Grind My Gears 2: Teacher Pet Peeves, Parent Drama & Staff Culture

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You are listening to the Balancing Act podcast. Here's your hosts,

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Jamie Wonko and Joe Vitale.

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Hey friend, guess what? We are officially recording. It is a big day. Big day. It's a big day.

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Welcome, welcome, welcome to the Balancing Act podcast. I am Jamie Wonko.

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I'm here with 50 and fabulous. My birthday was yesterday.

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50 and thriving. Yes. I was going to order myself a tiara, but with the snowstorm

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and everything being on delay, I wasn't able to get it in time.

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So I would have had my little 50 and fabulous tiara on for our recording today.

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Go shorty. It's your birthday.

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So look, I got my- Happy, happy, happy birthday.

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Thank you very much. I got my official AARP thing in the mail,

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even though I've been getting emails from them since I was like 35.

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Partially because I have an old AOL email account, and they must be guessing

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that anyone with an AOL email account is a retired professional.

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It's like a junk email that I had from a thousand years ago,

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and all I use it for is signing up for crappy websites.

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Hey, speaking of signing up for

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crappy websites, a not crappy website is regarding our Season 3 sponsor.

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So Season 3 is brought to you by our presenting sponsor, Teacher's Insurance Plan.

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Make sure you check out their website below for more information.

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Below in our episode description, of course.

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Teacher's insurance plan, auto insurance that brings exclusive educator savings

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and exceptional customer care to New Jersey and Pennsylvania educational employees.

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Just so hopped up on cake, I made a mistake. It's the opposite of crappy.

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And I will say, if you're not wanting to go to the website, the people who answer

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the phone, now that I've experienced calling on my own to teacher's insurance

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plan, And then I just helped a friend do this recently and listened in.

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They are so nice when you call and so super helpful.

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And you can say like, hey, could you maybe check this one? Or I want this deductible.

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Or can you change it to this? Or I only need that.

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They are the nicest, nicest people on the phone.

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You know, so give them a call. Yeah. And if you've been listening to our show,

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you have also probably noticed some additional ad reads in the middle of our show.

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And we want to shout out two new sponsors who've also come on board to support our show.

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First of all, njschooljobs.com, which is a leading resource to go to and check out, uh.

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All things job-related in New Jersey, coaching, admin, paraprofessionals,

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lunch aids, it's all there.

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But specifically, we want to thank Chris and Emma at Teachers Insurance Plan

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because Chris said a long time ago when we started doing this,

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hey, our network is your network now.

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And he kind of floated the idea of like, hey, why don't you talk to these guys

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about their podcast? And here we are now with a sponsorship.

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So thank you, Chris. And thank you, Todd, for being willing to...

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I mean, we network, okay? We do. That is very true. We do network.

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Speaking of networking, I want to also thank Mike at Lesson Launchpad,

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which is a tool that I've been using in class to help get class started.

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It's really great. They got some fun things. You could use the code balance

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for money off a year-long subscription.

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We realized that it's now March, and it's getting into the doldrums of the school

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year, the long slog to the end of the year.

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Uh, but definitely if you're looking for something to kind of like help you

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get things organized in your class, it's got some fun little widgets in there

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about like, you know, uh, choosing names for people to read.

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There's like little wheel spinners and group makers and, uh,

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timers and adding music and slides. There's all sorts of stuff.

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And it's great. You know, you already are established in your classroom with

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your kids. So it's a great time to try something.

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Gives you a little less stress for the trying of the beginning of the school

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year. Give it a shot with the kids you've already established with, right?

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Yeah. So, yeah, definitely a shout out to two new sponsors and to Chris and

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Emma for introducing us to Todd.

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And, you know, we've been doing our networking, too, for sure.

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But it's great to see that our little show is continuing to do something,

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you know, and become something that we wanted it to become, which is being able

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to help as many teachers and parents as we could.

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So that's the greatest gift of all.

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Absolutely so don't I mean come

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on the greatest love oh

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my god yeah so good so I'm gonna say I know that this is like your birthday

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episode birthday episode birthday episode but I want to just say that if you

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are not watching the JFK Jr.

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Oh I'm not okay just okay.

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It is a gift. I mean, talk about light in a time of darkness.

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Okay. When we're getting dumped on with feet of snow. Okay.

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And I am going to say, and I've said it already about 80 times in this house,

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and everyone's like, yes, okay, good, we know.

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This soundtrack for this Ryan Murphy production is everything.

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Okay. Okay. It's a 90s girl's dream and voice.

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I should say girls and voice because my husband, who is not currently watching

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the show, every time he walks in or out is like, this is a great song.

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And then he's out and then he comes out. This is a great song.

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And then he's in and this is a great song. I'm like, every song in this show is a good song.

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Yes. Give me a preview. Give me a song.

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What's one that they sing in the show? What's one in the show?

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I haven't watched it, so I couldn't tell you. This is no ordinary love.

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Oh, that's good. I mean. Is that Sade?

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Sade? Oh, my God, Sade. Sade. Sade. Sade. Sade. Yes.

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And she's our local newscaster. But yes, it is. There's some. I mean, there is.

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It's just. It's amazing.

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And Carolyn Bissette, Kennedy, she worked at Calvin Klein.

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So there are just so many various pop culture references. and she's just smoking

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the parliament lights like nobody's business and she's smoking in the restaurant.

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Everybody was smoking in the 90s. But that's what I'm saying.

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It's like you watch and you, and also what's so amazing is like nobody had a phone.

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No, no, really like you watch and it's like, wow, nobody's can call if they're

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late. Nobody's checking any.

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Yeah, it's really I don't know how accurate it is, but do yourself a favor.

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OK, give it a shot. OK, give me something else to watch in my in my old age.

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Very soon, I will be having.

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That's right. I'll be having minor knee surgery to repair a happy birthday.

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Get a surgery. Happy birthday.

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A slightly torn meniscus so I can get myself back together.

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Back pickleballing. You know, yeah. I mean, you know, the guy runs marathons

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and half marathons. I go play pickleball for a little bit and I tear my meniscus.

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Great job. It's just, it happens. You know, it's the geriatric old people sport. And, you know.

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You're going to come back and be better than ever. Yes, I am.

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I'm going to show the young guys how to do it. I have a social media request.

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Okay, sure. From you. I want you to film this for your B-Day.

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Have you seen like the people who have like the cake and then someone puts like

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sunglasses on them and like a crown and then they light the candle like as if

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it was a cigarette, but it's the candle.

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And then they put it in that. Have you seen it? I have not.

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On very different sides of the internet. I have not. Listen,

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my algorithm right now is very skewed.

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As we know, I still get many videos regarding the United States win against

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Canada in the gold medal men's hockey game, which was probably one of the top

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sporting events I've watched in my life.

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Did you go to a bar for that? Or did you watch it at home? No, we watched it at home.

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We did have a dog camera, like a Furbo.

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And like we're watching it and we he's you

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know they scored at the in overtime and everybody jumped up and

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it's crazy but then on our nest camera out front our one

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someone in our neighborhood was walking their dog and he actually

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stopped and looked at our front door because thought something was wrong and

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looked like they were about to come up to the so we actually like pulled down

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the screen we're like we're good it's just united states one sorry just wants

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to let you know like so yeah there's there's the there's those videos you know

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shout out hashtag america um and,

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so i have to do that video with the with the sunglasses and

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i will do that we yeah you have to you have to send me some examples but

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my 30 million examples my main thing in my

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greatest joy in life in my algorithm is

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aside from all the pot the balancing act content i mean

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there's plenty of content that goes without saying but yes on my

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own personal instagram is makeup tutorial videos but the boyfriends or husbands

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edit the videos and they put like all sorts of filters and fart noises and also

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it is just it is just the greatest thing it is the gift that keeps on giving

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if you have them share them with me i want all of it i want all the videos.

