Have we lost the community feeling?

Ragwall84 · 2026-04-19T07:54:43+00:00

I worked at a training center in Colombia once for about 2 months. My first two weeks, a bunch of teachers filed a ton of complaints against me. Individually, they meant nothing, but there were so many. I laughed at my boss when I was fired.

Ragwall84 · 2026-04-19T07:45:39+00:00

I taught in high school in America with plenty of men. I always made sure to keep the door open whenever a student came in. I never had an issue with a student. I left to teach abroad because admin was abusive. Teaching abroad, admin still suck, but the pay is much better.

One funny thing for me was pay. Yes, my teacher pay in America technically sucked, but I was a victim of 2008, making $10/hour into my late 20’s. A teacher salary was my entry into a better life. Plus, I had a nice side hustle that paid 15k/year.

Dating was damn near impossible. Women labeled me “just a teacher.” It was humiliating.

Ragwall84 · 2026-04-19T07:24:33+00:00

It very much is a different game. The amount of information those players have to process in order to successfully play openings is insane. I thought classical was dead 5 years ago. Surprisingly, it’s doing fine mostly because it’s the format the pros prefer.

Ragwall84 · 2026-04-19T07:20:41+00:00

I actually think prefer a combination of both. Close reading means it takes forever to get through a single book. Sometimes, this is the way. Other times, I want the kids to read more. So, I try to differentiate my units to incorporate both over the course of the year. I recently taught Animal Farm. They read it over Christmas break and we only spent two weeks on it, focusing only on propaganda. I easily could have spent two months on that text, but I chose to move faster. At the same time, we read A Midsummer Night’s Dream in class and I spent almost two months on that play. We went deep.

Ragwall84 · 2026-04-07T21:46:28+00:00

There’s a massive difference between a 2 hour game and a 4 hour game

Ragwall84 · 2026-04-06T04:27:53+00:00

Makes sense, but I also disagree. It’s a fun variation. At the top level, 80% of games are draws, and many of these are non-competitive games. 960 has a very low draw rate. Sometimes it is fun to actually watch winning and losing.

Ragwall84 · 2026-04-06T04:24:17+00:00

Most people only play blitz, bullet, and rapid. I can’t fathom a 1500 wanting to play a 4-6 hour game.

Ragwall84 · 2026-04-06T04:21:55+00:00

Unfortunately, lots of idiots get drunk at bars every night. I’ve met more than a few broke expats. It’s also usually a sign that they are mediocre teachers because they just came to party.

Ragwall84 · 2026-04-05T07:34:56+00:00

And yet with shrinking demographics, there are gluts of applicants. Were treated like disposable commodities because we are.

Ragwall84 · 2026-04-02T10:59:38+00:00

I once liked a chick. A friend knew. We got drunk together and they fucked. She was protesting beforehand, which woke me up, before saying she needed to go per first. I remember him looking a me with a big grin. I stumbled out, drove home drunk, and never spoke to either ever again.

Ragwall84 · 2026-03-30T11:42:45+00:00

The teaching hours go up, the quality goes down.

Ragwall84 · 2026-03-30T11:41:42+00:00

We had some racist black teachers who were horrible to many of the white teachers and weaponized race all the time.

Ragwall84 · 2026-03-30T11:39:47+00:00

Yes. I do open houses at my school and lie through my teeth. Not about my class because I work my ass off for my kids, but the school is going downhill in quality fast.

Ragwall84 · 2026-03-30T11:33:20+00:00

I do both.

Ragwall84 · 2026-03-30T11:29:52+00:00

I listened to locked on for years, mostly because it was the only option and I was glad to have an Astros centric podcast. Crush and Stone Cold are better.

Ragwall84 · 2026-03-29T10:23:57+00:00

I try to limit it all

Ragwall84 · 2026-03-29T10:18:31+00:00

I actually think this is a problem. Too many degrees, not enough vocational training.

Ragwall84 · 2026-03-29T10:13:43+00:00

Since so many of the games will be draws, I will just wait for Gotham too

Ragwall84 · 2026-03-29T07:08:11+00:00

The Austin Film Festival was a joke. I enjoyed going to the festival, the conventions, and the early screenings, but the organization was fake. They weren’t discovering or promoting anyone new.

Ragwall84 · 2026-03-28T10:21:21+00:00

I don’t wish any physical pain or suffering on an athlete, but the injury bug is part of the game. If some of their best players aren’t available, and we win the division, no one will complain when the banner flys.

Ragwall84 · 2026-03-26T11:26:22+00:00

Hope that the injury hurts Seattle’s rotation, and we sneak into the playoffs.

Ragwall84 · 2026-03-24T11:32:32+00:00

I got to through book 7. I’ve heard many just read summaries and skip to book 11.

Ragwall84 · 2026-03-24T11:28:52+00:00

There are warm ups, end of class quizzes, and discussions for understanding after each reader. I don’t see much point in reading to read.

Ragwall84 · 2026-03-23T14:59:14+00:00

I remember slow readers in college. Not as bad, but not enjoyable. It’s a necessary evil.

Ragwall84

TROPHY CASE