A Geek History of Time - Episode 326 - Three Teachers Who Stayed Part I

Episode Date: July 25, 2025

Okay, so there's there there are two possibilities going on here. One you're bringing up a term that I have never heard before. The other possibility is that this is a term I've heard before, but it involves a language that uses pronunciation That's different from Latin it and so you have no idea how to say it properly. It's an intensely 80s post-apocalyptic Schlock film. Oh and schlong film. You know, it's been over 20 years, but spoilers Okay, so so the resident Catholic thinking about that. We're going for low Earth orbit. There is no rational. Blame it on me after.

And you know I will. They mean it is two o'clock in the fucking morning. Where I am. I don't think you can get very much more homosexual panic than that. No. Which I don't know if that's better. I mean you guys are Catholics. You tell me. I'm just kind of excited that like you and producer George will have something to talk about

That basically just means that I can show up and get fed I'm going to go to the bathroom. This is a Geek History of Time. Where we connect nerdery to the real world. My name is Ed Blaylock. I'm a world history teacher here in Northern California at the middle school level. And just earlier this morning I took my son to get a haircut and he and I were getting our haircuts at the same time two separate chairs you know next to each other and I was listening as my son talked to the hairdresser who was doing his hair the

whole time he was getting a haircut this is this is how I know he's my kid And one of the things that came up was he started telling her not really in great detail, but Not in great detail about the session, but in great detail about the Pathfinder game That he is now playing with me and my wife and my friends once a month. And so the person who was cutting my hair just leaned in and said, raising him right, good work. I was like, yes, yes, the secret society of nerds.

Yes. So that was fun on multiple levels at once. How about you? Well, I'm Damien Harmony. I'm a US history teacher up here in Northern California at the high school level. And I drove my daughter over to her mom's house to take care of the cat.

Her mom is away, the cat will play. And my daughter was taking care of the cat. Her mom is away, the cat will play. And my daughter was taking care of the cat. On the way over, I pulled up the podcast, our podcast, Cusco's podcast, the podcast for Cusco. A Geek History of Time, wherein you were talking about mages, because she likes her history, she likes magic and stuff like that. And it was a story about John Dee.

And it gets all the way to the payoff of him using walnut shells to prove that transubstantiation does not depend on it being a wafer or whatnot. And that is where we get the phrase, Dee's nuts. Which was, obviously I made it up, but it was this garden path. And she just looks at me and she's like, I knew it as soon as he said John D. And it still surprised me. I'm like, now you know how it feels every single time.

She's like, you're so good at that. Like, how do you? And I was like, yeah, thank you. And part of the reason why is because my brother was here this last week and he also, he knows that puns are my love language But he keeps picking the fruit before it gets ripe. Um, and so his puns are like

You know, I love the guy but it's it's the the pun equivalent of that's what she said, you know And my daughter turned to him several times. She's like He's the professional let him do Anyway she saw it coming and it still walloped her just like you so you have common cause with someone yeah Well, yeah, no your your daughter and I are are consistently on the same team. Yes in a great many ways Yeah, the head shaking what the fuck what is wrong with this guy yeah so anyway so um here's the thing I've been teaching for 22 years 23 years okay um and I know you've been teaching in two different spurts for what you're going on like 14 or 15 total right I'm

more like 12. Well, OK. Yeah. And you and I stayed teaching despite there being a wild teacher shortage. And I got to thinking. I've got a lot of friends who quit or who made to leave. I also have a lot of friends oddly who stayed. And I'm wondering why. And so I convened a panel in a standard Damian way.

And so I goted a panel in a standard Damien way and so I got one from each level. So the elementary teacher who is here could you please introduce yourself? I'm Erin and I'm a sixth grade teacher. I've been teaching since 2001. Took a year off after each kid, and then I job shared for a few years in there. But other than that, I've been here. Yeah. And I have a middle school teacher here as well. Could you please introduce yourself?

Yeah. Hi, I'm Tessa. I teach sixth and seventh grade science, also exclusively taught seventh grade science for a while, taught comic book elective, and then did a very brief stint as a math and history sixth grade teacher. Two thousand and thirteen now 2000 and 2000 and was it 2012 no So right around

2012 13 yeah, I think it was 2013 I worked with with ed so But yeah, I've been teaching since then. Wow. Outside of McFernady Leaf. And I also got a high school teacher in here, a former guest. Could you please introduce yourself, sir? Sure thing. My name is Manuel, Manuel Rustin. I'm a high school social science teacher in the Los Angeles area and I currently teach 11th grade US No 11th grade ethnic studies and 12th grade

Government and econ but I've taught most of the social sciences and I started in 2004 So I am wrapping up the 21st year in the classroom at the high school level the whole way through There we go. So we got one from each level plus me and Ed Ed has somebody he worked with I have somebody I worked with And And I'm also I've been friends with everybody on here since I met them Despite their best efforts otherwise So here since I met them despite their best efforts otherwise. So cool. You know I'm just gonna open it up here. I want to so I'll start. My favorite teacher was a guy

named John Roberto. He was my ninth grade world history teacher different schools have different levels and such and he Got he figured out how much I loved history right away and he got that I saw the humor in the history and he was very impressed by that and then I also had a Honors us history teacher named Tom Costello Which anybody who went to my high school within a 20-year span of when I went knew Mr. Costello because

that man had a metal plate in his head. He was the hardest screw to ever be turned at that school and everybody walked away going he was a horribly abusive man. God I loved him. He taught me so much and so I had the the the The yin and the yang as far as teachers went like one was like fighting to save the rainforests The other one was I will crack you in the head if you talk out of turn again He banned me from talking several times in class because nobody else would answer which surprises nobody here Because nobody else would answer which surprises nobody here. Um, did that work out for him? Like it worked well because I wrote notes and handed them to other people to say so So

And then so other people got to sound smart for a minute. It was cool, but um Dude kicked my ass. I mean just what my ass and and I loved it I absolutely loved him for it. And so those have been my two favorite teachers. So my first question obviously Ed I'm gonna start with you and then let's just go down the levels. Let's go high school middle English for this question So start with you Ed and then we'll filter to our guests. Who was your favorite teacher? Man, it's really hard because I have a bunch of a bunch of names that come up in in in my brain I was very fortunate to have a lot of very good very inspiring teachers But um

I think I think what I would probably have to come down with is. Mr. Dennis Morgan Uh who was a history teacher at my high school, but I never had him for history. My friends had him as their history teacher, and I was one of the inaugural students in his psychology for effective living class, my junior year, which was all about emotional skills, communication skills, learning how to have a conversation and deescalate, developing emotional intelligence. And it was incredibly powerful. And he had been a beloved figure. He continued to be a beloved figure on the campus for years afterward. I'm Facebook friends with him now. And friend of the show Bishop considers him like a surrogate father figure. He was just this wonderfully wonderfully compassionate, caring, amazing individual. And so yeah, if I if I have to

pick one, he would be it. Okay. So Cool. Manuel, who'd you who was your favorite teacher? Not and again, not the best but favorite because those are things Yeah, my favorite was my ninth grade English teacher. His name is Craig Murray. Uh, he was a English teacher in Elk Grove in the Early 90s and he went on to be an administrator somewhere in northern california But in any case, he was the only teacher literally the only teacher I could think of that I had across my K-12 experience who I really felt challenged me and like saw me and saw my potential and whereas most teachers would give me an A, I was a typical A student, turn everything in, do everything the teacher said and you know I get a quiet A and just kind of float

under the radar. He was the only one that really ever challenged me and tried to push me further. And he recommended me for honors English. And I ended up getting an F in honors English for non-academic reasons. This was going into my 10th grade. We'll get to that when we get to my least favorite teacher. But in any case, even though I didn't have him anymore, he pulled me aside and tried to figure out what was going on with me

What was going on in my life that that resulted in this sudden just out of nowhere failure and I didn't open up to him I didn't tell him but he was certainly the only one that seemed to care at all And I also played sports and I played a different coaches and stuff He's ninth grade English teacher, Craig Murray, really the only one that ever pulled me to the side and expected better from me and tried to see how he could help out above and beyond just the academics. So shout out to Mr. Murray wherever he might be.

