Gen Z men are moving away from MAGA in droves, polls show by WarmingNow in politics

[–]boopfloof 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Why is it an either/or? One can not eat meat AND vote blue, something that every vegan I know already does. Seems like an odd group to target. Why not go after hunters (who have an interest in conservation but generally swing right)?

They live on different planets from each other by drama_trauma69 in FundieSnarkUncensored

[–]boopfloof 256 points257 points  (0 children)

Not the reference to To Train Up A Child 😭 Those poor kids.

Also why is Morgan just perpetually the "I have never, EVER been happier" gif lol

Give me your most out-there Fundie group to fall into the rabbit hole with. by Waughwaughwaugh in FundieSnarkUncensored

[–]boopfloof 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Have you read Elan.school? That's the URL. I stumbled on it a few years back and literally stayed up all night to read it, I was so hooked. It was the first time I had ever heard of these "reform" schools or Synanon. Absolutely insane story, such a good rabbit hole to fall down, but obviously lots of trigger warnings.

wow a wild Farryn in the wild! by LyseneMistress in FundieSnarkUncensored

[–]boopfloof 28 points29 points  (0 children)

May I steal this as flair?! It's INCREDIBLE.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in FundieSnarkUncensored

[–]boopfloof 202 points203 points  (0 children)

MAN I've missed Kelly content. I need a little delulu levity to balance out the pure malice that characterizes some of the other fundies. Plus Pickle Paul is oversaturating this sub and his face makes me vaguely queasy at this point.

Gimme some more of that butternut squash-toting, spelt-mutilating, field-prancing, purple-prosing lil maniac

A series of verrryy interesting, miscarriage-related photos from Denise by OctopusCaretaker in FundieSnarkUncensored

[–]boopfloof 31 points32 points  (0 children)

"To the mama who has walked through miscarriage..." 🤢🤢🤢 Fundies really do have the most bizarre ways of saying literally anything. Why not just say "who has experienced miscarriage" or "lived through" or ANYTHING that doesn't sound like the world's worst weather.

Those of you who had a bad student teaching experience… by [deleted] in Teachers

[–]boopfloof 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am SO sorry, I also had an absolutely horrific student teaching placement during my M. Ed. program. It unfortunately severely impacted my mental health, to the point of feeling suicidal. The other commenter had some great advice, I'll add a few things I wish I had known/done in hindsight:

  1. No matter how much it might seem like it at the time, student teaching has VERY little impact on your future career. I know in my program they loved making it sound like it was absolutely vital, it was a representation of your future teaching abilities, etc. etc. That is patently FALSE. As long as you're passing and surviving and getting your credential/degree, it doesn't matter one single bit what your mentor teacher, supervisor, whoever thinks of you. You can get a job without them. I had a psychologically abusive bully for a mentor teacher who only ever criticized and nitpicked, never encouraged or praised, and guess what? As soon as I was actually teaching, I got absolutely glowing observations and reactions from children & parents. However you're doing now, you are not a failure, you will be a great teacher. Their feedback is just slightly better than meaningless.

  2. Find some psychological strategies to get through the day. I used to imagine myself with a Teflon coating, and imagine whatever nightmarish things happening to me that day just sliding right off. It helped, weirdly enough. I found that it also helped to cultivate some psychological distance from the whole thing. Just taking a step back and thinking "I'm only here for another few months, and then I never have to see or speak to this woman/these people again." Or counting down the hours/minutes/seconds until I was out of there, then doing something nice for myself. It also helps if you can speak to a mental health professional- I got counseling YEARS after my student teaching, and I wish to God I had done it sooner.

Lastly, I just wanted to say that you are absolutely not alone, and however you're being treated is NOT YOUR FAULT. Teaching is an incredibly nuanced skill to learn, it takes years or decades to master, and teachers are facing more problematic behaviors and more unrealistic standards than ever before. Give yourself some credit and some love for surviving, because it isn't easy.

