What is exhausting the teachers?

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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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Well, hello, everyone. We are officially recording. Hello.

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Hello. And welcome back to the Balancing Act podcast.

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I am Jamie Wonko here with Mr. Joe Vitale. Hello, Mr.

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Vitale. How are you? i am great i i have a

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i have a new little laptop stand because my

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wife is wonderful and she's like we're gonna get a stand and it's like

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a thing and you know so things may look a little different on

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the uh on the old podcast platform as i move as i move the stand back a little

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bit because it's like all up in the grill but uh yeah here we are is it is it

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to fight technic uh i mean i mean i guess so uh you know gotta fight technic

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i mean it's it's not a cardboard uh kirkland k-cups box,

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You know, I will continue to fight Tech Neck with my Kirkland K-Cup box.

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And is it a drum? Is it a Tech Neck fighting stand? It can be anything that one needs it to be.

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You've got to fight for your right for no Tech Neck.

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It's so true. Yes. I mean, you've got to make sure you're good to go.

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I don't need a gobbler. I mean, I'm already working on a gobbler.

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I don't need a gobbler or another gobbler.

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A gobbler she says oh my goodness

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um save the gobblers for wawa yeah

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and for thanksgiving um so here we are friend we're getting into our uh our

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last month of the school year which is hard to believe um so exciting it's been

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very exciting uh we're getting to that point where it's like all the days and

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all the days are running together and um,

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You know, all the things we're getting, we've, we've survived May-cember,

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which we've talked about with all the things and all the stuff.

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But now we are definitely moving towards warmer weather and summertime and the

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craziness of children in a classroom each and every day.

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I really love the end of the school year. I love like the excitement of it.

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However, the difficulty with, I think, this younger generation of students that

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we have now is they have a very, very difficult time.

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And I think it's more so, especially I see this more with my sixth graders than

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with my eighth graders, where they have a very, very difficult time organizing

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themselves in any sort of like calm fashion.

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So like they need to be like everything needs to be mapped out and planned like

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minute to minute for them rather than, you know, just being able to sort of

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like, oh, you can sit and just just talk.

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Like, what are we doing? We're just talking, you know.

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Yeah. And that's crazy. I think that's crazy. Yeah. We're not doing that in the seventh grade.

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Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, yeah, it's still,

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you know, one of the things I did was I did a classroom norm reset earlier in

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the in the spring where like we spent a good better part of two weeks each day,

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like introducing something that we all need to do.

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Like, let's make sure we all put our supplies away at the end of the period.

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Let's make sure that we all are, um, you know, respectful and kind to one another.

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Let's make sure that we dismiss ourselves properly from the client,

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like just little things that maybe have, have slid a little bit.

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Um, so I think that's now paying dividends for me because like we have reinforced

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that and created habits, which I think are important and make a end of the school

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year much more seamless, if you will.

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Yeah. So we're getting into all those nitty gritty fun activities that happen

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at the end of a school year. I was doing some data analysis.

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You were? Wow. I know. I know that I've often referred to that little devil known as data.

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That is just, it's not my, He, you know, he is not my friend.

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But I, you know, always, I had done it for so many years and had looked at it.

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And it was like such a part of my teaching experience.

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And I just, I don't know, I kind of got away from it a little bit.

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And I think everybody sort of started to shy away from it, you know,

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with like, oh, just let the test, you know, be the test.

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And, you know, if the kids, if you have a good enough curriculum,

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then, you know, everything will be fine.

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And don't prep, you know, for the test and all that stuff. But I really didn't

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use it so much this year to inform my teaching.

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And I definitely felt...

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Some of the, I can, I don't want to say like negative effects,

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but I guess that's really the only term that I can think of for it.

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And, and so it's definitely something that I want to, like I did it today,

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specifically as an end of the year to remind myself for September that it is

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something that I want to use to inform my teaching for next year.

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So what data exactly were you looking at?

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So in our school district, we use testing called LinkIt and the students have

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to do a link at A in the beginning of the year.

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Then they take link at B right around December.

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Then about March, they take link at C.

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And then the beginning of, I think, just about this week, so the beginning of

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June, they will take the link at A again.

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So they will repeat the test from the beginning of the year.

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And it will tell us, you know, if they are meeting, approaching,

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if they're a bubble student, or if they are exceeding expectations.

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And, you know, and so I think it's a really good way, you know,

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to kind of just see, like, where are they?

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Where do they sit? You know, where are their deficiencies?

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And the reporting is so easy because it's all, you know, I mean,

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I've gone through, like, state testing data where, you know,

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you really have to sit down and there's, like, triangles and squares.

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You're, like, looking at it. And after a while, everything kind of like blurs on the page.

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But the data locker in LinkIt is extremely user-friendly, and it really breaks

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it down very simplistically.

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So, and then it can do every single individual child, and then it can do the whole class.

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And then, of course, it's available for all teachers,

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even if you're not a, so in our school, math and language arts give the,

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those LinkIt tests, But the data is available for all teachers based on your,

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you know, class schedule.

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So you would be able to have access to that information regardless of what you teach.

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So were you specifically looking at language arts?

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I was specifically looking at my sixth graders. And I, what was really,

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what I thought was a good idea at the time was a terrible idea.

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I had been absent and they took Lincoln C when I wasn't there.

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And, um, they had done so poorly on it. And, um,

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I was really disappointed in them. And when I look, there's about seven of them,

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I was counting today, seven of them that did worse on C than they had done on

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A, which is just because I wasn't there.

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So it's really, you know, and then, of course, we know that is so reflective

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in so many standardized tests is that, you know, if I'm the language arts teacher

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and they take the language arts portion of the state test with me,

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they're going to do better than if they take it with their math teacher and vice versa for math.

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It just like it says there's something like triggering for them about.

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But that's not possible. And that, you know, can't happen.

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But it's the same idea of responsibility that whether I'm, you know,

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physically present or not.

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Yeah. I mean, it could happen. It's just there would be so much that would have

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to happen. I mean, forget it. In order for it to happen. Yeah, it would be impossible.

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It would be virtually. You know, because there's no way you could do it because,

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you know, the average teacher teaches four classes.

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So there's no way that they'd be able to, you know, give the test to all their students.

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But I was really just like, oh, man, you know, so I'm going to be.

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You know, make it a point to kind of, I want to talk to them.

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I want to talk to them about it, what it looks like, what it means,

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you know, and how, what we do it for.

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And I kind of think that it's a little bit better rather than just like,

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oh, this is just some random test.

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And I don't mean to like, you know, it's not like I want everyone to be so stressed and worried,

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but I do think that they are capable of understanding what it means and also like to have like that,

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that sort of open line of communication to say like,

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this is an area that you,

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I know that you need work on, you know, because it even, it breaks it down by like every question.

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So if you had a student in your class that you were like, wow,

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this kid really seems to be struggling with this particular type of question,

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it would be reflective in their, in their data locker, you know,

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and it's, it's really easy to.

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So we had had a ton of Linkit training a few years ago.

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And so today it was like, huh, you know what, I'm going to take a minute and

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I'm going to print these things out, just look at them and be able to say like,

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oh, right, I do know how to do this.

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And then I want to be able to kind of start that off.

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I did see like New Jersey is having legislation for.

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So, so the last few years, we had student growth objectives that we needed to

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complete in the beginning of the year.

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And we didn't have to do that this year for the first time for the 24-25.

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And I did see, like, that they're trying to pass legislation for us as tenured

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teachers to not have to do the SGO testing again next year.