Wow. That's like, and you said you're only one in K-12. Yes. Like, the rest were plenty nice. They were nice, but like, you know, I don't know if they even would remember me, but yeah. Dang. Let's see, Tessa, down to you.

There's a couple that come to mind. But I think there was only one who I felt the need to email the day I passed my CSETS. And that was my freshman geometry teacher, Don Blasengame. Very first day of class, very first day of class, he came into first period geometry, which I was terrified of, jumped onto a desk, like from the floor, jumped onto the desk, said something in deeply scientific language. We all stared at him because we had no idea what he had just said. And then he proceeded to very loudly yell, a star is blowing up kids. And I'll never forget that because I thought he was insane. Sure. And he was, but like in the best way

possible. So he was the only person who ever tried to understand how my brain processed math and actually made me feel like I could do it. To the point that when I passed, I was terrified of the math CSET because of when we get back to my least favorite teacher. I was petrified of taking it. I was so convinced I was going to fail it. And so when I passed it, the first thing I did was look to see if he was still teaching at my high school and email him and thank him for making me feel like I could do math and never making me feel bad for the way that I took notes

and my doodles and encouraging me on test answers I got wrong and always pointing out where I did right. So I think I think he's going to be the one. Nice. Yeah. Very cool. Erin, down to you. I don't think I have a favorite. Yeah, which I've never even thought about this question. So it's kind of funny. But I liked all of my elementary school teachers, but I don't know if some of that is just like hero worship, like you're little and they're your teacher. And I think they were really good. And then I just didn't really have any, I just flew under the radar. And then I, so yeah, I think they would be a conglomeration of my elementary school teachers, like little

parts put together, but not one favorite. Well, there goes that theory for why we all stayed. Thanks. We can tick that one right off. Right. All right, Ed, your turn. All right. Well, so now there's an alternative theory about why we all stayed and and a couple of you have already mentioned

That that you already have Answers in mind for this question and I'll start with mine like Damien did as far as your least favorite teacher In oh my god In the eighth grade I had a math teacher, Mrs. Catalina, and I had gone from seventh grade, I don't know how I got signed up for advanced math in seventh grade, but I did. And my seventh grade math teacher scared the shit out of me. Just she was terrifying. And it was all, it was of course all an act and she was actually a wonderful, sweet human being,

but like absolutely scared the daylights out of me. But I got A's and then I went into eighth grade math and had Mrs. Catalina. And she was a burnout case who probably should have retired a year or two before. And in my particular section of algebra, advanced math, she had, I think there were three students who were getting A's. One of them was a friend of mine.

And then over the course of the year, my grades started at a C and went steadily down all year. And my pattern was, my grade pattern matched that of most of the class. And after every test, she would sit at her desk and she would berate the class and point to the three kids who were getting A's and say you know they're doing it the rest of you just aren't working hard enough and it was like no literally you're not taking the time to actually figure out why we're not getting it and you're not telling us how to do it and that was that was the one occasion on which I had my mother schedule a parent-teacher

conference because I was trying to tell my parents that that's why my grades in math were suffering and because I'm a Gen Xer, my parents didn't immediately believe me. But I felt very vindicated when after that conference We left the classroom and without even saying anything else. My mother just let it drop All right. Well, you're just gonna have to take algebra next year and that's that's all that is Was no there was no you need to you know buckle down, you know all of that stuff. So that was That was my my absolute worst teacher and again actually I think let's start it from from the lowest end go up to the top Aaron do you have a Least favorite teacher that you can remember by the way when we say lowest we're talking grade level. That's it

Yeah, I don't want to thank you. Yeah, I mean it's confusing cuz Ed did go first So that's Lois could be closest to the grave. Oh God, oh Fuck you. There you go. Really? Yeah getting real now. I Do have a least favorite and she actually still works in our district in administration And yeah, she was my math teacher my sophomore year. I Went to the school Tim teaches at Damien. Okay, this was like high achieving kids

but you had to have a C average to stay and I had a C average. And I wasn't like these other kids. I, I wasn't a high achiever. I didn't even really know you were supposed to learn when you went to school. I just thought you went to hang out with your friends. Um, so this math teacher and the, when Tessa was talking about math, um, I started to hit a wall in fifth grade. And the thing they say about girls and math, it it I think I'm like a, you know, case study of that. So I all of a sudden couldn't do it. I managed through middle school. But once I got to high school, I just didn't know what they were doing. know what they were doing. And so this was my sophomore year and I was failing. It was algebra, I think. And so she said, okay, I'm gonna call it pre-algebra for you, but it's still going to be

the same class, but then I can give you a C instead of flunking you, which was nice, right? But I wasn't learning anything. I just sat in that class the whole year. And everyone loved her. All the kids loved her. And she loved all the kids that were the over achievers, high achievers, student council kids that were, you know, putting the rallies on. She really loved all of those kids and they loved her back. But I knew like I was wasting her time and I felt that from her and she would give lectures on that she had worked at a hard school and we didn't appreciate what we had.

And she, I'll never forget her quote, I never wanna stare down the barrel of another gun. It was a very like, nobody believed her. It was a very dramatic moment that I think she thought we were all gonna like just be blown away by this. And now we'll do our math. Right. Right. And you guys are cleaning the center. Yeah. Yeah. I think she thought it was going to be like a movie moment and it wasn't. And yeah, she's still there. And I saw her and I was at some district meeting that she was in and she doesn't recognize me

Because I was really nothing like I wasn't on her radar at all Mm-hmm, and I brought up this what she did. I didn't mention names I just like yeah, I had a teacher and they just put me in pre-algebra and And she didn't even recognize it, but it felt good to get it out when she was there. So she is it I Will say I know the school that you're talking of and Manuel you can probably make a guess But doesn't that sound like an English teacher that we had to contend with who taught freshmen when we were At our school together. It does it really does right? Come on. You guys are part of the magnet program Like yes It does it really does right come on you guys are part of the magnet program like yes

Yeah, all right sorry to break in there Tessa, how about you? Okay, this is hard because there's three Nothing about that sentence and that question surprises me with you know I Start with my. You wrote them down. Off more history teacher. First one. His name was Mr. Mosman. Fucking hate him.

His first assignment, which will just set the scene for what kind of teacher he was. He wrote a bunch of random historical events on the board. Just random. If you were one of the first set of the, he put the class into thirds. If you were in the first third of the class that you picked your thing, you got to use the textbook for the whole time. If you were in the second third, you only got to use it for half the time. And if you were in the last 30, you didn't get to use the textbook at all.

Was he a teacher because he wanted to coach sports? Probably. I was the second to last group. D-Day was one of the options I wanted D-Day because I was like, I'm going to fucking nail that. I got D-Day best day of my life. I was like, fuck you, I don't need the textbook for this shit. Wrote the whole thing. Did the stupid little presentation that he told us to do. At the end of mine, he goes, you cheated. And I quote, I said, how did I cheat?

