Nicholas Ferroni on Teacher Pay, AI in Education & the Future of Public Schools

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From the classroom to the kitchen table, this is The Balancing Act.

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Let's turn it over to your hosts, Jamie Wonko and Joe Vitale.

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Hey, guess what? We're officially recording again, and it looks a little different

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this time because we have a special guest with us.

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We do. Welcome to The Balancing Act podcast. I am Jamie Wonko here with Mr.

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Joseph Vitale and our very special guest, Mr. Nicholas Ferroni.

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Thank you. Thank you so much. And we get to be here at the New Jersey Hall of

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Fame, which is even cooler. Yes.

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And the lighting is everything. Yes. I have taken so many pictures today.

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My face for radio is getting all... And you're so sun-kissed,

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we were talking about before.

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This, of course, meaning Jamie, not you, Nick. I don't have a nice tan.

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Nick's got a good tan. I just got back on vacation.

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Nice little European tan. Yes. How was your trip?

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It's nice. I ate nothing but pizza, gelato, and pasta for seven days,

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and I lost like 10 pounds. Where were you in Italy? Well, we started off in

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Paris and then we went to San Remo, which is like the Italian Riviera. Okay.

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And it's just, it's a whole different lifestyle. Again, I'm half Italian,

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but you would never think that based, obviously I don't speak it,

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but it's just, it's a whole different world.

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And it's funny because I'm always looking for schools. I'm curious on where

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their schools are and what their dynamic is. I met some teachers,

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we were talking. Oh, nice. And it's interesting because we all have the same struggles globally.

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We all have the same concerns and the same issues, but Italy,

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I would move there in five minutes if i could you yes when we went to europe

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a few summers ago uh we went my one non we were on cruise and we stopped at

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different ports and we were going to be in rome and.

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My one non-negotiable when we were there was we have to see the Coliseum.

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Being a history teacher and a student of that, that's always something that I wanted to do.

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So we actually got a tour and we had a tour guide that was with us who was a

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historical anthropologist.

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And she had just gotten a job in a classroom as a teacher after 10 years searching for one.

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But one of the ways she supplements her income is working as a tour guide.

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And she was like a female Indiana Jones.

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She knew more things about more things, um, and had a book of,

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of, uh, like art that she showed us that she carried around this binder and

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brought us to all these, you know, we went to Trevi Fountain and we went to,

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um, you know, the Coliseum and she toured us around.

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But like, it was really amazing to see her passion as an educator shine through.

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And the fact that she's with this family that she doesn't even know,

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um, you know, giving us a tour around Rome.

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It was awesome. It's such an amazing thing. When I was in Paris,

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I was working with the U.S. Embassy. So I was recording a video of the George

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C. Marshall building, known from the Marshall Plan, who helped rebuild Europe.

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And it's Hotel Talleyrand. And this, this, I mean...

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Teacher gave us a tour and it's just it's interesting europe every building

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looks like it's spectacular their starbucks is made from an 18th century church

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and it's just it's just it's such a fascinating experience

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but during while i'm doing my history series it's like the national parks it's

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just it they're so inspiring they're so passionate and it's like i learned so

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much i didn't realize how little i knew about history until i started doing

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a history series and meeting people who are on location,

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teaching about those spaces but it's just it was such such a cool experience.

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And I love meeting people who are passionate about what they do and what they teach.

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One of the things I learned when I was in Rome was they were doing so much construction

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because one of the battles they have is it's in, you know, it's a city from

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centuries ago that's been built and they're trying to modernize and they're

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trying to build new underground subway stations and buildings and apartments.

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So at every job construction site, they actually have a historical anthropologist on staff.

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So when they dig something up and they're like, oh, here's an artifact,

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they figure out, well, what is it?

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Is it actually meaningful or worthwhile where they need to do a larger excavation?

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Or is this just like, we're going to take the bulldozer to it?

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So they stop and they look and they examine, and then they move on from there,

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whether or not they're going to tear this thing down or preserve it.

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And what's really cool is there was a couple of places we went to that she brought

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us to. There was like a little shop we went to, like a mall almost.

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Um, and we went down into the basement and the back wall was like an old piece

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of the Roman aqueduct that they could not tear down because it's a historical landmark.

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It's just, it was just so interesting to like see everything and to hear those

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stories. It's really a cool thing. It is. And I learned so much just from different

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things. So when we were in Hotel Talleyrand, which was built in 1700s,

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there was part of the ceiling that was obviously dirty.

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And I made a comment. I'm like, why did you, why did you renovate that part?

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Not that. And they basically said because we that's untouched so that way future

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generations have samples of the material so when they renovate

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they can use that material rather than using the material that they used they

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can go right back to the and it's like something i would never think of but

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preservationists obviously do right so it was just a really really cool experience to kind of

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go through that and kind of learn those things and you said you lost 10 pounds

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on the trip i lost him so is that the food is better in europe

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food is everything is three ingredients and it tastes delicious there's so many

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chemicals that obviously we allow in our food here that they don't allow there

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and you walk everywhere everyone's active uh.

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Siesta is a real thing where it's like it was funny we were trying to go to

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the pharmacy it's like two o'clock it's closed till five o'clock and it's like

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okay and it's and then i remember it's interesting because cultural things like

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i drink cappuccinos all day there i tried to order cappuccino at night and the

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waiter looks at me and he says no,

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he brought me an espresso and i respect that so much because i'm like i'm an

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america it's like yeah i'll adapt to your culture but it's just i.

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I always feel like as great of a history teacher as i am there's no replacing

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going to those places and it's i think traveling is the best education it opens

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your mind i always feel like people who are the most narrow-minded have lived

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in the same place their entire lives

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there's great people everywhere every culture has something unique to offer

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and it's just you realize there's certain i love this country but there's certain

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things we should incorporate that other countries do very well like like life work balance

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yes no segue back to the title. Here we are, right? Yes.

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So, I mean, we might as well jump into our, we've already been talking about

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some of the things that have been going on with you, Nick. So,

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Jane, we might as well jump into our,

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Our usual first segment. What's new with you? What's new with you, Nick Ferroni?

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Well, I will be heading to my classroom after this to kind of set up and record

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some videos on teacher pay and back-to-school stuff.

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My series, Historically Correct, we're on season four.

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So it comes out, it's about New York. We started and ended at Francis Tavern.

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So that comes out August 30th, I think the first episode is,

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and it'll be on the American Battlefield Trust website.

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And then I'm just doing different campaigns.

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I was with DonorsChoose yesterday in Washington Square Park asking people how

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much they think teachers spend on school supplies.

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And I'm working with Hearst Media to develop some EI programming for Sunday

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morning about a history. So it's all fun stuff and just getting ready for the school year. Yeah.

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Can you share what was the average guess that people had for how much, teachers?

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It was astronomical, like 5,000, 10,000, which I'm sure some teachers do.

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I'm sure we've all spent the thousands on supplies and resources. Sure.

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But average-wise, 600 is what the survey, Donor True Survey said.

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I feel like that's a low estimate. Okay.

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And we were asking people, what percentage of teachers do you think have second jobs?

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And the answer to that was 37%. People are like half, more than...

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And I then followed up with the question of should teachers have second jobs?

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Should teachers buy supplies? And of course, everyone's like,

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absolutely not. That's absurd. So I got to do the man on the street in Washington Square Park.

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I'm doing some fun, cool teacher surprises this year.

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I'm working with the Stay Gold Foundation,

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which is C. Thomas Howell's Foundation. Oh, awesome. The actor.

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Yeah. Where he comes to schools and he's going to talk to students about the

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outsiders and the importance of literacy. Wow.

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I'm going to do something in California with John Stamos and his wife.

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So it's just trying to help schools and communities, but also remind people

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of all the amazing work that we know teachers do on a regular basis.

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That's kind of my mission this year is to bring awareness, continue bringing

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awareness, fight for increased funding and pay, but also to celebrate all the

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amazing educators out there.