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Because it really did get out of control. You know, with, we had,

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you know, how many school districts were doing testing like LinkIt.

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Then on top of that, you have state testing. And then on top of that,

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there was the student growth objectives, which required pre-tests,

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post-tests, mid-year tests.

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It was just, you know, so much tests, so many tests and so much time for testing,

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really took away time for instruction.

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Yeah, and I think a lot of people didn't understand at the SGO could also be

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like project-based, right?

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Like you could do something where you're measuring skills based on a particular

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project. So the student growth objective, you know, could be project-based.

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So when I was teaching a technology elective, that's what I would make it.

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I would make it where they would do one particular project with basically very

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simple parameters with very little guidance.

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And then I would teach them a unit and then they would do something similar again.

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And then you would compare, you know, of course, what their growth was.

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But I think you're 100% right. There's a lot of things that we do that are repetitive.

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It's like, you know, we're doing this benchmark and that benchmark and another

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benchmark and then the bench for the benchmark.

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And it's just, it becomes, you know, like you're literally just preparing for

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these exams left and right.

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Not to mention that the, you can give the SGO exam multiple times in order for

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you to get the numbers that you need to get in order to pass your SGO. Right.

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I mean, the SGO doesn't have the legitimacy that something, the benchmarks like

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Lincoln would have. Yeah. Yeah. And I mean, our...

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Evaluations are tied to the SGO scores.

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Okay. However, it's a small, it's a small percentage that is of that calculation.

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And I don't remember what it was because I know we didn't do it this year.

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So it's like out of sight, out of mind.

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But you know, most of it's based on teacher observation and all those things

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that make you highly effective or kind of effective or maybe effective or a

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little bit effective, whatever the ratings are.

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And I know this is kind of a controversial take.

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I don't care. You can rate me whatever you want to rate me, okay?

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I know that when I close my door and I'm teaching my students that I'm doing

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the best I can for those kids.

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Do the best with what you can, with what you have in that moment.

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That's what I try to do each and every day, right? Right.

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So I don't think an SGO test is going to really like move the needle and force

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me to adjust my teaching.

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Now, if the social studies assessments were in Lincoln, which I do hear eventually,

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that's something that they want to do to do like an A, B and a C for social

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studies like that would drive my instruction.

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Well, what concepts are they not understanding that I need to go back and reteach?

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Like, that's where it comes from. um that's

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where i think it would be valuable to me but i don't

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really look at the um language art scores nor

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would and again nor would i know how to because we have not gotten the training

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in order you may have gotten it in the school i did previously we did not right

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we did not it's super simple i will say like with like a you know it was sort

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of like click click and that's it it wasn't something that anyone,

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I mean, especially you, because you're tech savvy, but even if,

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like, even not being that, if someone just said, like,

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step one, click this, step two, click that, step three, print, that's all.

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It was really, really, yeah. Yeah, that's literally what we would need. Yeah. For me, like...

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I know a lot of what I want, like what I do in a classroom, like we do very little math.

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Right. But as far as like writing and supporting language arts,

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I have I have said for years that we should be doing what the language arts teachers are doing.

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And like we had a our district is is using Collins writing. Right.

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In the English classes. And I found that training that we had this year so beneficial

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because it was a packaged deal

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of like, here's what you can do and here's what the teachers are doing.

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So when you say, OK, we're going to do a tier one writing, when you say that

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to your students, they've already done that in a language arts class.

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So they know what a tier one writing is. They know what a tier two writing is.

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And I was like, oh, this is actually quite useful.

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And like, it's very simple ways for me to go around with checkmarks on notebooks

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and see what they're doing. And did they meet the objective?

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And it's very like quick, you know, it's very like you can move along.

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It's just quick thoughts. And then there's like more extrapolated pieces.

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And like, I want more of that.

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Right. I want to be able to support wherever I can in a social studies classroom,

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support language arts as much as I can.

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There are things we do in social studies that I also find valuable,

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like, you know, looking at the DBQ project books that we have and,

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like, teaching those to students, like, how to do that kind of writing,

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which is different than, like.

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Writing you might do in an English class, depending on what the topic is.

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But I definitely want to, like, support as much as I can those classes because

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that's going to make it better, you know, for those students as well.

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I mean, a lot of people will throw around the term differentiated instruction.

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As much as I joke about not liking data and not liking numbers and math and stuff,

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I do think that if data can inform instruction, then you can certainly help

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individualized students to meet their potential. all.

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And the problem is that we, you know, aren't given the time to be able to,

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especially like to me in the beginning of the year, like to be able to have

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a discussion and say, okay, this is what we're going to do on a first day of school.

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You're going to take all the rosters of your kids. You're going to go into the data locker.

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You're going to check out where their deficiencies lie.

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And then you're going to be able to group them in your class to do one activity

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a month that helps support, you know, or whatever, you know, set sort of like,

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let's see where they are and then be able to kind of check in like after a few

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months, just like language arts.

00:15:48.369 --> 00:15:50.789
I don't know how many teachers in our school...

00:15:51.389 --> 00:15:56.069
That, you know, I think for a while it was, like, in our district,

00:15:56.389 --> 00:16:02.449
definitely, they had to fill out forms where, you know, they answered exactly

00:16:02.449 --> 00:16:07.869
where the numbers were for their students and, like, how their students, you know, were growing.

00:16:08.189 --> 00:16:11.849
I'm not sure, because of the elimination of the SGO this year,

00:16:11.869 --> 00:16:15.129
if that was something that kind of fell by the wayside.

00:16:16.329 --> 00:16:20.169
I'm not really, I don't know enough to, you know, to answer that.

00:16:20.329 --> 00:16:23.689
But it's certainly, you know, an interesting concept either way.

00:16:23.789 --> 00:16:28.609
I think it would be really, it'll be hard for our department to do that or to introduce that.

00:16:28.689 --> 00:16:32.429
But I just felt like, you know, we've talked about on here a lot of like things

00:16:32.429 --> 00:16:36.569
that we do or try that are different or, you know, ways to kind of elevate and

00:16:36.569 --> 00:16:39.069
just sort of say, oh, I'm going to be better or I'm going to,

00:16:39.229 --> 00:16:40.069
you know, I'm going to try.

00:16:40.189 --> 00:16:42.929
And it is something that I used to do every year.

00:16:43.429 --> 00:16:47.529
And I would do it with the students like test scores and then I would just find

00:16:47.529 --> 00:16:55.289
like a few strands of an area of deficiency and then try to give them like specific things to work on,

00:16:55.829 --> 00:17:02.189
based on their own personal deficiencies and and it usually really like really did help,

00:17:02.789 --> 00:17:05.309
so it was just like one of those things where I'm like you know what I really

00:17:05.309 --> 00:17:08.969
should do that And it doesn't take that much of my time, but,

00:17:08.969 --> 00:17:11.989
you know, I'm exhausted.

00:17:13.029 --> 00:17:14.249
Yeah, there's some of that.

00:17:15.569 --> 00:17:19.349
I also wish, and I'm going to make another controversial statement,

00:17:19.369 --> 00:17:23.449
I wish that districts would look at the decisions that they make.

00:17:23.609 --> 00:17:25.369
You know, we look at that data is driving instruction.

00:17:26.169 --> 00:17:31.669
What, you know, data or resources are we looking at to see if a schedule change

00:17:31.669 --> 00:17:37.229
has been effective? to see if a new group of electives has been effective to instruct students?

00:17:38.309 --> 00:17:42.089
Is the new program that they've just implemented, are we evaluating that to

00:17:42.089 --> 00:17:46.209
see if it's actually working properly before we knee-jerk reaction pull it and

00:17:46.209 --> 00:17:47.369
put something else in its place?

