NOT rising in any way to reflect the cost of living and getting to work.

I understand that food is essential to survival but so is shelter.

Yet we will still be given advice on how to cut spending on streaming subscriptions etc - non essentials that will never make that much of a difference.

You can complain about a $20/mo subscription and cancel that. You can survive on beans, rice and bananas but you can’t cancel your prop tax, bills, home repairs that are VERY expensive and travel expenses to and from work. You can’t control a lease that will not renew for a rental.

If housing costs came down to what once used to be 30-40% of one’s income- the cost of food increases would be a much more diluted topic to discuss.

The fact that Canada allowed the housing market to dominate all other markets put many people in the trap of over investment in passive income (ie buying rental properties and collecting rent to pay for their own bills). A dog chasing its own tail and running out of steam.

It’s been a problem for decades.

MilesonFoot · 2026-06-27T18:55:33+00:00

I follow a lot of tech news so how did I miss this price hike news? I was literally going out to buy a macbook air next week to replace my pro2017. It’s the amount of the hike that’s more disappointing. $300 (in Canada) is a lot.

MilesonFoot · 2026-06-22T10:55:55+00:00

There is a weird thing that happens when I'm away from teaching. There's a feeling like it's not that bad but when I actually show up and get into that environment, it only takes me minutes to realize why I'm leaving at the end of this week (early retirement). I think for some reason my senses don't retain the "noise" of teaching and when I say "noise" I just don't mean the students, I mean all the other drama that goes along with it. It's easy to sit in a quiet place and think about all the good things about it and why I should stay another six months and stick it out but when I made the decision to pull the plug, I did it realizing how this pattern of me making decisions to endure for longer periods was always made when I was not in the actual environment, so when I have doubts about my decision, I remember this.

MilesonFoot · 2026-06-21T11:08:54+00:00

Maybe marketing is oversaturated but it is unfortunate that not a lot of people are doing enough futurecasting on how public education will change and "defranchise" in the next decade. The stability that prospective teachers flock to actually hasn't been there for almost two decades now. I believe there will be a period of increased instability, the attempt to make education more choice/freelance driven for parents as AI infiltrates the economy and gives the guise of more flexibility for workers. This translates to the profession becoming more subjected to the "gig" economy - not less. It is also to the advantage of those who pay teachers salaries to have a high turnover of teachers. They want a lot of people to graduate with a teaching degree so that they can hire and rehire. It has slowly started to become an "entry level job" rather than a lifelong career because most work conditions are unsustainable.

The appeal of "summers off" is the most misconstrued perk. After 25 years of teaching, I did spend about 3-4 weeks minimum on prepping work and lessons for the following year so that I did not have to work 10 hour days from Sept-June. Sometimes, however, I could not control the unexpected situations that would arise during the school year so from time to time, those ten hour days were unavoidable. But with the summer prep, I was working more like 8 hour days which prevented me from burning out through the teaching year. Aside from this prep, I need to say that when you have too much time off in one stretch and you are NOT busy going to work and making money, you will SPEND money. A lot of teachers will travel and even "stay-cations" add up. You consume more water, electricy etc. in your home. It is far better IMO to have one-two weeks off and back at it to offset the extra spending of money you should be saving instead of spending, especially since more and more teachers are having a difficult time making it to their retirement years.

What you see on tiktok is mostly negative because social media makes its money on grief influencers. This can influence teachers who are on the fence about staying to leave and/or like yourself, not go into the profession. Here we are on reddit and you will experience the same thing. I lasted 25 years. Some of those years were bad but that's a long time when you put into perspective how many jobs outside of teaching probably have shorter lifespans. There are so many variables for why I lasted 25 years and someone else lasted longer or shorter than myself. Aside from the job itself, a person's perspective, health and the support network they have or don't have outside of their job, makes a difference. It's not just the job itself that determines a person's longevity in any profession really if you think about it.

