For pity’s sake. I pop in about once a week and when that stupid screen showed up with a “you don’t follow ANYbody anymore!” I kinda gave up. But Allison was right and everybody is back!
I’m still probably only checking in once in a while but I’m so glad you’re all clicking along, living, struggling, teaching, celebrating, adventuring. Cool. Cool cool.
So, I guess I’ve been removed from all the blogs I was following? I don’t know how I’ll even find everybody again.
Combine your chinese zodiac and astrology sign to make your true fursona
i still hate this post so much. i’m an ox and a taurus. i’m a bull bull. i’m so fucking annoyed oh m y go d
Tiger lion? Really fucjing really im just an infertile liger
I’d be a pig goat. A fucking pig goat.
So I’m just… a chicken… carrying some water??? Am I like that chicken in Moana or something?
Goat Scorpion?
What even is that ?
Monkey Scorpion.
No thanks.
Horse twin.
Horse Goat.
Well, huh. One I love and one I’m terrified of and repulsed by.
Liam update:
My name is Kent
I was born in the living room
My age is so bad
I like to think about that one person I just bought
My name is Anna
I was born to be a good one
My age is not really good
I like to think that you can do it
My name is Miriam.
I was born in the last few days after I read the concept of the time.
My age is a dream come true for the song.
I like to read bc I haven’t watched it yet.
My name is Brendan
I was born in a bit
My age is the only thing that is a great program
I like to do a good job
My name is a child.
I was born in a new relationship and I am never teasing him about it again.
My age is the same as hating feminism.
I like to think that the youths are using that.
My name is my name
I was born in the darkness
My age is in Spanish
I like to think that the moon is there
My name is Christina
I was born in the first day and then it didn’t seem like it
My age is a bit high for the last minute
I like to think about it but I’ll let it go
Tag yourself I’m 5
This is kind of blowing my mind. In the best ways.
I’m 7. And I kind of can’t comprehend doing it any other way.
7!!!! How are there so many ways to draw an x and I’ve never thought about it?
Who are the monsters who do 1-4?
🙋♂️
8.
8. And it never occurred to me there could possibly be any other way. None.
Mine would be: Composer birth and death years, Names of human bones, Does this thing have gluten in it, Etymology, Counselling Theories, and The Terminator movie franchise.
30 Rock, The Sanskrit word for that yoga pose, Phone numbers of 90s era upstate NY personal injury attorneys who advertised on basic cable (including any audio daily doubles of their jingles), What’s wrong with this SQL query, The car is parked over there, The word you wanted.
Worst case scenarios, Procrastination techniques, Tumblr drama of the early 2010’s, What key is it in?, Youth sports parenting archetypes, The Chicago street numbering system.
Netflix Binge Watching, English Grammar and Mechanics, 60s and 70s PBS Children’s Programming, Lin-Manuel Miranda is a National Treasure, Home Ownership is for Suckers, and Procrasti-Baking Rules and Regulations.
Wealth, popular, penis.
Love, marriage and health. @st-eve-barnes maybe I’ll meet the love of my life at Facts, fly to Las Vegas to get married at a wedding chapel and win a billion dollars at one of the casinos.
That would be one crazy year @hellomissmabel! :)
penis, sex and cock. seens great
Love, health, ass. 😆
butter, followers and cock. Hmm.
Love, cock and money. Sounds good.
love, marriage, pizza. 2019 sound fucking awesome
Love
MarriageS
Health.
Love, marriage, and pot. Obviously not in that order.
I love the clothes from Volante Design (“Superhuman Streetwear”); their latest is the “Starfleet 2364” line of men’s and women’s jackets inspired by Star Trek: The Next Generation uniforms.
The jackets are made of heavy denim and are basically extremely well-styled/tailored biker jackets (like Volante’s excellent Hacker jackets), partially or fully unzipping them and folding down their lapels takes them from “cosplay” to “cosplay adjacent” in an instant. They’ve got loads of interior and exterior pockets, and are double-stitched and come in “Command Red, Operations Gold, or Sciences Blue,” sized 37 - 51, 55 (men), and 33 - 45 (women). They’re made in Chicago, retail for $315, and will ship by December 14th.
OH MY FUCKING GOD
Like, kilts are out now, right?
Send help.
This is where I learned about, and gained mad respect for, fairy rings. I haven’t seen one in years but I still love the idea of fairies dancing in the grass outside my favorite people’s homes.
“Indeed, this bipartisan education-and-poverty consensus has guided research and political efforts for decades. Broadly speaking, the idea is that if more kids graduate from high school, and achieve higher scores on standardized tests, then more young people are likely to go to college, and, in turn, land jobs that can secure them spots in the middle class. Rothstein’s new work complicates this narrative. Using data from several national surveys, Rothstein sought to scrutinize Chetty’s team’s work—looking to further test their hypothesis that the quality of a child’s education has a significant impact on her ability to advance out of the social class into which she was born. Rothstein, however, found little evidence to support that premise. Instead, he found that differences in local labor markets—for example, how similar industries can vary across different communities—and marriage patterns, such as higher concentrations of single-parent households, seemed to make much more of a difference than school quality. He concludes that factors like higher minimum wages, the presence and strength of labor unions, and clear career pathways within local industries are likely to play more important roles in facilitating a poor child’s ability to rise up the economic ladder when they reach adulthood. For Rothstein, there’s no reason to assume that improving schools will be necessary or sufficient for improving someone’s economic prospects. “We can’t educate people out of this problem,” he says. His work, like Chetty’s, is not causal—meaning Rothstein is not able to identify exactly what explains the underlying variation in his economic model. Nevertheless, his work helps to provide researchers and policymakers with a new set of background facts to investigate, and signals that perhaps they should be reconsidering some of their existing ideas.”