No girl knows that much about military history. So I said, you find where they say the time that the Nazis expected them on the beach and why the iron X's were on the beach and what they were supposed to do in the textbook. And I'll admit I cheated. Yeah. So it wasn't in the textbook. So I've been to have my mom go to the office and I started writing the most random bullshit I could think of in my papers just to make sure that he was in fact grading that man lived in terror of me until they moved me out of his class. So fuck you Mr. Mosman. I hope you hear this and I hope you remember this and you feel bad about yourself. Second one.

Junior year math teacher, he was just fucking creepy. Mr. Napoli, he told us that his nickname in college was G-Spot, showed us his tattoo that was on his lower abdomen. And then his tests never had any of the thing in the trig textbooks that he ever. Yeah, I know. And I think I've told you about him. Oh, my God. I know. Yeah. And nothing. he ever yeah I know it and I think I've told you about him oh my god I know yeah and nothing from the test we found out because my mom my parents hired somebody to tutor me and he was looking at the test one day and he goes this isn't any of the things that you guys are doing in the textbook this is none of your homework what the hell this? So my dad went into his classroom one day to confront him,

which Ed has seen my dad. My dad's like five, two covered in tattoos. Terrifying. And he found printed off porn in the guy's trash cans. Like it was just a disaster on every single, he's still employed, I think. For legal purposes, this is alleged. Right. Allegedly.

Oh, God, I hate this guy. And then the last one is the one. So I had one that I Googled to make sure that he was still employed because I wanted to email him and let him know that I passed the Ed or not the see. Oh, my God, this sees that there was another one that I Googled to see if her obituary was around, because if she wasn't dead, I was going to email her and rub it in her face.

And that was my fourth grade teacher. Carol is a petty dude. Oh, I passed the math CT or see that. And my first thought was I need to tell Mr. Blassing game and God, I hope Carol McMahon isn't fucking dead because I'm going to let her know. She called me stupid in front of the whole class because as an undiagnosed neurodivergent kid when they were teaching the concept of subtraction and borrowing, they never explained that the reason that you got a 10 is because you were borrowing from the tens

place. So you weren't carrying a one, you were carrying 10. And so my brain didn't understand what she was talking about. So obviously that means that I'm an idiot and I'm incapable of doing math, which is what she announced to the whole class when I was nine years old. So this is why I'm not great with math. I have math anxiety, but I've never been able to find out if she's dead or not. I'm kind of annoyed about that. Okay. I want to know too. I want to know if she's dead.

I want to know if she's dead. I can't. I need some. What's her name again? Carol McMahan. All right. I can't. I need someone. Carol McMahon. All right. So geek timers get on it. If anybody finds her. Our Austrian audience especially. You guys have a really good library. Go for it. Todd in Pacifica. Let me know. I've been able to figure it out. Well, your turn, bud.

Yeah, that's terrible. My least favorites weren't like vicious like that. So that's yeah, that's that's really terrible. I hate to hear that. So yeah, I have to the first one is quick. I only had it for less than a semester. Something changed in my schedule. I don't know why.

Mr. C was a math teacher, seventh grade, South Sacramento. And the only reason he's my least favorite is because my only memory of him, my only memory of him is we had a classmate who was killed over a weekend, apparently was breaking into like parked cars. And I don't know, the police came up and something happened and he got shot dead. And I didn't even know the kid,

but obviously it was big news on campus. One of our classmates just got killed and he was breaking into cars, like whatever, being a knucklehead. And I just remember this teacher like riding on the board doing some math stuff. And he was like, yeah, that kid, yeah, well, well, he deserved it. That's what he gets for breaking into cars. And he just continued on with this lesson.

And I'm like, who tells a room full of kids that their classmates deserve to have his life ended for breaking into cars? So he's, you know, whatever. And then my other least favorite teacher, one who I have a lot of memories of vivid memories was my honors English teacher in the 10th grade year. So my favorite teacher recommended me for honors English. I was very hesitant. I was very nervous.

Didn't think I was cut out for it. There was a test to get in, which, you know, I don't think it's fair anyways, but I did the test. It was an after-school essay test. And I ended up scoring the highest out of everyone who took the exam. And so I was placed right. But then honors English came with summertime reading

and summer work, and I procrastinated, like 15-year-olds are wanting to do. And then towards the end of the semester, my granddad, who I didn't really know, but he passed away, and my dad took me to Virginia for the for the funeral. I missed the first week of school. I didn't get to that summer work so when school started or when I arrived at school I was like well I'm already screwed so let me just switch out of this class because so many other people were switching out and switching into

regular English so I was like let me submit this simple little form that other people are submitting and get switched out of this class so I don't have F and I just remember being there in class English. So I was like, let me submit this simple little form that other people are submitting and get switched out of this class so I don't have F. And I just remember being there in class and the form was on my desk. All I needed was her signature. And this was my first time meeting her. And she didn't, she didn't look at me. She didn't say hi, no eye contact, no nothing. She was like, I'm not signing that and just walked off. And she said it with such attitude. And I, you know, looking back on it with adult eyes, you know, I suspect she was worried

that too many students were switching out of her class. And maybe she knew that I scored really high on the placement exam and she didn't want me to take an easy way out. She explained none of that to me. She'd simply had attitude. So me being a 15 year old stubborn kid who thinks already that the teacher doesn't like me,

I just didn't do the work. So I just sat there and didn't submit any work for a few weeks. So I thought, you know, I would break her. She'd want me to, you know, she'd want to drop me from the class eventually. She never spoke to me and I just sat there quietly not doing any work.

And she didn't switch me out. So then I'm like, okay, let me just go ahead and do something then. And there was a quiz, a very, to me, easy quiz, because I knew this stuff. And I completed the quiz. I went up to her desk, turned it in and I wrote it in pencil and she had a rule about no pencil. So I knew it was A plus. I knew this stuff. I'm like, these classmates around me are struggling.

This is like simple stuff. It was Julia Caesar stuff. And I went to submit it and she was like, yeah, I'm not taking that. It's in pencil. Again, not looking at me, not having a conversation with me just flat out no. So I just crumpled up the paper, tossing the trash can right in front of her. Didn't do anything all semester. Got the F. Mr. Murray pulled me aside, had a whole meeting with him and my mom and everybody. And I was going through a lot. I was just, you know, just a lot of family stuff and just tough time in my life and whatever. I didn't want this problem and I didn't like her attitude towards me. So whatever. And I was probably the type of student who now at my current high school where teachers and

educators very much care about the holistic well-being of the young ones, we have a wellness center, we have a therapist, like I probably would have been referred to some sort of services to kind of see what was going on with me, an A student who just fell off the cliff for no apparent reason. But I didn't get any of that, and she never had anything to say about it. So she goes down as my least favorite because she was mean, she was cold, she never explained anything, she never actually talked to me as a person. And it's the only class, I literally had straight A's across the board, just the F in her class. And I just wish she would have pulled me aside

and be like, look, maybe we got off on the wrong foot. I don't know what happened. And how about we just, you know, but none of that. She was stubborn, I was stubborn, but I was only 15. I, you know, I wasn't the adult in this situation. I wish she would have been the adult in this situation. So yeah yeah miss more early 90s Laguna Creek High School

It's funny you mentioned things that like I still do in terms of like oh you did this in pen You didn't do some blue or black ink, but I say okay. You got the points You see the points that are there just go redo it and staple that to it It's just you just this is change that you're gonna talk to the students. You actually have a conversation with them Yeah, okay. I don't do everything she did, but yeah, radical content. I take the easy way out. But no, I'm still like, no, you don't get to write these in pencil.

