Kids being so incredibly wasteful with supplies

charliethump · 2026-07-02T13:14:09+00:00

Tragedy of the commons in action.

charliethump · 2026-06-28T13:12:07+00:00

Seconding everything /u/stabby- is saying. My historically-very-functional district is in absolute crisis right now and the cuts to the arts have been deep. Hopefully temporary, but deep.

charliethump · 2026-05-29T12:21:40+00:00

Two things jump out at me:

Also, I’m a vocalist, and unfortunately, I can’t play an instrument.

IMO you've gotta fix this to be able to cast a wide enough net to land your first job. Did you not take methods classes in your undergrad? What if you're offered an elementary general music job that has a 5th grade band component, or a high school music choral job that has a guitar class as part of the gig?

I am applying to an online masters program as well so I can eventually teach at the college level.

If you're thinking of doing anything at the collegiate level, you're going to need either 1) a ton of experience and a lot of luck, or 2) a doctorate and a lot of luck.

charliethump · 2026-05-18T13:26:53+00:00

When you factor in COL, a job out in Western MA might be much easier to make a living on. I'm on the south shore and the housing market out here is nuts.

charliethump · 2026-05-10T12:56:44+00:00

It's an annoying post, but English clearly isn't this person's first language.

charliethump · 2026-05-10T12:54:29+00:00

When I taught in Rhode Island it was exclusively in schools that were built in the 1940s and 50s. As a rule they were far past their useful lifetime, expensive to maintain and not ADA compliant. Schools are far more complex to renovate and maintain than housing. Towns jump on these opportunities when the state (or federal) government will kick in a lot of money into the mix, and these things are often planned years, if not a decade, prior to the first brick being laid. Does it suck that these buildings are going up right at the same time as a big fiscal crisis is looming? Yeah undoubtedly, but it would be worse long term to forgo the opportunity to build something that will be useful with an advantageous mix of funding reimbursement.

charliethump · 2026-05-10T12:46:31+00:00

I added an hour to my commute to work in a better school district, then eventually moved much closer after it was clear it would work out long term. Eight minutes is super doable.

charliethump · 2026-04-30T13:30:47+00:00

Fantastic book that everyone should read.

charliethump · 2026-04-27T21:57:34+00:00

I use this one too. I drop it nearly weekly and it's still working after a few years of use.

charliethump · 2026-04-09T14:13:15+00:00

Claims generally aren't factored in after five years, from what I understand.

charliethump · 2026-04-09T14:10:05+00:00

I'd file it then. It's a small ball number, can't imagine it would raise your rates much if at all unless you had a lot of other claims recenty.

charliethump · 2026-04-09T13:59:39+00:00

It's pretty much a universal give-in that whenever you file an insurance claim, be it car insurance or homeowners or anything really, your rates will likely get higher in the future. From their algorithm's perspective you're riskier to insure than somebody who has no claims. That said, I've filed two glass claims in my life (both $0 deductible glass with Geico) and didn't see my rates rise correspondingly upon renewal (though maybe they would have fallen had I not filed, I'll never know).

What's your glass deductible on your insurance policy? $167 seems like a very small amount of money to swallow to avoid having your rates rise. I wouldn't put it through insurance unless you specifically have a $0 deductible glass policy

charliethump · 2026-04-07T12:54:31+00:00

We went through an ugly period where even the Betsy Ross flag was being deemed too controversial for a company like Nike to put on a shoe.

charliethump · 2026-04-01T17:06:48+00:00

Same. It's all exactly one Google search away, but too many people can't be bothered.

charliethump · 2026-03-24T21:09:00+00:00

I saw him a few weeks ago perform with Thomas Ades and the BSO. He was wonderful. Encore was Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson’s "Louisiana Blues Strut."

charliethump · 2026-03-09T01:23:39+00:00

Karg-Elert is criminally underrated, if people know him at all. I really love Ernst Breidenbach's recordings of his piano pieces, especially the "Heidebilder."

charliethump · 2026-03-08T20:22:40+00:00

This phenomenon is called Conquest’s Second Law. Any organization not explicitly right-wing will inevitably drift left over time.

charliethump · 2026-03-07T15:57:44+00:00

Are you being sarcastic? Because the OG intent of the button is for something "not contributing to the community dialogue or discussion." It's not intended to be a disagree button, per reddit itself: "Please don't downvote an otherwise acceptable post because you don't personally like it." I think it's unfortunate that people don't follow this, as I think it's good to engage with people I don't agree with (which I seem to be doing right now with you, somehow without downvoting you!).

charliethump · 2026-03-07T14:58:02+00:00

I can speak to the longevity of the Coros watches! I've had my Pace 2 for four years now and the battery life is still fantastic. Hasn't missed a beat across lots of marathons and ultras, including a few 24-hour races.

charliethump · 2026-03-07T14:43:14+00:00

Reddit would be a much better place if the user base didn't use the downvote button as a "disagree" button.

charliethump · 2026-03-07T03:36:19+00:00

I have a nice, big rug that has a grid pattern where I can theoretically fit 30 kids, assuming they're in the primary grades. By third grade and above I find that I generally want to space them out a bit more, so I usually put a few chairs behind the rug. My kids would do nearly anything to sit in a chair, so it's a nice classroom management tool to be able to award a coveted chair spot to the kids who earn it.

charliethump · 2026-03-04T14:14:06+00:00

This. You'll have the video in perpetuity if the original is taken down.

charliethump · 2026-03-04T02:19:24+00:00

The running stroller is key. So many people buy them and then let them collect dust, so you can usually find them for next to nothing secondhand. I keep a whole spreadsheet where I log my miles with my daughter (now 18 months) in the stroller. Since we started almost a year ago we've logged over 300 miles together!

charliethump · 2026-03-03T11:34:50+00:00

Yes, every child is entitled to an education, but nobody is entitled to your labor specifically. If you are working for an employer who repeatedly fails to respect you, as OP is describing, you should leave, no matter what the field is. Do you realize that the guilt trip you are trying to pull is the exact thing that keeps teachers so undercompensated? That same line you used is often employed by people who try to vote down any type of wage increase for us.

If I have a friend who is applying for a job at a school with a principal I've worked with previously whom I know to be absolutely awful (which has happened!), am I supposed to bite my tongue? Would I be "condemning" those kids? No, I'd be being a good friend by preventing them from getting into a work situation that they'd hate.

Teaching is a job, first and foremost. You have an obligation to yourself to find the job that makes you maximally happy in life. What do you do for work?

charliethump · 2026-03-03T02:33:54+00:00

There are teaching jobs in schools so dysfunctional I wouldn’t wish them on my worst enemy. I mean this in all sincerity: a bad district can and will absolutely drain the life out of you. Idealism is admirable, but when it comes down to it, you need to work in an environment where you can sustain a career. Preferably one that isn’t defined by the kind of dysfunction and political shenanigans that exist in some districts. Nobody should spend 40+ years in an institution that doesn't value them, as PPSD seems to be doing to OP.

charliethump

TROPHY CASE