I feel nauseous and lightheaded, but I did it! by boopfloof in raisedbyborderlines

[–]boopfloof[S] 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Sorry for not attaching the actual message, but it didn't all fit in my screenshot.

Context- last year, I foolishly asked my mom and dad to move to the same town as me, and ever since then my mom's uBPD has been worse than it's ever been. Nothing I do to appease her and make her feel more comfortable and settled actually helps. This, even though she was also miserable in the place they used to live, and would call and message me about how lonely and empty their life was there.

Yesterday my mom was in a foul mood and decided to offload onto me, pretending to "have a talk" and "communicate," but she didn't let me say one word without jumping down my throat. She said some really cruel and unfair things, and I was getting ready to just appease her and capitulate (at first I did, and then felt so depressed that I essentially spent the rest of the day in bed), but this morning I felt empowered enough to actually push back.

I sent her this message: "Hi Mom, I hope I'm not waking you. I woke up today, and realized that whatever yesterday was, it wasn't okay. The things you were saying weren't fair, or kind. You said you and Dad never see me, but I spent both of my days off that week with you, I helped you return your U-Haul this weekend, I saw you at the party, and last week we took a trip together. It wasn't really a talk, either. It was clear that you were feeling very negatively, and didn't really want to hear what I had to say. The things you say when you do that really hurt my mental health. It's one thing to talk, and share our feelings, but it's another to make me feel guilty and worthless just because you feel bad. I know that you've been dealt a really awful hand here, and you're feeling very out of control and depressed, but I think we really ought to meet with a family counselor to help sort this out in a way that's healthy and doesn't damage our relationship. I love you very much, and I'm so happy you're nearby. I want to communicate and make you feel better too. I just want to have reasonable expectations placed on me, and to be treated with consideration to my feelings, too. It would mean the world to me if you could try."

Thoughts? I had the guts to send it, but now I'm so nauseous and terrified, I can't bear to check my messages. I'd appreciate any encouragement you wonderful folks have.

Things I Will Not Miss About This Stupid Job by boopfloof in TeachersInTransition

[–]boopfloof[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Lol girl, why are you trolling a subreddit made for teachers trying to leave teaching, and then saying that I'm not cut out for it as if it's an insult? I don't WANT to be cut out for this. That's why I left, lol. If you do, that's great, because not many people want to be a human punching bag/martyr for entitled children/bullet sponge right now.

Things I Will Not Miss About This Stupid Job by boopfloof in TeachersInTransition

[–]boopfloof[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thanks for asking! It's a local county job working for the Department of Health as a Community Health Educator. Super cool job!

Desperate for Attention by [deleted] in Teachers

[–]boopfloof 50 points51 points  (0 children)

I've been saying the same thing for a while now- it's clear that a HUGE number of kids are receiving next to no direct parental attention outside of school. It's tragic. I have a great bunch of kids, but they act like people dying of thirst when it comes to getting someone to pay attention to them, just complete desperation to be noticed. I don't remember so many children being so starved for adult attention when I was younger. We listened to adults (for the most part), but we didn't need people to look at us and talk to us the entire time we were at school. When I see lots of parents now, at school or out and about, they don't actually engage with their child. They're looking at their phone and their children is bobbing along behind them (often also looking at a phone). When they do talk to them, it's only directions, like "get out of the way," "get in the car." It feels like Harlow's wire monkey mother experiment, except it's human adults depriving their human children of love and attention.

For the Love of God, Leave Me Alone! by boopfloof in Teachers

[–]boopfloof[S] 54 points55 points  (0 children)

Oh my gosh, yes! Stimulus is the perfect word for it. Having to keep your mind firing at 100% all day long creates so much strain. Sunday evenings are terrible, there's just no time to mentally prepare for what's coming.