But you got these points whenever you wanna turn it in, all semester long, if you wanna turn it in then, that's perfectly fine. So just, yeah, but that's wild. My least favorite teacher, just right quick. That's wild. My least favorite teacher, just right quick, was also eighth grade. I wonder if there's a selection bias here of being middle schoolers,

like that fourth grade to ninth grade time in your life. Like, do we find burnouts more that way, or are we just going through it in such a way that makes us hard to handle? But I had an eighth grade history teacher who I've talked to Ed about this before. He would hand us articles regularly on how Japan was was driving America to poverty and all this kind of shit. And then one day, second semester, he put up pictures of the presidents

and he challenged us all. Now, my safe place in life was this book called The Look It Up Book of US Presidents. I knew all the presidents from one to 40, because that's where the book ended. And so, like and and I was middle school was the time of Bush so that was just 41 so it's not that hard to remember that one. Put up all the pictures like does anybody here think

that they can name them all? Now I was not the well-groomed man that I am now. I was a 13 year old long red-haired kid who was like the first one to wear an overcoat to middle school in 91 right and so I raised my hand he's like Damien you think you could do this. I'm like, yeah, I start going I'm like Washington Adams Jeff He's like no, no first names. Okay Georgia and I just boom boom boom boom boom and everybody's just sitting there like what the fuck is going on Who who is this kid all of a sudden knowing like cuz I was always you know, wise ass but like that I knew all this stuff and then at the end he's like he got two of them out of order and

So later He asked a question and I answered it because that's the person I am and then he he So later, he asked a question and I answered it because that's the person I am. And then the next day he told me, he's like, you need to go sit over there. I was like, well, that's the paper cutter. That's your desk now. Which if you think a kid has emotional problems, don't put him near the biggest blade in the room. Like that's a bad move.

But he had me sit there and then he says, you need to learn what a rhetorical question is. And then my friends, and I was pissed and I was humiliated, and my friends came to me after, they're like, Damien, what happened? I'm like, he seems to think I don't know what a rhetorical question is. And then I shouted into his room,

who shoved the corn cob up his ass? Now that's a rhetorical question. And then I walked away. My first suspension. My mom came down and had a meeting with him and he did not budge. He was of the mind. He looked like Sam Donaldson, but had none of the charm.

He was of the mind that kids are all liars and cheats and they need to be ground down and polished off and all this kind of, so, you know, terrible man. Mr. Sang, I may have micturated on his door once over the weekend, knowing that he got there early. So, you know, I, yeah. So he gave me shit, I gave him, you know, told yeah, so he gave me shit I gave him, you know told me he's number one. So but Okay, next question

And I'll just I'll start with this I wanted to become a teacher since I was in fourth grade I literally have never wanted anything besides this and doing comedy So that's that's it and and I wanted to be a fourth grade teacher or I wanted to be a history teacher since fourth grade. And then ninth grade I was like, oh, also languages because I'm good at those. But that was it was I was set. I had no idea that people didn't know what they wanted to do. Let's actually let's go from the middle out. Tessa, when did you when did you decide and why did you decide to become a teacher?

So I'm combining questions, Ed. So hilarious. I did not want to do this. I fought it tooth and nail. I wanted to do video game character design and or comic book art. I had zero interest in being an educator. Every single person in my family is an education, including now my husband and my mother-in-law and my brother-in-law. But both of my grandmothers, one was a special education assistant, one was first grade teacher for 60 some odd years.

Both my parents worked for school districts. Everybody was a teacher and I was like, not me. Hell no. I'm not doing that shit. Except every job I ever had outside of retail and waitressing always wound up being working with kids and creating activities for the kids and doing Girl Scout camps and being a unit leader or doing preschool or do and so eventually I just gave up because I didn't choose the teacher life the teacher life chose me. Sure. So I had it was really funny but I gave up I did my student teaching I was like, okay, I'm going to be a teacher. I'm going to be a teacher. I'm going to be a teacher. So I had, it was really funny, but.

I gave up, I did my student teaching. I was like, I'll find out. We find fine. I'm going to be an elementary school teacher. And then my mentor teacher had me. Do a lot of work for the, so Davis schools are, have like assigned science teachers when the kids start, I think it's like fourth grade. And so I would actually go in her class. And so I wound up becoming her designated substitute because she trusted me to run labs because as the neurodivergent kid who was obsessed with dinosaurs and rocks and things, I took a lot of science classes right up until they

brought calculus in. And then I went, oh up time to start taking other classes. And so she was like, well, you're really knowledgeable about this. You know how to like run labs, your classroom management is pretty good. And so that was the moment where I was like, oh shit, I can be Miss Frizzle. I know what I want to do now. And so started doing the shifted into doing the science tests and everything. And then went into that trajectory. But yeah, this I always love it because kids will ask that question. I'll be like, Miss Hovland, did you always want to be a teacher? And I was like, I never wanted to be a teacher. And they just have to like, they just try to process that information. Because they're like, what do you mean?

I can picture the blue screens on all of their faces right when you give them that answer like wait what yeah, they're like Why are you here then? I'm like great question I'll have that moment with them sometimes where I'm like if you keep doing this and you keep screwing up like this You know what you could become a high school history teacher does anyone in here what you know yeah I'm a cautionary tale damn it now well how about you yeah so it wasn't I it I mean I had considered teaching like off and on throughout my like high school years multiple advanced degrees in this by the way I would just like to. You're the person that I talk about who went to Harvard. You're the person I talk about who teaches

and still has a doctorate. Okay, but I wasn't sure that I wanted to be a teacher, but I did like my high school history teacher, Mr. Forbes. He was also my middle school teacher. He was cool. He made it fun and engaging. I thought, oh, okay, maybe I could do that. But I wasn't quite sure until I got to college. I did undergrad at UCLA. And I was just really unsure what I wanted to do with my life at

that point. And I remember walking to class. And from the dorms, you like walk downhill, and then you're on campus and you got to walk uphill to where all the classes are. I remember it was extremely hot, muggy day. And they're setting up for the Los Angeles Times Festival, the books which used to be hosted on UCLA's campus, now it's hosted at USC. But anyways, these massive tents for all these authors that are coming out, and it was just so hot and miserable that day.

And it occurred to me that every single person that I saw working to set up these tents, it was all Latino men, all of them. And I was headed to a class where, many of my classes when I was in my first few years at UCLA, there were hardly any Latino men in the classes. I was the only black student in pretty much all my classes. And I just remember the thought occurring to me

that UCLA is supposed to be a public school and we're in Los Angeles, one of the most diverse cities and one of the most diverse states in one of the most diverse nations in the world. So why isn't it? Why doesn't the diversity sort of reflect this city around it? And honestly, that's the first time the thought had occurred to me that, like, oh, maybe the education system isn't really

fair for everybody. Like, maybe it's not. Just like, you know, you just do your work and get your A's, and then you move on up. And I decided to take some education classes rooted in equity just to learn a little bit. And it just opened up my mind to a whole world of inequities and a whole history of just the education system not serving all communities. And it required us to go tutor at a local high school. And I tutored at this charter school, unfortunately, one of the schools that burned down in the fires, Palisade Charter High School, where they bused

students in from other parts of Los Angeles. So I was working with these kids in the AVID class who were being bused in from South LA, who had to ride on the bus for hour and a half, two hours, just to get to school. And man, these were the best kids. I loved it. They were so just enchanted by me, this college kid. At the time, the Sacramento Kings were decent and the Lakers were championship level. All the kids were Laker fans, so we were banter about that. It was just so much fun. I was like, this might actually be fun interacting with young people. I could do my part to address some of the inequities and maybe help other students make it to the UCs and beyond and whatever. So yeah, the rest was history. So yeah, it really

came to fruition that hot ass day hiking to class having that epiphany. That's cool. That's cool. And thank you for firing off the first pun. The rest was history. Hey, hey, how about you? So third grade, I had my my bedroom looked like a classroom. I had chalkboard in there. I had little helping hands in little things. And my dad, he was a printer for the school district. So he got me some material of, and it was just a canned thing that teachers would read.