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Yeah. That's awesome. I teach eighth grade and they are just over the moon about

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the outsiders. Well, I may be reaching out to you then for a visit because we

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don't read the outsiders in high school. Okay, yeah.

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Yeah, but I may, so would you want to have see Thomas Howell come by us?

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Oh my gosh. And we would get you a classroom set of outsiders.

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It would be amazing. Yeah, I think our English department would go crazy.

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They do all sorts of- The kids dress up. Yeah, they do. Oh, yes.

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You would have to plan it for that day. Do they know the movie?

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Well, they watch the movie, and then the last couple of years,

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they've actually taken them to the Broadway show as well. Yeah, okay. Which is awesome.

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So they're really into it. You have to do it at your school.

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Yeah. So they only have a...

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They get like a bus to go on the trip. They start with a bus because one of

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the most expensive things to go to these shows on Broadway is of course the

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busing to go from New Jersey, right?

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So they'll do like, there's 45 spots on the bus. They give out the permission

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slip and the next day our principal will start collecting them and she'll be

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standing at the door and kids will be running with their envelope.

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She stands at the front door.

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She'll stand at the front door. And numbers them. One, two, three, 47, you know.

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First come, first serve. And they pay for the trip themselves out of their own pockets.

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Yeah, so, and then if they have a certain amount, they try to go to a second

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bus and stuff like that. But, like, the kids are literally that excited to go

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and check it out. I would want to surprise the kids and say,

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like, because I was in a setup to where he's just an expert, a literacy expert.

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And he's going to talk about the importance and the history behind the Outsiders.

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And then we could reveal at the end that he actually played the character.

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Oh, my gosh. That would be awesome. They'd love something like that.

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It's such a great time for like to hear them talk about it and be as excited

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as they are. That's amazing. All right. We were going to make that happen. Yeah, it's exciting.

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You get to do some cool stuff on that show of yours too. That's really awesome.

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Yeah. It is. And again, we were meant to talk about it earlier.

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There's as great of a history teacher as I am, there's no replacing.

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Like this is where this happened. You're standing on the same site that these

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armies or this person or this community.

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And it just, it brings it to life. And it's, again, it's in partnership with

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the American Battlefield Trust.

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Which is an amazing nonprofit. Their whole goal, speaking of preservation,

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is to preserve these historical sites for future generations.

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I mean, not to be cliche, but those who don't learn from the past, repeat it.

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And it's just, if these places get destroyed and renovated, it's just,

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I feel like that's so demoralizing to our history.

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So just getting to do this four seasons, again, it's like, I'm a poor man's

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Indiana Jones. I get to go on location, go on these adventures and share the

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stories. And then in true teacher fashion, quiz people. on site, which is.

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It's still my favorite reaction because i don't care how confident the person

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is or how old they are the minute they say when i say pop quiz you could see

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them go right back into their school self and get so anxious yeah and it's so funny yeah why new york,

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new york because we partnered with uh the new york humanities department and

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then ny 250 every state obviously you know you've seen america 250 everywhere

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every state has their own 250 organization,

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so like for virginia we're with VA 250, NJ 250, South Carolina 250,

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and then New York 250 was the next partner.

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It's not chronological, if that's weird. It's just more or less which partners

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want to partner with us on this programming or on this educational content.

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And New York was kind of, was very gun-ho for it.

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It's tough because New York is so big. So it took us like 10 days to film because

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we were in lower Manhattan, then we were in upstate New York,

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then we were in Ithaca, And then we kind of worked our way around.

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And then next season will likely be North Carolina. Awesome.

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Yeah. And again, it's like every state has similar stories. Every state has similar heroes.

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Every state, it's just, it's so fascinating to learn about these places.

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It's kind of New Jersey. I know everything about New Jersey revolutionary history

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or most of it, but it's like, I don't know that similar situations happen in

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these states. Right. Yeah. Yeah.

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You said you ended up at Francis Tavern, which is, there were two specific times

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where I was going to be going there. And both times, unfortunately,

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one time my kids got sick while we were there. We're actually going into the

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New York Public Library to see...

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The original draft copies of the Declaration of Independence that were on display

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from the Kennedy family.

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They were on like a little tour and my kids had gotten ill that day.

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My daughter was running a fever. They were a little bit younger.

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So we said, you know what? We'll skip Francis Tavern. Are they faking?

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Were they faking it to get out? I don't know. I mean, they were a little bit,

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they were a little bit younger, so I don't think so.

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So yeah, that, that must've been really cool to, to check that out.

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I mean, some of these, you know

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so i was in washington dc this past weekend or at the end of august um,

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and we went to gatsby's which was a like one of the oldest taverns in washington

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dc and there was a guy who was walking around as james madison i know,

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i love those just like talking to the tables and coming up to us and and stuff

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like that was really it was really cool it was interesting it is and it's like

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we always we've kind of created this image of the these founders as demigods

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like they're superhuman.

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When they're as flawed and as perfect as everyone else, they were not perfect

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people. They were complicated, complex. They were people of their time.

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And I always feel like we have to look at that full perspective.

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And it's always tough as a history person. I always tell my students,

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you can't judge people based on present day standards. Because that's like me

00:14:02.389 --> 00:14:06.309
judging your work based on what you did when you were five years old. You've come a long way.

00:14:06.849 --> 00:14:11.179
And we have to kind of take that in consideration. That's why Barack Obama did

00:14:11.179 --> 00:14:13.879
this great speech on Washington, and how he was complex.

00:14:13.879 --> 00:14:17.753
He was, yes, he was, his principles were compromised. At the same time,

00:14:18.032 --> 00:14:20.819
it doesn't take away from the fact that if there was anybody else in that role,

00:14:20.819 --> 00:14:23.169
we would not be sitting in the position we're in right now.

00:14:23.829 --> 00:14:28.602
And so history is, it's complicated, it's messy, but I love that about it. It's all storytelling.

00:14:29.926 --> 00:14:33.920
My favorite story from the experience was in Virginia, I went to Patrick Henry's house.

00:14:34.583 --> 00:14:39.639
And on this one display, there's all these letters. And I'm like,

00:14:39.639 --> 00:14:42.704
what are these letters? And like, oh, this is from New Jersey Quakers.

00:14:43.035 --> 00:14:47.119
They were writing Patrick Henry criticizing him because he's the same man who

00:14:47.119 --> 00:14:49.321
said, give me liberty, give me death. But he was a slave owner.

00:14:49.623 --> 00:14:52.219
And then you have these New Jersey Quakers that are calling him hypocrite.

00:14:52.219 --> 00:14:54.842
And then you see his replies and he's like, I know I'm a hypocrite,

00:14:55.022 --> 00:14:56.392
but can we start with this?

00:14:56.798 --> 00:15:00.429
And it's just, it's funny. It's like, of course it's the New Jersey people throwing shade at him.

00:15:00.789 --> 00:15:03.719
Yeah. And he kept all the letters. It was so comic, but it was like,

00:15:03.719 --> 00:15:05.494
but it's like, that's history. Yeah.

00:15:08.606 --> 00:15:14.429
Um, so we want to transition and talk to you a lot about, you know, our profession, right.

00:15:14.429 --> 00:15:17.629
That we're, the three of us are obviously very passionate about,

00:15:17.629 --> 00:15:22.069
um, and that you are, in my opinion, a champion for teachers,

00:15:22.409 --> 00:15:27.000
um, in the classroom for a variety of different reasons, right.

00:15:27.354 --> 00:15:30.929
Um, not just school funding and pensions and, and stuff like that,

00:15:30.929 --> 00:15:36.555
but like you're very passionate about this job and where it's headed. Right.