00:17:47.669 --> 00:17:53.569
There's a lot of that constant change where I know teachers in language arts and math in our.

00:17:58.186 --> 00:18:01.086
Like the leadership teams in their buildings and like it was constantly

00:18:01.086 --> 00:18:04.726
new program new program new program and everybody's like yeah like

00:18:04.726 --> 00:18:07.666
like i talked with uh with a

00:18:07.666 --> 00:18:11.346
guest of ours it was just on a recent show merv who um

00:18:11.346 --> 00:18:14.486
you know reached out about you know whether our school was using google classroom

00:18:14.486 --> 00:18:19.126
as our main uh lms our main learning management system and we are because we're

00:18:19.126 --> 00:18:22.706
not using canvas or schoology or one of the ones that we pay for right and he

00:18:22.706 --> 00:18:25.886
asked something about like oh we're going to like curate these videos and common

00:18:25.886 --> 00:18:30.086
sense media so instead of going to youtube and send them to a video and them

00:18:30.086 --> 00:18:33.146
getting playlists and other things that they shouldn't be watching.

00:18:33.406 --> 00:18:36.486
We're going to do it through Common Sense Media and post it in Google Classroom,

00:18:36.606 --> 00:18:39.566
like some kind of thing that they're piloting. Smart.

00:18:39.866 --> 00:18:43.066
And I was like, that's a great idea. I love it. I said, however,

00:18:43.326 --> 00:18:49.066
our math teachers have had program after program after program after program.

00:18:49.246 --> 00:18:52.766
And if you throw one more thing at them, they're going to be like,

00:18:53.046 --> 00:18:54.366
no, they don't want to do this.

00:18:54.406 --> 00:18:56.506
And not that that was like his responsibility to do that. I'm like,

00:18:56.586 --> 00:18:59.226
hey, if you want to talk to my boss and reach out and say, like,

00:18:59.286 --> 00:19:00.306
hey, we talked, go right ahead.

00:19:00.586 --> 00:19:04.346
But I don't know how well received that's going to be. If it's going to be something

00:19:04.346 --> 00:19:07.166
that's going to supplement and help them, that's why. Why was it just math?

00:19:07.666 --> 00:19:11.246
It wasn't. I was just using that as an example. Like, oh, like some teachers

00:19:11.246 --> 00:19:13.306
are at capacity with change.

00:19:13.746 --> 00:19:17.266
Yeah. But not now. I mean, usually I feel like that's a good September thing.

00:19:18.086 --> 00:19:21.606
Oh, that was the whole plan. Oh, yeah. Look in September and stuff.

00:19:21.726 --> 00:19:23.986
I say yes. Let's do it. Yeah. Yes.

00:19:24.286 --> 00:19:28.726
But we also are not in the vein of the constant changes. And,

00:19:28.946 --> 00:19:31.766
you know, we went from a period in mathematics. Are we not?

00:19:33.146 --> 00:19:36.446
Well, we are, but we aren't. Like, it's not as bad.

00:19:36.626 --> 00:19:40.066
Like, you know, we both teach social studies. Right. So and,

00:19:40.066 --> 00:19:42.926
you know, we have a curriculum and it's in place. And there are things that

00:19:42.926 --> 00:19:45.306
change, like maybe a new state mandate or this or that.

00:19:45.426 --> 00:19:47.946
But like they don't come in and look at the scores and be like,

00:19:48.046 --> 00:19:50.646
oh, let's try this program. Let's try this program. Let's try this book.

00:19:51.006 --> 00:19:54.706
Let's add Desmos. Let's add... And it's like a million different things.

00:19:55.306 --> 00:20:00.166
I don't know. I think that, like, people who are willing to try are willing to try regardless.

00:20:02.327 --> 00:20:08.627
I disagree. You do? Because I've experienced a lot. I'm just talking about educational technology.

00:20:08.847 --> 00:20:15.707
I've experienced a lot where, you know, we built a curriculum in iTunes U for math.

00:20:15.847 --> 00:20:19.107
This was a couple of years ago when we were going to be using iPads primarily

00:20:19.107 --> 00:20:21.787
when we first started the iPad initiative.

00:20:22.327 --> 00:20:25.667
And we were trying to make. Which was for one grade only.

00:20:25.887 --> 00:20:30.347
One grade only. And we were trying to make iTunes U Google Classroom.

00:20:31.167 --> 00:20:34.007
And it was impossible. and it like i knew it wasn't

00:20:34.007 --> 00:20:36.887
possible and i was like this isn't gonna work the way that we're building it i

00:20:36.887 --> 00:20:39.647
knew that and it was like everybody's got to use

00:20:39.647 --> 00:20:42.447
it everybody's got to give it the old college try you know the students

00:20:42.447 --> 00:20:45.187
are gonna it's gonna meet the students where they are let's give it a try and like

00:20:45.187 --> 00:20:47.907
one group was like now we want to do it in google

00:20:47.907 --> 00:20:50.507
classroom and it was like okay you can do it in google classroom and i

00:20:50.507 --> 00:20:53.547
was like we just spent so much time

00:20:53.547 --> 00:20:57.067
effort and energy building this and one obstacle

00:20:57.067 --> 00:21:00.327
came up and people went nah but the

00:21:00.327 --> 00:21:03.107
people like above me were like yeah

00:21:03.107 --> 00:21:06.187
they could do whatever platform they find most comfortable i'm like okay well

00:21:06.187 --> 00:21:11.247
we've literally just lost it and from that point it was a slow gradual decline

00:21:11.247 --> 00:21:14.267
where everybody's like we're going to get away from the ipad we're going to

00:21:14.267 --> 00:21:17.807
be using things in google classroom we're just going to use you know notability

00:21:17.807 --> 00:21:20.767
and we're going to write notes and everything else is going to be None through

00:21:20.767 --> 00:21:22.127
this program and that program.

00:21:22.327 --> 00:21:27.947
So it wasn't like we use the device as the tool instead of a tool,

00:21:28.487 --> 00:21:30.567
right? Which we've always done.

00:21:30.827 --> 00:21:33.427
And that doesn't work.

00:21:34.107 --> 00:21:40.727
It just kind of like all. How many years did they have the iPads? Oh, God.

00:21:42.007 --> 00:21:45.147
Did they even make it through like a three-year cycle? Yeah,

00:21:45.167 --> 00:21:46.887
yeah, yeah. They did. They made it through a three-year cycle.

00:21:47.207 --> 00:21:49.507
I want to say it was like five or six.

00:21:50.267 --> 00:21:54.627
Wow. I didn't realize it was that long. Yeah. I know they had them,

00:21:54.627 --> 00:21:56.267
you know, they had them in a.

00:21:57.385 --> 00:22:01.385
When the kids were on remote learning. So the eighth grade had iPads,

00:22:02.145 --> 00:22:06.405
but you know, my kids had them when they were in the eighth grade and they would

00:22:06.405 --> 00:22:09.365
come home and they would take their iPad and it would be sitting in their bag.

00:22:09.685 --> 00:22:15.225
And then they would, they would go to their, at a time they had their own Chromebook

00:22:15.225 --> 00:22:18.525
there and they would log in with their school account and they would do all their work on that.

00:22:19.085 --> 00:22:23.985
So you completely lost the whole purpose. But the thing, the thing also is not

00:22:23.985 --> 00:22:28.845
to, you know, wax poetic about the, the devices and all like you,

00:22:28.945 --> 00:22:33.245
you, the way Apple's ecosystem works is it's all got to be Apple.