Like it was a lesson. But to me, it was like, I was putting on a play in my room and I'm, I had, I love to play school, but I didn't like to play with anybody. I had to play by myself because I was the teacher. So I would do all these lessons in my room and go through a whole entire school day. So I loved that so much. And I just was, I knew I wanted to be a teacher.

But then as kids are starting to talk about what they want to be when they grow up, I got a little bit older and I thought, oh, well, that's not very exciting. That's kind of boring. And then I said, I wanted to go into advertising. I don't even know what that is. I just watched Who's the Boss? And that's what Angela, you know, in advertising. So I thought, well, I'll do that or I'll be a fashion designer, which I knew. Sam became, yeah.

Right. So, yeah, that was all, you know, just whatever was in front of me on the TV. And then as I went through high school and college, I went to school for psychology. And then I just kept I worked at a preschool. And then I was like, oh, this is not I'm just going to be a teacher. That is what I'm going to do. So that's what I did. So it's sort of always going to be there. And I thought there was going gonna be some other big career

with shining lights around it, but there wasn't. It was always going to be this. So that's why I'm here. I just loved it. I wanted to since I was in fourth grade. And you're like, yeah, third grade for me. I'm like, I got banned by the district for a year and a half. I got banned by the district for a year and a half. I got banned by the district for 19 months.

Damn it. Son of a. Everything is to one up you. You always do it so naturally too. So well done. Ed, yours and then you get the next question. All right. I had always thought about teaching as a job, but it was always after I did something else.

Like when I was a youngster, I wanted to be Indiana Jones. I was going to be an archaeologist. And then I found out how little Nazi punching was actually involved and how much actually having to like pay attention to little details about where you found stuff and like how very precise it all is. And I was like, yeah, I can't, no, I can't do that. I don't have a personality. And I was also, when I went to college, I was convinced, well, I'm going to get my bachelor's and that's going to be my gateway to a military commission.

I'm going to be a tank commander. And then I got medically disqualified for that my sophomore year and was like, well, okay. And yeah, teaching had always been the, well, you know, after that's over, that's what I'll do and, you know, that's kind of how that happened. And then I figured out that I really actually like it. Like I said, I had all of these great teachers that made it really hard for me to pick my favorite. And when I realized that I could do that and I could be pretty good at that. That was kind of it. There's not really a defining moment for me

of like when I made the decision. It just kind of, it fell into place. So our next question here then is, in the time that you've been In education, what what is your favorite memory of teaching? and I'm going to have to think about that one. So I'm going to Toss that one out there And I'd say I'm gonna lob it to Manuel, what do you think? What is your favorite memory of teaching? Sure, that's a great question. I have so many so many great memories. I truly have loved my 21 years teaching

It's been a joy so many memories, but I'll go with one of my earliest memories my first year teaching and teaching world history and period period one, according to our principal, happened to have a whole lot of gang members in it. That was her observation when she came to whatever. She's like, you're so good at this. Like, and you have so many gang members in that class and you're doing so great. Any case.

What are you talking about? Yeah. But one of the students who's also part of my other favorite story that I won't tell here, but you know, he was, he was very much, very much a bona fide member of a local gang and nobody, none of his friends, nobody really believed in him as a student. He was, I would say pretty slow in processing stuff. Like he kind of came off as like a typical so-called like dumb jock type of vibe, where like he spoke really slowly and it took him a long time to process his thoughts.

But he was a great kid, at least around me he was great. And his father was incarcerated, his mother was at wit's end about what to do. He was always getting into fights. He was heavily, heavily involved in his gang. And he just wasn't known for being a very bright kid. But we're doing class debates that we're in World War Two, end of World War Two, we're doing a class debate about the decision behind using the atomic bomb. I think it was a lesson plan from facing history in ourselves. But you know, the class was divided into teams and each team had a different position that they're trying to argue for, you know, whether or

not to blockade and wait for an eventual surrender or to use other conventional methods or to use the time bomb. And honestly, I don't remember what team he was on, but I remember it came down to like the last last the very end of the debate and it was his turn on his team. And it was either, you know, he had to make a good point to score or his or another team would win. So I remember when I called on him, cause it was his turn, the whole class was like, well, his team especially was like, oh, here we go.

Like they just threw up their hands. They expected like, okay, we lost, I guess. And he gave such a great point about tying it back to Pearl Harbor. And he was arguing for, I don't remember the specifics of his point, but it showed that he was clearly paying attention the whole time. He was clearly paying attention to our whole World War II unit. And he made a fantastic point in the whole class, not just his team, but all the other teams too, even though they lost, they all just started cheering. It was just like way to go. Like they all celebrating this kid

and he was sitting there trying not to smile. But it was just like, man, this kid had a moment. Like that was his, his like, y'all think I'm slow. Y'all think I don't pay attention. Y'all think I don't know nothing. And boom, I just won. I just won the debate for my team. And he was just so happy and the class was so happy for him.

And I just thought to myself, like as a as a teacher you know I want every single student in my classroom regardless of who they are in their background and and whatever to feel that they have a place in the classroom that they have in that history is something for them and that was that was it man and it's just the celebration was fantastic and I was okay this is this is definitely the profession for me because I was having fun they were having fun fun, they were learning and a student like him was feeling good about himself. So I'll put that as my favorite memory across my 21 years.

That's a good one. Yeah. Who wants to follow that? Nobody. Mine's not nearly as cool cool but it's like. It's hard it's like really hard to pick one, but I think it was actually a crystal. Oh man. I'm still of all places, yes. Okay. I came in halfway through the year, I picked up a half contract.

So these kids had had a different teacher for the whole first half of the year. They did not know what to make of me. It was a true middle. And so the population was definitely had a lot different challenges than other kids that I had taught. And like a lot of them really wanted to come off as like these actually, I think I got two for Crystal.

Hold on. But they came off as like these really like hard kids. They really wanted to be intimidating. A lot of them. But there were a lot of moments where you got to see that they were still just kids and that they were just sixth graders. And I think the, the one that's going to win out of the two, I think is going to be the day where, because like, so the kids, they were, they had a lot of, a lot of challenges and we would swap, they had two groups that we would see at different points of the day. And we started doing our Egypt unit. And I was trying to bring in like a whole bunch of these and like they didn't know what's making me at first, because it's like this tiny little white lady

coming in with like a whole bunch of arts and crafts projects. And like, they didn't know what's making me at first, because it's like this tiny little white lady coming in with like a whole bunch of arts and crafts projects. And at first, they were just like, nope, nope, this is this is weird. But then like, they kind of started to be willing to like, kind of go for it and like, kind of just do it, even though it was felt a little ridiculous, because like, we just kept doing things. But we were doing our Egypt unit and we were doing like iconography and things. And so they were designing their, I had them design their own burial chambers. So they got to create a sarcophagus and they got to create like an actual like chamber and they decorated the inside. And so they had made these like plaster of Paris actual like chamber and they decorated the inside and

so they had made these like plaster of Paris sarcophagi and they were carving them so they could paint and while they were doing this, we put on the red pyramid which is a Rick Riordan series. And it was so cute because they were all completely silent listening to the book and all making their sarcophagi and they had created their burial chambers. Like I think it was the most participation I've had my entire career. And like the next day, one of the kids comes up to me and he's like, I'm gonna I'm gonna cite the red pyramid in my project. And I was like, what do you mean you're gonna cite it? And he was like, what's a primary source? And I was like, what do you mean you're going to cite it? And he was like, what's a primary source? And I was like, it's a fiction book. And he goes, no, at the beginning,

they say that this is a recording of real events. And it's the cutest and most wholesome thing ever. And I think that might have been my my number one favorite memory because it was just it was the cutest thing. And it was not like from a kid I would have really expected to hear that from but you get like he came out with the primary source to I was actually really impressed that he had that and he was like really listening to the recording because he was like no no, no, it says. And it was really cute. Nice. Very cool. They were a great group of kids. I really I really liked that group of kids.