00:15:37.995 --> 00:15:40.967
So we also like, we've,

00:15:42.053 --> 00:15:45.861
are at the new jersey hall of fame right we're in we're in in our opinion the

00:15:45.861 --> 00:15:48.701
greatest state that there is i know there's going to be people that are going

00:15:48.701 --> 00:15:53.883
to disagree with us um but new jersey is also at the tops of the list for like

00:15:54.057 --> 00:15:56.838
number one public schools and we'd like to know,

00:15:57.744 --> 00:16:01.481
why you think that is like why are we constantly at the top of the list and

00:16:01.481 --> 00:16:03.415
leading the nation in regards to um,

00:16:04.461 --> 00:16:08.411
you know students in public schools i also want to think i could take credit

00:16:08.411 --> 00:16:11.371
for some of that at the same time i feel like the kid in the group project who's

00:16:11.371 --> 00:16:13.221
going to get the A no matter what everyone else does.

00:16:14.301 --> 00:16:17.441
And I just think it's, and it goes back to, again, we're at the New Jersey Hall

00:16:17.441 --> 00:16:21.331
of Fame. There's a reason why, I hate to say it, but to piggyback off what you

00:16:21.331 --> 00:16:25.651
said, Joe, like there's a reason why we produced so many world-changing individuals

00:16:25.651 --> 00:16:28.126
in science and history and culture and music.

00:16:28.532 --> 00:16:31.521
It's because obviously our location has to do with it, but it's just kind of

00:16:31.521 --> 00:16:34.291
that chip on our shoulder. I think Bruce Springsteen said it best,

00:16:34.291 --> 00:16:37.884
New Jersey people, we have a chip on our shoulder, but we also are very gritty.

00:16:38.563 --> 00:16:42.921
We're very diverse. I think we're one of the hardest working states let's not

00:16:42.921 --> 00:16:46.156
forget most industries and first hollywood were all based here,

00:16:46.690 --> 00:16:51.421
and i just think we we have that long history of just being a blue collar state

00:16:51.827 --> 00:16:54.601
who who gets criticized for being a blue collar state,

00:16:55.141 --> 00:16:59.961
but it's just again like i i'm i think most of our teachers are from new jersey i,

00:17:00.521 --> 00:17:03.797
again i grew up i teach in the high school i went to i went to ruckers university

00:17:04.209 --> 00:17:07.981
my whole life has been in jersey i'm so proud of that and that's why I hate

00:17:07.981 --> 00:17:08.621
when people are like, oh, you're

00:17:08.621 --> 00:17:11.221
from New York. I said, no, I'm from New Jersey. I have to clarify that.

00:17:12.061 --> 00:17:16.111
But it's just our state, we have so many great education systems,

00:17:16.111 --> 00:17:17.704
some of the great schools for teachers.

00:17:18.319 --> 00:17:23.311
And again, we have a lot of support. Our teachers union is one of the most supportive.

00:17:23.311 --> 00:17:28.293
I think the NJEA, I wish every state had a union as supportive and progressive

00:17:28.502 --> 00:17:32.455
and as fighting and willing to fight as ours is.

00:17:32.774 --> 00:17:35.764
Because other teachers don't have that same luxury. And it's always interesting because...

00:17:36.989 --> 00:17:39.953
If you look at the top five highest paying states, they're always,

00:17:40.333 --> 00:17:43.189
for teachers, they're always in the top five in education.

00:17:43.775 --> 00:17:46.381
And it's like when I see like Mississippi at the bottom of Louisiana,

00:17:46.654 --> 00:17:47.920
I don't blame the teachers.

00:17:48.570 --> 00:17:53.993
Their system is so flawed and so broken that the fact that teachers are performing

00:17:53.993 --> 00:17:56.459
any task is pretty much a miracle. Yeah.

00:17:56.598 --> 00:18:00.183
And so I feel like our state has those luxuries. So I just, half the time I

00:18:00.183 --> 00:18:02.753
speak out against things, it's not even for what I'm experiencing personally.

00:18:02.753 --> 00:18:07.813
It's for what i know collectively as educators we're going through nationwide right.

00:18:09.352 --> 00:18:13.972
What do you think parents can do to help support teachers?

00:18:14.872 --> 00:18:19.899
I think there's this great crying on The Simpsons. We're open house.

00:18:20.062 --> 00:18:21.966
Parents and teachers, let's share the blame.

00:18:22.401 --> 00:18:27.861
Because it's true. Politicians are very good at pitting parents versus teachers.

00:18:28.448 --> 00:18:32.848
And I do hate when teachers blame parents for an attack in that sense.

00:18:33.179 --> 00:18:35.766
Because I realized during a lot of my career, there's a lot of difference between

00:18:35.766 --> 00:18:37.592
a negligent parent and an absentee parent.

00:18:37.887 --> 00:18:41.381
We have single parents who are working second jobs who need us to pick up more,

00:18:42.076 --> 00:18:45.718
of the ownership as well because they just can't do it.

00:18:46.113 --> 00:18:51.784
And I just feel like we've lost that partnership where politicians always like to blame teachers.

00:18:52.022 --> 00:18:54.846
Obviously, you're not gonna blame parents because there's more parental voters

00:18:54.846 --> 00:18:58.285
than there are teacher voters, but they always have to make a villain out of something.

00:18:58.571 --> 00:19:00.840
And they don't want parents and teachers to work together.

00:19:01.281 --> 00:19:05.476
But we are collectively in this together. I mean, I always tell parents,

00:19:05.476 --> 00:19:08.126
who are you gonna trust? The person running for office or a person who spends

00:19:08.126 --> 00:19:09.596
180 days with your child?

00:19:10.116 --> 00:19:13.306
Who are you going to believe? And it comes to that relationship where we're

00:19:13.306 --> 00:19:14.336
not trying to replace parents.

00:19:15.404 --> 00:19:18.276
That's why I hate when people like the just teach crowd is like teachers should

00:19:18.276 --> 00:19:20.884
just teach. They don't realize that's our goal.

00:19:21.233 --> 00:19:25.296
If I only had to just teach, my life would be incredibly easy.

00:19:25.627 --> 00:19:29.869
But we do this job because we know teaching is so much more than just teaching a subject.

00:19:30.275 --> 00:19:35.912
So my thing for parents would be, be a part of it. Like we're in this together. We're on the same team.

00:19:36.237 --> 00:19:39.216
Don't let people convince you that things are happening at your schools that

00:19:39.216 --> 00:19:42.936
are not don't let people convince you that teachers are doing things that you

00:19:42.936 --> 00:19:48.126
obviously know they're not doing and just be at board meetings,

00:19:48.718 --> 00:19:53.240
vote for politicians who are supporting public schools because to me.

00:19:54.075 --> 00:19:57.219
People move to communities because of the school system. I feel like as you're

00:19:57.219 --> 00:19:59.549
a parent, think about how insane that is. When you become a parent,

00:19:59.549 --> 00:20:01.964
like, all right, where are we gonna move so we have the best schools?

00:20:02.155 --> 00:20:04.849
And to me, public school is the ultimate equalizer.

00:20:05.191 --> 00:20:09.889
That's why the whole privatization movement, I feel like is so problematic and

00:20:09.889 --> 00:20:14.289
so for-profit, where it's like you want every school, every public school to

00:20:14.289 --> 00:20:15.762
be the foundation of the community.

00:20:15.971 --> 00:20:18.579
Because let's be honest, if you have religious schools, the only place you meet

00:20:18.579 --> 00:20:21.679
people of different faiths and different cultures is the public school system.

00:20:22.496 --> 00:20:25.270
And just there's so much expectation that has been put on us,

00:20:25.595 --> 00:20:29.171
but the resources and pay have not kept up with that expectation. Yeah.

00:20:29.560 --> 00:20:33.519
And we know for some parents, being involved is hard, right?

00:20:33.519 --> 00:20:38.209
Because they're working multiple jobs or have younger children at home.

00:20:38.656 --> 00:20:47.613
If you have the opportunity to be a band parent, to be on the PTO and go to a meeting, like.

00:20:49.239 --> 00:20:53.085
You look at those across the board and schools that are, you know,

00:20:53.085 --> 00:20:57.125
that have strong parent organizations normally have like amazing programs,

00:20:57.125 --> 00:21:03.681
amazing back to school, like after school activities, you know, pep rally events.

