Posts by urbantinker8

Nicholas King said:If my memory serves me right—and it usually does—the parents of this kid are both educators. Now, everyone is busy judging them based on their parenting skills, but I guess nobody thinks to question how effective they actually are as teachers...

Parenting this, teaching that—it’s all the same thing, really. If someone’s moral compass is broken, I suppose it’s hard to see them being good people in any capacity.
What exactly is the flaw in that logic?🍿
Are people going to try and claim again that I’m out here defending every single teacher on the planet?🙄

In this particular mess, though, the fact that they were terrible parents seems to be the main issue, which is probably why nobody is even bothering to look at their professional lives. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how this whole saga unfolds.☕

Susan James said:😍
Teachers have so many different roles to play. They essentially act as second parents to their students, which means they often don't have enough energy left over for their own kids 🍿

Man, you are just absolutely hilarious, aren't you?😂
🤦

Though... I suppose you might not be entirely wrong.🥳

silentraven6 said:This isn't just a kid; this is a grown adult who turned out like this because of some seriously clueless parents.

There's really no fixing this at this point. No matter how tragic the situation feels, help should have been provided a long, long time ago. For someone this age? It's way too late now.

best,

Noah Patel3 said:The son of my former high school teacher.

give us the details🍿

I mean, obviously you’re going to learn the most while you're actually on the job—that’s just how it works after finishing undergrad or a PhD—but I think there’s a pretty significant gap in technical trades between someone with one year of experience versus three years of training under their belt. After three years, you're looking at someone who is actually capable of getting things done without having to constantly look over someone's shoulder or running into avoidable headaches.

I don't really feel like getting into my own anecdotes or quoting those master carpenters who apparently skipped trade school entirely, but if anyone were to ask me which I’d prefer: would I rather hire someone charging me an arm and a leg, someone I’m stuck waiting for all day like they're the second coming, only to have them show up and have zero, one, or three years of actual schooling? My answer would be pretty clear, and I wouldn't hesitate for a second.
If someone with absolutely no formal training turns out to be great, well, good for them, I suppose, but I certainly wouldn't be willing to test that theory using my own bank account.😁

rowdypanther12 said:Most people doing home improvement work actually picked up those skills on the job, whether they were apprentices or working independently.
It’s not like they went to school specifically to learn how to lay tile or hang drywall...

I mean, I don't know if I'd go so far as to say "most" of the work is done that way, I guess.
The professionals I actually hire for my house aren't really just winging it based on experience; they're pretty well trained.

Quincy:

I suppose I was thinking about those Katjes gummies earlier, though I can’t quite put my finger on why they specifically crossed my mind today. It’s funny how certain snacks just sort of linger in the back of your head, isn't it? I was looking at some vegan candy options over at Trader Joe's the other day, and it made me wonder about the whole texture thing with fruit snacks. Some people seem to swear by them, while others find them a bit too chewy, or maybe not chewy enough, if that makes any sense. I guess I’ve always been somewhere in the middle, just drifting between different brands depending on what happens to be on sale at the local grocery store. Anyway, it’s probably just one of those random, wandering thoughts that doesn't lead much of anywhere, but there's something oddly comforting about the idea of a good gummy candy when you're just sitting around. urbantinker8 says: I guess I once had this massive, overwhelming corporate entity—one of those huge, yellow-branded giants you see everywhere—decide to buy up... $0.67 Am I just seeing things, or did someone actually put that in the offer? I guess maybe I’m just overthinking it, but I couldn't help but wonder if I misread the fine print or if my brain is just playing tricks on me today. I guess it was some Pinterest project I saw, something involving a bit of cutting... I guess I might have been slightly off base when I thought that... $0.67I guess it really depends on what you’re looking for, honestly... like, are we talking about a quick fix or something more substantial? I mean, if you just need a basic patch or a simple repair, it might not cost much at all, maybe just enough for some supplies and a little bit of time. But then again, if you're looking at something more involved, the price could jump up quite a bit depending on the scale of the job. It’s kind of hard to say without knowing the specifics, I suppose. Maybe it's worth checking around with a few local contractors or looking up some estimates online just to get a better sense of the ballpark figure. There isn't really a single answer, I guess.