Yeah. Aaron, how about you? Mine is like a couple of moments. Well, a lot of moments put together. I was pregnant my first year teaching like a real dummy and then I took a year off and then came back my second year pregnant again like another real dummy and then my kids ended up going to my own school but they would come because their dad had to go to work, they would actually come into my room before school got out about 20, 30 minutes early. And the kids all took them on like their little classroom mascot. So I have all these pictures of, I mean,

I'm sure this is not appropriate. Like a principal would never, my principal is really great about it. She's very family oriented and very supportive. I'm sure I wouldn't get away with it now, but they would all carry my kids around. They just were so caring and loving with my kids. It was very sweet. I was nervous when my kids came to

my own school because I had seen that go very badly for some teachers. I had really strict boundaries with my kids about what they could and couldn't do at school. I didn't want them thinking they got special treatment. But all the other students just were so into my kids. I have this picture of when my daughter lost her first tooth in first grade, and she came over to my room, she knocked on my door,

and all the kids were enthralled with her showing them her tooth. And I have pictures of them just like giving her this moment. And the same with, we do a play day at the end of the school year. And so my sixth graders didn't want to go to their own play day because they wanted to go and walk my kids around and be their helper. And it was just, um, they, my students had this feeling of like, those were sort of like their siblings in a way, like they just really took this pride in helping with them. Um, it, it was just, it was really sweet to have them all together.

And my students were a part of my outside life a little bit more and they got to know me that way. And now it's kind of come full circle because my girls are older, 20 and 22 and they come into my class and they've done my chaperoning and Sly Park is our outdoor science ed camp. They've gone to that they run a leadership group. So it's been fun to mix my own family with my work life. And I think some of those are my favorite memories. Nice. Pretty cool.

Yeah. I'll go next. Like Tessa said, like a thousand just flooded to my head as soon as like you asked that question. And it's like, how do you pick from them? So I used to teach Latin 100 years ago. And when I taught Latin, there's there's just such a difference in the type of teaching that I had to do. And I, I am a big believer of languages acquired communally, right? So they're always working together. And they're translating Cicero. And

Cicero historically is a hard translation because he loved to show off how smart he was by how many clauses he could stack into a sentence. Like there's an old joke about like a guy having to go to the bathroom in the beginning of Cicero's speech and then coming back he's like, what did I miss? Nothing. He hasn't gotten to the verb yet. That kind of stuff, right? So the kids are translating Cicero,

and I had already taught them that Cicero loved to use internal rhyming schemes. So we listened to Eminem do nothing but lighters, I think it's called, him and Bruno Mars, a collaboration. And so I had them listen to that and we tracked the internal rhyme of how he was doing it. And then I had them, I said, okay, your homework is to just translate the first sentence

of Cicero's paragraph here. And they're like, oh, and I said, you got 20 minutes in class, you can get this done, no problem. And they're like, oh, and then you hear like four minutes later, and I'm gonna move the mic a little bit. God damn it, it's line four and I haven't found the verb yet.

Which most Latin sentences end with verbs. And then you just start to hear them yelling about him and like going off on Cesar, I was like, how fucking pretentious, how many purpose clauses can you stack in here? Where's the goddamn subjunctive? And they're just, they're swearing up a storm, but they're using all of these wonderful Latin terms.

And the only time they'd seen me laugh harder than that is when they asked me if Caesar had any kids. And I said, oh yeah, he had his dictator tots. And I started laughing because they like saw that they were horny and I turned beet red and had to stop for five minutes and this matched that like they just saw me just quivering like like if you remember airplane 2 and who whomst among us doesn't right where she says Simon's turns to jello and it's just this red jello mold shaking that was me that day

as the kids are just cursing accurately Cicero's use of different grammatical constructs in Latin so it was it was a beautiful night so yeah um I have I have Nice. So, yeah. I have a couple that are kind of fighting over this. And one of them I've actually mentioned on the show before. And it's very recent. But the other one is at Crystal, the first time I figured out, I built a simulation activity for the kids to do to kind of help them understand the shift from, okay, Rome has fallen and we've got a couple of hundred years where we don't really have kingdoms yet.

And I managed to figure out a way to D and D of Phi a a Unit there not a unit like a three-day lesson and Having them like on at the end of day two Having multiple classes independently figure out where the loopholes and my rules were And figure out that oh wait a minute we can make alliances I Was like yeah. Yeah. Yeah, you could like externally just mmm. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah, you totally you totally can and Internally like yes, you broke the code

And Then and then on the final day the first time they figured out that they could actually make a deal with the non-player characters the road Vikings and And you know yes kids. This is how you get Normans Having having that turn out the way the way I had wanted it to out the way the way I had wanted it to without me having to push them or prod them was like oh my god maybe I am actually good at this and yay so that was awesome and then the tie for that is just a couple of weeks ago having my roughest class this year actually reduce me to uncontrollable laughter behind my leg turn over the dumbest thing and having them go, oh my God, he's laughing. We've never

seen him laugh before. Did you get it on video? Like if you got it on video, I'm confiscating your phone right now. So yeah. And all over a kid nearly breaking his own neck and just the silence that descended over the room and him going, ow. And I just, I couldn't keep my composure so Cool. There you go. Well, alright, so the next one is This is Not exactly the same thing obviously that'd be stupid to ask the same question twice. I mean you guys all listen the first time so What's your favorite thing about teaching?

Obviously, for me, it's the respect from the community at large. The fact that we're revered elders. Yeah. No, but I mean, you know, like, think about like your favorite thing about the favorite aspect of teaching, like, what is it about, you know, when you're like, I'm a teacher, and I love that part about it. For me, it's seeing that moment of turn on. I don't care when it happens. Some kids, it's May. Some kids, it's October. And, you know, I've taught a number of different subjects. So, you know, I've had kids who are like, I want to be a pediatrician, but I also want a minor in Latin.

You know, that was pretty cool, right? But like the turn on is the same. Like seeing the kids like really turn on to, doesn't even have to be the subject, just recognizing, oh, this is how I can figure out what I have to offer to the world. And I love that. I love that self-actualization that I get to watch.

When I did teach Latin, it was I got them as freshmen. And if they went through my whole program, they left me as seniors. So I was the only other person besides their parent that just watched them grow up all the way. But even in that, there's that turn on moment. So what is your favorite thing about teaching? Erin, let's start with you.

I think mine is probably very elementary school specific and is that we create this little family and those are my kids. I'm very protective of them and they get to see that after a while and they come to really depend on me even with other adults that are maybe not doing what they need to. They know that I have their back. So it's just that relationship. It's not even, I feel like the teaching is what I do so that I have this relationship with these people. And every year is unique.

So that is my favorite thing. It's these inside jokes that we all have that we create together that I don't have the same every year. So I, yeah, I just love that, that those are my people. And then I stay in touch with them for years and years and years, and I get to see what they're doing. So that yeah, I love that relationship.

Tessa, how about you? Oh, see. Um, I mean, there's like the wholesome aspect of the relationship building and having the like moments for you to make those connections or like when you help them through like a really difficult time and you see them come out to be the better person at the end of it. When you have the horrifying moment when they come visit you a long time later and then they get behind the wheel of the car and they're the driver. That part's a little freaky. But it is kind of exciting to see them as like a whole adult. Like when they when you get to see that the lesser wholesome thing is messing with them.

