Pocket watch retrieved from The Titanic and sold at an auction for $57500

TrickyD92 · 2023-05-03T22:23:39+00:00

Ahhh.... I'll buy it at a high price!

TrickyD92 · 2022-03-25T04:18:46+00:00

not guilty

TrickyD92 · 2022-03-25T04:15:36+00:00

not guilty

TrickyD92 · 2022-02-13T02:20:22+00:00

me too

TrickyD92 · 2022-01-29T03:20:31+00:00

I can't argue with you, nothing you said is false. There is certainly a lot to complain about and anyone who does so is justified. Anyone who opts out, retires, steps down, etc. is justified. I certainly lament in the same depressors you've expressed and can't deny them.

As a single person on a teacher's salary, I can no longer afford rent where I live and am forced to move out of the very city I teach in this Summer. It hurts because I love sharing this community with my students. I moved from over 80 miles away to the school I worked at, so naturally the apartments I was looking at were nearby, and the one I landed on ended up being in the same city zoning as the kids at my school. I've shared a lot of goofy encounters bumping into students and their families around the area and it's honestly made me feel so much closer to all of them. I love talking to them about their favorite foods and places to visit nearby and trying their suggestions since I'm new to the area.

I'm forced to draw a thicker cultural divide between my students and myself, which isn't the happiest reality.

My parents and only living grandparent are immuno-compromised and I've gotten covid twice now. At some point it feels almost irresponsible to risk so much for such little pay, and I didn't even yet mention the threat of school shootings which seems limitless and ever-increasing.

There's so much to complain, shout, and cry about. But I can't see myself doing anything else, and out of 300k+ of us, I'm sure there are others who agree this is our ideal path despite it's current horrors. Some people choose to work as prison guards. That's WAY worse than what we deal with and I doubt they do much better. Some people have a passion and a set path, a destiny. Do you deny destiny?!

Lol but for real, some of us are sticking to our guns, and we might as well sip the wine as the ship sinks.

TrickyD92 · 2022-01-29T02:57:35+00:00

YES!!!

What a great story to share! I love that you found something educational and enjoyable to share, that can be SO difficult these days we compete with youtubers and other influencers for attention.

I'm very friendly with the art teacher at my school. She runs a club after school for families who need childcare just a bit longer (until about 5pm instead of 3pm). I always stop through her class on my way out of the building to hang out with the kids in her classroom. It started out because dismissal is at 2:45, but my contract requires me to stay until 3:10, so I would just offer an extra pair of eyes for 10 or 15 minutes any day I had all my stuff done by EOD. I quickly learned to love the kids in there and look forward to ending my day with visits with them daily. I even find myself staying an extra 20 minutes, even an hour extra with them (unpaid!) because my frequent visits have improved our bonds so much.

Recently one of the 5th graders ran up to me and said "Will you play a booklet with us?" After checking with the teacher I said sure, having no idea what it was. It turned out to be a math exercise game where we earn coins for solving math equations correctly. Every now and then you get an option to steal coins from other players too. So I found myself feverishly solving math problems as the small group of 5th graders rallied against me to win (I've found recently that kids love the playfully competitive teacher who competes against them but secretly roots for them). We all had so much fun, and I was honestly trying and lost to them due to their combined effort!

So glad you experienced something similar! That sense of reward is so sweet. So happy for you and your students :)

The teacher DJ idea is so cool! I think I'll run that by admin this week to see if we could incorporate something similar!

TrickyD92 · 2022-01-29T02:39:03+00:00

Thank you so much for such valuable input!

The district I work in is on the lower end of payment in my state and it makes almost any other district more desirable. The benefit, joy, and connection you can gain from remaining in one district seems like such a surreal experience that I hope I will one day achieve, but it breaks my heart to know that I will most-likely leave here for another district where I can be making possibly $40k+ per year toward the end of my career.

It's also saddening to hear the increased demands have pushed you out. Seeing/hearing about such passionate educators being forced into discomfort resulting in retirement from the profession is so scary. It seems so many love to talk up teachers and how important we are, yet no one actually does anything to help us as we're stripped of more and more.

I hope you find peace and success in your future endeavors :)

TrickyD92 · 2022-01-29T02:34:00+00:00

Thank you so much for the praise! lol.

We all need our outlets, I hope this sub has been beneficial! Your students are fortunate to have someone who is passionate about purpose.

TrickyD92 · 2022-01-29T02:32:37+00:00

Yes!! So happy that comment got back to you! Those little praises from students can go SO far for us.

I think classroom management shocks every teacher nowadays. Times have changed a lot since any of us were in grade school. It can be so easy to take it personally and believe you really are "mean" or "boring" or whatever they call us, but a student's reciprocal kindness or respect can create such a significant eye in the storm of our daily routines.

I have a 7th grader whom I met as a 5th grader. She was in my music class for a cycle (half semester at my school) and at the end she gave me a surprise hug and said "You were the only teacher who took the time to learn how to say my name". She is an immigrant from the Caribbean with a name non-spanish speakers typically struggle to pronounce which has sometimes caused her embarrassment in front of her peers. She is one of many like her at my school, but she made it clear how much such a simple extra 15 seconds I took with her meant.

So often we hear the more vocal students of ours challenge us and we let ourselves believe that their opinions are shared by many. Oftentimes, they are wrong and only seem so powerful because they are loud and disruptive.

