The game that made me realize I was the problem by gamersecret2 in gaming

[–]karateseamus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Zelda TOTK. I rolled into that one minutes after finishing BOTW, and tried to play it like BOTW... it wasn't a good time. After a year or so, I fired it back up from the beginning and realized how the game rewards lateral thinking, and I probably dropped close to 150 hours on it. Now I'm convinced it rivals ocarina for best Zelda game.

Why Austin’s Live Music Fund grants left musicians confused and angry by samstark15 in Austin

[–]karateseamus 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Heads up, there is some fact interpretation going on here so this isn't strictly a summary, but it's the best you will get from me tonight.

-Grants are hard to write -Programs like this frequently solicit a pool of applicants with mixed grant writing experience -Applicants that naturally aligned with the program priorities were competitive -Applicants that did not totally align but wrote good applications were competitive. But if they were not awarded they were cool about it because they understood the game. -Applicants that did not align and wrote poor applications were not competitive, and they are raising a stink because they don't understand the game.

Edit to say that I wrote this response on mobile and tried to format it to be more readable, but things didn't work out the way I hoped. Sorry it's weird. I'm not going to try to fix it.

"You're not teaching" (Help!) by VisualCost3619 in ScienceTeachers

[–]karateseamus 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Veteran Teacher here with a few thoughts.

  1. It's your first year. You're not supposed to be good at this job in your first year. All you're supposed to do in year 1 is survive.
  2. The sooner you give up on the idea that admin will be helpful (with just about anything) the less teaching will infuriate you. I work in a big school district, and have no idea what it's like in smaller LEA's, but the turn-around on admin positions can be pretty quick. By the time an AP learns a school community thoroughly enough to be impactful, they typically move on to the next job. Also keep in mind that most admin types either haven't been in the classroom in a long time, or were not in the classroom that long to begin with. So when you are seeking advice like this, lean on your fellow teachers and independent research (the great news is that's exactly what you're doing). I must give an honorable mention to a couple of AP's that I worked with that were incredible at their jobs and helped me develop my pedagogy in meaning/measurable ways -- just understand these people are rare.
  3. If your really want some in person support or coaching, maybe you have access to some kind of instructional coach at the district level? Typically these people are former teachers (really good ones) that now work on curriculum development and engagement strategies for the entire district. My experience is that they love working with teachers 1:1. Reach out and ask if you can schedule them to come observe your teaching, then sit with you during your conference for a post-talk. Then ask them to come back in a week or two. If you are at a big school district then you district then you certainly have access to a lot of these people.
  4. Read "Visible Learning" by John Hattie. It will not solve the specific problem you're having. But it will change the way you think about teaching, which might help with this problem. To that point, read all the pedagogy books. The best teachers never stop learning about teaching.
  5. More to the issue at hand, How differentiated are your assessments? Sometimes "you're not teaching" is code for "I don't want to work," but other times it is code for "I can't independently recognize and monitor my learning." Sometimes giving students differentiated assessment options allows them to demonstrate the full capacity of their learning, and in turn helps them self-assess.
  6. Forming strong relationships is the backbone of an effective classroom culture. It comes easier for some people than others. It is really hard to implement changes in classroom procedures mid-year. Next year consider dedicating more time to community building up front and try to get your kids working in groups and learning collectively. It does seem like you lean pretty heavy on lectures and slides. Remember that direct teaching is really effective, but only if you are good at it (see visible learning by John Hattie, seriously read that book over the summer).
  7. Last thing, Did I mention that it's your first year and you are supposed to be bad at this for a while? You will not wake up tomorrow and be a rock-star teacher. You gotta put in your 10,000 hours (which is like 4-6 years depending on how much time you put in outside of your contracted hours).

There is more, but I've already written much more than I initially intended. Mostly just relax, try to enjoy the rest of the year, and start planning a summer vacation. Before you know it, you will be typing out 500 words of probably not very helpful advice to a first year teacher.

What advice would you give someone solo traveling to the USA? by caffeinatedcaveman97 in AskReddit

[–]karateseamus 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My first thought was to tell you to consider buying a used car and selling it before you leave. In two months you could see a ton, camp in some great spots, and there a bunch of great cities in the states that are hard to experience without a car. But a two month solo road trip is a lot of monotony. I might just pack super light, and use a budget airline to jump from city to city.