00:22:33.765 --> 00:22:37.085
Like everything, like everything's got to be Apple. It's got to be Mac book.

00:22:37.245 --> 00:22:41.025
It's got to be like, and we were trying to, you know, square peg,

00:22:41.205 --> 00:22:45.045
round hole, everything we were trying to just shoehorn everything and to make it work.

00:22:45.365 --> 00:22:47.885
And we were like, this isn't going to happen. No, we can do it.

00:22:48.305 --> 00:22:51.405
It's like, no, it doesn't work that way. It's like everything.

00:22:51.645 --> 00:22:56.525
And you'd be like, if you're buying, you know, 2000 iPads, you would think like,

00:22:56.645 --> 00:22:57.625
oh, you're going to get a good price.

00:22:57.785 --> 00:23:01.225
No, you ain't. You get the same education prices that, you know,

00:23:01.445 --> 00:23:07.825
when Jamie Wonko goes to Apple as a teacher and gets an education discount of 5%, that's what you get.

00:23:08.385 --> 00:23:12.425
5%. Like Apple knows that they're creating a quality product,

00:23:12.425 --> 00:23:16.185
but then it was, you know, you're buying the device.

00:23:16.365 --> 00:23:19.685
Then we had to buy a case. Then they wanted the keyboard. Then the keyboards

00:23:19.685 --> 00:23:21.265
were detachable. Then they were breaking.

00:23:21.505 --> 00:23:23.965
Then we had to get new ones. And then the keys would pop off. Then it.

00:23:26.778 --> 00:23:32.138
Like it was just, it was just way too much. And now we have Chromebooks that

00:23:32.138 --> 00:23:34.658
are in general disrepair at this point.

00:23:34.978 --> 00:23:41.298
And something that Merv actually talked about on our previous episode was,

00:23:41.718 --> 00:23:45.458
you know, he spoke about like, it's like, we don't know if it's sustainable.

00:23:45.618 --> 00:23:49.858
Because there was a lot of federal money that was put into buying devices.

00:23:50.078 --> 00:23:53.218
Because now districts for the first time, we're going one to one.

00:23:53.338 --> 00:23:56.658
And two things are happening. Number one, the devices do not last forever.

00:23:57.658 --> 00:24:00.578
Okay they're carried around by 13 year olds

00:24:00.578 --> 00:24:03.678
to and from school put in lockers carried into

00:24:03.678 --> 00:24:06.438
classrooms what do you think happens oh like

00:24:06.438 --> 00:24:09.658
the dropping the dropping and stickers on them and

00:24:09.658 --> 00:24:13.358
this one gets something spilled on it and now the tiktok challenge of like let's

00:24:13.358 --> 00:24:16.878
stick things in the charging port and put things on fire you know there's that

00:24:16.878 --> 00:24:21.818
going on yeah that's a good idea that happened at the girls school smoking many

00:24:21.818 --> 00:24:27.818
of them oh yeah great idea yeah um so yeah there's that And it's like not sustainable.

00:24:28.118 --> 00:24:31.738
The second thing that's happening is everybody's walking back the amount of

00:24:31.738 --> 00:24:33.498
screen time and device used in their classrooms.

00:24:33.898 --> 00:24:36.798
Now, I'm making a general statement and I'm saying everybody is.

00:24:37.078 --> 00:24:39.198
Not everybody is. I know I am.

00:24:40.198 --> 00:24:45.698
Okay. I know I've done a lot of things to use the device less in my classroom.

00:24:45.958 --> 00:24:51.538
Now, before I was. Can I just say I never exclusively use them,

00:24:51.678 --> 00:24:54.098
even though I've been one to one for a very long time.

00:24:54.278 --> 00:24:57.098
Yeah. it is a tool not the tool

00:24:57.098 --> 00:25:00.898
right and i so i can't say i

00:25:00.898 --> 00:25:03.638
walked it back right or i because i

00:25:03.638 --> 00:25:10.758
just feel like man this is sort of always how i yeah did it you know so when

00:25:10.758 --> 00:25:14.938
we when initially when they were when we had like our you know um our tech desert

00:25:14.938 --> 00:25:20.218
in the a few months ago um initially it was like i just didn't for me it was

00:25:20.218 --> 00:25:23.598
more of of you know oh boy like you're taking away like.

00:25:27.438 --> 00:25:32.198
My ability to make the decisions for the kids that I have.

00:25:32.658 --> 00:25:37.358
But I understood like I was only one part of like a giant group of people that

00:25:37.358 --> 00:25:41.098
needed to be, you know, kind of taught like or just really given,

00:25:41.378 --> 00:25:44.838
you know, you can't ask people to be reflective. Sometimes you really have to shake them into it.

00:25:45.238 --> 00:25:54.518
But I can't say like that I don't use it, that I use it less because I never used it the whole time.

00:25:54.638 --> 00:25:58.958
Well, I definitely did it, but it was also for a variety of reasons.

00:25:59.458 --> 00:26:03.378
Number one, I also taught a technology elective, so I was using technology all

00:26:03.378 --> 00:26:04.038
the time. But that's totally different.

00:26:04.138 --> 00:26:10.518
That's like saying, oh, I'm a cooking teacher, but I can't use the oven. Yeah, exactly.

00:26:11.118 --> 00:26:14.378
And then there was that, and then we were on remote learning when I was teaching

00:26:14.378 --> 00:26:17.078
civics and world history, so there were a lot of things that I was using that

00:26:17.078 --> 00:26:21.438
I liked that I still did, but when I got back into the classroom and I started seeing...

00:26:22.853 --> 00:26:27.973
Kids come in and immediately open the device and the constant battle of using

00:26:27.973 --> 00:26:29.353
GoGuardian and blocking sites

00:26:29.353 --> 00:26:34.473
and all this other stuff when there's zero self-control by some students.

00:26:35.713 --> 00:26:38.153
It was like, yep, we're just not using them at certain points.

00:26:38.173 --> 00:26:40.713
Unless it needs to be used, it's not going to be used.

00:26:41.313 --> 00:26:46.793
I even have some thoughts on how I want to approach next year for the same simple

00:26:46.793 --> 00:26:52.593
reason. I think that there's a lot of, um, device use in certain grades,

00:26:52.593 --> 00:26:54.173
uh, and in certain subjects.

00:26:54.553 --> 00:26:59.033
I think it's that some teachers use it as well. I'm going to use all these additional

00:26:59.033 --> 00:27:02.033
grading things that are going to grade things for me, the blickets and the ed

00:27:02.033 --> 00:27:06.993
puzzles and the this and the that when there's, there's not as much instruction

00:27:06.993 --> 00:27:08.913
and interaction as there should be.

00:27:10.373 --> 00:27:15.513
That's my take. I know that there are people that feel the same way that I do.

00:27:16.473 --> 00:27:20.633
You know, I start out every year in September going through like team building,

00:27:21.033 --> 00:27:25.553
executive function, study skills, things like that, because those are skills

00:27:25.553 --> 00:27:28.713
that are lacking for students that come into our classrooms.

00:27:28.713 --> 00:27:30.633
And then it's building on that throughout the year.

00:27:31.453 --> 00:27:34.973
Exactly like, you know, previous guests of ours have said in regards to executive

00:27:34.973 --> 00:27:41.293
function, like it needs to be ingrained and part of the everyday process of what students do.

00:27:41.453 --> 00:27:45.473
I know that's something that Mitch Weathers, who was a big part of our executive

00:27:45.473 --> 00:27:47.973
function talk a few episodes ago, talked about.