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All the time because everyone's taken there. We're going to send them to you.

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Happy birthday. Everyone's taken there. Oh, it's my new bronzer.

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And it's like fart noises and also it's just, it is just chef's kiss amazing.

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I love everything about it. I'll have to look that up. Yeah.

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And it's like, what else is it? It's like this person is going to,

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is going to poop their pants tonight at midnight and like they make an initial.

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And for some reason it's always, it's for some reason it's always the initial.

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No, it's always M. And my good friend Matt, I must send him at least two or three a day.

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I'm like, bro, what is, like, are you having, do you need to see a doctor?

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Like, he's like, there is something wrong with your algorithm.

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So anyway. Poor Matt. Yeah. Shout out to Matt.

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So, yeah, it's good stuff. But I will definitely do that for the gram and the

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TikTok. Thank you. All the things.

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Absolutely. Well, what are we talking about today? Give me a G. Give me a G.

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Come on, Mr. Right Alley, play along. Give me a G. G. Give me an N.

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M. Give me a G. G.

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What grinds my gears? This might be my favorite yearly tradition that it is

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now becoming is the grind my gears episode.

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It's grind my gears two, ladies and gentlemen. We didn't do one season one,

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but it is grind my gears to what really grinds my gears, which hopefully I don't

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mention some of the same things as last year.

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But, you know, they're still on the list. And if you do. You do?

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Yeah, exactly. Yeah. It's grind our gears.

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I do love when you get, I do love when you get, you know, recently we took a

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drive to TCNJ for an event, which we did talk about another,

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and we'll be talking about another episode.

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But driving home from that, I almost crashed my car on like three separate occasions

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because you were just like. Like, and I'm going to say they were delightful.

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I mean, talk about delights of delight. They were, it was, talk about filling your cup.

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I mean, they really, it was like, I'm just gonna like suck all the youth with

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these kids. They were amazing.

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But I was having a mood and, you know, Mr. Vitale was enjoying me.

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Really, it was the pre, it was really, I was, I was just getting ready.

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It was my, you know, warm up to the Grind My Gears episode.

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The warm up to the Grind My Gears episode. Yes, absolutely.

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So, yeah, I mean, we got to I want you to jump off today.

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I want you to start and say, what's on the list these days? What's grinding?

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Are you looking at a paper? You have notes. I don't know. I was just like,

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I'm getting myself ready.

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I think I'm going to start with something I've, you know, I've told you already,

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but I'm going to tell you again for your birthday.

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For the grind my gears yeah which is

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this we are old okay we

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know it we do not make any kind of claim to want to be young we know we're not

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cool our kind of brand is like how uncool we are right yes like we are nerds

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and we love it and we accept it we don't fight our nerddom you know We live in it.

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We marinate it. Nerds. Nerds. Nerds.

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Nerds. We accept it wholeheartedly. We wear it as a badge of honor. Okay? We do. When –.

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People okay air quotes people try to

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like mention to us how

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i thought your tech talk and your

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tech talk was kind of like cringy okay

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we don't care no we don't no

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especially when it's zero zero f's given

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yeah zero s given what i really really like is

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our our students have found their tiktok they're not really on

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instagram yeah they're fine no i don't mean the kids i mean like other adults no

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but it is funny to me like some of them will say yeah other adults are

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like okay did you know and it's like yeah we

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do know we do know that it's we do know that it's cringy we're just trying

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to put things out there yeah we've reached that special age in

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life where you just know who

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you are yeah you feel good in your own skin and you're gonna go for it and a

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lot of these people that are saying these things this was going to be a separate

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episode we should kind of bring this up uh don't say it yeah don't say it you

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just don't you shouldn't say it like,

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like granted granted i'm i'm not i'm not a a what's the word i'm looking for

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here i'm not like a i'm not a big wig right i'm not like a i'm not an administrator

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i'm not someone who's who's like you know running things or anything like that but like,

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How about you just don't say it? Don't say it. And you know what?

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You can't say it. And you know why you can't?

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Because you can't. You're too young. You can't say it.

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Don't say it. You should not say it. If you don't have anything.

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There's this thing, though. There's this thing, though. Yeah?

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That I think partly it's a female thing because no one says it to me, but they say it to you.

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Yes. There are other females that have come up to you and said,

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I've seen your TikTok and it's kind of cringy.

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And like, there's this like, there's this like female thing where like they

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want to knock somebody else's crown off instead of like supporting someone.

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Like, like the guys who have said stuff to me, like, you know,

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we have a, a good, good friend of ours in our department, Mr.

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Banos, right? He busts my chops all the time.

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He knows, he knows I say all the time, I have a face for radio. Okay.

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I'm a, I am affectionately known as the assistant.

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Shout out Shout out Shout out to One of the children,

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In the most endearing way possible I want to tell this story first So this student

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can say it Yeah she is and she deserves it Because she cracks me up she's hysterical

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And I don't even teach her and I don't even know her name But I'm standing there

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at the end of the day And this little girl.

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Walks up to Miss Wonka And I was like oh my god I found your TikTok and I was like,

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excuse me it's our tiktok like the

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two of us and she's like but it's miss what it's you're

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just the assistant like what are you so like

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the next day i saw her and i don't think i told you this like the next day i

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think i said something to her she's like you know actually you're not the assistant

00:16:12.947 --> 00:16:16.287
you're like one step up you're like the partner like she's like i have like

00:16:16.287 --> 00:16:20.927
levels now yeah yeah like like levels now and she waves to me every day it's

00:16:20.927 --> 00:16:23.607
i think she's great personality yeah Very sweet.

00:16:23.807 --> 00:16:27.387
Yeah. There was no malice in it whatsoever. But like, as far as like.

00:16:28.605 --> 00:16:34.105
People like you know that work with us that say those things i think there's

00:16:34.105 --> 00:16:38.265
like this like like for example i brought up my my co-worker the guy mr banos

00:16:38.265 --> 00:16:40.905
like you know shout out to mr banos he.

00:16:42.065 --> 00:16:44.845
It's not in any mouth he's just busting my chops but i really

00:16:44.845 --> 00:16:47.665
think there's like a genuine like oh it's cringy you guys shouldn't do

00:16:47.665 --> 00:16:50.505
this blah blah blah it's like hey how about like go away

00:16:50.505 --> 00:16:54.145
how about how about how about how about you

00:16:54.145 --> 00:16:56.945
shut up and you just don't say it you know

00:16:56.945 --> 00:16:59.665
just don't say it but they won't say it to

00:16:59.665 --> 00:17:02.405
me they'll say it to you right because you

00:17:02.405 --> 00:17:05.925
know what too when people are like oh you look tired i no

00:17:05.925 --> 00:17:08.725
don't say that you just don't say it you

00:17:08.725 --> 00:17:12.305
don't say it how about you know what grabs my gears don't

00:17:12.305 --> 00:17:15.425
say it you're like no you're you're

00:17:15.425 --> 00:17:18.385
no please don't but not only not only don't say

00:17:18.385 --> 00:17:21.465
it but you shouldn't you're not in a place where you

00:17:21.465 --> 00:17:24.365
should be saying things like that or you

00:17:24.365 --> 00:17:27.625
don't know me like that yeah it is they

00:17:27.625 --> 00:17:31.665
don't that's that's the one and also and also

00:17:31.665 --> 00:17:40.405
don't say it right if you have to say this is right this is someone said this

00:17:40.405 --> 00:17:43.825
to me the other day and it was so true i was like retelling a story to um to

00:17:43.825 --> 00:17:47.525
a friend and i was saying how like someone said something and hurt my feelings

00:17:47.525 --> 00:17:50.245
not about the podcast but about something else. And I hurt my feelings.