00:21:05.881 --> 00:21:12.065
So what I'm looking for, not field trips, when you when you go into like the

00:21:12.065 --> 00:21:15.515
all purpose room to have a like a pep rally. No, not a pep rally.

00:21:15.515 --> 00:21:17.945
Like the all purpose room to have like a like the brain show come.

00:21:18.105 --> 00:21:23.965
Assembly. assembly why did that just i have no idea like it's been a long slow summer,

00:21:26.005 --> 00:21:30.825
i guess right i just have an assembly everybody my goodness that just popped

00:21:30.825 --> 00:21:34.725
out of my brain i couldn't think of it but like all of those things happen you

00:21:34.725 --> 00:21:38.562
know you you have have posted on social media i completely agree with you about like,

00:21:39.468 --> 00:21:43.505
you know the the entire system is built on the backbone of uh,

00:21:44.570 --> 00:21:48.085
teacher overtime and unpaid,

00:21:48.605 --> 00:21:53.895
unpaid labor right and we do it because we're there for the kids right and we

00:21:53.895 --> 00:21:57.855
just talked with a guest who's going to be on um in a future episode who like

00:21:57.855 --> 00:22:00.058
stopped doing the chess club because it was like

00:22:00.406 --> 00:22:03.145
it was this thing that was added it was this thing that was added it was this

00:22:03.145 --> 00:22:07.355
thing that was added she's like i can't do this i can't give everything to this

00:22:07.657 --> 00:22:11.385
particular area and that's where parents might come in to advocate for their

00:22:11.385 --> 00:22:13.131
for the their classroom teachers,

00:22:14.362 --> 00:22:18.765
because when a teacher is spreading themselves so thin in all these different

00:22:18.765 --> 00:22:22.916
areas, they're not being the best spouse at home, the best parent to their children.

00:22:24.305 --> 00:22:25.755
It is a very exhausting...

00:22:26.731 --> 00:22:30.390
Job but even as a parent in a very selfish sense obviously every parent only

00:22:30.390 --> 00:22:34.020
cares about their kid we care about everybody's kid yeah and and so even as

00:22:34.020 --> 00:22:37.784
a self if i was a selfish parent and i knew my child's teachers work in a second job,

00:22:38.335 --> 00:22:42.420
or buying their own supplies or in a classroom of 40 kids because you don't

00:22:42.420 --> 00:22:45.370
have enough staff i would be at every board meeting flipping out because now

00:22:45.370 --> 00:22:49.296
that teacher is not in position to provide my child with the resources and support they need

00:22:49.667 --> 00:22:53.380
and that's why even if a parent's selfish like they should still be aware of

00:22:53.380 --> 00:22:56.410
those things like how, how is your teacher on donor's shoes?

00:22:56.410 --> 00:22:58.189
Are they begging for supplies online?

00:22:58.543 --> 00:23:02.070
Are they working second jobs? Because I don't want, you wouldn't want a pilot

00:23:02.070 --> 00:23:04.231
who's working a second job flying your plane.

00:23:04.766 --> 00:23:08.905
And so it's, it's things like that. But even going back to the whole parental involvement, it's,

00:23:09.658 --> 00:23:13.612
few publications who tend to be very anti-teacher always blame schools for the

00:23:13.612 --> 00:23:17.656
lower proficiency or lower reading as if technology has nothing to do with it.

00:23:17.993 --> 00:23:21.522
But every study shows parents are not reading to their kids as much.

00:23:21.818 --> 00:23:23.844
Kids are not reading as early as they used to be.

00:23:24.146 --> 00:23:27.912
Boys are read 29% on average between the age of 0 and 5. Girls,

00:23:27.912 --> 00:23:32.128
44%. 62% of parents said they don't read to their child at all.

00:23:32.435 --> 00:23:35.412
And then they'll complain if their child's behind. I always apply it like music.

00:23:35.412 --> 00:23:39.162
And I gave this video that went viral on, applied it to guitar lessons.

00:23:39.162 --> 00:23:42.902
So I said, if you have two kids, both taking guitar lessons from the same teacher.

00:23:44.510 --> 00:23:47.442
And then one goes home and their parents play with them and they play for hours

00:23:47.442 --> 00:23:49.926
and their kid doesn't, who do you think is going to be at an advantage?

00:23:50.355 --> 00:23:54.152
Yeah. It's, there's only so much we could do with, with, with the resources

00:23:54.152 --> 00:23:58.204
and support we have. So it's, it, it is a team effort.

00:23:58.575 --> 00:24:03.502
You know, education is not an individual sport and And the more pressure and

00:24:03.502 --> 00:24:07.052
the more reliance we put on teachers and more blame, it's going to force us

00:24:07.052 --> 00:24:10.192
out, good teachers, and it's going to cause people to not want to go in this field.

00:24:10.192 --> 00:24:15.042
And then you're left with, think nationwide, there's 400,000 unqualified teachers

00:24:15.042 --> 00:24:17.208
in the classroom because of the shortage.

00:24:17.585 --> 00:24:20.742
So now think of that, that you have people, again, would you want a pilot who

00:24:20.742 --> 00:24:23.302
didn't graduate from aviation school? No.

00:24:24.302 --> 00:24:27.912
So it's just, if we applied what we go through to any other situation,

00:24:27.912 --> 00:24:30.710
it is absurd. Yeah. I think there. Do you.

00:24:30.997 --> 00:24:35.252
Go ahead, Jim. Do you think that we've lowered academic expectations for students,

00:24:35.252 --> 00:24:39.682
or do you think that we've changed what success looks like? I think both.

00:24:40.402 --> 00:24:43.632
I was having this conversation with Allie earlier, where I feel like a lot of

00:24:43.632 --> 00:24:45.306
bad things happen with good intentions.

00:24:46.822 --> 00:24:50.850
We've changed our grading system in my state. We don't allow kids to fail.

00:24:51.378 --> 00:24:56.192
And when I say don't allow, with good intention, the belief is if a kid has

00:24:56.192 --> 00:24:58.663
a zero, they're less likely to try to get a D.

00:24:58.872 --> 00:25:01.525
But if we give the lowest grade as a 50, then they know they have it.

00:25:01.705 --> 00:25:03.888
But the problem is now there's no incentive.

00:25:04.579 --> 00:25:07.645
And the kid who normally would get a C or B may be like, well,

00:25:07.645 --> 00:25:11.315
why am I going to do anything? Because this person, so there has to be failure.

00:25:11.315 --> 00:25:12.700
You don't learn through success.

00:25:12.961 --> 00:25:15.625
We could meet them where they are and pull them where they have to be.

00:25:16.045 --> 00:25:19.672
The problem is we met them where they were and we kept them where they were. And that's it.

00:25:19.997 --> 00:25:24.490
And I, you, again, you apply it to any situation. If I want to slam dunk a basketball,

00:25:24.890 --> 00:25:27.315
you're not going to keep lowering the rim for me until I do it.

00:25:27.315 --> 00:25:30.625
You're going to let me work my way up until I could get to that point.

00:25:30.625 --> 00:25:31.685
You would have to lower the rim for me.

00:25:31.705 --> 00:25:34.285
You would have to lower the rim. Yeah, but again, maybe then you're not going

00:25:34.285 --> 00:25:35.505
to slam dunk. You're going to do a layup.

00:25:35.985 --> 00:25:40.615
But it's like we have to. And it's tough because I saw the teacher of the year

00:25:40.615 --> 00:25:44.940
in Maryland quit because they were forcing them to change grades for kids.

00:25:45.450 --> 00:25:48.986
And that didn't deserve them. And she quit. And it's like those are things.

00:25:49.288 --> 00:25:52.910
Again, we're put in situations sometimes that we shouldn't have to be in.

00:25:53.735 --> 00:25:57.392
And yes, kids should fail. Yes, we should keep kids back.

00:25:57.810 --> 00:26:00.528
I think a lot of school districts don't do it because they know it affects the

00:26:00.528 --> 00:26:03.052
data or the resources we get.

00:26:03.760 --> 00:26:09.020
But we have to have some high expectations. Kids always rise up to the occasion.

