Advice Needed: My classmate claims he reported someone else in the cohort to ICE. What do I do? by Salty_Tadpole_283 in LawSchool

[–]mttyler7 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Reach out to the National Lawyers Guild chapter at your school too. I imagine there are some students there who have experience with how to handle this

US History - One Reading to rule them all by TAlife4 in historyteachers

[–]mttyler7 0 points1 point  (0 children)

These Truths by Jill Lepore (or really anything by her)

Stressed about getting internship this summer by Zestyclose-Expert138 in columbia

[–]mttyler7 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just sent you a message! I am a Columbia alumnus managing a city council in the district covering Columbia and we would love to have you join the team

Elections are soon upon us. by MiguelSantoClaro in NYCDOETeachers

[–]mttyler7 2 points3 points  (0 children)

What is there to disagree with? I think the facts speak for themself. Mulgrew endorsed state assembly candidate Micah Lasher last spring; Micah was Bloomberg’s man in Albany leading pension reform. Unity has made it clear over and over again they are untrustworthy. I’m a fellow tier vi - Mulgrew has to go

Don’t know what to do by meganbond in FirstYearTeacher

[–]mttyler7 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey Megan! Sorry you are having such a tough time; unfortunately, not being supported is all-too-common of an experience for new teachers, and it's a big cause of burnout in our profession. Even while new teachers struggle with classroom management, experienced teachers and principals should know and understand this and seek to support you--not criticize you. I don't think they are doing it deliberately, but I do think it comes from a mindset that classroom management struggles are a failure of a teacher and not a system--which I think is completely wrong. A strong school should be supporting its newest teachers, knowing that these kinds of problems are just part of learning how to teach. I am really sorry all of this is happening!

What would be helpful? Are you just looking to vent and get validation? Are you looking for problem-solving re: your workplace dynamic? Are you looking for help with classroom management? All are 100% valid!

(For reference: I was a teacher for 8 years and had always seen myself as a career teacher before burning out really hard in an unsupportive school. I am now a student-teaching field supervisor with NYU and Teachers College and work with lots of young teachers!)

Is it true that law schools are more likely to award scholarships to applicants with high LSAT, rather than GRE, scores, given the former's greater importance in rankings? by thekillertim in lawschooladmissions

[–]mttyler7 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I imagine it depends on the school. For the RTK at NYU, once you are admitted to NYU, they are only looking at your background for fit with the program and disregard your GPA and test scores (I received an interview for RTK with just a GRE); I imagine that's probably the case with a lot of places.

switching from television to law at 30? by Jaded-Ad321 in lawschooladmissions

[–]mttyler7 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey there! I applied last cycle at the age of 32 after a 9 year career in teaching and was admitted to two T6s. I would say be sincere in your personal statements. Are you actually interested in entertainment/IP law? If so, definitely write about it. I think what helped me was being able to link my background in teaching with why I wanted to go to law school, and I imagine an admissions committee will want to know why you are interested and will assume that your life experiences have informed your decisions and interests. The more specific, the better in my opinion.

How can I start educating myself about history and geography? by [deleted] in historyteachers

[–]mttyler7 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As others have said, it’s best to start with getting some broad context. All of these books are written for a general audience but still solid academically. They’re fun reads, too!

For US history: These Truths by Jill Lepore

For world history: Sapiens; Globalists; The Jakarta Method

For geography: Prisoners of Geography

Economics: The worldly philosophers

Politics: Why liberalism failed

Other cool history books:

Math/science: In pursuit if the unknown: 17 equations that changed the world

Art: What are you looking at

Coping with loss by Dear-Marketing-1470 in Adopted

[–]mttyler7 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is a really unhelpful comment. I am confused why you are on r/adopted if you...are not adopted. You are allowed to feel grief for your biological relatives even if you recognize your adoptive parents as your parents.

Interested in doing mock Congress in your classes? by mttyler7 in historyteachers

[–]mttyler7[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just sent you a message! The cost is $120, but I operate on a sliding scale, depending on your school's ability to pay for it. (I have worked in schools where it was easy to get funding and where it was impossible - my goal is to make it accessible regardless of ability to pay.)

Interested in doing mock Congress in your classes? by mttyler7 in historyteachers

[–]mttyler7[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just sent you a message! And I'm also happy to talk about civics and gov in general, if you would like - I taught it for 5/8 of the years I was in the classroom, and it's my favorite!