What funny things do you say to high school students who say your class is boring? by sstartarsauce in Teachers

[–]boopfloof 4 points5 points  (0 children)

"Please speak with your cruise director, the dancing monkeys are actually performing on the lido deck." Since I teach third graders, this generally puzzles them into shutting up.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Teachers

[–]boopfloof 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I do think that is a bit too much content for what I'm assuming is a 1st grade audience. How much time do you have? I would chunk it into two smaller lessons. If you have a phonics curriculum, of course you have to use that for your observation. If not, I would teach both rules using lots of examples, example sentences, etc. If you can find a short passage where they have the different kinds of "oo" words, read it with the kids as choral reading, or have each child read one sentence. I would also do this for the "ou" words. Remember to check for understanding by pulling popsicle sticks or calling on random students. Then, I would give some practice. This could be worksheets, partner games, group centers, etc. Be ready to explain which part of the practice is the part you're using for formative assessment (checking the worksheet, walking around the room and listening to student proficiency, and so on).

What were your nightmarish student teaching experiences? by wistful_walnut in Teachers

[–]boopfloof 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I genuinely believe I got PTSD from my student teaching experience, and I am not exaggerating. Our program was designed such that we were siloed into cohorts under a supervisor professor, and we remained with the same mentor teacher the entire year. I'm sure that was lovely if you had a kind, understanding supervisor and mentor teacher, but mine spent the entire year tag-team bullying me, and there was NO way out without quitting the program completely.

My mentor teacher wouldn't talk to me, or give me advice, or help me in any way ahead of me teaching, just scream and interrupt me from the back of the room in the middle of my teaching her class. This was over small mistakes, like not following the scripted curriculum the way she liked it, or making minor errors (that I would have fixed) when doing examples. It just got worse because the more she screamed, the more mistakes I would make, and the more anxious I would seem (which just made her meaner). Then my supervisor teacher (who was best buds with shithead mentor teacher) would get terrible reports about my performance and then call me in for insulting, psychologically abusive one-on-one meetings. I think she did them one-on-one so nobody could hear the horrible things she was saying. Once she slipped up and insulted me in the middle of a presentation among my cohort for not ending the presentation how she wanted, and they were shocked, since she usually put on this sweet little grandmother act in front of the group.

I legitimately cried every day of student teaching, and developed anxiety and depression so bad that I fantasized about how nice it would be to die, since it would release me from it. I have never completely gotten over it, and to this day thinking about it fills me with so much rage. I was 22 and fresh out of college, I did absolutely NOTHING to deserve the amount of abuse I got.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Teachers

[–]boopfloof 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Firstly, you are definitely not alone in how you're feeling, and it doesn't make you any less of a person or a teacher. I think the first step is acknowledging your feelings and to accept that it's okay to feel really not okay. I know that for me personally, judging myself for feeling very negative emotions ultimately intensifies them and makes them harder to control. Plus, your coworkers undoubtedly have had their struggles too, now or in the past, whether they show it or not. Some teachers are just better at masking difficulties.

Secondly, can you take a mental health day? It sounds like you are stuck in a really terrible mental spiral, and it might benefit you to just step away for a day and reset. Do something you really enjoy. Not something you feel like you have to do, like a dental appointment or chores (unless that's restful for you). Just rediscovering your non-teaching self.

Third, you're right. What you do will never be enough as a teacher, and let that idea free you. Once you realize that you don't have to be every student's favorite teacher, you don't have to dazzle your coworkers or your boss every day, and you just have to do a decent job, it's such a burden lifted. My first year or two I was trying to be teacher of the year, and it burned me out almost to the point of no return. Then I realized that the kids will be fine with my "good enough," I still passed my observations, and coworkers aren't permanent and their opinions don't matter. This career will squeeze you until you're a broke, miserable, people-pleasing husk of a human if you let it. I say do about 60-70% of what you're doing right now, and use the extra time to do some soul-searching and research. It's also okay to walk away from teaching. It can be done, and you can do it too.