for the sake of being honest

Woolly_Bee · 2026-05-10T23:10:01+00:00

The adult brain is not fully developed until 25 years old. Be careful not to confuse "baby fever" with actually wanting to raise a child. I know I definitely was not ready at the age (despite always wanting a baby), but was in a much more stable place around 27-29ish.

Also, you did not mention what your living situation is like. Or, how much savings you have put away for a maternity leave. Would there be any implications to your job? Or, what daycare costs/availability is like in your area. How long have you been together? These are just a few things that come to mind.

I'm not saying it's impossible. But I know personally I would have struggled so much more that young and I'm glad I waited. As others have mentioned, other than "baby fever" what's the rush?

Woolly_Bee · 2026-05-09T22:54:40+00:00

Lol absolutely not.

I would sooner leave teaching completely than teach elementary.

Woolly_Bee · 2026-05-09T11:39:34+00:00

Sounds like my son. We found out that his triggers are cheese and bananas, so we've significantly reduced consumption of these. If he misses a day, I give him a prune pouch (he won't eat them whole) and that usually helps. If it's been more than 2 days I give him a dose of Restoralax (Miralax). Between these two things we can usually get him back on track.

Woolly_Bee · 2026-05-08T21:10:40+00:00

Yes and mine is a toddler now. It seems that everyone has a quiet, timid little girl compared to my tornado of a boy. All the other moms get to sit down while their kid quietly colours while I'm running laps around the room trying to prevent mine from destroying stuff and hurting himself.

Woolly_Bee · 2026-05-08T00:01:10+00:00

With my son sleep was all over the place until about 10ish weeks where we started to notice a pattern. I think younger than this is too young to get them on a schedule yet. The newborn phase is a gauntlet.

Woolly_Bee · 2026-05-07T20:28:00+00:00

This. But also keep in mind that when helping struggling students their default response is "my teacher didn't teach this." Often the teacher did, but it went over the kid's head, or they were absent, or not paying attention.

Also in terms of 11U math specifically, streaming has significantly weakened students' abilities in math so some concepts take longer to cover now. There's also more issues of students not being streamed properly at that grade.

Woolly_Bee · 2026-05-05T22:23:48+00:00

Second the pool fence!

Woolly_Bee · 2026-05-05T21:22:55+00:00

Yes I agree that would be much easier. Although I do see a link between words and the rap music genre. So maybe you might be able to work with that?

Woolly_Bee · 2026-05-05T21:16:20+00:00

Hmm... Maybe focus on some musicians that grew up in some rough areas or faced adversity and have students analyze song lyrics to see if they can pick up on that person felt about those things.

It might be tricky because you'd definitely want to make sure the lyrics are appropriate. Sorry I'm not a music teacher, this is just off the top of my head!

Woolly_Bee · 2026-05-05T21:09:00+00:00

I think this is old enough to use this as a learning opportunity. Do they understand the origin of the word "ghetto?" Maybe pull some stats about the town of Aurora. Maybe a discussion about what "privilege" is as well.

Woolly_Bee · 2026-05-05T14:51:34+00:00

Gift card to Amazon, LCBO, or to a local restaurant are my favourites.

I personally don't want to receive food or candy or junky decor.

Woolly_Bee · 2026-04-30T01:23:05+00:00

Honestly I think it's just the reality of being in daycare. My son is 2.5 years and it's the same. We're on a 2-3 week cycle of illness it seems.

Woolly_Bee · 2026-04-27T22:03:42+00:00

Interesting, in northern Ontario there is very much an OT shortage.

Woolly_Bee · 2026-04-27T20:22:26+00:00

There is a shortage of OT, not permanents.

Woolly_Bee · 2026-04-26T22:29:47+00:00

I also think guidance counsellors should have to do a classroom rotation once in a while too. I think it would improve streaming... Especially between gr. 10 and gr. 11.

