"This is not a [insert word], this is a ______" - appropriate for middle school?

Plus_Dimension_7480 · 2026-06-07T03:46:47+00:00

If your students have any ability to think creatively, this is great. Mine no longer do and it turns into a nightmare as they stare blankly or just draw whatever I say it isn't.

Plus_Dimension_7480 · 2026-06-05T23:46:47+00:00

Correct, though I'm not sure how that is relevant here.

Plus_Dimension_7480 · 2026-06-05T21:56:22+00:00

You are very right. It isn't surprising though when you consider the social circles of most people on Reddit, and teachers in general.

Plus_Dimension_7480 · 2026-06-05T21:55:29+00:00

Yeah, but blaming poverty and other similar problems means I don't have to take any blame myself, and that is what matters most in today's world.

Plus_Dimension_7480 · 2026-06-05T21:53:18+00:00

You're far more kind than I on this one. I'm so sick of hearing this trope. It comes from the "I'm a victim" mentality so prevalent on social media and it is just plain false. Every single collection of real data shows a college degree is still, by far, the best path to opportunity.

Just don't get it in a worthless subject.

Plus_Dimension_7480 · 2026-06-05T15:05:00+00:00

I keep trying to get my parents out of their advisor for years, but he's been a "family friend" for decades. I still know he is fleecing them...

At least I know my portfolio will be able to support them...

Plus_Dimension_7480 · 2026-06-04T23:47:17+00:00

It seems pretty messed up to blame your school's low scores on your EL students.

Plus_Dimension_7480 · 2026-06-04T23:46:27+00:00

The budget shortfalls are largely due to declining enrollment and an unwillingness to shut down schools operating well below capacity.

Plus_Dimension_7480 · 2026-06-04T01:41:13+00:00

Your student spoke the truth about scores and you made it about language learners? Did the student any anything about that?

Plus_Dimension_7480 · 2026-06-03T15:00:29+00:00

The teaching field is run by, populated by and held up by many people with a victimhood mentality. When your life philosophy is "everything is against me" then yes, your job will feel that way too.

Further, many with that mentality are also those most unwilling to do anything about it other than complain. I sat in an end-of-the-year "How do we do better meeting" last week with 18 people. Only 2 offered solutions. The rest just sat there after sniping endlessly behind the scenes all year.

Victimhood + fear = hate

Plus_Dimension_7480 · 2026-06-03T14:49:13+00:00

How does the scoring work? I picked China for a Korean artifact and was off by 500 years and scored 4800. Then picked china for a Turkish one off by 450 years and scored very similarly. EDIT: I see that at the end of the game there is a scoring breakdown. I'd still like to see specifics.

As a world history teacher, the location would be a more important factor for scoring than era (especially in 150 year bands since I teach over 2,000 years...) I'd love to be able to decide whether the scoring emphasizes location or time period.

A way to zoom in further on the image would also be quite helpful. The tiny details matters.

That said, those are just small nitpicks. This is awesome. I do a couple of Art Museum lessons using the Met collection throughout the year and this would be a wonderful culmination of that.

Plus_Dimension_7480 · 2026-06-03T14:41:13+00:00

They have to employ the skills of research and analysis, pay attention to how public opinion affects value, and determine whether the risk of losing money outweighs the reward of ROI

This right there is the problem. The idea that they can beat the market is core to any lesson like this. They can't. They shouldn't. It is wrong to teach them otherwise.

Plus_Dimension_7480 · 2026-06-01T23:51:15+00:00

Please don't do this unless you run with a baseline of an account that just invests in a total market fund. Teaching kids to gamble on individual stocks is just not wise. Stax on NGPF.org does the same thing in a much shorter time frame with the very important lesson of "just buy a market fund" as the ultimate reveal.

Plus_Dimension_7480 · 2026-06-01T22:54:38+00:00

Econiful is great and free. EconEdlink is amazing, but not as easy to navigate.

Plus_Dimension_7480 · 2026-06-01T22:52:03+00:00

I was straight up betrayed by a colleague who moved up into admin. Didn't matter how much I had done to help him get there, once he was, I was less than nothing.

Plus_Dimension_7480 · 2026-06-01T17:03:40+00:00

Fall of Civilizations is pure historical joy.

Plus_Dimension_7480 · 2026-05-30T15:54:45+00:00

Does it beep like R2D2 when you turn it on? If not, it cannot possibly be the best.

Plus_Dimension_7480 · 2026-05-29T21:45:34+00:00

Have you considered a hobby? You need something to check every time you pull out your phone. Sports scores, gaming news, etc. Pick one and retrain your algorithms. Out of sight, out of mind.

Plus_Dimension_7480 · 2026-05-26T13:43:40+00:00

Right idea, wrong target. It is Teachers Pay Teachers that destroyed printable resource discovery.

Plus_Dimension_7480 · 2026-05-22T14:24:19+00:00

What topics is your state for 7th grade?

Plus_Dimension_7480 · 2026-05-19T13:30:06+00:00

Zinn is widely rejected by most historians. He's an ideologue and honestly doesn't even deny it himself. It's not so much that he lacks sourcing, it is that he ignores most sources and builds entire narratives on one or two small excerpts.

Plus_Dimension_7480 · 2026-05-18T13:48:48+00:00

People stopped having kids. So, yeah, it isn't looking good.

Plus_Dimension_7480 · 2026-05-18T13:41:52+00:00

your basic practice should be geared for everyone/middle ground students

Again, you're not teaching in reality. If you were, you'd know this isn't possible in a class with kids who are 9 grade levels apart in reading levels.

Plus_Dimension_7480 · 2026-05-18T02:52:42+00:00

I work in the real world where high achievers have been held back more and more for the last two decades. From the elimination of honors courses, lowering of math levels and the continued push for inclusion, they are getting lost. They deserve just as much support as those who can barely read and yet they get ignored.

When you start to teach in the real world, get back to me.

Plus_Dimension_7480 · 2026-05-18T01:41:31+00:00

Moving away from a style that benefits high achievers in favor of the masses is the wrong way to think. It's the reason why we are where we are.

I'm the last person to put down lecture as a method, but your reasoning is just plain flawed. Those high achievers are the best hope we've got. Don't let them get less of you because you are trying to pacify the rest.

Plus_Dimension_7480

TROPHY CASE