00:17:50.445 --> 00:17:53.365
And they said, you know, like, at least da-da-da.

00:17:53.925 --> 00:17:58.285
And the person I was telling, they said, you can't, don't ever say at least.

00:17:59.960 --> 00:18:06.480
Don't say yes don't say it like oh at least you could no don't say it yeah i

00:18:06.480 --> 00:18:10.440
i think i don't say it it's like when you said to somebody that we love like

00:18:10.440 --> 00:18:14.620
i don't like cats and they are essentially,

00:18:15.220 --> 00:18:18.300
carrying their cat around like it's

00:18:18.300 --> 00:18:22.120
their baby like it is leave schwarzi alone and pomp

00:18:22.120 --> 00:18:25.020
is in the you know uh pomp is in the right i

00:18:25.020 --> 00:18:27.660
mean that's how she is with this cat you were like i don't like and then he

00:18:27.660 --> 00:18:30.340
was like oh my god right and then you fixed it and you

00:18:30.340 --> 00:18:33.060
felt bad and then it was like all the things and oh my gosh and i didn't mean

00:18:33.060 --> 00:18:35.980
anything right like there is like sometimes like

00:18:35.980 --> 00:18:42.240
very little recognition for like you just say it just don't say it yeah what

00:18:42.240 --> 00:18:47.480
i said was i don't like cats but but pd's adorable like that's what i said and

00:18:47.480 --> 00:18:50.760
and you were like you just can't say that i'm like but i did i was like i don't

00:18:50.760 --> 00:18:53.980
like cats i was like but i like her cat I was like, I don't want to hang out with her cat.

00:18:54.340 --> 00:18:57.820
And I did buy her cat treats.

00:18:58.040 --> 00:19:02.640
Shout out, Petey. And I looked for a raccoon cat because one of our coworkers

00:19:02.640 --> 00:19:06.120
has been in her apartment basically getting broken into by raccoons.

00:19:06.360 --> 00:19:13.040
But you don't have someone paint a portrait of you and your cat, okay, in a fur coat.

00:19:15.440 --> 00:19:18.940
And have somebody that you're friends with say, I don't like cats.

00:19:19.120 --> 00:19:20.900
Girl, we love you. You know we love you. Love you.

00:19:21.100 --> 00:19:25.120
Love you so much. You need to talk about... I mean, Joe, it's like you love cats.

00:19:25.440 --> 00:19:27.620
Talk about someone that needs a reality show.

00:19:29.340 --> 00:19:32.360
She's amazing. We should really have her on. Yeah, Schwartz on the go.

00:19:32.480 --> 00:19:36.080
We got to have her on. I wouldn't like her to have to be filtered, though, you know?

00:19:36.360 --> 00:19:38.420
Oh, yeah. That would grind my gears.

00:19:40.800 --> 00:19:44.020
I have a little tickle in my throat, so I'm having alludens.

00:19:45.260 --> 00:19:47.960
Gotcha. And I'm sorry for that, but also...

00:19:51.192 --> 00:19:54.252
No, don't say it. Okay.

00:19:55.052 --> 00:20:00.692
We'll go back to that. Just don't say it. Yeah. I think, I think my old like,

00:20:00.692 --> 00:20:04.292
like 11, like the kids would be like, oh, your hair kind of has like,

00:20:04.912 --> 00:20:06.012
why is your hair like yellow?

00:20:06.052 --> 00:20:09.312
But then it's like black at the top. Right. And you're like, well, you're 11.

00:20:09.612 --> 00:20:13.692
Like, but don't say that. There are people who like never grow out of.

00:20:14.412 --> 00:20:17.732
Don't say that. There's a few things where like they, they were like,

00:20:17.852 --> 00:20:19.512
if it's kids, it's different.

00:20:20.692 --> 00:20:26.332
Like um where they need to sometimes be like hey we don't that's not something you want to say to,

00:20:26.852 --> 00:20:31.472
that's not really something you should say to a woman uh again or a man or anybody

00:20:31.472 --> 00:20:38.592
ever yeah yeah um but there's this i there's this idea of if you like i think

00:20:38.592 --> 00:20:42.492
there was an elementary school teacher that i saw online that did a video and it was like um.

00:20:43.954 --> 00:20:50.374
You know, if the person can't fix it immediately, then you shouldn't say anything about it.

00:20:50.674 --> 00:20:54.354
Right. Unless it's like lettuce or two. Oh, you got like a fuzz on your shirt.

00:20:54.554 --> 00:20:57.234
You might take the fuzz. Like, yeah, I can fix that immediately.

00:20:57.374 --> 00:20:59.714
You're like, oh, you know, your face.

00:20:59.874 --> 00:21:04.134
And like you say things about somebody. Like you just don't like those aren't

00:21:04.134 --> 00:21:06.694
things that we should comment on. Right. Right.

00:21:07.474 --> 00:21:11.914
And it is generational, too, because there's this aspect of like,

00:21:12.094 --> 00:21:16.574
you know, one of the things that grinds my gears is children speaking during

00:21:16.574 --> 00:21:19.594
a movie, right? Like they talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk.

00:21:19.694 --> 00:21:21.514
I'm like, why are they doing that? Why are they going there?

00:21:21.634 --> 00:21:22.994
Oh, no, he's opening the door.

00:21:23.354 --> 00:21:26.254
What? And I keep telling them, and I think it's part of this is like,

00:21:26.374 --> 00:21:28.034
you can think all the thoughts.

00:21:28.434 --> 00:21:31.474
You can think all the thoughts, your inner, I mean, my goodness,

00:21:31.734 --> 00:21:36.394
my inner monologue is going every second, right?

00:21:36.814 --> 00:21:41.054
But you don't need to let it fall from

00:21:41.054 --> 00:21:45.594
your mouth just no one's stopping you from thinking it but you don't have to

00:21:45.594 --> 00:21:49.114
share it with us and i think that's probably like maybe a slight tie-in with

00:21:49.114 --> 00:21:53.094
like social media and stuff of like everybody thinks everything should be posted

00:21:53.094 --> 00:21:58.374
said shared every minute and it's like no it's yeah i'm kind of i'm i'm kind

00:21:58.374 --> 00:22:00.574
of dreading because i will be showing um.

00:22:01.986 --> 00:22:08.346
I will be showing Selma in class, which I have shown every year since it came

00:22:08.346 --> 00:22:11.146
out, once it was available.

00:22:11.486 --> 00:22:14.906
And the reason why is when it first did come out, when it was made by Harpo

00:22:14.906 --> 00:22:18.846
Productions, which is Oprah's production company, it was made free for every

00:22:18.846 --> 00:22:23.526
high school and middle school student to go and see with an ID.

00:22:23.806 --> 00:22:28.906
If you went with a student ID to the movie theater, it was like you could go see it.

00:22:29.046 --> 00:22:33.426
And that wasn't from the movie theaters. That was any movie theater, any AMC, whatever.

00:22:33.746 --> 00:22:37.426
You could just go, and it was paid for by Harpo Productions because the story

00:22:37.426 --> 00:22:43.066
was so important for people to hear and understand. They wanted people to see the movie.

00:22:43.226 --> 00:22:47.046
They want, like, I do not show films in my class, okay?

00:22:47.246 --> 00:22:52.306
I show a documentary about Air Force One. I show, and I show...