00:26:09.398 --> 00:26:13.598
And I think we're taking that luxury away from them. I didn't learn through

00:26:13.598 --> 00:26:15.958
success. I learned through failure. And then I bounced back.

00:26:16.378 --> 00:26:18.898
And I knew my parents would be tough on me. I don't want to get bad grades because

00:26:19.198 --> 00:26:21.485
I don't want to upset my parents. So it's like there's all these things that,

00:26:21.979 --> 00:26:24.298
and that's why as a teacher, I feel like I'm going back to what I did as my

00:26:24.298 --> 00:26:27.958
first year teaching versus what I should be doing my 24th year because it worked.

00:26:28.334 --> 00:26:33.298
So tell us what your plan is for this year. I'm rolling back to tech a little more.

00:26:33.918 --> 00:26:38.123
Tech is a tool. And again, talk about how we get exploited.

00:26:38.423 --> 00:26:42.308
Tech companies see a great way to take something they have and then force it

00:26:42.308 --> 00:26:45.569
on districts, then convince the districts that if they don't all use this,

00:26:45.843 --> 00:26:47.833
they're not going to be a 21st century district.

00:26:48.223 --> 00:26:52.333
And we went from, again, good intentions, went from zero to 100 in tech,

00:26:52.640 --> 00:26:56.338
and we've seen the repercussions and the results of that or lack of results.

00:26:56.338 --> 00:27:00.168
And part of it was pandemic-related. Like we all had to immediately switch to

00:27:00.168 --> 00:27:04.218
doing remote learning and teaching on a screen. And as teachers,

00:27:04.218 --> 00:27:09.458
we knew how horrible of a replacement this was, but it was just for that time period.

00:27:09.878 --> 00:27:12.550
And then you see the tech companies like, no, let's make this permanent.

00:27:12.765 --> 00:27:14.715
Why not teach 300 kids on Zoom?

00:27:15.438 --> 00:27:18.790
And you see, there's always people we're trying to profit off of education

00:27:19.167 --> 00:27:21.808
and there's always i always joke around the one thing i love about religion

00:27:21.808 --> 00:27:24.636
is the messiah only comes back once in education

00:27:24.943 --> 00:27:28.238
every year it's like oh this is what we're gonna and we end up doing the same

00:27:28.238 --> 00:27:32.298
thing we've done always because we know it works right so i just feel like i

00:27:32.298 --> 00:27:34.185
as an educator this year i'm gonna roll back tech,

00:27:34.719 --> 00:27:37.618
as i mentioned i bought 200 notebooks and i'm gonna spend probably close to

00:27:37.618 --> 00:27:42.364
a thousand dollars before school starts because i want to have a classroom where they disconnect and,

00:27:42.984 --> 00:27:45.589
They'll have their computers when they need them. We'll do activities on them.

00:27:45.889 --> 00:27:48.549
They'll create stuff, but there's going to be pen to papers.

00:27:48.549 --> 00:27:50.455
There's going to be holding books and packets.

00:27:51.918 --> 00:27:54.319
And I'll explain to them. I'm not just going to do it and be like,

00:27:54.319 --> 00:27:57.319
I hate you. That's why I'm doing it. I'm like, I care about you.

00:27:57.319 --> 00:27:59.109
That's why this is more work for me.

00:27:59.689 --> 00:28:02.729
This is more expense on me, but I know this is the best thing for you.

00:28:03.189 --> 00:28:06.489
And that's why just because things are more efficient doesn't mean they're more effective.

00:28:07.109 --> 00:28:09.999
And that's why now we have AI to worry about. And now they're saying,

00:28:09.999 --> 00:28:12.509
why don't teachers teach about it? It's like now it's another responsibility

00:28:12.509 --> 00:28:16.861
that we have about ethical issues that we shouldn't have to deal with. If you're an edge.

00:28:55.179 --> 00:28:58.608
Yeah. There was, there was a recent common sense media study that just came

00:28:58.608 --> 00:29:01.978
out about AI that like the amount of kids that are using it.

00:29:01.978 --> 00:29:07.678
And, um, and I don't blame them if I had access art, how we would have to cheat

00:29:07.678 --> 00:29:10.898
in our day, go to the library, find resources, cite them and play.

00:29:10.898 --> 00:29:14.469
It's like, that's education. That's like, that would be work now.

00:29:14.596 --> 00:29:18.488
Yeah. Yeah. And it's like, I don't blame them for that. I also have those discussions

00:29:18.488 --> 00:29:22.317
with my students telling them it's like, it's like, so if you want to get stronger,

00:29:22.925 --> 00:29:25.482
are you going to have somebody go to the gym for you? It's like,

00:29:25.482 --> 00:29:28.005
well, how does that apply? And like the same thing, your brain's a muscle.

00:29:28.632 --> 00:29:31.942
And so I always, I'm sure some teachers don't, which they should,

00:29:31.942 --> 00:29:34.772
but I always explain to them everything we do. I'm like, there's always method.

00:29:35.172 --> 00:29:37.822
Like, I promise you, this is going to make you better in the end,

00:29:37.822 --> 00:29:41.162
whether it's more well-rounded, easier to adapt, more creative,

00:29:41.162 --> 00:29:44.491
it's going to help you wherever you want to go in your journey.

00:29:44.630 --> 00:29:48.052
And so I'm definitely, again, I'm going to talk to ethics of AI.

00:29:48.052 --> 00:29:50.372
There are uses for it. I use it for certain things.

00:29:51.012 --> 00:29:54.742
And so it's just, there's a difference between having your ChatGPT write your

00:29:54.742 --> 00:29:58.852
paper or having them make suggestions on edits you've made of a written paper. Exactly.

00:29:59.212 --> 00:30:03.452
So we've talked often with, you know, people about AI assistant,

00:30:03.452 --> 00:30:06.502
not replacement. Yeah, assistant robot. There's a difference between taking

00:30:06.502 --> 00:30:10.548
your project or your paper and putting it into whatever program you're using

00:30:10.891 --> 00:30:13.372
along with the rubric and saying, tell me how I can improve this.

00:30:13.972 --> 00:30:17.172
And then you go and doing it yourself. I also think it's comical on every year

00:30:17.172 --> 00:30:20.423
there's something trying to replace this. Like, oh, AI robots are going to replace teachers.

00:30:20.637 --> 00:30:23.552
Are they really? Yeah. Because if we're replaceable, TVs, first of all,

00:30:23.552 --> 00:30:26.866
you don't need teachers. You have libraries. Right. Yeah. There needs to be a messenger.

00:30:27.226 --> 00:30:29.892
But it's funny how like, oh, these AI robots, we're going to try them out.

00:30:29.932 --> 00:30:33.012
Yeah, it's not going to happen. Yeah. It's like, I can't wait to see the comedy that that's going to be.

00:30:33.192 --> 00:30:35.422
Do you remember the robot that was like traveling around the country?

00:30:35.422 --> 00:30:38.432
Yeah. And like, it was like, I don't remember the name of the robot,

00:30:38.432 --> 00:30:41.792
but it made it to Philadelphia and it was there for like a day and they destroyed it.

00:30:41.792 --> 00:30:45.352
Oh, yeah. Like, that's what's going to happen. Like somewhere it'll happen.

00:30:45.352 --> 00:30:49.162
The AI robots will be there and some kid will learn how to hack into it where

00:30:49.162 --> 00:30:52.142
it winds up doing backflips and breaks itself or something like that.

00:30:52.142 --> 00:30:54.578
But again, go back to the Just Teach. If all we did was teach,

00:30:54.775 --> 00:30:56.888
yes, then somebody spitting information would matter.

00:30:57.144 --> 00:31:00.212
But there's a hundred different roles. How are you going to console a kid?

00:31:00.212 --> 00:31:01.881
How are you going to mentor a kid? How are you going to know when a kid,

00:31:02.142 --> 00:31:03.102
how are you going to break up a fight?