00:27:48.113 --> 00:27:51.473
And it's something that his organized binder system actually does,

00:27:51.613 --> 00:27:56.373
is it ingrains it into the regular school day. It becomes part of what you're doing.

00:27:58.053 --> 00:28:03.793
So those are all things that I do, but I do them device-less, right? Using a planner,

00:28:04.939 --> 00:28:07.819
talking to each other having interactions with one another

00:28:07.819 --> 00:28:10.839
and then as soon as we start using the chromebooks it's right back

00:28:10.839 --> 00:28:13.579
to okay close your chromebook put the game away no we're not doing

00:28:13.579 --> 00:28:18.439
that no we're not starting like no but like it's it is it is a constant struggle

00:28:18.439 --> 00:28:21.559
with some students when it's like all right we're not using them today and it's

00:28:21.559 --> 00:28:26.599
like oh i'm like well wait you know we're not doing it yeah well i think that

00:28:26.599 --> 00:28:31.739
the middle school life in general is a lot of like Like, somebody,

00:28:31.959 --> 00:28:34.579
I heard somebody the other day, one of our colleagues saying that,

00:28:34.719 --> 00:28:37.559
you know, every day there's a do now on the board.

00:28:37.799 --> 00:28:42.879
And every day there's a kid who comes in and looks at the board and says, another one.

00:28:43.959 --> 00:28:47.959
And she said, you know, it's it's the entire school year.

00:28:48.099 --> 00:28:54.419
It's been, you know, 10 months, 30, 38 weeks of we do the same thing every day.

00:28:54.539 --> 00:29:00.179
And every day he comes in and, you know, but like, oh, we're the kids.

00:29:00.179 --> 00:29:03.019
That come in or the kids that you have the other side of that kids that

00:29:03.019 --> 00:29:05.939
come in and don't know what to do and it's

00:29:05.939 --> 00:29:08.979
june yeah okay like what are

00:29:08.979 --> 00:29:11.879
we i think sometimes they you know they do they just

00:29:11.879 --> 00:29:16.659
don't want to like they they need to be seen or you know they they need to have

00:29:16.659 --> 00:29:20.379
like something that's going to make like be able to talk about or have like

00:29:20.379 --> 00:29:24.339
oh what are we doing today or you know rather than like having like the ability

00:29:24.339 --> 00:29:29.399
to like bring up like authentic conversations with other people or like other

00:29:29.399 --> 00:29:30.739
students or even with the teacher.

00:29:30.919 --> 00:29:36.179
But so what do you think that, I mean, we know we see like a lot of teachers

00:29:36.179 --> 00:29:39.619
that are facing like general exhaustion at this time of year.

00:29:40.079 --> 00:29:42.719
What do you think are some of the things, so you had mentioned,

00:29:42.899 --> 00:29:52.239
you know, the like changing over of curriculum, you know, what else do you think exhausts people?

00:29:52.879 --> 00:29:56.059
So teaching, I don't think that people understand. I saw a video the other day

00:29:56.059 --> 00:30:00.779
of a dad who said, you know, I went on my, I went on my son's class trip.

00:30:01.519 --> 00:30:07.419
And I don't think that people understand just how exhausting a teacher's day can be.

00:30:08.486 --> 00:30:11.886
What are you, what do you think are some of the things that people,

00:30:12.286 --> 00:30:16.486
you know, teachers are most exhausted by or that people might be surprised to?

00:30:18.006 --> 00:30:23.946
So I think the number one thing for me personally is decision fatigue.

00:30:24.666 --> 00:30:28.466
Like I make so many decisions throughout the day where I get to a point where

00:30:28.466 --> 00:30:31.146
I'm like, I have talked about this before openly.

00:30:31.146 --> 00:30:36.886
Yeah um i'll come home and it'll be like you know i cook dinner for the family

00:30:36.886 --> 00:30:39.766
and and we have like and it'll be like oh what are we gonna have like i don't

00:30:39.766 --> 00:30:43.566
somebody just choose yeah i'll cook it i don't even care somebody just make

00:30:43.566 --> 00:30:46.026
the decision yeah because i don't want to have to think about,

00:30:46.626 --> 00:30:51.806
making that decision i don't think that my i mean i loved i know i'm a planner

00:30:51.806 --> 00:30:57.946
but like i do that on sunday morning for the week uh and i and i really do think

00:30:57.946 --> 00:31:01.126
that part of it is i mean part of it is based on my kids'

00:31:01.246 --> 00:31:04.566
activities and what can be made and eaten at the right time.

00:31:04.786 --> 00:31:09.046
But the other part of it is that I would never be able to make that decision

00:31:09.046 --> 00:31:11.426
in the moment at nine o'clock.

00:31:11.806 --> 00:31:16.166
I think all of it also... I'm too toasted by then. Like, no way.

00:31:16.386 --> 00:31:21.306
For me, specifically, this time of year is also the time of year.

00:31:22.426 --> 00:31:29.426
Our older kids, your older son, Jamie, and my kids are juniors, right?

00:31:29.706 --> 00:31:33.386
So it has been a lot. In the last couple of years, it's a lot.

00:31:34.206 --> 00:31:37.466
So, you know, my son- And by a couple of years, do you mean 17?

00:31:39.490 --> 00:31:47.370
What do you mean? Cause like you feel, I think you feel differently about like

00:31:47.370 --> 00:31:51.430
that, like the parental pull more than me. Yeah.

00:31:51.630 --> 00:31:55.970
But I also feel it like in a different, cause I feel like this is,

00:31:56.170 --> 00:32:01.610
this is how it's been, um, for 17 years of being a working mom.

00:32:01.770 --> 00:32:08.550
And I just don't feel any different the last few years, um, more so than I did.

00:32:08.550 --> 00:32:15.530
I mean, carrying five-month-old twins and wrangling like a four-year-old.

00:32:15.690 --> 00:32:17.810
I'm going to say wrangling is silly. He never had to be wrangled.

00:32:17.950 --> 00:32:19.490
Come on, Drew. Let's go. Okay.

00:32:19.950 --> 00:32:23.810
But making sure he was safe and carrying two bucket seats,

00:32:24.390 --> 00:32:29.990
packing enough items to go to the babysitter like I was leaving on a vacation

00:32:29.990 --> 00:32:38.130
every single day, to me, was far more exhausting than driving people around. Yeah.

00:32:38.330 --> 00:32:44.090
I think, I think, you know, as times change, like the situation changes, right?

00:32:44.190 --> 00:32:47.710
So like, you know, I do executive function coaching. So that takes part of my time.

00:32:47.990 --> 00:32:51.150
You know, we do this, which I really enjoy. Um, but you know,

00:32:51.310 --> 00:32:52.870
it's, it's things that need to be done.

00:32:52.950 --> 00:32:56.530
It's setting up, it's phone calls, it's finding guests, it's,

00:32:56.690 --> 00:33:00.210
uh, you know, it's editing videos, it's making social media posts.

00:33:00.210 --> 00:33:01.670
So, but I'm thinking about parenting.

00:33:02.450 --> 00:33:05.510
I'm talking about parenting. Yeah. Yeah. And that's the thing.

00:33:05.610 --> 00:33:09.690
Like, and then when you add on top of that, you know, my kids are involved in,

00:33:09.810 --> 00:33:16.470
in sports and they're working and you know, we, it goes all the way to the, uh,

00:33:17.230 --> 00:33:20.390
beginning of June and it's running around to different events and practices

00:33:20.390 --> 00:33:24.770
and games, which you enjoy, but just in the moment, it's just, it's a lot.