I guess I just don't know.
I honestly don't really care, I guess.
I suppose I might as well just go ahead and pick that up myself, if I'm being honest.🙄
I guess if I’m teaching eighth graders, I should probably figure out whether I need to go out and buy eight separate sets of supplies—one for every single class—or if it’s more practical to just carry my own kit around in my bag all day. It's one of those things that seems simple until you actually start thinking about the logistics of moving between rooms, I suppose. Maybe it's better to have everything right there on hand, though carrying extra gear might get a bit heavy after a few periods.🤣
I guess I used to spend way too much of my own money on all sorts of school supplies and textbooks, though I suppose I’ve become a bit more sensible about it as time goes on.🙂
Quincy:

I suppose there's a certain kind of person who just refuses to grow up, though I can't quite put my finger on why that happens so often, maybe it's just an easier way to navigate things, I guess. It’s like they’re perpetually stuck in some sort of adolescent loop, avoiding any real responsibility while everyone else around them is busy actually functioning like adults, which feels a bit exhausting if you think about it too long. Maybe it isn't even intentional, just a slow drift away from maturity, but still, it leaves a bit of a mess for everyone else to clean up, I suppose. urbantinker8 says: I guess I have my doubts about whether they could actually stretch the history of glassmaking into a full two-year curriculum, though maybe there's more to it than meets the eye.

I suppose one really ought to ask the Secretary how she actually envisions this working on a global scale, though I'm not entirely sure what kind of answer we'd get. 😉

hiddendriver34 said:I disagree. A university degree takes four years. An associate degree takes two. What’s it going to take someone three years to learn a trade—like mastering how to hold shears, foil hair, or frame glass? I’m not saying they’ll become a master craftsman overnight—honestly, you might not reach that level even after ten years on the job—but you can definitely pick up the technical fundamentals of a craft in much less than three years, especially if you spend that entire time focusing strictly on the trade instead of wading through endless general education requirements.

Fine, then swap out that "pathetic" phrase for something like "their professional destiny is permanently predetermined." Or is that still too dramatic for your sensitive soul?

I mean, there’s just no way I’d let someone touch my hair if they only had, what, one year of training and some textbook theory under their belt? It seems like a massive gamble, I guess. Maybe some people are okay with that, but personally, I couldn't do it.
I guess I’m just not really interested in all that technical stuff, like the specific way you hold a brush or diving deep into the theory behind color mixing. It’s just not my thing, I suppose.
I mean, I just want someone who actually knows what they're doing to handle my haircut, color, and waxing, you know? Since I'm paying top dollar for this kind of service, I feel like I should probably be getting some actual expertise in return rather than just hoping for the best.☕
I don't even want to get started on all the construction and electrical work we've been dealing with around the house lately... honestly, it’s probably best if I just don't go there.
I guess you have to wonder if you're really getting much help when the person sent to fix your machine is someone who probably just finished their freshman year of trade school or maybe only has about a year of actual experience under their belt. It’s one of those things where you find yourself sitting there, watching them work, and you can't help but weigh whether they actually know what they're doing or if they're just following a manual they learned six months ago. I mean, maybe they're brilliant, but I suppose there's always that nagging feeling of uncertainty when you realize you might be paying for someone who is still very much in the learning phase of their career.
I mean, I guess you could say that, though I’m not entirely sure how one would even begin to process something like that, if that makes any sense. It feels a bit surreal, honestly, almost like we're looking at a situation that shouldn't actually be possible, but here we are, I suppose.

nimblelynx7 said:I compared two different levels of education. Even though they aren't on the same scale, I don't see what the big deal is. What's the problem?

Of course I’m going to advocate for hands-on practice over theory. Always. If we absolutely have to cram more subjects into a history teacher's schedule just to keep them busy—since having "surplus" staff is common in the private sector but feels like an insult in public education—then fine. Let them teach the history of glassmaking. Anything is better than listening to some instructor drone on about Napoleon's wars or the Roman conquests for the 74th time.