I really enjoy messing with them. Not in a mean-spirited way, but I do enjoy getting a little bit of teasing in, especially when it's like a silly, it kind of becomes like a classroom bit, and they all kind of start playing off of it because of like all of the little relationship building and things that we've done or when they mess with me right back and it's like good nature like though that we're like having fun

yeah I would say is probably one of the best and actually, Ed, very much like yours. It was kind of it was kind of depressing because it's been such a challenge this year. It this is by far been my hardest class, I think ever. And we went to science camp, we actually didn't do slide park this year, we did the one that I went to as a kid, We did Jones Gulch and those are like my favorite woods in the world. And we went and like some of the kids in my fifth period were just like, I don't think I've ever seen you smile, let alone see you smile this much.

And I was like, well, yeah, like you're not. You're not the group I feel comfortable doing that with. And also you guys are not like actively in the process of almost killing yourself in an extremely preventable way. Because you really can't out here because the sharp objects are attached to like really big rocks and trees. And I'm learning that you guys are not an outdoorsy bunch, which works because I don't have to worry as much. But it was like really cute. And we were, you know, it was just, it was nice to kind of just mess around. Like I had

kids come up to me and they were like, do you want to see the color changing rock trick? And they like took like one of the little rocks, put it in their mouth and then had another. And I looked at one kid like two days ago and I just go, okay, that's been like four colors. How many rocks do you have in your mouth right now? And it's like those little moments where they're still it goes back to like them because like middle schoolers are so weird where they're so desperate to be adults and like not nice adults. I don't know where that correlation is. They want to be like the kind of adult that like hurts your feelings. And so to see them like outdoor

whimsy and like see this kid come like multiple kids come to me with probably 10 rocks in their mouth while trying to convince me that it's definitely the same rock. Does the one that says the color of 10 rocks tick? It's great because they're like, how did you know? And I was like, because that was Jasper 30 seconds ago and now it's quartz. And they're like, what does that mean? I go, don't worry, we'll do it next year. I'm like, Oh, I'm going to do it next year. I was like, Oh, I'm going to do it next year.

I was like, Oh, I'm going to do it next year. I was like, Oh, I'm going to do it next year. I was like, Oh, I'm going to do it next year. I was like, Oh, I'm going to do it next year. I was like, Oh, I'm going to do it next year. I was like, Oh, I'm going to do it next year. I was like, Oh, I'm going to do it next year. I was like, Oh, I'm going to do it next year.

I was like, Oh, I'm going to do it next year. I was like, Oh, I'm going to do it next year. I was like, Oh, I'm going to do it next year. I was like, Oh, I'm going to do it next year. I was like, Oh, I'm going to do it next year. I was like, Oh, I'm going to do it next year. I was like, Oh, I'm going to do it next year. I was like, Oh, I'm going to do it next year.

I was like, Oh, I'm going to do it next year. I was like, Oh, I'm going to do it next year. I was like, Oh, I'm going to do it next year. I was like, Oh, I'm going to do it next year. I was like, Oh, I'm going to do it next year. I was like, Oh, I'm going to do it next year. I was like, Oh, that's an idea for Monday. So yeah, my favorite thing honestly is just interacting with the kids. I mean, I second everything that's been said already, you know, definitely building the relationships and just the wholesome aspect of it and just, you know, knowing that you have some sort of class wide like bond and informing that community. When that, you know, first day of school, everybody's just strangers,

but honestly just interacting with them. For one, I like just how dynamic each day is and just being on my feet and just the challenge of coming up with creative lessons and getting to know so many different personalities and all that, but also just knowing that I am having an impact one way or another, whether it be academically, whether it be that, David, going back to what you

said, that moment where you really got them, or whether it be just like, I noticed they were having a bad day, nobody said anything to them, and I pulled them aside and asked if everything's all right, because I distinctly recall teachers not doing that with me. And just seeing that, you know, just knowing that I played a role in helping them find some measure piece in that moment. So honestly, just interacting with people, man, it's so much fun.

And they're, you know, they're grown, they're older, they're too cool for school, but yet they're still adolescents and they're still very corny. And it's very easy to get my jokes off. And yeah, we just have a good time. Nice. Very cool.

So I guess I'm last in line on this one. I'm glad Tessa mentioned messing with him, because otherwise I would have felt bad being the first one to say it. But why are we learning this when I was giving him a detailed lecture about the symptoms of the Black Death? Like, that makes my year. But and the answer is always because I am fueled by your pain. But I'm a frustrated performer. I'm gonna I'm gonna admit that that being able to get up in front of them and tell the stories that captivated me as a student when I was learning history at their level and being able to correct some of those stories. But being able to tell those stories and see them responding to them and getting that frustrated actor with a kind of forced audience vibe, you know, is a charge for me.

And you know, yeah, that's selfish, but I have to admit it. So yeah. So now, from that warm fuzzy question, moving on to a Damien special What was what what has been your hardest day? teaching And To open this one up briefly Having having a kid this was at crystal but Tessa it was after it was a couple years after you you had moved on to greener pastures Um having having a kid who I had taken outside the room to try to have a talk with him because their behavior was

Just completely off the chain. I remember this Uh, yeah, you heard about it. Yeah Um look at me right in the face and say well No offense But you're not very good at your job. And just being like, this is seventh grader. This shouldn't hurt my feelings. And yet, and, and I, I had a very, I had a very hard time for the rest of that day

because of how Disrespected and under and unvalued and unsupported by admin and like the whole like all of it and Yeah, so that's that's one of my top five toughest days That's one of my top five toughest days Which what did you do? I'm gonna ask the next question. Okay, each one. What'd you do the next teaching day after that? Well, I went home I had a good cry And I

For me part of the answer was that I I prayed um, I I I prayed the rosary a couple of times and I reminded myself I didn't focus on i'm the adult because I felt like me being the adult was what was being taken advantage of. There.

What I focused on was I knew that this kid was deeply, deeply damaged and I prayed and I reminded myself that I am called to try to see the face of Christ in everybody. And I dusted myself off and I went back into the room and I just tried to remind myself to approach everything from a position of compassion. And that was how I got up and kept moving. And I know that's not an answer certainly for everybody But that was that was what worked for me there So

How about y'all toughest toughest teaching day, uh tessa what do you got? I actually don't think I can narrow it to one day because I will say that this year has been so challenging that I have almost walked out of the classroom multiple times. There have been multiple instances in which this year I have just not just by students, but by the parents just felt completely dehumanized. So deeply disrespected. I mean, at this point, I will say, I think just the hardest part right now, just in general, is that at this point,

I no longer expect any type of respect. I don't expect any type of compassion. And I don't expect any type of dignity, really, from a majority of the people who are either physically in my classroom or who are in my classroom by proxy by way of their child. It's been really, really difficult this year. Probably the hardest day this year has been trying to put this outdoor ed trip together because we were unable to go to Sly Park because my previous admin, we had a personality conflict

and that might have been one of the hardest days, but it wasn't teaching it was her because she's just a horrible person. She did not like me. We had a personality conflict, whatever. And you know it's bad if I'm the mature one. And confirm. I'm the person that is in the adult room. We have an issue.

Like it was it was bad. And she couldn't chat GPT or way out of it. So she was like personally insulting me and stuff. That was awesome. She wouldn't sign the paperwork for slight parks. So we didn't get a reservation. So we worked our tails off getting this other trip set up. And I had like maybe, maybe six weeks from me and generous, more like a month to throw it together. And I don't think I have heard a single positive thing. I don't think I've heard a single positive thing.