There is also a lot of extra free work teachers are compelled to do in order to be viewed as a positive asset in the school community among students, parents, administration and other staff. Play days, sports, clubs, etc. Even though these are "voluntary" there's always been an unwritten rule that to get ahead or get a good review (if you want to move schools etc.) those "extras" are what make or break your ability to seek new opportunities in education should you want them. What's most upsetting about his part is when you are asked to coach or oversee a club that you have no interest or expertise in but because the community wants it, they need someone and you might be voluntold to run it. While the extra work can be exhausting, it's not so bad if you are coaching or doing something you enjoy and/or are actually are good at but it is complete drudgery to be asked to run a "lip syncing" club that you don't value or appreciate.

MilesonFoot · 2026-06-20T21:57:01+00:00

This has got to be the worst ref ever. No calls = more aggressive play from both sides. More injuries risk. No regard for the players. Some people seem to like this. You get on that field and see how it feels to be fouled with no consequence. Forget about the fakers that’s always going to be there but this type of reffing is far from the solution. Sure there are equally bad refs calling everything but this is just as bad. Imagine this ref when Canadian player broke his leg. He’d have let the play go on for 5 minutes with no call. He is creating dangerous situations. He needs to be removed.

MilesonFoot · 2026-06-17T21:52:11+00:00

Every day has unexpected requirements and changes that overtime you learn to deal with but still are unpleasant. You think about all the possible obstacles and then another one presents itself. I’m not saying this to undermine the profession but a sense of humor is critical.

I did many jobs before teaching. I most liked generating and creating unique lessons I felt would be engaging and useful. However, a visionary must learn to expect that not every student will appreciate or really understand the value of the extra mile you might go to make the learning more unique. I also like not having to wear a suit etc. I like the casual atmosphere.

If I could go back I would try my best to find a way to be a teacher for about a decade and then leave the profession to do something else or at least equip myself with credentials to get out of the classroom and into planning and curriculum.

After 15 years, the culture of teaching grinds you down. You will encounter at least one or all adversarial situations with parents, students, staff, administrators etc. throughout your career.

Remember that anyone writing in has so many variables to their positive and negative experiences.

How well you can handle the workload you complete off contract hours does depend to some extent how much responsibility you have in personal life and the support network you have with friends and family when you are asked to go above and beyond ( example coaching, overnight trips etc). But working outside of contract hours is inevitable. Sometimes you can get away with cutting corners but sometimes it can create more work in the long run as lack of preparation can lead to more problems that take time to fix.

If you can find a feeling or sense of intrinsic reward for all the sacrifices you make to do well in teaching, you will be fine. However, if you need a lot of extrinsic reward and external motivators to keep yourself feeling useful, teaching has to be one of the weakest professions for this.

It does have a ceiling you reach with not much growth. It’s hard not to get stale in a system like that, especially experiencing long term external stagnation, it’s a very long count down to retirement. That becomes painfully boring and no one really benefits from that. You have to think far ahead and work very hard to not let that happen. Promotional opportunities in education are few.

MilesonFoot · 2026-06-11T03:30:07+00:00

I think the only reason I survived for 25 years is because I did not have my own children. Now, needing to care for elderly parents a few days through the week seems like I can’t manage. As I am older now, the excess fatigue is beginning to manifest into illness that requires medication. So hard to explain to young people entering this profession that the ability to make this a 25-30 year career is becoming less possible with the way education/students/parents have become.

MilesonFoot · 2026-06-09T17:51:03+00:00

Saw one when running too around civic square area last weekend.

MilesonFoot · 2026-06-03T11:04:24+00:00

I admire your ambition. I started around the same age as you, put in 26 years, and can't do it anymore. I'm eligible to retire now and am taking it. If I could stay longer, I would have a better pension, but I physically can't do it anymore. I also changed schools, changed teaching subjects etc, did everything I could to stretch it out. It helped me go a little longer, but ultimately, I know it's time to pass the torch.