00:22:53.866 --> 00:22:57.786
Uh the uh uh selma

00:22:57.786 --> 00:23:01.206
and i show 12 angry men when we do the judicial branch because it's

00:23:01.206 --> 00:23:04.566
a classic and everybody likes it but like i'm

00:23:04.566 --> 00:23:08.066
kind of dreading it this year because i think this

00:23:08.066 --> 00:23:10.906
group is going to be the one that kind of sets me over the edge because of

00:23:10.906 --> 00:23:15.046
the why what's going on why are they doing it no like

00:23:15.046 --> 00:23:18.006
can we like the objective here is to

00:23:18.006 --> 00:23:20.746
pay attention and to listen and I stop the film at

00:23:20.746 --> 00:23:23.546
certain important points because I have notes that

00:23:23.546 --> 00:23:26.306
I like to go over and things that I like to talk about

00:23:26.306 --> 00:23:30.486
with them and then we we I kind of like talk to them about like you

00:23:30.486 --> 00:23:35.886
know um about a number of things regarding the film but like yeah that's something

00:23:35.886 --> 00:23:39.486
that's starting to get to me more and more and more um to the point where like

00:23:39.486 --> 00:23:44.646
my afternoon classes with the like like the constant interrupting like constantly

00:23:44.646 --> 00:23:46.866
constantly constantly constantly interrupting.

00:23:47.826 --> 00:23:50.646
I basically keep in my head, you got two strikes.

00:23:50.906 --> 00:23:54.546
And after the second one, if I'm giving directions and I'm having my initial

00:23:54.546 --> 00:23:56.686
meeting with class and I'm going over, here's what we're doing.

00:23:56.846 --> 00:23:59.866
I'm going to do a sample with you. And then you're going to do one on your own.

00:23:59.926 --> 00:24:01.226
And we're going to work on it together.

00:24:01.426 --> 00:24:05.486
If you're going to interrupt me, you got two opportunities and one person will

00:24:05.486 --> 00:24:07.046
ruin it for everyone. And after those two.

00:24:07.891 --> 00:24:11.531
I'm out. Here's your paper. The directions are posted. Read them.

00:24:11.671 --> 00:24:15.431
Go over it. Make sure you finish the assignment correctly. Like, I can't.

00:24:15.971 --> 00:24:18.991
I just. No, you can't. And you shouldn't have to. No.

00:24:19.311 --> 00:24:25.751
And I have sent many a, I've had many a phone call recently.

00:24:25.991 --> 00:24:29.551
I've sent many an email home about like, please remind your children that when

00:24:29.551 --> 00:24:33.291
we're starting class, that they should not be having side conversations.

00:24:33.791 --> 00:24:36.891
And many of the students that are having those side conversations, of

00:24:36.891 --> 00:24:39.751
course are the ones who are not completing the assignments

00:24:39.751 --> 00:24:42.591
correctly and then they don't know what to do and then they don't finish

00:24:42.591 --> 00:24:45.271
it and they have to take it home and do it for homework and it

00:24:45.271 --> 00:24:48.231
doesn't come back to me the next day so it's ultimately affecting them

00:24:48.231 --> 00:24:51.591
academically and i can't figure out

00:24:51.591 --> 00:24:54.311
a way to stop to to make

00:24:54.311 --> 00:24:57.511
it better so the only thing i've done recently was with

00:24:57.511 --> 00:25:00.231
one of my classes i've said like you start out

00:25:00.231 --> 00:25:03.131
with five points every day and if you're

00:25:03.131 --> 00:25:06.131
having excessive conversations if you're not engaged with the material if

00:25:06.131 --> 00:25:08.831
you come without your chromebook charged just going to take points off

00:25:08.831 --> 00:25:12.431
for a day at the end of the week you get a participation grade and we're

00:25:12.431 --> 00:25:19.151
going to move on from there i i can't put the additional energy into like constantly

00:25:19.151 --> 00:25:23.711
waiting because i have content i need to cover and like we're we're just going

00:25:23.711 --> 00:25:27.591
to move on um and those students students that can work independently on their

00:25:27.591 --> 00:25:30.491
own are the ones that are going to thrive in this environment so we'll just uh.

00:25:31.414 --> 00:25:35.634
You know, that's that's kind of where I'm at. OK. Yeah, definitely something

00:25:35.634 --> 00:25:39.574
that is grinding my gears more and more, specifically in the classroom,

00:25:40.354 --> 00:25:42.694
specifically in the classroom.

00:25:43.274 --> 00:25:47.474
Have you ever thought I work in education? Why is finding a job so weirdly hard?

00:25:47.894 --> 00:25:51.334
Yeah. Scrolling through random job boards where half the listings don't even

00:25:51.334 --> 00:25:53.114
make sense is not the vibe.

00:25:53.334 --> 00:25:56.414
That's why NJschooljobs.com actually makes sense.

00:25:56.934 --> 00:26:00.134
It's a job board built specifically for New Jersey schools, public,

00:26:00.394 --> 00:26:02.114
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online. No driving all over the state.

00:26:26.414 --> 00:26:30.614
Those are coming up soon, so check the link in our episode description to register.

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Head to njschooljobs.com.

00:26:35.954 --> 00:26:37.414
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00:26:37.414 --> 00:26:40.994
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00:27:16.514 --> 00:27:19.994
Do you have anything outside the classroom? Um...

00:27:21.998 --> 00:27:26.158
Nothing, nothing recently, nothing, nothing of like high importance.

00:27:27.538 --> 00:27:32.218
This, this like I'm done with winter and everybody who thinks that it's like

00:27:32.218 --> 00:27:35.158
awesome and like, oh, snow is so pretty. I want to go.

00:27:36.238 --> 00:27:39.458
Move to Maine. Like, could you just go away? Like, I don't.

00:27:40.118 --> 00:27:43.418
Yeah, move to Maine. Go up there. Enjoy all the snow that you want where you

00:27:43.418 --> 00:27:46.538
can get around with a snowmobile and you have to do like cross country skiing

00:27:46.538 --> 00:27:51.338
and like do snow mountaineering as one of your events in the Olympics and all

00:27:51.338 --> 00:27:52.518
of those. I have nothing.

00:27:53.358 --> 00:27:58.298
No. But you'll be leaving the state. Like you would. Do you want to live in

00:27:58.298 --> 00:28:00.098
warm weather the whole year?

00:28:00.358 --> 00:28:04.558
I don't know. I mean, my wife and I have talked about that. I don't know what

00:28:04.558 --> 00:28:07.618
the future holds for us. I think it's going to depend on where our kids land.

00:28:07.818 --> 00:28:13.418
I mean, of course. But like, I definitely would see us like at least going somewhere

00:28:13.418 --> 00:28:17.438
for, you know, the winter months, which we don't do now because we have jobs.

00:28:17.858 --> 00:28:19.718
So, you know, when the time comes.

00:28:21.618 --> 00:28:27.158
To be able to do those things, you know, for sure. I know. I know.

00:28:27.558 --> 00:28:31.458
I don't, I mean, I've said this before. I don't mind a good whopper.

00:28:31.678 --> 00:28:33.338
You know, you get one snowstorm.

00:28:33.598 --> 00:28:39.658
We've had a lot of snow this winter, more than we've had in several years. Yes.

00:28:39.898 --> 00:28:47.378
And we just melted out of the last storm and then a blizzard.

00:28:48.838 --> 00:28:53.598
Yeah. It's a lot of snow. It's a lot to move. It's a lot to remove.

00:28:55.638 --> 00:29:01.218
And I don't do snow removal, although I will say that I did have to shovel a

00:29:01.218 --> 00:29:05.778
bit because the snow was higher than my dog's ability to get,

00:29:06.749 --> 00:29:09.389
threw it to it. And I honestly, I looked at her. I was like,

00:29:09.489 --> 00:29:12.089
if you need to go to the bathroom in the house, permission.

00:29:12.509 --> 00:29:15.369
Yeah. I'm getting you permission. You have a, you have a tiny one.

00:29:15.549 --> 00:29:18.229
Even I have two golden retrievers and it was up to their bellies,

00:29:18.349 --> 00:29:20.189
the last snowstorm. So. Oh yeah.

00:29:20.749 --> 00:29:23.689
And doesn't it get like all stuck in the fire and everything? Yeah, it does.