00:33:25.078 --> 00:33:30.878
What do you think like, so I don't, I don't not really like talking about,

00:33:31.018 --> 00:33:33.218
I guess, Mike, I'm gonna like restate my question.

00:33:34.098 --> 00:33:38.238
What do you think? So you said for you, it's decision fatigue,

00:33:38.438 --> 00:33:41.318
but teachers are more tired than ever.

00:33:41.538 --> 00:33:49.058
So like, what do you think is like part of the day exhaustion for, for teachers?

00:33:49.398 --> 00:33:52.638
Aside from parenting, because I hate when people who don't have kids,

00:33:52.678 --> 00:33:58.078
we had a big thing years ago. at one of my schools with like someone who didn't

00:33:58.078 --> 00:33:59.738
have children and someone else who did.

00:33:59.998 --> 00:34:05.858
And they were trying to like, you know, like quantify their time as being like

00:34:05.858 --> 00:34:10.218
more important or more like that it was busier than people who didn't have kids.

00:34:10.338 --> 00:34:14.898
And it was a really, like it was one of those moments where I felt, you know.

00:34:15.178 --> 00:34:18.078
Don't like just don't go there with people because it doesn't

00:34:18.078 --> 00:34:21.538
mean just because you don't have kids that you're not like fulfilled and

00:34:21.538 --> 00:34:25.178
busy and so just specific to like

00:34:25.178 --> 00:34:28.138
the teaching day what do you think

00:34:28.138 --> 00:34:31.118
is um exhausting the teachers i think

00:34:31.118 --> 00:34:34.678
there's there's something else we've talked about for again bear with me here

00:34:34.678 --> 00:34:39.158
from a parenting perspective like we as parents we've created this month no

00:34:39.158 --> 00:34:44.158
i know i know let me finish that we're doing all the things and i think teachers

00:34:44.158 --> 00:34:48.738
feel that way as well like the teacher also has to do all the things,

00:34:48.878 --> 00:34:50.658
be involved in the field day,

00:34:50.838 --> 00:34:54.278
do the class party for themselves and for their own kids.

00:34:54.498 --> 00:34:58.958
And then it's all the other social events that you're trying to keep a track

00:34:58.958 --> 00:35:00.538
of outside of there, right?

00:35:00.798 --> 00:35:05.778
The graduations and the christenings and the confirmations and all the other stuff.

00:35:06.018 --> 00:35:08.798
But I think the teacher also feels that inherent pressure of,

00:35:08.958 --> 00:35:11.058
I want to make the end of the year special for my students.

00:35:11.298 --> 00:35:14.918
I also have to shut down my classroom. I want to make sure I can put things away.

00:35:15.118 --> 00:35:18.718
I have to finish up my grades. Did I complete everything I needed to in my curriculum?

00:35:18.958 --> 00:35:20.578
Am I behind where I was last year?

00:35:20.978 --> 00:35:26.298
You know, there's, there's a lot of like that overwhelming pressure to.

00:35:27.716 --> 00:35:31.316
Compete with yourself last year. Yeah.

00:35:31.536 --> 00:35:35.676
So I'm going to give you a couple of examples for me of things that I've noticed

00:35:35.676 --> 00:35:40.116
that I have to do now that I didn't have to do that I think have led to my exhaustion.

00:35:40.396 --> 00:35:45.996
And I'm going to answer the question. No, because you keep sprinkling in.

00:35:46.196 --> 00:35:51.096
Well, no, because I think it's the same thing. I'm not talking about outside stuff.

00:35:51.316 --> 00:35:54.376
I'm talking about in the school because then you said christenings,

00:35:54.476 --> 00:35:57.436
graduate. I mean, specific to like your work day?

00:35:57.636 --> 00:36:02.376
I think that the teacher needing and feeling that they have to do all the things.

00:36:02.596 --> 00:36:04.976
Yes. So you said end of the year party.

00:36:05.316 --> 00:36:08.876
Yeah. I think everybody wants to make it special for their own children and

00:36:08.876 --> 00:36:14.676
have a good end of the year and then shut things down and make sure they look at what's next year.

00:36:14.836 --> 00:36:17.816
Plus there's the stress of like, well, what am I teaching next year?

00:36:17.936 --> 00:36:21.576
Am I going to be in the same grade? Are they going to switch me? That happens a lot.

00:36:22.696 --> 00:36:26.856
Are my kids as high achieving as they were last year? You put pressure on yourself

00:36:26.856 --> 00:36:28.856
to see if you've done a good enough job.

00:36:29.216 --> 00:36:34.776
Plus there's also the additional things within our job that we wind up having to do.

00:36:34.896 --> 00:36:40.396
Like you said, looking at end of the year data, realizing what deficiencies

00:36:40.396 --> 00:36:44.376
you have in your instruction that you need to fix and putting pressure on yourself to do that.

00:36:44.556 --> 00:36:46.996
You can't really do it in the three weeks you have left to school.

00:36:47.836 --> 00:36:51.536
Plus it's all of that while spinning plates.

00:36:52.216 --> 00:36:59.196
So how about this? How about this? How about, um, I used to be handed a timesheet,

00:36:59.716 --> 00:37:05.676
that had the hours on it that I would sign and then I would give it back.

00:37:05.796 --> 00:37:08.936
And now I have to enter it all myself. Yes.

00:37:09.436 --> 00:37:13.776
Right. Um, there's that, um, I need to take a personal day.

00:37:13.796 --> 00:37:17.656
Um, we used to say like, I need to take a personal day and now it's like,

00:37:17.736 --> 00:37:19.736
Oh, you have to, you have to go online and fill that out.

00:37:20.556 --> 00:37:24.756
Right? You have to, so it's essentially now like you're doing,

00:37:25.483 --> 00:37:30.303
all of your own paperwork for even like your personal side of things.

00:37:30.523 --> 00:37:35.703
Yes. That has given me like a point of exhaustion that I can like easily sort

00:37:35.703 --> 00:37:41.363
of pinpoint on top of programs, right?

00:37:41.563 --> 00:37:47.243
So not just with curriculum changing, but why don't we all do stations?

00:37:47.663 --> 00:37:51.343
Why don't we all have the children move around all day long?

00:37:51.563 --> 00:37:55.983
Why don't we all, right? So it's like you're managing on top of teaching,

00:37:55.983 --> 00:37:59.823
on top of like managing, and then also like use the computer,

00:37:59.923 --> 00:38:02.723
but don't use the computer, but you can photocopy everything,

00:38:02.783 --> 00:38:04.303
but you have to photocopy everything.

00:38:04.943 --> 00:38:10.163
And then like, even like learning how to use like a new photocopier.

00:38:11.063 --> 00:38:14.423
Yeah. And then you're at the photocopying and someone's like, oh, you're here again.