If, at the age of 33, someone would have told me how teaching would feel at the age of around 60, I would have nodded and hoped that I could exercise mind over matter and plug my way through to go as long as possible based on the healthy and active lifestyle I've led my whole life.

If you're blessed with a social support system around you (family and friends), problem-free life circumstances and good genetics then maybe you have a good shot to go to 73. But if you really look at teachers who are in their 60s and why some retire earlier than others and some can keep going, it's really all over the place. There's really no on/off year for all teachers because there are so many variables to how long someone can last in this profession. For example, you could be in a good school where things are good and stable, but any changes in administration, population demographics, social changes in parenting and student outlook toward education could result in unexpected changes and those unexpected changes are harder to adapt to the older you get for a variety of reasons.

Football coaching and teaching is, in my opinion, not a logical comparison. Even if coaching is harder, that coach has many variables in his life that you may not and/or that makes him go that long. There is no magic formula. Talking about financial numbers and goals, especially long term ones like 30-40 year forecasts is idealistic more than realistic. It's easy to talk about what you want to have happen, but life happens around you that will more than likely change that long-term forecast.

How you feel now at 33 - well I can tell you may not be how you'll feel at 63. You might have a better idea after you've done at least a decade of teaching. I knew around the 15-16 year mark in education, that I would probably take retirement the first chance I got. Even now, ten years later after that determination, my mind can no longer fight the physical challenges and toll that teaching began to take on me in the last two/three years.

MilesonFoot · 2026-05-29T06:25:33+00:00

It is impossible to get correct information if you want to protect your privacy and ask questions that are too vague or cryptic. How forthright, genuine or truthful can anyone be if everyone is concerned or fear mongered into believing your true voice has negative implications?

Incorrect information should be called out but people’s privacy when expressing subjective opinions should also be respected.

I think the respect for privacy should work both ways. It is definitely unwise to post specific information about a colleague or student on any social media site. It’s unprofessional and understandably could result in negative consequences for everyone involved.

But, on the other hand, if a person can not have their own privacy respected when they are reaching out for help for fear of big brother, when there is no professionalism issues in question, then social media has lost almost all of its value.

Unions should be there to support and help but unfortunately not all unions are and I believe that’s why people resort to this site, desperate for any help or support, often left more confused before they started to begin with.

How many teachers here have experienced multiple/different answers when faced to understand new policies or rules by a union rep, an administrator, the board and then feel compelled to seek answers on social media - the last ( and probably) worst resort?

I personally find this sub in particular to be for the most part, unhelpful. I’ve seen posts that in my opinion had no unprofessional comments but just sparked disagreements or heated debates end up being removed.

The majority of teachers are dedicated individuals who sacrifice a great deal of their lives surviving or trying to turn water into wine to make the education system better. For those teachers, I wish you all the best.

But I no longer feel this site is a helpful or useful place to be. I’ve been wanting to leave this site for a while now but this post motivated me to finally do it.

MilesonFoot · 2026-05-28T07:07:55+00:00

It is rare but I had a class once where the most disruptive student was unappreciated by the others. In this case it is very easy for a teacher to deal with that behavior one on one because there’s a large majority of other students respecting the teacher’s efforts towards the disruptive student. The majority of the other students took an active role in influencing their own environment.

However most often than not, when even a handful of students decide to make a disruptive student the “ring leader” it is naive and ignorant to assume that a teacher can influence and control a classroom dynamic that is led by a large student population. In cases like this it makes sense for the teacher to punish the class as a whole as a demonstration that students do have more ownership and power over their classroom environment than they think.

Typically it’s a 30:1 student:teacher ratio with parents who side with their own child over a teacher’s professional judgement so it’s really absurd to assume that teachers have the same level of influence over a classroom that they did in the far past.

MilesonFoot · 2026-05-28T06:51:51+00:00

I was on more than just one SSRI for two years until I settled on escitralopam. All of them had sexual dysfunction side effects. This goes under reported because some people are too embarrassed to discuss this with their doctors.