00:31:03.102 --> 00:31:07.773
And it's like, there's so many things that apply on our daily lives as educators

00:31:08.127 --> 00:31:11.832
that there's no, like we're irreplaceable. And I think that infuriates people

00:31:11.832 --> 00:31:16.138
because it just reinforces how important our role is. Yes.

00:31:16.376 --> 00:31:20.370
And I love that you're making the choice for your students. Yes.

00:31:20.952 --> 00:31:23.742
And, you know, I love...

00:31:24.329 --> 00:31:28.387
The computer for what it can do, especially in the history classroom.

00:31:28.387 --> 00:31:34.947
There are often things that we can do virtually that I cannot do with a textbook,

00:31:34.947 --> 00:31:40.697
especially if it's, you know, three grade levels above the average child's reading ability.

00:31:40.697 --> 00:31:45.807
So, you know, I love that it affords me those opportunities in my classroom.

00:31:45.807 --> 00:31:51.717
At the same time, I don't want to be told never, you know, And so I think it's that, you know,

00:31:52.457 --> 00:31:56.717
decision making of what I can do as an expert in my classroom with my students.

00:31:58.097 --> 00:32:01.967
For them rather than being told what to do or how to do it.

00:32:02.577 --> 00:32:06.877
But I love a notebook. I love knowing their handwriting, what it looks like,

00:32:06.877 --> 00:32:10.007
and then saying, yeah, you are going to write an essay. And I know that that's

00:32:10.007 --> 00:32:13.117
not your handwriting. Then you show them every study. It shows once you put

00:32:13.117 --> 00:32:15.657
the pen to paper, your brain retains more of the information.

00:32:16.117 --> 00:32:19.727
And it's like, yeah, Kindle is great. It's more efficient. I could have a hundred

00:32:19.727 --> 00:32:23.777
books, but I don't get the same relationship or involvement,

00:32:23.777 --> 00:32:27.147
engagement I do when I'm holding the book and I'm turning the actual page. I love the book.

00:32:27.197 --> 00:32:29.627
And I feel like most of my education style, I'm sure for you,

00:32:29.627 --> 00:32:32.437
comes from our experience. We've tried this stuff. We know it's not effective

00:32:32.817 --> 00:32:35.061
or as effective. Yes. How are you going to get them,

00:32:35.740 --> 00:32:39.713
talking to each other more. That's what I'd like to know. Because I teach sophomores.

00:32:39.713 --> 00:32:41.882
Yeah. And it's like, my seniors are a little tougher.

00:32:42.404 --> 00:32:46.863
And it was interesting. So obviously, once we got rid of cell phones, they had no choice.

00:32:48.163 --> 00:32:51.983
And I'm not the quiet down. I'm like, I like you to talk. I like to be engaged.

00:32:51.983 --> 00:32:55.987
Where are the phones? Yeah. The phones, for me, they're on the wall.

00:32:56.166 --> 00:32:58.853
Got it. I don't know if our school is going to have a pouch this year.

00:32:58.853 --> 00:33:02.023
We're going to hear about that. But again, I put my phone up there,

00:33:02.603 --> 00:33:05.163
and I make them go and I literally explain to them, this is i'm not doing this

00:33:05.163 --> 00:33:07.433
because i hate you i'm doing it because i want you to be present i want you

00:33:07.433 --> 00:33:11.873
to get the most i care about your future yes and and i've never had a kid i've

00:33:11.873 --> 00:33:13.170
had a few kids who are like,

00:33:13.703 --> 00:33:17.303
my mom's gonna call me can i have my i'm fine or can i do the assignment on

00:33:17.303 --> 00:33:20.653
my phone which is also another reason i'm gonna go back to because again are

00:33:20.653 --> 00:33:23.183
they doing the assignments sometimes yes sometimes probably not,

00:33:23.770 --> 00:33:26.683
but i've never had an issue push back because again like i'll pull the kid in

00:33:26.683 --> 00:33:29.373
the hallway and talk to them i'll be like do you care about your and it's like

00:33:29.373 --> 00:33:32.947
I put that guilt on them of like, this is your choice.

00:33:33.290 --> 00:33:35.713
Like if I cared about you, I would let, if I didn't care about you,

00:33:35.713 --> 00:33:38.803
I'd let you sit there on your phone. Cause now you're, you're just busy doing your thing.

00:33:39.203 --> 00:33:41.123
But it's like, I want you to be a part of this community.

00:33:41.923 --> 00:33:45.063
And that usually works. And I think, and again, when you have relationships

00:33:45.063 --> 00:33:49.176
with your kids, your students, like everybody, it's like, they're more receptive.

00:33:49.495 --> 00:33:52.343
They know it's not come from a place of like, you're just being mean. Yeah.

00:33:52.723 --> 00:33:55.863
They're like, no, it's like, oh, it's like, you know, you, it's like,

00:33:55.863 --> 00:33:59.153
you care enough about me to talk to me every day. So obviously it's a person

00:33:59.153 --> 00:34:01.583
I'm going to listen to, even if I don't want to.

00:34:02.463 --> 00:34:06.073
And I think that's the relationship. Again, is an AI robot going to develop

00:34:06.073 --> 00:34:09.331
a relationship with a student? No. No, no, absolutely not.

00:34:10.439 --> 00:34:16.645
So we're going to jump into a new segment for us, and it is called Pass or Fail, Nick Peroni.

00:34:16.906 --> 00:34:21.167
So we are going to give you a little paddle. It's expertly made. All right.

00:34:21.747 --> 00:34:24.677
So we've got some questions for you, and you're going to hold up whether you

00:34:24.677 --> 00:34:27.831
think you pass or fail this statement.

00:34:28.261 --> 00:34:32.725
Okay? And we'll tell you whether we agree or disagree, too. You can defend your position, if you will.

00:34:33.212 --> 00:34:37.636
So, Jane, if you want to start us off and jump off the deep end, go for it.

00:34:37.914 --> 00:34:44.652
The post-pandemic learning loss crisis is still not being taken seriously enough. Pass or fail.

00:34:45.610 --> 00:34:48.988
That's a pass. Okay, I agree. I agree. Can I ask why?

00:34:49.609 --> 00:34:55.617
I mean, it's because all these test scores are coming out, and they're blaming

00:34:56.024 --> 00:34:57.910
the school and not the pandemic.

00:34:58.083 --> 00:35:03.087
They're blaming the method of teaching that we had no choice to do.

00:35:03.107 --> 00:35:06.087
Right. And I always go back, too, and it's like you see people obviously are

00:35:06.087 --> 00:35:07.609
like, well, school should have been closed.

00:35:08.666 --> 00:35:12.187
To me, it's like, I always err on the side of safety. Would we have probably

00:35:12.187 --> 00:35:15.597
been fine at school? Yes. But that's not my concern because how selfish of me

00:35:15.597 --> 00:35:18.507
to be like, I don't, I want to risk your life, but not mine.

00:35:18.987 --> 00:35:23.257
And so, I mean, I feel like we haven't kind of, they haven't given enough luxury

00:35:23.257 --> 00:35:27.737
of like letting, I think we're slowly getting back to where we were prior to

00:35:27.737 --> 00:35:31.167
it, but it's just, it hasn't been taken into consideration and they're blaming

00:35:31.167 --> 00:35:33.382
us for what happened during it. Okay.

00:35:35.118 --> 00:35:38.202
Yeah, of course. Want me to do another one? Yeah, I got one,

00:35:38.202 --> 00:35:39.162
if you don't mind. Go ahead.

00:35:41.486 --> 00:35:46.937
I like this one. I think we might have a good talk on this one, okay?

00:35:49.840 --> 00:35:54.704
Schools should be able to impose meaningful consequences when students are chronically absent.

00:35:55.058 --> 00:35:56.747
Pass or fail? I absolutely pass.

00:35:56.910 --> 00:36:01.422
Okay. And I think most schools do that already. We do wellness checks.

