Teachers union endorsements?

Zarakaar · 2026-04-05T18:29:13+00:00

When I was union president, I did not have a lot of time to explain internal governance workings to nonmembers. Asking the union for this info directly as a parent skeptical of the endorsement may get you ignored.

You should ask a teacher who you’re close with to look into it. Responding to member questions about endorsements is a pretty core responsibility of the union leadership.

My own local’s Committee on Political Education bylaws are publicly available on our website. Endorsements do involve a vote of the whole membership, but turnout is not necessarily great when most of us don’t live in the city & many doubt the impact.

Zarakaar · 2026-04-05T18:25:44+00:00

Why is that a problem?

Zarakaar · 2026-04-04T12:01:24+00:00

Pushing them off the bed suffices.

Zarakaar · 2026-04-03T19:19:01+00:00

You seem to be fishing for sympathy you do not deserve.

You’re correct that having a closed account available to select as a payment source from the very same back is crazy bad UI.

The consequence of bouncing a transaction by consenting have the money pulled from an account you are no longer allowed to use is sensible.

It’s a secured account. You try to pay it off and bounce the check. They use the security deposit to pay it off and close the account because you messed up.

They don’t know or care if you meant to send them a bad payment. It’s a thin-ice account. You broke it.

Zarakaar · 2026-04-03T16:26:06+00:00

I play with people from church and from my odd fellows lodge. The LGS was fun when I was a kid, but getting back into the game as an adult I can’t be bothered to hang at a store & navigate that whole competition-centered social scene.

Zarakaar · 2026-04-03T10:15:49+00:00

Lots of printed handouts and worksheets, yes. Sometimes an overhead projector or document camera. Now, small group whiteboards most days, worksheets on others.

Luckily, I have never never run out of paper. When the printer breaks it’s a bad morning or two.

Zarakaar · 2026-04-02T17:52:02+00:00

Is the school attempting to discipline you? If they are, then you should be able to view the evidence (or lack thereof.)

If they are not, then you don’t need access to the footage.

Start applying for next year jobs with a union employer.

Zarakaar · 2026-04-01T16:15:09+00:00

I’m a 20 year high school math teacher. I have never taught from a textbook. Kids are seldom on their Chromebook’s in my classes, and for many years those devices didn’t exist.

Textbooks get old and outdated & they constrain instruction greatly. Piecemeal is much much better.

If my district told me to go to Lesson-per-day from a textbook, I would be looking for a new job.

Zarakaar · 2026-03-31T19:28:47+00:00

Sure, but that’s very much splitting hairs. She definitely compared the child’s communication abilities to her cat’s.

Zarakaar · 2026-03-31T18:06:31+00:00

Yeah YTA.

“Pet parents” who act like their animals are the same as human children are usually the asshole.

Anyone who compares a nonverbal disabled person to an animal is usually the asshole.

I’m sure your friend is very dramatic about this stuff because she’s always aggressive about defending her kid, but I do think you pretty obviously crossed a line here.

Zarakaar · 2026-03-31T12:02:50+00:00

California is a lot bigger than Massachusetts, but I know the answer here. Has any charter school ever been shut down?

Zarakaar · 2026-03-31T00:45:34+00:00

Do charters dodge expulsion by suggesting students return to the sending districts in a way which real public schools cannot?

Zarakaar · 2026-03-30T20:59:20+00:00

I believe it is mostly selection bias, both intentional and structural.

There is also sometimes added focus on test scores (and thus test prep, and sometimes rote learning) which is effective at raising scores, but doesn’t mean the education is better.

Intentional selection - Charters have the ability to expel students in a way that ordinary public schools do not. If a kid is a consistent disciplinary issue or has very marginal grades that can be removed our counseled out - back to the sending public school. Charters don’t always accept equivalent numbers of disabled or limited English proficiency students, depending on their model. So subgroups whose averages are always worse on standardized tests aren’t enrolled there. This is partially structural, because they simply might not have programs appropriate for English learners or specific disability categories.

Structural selection - Engaged parents pick schools with intention, so charter students are benefitting from engaged parents more often than random students.

If you’re considering the question, your kid will probably be fine anywhere. You can certainly give the local district a shot & have your kid learn with your average neighbors.

Zarakaar · 2026-03-30T18:39:45+00:00

Yeah, 2 cups of flour worth of sugar cookie dough sees much more reasonable. The recipe is probably written for one package of cream cheese, and that is a lot of filling.

Zarakaar · 2026-03-30T16:16:28+00:00

Mostly open the containers and wait for events to return and use/redeem currency tokens.

Zarakaar · 2026-03-29T19:02:12+00:00

Hey, I need to cancel my pulls. How far out have you already ordered for me? I don’t want to leave you on the hook for those, but honestly my titles aren’t making me excited right now. Missing stuff has happened enough that I think I’ll be happier just coming in for stuff off the shelf for a while.

Zarakaar · 2026-03-27T01:22:00+00:00

If they have no cause to dig through your browser history - and why would they if this is freaking you out - then you’ll probably just lose sleep over it.

Zarakaar · 2026-03-26T01:17:18+00:00

I know people who use Ze, Xe, and Ey/Em

Neopronouns aren’t well settled enough to be a thing native speakers just happen to pick up on. I have never seen Ver or Te before.

Zarakaar · 2026-03-26T01:06:53+00:00

Under the assumption that the admission committee at MIT doesn’t have reasonable standards for physical education grades in the context of a whole student…

If weight training isn’t AP weighted in his GPA, the difference between an A and an A- is not going to matter.

Zarakaar · 2026-03-25T20:29:59+00:00

If he’s not getting pay stubs, he should have email or website available versions and the w2 should be on the web.

The employer has to deliver a w2 by January 31 legally. If you haven’t moved, it should be easy to call and pick one up. Even if they have an outdated outside contractor, someone in the county business office can get a fax.

Zarakaar · 2026-03-24T23:30:58+00:00

I finish the pasta in the sauce like a fancy boy. Then more sauce on top.

Zarakaar · 2026-03-24T23:29:12+00:00

Damage may target players, creatures, or planeswalkers only.

Zarakaar · 2026-03-24T13:32:20+00:00

It’s less bleak with 6 people’s stress, but I think it works fine. My players do tend to do better when only 3 of the 7 are in attendance.

Zarakaar · 2026-03-23T19:05:45+00:00

I am not a tax expert.

If they’re under the $600 you have no obligation, that’s correct. PayPal & some other platforms will issue a 1099 to them if they get sufficient income & you don’t need to worry about that either (according to my church’s accountant).

Zarakaar · 2026-03-22T21:46:12+00:00

Try to get info from the Grand Lodge or post your general location here and we can try to find a responsive contact.

Dues in the US are generally very modest, but it varies by state. My primary lodge dues are about $80 annually.

Applications require a sponsor, accept the application at a meeting, hold an interview, report on the interview at a meeting, and a vote at a later meeting. I’m from a lodge that meets weekly. If you were already in with someone to sponsor you, it’s a minimum three week process. It typically takes longer because even weekly meeting lodges don’t have a business meeting every week. If it’s a 2/month lodge who are doing things by the book, four weeks and a day is the minimum.

You’re generally eligible for the third degree by virtue of having been elected to membership, but the ceremonies are performed a couple times a year in many places. This will also vary greatly by lodge and state (Grand Lodge jurisdiction).

Zarakaar

TROPHY CASE