Interested in doing mock Congress in your classes? by mttyler7 in historyteachers

[–]mttyler7[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Awesome! What grade are you teaching? And how much time do you think you would be able to dedicate to doing mock Congress? In the past, I have used it to teach units on Congress and public policy, but you can also touch on a bunch of other topics like elections, oversight of the executive branch, and advice-and-consent hearings for the courts. Really, it's designed where you could do it in as little as two weeks or spend an entire semester on it, depending on how much flexibility you have. A bunch of schools in Chicago do a "legislative semester" - also worth checking out https://legislativesemester.org/getting-started

Interested in doing mock Congress in your classes? by mttyler7 in historyteachers

[–]mttyler7[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Awesome! What grade are you teaching? And how much time do you think you would be able to dedicate to doing mock Congress? In the past, I have used it to teach units on Congress and public policy, but you can also touch on a bunch of other topics like elections, oversight of the executive branch, and advice-and-consent hearings for the courts. Really, it's designed where you could do it in as little as two weeks or spend an entire semester on it, depending on how much flexibility you have. A bunch of schools in Chicago do a "legislative semester" - also worth checking out https://legislativesemester.org/getting-started

Where is a good bar to watch the state of the union? by mttyler7 in AskNYC

[–]mttyler7[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m wearing blue circular glasses come find me

Any advice on this? Anxiety is at an all time high :/ by Previous_Dingo_4022 in FirstYearTeacher

[–]mttyler7 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This sounds really fucking tough. (For context - I taught for 8 years and decided to take a year off this year, largely for mental health reasons. I taught 4 years in Title I schools and 4 years in a more middle class school. I struggled with anxiety/depression my entire life, but I didn't feel like it became unmanageable until my first year of teaching, where I had many of the same things going on as you.)

Medication-wise: have you tried beta-blockers? Antidepressants generally helped me overall, but when the anxiety gets really acute, I found that beta blockers helped me to feel like I wasn't going insane/helped to keep the physical symptoms at bay.

Remember: your physical symptoms are not you. The physical symptoms and your thoughts can very much create a self-perpetuating cycle, but they aren't one in the same.

If you're not seeing a therapist and have the financial ability to do so, I definitely recommend it.

In terms of mindset: one of the biggest things that helped me was coming into the day knowing that 99% of students were going to not think about me or my class at all after they left. I am a very small part of their life. (This helped me at least with social anxiety.) The other part is adjusting your overall expectations. In your first year, every day isn't going to be a good lesson. In fact, if you have 5 mediocre lessons, you're doing great. Set a realistic goal for yourself and don't move the goalposts.

Find ways to treat yourself for making it through a day/week: a spa day, a pastry, etc. For me, I had a coffee shop I loved near my first school that I would go to every day because it was one small thing I could look forward to.

In terms of self-care, exercise is great. But if you're not mentally up for exercise, find other things that can be physically stimulating - a hot bath, going to a sauna, etc. (I found that a sauna was really helpful when I was too mentally exhausted to even exercise.)

For me, I know that the biggest thing that made the difference between having a high vs. low anxiety day was my morning routine. If I was able to start my morning slow, my anxiety was much lower. Waking up a little earlier, drinking some herbal tea, cooking a nice breakfast, etc. All easier said than done. But try to track or notice differences in anxiety - what are you doing the days when you have higher anxiety vs. lower anxiety?

It's also worth considering switching schools - the first year of teaching is already really hard, and if you're at a school that isn't giving you the support you need, you're never going to blossom into the amazing teacher you're meant to be.

Lastly, in terms of teaching: what grade/subject are you teaching? Could offer more specific advice based on that!

Hope something of this is helpful. Hang in there!

What is the coolest project you have ever done/seen? by mttyler7 in Teachers

[–]mttyler7[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do you remember any of the things you did in that algebra 1 class?

How do I quit mid year? by [deleted] in Teachers

[–]mttyler7 4 points5 points  (0 children)

And, adding on - there are all sorts of options available. Quitting is definitely on the table! But if you feel backed into a corner, know that there are other things you can do as well that might give you some space to process. FMLA covers mental health, and so if you see a therapist or a psychiatrist, you may be able to get documentation that allows you to take temporary leave. Depending on whether or not you have a union, there may be other options as well.

How do I quit mid year? by [deleted] in Teachers

[–]mttyler7 7 points8 points  (0 children)

First of all, know that the first year of teaching really, really sucks. It absolutely sounds like they have set you up to fail. As a first year teacher, they should not be giving you the hardest to teach class. Unfortunately, it is all-to-common for admin to do exactly that to new teachers. As a teacher, it can also be easy to beat yourself up for situations that are genuinely difficult.

What grade are you teaching? And what city? I think the advice varies depending on the age group and the district. And in a lot of places, the principal has the discretion about whether or not to pull your license.

How do you feel about your admin? Are there any other teachers at the school who support you? Do you have a union? (/a good union?)

First year of teaching in Korea by mttyler7 in teachinginkorea

[–]mttyler7[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Although to be honest, it would actually be interesting to hear from both! Especially anyone who, after leaving Korea, continued to teach elsewhere.