00:29:23.889 --> 00:29:28.209
I mean, our older one, uh, Darius, he's not big into, uh, like running around

00:29:28.209 --> 00:29:30.049
out there. He's like, you know, I'm done.

00:29:30.249 --> 00:29:32.829
I'm coming in. The other one, like, he's like one of

00:29:32.829 --> 00:29:35.609
those foxes that like barrels his face into the into the

00:29:35.609 --> 00:29:38.409
snow because he's a nut nut job um but i

00:29:38.409 --> 00:29:41.429
do i do a lot of digging out i help my uh my neighbors as

00:29:41.429 --> 00:29:46.209
much as i can um you know we have some elderly neighbors i have one of my neighbors

00:29:46.209 --> 00:29:50.069
who's away uh in the philippines so we kind of take care of his house when he's

00:29:50.069 --> 00:29:54.569
not around and also you know my parents live across town and i just can't get

00:29:54.569 --> 00:29:59.229
there to help them but they luckily have neighbors that will help them That's good.

00:29:59.809 --> 00:30:05.369
So I try to pay it forward and help as many as I can, you know,

00:30:05.509 --> 00:30:07.669
here in my neighborhood as much as I can.

00:30:08.009 --> 00:30:10.089
Got it. It's myself and my neighbor.

00:30:10.829 --> 00:30:15.049
Shout out to Justin down the street who, he also hurt his back.

00:30:15.189 --> 00:30:19.929
So I'm trying to help him get through all the snow mounds and all that stuff.

00:30:20.089 --> 00:30:22.689
So, yeah, it's zero fun.

00:30:23.729 --> 00:30:28.469
I'm done with it. Um, I think the first, uh, the first 60 degree day in March

00:30:28.469 --> 00:30:30.849
is going to hit like cocaine and everyone's going to be like,

00:30:30.949 --> 00:30:32.849
ah, and not know what to do with themselves.

00:30:33.629 --> 00:30:38.709
Uh, because like, I just, I just can't, uh, I'm already like,

00:30:39.369 --> 00:30:43.669
you know, looking at the calendar and, and like when's Memorial Day weekend?

00:30:43.829 --> 00:30:46.609
Like I'm, I'm ready. How many weeks? How many weeks? How many weeks?

00:30:46.669 --> 00:30:50.969
Uh, I know it is less than a hundred days to the Indy 500, which I attend every year.

00:30:51.129 --> 00:30:55.129
So it's probably like nine, it's probably like 95 ish days. We could do it.

00:30:55.969 --> 00:31:01.869
Oh, yeah, we can get there. All right. What else? Fist to the sky. Fist to the sky. Um...

00:31:03.445 --> 00:31:10.125
Yeah. I mean, my usual, could you get off the phone when you're at Costco still kind of is there.

00:31:10.685 --> 00:31:16.925
I mean, it also doesn't matter. I've tried. I've also, I've tried like maybe

00:31:16.925 --> 00:31:18.465
it's just the Costco I go to.

00:31:18.625 --> 00:31:21.245
Maybe I'll try a different Costco. No, it's the same.

00:31:21.825 --> 00:31:25.045
It's the same. Could we just, could we not? Could we not?

00:31:25.205 --> 00:31:29.165
Could you just like not do that? And, you know, maybe it's me.

00:31:29.265 --> 00:31:31.745
Maybe I just need to go at a different time. Maybe it's like,

00:31:31.825 --> 00:31:32.745
I can't go on the weekend.

00:31:33.065 --> 00:31:35.725
But like, that's when everybody goes. I have one for you.

00:31:36.585 --> 00:31:39.365
And it has to do with a car. Oh, sure.

00:31:40.025 --> 00:31:43.425
We've joked before. I've joked before about my parking lot space at our school.

00:31:43.425 --> 00:31:47.185
And I do like having my own parking lot space. I do think that it's very, very smart.

00:31:47.885 --> 00:31:53.125
However, I am like the like three of the last spots is me.

00:31:53.625 --> 00:32:00.125
And so when I get in my car, everyone else is already gone. No one will stop to let us pull out.

00:32:01.537 --> 00:32:06.037
Sometimes i just pull out i stay i know because i'm gonna hit you're like oh

00:32:06.037 --> 00:32:11.877
no i stop i see you you're like i know she'll hit me and i go for it i see you

00:32:11.877 --> 00:32:13.797
coming out and i stop on purpose,

00:32:14.497 --> 00:32:19.757
because i have uh i have uh uh viz with the riz next to me i love him who's

00:32:19.757 --> 00:32:23.477
like behind me and he always gets out before me but i sometimes i get out before

00:32:23.477 --> 00:32:27.557
him and i drive purposely slow just because it annoys him it's just talk about

00:32:27.557 --> 00:32:29.757
grinding his gears and then he beeps his horn at me.

00:32:30.677 --> 00:32:33.777
But no, there's a lot of that. So how about this?

00:32:34.337 --> 00:32:38.897
I drive through the same neighborhood you do in the morning to get to school. Yeah.

00:32:39.337 --> 00:32:45.817
And the other day, the roads in our town are very much, especially,

00:32:46.117 --> 00:32:49.417
well, let's add snow, let's have people haven't left for work yet. Okay.

00:32:49.837 --> 00:32:53.777
And so there's often like, you cannot have two cars at the same time.

00:32:53.897 --> 00:32:57.137
You've got to stop, let the person goal, right? It's impassable by two cars.

00:32:57.637 --> 00:33:01.557
So the high school is next to the middle school.

00:33:02.317 --> 00:33:06.677
And the high school is, you know, lots of people are dropping their kids off,

00:33:06.817 --> 00:33:08.217
even though they're supposed to be there at 740.

00:33:08.477 --> 00:33:12.857
Now it's 745. And they are, I mean, going crazy, crazy, crazy.

00:33:13.057 --> 00:33:14.437
The other day, I'm driving.

00:33:15.724 --> 00:33:23.924
And I stop to allow people to get into the high school parking lot.

00:33:25.144 --> 00:33:31.644
And they are, I'm looking at them ahead on and they're going in front of me and I'm letting them go.

00:33:31.864 --> 00:33:38.184
The person behind me is now trying to pass me on the left. Yep.

00:33:38.704 --> 00:33:41.344
Where is he going to go? You're going to head on collision the other.

00:33:42.044 --> 00:33:45.284
Do you know I honking now I'm waiting.

00:33:46.084 --> 00:33:50.664
Like where do you think you're going? Acting like a cuckoo bird because where

00:33:50.664 --> 00:33:52.004
do you think you're going, sir?

00:33:53.204 --> 00:33:58.944
Do you know that? Watch where you go, people, because then I go after I let

00:33:58.944 --> 00:34:00.724
an appropriate number of cars go.

00:34:01.044 --> 00:34:04.204
I go forward. I make a right into our parking lot.

00:34:04.724 --> 00:34:08.844
And so does the guy who tried to pass me to then drop off his child.

00:34:10.539 --> 00:34:16.599
I work here, sir. And that child is in your class? Hey. Is he really?

00:34:18.379 --> 00:34:23.879
Oh, wow. Good one. I work here, sir. You know, leave earlier. There is.

00:34:24.799 --> 00:34:28.099
Leave earlier. I know exactly the road that you're talking about.

00:34:28.239 --> 00:34:31.299
Oh, my gosh. And I drive on that same road in the morning.

00:34:32.199 --> 00:34:37.859
There is one car, and I know who it is. And I don't know the person, but I know the car.

00:34:37.859 --> 00:34:44.679
Because that person will ride down the middle of the road and not stop and allow

00:34:44.679 --> 00:34:48.499
for somebody else to like, you know, you kind of pull over, you let the other person go.