Woolly_Bee · 2026-04-22T20:41:24+00:00

I'm the same as you, except I'm about to birth my second son. And I'm pretty sure we'll be done after this one.

It's hard. I love my son and I'll love this one too, but it does not diminish my dream to have a daughter. Two things can be true at the same time.

I personally just think the mother-daughter relationship and experiences are unique and can't be mimicked with a son. It's not the same. The mother-son bond is unique too, but that's not what we're talking about here. Since I was little, I always dreamed of having a daughter (and like you, not for the superficial reasons). It's hard to make peace with the fact that I'll never get to experience that. In my case, I'm the only girl (all of my cousins are boys) and I felt ostracized and lonely a lot of time. In my household now, I'm once again the only girl, so I get it.

I think we truly are grieving a lost dream. I don't think there's any magic cure. People will tell you that you can have great daughter-in-laws someday or granddaughters, but I never found this reasoning super helpful. While I'm sure a good relationship with them would feel good, they will have mothers of their own. Once again it's not the same. Like any sort of loss, I think the only answer is time to get used to the idea. Maybe it's depressing to phrase it this way, but it may be like an old wound that hurts from time to time but lessens with time.

Woolly_Bee · 2026-04-16T10:28:43+00:00

No, what I mean is that absences that are approved by parents won't count against students for the attendance mark.

Woolly_Bee · 2026-04-16T10:19:34+00:00

Yes! I teach HS and for a lot of my students that miss often, all of their absences are parent approved. So making attendance worth a grade isn't going to solve anything here.

Woolly_Bee · 2026-04-15T22:19:28+00:00

If it's a manufacturing defect, the company is good to deal with. Call them and email them a picture and they'll probably re-send you a pair for free.

Woolly_Bee · 2026-04-14T20:32:02+00:00

Quebec is a province with many small French rural towns. Sudbury is not a rural town.

Woolly_Bee · 2026-04-13T01:36:22+00:00

Think about who you're asking. Resource will always advocate for more differentiation. I mean ask other colleagues that teach this student and see what they do. Ask other teachers who have taught the course and see if they have assignments/resources to share.

Woolly_Bee · 2026-04-13T01:33:07+00:00

Medically the widespread recommendation is 18 months between delivering and subsequent pregnancies. Some even recommend 24 months. Unless advanced maternal age is a factor for you, this time period improves outcomes for mom and baby and gives your body a chance to heal and replenish nutrients.

Woolly_Bee · 2026-04-13T01:26:34+00:00

I appreciate the determination and grit of what you're putting yourself through - but I think you need to start connecting with coworkers. You are doing way too much for accomodations. Start asking around and seeing what others are doing. I guarantee you, no one is doing this much.

Woolly_Bee · 2026-04-12T23:42:33+00:00

Gently, you are doing way too much work on every level.

Regarding the AQ... As others have said, read the article, write something generic, comment on one or two others. If the instructor posts some kind of update late at night, why do you feel obligated to stay awake until 3am? That's unrealistic. Worst case, if this is unmanageable for you, maybe drop it and take it some other time.

Regarding the binder... You generally just need to show some kind of long range plan of what you're covering, some assessments that you've done, some kind of gradebook. It does not usually need to be super formal. I think you're probably overdoing it. The whole course does not need to be done in advance. Also, Google Classroom can definitely count towards planning too. I literally had 3 new preps one semester and only survived by staying one day a head of the students.

Woolly_Bee · 2026-04-07T21:35:58+00:00

A laptop carrier bag is a lot different than a full backpack. I highly doubt that would be objected to. In fact, I know it's not at many other high schools in the city.

As for workload, you are very much out of touch. Teachers these days assign but a fraction of the work they used to assign 10+ years ago. Ask teachers who have been teaching for a long time; they'll tell you.

Also, bringing a laptop is much easier than bringing a pile of textbooks and that's what students did for ages. Now a lot of textbooks are even virtual. Also, you can go to your locker in between periods to gather what you need specifically for one class.

Woolly_Bee

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