00:38:14.703 --> 00:38:17.623
Like, hey, you know, you know, you know what? you

00:38:17.623 --> 00:38:20.403
know what um when i go i think i might have

00:38:20.403 --> 00:38:23.483
a a fourth thing that would be like hey joe's not

00:38:23.483 --> 00:38:26.223
around anymore why when i go into some kind

00:38:26.223 --> 00:38:29.203
of weird murderous rage because someone

00:38:29.203 --> 00:38:32.043
said to me oh you're at the copier again which

00:38:32.043 --> 00:38:36.043
by the way i probably photocopy maybe

00:38:36.043 --> 00:38:40.063
because i have 100 students probably 400 copies

00:38:40.063 --> 00:38:43.223
a week that'd be four different worksheets that we

00:38:43.223 --> 00:38:46.003
do throughout the week probably four which i

00:38:46.003 --> 00:38:49.023
think is very low because i

00:38:49.023 --> 00:38:51.983
see some people and it's like packet after packet after packet i agree but also

00:38:51.983 --> 00:38:55.123
like i don't like pay much attention don't judge

00:38:55.123 --> 00:38:58.323
me but also like my favorite is um

00:38:58.323 --> 00:39:01.143
are you done yeah you know why

00:39:01.143 --> 00:39:03.783
you know why i'm at the copier you know why i'm at the copier you know why

00:39:03.783 --> 00:39:06.583
i'm at the copier because i got here before you that's why that's why

00:39:06.583 --> 00:39:09.383
that's why i got here before you did do you

00:39:09.383 --> 00:39:12.083
want to know why i'm gonna tell you i got here at the copier at 7 30 in the

00:39:12.083 --> 00:39:14.883
morning do you know why because i can hear at 7 30 and if

00:39:14.883 --> 00:39:18.863
you show eight o'clock and want to use the copier and you teach you 805 manage

00:39:18.863 --> 00:39:22.403
your time yeah i know i sound like the last minute lilies but i know i sound

00:39:22.403 --> 00:39:26.883
like an ass i know i do but like that's just me like no it's your prerogative

00:39:26.883 --> 00:39:31.463
yeah i'm not i can't stay after it's not that i can't stay after school i can't

00:39:31.463 --> 00:39:38.263
want to i can't want to stay after school because i can't want to i love you.

00:39:40.163 --> 00:39:43.303
Uh that's the whole point like i'm leaving because

00:39:43.303 --> 00:39:46.223
i gotta get home and i want to like i gotta go home and

00:39:46.223 --> 00:39:50.683
i gotta start driving my kids that's not part of my exhaustion no it's true

00:39:50.683 --> 00:39:54.303
no but i gotta i gotta get home i gotta let the dogs out get back in because

00:39:54.303 --> 00:39:59.523
my wife is probably at a meeting and then yeah me me me me um and then i go

00:39:59.523 --> 00:40:02.223
to my son's baseball game like because i want to be there and i want to support

00:40:02.223 --> 00:40:05.603
him like so i that's why like okay i'm gonna go in early.

00:40:06.323 --> 00:40:10.503
Because i know i can't stay after school and do this because i have something else i need to attend to,

00:40:11.044 --> 00:40:15.264
So it's not my problem if you didn't show up early enough to use the photocopier

00:40:15.264 --> 00:40:16.124
and I got there before you.

00:40:16.244 --> 00:40:19.684
And I know I sound like an ass when I say that, but I'm just saying,

00:40:19.844 --> 00:40:21.164
like, don't say anything.

00:40:21.764 --> 00:40:24.904
I want you to tell me later, like, who it is who says, are you here?

00:40:24.924 --> 00:40:29.724
And I do know, and I'm sure that there are people who are like this. I know.

00:40:30.204 --> 00:40:34.624
So I have my prep and I, you know, and the people that I'm on my prep with.

00:40:34.624 --> 00:40:44.344
However, if I can avoid photocopying on my prep, I do because I don't receive the, are you done yet?

00:40:44.584 --> 00:40:48.104
How many more? I don't receive that. No one should ask you that.

00:40:48.144 --> 00:40:49.824
That's my point. That's what I'm saying.

00:40:50.124 --> 00:40:53.104
And I know people might be listening that are doing that. And like,

00:40:53.204 --> 00:40:55.684
you shouldn't ask that of anybody, of any colleague.

00:40:56.004 --> 00:41:02.084
We're not photocopying something personal. We're photocopying for our classes.

00:41:02.084 --> 00:41:05.184
Right it's not my flyer for my garage sale this weekend come

00:41:05.184 --> 00:41:10.324
on it's not my you know yeah exactly it's not your you're having a garage my

00:41:10.324 --> 00:41:16.024
band's playing this month man yeah my band's playing yeah no i'm not having

00:41:16.024 --> 00:41:18.604
a garage i was just trying to think of something that someone might need to

00:41:18.604 --> 00:41:22.484
make like you know lots of copies of for flyering i don't know yeah or like,

00:41:23.064 --> 00:41:26.604
people that are making photocopies for the sports team that they coach or whatever

00:41:26.604 --> 00:41:29.804
i'm like that's not what we're doing i know but like i don't even care i just

00:41:29.804 --> 00:41:32.024
feel like and then also there's.

00:41:32.684 --> 00:41:35.524
Oh my god i want to yell and i want to curse like

00:41:35.524 --> 00:41:38.604
don't do it three other photocopiers in

00:41:38.604 --> 00:41:41.644
the building walk your ass somewhere else yeah

00:41:41.644 --> 00:41:44.464
i'm sorry i'm sorry everybody like i just get

00:41:44.464 --> 00:41:47.864
to a point this is a real this is a hot button issue it's i

00:41:47.864 --> 00:41:51.624
will still not for me nobody does it to me but

00:41:51.624 --> 00:41:54.644
when they do it to you and other people like that's

00:41:54.644 --> 00:41:57.844
so rude to do to somebody oh people do it to each

00:41:57.844 --> 00:42:00.804
other though it's not just me like people do it to each other all.

00:42:00.804 --> 00:42:03.464
The time or if i walked up to you if i

00:42:03.464 --> 00:42:06.224
walked up to you and i was like hey come on move it along what do you need this for

00:42:06.224 --> 00:42:08.984
it like i'm literate like it's you and we've known each other for

00:42:08.984 --> 00:42:11.804
a bazillion years and i'd be around and you'd

00:42:11.804 --> 00:42:14.804
be like suck it move i would right you'd be

00:42:14.804 --> 00:42:17.604
like go go photocopy your band flyers that's

00:42:17.604 --> 00:42:20.364
probably the name of your band um which by

00:42:20.364 --> 00:42:23.524
the way is one of my coming through coming through lady with a baby which is

00:42:23.524 --> 00:42:26.484
one of my favorite jokes of all time like hey that's

00:42:26.484 --> 00:42:29.804
the name of my band in college um still still

00:42:29.804 --> 00:42:33.284
my favorite thing when i used to say that to tracy at one time my

00:42:33.284 --> 00:42:36.364
my daughter was downstairs and like i said like she's

00:42:36.364 --> 00:42:39.264
like oh you're gonna blah blah i'm like oh that was the name of my band in college and

00:42:39.264 --> 00:42:42.104
you just hear from the basement you weren't in that many

00:42:42.104 --> 00:42:44.824
bands and i was like my

00:42:44.824 --> 00:42:48.364
daughter is so funny it's the greatest thing ever um you

00:42:48.364 --> 00:42:51.384
were never even in one band i was never in one band except for marching band

00:42:51.384 --> 00:42:58.264
um yeah play the trumpet that was good uh anyway you're I'm sorry I digress

00:42:58.264 --> 00:43:01.984
well yeah so being exhausted is this getting to grind my gears what's happening

00:43:01.984 --> 00:43:05.724
right now it was just really of like what to be like reflective of like what

00:43:05.724 --> 00:43:08.844
is exhausting all the teachers and it's everything yeah.