00:34:48.499 --> 00:34:54.239
And one day I'm just going to stop and I'm going to roll down my window and

00:34:54.239 --> 00:34:58.739
we're going to have a little conversation, which is, hey, could you please have

00:34:58.739 --> 00:35:01.099
some courtesy for others while you are driving?

00:35:01.099 --> 00:35:04.279
Because you are literally oblivious to the fact that

00:35:04.279 --> 00:35:07.079
there are 30 other people that

00:35:07.079 --> 00:35:09.999
are trying to drive around um and besides

00:35:09.999 --> 00:35:13.039
the fact that like you know this this

00:35:13.039 --> 00:35:19.219
is commentary and regarding you know our building which um you know i i really

00:35:19.219 --> 00:35:22.479
i like our building i like our boss i like the people that i that i work at

00:35:22.479 --> 00:35:26.639
but our parents have been asked do not drop your kids off in our parking lot

00:35:26.639 --> 00:35:31.199
do not park in our spots they are numbered you should be dropping your kid off over here.

00:35:31.519 --> 00:35:33.499
And they just don't.

00:35:34.239 --> 00:35:37.619
And it's going to, and I, this is the last thing I want to say,

00:35:37.659 --> 00:35:39.979
it's going to take someone getting hit by a car.

00:35:41.120 --> 00:35:44.780
For that to change because unfortunately when

00:35:44.780 --> 00:35:47.560
you have you know maybe a high school student that's dropping off

00:35:47.560 --> 00:35:51.200
their middle school brother sister or whatever like

00:35:51.200 --> 00:35:53.940
or we're picking them up at the end of the day and

00:35:53.940 --> 00:35:56.900
we're parked in spots and we're blocking spots and there's police officers

00:35:56.900 --> 00:36:00.080
there i i just i don't understand

00:36:00.080 --> 00:36:02.960
right why people can't listen to certain like

00:36:02.960 --> 00:36:05.780
you have been sent email after email after email after

00:36:05.780 --> 00:36:08.640
email and we sent letters home and we said please do

00:36:08.640 --> 00:36:11.760
not parking our parking lot and people still parking our parking lot please

00:36:11.760 --> 00:36:19.420
don't so when i know i don't know about you but when i was a um when like my

00:36:19.420 --> 00:36:22.240
kids were in elementary school you couldn't park in the staff parking lot they

00:36:22.240 --> 00:36:24.920
said please don't park there so you didn't park there you parked on the street

00:36:24.920 --> 00:36:28.100
and you went and you got your kid and then you went home had to walk like 40 miles.

00:36:29.336 --> 00:36:33.496
Uphill, both ways in the snow. Seriously, because of the way that my kids' elementary

00:36:33.496 --> 00:36:38.016
school was, and yours too, it's hard to get to. We really did.

00:36:38.256 --> 00:36:42.416
Like, I needed to give myself a good, like, eight minutes before they got out

00:36:42.416 --> 00:36:48.836
of school to make sure that I got a spot and could walk to go to their door to pick them up.

00:36:49.176 --> 00:36:54.596
I mean, it got to the point for me, like, at the end of the kids' time in elementary

00:36:54.596 --> 00:36:56.536
school, like, they were in the fifth grade, right?

00:36:57.536 --> 00:37:00.516
And they wanted the parents to like come to the door and picked

00:37:00.516 --> 00:37:03.476
them up and i i emailed the teacher who's i taught her

00:37:03.476 --> 00:37:06.136
daughter so she knew me and she knew

00:37:06.136 --> 00:37:11.336
my kids and i said look can you just send them like i they're in the fifth grade

00:37:11.336 --> 00:37:15.296
like i was walking home i was walking to and from school i did it in fourth

00:37:15.296 --> 00:37:19.576
grade like i'm not i don't know why i didn't i think i might have in the fourth

00:37:19.576 --> 00:37:23.076
grade you know i think i had hurt my foot and i was on a scooter and the school

00:37:23.076 --> 00:37:24.136
was doing construction.

00:37:24.536 --> 00:37:27.116
And I think I went like, and it was like, we got to go all the way to that.

00:37:27.236 --> 00:37:28.276
And it was like, you know what?

00:37:28.456 --> 00:37:33.696
I think I'm good. Like, I trust that they can do this and they know where I

00:37:33.696 --> 00:37:35.376
park and I'll be in the same spot every day.

00:37:35.556 --> 00:37:38.936
And, you know, and it had to be like, I couldn't just verbally say it had to

00:37:38.936 --> 00:37:40.436
be written, which is fine.

00:37:41.016 --> 00:37:46.596
And then we, you know, we rode that out for the rest of, of fifth grade as well. But yeah, so I.

00:37:47.156 --> 00:37:51.756
Yeah. Grind my, grind my gears, everybody, Grandma Gears, walk to school.

00:37:52.116 --> 00:37:54.476
Leave earlier. Walk to school. Leave earlier. Or that.

00:37:55.756 --> 00:37:59.296
I'm a big believer in like, if you are on time, you're late.

00:37:59.436 --> 00:38:00.696
I've always been like that.

00:38:01.076 --> 00:38:05.176
Early is on time. Early is on time. Yeah, I don't arrive late to work.

00:38:05.596 --> 00:38:10.756
If I do, the exact reaction that I get is what I want. When I walk in at 8.05.

00:38:11.305 --> 00:38:14.125
Two which is so incredibly rare for

00:38:14.125 --> 00:38:17.105
me i might have might have something to do i might to drop somebody off or

00:38:17.105 --> 00:38:20.145
like wait for my wife to leave or whatever right

00:38:20.145 --> 00:38:24.165
i get the reaction from my boss not in a bad way she's like wow you're running

00:38:24.165 --> 00:38:27.985
late today i was like that's the i i told her afterwards like that's the exact

00:38:27.985 --> 00:38:32.405
reaction that i want because normally i'm there early enough where it's not

00:38:32.405 --> 00:38:39.185
an issue but you know i i have i have issue with the with like people that are habitually late.

00:38:39.445 --> 00:38:45.165
I just, I just, I feel that that is like, when, when you do that,

00:38:45.265 --> 00:38:46.605
you're not respecting somebody else's time.

00:38:46.645 --> 00:38:51.085
I just, I just feel that way. And it's not just, especially in an environment

00:38:51.085 --> 00:38:54.205
in which we work, we are like, we're a team.

00:38:54.345 --> 00:38:56.465
Like we all have to be on our posts at the right time.

00:38:56.625 --> 00:38:58.425
We all have to be where we're supposed to be at the right time,

00:38:58.645 --> 00:39:03.705
whether it be starting the duty you're supposed to be on or being where you're supposed to be.

00:39:04.085 --> 00:39:07.085
Like we're all supposed to be on time somewhere

00:39:07.085 --> 00:39:10.245
at the same time it is not anyone else's place

00:39:10.245 --> 00:39:13.085
especially mine to tell somebody hey

00:39:13.085 --> 00:39:16.345
what like come on show up on time will you like what's going on like it's not

00:39:16.345 --> 00:39:23.045
my place to say that and it's also and i'm sorry no if we're neighbors in school

00:39:23.045 --> 00:39:28.305
yeah i got you okay and i'm not there yeah i'm 30 i'm i'm somewhere else i'm

00:39:28.305 --> 00:39:31.445
on the other side of the building and you don't let my class in?

00:39:32.445 --> 00:39:39.105
Yeah. Fighting quarrel. Or like you have somebody who is standing in a hallway

00:39:39.105 --> 00:39:41.345
and you're going, hey, could you please like cover my class for a minute?

00:39:41.485 --> 00:39:45.105
I'm working six periods in a row today because I have duty and I have to cover

00:39:45.105 --> 00:39:46.905
at the end of the day and I really need to go to the bathroom.