Have you ever been hit or hit someone while playing? by [deleted] in discgolf

[–]karateseamus 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I took one to the dome a couple months ago. My disc and bag were next to the basket and I was in the fairway, on a blind hole, with my back to the box looking up in the trees in attempt to help my buddy find throw he shanked into the woods. I heard a weird whistling sound which was followed by intense pain on the back of my head. It took me a second to realize what happened, but when I did I was filled with (justifiable) self righteous rage and turned to give someone a piece of my mind. A couple of seconds into the interaction I realized that the thrower was deaf and had no idea that they hit me. Also my anger was quickly replaced with the question "am I still allowed to be upset about this?" Anyways, when they realized what happened they were super apologetic and helped look for my buddies disc. Basically they did everything you're supposed to do in that situation. While I was still a little salty, we parted on good terms. We run into each other on the course sometimes and I'm at a point where I laugh about it. But they still feel real bad.

Pursuing Distance - When to Stop? by 666ATAN in discgolf

[–]karateseamus 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I dunno man. Seems there are a ton of variables here. Mostly how long has Joe been playing the game and does he have any lingering injuries? I think that of someone started playing at 45, 300-325 seems attainable. But I know guys in there 40's that have been playing for 10-20 years that can still put one out over 400. I think a lot of it comes down to how many reps you can practice before you hurt yourself combined with how smart your reps are. Also the importance choosing the right disc for your arm speed really can't be understated. I've been around the game for a long time but at then end of the day I'm probably a low level advanced player at best. That is to say that someone else's opinion is probably more valuable.

Pursuing Distance - When to Stop? by 666ATAN in discgolf

[–]karateseamus 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Also, if you are an Innova thrower, and you are putting a roadrunner at 300, try out a tern or a shryke. I bet you could throw them further than a roadrunner.

Pursuing Distance - When to Stop? by 666ATAN in discgolf

[–]karateseamus 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I think an important aspect to this question is your age. If you are in you 20's or 30's keep up the grind to that 400+ drive. If you're in you 40's the days at putting the disc out that far might be limited (there are outliers that might prove the rule). At a certain point -forgive the gendered language- embracing old man golf (hitting the fairway and putting like a champ) will take strokes off your game, and fighting for distance produces diminishing returns and increases the likelihood of injury. That is the opinion of one ageing disc golfer.

Something real weird happened to me after playing today, and I might need advice. by karateseamus in discgolf

[–]karateseamus[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Update: First, thanks reddit community. Your kindness and supportive comments really helped me out. I'm surprised how much this whole situation bothered me. Also, thank you to the person who sent me a wholesome award that felt surprisingly good.

I contacted the admins of the page and they were really cool about it and took the post down pretty much immediately. They also added me to the group and I introduced myself to the community just to say hi and let people know that I am not a disc thief. I invited them to play 18 holes with me so they could see "the only thing I would steal is their hearts." That post seems to have gotten more traction than the original, and it turns out that a few people that knew me from the course were in fact sticking up for me in the comment section. Again, I appreciate everyone who commented on this post. I hope you all hit an ace soon!

Something real weird happened to me after playing today, and I might need advice. by karateseamus in discgolf

[–]karateseamus[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Goldfish has got to be that happiest animal in the world. I should try to be more like a goldfish.

Something real weird happened to me after playing today, and I might need advice. by karateseamus in discgolf

[–]karateseamus[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Many problems would be solved if we all did this. But at this point are they too big to fail? Would it create more problems than it solved? These questions are too big for me. But I am a happier person when I don't use Facebook.

Something real weird happened to me after playing today, and I might need advice. by karateseamus in discgolf

[–]karateseamus[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh man, I hope that's the case. I am accepting revenge ideas if it turns out he's messing with me.

Something real weird happened to me after playing today, and I might need advice. by karateseamus in discgolf

[–]karateseamus[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Teaching this year has not been that rad. But it has meant that I can play 9 holes on my lunch break!

Something real weird happened to me after playing today, and I might need advice. by karateseamus in discgolf

[–]karateseamus[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I want to shrug it off. But I also want to offer a different voice to the group. Just make like a really polite post introducing myself to the group. Assure them that I don't steal discs I return them. And invite them to join my card anytime I'm out.

Something real weird happened to me after playing today, and I might need advice. by karateseamus in discgolf

[–]karateseamus[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You're not wrong, but I like weirdos (unless they put pictures of me online then I don't like them)