00:36:02.233 --> 00:36:08.042
We try to meet, do interventions. and again, it is, it's interesting situations

00:36:08.042 --> 00:36:12.022
when you have a kid who, who's been absent 130 days and, and then the counselor's

00:36:12.022 --> 00:36:14.822
like, well, what can we do for them? It's like, I, how can I do something for

00:36:14.822 --> 00:36:15.802
someone who's not there?

00:36:16.422 --> 00:36:19.172
It's like, and, and I understand there's underlying factors.

00:36:19.393 --> 00:36:23.323
Some students help raise their siblings and dealing with other stuff or the breadwinner.

00:36:23.660 --> 00:36:26.462
I mean, I had a kid last year, missed my class half the year because he was

00:36:26.462 --> 00:36:28.349
working a second job to support his family.

00:36:28.732 --> 00:36:32.762
And like, we always find ways to work with those students. It's kind And I couldn't

00:36:32.762 --> 00:36:34.973
imagine having to support my family when I was in high school.

00:36:35.522 --> 00:36:42.915
So there's always a gray area, but there definitely should be some way to help.

00:36:43.589 --> 00:36:47.574
And this, like my school switched to a one to eight schedule and a two to nine

00:36:47.574 --> 00:36:51.374
schedule. So that way kids, some kids come in later, some kids come in earlier.

00:36:51.994 --> 00:36:55.894
Oh, that's interesting. Is it perfect? No. Is that, was that specifically to

00:36:55.894 --> 00:36:58.664
address absenteeism? It was trying to deal with absenteeism.

00:36:58.664 --> 00:37:01.875
Kids who normally had a lot of absenteeism would have the two through nine.

00:37:02.403 --> 00:37:05.624
But the irony is it's like the speed limit. Like if the speed limit's 55,

00:37:05.624 --> 00:37:08.409
you go 65. If they make it 65, you go 75.

00:37:08.839 --> 00:37:12.914
So now they just sleep in later. That's why this organization always reaches

00:37:12.914 --> 00:37:14.800
out to me about starting the school day later.

00:37:15.091 --> 00:37:19.364
Their whole goal is because they show studies that the brain is most effective

00:37:19.364 --> 00:37:21.691
at 10 a.m. So they want to start school at 9 a.m.

00:37:22.057 --> 00:37:25.914
And my logic is always, now, the brain is most effective at 10 a.m.

00:37:25.934 --> 00:37:27.240
Because we still wake up at 6.

00:37:27.351 --> 00:37:30.364
Right. Can you guarantee that every kid's going to still wake up at the same time?

00:37:30.374 --> 00:37:33.604
Exactly, yeah. And to me, it's like, if I knew I had to be to school an hour

00:37:33.604 --> 00:37:37.214
later, I'm sleeping an hour later. Yes. Oh, yeah, absolutely.

00:37:37.754 --> 00:37:42.914
What is your school day? Our school day, I mean, I get there at 645.

00:37:42.914 --> 00:37:45.884
Okay. I like getting early, getting, I have colleagues who like to walk right

00:37:45.884 --> 00:37:48.554
in and get rolling. I can't function that way. Me neither. Yeah,

00:37:48.554 --> 00:37:51.994
but we go from 735 to 235 is the school day.

00:37:52.034 --> 00:37:56.416
Okay, that's a good day. Did the students who, because you said one to eight, two to nine, right?

00:37:57.068 --> 00:38:00.094
Did a student get to choose if they could do one to eight or two to nine?

00:38:00.094 --> 00:38:04.814
Our school chose four for them, but I think they did base it on the level of

00:38:05.194 --> 00:38:08.734
tardiness from the previous school year. And a lot of that from teaching high

00:38:08.734 --> 00:38:10.054
school is based on credit, right?

00:38:10.074 --> 00:38:14.364
It's credit, yes. So, like we have, there's a handful of students at the middle

00:38:14.364 --> 00:38:15.940
school level where we're talking about,

00:38:16.457 --> 00:38:20.834
you know, looking at 90 lates where our students are coming in,

00:38:20.834 --> 00:38:25.368
you know, within first period when they have an English or a math class. But there's no...

00:38:26.703 --> 00:38:30.476
Recourse outside of, okay, you're going to have a morning detention.

00:38:31.898 --> 00:38:35.696
Which I feel, I don't know. I don't know how you necessarily address that,

00:38:35.696 --> 00:38:38.406
but we've had a number of students, a handful, right?

00:38:38.771 --> 00:38:44.748
Not a large group, but in the building that we work in where it's an egregious amount, right?

00:38:45.039 --> 00:38:47.633
I mean, I would even suggest a rotating schedule.

00:38:47.964 --> 00:38:51.706
So we have to have calculus period one every day, probably not a good idea.

00:38:51.706 --> 00:38:56.026
So for one marking period, they rotate the schedule. I know scheduling that

00:38:56.026 --> 00:39:00.016
would give whoever schedules a nightmare, but I mean, I think there are more

00:39:00.016 --> 00:39:01.686
effective ways to do what we're doing.

00:39:02.146 --> 00:39:05.746
Again, I appreciate the fact we're trying it, but it's another thing.

00:39:05.746 --> 00:39:08.446
It's like where we don't fix it.

00:39:08.866 --> 00:39:12.546
We try to help the symptom, not the problem, and we're not solving the problem.

00:39:12.866 --> 00:39:16.769
And I think education, we put Band-Aids over bullet wounds all the time. Yeah. Yeah.

00:39:17.343 --> 00:39:19.526
So maybe that partially answered.

00:39:20.443 --> 00:39:24.726
Students should not advance a grade if they haven't mastered the required material.

00:39:25.046 --> 00:39:27.269
Absolutely. I think it's a disservice.

00:39:27.721 --> 00:39:31.136
Again, I remember reading about, do you know who Dexter Manley is?

00:39:31.136 --> 00:39:32.606
Joe probably knows. I do.

00:39:33.026 --> 00:39:36.011
Washington Redskin All Pro. Yes. Yes. He couldn't read.

00:39:37.065 --> 00:39:41.855
Who went through high school and college k through 12 nfl player could not read,

00:39:42.361 --> 00:39:46.157
and again on the surface that sounds like the school pushed him through.

00:39:46.813 --> 00:39:51.607
Which they probably did but also at the same time the school is also legally

00:39:51.607 --> 00:39:53.605
obligated to know that if they don't if they don't,

00:39:54.190 --> 00:39:56.896
put certain kids through they're going to lose state funding federal funding

00:39:57.186 --> 00:40:01.307
that there's federal criteria that we have to meet when in fact and i was saying

00:40:01.307 --> 00:40:04.847
this earlier with my one friend i'm like if we had this if we were as strict

00:40:04.847 --> 00:40:08.860
as we probably need to be within the first marking period i have 30 kids failing,

00:40:09.492 --> 00:40:12.726
but you know what and the school wouldn't want to hear that the administration

00:40:12.872 --> 00:40:16.487
but you know what guarantee they won't be failing second marking period guarantee

00:40:16.487 --> 00:40:20.487
they'll know the standard there has to be that rough uncomfortable time period

00:40:20.787 --> 00:40:24.147
when you make that adjustment like in anything in life right so,

00:40:24.707 --> 00:40:28.107
i feel like kids should be held back and you know what kids will know they're

00:40:28.107 --> 00:40:31.027
going to be held back and then kids will adapt right and,

00:40:31.667 --> 00:40:36.443
it's more of a disservice to put a kid out in the world who's not ready to be in the world. Yes.

00:40:36.996 --> 00:40:41.537
And it's difficult too for like the kids who show up every day and are doing

00:40:41.537 --> 00:40:48.087
the right thing or trying their best to sit next to or among kids who kind of

00:40:48.087 --> 00:40:51.647
aren't really doing much of anything and they're all moving forward together.

00:40:51.947 --> 00:40:55.747
And they are. And it's like, again, I love social media because I see teachers

00:40:55.747 --> 00:40:56.838
post from all over the world.