00:39:47.145 --> 00:39:53.205
And you have, I want to say so many bad words, and you have the audacity to

00:39:53.205 --> 00:39:55.605
say, ah, you know, I'm just really busy today. I can't.

00:39:56.205 --> 00:39:57.945
Like you can't stop what you're doing.

00:39:59.045 --> 00:40:03.285
For five minutes and let a colleague go to the bathroom? Rude.

00:40:03.945 --> 00:40:08.545
Like. Rude. No. Like, I. I. I.

00:40:10.009 --> 00:40:14.389
Like nothing, not, yeah, nothing enrages me more. Or it's like,

00:40:14.529 --> 00:40:16.789
you're, you're, you know, come on, you got to go to bathroom duty.

00:40:16.949 --> 00:40:21.509
Like it's not your, it is not your place to say anything to another coworker

00:40:21.509 --> 00:40:24.189
about what they're doing and where they're doing it.

00:40:24.549 --> 00:40:28.229
Right. So like where are the tattletales from too? Because there's been a lot

00:40:28.229 --> 00:40:30.509
of like different buildings of culture of tattling.

00:40:30.729 --> 00:40:34.149
And I wouldn't say that our building is, um, that has a culture,

00:40:34.189 --> 00:40:37.109
but I do know that there are lots of others where people tattle.

00:40:37.109 --> 00:40:39.989
And I don't understand like you don't directly just

00:40:39.989 --> 00:40:42.709
go to the person you tattle on them to

00:40:42.709 --> 00:40:45.549
their boss which I just don't understand

00:40:45.549 --> 00:40:48.769
that and years ago there was a teacher in my

00:40:48.769 --> 00:40:51.929
old school who was new and um

00:40:51.929 --> 00:40:54.649
we were it was like one of those like I had in school

00:40:54.649 --> 00:40:57.369
suspension they had in school suspension first and I

00:40:57.369 --> 00:41:00.909
was making my way to in school suspension and they called

00:41:00.909 --> 00:41:05.189
the office to say like that i wasn't there yeah what

00:41:05.189 --> 00:41:08.469
it's like you no we don't

00:41:08.469 --> 00:41:11.309
do that here like you're not you don't call to tell on

00:41:11.309 --> 00:41:14.629
someone you wait it out or you

00:41:14.629 --> 00:41:17.349
call their room or you give them like a

00:41:17.349 --> 00:41:20.729
30 second grace period so that like going

00:41:20.729 --> 00:41:24.549
to someone's boss to like tell on them no i

00:41:24.549 --> 00:41:27.409
i no to me it's like we all have we have

00:41:27.409 --> 00:41:30.389
to help each other out and we have to like do our best that

00:41:30.389 --> 00:41:33.709
to me that to me shows a lack of professionalism yeah to

00:41:33.709 --> 00:41:36.509
be very honest like if it's like i've only

00:41:36.509 --> 00:41:39.809
had like it's not like you're addressed you've addressed it i can see like you've

00:41:39.809 --> 00:41:43.389
addressed it you've told them you've talked about it with them you you know

00:41:43.389 --> 00:41:46.169
and they just keep doing it and now they're trying to kind of almost take advantage

00:41:46.169 --> 00:41:49.889
of you that i don't mean that i mean this is an extenuating circumstance and

00:41:49.889 --> 00:41:54.109
you're just gonna say no or tattle i wish i witnessed something.

00:41:55.038 --> 00:41:57.698
That is the only time I did it in my career. And it was last year.

00:41:57.838 --> 00:42:04.158
And I witnessed something and went to, you know, it was during state testing.

00:42:04.298 --> 00:42:06.238
And I went to the testing coordinator and mentioned and said,

00:42:06.318 --> 00:42:08.158
hey, I'm just letting you know that this is what I saw.

00:42:09.318 --> 00:42:12.338
And I'm making you aware of it in case you need to address it.

00:42:12.398 --> 00:42:15.498
But I'm just letting you know that this is what was going on.

00:42:17.898 --> 00:42:22.198
So, you know, but that's, to me, is a little different because we all sign like

00:42:22.198 --> 00:42:24.438
those agreements about testing.

00:42:24.758 --> 00:42:27.318
And we've had so many like, you know, you can't look at this.

00:42:27.378 --> 00:42:29.618
You can't look at that. You can't be on this device. You can't be on that device.

00:42:29.838 --> 00:42:31.298
You can use your license over.

00:42:32.098 --> 00:42:36.558
That's because most of the things are not like that, you know? Yeah.

00:42:37.398 --> 00:42:42.618
Yeah. Yeah. But to me, like when you, you, like, if you're not willing to help

00:42:42.618 --> 00:42:44.038
a colleague at any moment,

00:42:45.235 --> 00:42:46.415
Then, no.

00:42:48.635 --> 00:42:53.195
To me, that's such a huge speak against someone's character.

00:42:53.495 --> 00:42:59.215
It's like, I immediately am like, nope. That person or anyone who does that

00:42:59.215 --> 00:43:01.015
just to me does not exist. That's right.

00:43:01.335 --> 00:43:05.975
I can't do it. I was raised by Mr. Rogers. You look for the helpers. Come on.

00:43:06.515 --> 00:43:08.795
Yeah. You look for the helpers. So help. Yeah.

00:43:10.055 --> 00:43:14.095
It's what do you need. Right. Like, oh, I'm sorry.

00:43:14.475 --> 00:43:17.475
Look, and I always try it without being asked because that's a male,

00:43:17.475 --> 00:43:19.075
female thing. Like, just do it.

00:43:19.355 --> 00:43:23.235
Why do I have to ask? That's the other part. Oh, that could grind my gear. I don't want to ask you.

00:43:24.435 --> 00:43:29.495
Yeah, I've been doing that a lot with my children. It's like notice and do.

00:43:30.115 --> 00:43:35.515
It's like, hey, can we stop playing Tetris with the recycling and don't just

00:43:35.515 --> 00:43:38.915
put it next to the recycle? Like, hey, if you see that it's full,

00:43:39.055 --> 00:43:42.915
take the 10 seconds to bring it out.

00:43:44.055 --> 00:43:49.035
Like, these are not things that are difficult. Like, we talk a lot about mental load, right?

00:43:49.855 --> 00:43:53.675
Notice and do. Like, if you notice it, just do it.

00:43:53.895 --> 00:43:58.175
If there's an issue, if you're noticing that, like, there's water underneath

00:43:58.175 --> 00:44:01.715
the sink and you don't know what to do with it, well, then you tell somebody.

00:44:02.415 --> 00:44:07.615
Like, you know what I mean? But like if it is something that you notice, do it.

00:44:07.955 --> 00:44:11.435
If you open the dishwasher and you're like, oh, that's full.

00:44:11.535 --> 00:44:14.215
Oh, my stuff's in the sink. Oh, then you empty the dishwasher.

00:44:14.455 --> 00:44:19.835
It's your turn. Like you've noticed it. So do it. Right. There's no, not it.

00:44:20.475 --> 00:44:24.055
You know, I'm seeing a lot of that with my students this year.

00:44:24.255 --> 00:44:27.875
Oh, yeah. Can someone at the table please pick up all the books?

00:44:28.115 --> 00:44:29.975
And then they go, not it. And they put their finger. It's interesting.

00:44:29.975 --> 00:44:32.895
I'm like, not it. It's interesting you say that because that group that you

00:44:32.895 --> 00:44:36.275
have, because I had them in the seventh grade, that group that you have was

00:44:36.275 --> 00:44:40.615
notorious for that to the point where as soon as they would do that in my class,

00:44:40.755 --> 00:44:41.955
I'd be like, you're doing it.

00:44:42.777 --> 00:44:47.017
And they'd be like, well, I said, no, no, no, you're doing it because I asked

00:44:47.017 --> 00:44:50.597
for somebody to do something and you immediately said, I don't want to do that.