I don't think I've heard a single positive thing. I don't think I've heard a single positive thing. I don't think I've heard a single positive thing. I don't think I've heard a single positive thing. I don't think I've heard a single positive thing. I don't think I've heard a single positive thing. I don't think I've heard a single positive thing. I don't think I've heard a single positive thing.

I don't think I've heard a single positive thing. I don't think I've heard a single positive thing. I don't think I've heard a single positive thing. I don't think I've heard a single positive thing. I don't think I've heard a single positive thing. I don't think I've heard a single positive thing. I don't think I've heard a single positive thing. I don't think I've heard a single positive thing. I don't think I've heard a single positive thing. like maybe six weeks from being generous, more like a month to throw it together. And I don't think I have heard a single positive thing. I've just got email after email of like the day we got up there for the trip,

got finally got some service, just four parents had sent emails, just paragraphs long complaining about me and what I had done. And I was just literally looked at it and I was like, well, I'm in the woods and I guess I don't have a wifi. Sorry. Fortunate. Imagine if I had seen that email while I would have hurt my feelings. Good thing. Good thing I did it. And I've just decided I'm just gonna not acknowledge them outside of that. It's been real rough. It's been, we've had days where I've basically

told the students, no, I don't expect respect. I don't expect you to treat me even like a human being at this point, but I really do expect you to like, maybe not be mean to each other for 30 seconds. Like, I would like to see that. Like, just please do that. It's been rough this year. Wow. Yeah. Man, wow. How about you? Yeah, well, I mean, I'm really sorry to hear that Tessa. That sounds like a very,

I feel like I've been teaching wise in the dumps before, like a long time ago, but it's a hell of a feeling. So my heart goes out to you, and hopefully the year wraps up nicely for you. As for me, yeah, I've had plenty of hard days that stand out for various reasons. There's been challenging days with particular students in the past. Certainly the day trying to teach after one of my students

was killed and just not being able to utter words, like being in a room full of 35 teenagers and just being just a slobbery mess, unable to get a word out because I was crying so hard. That was tough. But honestly, I think the most challenging day, hard in a different sort of way, was this year coming back after the fires down here.

So our school, I teach in Pasadena and the town of Altadena is our attendance zone, as well as the northern part of Pasadena. So they even fire ravaged the town of Altadena is our attendance zone, as well as the northern part of Pasadena. So they eat and fire ravaged the town of Altadena and several hundred of our students lost their homes in the fire. Many of our staff, about 12 of our staff members lost their houses in the fire. So that, you know, the fire started Tuesday night on January 7th. We were out of school until January 30th.

So it just wrecked the start of the semester. We're out because it was just a state of emergency. And I tried to figure out what to do the first day back, because we didn't have clear information about which students exactly lost their homes. And then there's which students were displaced. Maybe their home is still standing, but it's not safe because of all the smoke damage. Or maybe their home is fine, but their uncle's home is not. And now their uncle and cousins are living with them. So we just didn't have clear info. So I was going into it,

not really knowing how much of my class was quote unquote affected or impacted by the fire. And just like what to do? Like just like, what do I do the first day back? I hadn't seen them in weeks and it's been a nightmare beyond, to be on my ability to even wrap my head around. I don't live in the area, so I was at home safe, like wondering what I could do to help.

So that was just a very difficult day because it's like, okay, we have block schedules. So I'm like, okay, I got 90 minutes. I have a whole chunk of kids that are's like, okay, we have block schedules. So I'm like, okay, I got 90 minutes. I have a whole chunk of kids that are probably, like this is going to be the worst year of their entire lives. And here they are in my economics class. Like, you know, I'm not trained to lead a 90 minute session

with 35 youngsters to process all that they've been through. And even if I did that, like if I'm the fourth class in their day, like do they wanna go through it a fourth time? So just really trying to figure out what to do. That was definitely the hardest day. It's just like, I don't wanna be insensitive and like get to economics.

But I don't want to. Exactly, you know? I don't wanna dwell on it. So, and I don't know who, you know, and what do I say to a kid that lost their house? Like, I'm so sorry. Like they've heard that a million times by the time they see me.

So, that was hard. That was very, and it was heavy. And there was a lot of survivor's guilt, I guess, from other students who were like, I wasn't impacted, but my friends were. And I don't know what to do. I don't know what to say. I feel kind of guilty.

It's like, well, you have nothing to feel guilty about. But like, so yeah, so that probably that I will. Yeah, I'll put that as number one most challenging emotionally and just like lesson plan wise. What do I do for this 90 minutes? Yeah. Aaron? Um, I've, there's a lot. It's hard to narrow it down, but I think if I had to, it would be two years ago. And it is sort of like Tessa. It was that, it's that year. Yeah. And they were sixth graders then.

So I'm wondering if it's kind of like you're getting those kids right now. And it wasn't COVID because that group was like it before COVID. We all saw them coming up. And I just knew it the first day of school when there was no buy-in. There was kids who were just trying to hide from the other kids because they'd been in this abusive environment for so long. And there were kids who shouldn't have been in that room. I had two very extreme cases that at the very least they should have had AIDS, but they didn't. And they should have probably

been in a different setting. So there was one specific day where I was, I'm trying to teach, and none of them cared anything about learning anything. And one the kids said something about shut up bitch and then shut the fuck up. I was like, okay, well, you're going to leave. I'm just trying to maintain my face. Then all the kids are watching me. I don't remember exactly what happened to get to the end of the day, but I was just trying to get through to the end of the day and be okay for the rest of the kids. I didn't want them to have this be their defining moment of their school year either. And the whole year kind of was like that anyway. That was just a specific day.

So I remember driving home and I'm not a big crier, but I just drove home crying. I'm sure the people watching me drive were like, what's going on with this lady? And then it wasn't the next day, but when I got home, I needed to know I had an out. And so this is sort of, I know the next question, I think Damien, right? But I talked to my friend, she said, you know, you could get

a job for the state with your credential. And I was like, well, I'm not a desk. Like I can't sit behind a desk. I'm not that kind of person. And then I started looking and I saw, oh, I could teach in the prison system with my credential. I just needed to know I had somewhere that I could go and still make a living. And so I just looked up, okay, where you like what positions are there? And how much does it make? And I thought, okay, worst comes to worst. Like I really I have I have an option. It's, it's I don't want to leave my career. But if I really thought that was just what teaching was going to be. I so I thought if this is how it's going to be from now on, So I thought if this is how it's going to be from now on, I need to know that I have something else I can do.

So that was, yeah, it was the whole year. And I really feel for you, Tessa, because it makes you question everything. And if you're in the right field, if it's you, if it's the kids, and it did end, that was my mantra for the year too was everything ends and I needed to know that that year was going to end because it felt like it never was going to end. It dragged on and it did. It ended. So prison system, that's still my backup. I like that it's a school to prison pipeline for the teacher. still my backup.

I like that it's a school to prison pipeline for the teacher. I am the pipeline, right? OK, we need to break it there. We recorded so much content with these three teachers that we went a good three and a half hours of recording time. So we have edited things down and this is the end of episode one. Yes. And so next week you'll be able to join us for the second half of our call it roundtable discussion with these great educators about why it is they're still here.

So yeah, thank you for joining us on this journey and we will see you next week. Go figure, a bunch of teachers would be long in the tooth. Or not long in the tooth, what's the word I'm looking for? Long winded. Long winded, that part. Yeah, there we go All right. See you guys in the next episode. Oh, by the way find us on Spotify Amazon The Apple podcast app and then rate and review us give us a five obviously we deserve it. Yes, and

Let's give us a five obviously we deserve it yes, and geek history time calm so there you go and until next time keep rolling 20s