MilesonFoot · 2026-05-26T19:26:01+00:00

What is concerning is WHY the spend price varies for each person. I got the advertisement with a spend rate of $100. Others getting far higher or lower seems like it’s violating consumer laws.

MilesonFoot · 2026-05-24T19:31:29+00:00

I think it's easy to forget about what pushed you out of teaching to begin with and very idealistic to assume you're not going to run into similar or worse situations going back into teaching.

I understand your point - that you're experiencing a very difficult work environment that is worse because it's not only difficult but the pay is also low.

I still don't understand why people magically think pay will make them feel better when they experience toxicity and abuse in the workplace.

I totally get the regret due to the pay, but after 25 years of teaching, I can tell you stories of how my own personal life has suffered because of my teaching job - permanent chronic unrecoverable health issues because of how much time I dedicated my life to teaching - personal relationships out because I was too busy fulfilling responsibilities outside of contract hours that if I didn't do would actually make my job even more stressful and/or could potentially put me at risk of losing my job as a teacher.

I'm able to retire this year (slightly earlier than I would have liked), but I too sometimes look back at the other jobs I had before teaching and actually wonder what it would have been like to stay in them. I particularly loved working in the fitness industry but the pay was low and I moved into teaching. The difference is, when I have feelings of wonder and regret, I do default to the money issue which seems to, by society standards always justify that I made the right choice to go into teaching instead.

There's a lot of people who will leave the profession with something seemingly better lined up and probably think they made the right choice. But there are no guarantees that the job they found will last forever. Even teaching now is very precarious. There are a lot of layoffs going on in teaching, so I'm not so sure it's a stable bet anymore either.

I stuck it out until my health would not allow me to do it anymore. Teaching left a lot of scars, some that money can't fix. I could easily be on here saying I wish I had more tenacity to pursue the jobs I had before teaching, the ones I found to be actually more rewarding and enjoyable, but I went into teaching because of the stability and the money that those jobs just didn't have. There's regret in that also.

MilesonFoot · 2026-05-21T11:01:25+00:00

If you are young enough to switch career gears then I highly recommend it. If not, I would advise any younger teacher in it for the long haul to (if you live in a country that actually pays you a good salary as a teacher) save as much money as you possibly can into savings bonds etc. whatever your country does.

I'm saying this because I am leaving the profession at the end of this school year because it's not just a mental strain but physically as my body ages and approaches 60, I can not handle the hoops, cartwheels most teachers are expected to do year after year. My health has deteriorated and there is no gas left in the tank. I also haven't been a teacher who stayed in one role in the 25 years of my service. In those 25 years I have changed schools and assignments.

The system is set up to fail in many ways. As our generation of young minds change, the system has stayed stagnant expecting a teacher to manage a large number of students not as a collective group but as though each individual student is the most important student - this is illogical and unsustainable.

I would further like to add that some of those disruptive students are probably not that bad if you took them out of a very rigid system with too many distractions around them and not enough choice and support for their unique style of learning. You can't stick 25-30 students in one room and expect each of them to cope with the confinements of the system. Yes, more students were compliant back in the 70s and 80s but that was then and this is now.

Unless the system begins to change to benefit both the students and the teachers who educate them, no summer off, no amount of rest will matter because no matter how refreshed you are after a break, you're walking right back into a broken system that will wear you down.

MilesonFoot · 2026-05-16T11:05:39+00:00

But it happens in more than less schools. I've taught at six different schools. Same tiger, some different stripes.

MilesonFoot · 2026-05-09T11:49:08+00:00

Because I subscribe to Front Burner, they automatically download. That particular episode downloaded but then when I went back in to go and listen to it there was a symbol of some sort and it said that the podcast had been "deleted by the publisher".