I mentioned this before regarding my best friend's situation. He’s a bus driver who decided he wanted to switch over to operating light rail. Big mistake. The training academy hit him with thirty different supplemental courses—everything from English and German to technical specs and even ethics classes. It absolutely hammered his bank account. Once he finally paid the fees and cleared all those exams, he felt a lot smarter—mostly because he realized what an idiot he was for signing up for the whole mess in the first place.

Probably the same deal where you guys have to retake astrophysics. Even if you passed it before, what they teach here just isn't the same. It’s not even the same language—it's different everywhere you go.

if you ask me, it's either Napoleon and the Romans or nothing at all.
The idea of a history of glassblowing actually makes me laugh, honestly.
Same goes for the history of hair styling or butchery.

nimblelynx7 said:You can't learn this stuff in a history class. No nation is ever going to willingly teach you about patriotism, national pride, or religious fervor—all that nonsense used to cloud reality. It’s just a smokescreen they use when they need to prep the population for an invasion by another country.

Why wouldn't we focus on learning the history of our specific field, especially instead of that broad, general history nonsense?
You’re right; there’s an entire course dedicated to the history of law. I don't see what's so wrong with adding the history of electrical engineering to the curriculum at the engineering school. You spend all your time listening to Ohm's law, Kirchhoff's law, and Hertz's law—those men worked incredibly hard to reach those breakthroughs. Maybe someone could actually come up with something new based on their specific moves, devices, or ideas?

It isn't that he’s being barred because he refuses to sit through some useless history or geography class just to pad out a teacher's schedule. It's a pure administrative mandate: three-year high school grads aren't eligible for college. If anything is creating a class divide here, this policy is doing it—and it's completely unnecessary.
Why bother imposing mandatory exams when there’s zero difference? Just let people take evening classes or rely on the SATs and entrance exams. It doesn't matter if they're wearing designer suits or work boots,

It’s the system itself that’s doing the condescending, not that sentence.

Are you seriously trying to compare studying law or engineering to a three-year vocational program for glass cutters?🤦
When you're actually studying, I guess it's only natural to dive into the deep details of a specific subject, whereas for a glass cutter, I suppose the priority is just knowing the practical side rather than the theory. Aren't you the one who has always been advocating for that very thing?🤔
So, if he doesn't care much for general culture—which, honestly, seems to be the modern trend of being narrow-minded—then I guess he definitely doesn't need a history of glass cutting either.

Nicholas King said:Come on, let’s dial back the melodrama here. It isn't like the system is chaining a fourteen-year-old to a basement floor for life...

And honestly, can we pick a lane? Are we arguing based on the "general culture" our tradespeople should have, or is this really about letting people get an education whenever they feel like it while the public picks up the tab? If it's the latter—if that's the real issue—then what happens when you have an eighteen-year-old who enrolls in some random degree just because they couldn't get into med school? Why shouldn't we let them study anatomy on the side too, just in case they change their minds and don't want to commit to the full four-year degree?

I still don't quite grasp why studying a specific trade, without any general subjects, would even take three years. A program like that should last a maximum of one year day.

In the context of the current vocational training model, "one year day" actually means—once you subtract all the holidays and half the classroom instruction—only a few months spent actually working in a shop.

I certainly wouldn't trust those kinds of plumbers, masons, or electricians to build my house.

Exactly.
Personally, I feel like for some similar trades, even three years isn't enough, so what on earth is a single year day of schooling supposed to accomplish?😲
I mean, I wouldn't even trust my trained hair stylist to handle anything delicate after just a meager year day of practice, let alone trust a technician to install an AC unit or do any wiring in my house.🙂

hiddendriver34 said:Whose, and which one exactly?

Well, I think I actually laid all of that out pretty clearly in my last post.