Water is wet.
A novel by me.
UGH. There was an article in our local paper today about a donation program that supplies basic needs for area classrooms. The headline was about the “extra help for teachers,” which I already take offense to. So like an idiot I read the comments about how teachers have all the luck and what fun it is to go on shopping sprees for classroom kleenex and pencils, and now I’m in an argument because I pointed out that the ones being helped are the districts allowed to underfund classrooms because teachers are expected to pick up the slack. I got lectured on how districts are powerless and I need to vote? And voice my concerns?
I knew better. I’m an idiot.
All right as this education-job-hunting season is hitting a real stride let me give some advice to my little baby-teachers out there looking for their first teaching jobs.
1. Most job postings are going to ask for something like “3-5 years experience.” Apply anyway. Seriously, APPLY. ANYWAY. Worst that can happen is that you won’t get a call, and if they DO call you that means that with all their other applicants, you stood out enough that they want to see you. That’s HUGE and take it that way.
2. Do NOT apply for jobs that you don’t actually think you’ll enjoy. This can work in some professions, but not teaching. You can’t go into teaching already expecting to be unhappy and expect it to just magically be better. The kids will sense it immediately and they don’t need or deserve that. It just makes everything harder.
3. In the interview, make sure to ask what extra duties the job might entail. Supervisory duties, electives, extra curricular activities, etc. can all be tacked on depending on the school. The smaller the school, the more likely you are to wear many hats, and make sure it’s something you’re ok with.
4. Another thing to ask in the interview is what a typical teacher workday looks like. How long do they get for planning? How many classes do they typically teach? What are student breaks like and what is the teacher’s role during those breaks? How long are classes and how many times a week are they held (especially in high school, you’d be surprised at the variation in scheduling that you’ll find).
5. Find out if your district has a common application for all schools or if each school has a distinct one (my state does a common application for all schools in a county and schools you’re qualified for can find your application and reach out to you once it’s live).
6. Research the student-teacher ratio of schools you’re looking into. The smaller the ratio the easier for first-time teachers, in my experience. Smaller schools are also better.
7. Ask if you can tour the school during your interview, if they don’t offer. It can give you a sense of what kind of community the school has built, even during the summer.
8. Spend some time on the school’s website. Not only can it give you some overall good information about the school in general, but it can also give you a good idea of the type of community the school has. Do they post pictures of kids doing cool things? What kinds of cool things? Is there mention of parent events or involvement? Do they recognize students who do cool stuff outside of school? All of these could be good indicators of the community you’re going to.
9. Another interview question (these are important to me because I always get super awkward and have a hard time coming up with questions to ask): What sort of support is there for new teachers. Will you have regular meetings with your admin, will you get planning or curriculum support, will you have a mentor teacher, is there an orientation? You want positive answers to most, if not all, of these. Trust me.
10. I know this is hard to hear, but don’t accept jobs that wouldn’t give you adequate planning time. That includes calling and wanting to hire after preplanning has started. Don’t take a job that gives you no planning period during the actual school day either. I speak from experience, it’s going to be REALLY hard if you don’t have adequate planning time and a period without students during the day. Don’t do that to yourself.
Above all of these: don’t take a job that doesn’t feel right. If the interviewer or admins seem off in any way, or the job is asking you to do more than you’re comfortable with, or the school itself gives you vibes you don’t like, then don’t take it. If you don’t find something this summer, get on your district’s sub rotation or something and spend the time getting more experience. Don’t feel like you failed if it takes a while to get your own classroom!
All very good advice!
What school actually asks for 3-5 years teaching experience? We’re in a national teacher shortage right now. Schools are lucky if they can find CERTIFIED teachers. My district has a FACEBOOK page advertising to anyone “HEY SWITCH CAREERS, COME TEACH!”
Many places don’t care if you have experience or not anymore, some are so desperate, they just want a body in a room. Bonus if you have certification. If you’re certified AND have experience, the job is basically yours! No way a school is going to be able to ask for 3-5 years experience when over 50% of new teachers quit the profession before they get to year 5.
Adding: the teacher shortage is so dire, my school just allowed admin to offer up to 13 steps on the pay scale to a new teacher hire. It used to be capped at 5. That’s huge. HUGE.
ChristinaMused turned 8 today!
My ex husband texted me today after a several month silence to ask if he could use my tax software. Bitch, please. How about you buy your own copy with the pension you stole from me?
Émile Friant - Ombres Portées, 1891 (detail), oil on canvas
This is every teacher I know when the end of the school year is begging for attention and all we want to see is summer.
Happy Cinco de Allison!