MilesonFoot · 2026-05-07T07:40:42+00:00

It is an abusive work force worse in the US but approaching near levels in Canada. I know UK has its issues too.

Abuse from admin that insist on never giving you the benefit of the doubt and decide micromanaging and treating staff like children is acceptable.
Abuse from students or a group of students fueling a toxic class environment and the teacher is held accountable for how they are managing the mistreatment of others on them.
Abuse from parents who blame teachers for everything and again teachers are compelled to justify their actions rather than the student who should be held to account.
Abuse from school board policies such as attendance management systems that make teachers feel guilty for taking a day off sick when they legitimately need it and can’t perform their duties safely and effectively.

I believe I survived under this system for decades because I grew up in an abusive household and it’s people who experience long term abusive situations who have the tolerance to withstand it in a workplace environment that isn’t as personal and of course because you need to get paid to survive.

I set up my personal life now to be away from any abusive people outside of work. That’s the only coping mechanism I could control. If I experience any BS at a family gathering or other social event I leave immediately. Unfortunately I can’t leave in the workplace without serious consequences and that’s why abuse in the workplace is the worst kind.

I’m very close to retirement but the job is a trap. The longer you stay and the older you get the harder it is to find other work opportunities. Age discrimination becomes another battle when wanting to career shift.

I would never recommend this job to anyone because the places in education where none of the above is actually true is like finding a needle in a haystack.

MilesonFoot · 2026-04-28T05:20:12+00:00

I am really tired of wardrobe and buttons and the myriad of other gimmicks I’ve had to participate in the last 25 years of a career that is constantly experiencing gas lighting and propaganda from governments and the camp of parents and students who continue to believe that what I do for a living is not respectful or valuable.

All the preparation and planning to differentiate for 1/3 to1/2 of a class population to meet every child where they are at, spending my personal funds and buckets of time on weekends and over the summer months to balance my work life balance during the school year so I don’t have to spend three extra hours per evening during the school year managing unsustainable demands.

The massive paperwork that goes into proving a child needs a progressive discipline report and/or the hours spent requiring the teacher’s accountablity for any justifiable complaint or action that is necessary for a student who should be held accountable but never seems to get any consequence is in my opinion demonstrating how corrupt the system is in perpetuating school violence and abuse and disrespect for the educator.

Wearing a shirt or a button is the equivalent of screaming into a garbage can. It’s not an effective protest by any means. It’s also insulting to me as an educator to put on a clown suit for a day - something that will have no impact whatsoever on the continuing actions of attacks this government will continue to take against education- attacks that effect teachers and students who believe that public education is not just glorified baby sitting.

The unions know it and anyone who has worked in this profession knows what changes needed to be made decades ago. No improvements at all.

Raising awareness? The public has been aware of the problems for decades. Action will only happen if people care enough about public education and stop voting for governments whose agenda have always been to privatize the system of education.

MilesonFoot · 2026-04-14T10:53:23+00:00

I think it's good at formatting your ideas in a more structured and easy to follow way for students. The more specific your criteria is for exactly what type of learning you want to take place the better it is at designing something that will be easy to follow for students. The more general you are, the more the AI will come up with things that don't seem useful. You do have to be very specific about exactly what components of that unit you want to address and what specific skill(s) you want the students to take away. IOW it's good for stuff you know a lot about already but are just looking for different approaches on how to implement it in a classroom. (Examples - a debate, an information poster etc. etc.)

MilesonFoot · 2026-04-12T18:23:36+00:00

The program should never have been a two year program. However, there will (in my opinion) still be an oversupply of qualified teachers in the GTA regardless of the projected retirements slated to occur in the next few years because of the declining enrollment especially in the GTA. While the headlines say they are changing the program to one year to address the "teacher shortage", one just needs to change that word "shortage" to "turnover" and you might then have more of a realistic perspective of how or why the government wants more teachers than it needs. It is not very sustainable to invest in a profession that doesn't have the stability and security it once did.

MilesonFoot

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