I haven't actually sat down to read anything by Pavicic, if I'm being honest. I'm really just weighing in on that rather silly comment she made during her TV interview the other day.🤦

Paul Allen26 said:What's actually missing from those green tiles, and why exactly are the white ones considered better?

well, I guess...
firstly, things just look clearer on the white ones because those green tiles feel like they've been sitting around since the colonial era—all scratched up, greasy, and covered in lines.
secondly, considering those old chalkboards date back even further than that, they're just so incredibly gross; there's so much dust, hair, and grime embedded in them that just looking at one might give you contact dermatitis, and getting too close could probably trigger asthma.
thirdly, on a more personal note, I'd rather not have sandpaper for skin on my hands, so I suppose I'd prefer having a marker in my hand instead of dealing with chalk.🙂

but hey, I mean, I'll settle for the green ones if I absolutely have to, assuming we get some decent chalk and maybe upgrade to some modern chalkboards.🙏

and speaking of history and glassblowers, the Secretary of Education mentioned how much history matters to the glassblowing trade. okay, I can see her point to an extent, I suppose.
but then in the very next breath, she suggested that the history professors at that vocational school would have to drop general history entirely just so they could teach exclusively the history of glassblowing😲 🤣 🤦
yeah. that's clearly a matter of extreme life-and-death importance.
general history versus the history of glassblowing.🙂

so, that's the kind of "reform" she's talking about.🤦

hiddendriver34 said:urbantinker8, honestly, besides your school, I can't think of a single one that's still stuck using chalkboards.

We’re actually doing pretty well—we've had whiteboards for probably twenty years now, and we even have ceiling-mounted projectors in every classroom. You just grab your laptop from the teacher's lounge and you're good to go. We have about fifteen of them for our 40 staff members, and they're almost never all in use at once.

In my opinion, it really just comes down to how resourceful the principal is. You can squeeze funding out of the local city council, fight the Department of Education (which is a much tougher nut to crack 😁), or even pull in money through rentals or federal grants.

I'm pretty sure my school makes extra cash by renting out the gym on the weekends.

well, I know plenty of them—around the Chicago area.🤷
to be fair, in most of the schools I tend to visit, you mostly just see chalk and those old green boards.

hiddendriver34 said:Oh, you definitely can. The real headache is that most school administrators just aren't trained to handle the mountain of complex project documentation required to unlock that kind of federal funding.

That said, I still lean toward the idea that a principal should focus more on being a great educator and communicator rather than acting like a high-level financial manager.

absolutely.

rowdypanther12 said:But honestly, some high schools actually have things running really smoothly. I’ve said this before, but I think that’s where we need to start looking—if a principal just isn't up to the task, they should probably be replaced.

Sure, there are certain high schools with better circumstances, I guess, but I don't think the principal is the only factor at play here.

Nicholas King said:Since I’m honestly not entirely sure just how much federal funding can be squeezed out of Washington for basic infrastructure projects, a director's ability to secure budget from local municipal authorities really just boils down to—well, I guess you could call it—their level of political cronyism and family ties within that local government.

In my view, that is hardly a reliable metric for deciding who counts as "incompetent" when it comes to removals.

Exactly.

Jacob Lopez2 said:I honestly don't get this. It is blatantly obvious that this comes down to whoever is running the school rather than any national policy, considering my first grader's classroom already has both a whiteboard and a smartboard. It is truly pathetic that equipment quality depends on the individual commitment of certain teachers or principals instead of there being uniform standards for all public schools across the country. Absolutely disgraceful.

I'm probably not privy to all the specifics regarding the funding side of things, but from what I can see, the situation seems to be a bit better at the local elementary schools.

Larry Walker24 said:Facts. I work at a local school where we barely have enough chemicals to run two decent experiments, let alone show kids how a real reaction works. Of course, there’s zero budget for actual lab equipment or supplies, as per usual.🤦

I mean, people always laugh when I mention that we sometimes don't even have chalk, or that the erasers are older than I am, and having a decent whiteboard feels like some distant, unreachable dream (and don't even get me started on those fancy interactive smartboards; that's definitely not happening 🤣).
As for the actual teaching tech, I probably shouldn't even go there.🤦

Larry Walker24 said:We’ve got federal grants, state funds, Bloomberg and fancy fountains, plus those lazy directors who won't lift a finger

So, there you go—pretend directors, some wannabe minister, and supposedly a "school for life," yet somehow everyone is still left completely stranded without even the most basic gear, like a simple tablet.
I mean, where is everything else??🤦

Brandon Foster7 said:I'm noticing a lot of stuff here, but zero students in sight.

So they've got more love. Big deal. And?

I don't get why everyone is so obsessed with Finland.

