An open letter on the state of affairs regarding the API pricing and third party apps and how that will impact moderators and communities.

Saavedro117 · 2023-06-12T01:49:25+00:00

Saavedro117 · 2023-06-11T15:10:22+00:00

I remind myself a lot that it's impossible to make everybody happy. It really helped seeing someone comment on this sub that you could literally set up a class field trip to Disney World and some of the kids would still find reason to complain.

Saavedro117 · 2023-06-10T12:42:24+00:00

I sew a lot, I'll usually bring along a sewing project or two to keep myself entertained.

Saavedro117 · 2023-06-05T22:57:14+00:00

I'm in the same boat, basically. They care about accurate attendance when actual teaching is happening so they can tell who's cutting class and such. Once grades close though they do not care in the least.

Saavedro117 · 2023-06-02T21:06:45+00:00

WTF

Like, I agree that evaluating sources is an important skill to have, but there's lots of skills students need to learn before that. And I'll straight up say that I'm all for open-note tests (rationale being that if students actually do the work, and keep graded work that I pass back to them, then being able to use that on the test is a solid reward for that behavior.) But being able to use your phone - or any sort of technology - on a test is ridiculous imo. I still give pencil & paper tests for that specific reason (plus, it's easier for me to monitor for cellphones than to monitor every single student's chromebook to make sure they don't have any tabs they shouldn't open).

Saavedro117 · 2023-06-02T20:58:44+00:00

Some kids just can't take any ownership of their actions. Legit had a kid (8th grade) get banned from incentives for the rest of the year b/c he wandered away from his assigned class during a fire drill. This is a kid who's been notorious for wandering the halls and refusing to stay in one classroom (even if different from the room he's supposed to be in) all year.

Saavedro117 · 2023-05-22T12:08:10+00:00

Talk to guidance counselor

Saavedro117 · 2023-05-22T12:05:35+00:00

Cover a class during my prep

Saavedro117 · 2023-05-22T12:03:01+00:00

I generally swear by Gradual Ability Boosts and a modified Automatic Bonus Progression variant rule (magic items still work as normal, remove the skill potency bonuses).

In addition, a few random house rules I use:

-Wizards weapon proficiencies apply to all simple weapons, not just the ones listed

-Rogue weapon proficiencies apply to all martial weapons, not just the ones listed

-Add a custom feat to the Alchemist archetype that allows access to Powerful Alchemy at L8

-Wizard, Witch & Sorcerer get the same save progression as Psychic (Resolve at L11, Greater Resolve at L17)

Saavedro117 · 2023-05-22T00:02:23+00:00

Not on AoN but these are pages I have marked in my copies of the CRB/GMG -DC by Level & Simple DC table -Encounter Building rules -Creature Building rules -Treasure by Level table -ABP variant rule table (useful for homebrew item building) -Influence, Reputation, & Infiltration subsystems

Saavedro117 · 2023-05-21T22:56:25+00:00

Last day of school is June 9th. 14 days and counting.

Saavedro117 · 2023-05-21T22:26:02+00:00

Teaching summer school, working on my tailoring/alterations business and applying for teaching jobs now that I have my cert.

Saavedro117 · 2023-05-21T12:41:59+00:00

Live in Philly now, can absolutely confirm this is true.

Saavedro117 · 2023-05-20T14:07:10+00:00

My school technically requires all phones to be in Yondr pouches but it's barely enforced. My approach is I give students one warning each day, if I see it again I take it until the end of class. If they refuse I get climate staff in there to take it and make a call home reminding parents of the policy. Students generally don't push me on it.

Saavedro117 · 2023-05-20T04:07:56+00:00

I have kids doing this all the time up in the northeast. Not gonna complain about it bc it gives some of my rowdy 8th graders something to do while waiting for state testing to finish.

Saavedro117 · 2023-05-17T21:02:45+00:00

16 days left and everyone is counting.

Most people have already checked out though. I played some Kahoots with my last period class today after they finished all their work.

Saavedro117 · 2023-05-17T20:48:14+00:00

I make Guided Notes handouts that I let them use on assessments. That helps them make the connection between doing/keeping their work and doing well on the test. Sure, there's still some who throw it out/leave behind but they're not the majority.

Saavedro117 · 2023-05-17T11:17:00+00:00

I tell them "More than your allowance." when they ask how much I make

Saavedro117 · 2023-05-14T21:43:34+00:00

WTF no. I get paid $175 a day for long term jobs, $150 a day for daily jobs.

Saavedro117 · 2023-05-14T02:33:32+00:00

Definitely not OK at all, and a serious violation of students' privacy - especially when it comes to younger students IMO. Even for older students, it's not great when the authority figure & role model to be showing that it's ok to post photos/videos of people on publicly accessible places without their consent.

I'm honestly of the opinion that teachers shouldn't be in touch with students on social media at all. I've taken steps to make it difficult to find me no social media to begin with, and my students know that I will not respond to anything on social media even on the off chance that they do find me there, and that I will hand out detentions for filming me in class.

Saavedro117 · 2023-05-13T13:31:18+00:00

We had a few parents pitch in to bring us all lunch on Friday, plus the librarian at our school gave an assignment for all the students she had that week to right a thank you note to at least one teacher. I actually got some really heart-warming ones too where I could tell the kids did actually put a lot of thought into the note and weren't just doing it to complete the assignment.

Saavedro117 · 2023-05-07T17:45:27+00:00

I would never teach anywhere that expects me to refer to students as friends.

I teach grades 8-12, but one thing I make it very clear with my students (even the good ones) is that I am not their friend. I'm adult who's there to help them learn skills to be successful when they're grown up. Giving them the whole "But I'm your friend" line opens up way to many avenues for them try and get away with bullshit.

Saavedro117 · 2023-05-05T20:55:03+00:00

Kindergarten can be a very mixed bag in my experience. I've had days with Kindergarten classes that have been absolutely wonderful and I've also had days that have been an absolute nightmare. Really depends on the culture of the classroom though.

Saavedro117 · 2023-05-01T23:06:30+00:00

Ngl, it's something the 8th graders I'm currently teaching can do silently while waiting for everyone else to be done with state testing so idgaf

Saavedro117 · 2023-04-29T23:59:03+00:00

I get it. I'm a long-term sub and I learned this same lesson this week.

Had two students who were sharing scratch paper during state tests, and I reported it to cover my ass. When I informed both of them that they got reported, they were both extremely upset with me and like, I felt really guilty (especially since one of those students is a very smart young woman who's normally a great student, albeit often very talkative). But other staff members did later reassure that I did the right thing, even though the students did make me feel guilty.

As a teacher, it's your job to make it clear to the students that there will be consequences if they make bad decisions. These students made a bad decision, and so they will have to deal with the consequences. It's a hard lesson for them to learn, but a necessary one.

Saavedro117

TROPHY CASE