00:40:57.151 --> 00:40:59.787
And it's funny, we all deal with the same things. And they always show the images

00:40:59.787 --> 00:41:03.467
of how the bad kids get come back to the classroom with a bag of chips and they

00:41:03.467 --> 00:41:06.851
get the treats and it's like as we don't reward good again.

00:41:07.746 --> 00:41:10.827
In my school we have 2 600 kids probably

00:41:11.227 --> 00:41:15.728
one percent of them make bad decisions there's no such thing as bad kids kids make bad decisions

00:41:16.111 --> 00:41:19.617
but they're allowed to constantly and i think most school districts allow that

00:41:19.617 --> 00:41:23.407
because now it's like okay it's it's billy he's gonna he's gonna yell at you

00:41:23.407 --> 00:41:28.327
it's like it's like and we kind of reward bad behavior to a certain extent rather

00:41:28.327 --> 00:41:29.567
than face it and deal with it

00:41:29.947 --> 00:41:33.947
and i think and again like i understand i have nothing admin has their own problems

00:41:33.947 --> 00:41:34.707
they're dealing with. Yes.

00:41:35.027 --> 00:41:38.493
And so it's a lot, but at some point, there's going to be a breaking point.

00:41:38.918 --> 00:41:41.497
And that's why it's funny because people don't realize the only reason the education

00:41:41.497 --> 00:41:46.517
system is functioning is because of us. Yes. We hold it together barely by tooth

00:41:46.517 --> 00:41:50.120
and nail, but we're holding it together. Yeah, absolutely. And even,

00:41:50.417 --> 00:41:53.029
you know, recently you brought up about, you know, our question about,

00:41:53.725 --> 00:41:59.461
kids being on grade level, there was a teacher who posted on social media about,

00:41:59.461 --> 00:42:00.778
you know, teaching seniors.

00:42:01.551 --> 00:42:05.851
Outside of the Houston Independent School District that they could not read

00:42:05.851 --> 00:42:09.126
two paragraphs and write a sentence with sentence stems to start with.

00:42:09.306 --> 00:42:13.621
And I don't know the whole situation or the demographics, but like that is both

00:42:13.621 --> 00:42:17.661
scary and heartbreaking at the exact same time. Well, it's also too,

00:42:17.661 --> 00:42:20.242
going back to good, bad things happen with good intentions.

00:42:20.504 --> 00:42:24.091
It's like me and my colleague always joke that if we went to school now we'd be valedictorians,

00:42:24.591 --> 00:42:28.281
because we were probably CB students but it's like now it's like with all the

00:42:28.281 --> 00:42:34.440
and I always my biggest concern is we always were so quick to classify or diagnose

00:42:34.835 --> 00:42:38.491
oh it's like they're not interested they must have ADHD do they or do they just

00:42:38.491 --> 00:42:42.301
need if everyone has it then it's not a thing and I do understand like there's

00:42:42.301 --> 00:42:47.025
so long so many kids who had dyslexia who did suffer for things were kind of just.

00:42:47.676 --> 00:42:51.066
Called stupid or not smart. So I appreciate that.

00:42:51.252 --> 00:42:55.191
But there is a gray area where not everyone who's getting bad grades has learning

00:42:55.191 --> 00:42:58.211
disability, but not, you know, so it's like that area and we have to go back

00:42:58.211 --> 00:43:02.851
to that balance. And I feel like we're so quick to a kid's, like I have a kid

00:43:02.851 --> 00:43:04.760
getting a D and they're like, well, why are they getting a D?

00:43:04.986 --> 00:43:07.611
It's like, no, they just, they're not trying. They're capable.

00:43:08.251 --> 00:43:13.251
And now it's, so I feel like we're so quick to identify or provide an IEP for

00:43:13.251 --> 00:43:17.571
someone who may not need it, which is also problematic in so many ways because

00:43:17.571 --> 00:43:19.091
now we're telling the kid, like, you don't have to try.

00:43:19.731 --> 00:43:23.481
But obviously I know we're going from that extreme, from that either you're

00:43:23.481 --> 00:43:26.631
doing well or you're stupid to everyone has a learning disability if they're

00:43:26.631 --> 00:43:28.073
not doing well. Right, right.

00:43:28.659 --> 00:43:35.026
Well, I would have to say, Mr. Vitale, that Mr. Ferroni over here gets a pass. Yes, he does.

00:43:35.473 --> 00:43:37.611
For our round. So thank you so much.

00:43:38.211 --> 00:43:43.095
As a guest, as a teacher, as a person. We do want to ask you one more thing. Oh, of course.

00:43:43.901 --> 00:43:47.809
So what are you balancing right now? We all, we like to ask our guests this

00:43:47.809 --> 00:43:48.870
question at the end of a...

00:43:48.980 --> 00:43:51.389
This week. What are you balancing this week? We could give you the month,

00:43:51.389 --> 00:43:52.309
too. Yeah, we'll give you the month.

00:43:52.729 --> 00:43:57.409
I'm going to go right now to my classroom to finish setting up and dropping

00:43:57.409 --> 00:44:00.143
off the notebooks and the pens and all that stuff.

00:44:01.029 --> 00:44:06.894
I'm then going on the 101.5 with Steve Trevis to talk about,

00:44:07.155 --> 00:44:08.972
obviously, education back to school.

00:44:09.280 --> 00:44:12.279
And I'm going to go see my mom at the Jersey Shore and then go to Hoffman's

00:44:12.279 --> 00:44:15.739
Ice Cream for my last one. Yes, we did run into Nick and Hoffman's ice cream.

00:44:15.739 --> 00:44:18.481
I am impressed by his ice cream order because I did not try it.

00:44:18.905 --> 00:44:22.829
Rainbow sprinkles, which I know we joked about, never a manly way to order rainbow

00:44:22.829 --> 00:44:26.229
sprinkles. But he likes to balance them on the bottom and the top. I love that.

00:44:26.549 --> 00:44:29.529
Can I share one more? Yes. So since we're in New Jersey Hall of Fame,

00:44:29.529 --> 00:44:32.679
to give you an idea about how students learn differently and students have different

00:44:32.679 --> 00:44:38.319
passions, one of my students, Anthony, was always a graphic designer.

00:44:38.319 --> 00:44:41.850
He designed stuff for me when I was in class. Whenever we were doing presentations, he made it.

00:44:42.297 --> 00:44:45.999
So when I started working with the Hall of Fame, we came up with the passport

00:44:45.999 --> 00:44:49.109
idea. So when you come here, you get a passport that you go through each of

00:44:49.109 --> 00:44:53.251
the sections of the Hall of Fame. You have to fill it out. It's a very, very cool thing.

00:44:53.646 --> 00:44:56.629
So when we were talking about it, I actually presented the opportunity with

00:44:56.629 --> 00:45:00.629
Anthony. Anthony in high school created a proposal for him and they adopted

00:45:00.629 --> 00:45:06.168
and they paid him. So one of my high school students designed the passport that every kid now uses.

00:45:06.336 --> 00:45:08.739
And that's what he does now. He's a graphic designer.

00:45:09.076 --> 00:45:13.621
And again, it's just every kid's gifted. it's something it's we often try to find what that is,

00:45:14.155 --> 00:45:18.389
but also it just it just shows on how you know we support them outside the classroom

00:45:18.389 --> 00:45:20.789
so i always feel every time i come here i think of him because every time i

00:45:20.789 --> 00:45:24.629
hold the passport yeah that's awesome my student anthony diaz got to design this.

00:45:25.189 --> 00:45:27.789
All the more reason for people to come and visit the new jersey hall of fame

00:45:27.789 --> 00:45:31.989
too for sure well nick we appreciate you jamie i appreciate you as always nick

00:45:31.989 --> 00:45:36.189
joe yeah to everyone here at the new jersey hall of fame we appreciate you thank

00:45:36.189 --> 00:45:38.569
you so much yeah we'll see amazing school year

00:45:38.989 --> 00:45:42.629
and I will be talking to you about having a guest speaker at your school. Yeah, that'd be fun.

00:45:43.869 --> 00:45:46.147
For sure. We'll see everybody next time on the Balancing X.