Their track record isn't exactly anything to write home about.
It’s always the small-minded types who get all worked up just because they heard someone mention Finland and five theoretical theorems they were forced to memorize like parrots.

thank goodness someone finally pointed that out🙏🙏🙏

Megan Reed said:I’ve been sending out applications all over the country because I know the odds of landing something right here in my hometown—which is basically a small town in the Midwest—aren't great since my degree is in biology. It’s those same issues I mentioned before. I could handle subbing or part-time gigs somewhere within commuting distance, but if we're talking a full-time position, I’m more than willing to pack up and move to the other side of the States. Plus, even though I've finished my teaching credentials, I haven't actually stepped foot in a classroom yet, whereas I know people who started working without them just because they were near schools struggling to find any staff at all. It’s all down to luck. It isn't like I'm refusing to work in a rural area or anything.🙂

Last year, I applied for a biology teacher opening at an elementary school in NYC, only for them to cancel the whole thing later, claiming "no candidates met the requirements." Trust me, I know for a fact that I did.

Regarding that last point: you definitely have grounds for an appeal if things actually played out the way you described.
I can't speak for what's happening in Des Moines, but I know how it works in New York City—specifically, finding math or computer science teachers is a total disaster, whereas biology isn't nearly as much of a struggle.

Quentin:

nimblelynx7 I guess I should probably mention what nimblelynx7 was saying... I guess everything probably needs to be squared away by the end of the year. It feels like that hour requirement really needs to be met, and honestly, it might be a bit of a problem if any of those courses aren't officially completed for whatever reason. It feels like, in the end, it’s all going to boil down to the students being the ones who actually pay the price for this, I guess. It seems likely they'll end up stuck dealing with teachers showing up on Saturdays, staying late, or having to roll in earlier than usual... it just feels like another way to squeeze more out of them. Sent from my Galaxy S7 using Reddit

No, honestly, none of the students are showing up on Saturdays, and there isn't any reason at all why anyone would need to stick around longer or arrive earlier than planned. I guess you might be pulling my leg again.
I guess you could say my colleagues end up staying way, way longer than they probably intended, and sometimes they even show up twice in one shift, which I suppose—if you look at it from a certain angle—is actually our biggest stroke of luck.🙂I guess, if you look at how things usually shake out, they tend to be pretty lenient about those minor discrepancies in the total pool of hours, maybe just letting them slide once the school year finally wraps up.
I mean, you can't exactly just call some random guy off the street who happens to be good at math and expect him to just burst into a classroom, right? There aren't really any other options, I guess.

nimblelynx7 said:So who's actually teaching the classes then? Is anyone even showing up?

Sent from my Galaxy S7 using Reddit

I think I mentioned this already.
We try to cover everything internally as much as we possibly can, and honestly, some of my colleagues are out there working double shifts or pulling full days just to make it happen, though I guess a lot of hours get wasted whenever there’s a scheduling conflict.
So, instead of getting that specific subject, they end up being assigned different courses entirely.

hiddendriver34 said:At my school this year, the kids actually went two whole weeks without a chemistry teacher because nobody stepped up to take the job. They were offering a three-year contract with the promise of a permanent position afterward, but still, crickets. :ne zna;

Well, I suppose that’s actually a decent outcome, considering there are times when you can go several MONTHS without anyone showing interest, even among the graduating seniors.😲

Megan Reed said:I was literally just talking about this today. 👍 I guess this is just the next brilliant step in those "reforms" meant to drag us into the 22nd century. We might as well start working at 15. (Not that it matters, since we’ll probably be waiting until we're 115 to retire. 😁)

Great. I read that article. As a science teacher myself, I've applied to about 50 different openings across the entire US in the last year and haven't landed a single job. Let them keep whining about how they can't find anyone.

When you guys are posting about this, it might be helpful to mention which specific subjects or cities you're talking about.
In a place like Chicago, it is incredibly difficult to find math or computer science teachers for the schools. I don't think anyone could convince me otherwise, mostly because I've been witnessing some pretty wild situations for years now.
And, well, I know a bit about what happens in more rural areas, where those same subjects often end up being taught by people who haven't even finished their college degrees.