00:43:10.750 --> 00:43:13.670
It's all literally everything but there never

00:43:13.670 --> 00:43:16.370
seems to be anything um you know remember we

00:43:16.370 --> 00:43:19.270
talked about like i really need something removed from my plate

00:43:19.270 --> 00:43:24.570
and it was like get a bigger plate yeah and you know yeah like get a tray and

00:43:24.570 --> 00:43:30.130
it was like so what um i'm always i'm always always resigned to when we come

00:43:30.130 --> 00:43:36.350
back in september yes there will be something else added to the plate and nothing

00:43:36.350 --> 00:43:38.810
will have been removed. It's true.

00:43:39.610 --> 00:43:44.730
That's just the way that it is. I didn't feel overly stressed this year. Me neither.

00:43:45.410 --> 00:43:49.250
Yeah. I felt like there were some things that I tried to do that,

00:43:49.250 --> 00:43:52.310
you know, made things a little bit better.

00:43:52.730 --> 00:43:57.290
Although coming in early and staying late were not them.

00:43:57.770 --> 00:44:01.050
Those were not the things. No, you know what? You know, it's also interesting

00:44:01.050 --> 00:44:04.270
to hear why it's interesting to hear you say that. Yeah.

00:44:04.890 --> 00:44:08.850
Is I also know that you were teaching an additional class, which you got paid

00:44:08.850 --> 00:44:11.730
for. Okay. Which you did get paid for. Yeah.

00:44:12.530 --> 00:44:14.470
And rightfully so. Yes. Okay.

00:44:15.730 --> 00:44:19.230
So there's a monetary compensation for that. It's not like they were like,

00:44:19.310 --> 00:44:21.950
you're going to teach five classes and teach the same amount. Like, I get it.

00:44:22.570 --> 00:44:26.250
But like, it's interesting for me to hear you say that knowing that you took

00:44:26.250 --> 00:44:28.610
on an extra responsibility.

00:44:28.890 --> 00:44:31.870
You could have said no, and you didn't. But yet you're like,

00:44:31.930 --> 00:44:35.190
yeah, I really didn't feel stressed out this year. Because if I were to have

00:44:35.190 --> 00:44:40.130
taken on another class, I know that that would have been, that would have been a challenge for me.

00:44:40.730 --> 00:44:44.230
Well, my mom always says, you know, if you want, if you want something done,

00:44:44.390 --> 00:44:45.370
give it to someone who's busy.

00:44:46.030 --> 00:44:48.930
And I do really think that there is something to be said for,

00:44:49.130 --> 00:44:52.010
you know, like you just start and you kind of get into it.

00:44:52.110 --> 00:44:55.830
And, you know, but I did have like little tricks of things that I,

00:44:56.010 --> 00:45:01.310
you know, like I know where the photocopier is that no one is ever at. And this period that is.

00:45:02.030 --> 00:45:06.410
And so I, like, very specifically would do that, you know, and,

00:45:06.530 --> 00:45:09.690
like, little, just little things to sort of get, like, try to get ahead and

00:45:09.690 --> 00:45:15.310
get on top of, like, you know, that. However, the...

00:45:16.860 --> 00:45:23.620
The exhaustion part of, um, you know, like running around, um, is interesting.

00:45:23.860 --> 00:45:27.040
Yeah. I, I, some days I'm like, Ooh, I'm really tired. And, uh,

00:45:27.160 --> 00:45:29.560
but like more physical mental, um,

00:45:29.840 --> 00:45:33.900
it just depends on, you know, on the day, but I do see so many different like

00:45:33.900 --> 00:45:38.940
topics and videos of people, um, with teacher exhaustion and teacher burnout,

00:45:39.160 --> 00:45:41.400
as we know. So it is really serious. Yeah.

00:45:41.660 --> 00:45:47.120
Um, you know, and I think that's a, that's a leading contributor to why people leave the profession.

00:45:47.460 --> 00:45:50.660
Yes. There was a, I think there was a, and I don't remember what the actual

00:45:50.660 --> 00:45:55.040
data said. I'd have to look at it, but I did send you an article that we didn't talk about.

00:45:55.160 --> 00:45:59.980
And I actually wanted to, it's another side conversation, but they did talk

00:45:59.980 --> 00:46:01.860
about like why teachers are leaving the profession.

00:46:02.600 --> 00:46:06.100
And one of the things that they did mention was the amount of,

00:46:06.220 --> 00:46:10.220
you know, extra things that people have to do.

00:46:10.460 --> 00:46:13.700
Yes. You know, that many things. Yeah. It's just so many things.

00:46:13.700 --> 00:46:17.340
And it's never going to make it a teacher stress survey.

00:46:17.500 --> 00:46:24.620
45% say this year is their most stressful year yet. And it was by prodigygame.com.

00:46:24.860 --> 00:46:27.220
Okay. And there's actually, I'm just trying to look at it here.

00:46:27.920 --> 00:46:32.440
You know, they, they surveyed a number of teachers causes revolving stress.

00:46:35.280 --> 00:46:38.440
Administrative demands. Okay. Was third.

00:46:38.920 --> 00:46:43.620
Yeah. Okay. Paperworks meetings and policies and unrealistic workload was fourth.

00:46:44.260 --> 00:46:47.280
Okay. What are the first two things? Student behavior and discipline challenges,

00:46:47.280 --> 00:46:51.920
which I think would be expected. Of course. And also low salary for the work required.

00:46:52.280 --> 00:46:55.740
We're adding additional things. Without paying. Without paying.

00:46:55.960 --> 00:46:56.840
That's right. But not just that.

00:46:57.220 --> 00:47:02.880
Like, we're also, like, it's an unrealistic expectation for us to burn the candle

00:47:02.880 --> 00:47:04.780
on six ends. Yes. Agreed.

00:47:05.380 --> 00:47:08.180
Well, you know, we're just going to solve that problem next year.

00:47:08.300 --> 00:47:11.700
Yeah. We're going to solve that problem. Speaking of solving problems next year,

00:47:11.900 --> 00:47:16.080
we are fastly approaching down to our season two finale, which is just nuts

00:47:16.080 --> 00:47:19.680
to think about that we are already a second season into this.

00:47:19.900 --> 00:47:24.820
And we are would like to officially announce that we are going to have season three.

00:47:25.040 --> 00:47:28.400
I know you are all going to be wondering. We're going to drop in September.

00:47:29.440 --> 00:47:33.260
We're already working to, you know, for good reason. We've been very busy with

00:47:33.260 --> 00:47:36.280
setting up guests and guest swaps and all sorts of stuff.

00:47:36.340 --> 00:47:39.660
So we got some cool stuff coming for sure. But, um, you know,

00:47:39.760 --> 00:47:42.880
I'm excited to continue this journey with you there, buddy, because I think

00:47:42.880 --> 00:47:47.520
we have, I think we have some amazing, uh, listeners and we've had some great

00:47:47.520 --> 00:47:51.140
conversations and I'm looking forward to that continuing. So yeah, amazing guests.

00:47:51.460 --> 00:47:54.400
Yeah. Amazing guests. We got, you know, we've got a couple more episodes this season.

00:47:54.460 --> 00:47:58.800
Um, and we're looking forward to having you guys, uh, join us because we appreciate

00:47:58.800 --> 00:48:00.180
you and Jamie, guess what?

00:48:00.300 --> 00:48:02.600
I appreciate you. Now get out of the way to copier.

00:48:03.980 --> 00:48:08.140
I appreciate you and thank you for never telling me to get away from the photograph

00:48:08.140 --> 00:48:11.320
here I would never do that never I would just I would just turn it off and run

00:48:11.320 --> 00:48:15.480
away okay all right we'll see everybody next time on Balancing Act Podcast.

00:48:15.440 --> 00:48:51.497
Music.