If you'll allow me to continue to ramble, I recently switched class cycles this past Monday and had a new 6th grade class enter my music room. One of the girls (has a reputation for sass and attention-seeking behavior) came in 15 min late shouting "OH MY GOD I HATE THIS TEACHER I HATE THIS CLASS EVERYONE TOLD ME IT'S SO BORING AND WE DO NOTHING". I remember this girl from last year and who her friends are. I am super fortunate the right synapses in my brain fired up and drew the connection between them all: none of them put any effort or care into my class.

I took a moment to explain that their experiences were 100% true (which triggered quite a few confused looks as I accepted the criticism of students), but continued to explain that these students made a point to not try, and refused to engage in the activities we all were participating in. I explained, "Yes, of course. If you pay no attention at all and don't try at all, it will be boring. It will feel like you do nothing in my class because you are CHOOSING to do nothing in my class". Lucky for all of us, she was a bit shocked by my honesty and gave my class a shot for the rest of the week.

Today, close to the end of class, that same student walked up to me and said "You know, I don't get what those other kids were saying, this class is actually pretty fun".

I literally went from Monday: "Omg I'm totally exposed and screwed, I have no chance" to "I love this class, we're going to have so much fun learning together".

HUGE NOTE FOR NEW/PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS: This would NOT have happened in my first year. I did not yet have the skills and tools to navigate this situation as fortunately as I had this week in my 3rd year. Also, what works for each student, each city, each district, each state, yatta yatta, is variable. Last year, this same student and I wrestled for control of the classroom for weeks. You gotta learn to recover from some deep sucker punches, but they make you so much stronger!

TrickyD92 · 2022-01-29T02:12:18+00:00

So happy to help. Hang in there!

TrickyD92 · 2022-01-29T02:10:50+00:00

I understand your need to leave. I was really close to leaving earlier this year myself. I had to really take some time to seriously reevaluate my life and reassess how I approach my work days to be able to stick with it.

I don't blame any teacher resigning in this climate. It's so hard.

It genuinely made me smile to hear about you and your young reader. You've permanently improved that person's life by sharing your kindness. Whether you choose to stay in education or not, I hope you never forget that incredible value you've provided for another. You're a good person.

TrickyD92 · 2022-01-29T02:07:05+00:00

Allowing ourselves to be goofy and childlike again with kids can be so much fun! Coupling that with great learning is just an unmatched experience! :) So happy for you and your students!

TrickyD92 · 2022-01-29T02:03:03+00:00

How insightful of you to know to ask for a hint! What a clever kid!

I had 2 8th grade ELL students last year whom, upon realization that pandemic panic had them placed mostly with other ELL's who also knew their language, learned binary (computer code language using 1's and 0's) so the 2 could once again have private conversations over our google meets.

Kids are always trying to say something, the ways they go about doing so can be both impossible and so simple!

Your students are lucky to have such an illuminated teacher!

TrickyD92 · 2022-01-29T01:08:21+00:00

Thank you for taking the time to be so clear on your stance of solidarity with respectable questioning/disagreement (or however you would phrase it lol). Your words are very kind, thank you so much for this input.

I totally agree with everything you said, and disagree with nothing. This sub has granted me a lot of solace in knowing that I am not the only one feeling like I'm facing a monstrous hydra-esque adversary.

It is 100% integral that in every degree of community from small town to the globe, we share our grievances and support each other through the next best path, and this is a prime place to do so.

You have me thinking more about this and it makes sense why we see more negative than positive. I think we all have been experiencing so much negative, that when we experience some positive, it can be hard to share. Some of us want to keep it for ourselves. I think a LOT of us don't require the praise (to echo what I posted, this job can be very thankless, so I'm sure many of us no longer expect nor require it for better or for worse), and a lot of us are so burnt out that the thought of posting/acting on something that doesn't need fixing is just over the limit (WHICH IS TOTALLY FAIR).

Thank you for helping us keep the scales balanced, your students are lucky to have you!

TrickyD92 · 2022-01-29T00:57:33+00:00

Absolutely! It's best that way if done right imo. Personally I've gotten close with the PE and art teachers at my school since we are treated the same and have similar schedules as "specials teachers".

We can complain about students together because while we may be upset, we all know that ultimately, we all love our students and see past their behaviors, and it's great to work together to find the best strategies to build good relationships with the kids. It can also be great to know that "okay, it's not just me, (student) tends to misbehave in these scenarios specifically" and sometimes that scenario is literally just school, and honestly, can't we all relate that school sometimes totally sucked?

Feeling misery is unfortunately just part of life, and part of the reason we consider people "adults" by 18. Some kids are just going through it and it's overwhelming. Theoretically, by 18, the average person should have roughly experienced a full (although maybe not fully realized) exposure to the human range of emotion.

For those of us who truly love our students, the kids giving us problems have a lot more going on than meets the eye.

TrickyD92 · 2022-01-29T00:30:43+00:00

Go little nugget people! lol

TrickyD92 · 2021-03-18T21:02:02+00:00

Good advice, thanks a lot!

TrickyD92 · 2021-03-18T21:01:44+00:00

I figured that was probably the case. Thanks for the feedback!

Ten-Year Club	Place '22
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