00:44:51.497 --> 00:44:54.997
So like we've gotten to a point where. It's icky.

00:44:55.697 --> 00:44:58.537
Yeah, it just doesn't. None of those things sit well with me.

00:44:58.677 --> 00:45:02.377
I do like kindness lessons on Mondays with my students at this point because

00:45:02.377 --> 00:45:03.797
this group is challenging.

00:45:04.417 --> 00:45:07.797
And I think that kindness goes a long way. So I'm doing lessons every Monday

00:45:07.797 --> 00:45:12.857
on friendship and kindness. And we're watching, you know, on the road with Steve

00:45:12.857 --> 00:45:16.277
Hartman episodes. And there's like little discussion prompts and we talk about it.

00:45:16.357 --> 00:45:18.877
And sometimes we do an activity with it or we do a scenario.

00:45:19.397 --> 00:45:24.177
And I'm like, I'm trying to do these with you guys because, you know, it's two reasons.

00:45:24.257 --> 00:45:27.417
I'm in a civics class and we talk a lot about what's happening in the world

00:45:27.417 --> 00:45:29.117
today. And it's divisive.

00:45:29.637 --> 00:45:32.937
Yes. Right. There's a lot. So I try to say, look, look, if we could all just

00:45:32.937 --> 00:45:36.177
extend some kindness in any situation.

00:45:37.197 --> 00:45:40.837
Right. Or we had these little kindness bingo boards that were going around where

00:45:40.837 --> 00:45:42.437
students were like, oh, I did all these things.

00:45:42.497 --> 00:45:45.797
I had to explain to them, look, this isn't like, oh, I've done this in the past.

00:45:46.377 --> 00:45:48.417
You have the bingo board in your hand.

00:45:49.357 --> 00:45:52.217
From that point on, when are you going to do that thing? Like,

00:45:52.257 --> 00:45:55.117
yeah, you may have helped a student with an assignment last week.

00:45:55.917 --> 00:45:59.557
That doesn't count for right now. Are you going to help them now?

00:46:00.357 --> 00:46:03.117
There was an apple on the ground in the cafeteria the other day.

00:46:03.237 --> 00:46:07.077
And there were four kids at the end of the table who all had those bingo cards in their hands.

00:46:07.757 --> 00:46:10.217
And I said, hey, oh, there's an apple in the ground.

00:46:11.137 --> 00:46:13.777
Anybody's apple? And they all said, no.

00:46:14.861 --> 00:46:21.121
So I picked up the apple and I said, oh, you all could have earned something on that bingo.

00:46:21.401 --> 00:46:25.441
Oh, you know, it was like, it's just not. Granted, it's the age.

00:46:25.801 --> 00:46:29.341
Yeah, it's the age. It's not clicking. It's not clicking.

00:46:30.281 --> 00:46:31.801
It's like, oh, could, you know,

00:46:31.881 --> 00:46:34.701
could someone take all the colored pencils and put them back in the cup?

00:46:34.821 --> 00:46:39.101
Could someone collect all the papers from the people at your table? It's like, I want them.

00:46:39.841 --> 00:46:44.581
It's about initiative, right? Notice and do. So that's something that's really been like. I know.

00:46:45.461 --> 00:46:48.961
Both in my personal and professional life that we want. I would like to see

00:46:48.961 --> 00:46:51.021
improved. GMG, grind, grind, gears.

00:46:52.041 --> 00:46:55.721
And I do crappy things too, because I'm just a person.

00:46:56.501 --> 00:47:01.221
I tell my kids that, my own children at home. I am just one person.

00:47:01.521 --> 00:47:08.761
I am trying my best. I am under extreme amounts of stress, more stress than

00:47:08.761 --> 00:47:15.441
some people know ever in their life. and I am just doing my best.

00:47:15.721 --> 00:47:22.641
So if I am short or I seem like I am zoned out, there are times when I just

00:47:22.641 --> 00:47:26.161
have to do that for myself and it's okay.

00:47:26.501 --> 00:47:32.501
And I have to say, they are very kind and empathetic people who are good at

00:47:32.501 --> 00:47:37.901
recognizing and acknowledging that and they are the same age as the kids that we teach.

00:47:38.041 --> 00:47:42.101
So I feel like having that open line, it's like, you can do it.

00:47:42.301 --> 00:47:45.741
And anyone who's new to an episode or maybe you have been listening to us for

00:47:45.741 --> 00:47:49.741
very long, just like that's not a melodramatic statement by my co-host.

00:47:49.941 --> 00:47:57.401
Like the things that she's experiencing in her personal life are very difficult.

00:47:58.109 --> 00:48:02.769
And it's something that she is dealing with every day and with grace and with,

00:48:02.909 --> 00:48:08.129
you know, like you said before, being able to like, I don't know,

00:48:08.269 --> 00:48:11.189
disassociate or compartmentalize. I forget which exact word you use.

00:48:11.369 --> 00:48:14.849
I have to like detach and disassociate completely.

00:48:15.129 --> 00:48:16.989
Yeah. Detachment. Yes. That was the word you used. Yeah.

00:48:17.549 --> 00:48:20.789
But yeah, that's, you know, when people aren't. And then I get to have an episode

00:48:20.789 --> 00:48:23.289
like this where I just get, you know, I love it.

00:48:23.769 --> 00:48:27.229
The cathartic nature of, yeah, you know what really grinds my gears.

00:48:27.229 --> 00:48:29.289
Don't look at us. Don't talk to us.

00:48:30.689 --> 00:48:36.569
Don't even. Just don't say it. Just don't say it. That should be a lesson to anyone who's.

00:48:37.129 --> 00:48:41.729
But everybody should say happy birthday to Mr. Vitale. Oh, that's so sweet.

00:48:41.729 --> 00:48:45.069
Welcome to this next new decade, sir. Yes. 50 and nifty.

00:48:45.849 --> 00:48:50.829
50, nifty, and thriving. And thriving and meniscus surgery. Yay. Okay.

00:48:51.629 --> 00:48:55.909
So, yeah. Listen, our season three is brought to you by. Is brought to you by.

00:48:55.909 --> 00:48:58.949
Is brought to you by Teachers Insurance Plan.

00:48:59.549 --> 00:49:03.369
Teachers Insurance Plan, check out their website, which is tagged in this episode

00:49:03.369 --> 00:49:05.689
for more information or to get a quote.

00:49:06.049 --> 00:49:09.489
Teachers Insurance Plan, auto insurance that brings exclusive educator savings

00:49:09.489 --> 00:49:14.589
and exceptional customer care to New Jersey and Pennsylvania educational employees.

00:49:14.929 --> 00:49:16.489
Just like me. Yeah.

00:49:16.929 --> 00:49:22.149
Just like you, buddy. Just like me. Special shout out if any of our friends

00:49:22.149 --> 00:49:25.549
from TCNJ are listening that we're at our event. We just want to,

00:49:25.749 --> 00:49:28.329
if we have any new listeners with us, thank you for joining us.

00:49:28.569 --> 00:49:31.129
Uh, we hope that you'll stay with us for a couple more episodes too.

00:49:31.509 --> 00:49:34.969
And we usually keep it MC light, you know, but this is Mr. Vitaly's birthday special.

00:49:35.169 --> 00:49:37.549
Yeah. We got to get all, I mean, everybody's got to have a little,

00:49:37.549 --> 00:49:40.629
uh, bitch session now and again. So yeah, you got it.

00:49:41.089 --> 00:49:45.069
Just don't say it. And Schwarty, I love your cat. Okay. We will see everybody.

00:49:45.489 --> 00:49:48.369
I appreciate you, friend. Thank you for doing this for my birthday.

00:49:48.689 --> 00:49:50.809
I appreciate you. All right. Uh.