The Johnny Salami Podcast - Mr. Ryder

Episode Date: August 4, 2021

On this episode, I had the chance to sit down with my high school English Teacher Mr. Ryder. Mr. Ryder is the greatest teacher I have ever had, but an even greater person.

What's going on, everybody? Welcome to a new episode of the Johnny Salami podcast. Today's guest is a special one, Mr. Ryder. For those of you who don't know Mr. Ryder, Mr. Ryder was my high school English teacher. Also happens to be a great guy. Mr. Ryder, thanks for being here. Hey, my pleasure to be here. Glad you asked. Yeah, quite the conversation before we started. I do have questions for you. It's just weird thinking, like I was thinking this morning when i was working out i was just like i haven't seen you since 2010 yeah so it's

been longer than i thought yeah but it's kind of like remarkable to think that like i was sitting you know in your class and like now you're on my podcast you know what i mean it is it's kind of mind-blowing it is no i'll uh when you asked me to be on like i was all for it right away um i know the first time we couldn't do it um but i was like i definitely would love to do it someday because i like to see like i see you guys as like 14 and 15 year olds yeah and to see where you guys end up and what you do i just love it yeah i just love it and if this is your passion i'd love to be part of it even if it's for an hour yeah i mean i think i probably said like four maybe five words total when you're my teacher but i feel like we had like uh like a mutual respect yeah i remember exactly where you sat yeah all right you're actually in my period

three class that year i don't remember the year but i remember all these other details and at that time the room was kind of set up in like a half circle i don't know if you remember yeah and you were the one closest to the door and where i would keep all my teaching materials yeah and i always remember you coming in and you just sat down you did not say a word at all but your eyes were focused all right um you're incredibly mature but now i think we said like five things all year and i knew you were into sports too yeah um but uh yeah you're a quiet one but incredibly respectful i enjoyed having you in class yeah yeah i remember uh i'm gonna be honest i remember the first day i came in and uh

we were like setting up seats and you were like i want you know john you're gonna be sitting right here like right next to you and like first day you can kind of like me personally like i'll look on the wall see what's on the walls you know get a sense of like who i have as a teacher and there was a red flag i remember looking over and i saw in uh an indianapolis cults poster and i was like i don't know if i'm gonna like this guy you know what i mean i know that that's that's something that some kids just have to get over they have to move past that i will always be faithful to the blue to the the horseshoe. Yeah, why is that for you? So just growing up, you know how like growing up kids, they're like just bandwagon fans. Like one season they like this team, and I remember like I like the Dolphins.

Then I was obsessed with the Chiefs. I had a Chiefs blanket. Like I look back at all the stuff I threw out in my childhood. It was all these different teams, all right? But one player I always loved was Marshall Falk. back at all the stuff i threw out of my childhood it was all these different teams all right um but i oh one player i always loved was marshall falk um and second back by the way i don't know if you know the second back to ever have a thousand yards receiving and catching in the same uh season but i loved watching him at san diego state the colts drafted him, and I just stayed with the Colts from the time he was drafted in

95. So it was like a player thing. You weren't born in Indianapolis or anything like that? No, my dad worked. His company was in Indiana, so he liked to tell people that, oh, it's because my company's out there. So I just let him go with that. But no, it was a player thing.

And a few years later, Peyton Manning was drafted. He had those miserable three and 13 seasons, the one before he came, and then his first year. Did they win a game his first year? They won three. Wow. Yeah. I thought it was like one.

Yeah. He's being one too generous right there. So you watched Marshall Fogg at San Diego State. Yeah. Did you watch Peyton Manning at Tennessee at all? No. I was never a big i just like marshall focus in a style of play like yeah just being a teenager um and then paint manning was drafted and just went from there so it really wasn't like a team thing it was just more of a player thing and i've stayed since yeah that's pretty cool yeah i was i was born in baltimore okay isn't the best place to be born uh and i don't remember anything my cousin lives down there now oh really yeah yeah so like i was born in baltimore and i

was always just told that i don't remember anything i was too young yep and uh then we ended up moving to pennsylvania and i had I had family in Pennsylvania who were Steelers fans. So you're going from Ravens to Steelers to Patriots. Then we moved here. And I was always, like, a diehard Patriots fan, but I was, like, in love with Ray Lewis, like, watching Ray Lewis play, especially back then. But I was never scared of Ray Lewis, like, as a Patriots fan.

Yeah. I was scared of Peyton Manning. Peyton Manning and Reggie Wayne were, like, the scariest duo as a Patriots fan yeah i was scared of peyton manning you peyton manning and reggie wayne were like the scariest duo duo as a patriots fan especially like oh seven yeah i just remember watching those games and being like we're screwed you know what i mean yeah i don't know what it was but well that coming to gillette having the patriots come to gillette in the winter time that was frustrating to me yeah like because i, because I knew. I'll admit, because my buddies, like, they're all Patriots fans. So, all right, we would always bust back and forth.

But that was the frustrating hump because we could never, the Colts could never win in New England in the wintertime. Even when they won the Super Bowl, it's because they had it at home. The Colts, that year they won. In 07, colts were the two seed and the pats were the three seed so that afc championship pats had to go to indianapolis when tom brady threw that interception marlon jackson got in like the final 30 seconds and it was just like thank god they finally got past the patriots whoots. So I don't know too much about the Colts.

When did they win the Super Bowl? Was it like 07 that they won the Super Bowl? Yeah, 07, so the 06 season. Yeah. Were they playing like the Bears or something? Yeah, it was the rain. I don't know if you remember the rain game in Miami. Devin Hester returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown.

I was screaming at the TV. All right. I was screaming at the TV. Imagine punting to that guy. That's scary. Yeah. That's scary. When did, yeah, so I remember just being scared of Peyton Manning and Reggie Wayne.

But, like, do you know what Tom Brady versus Peyton Manning all time, like, them head-to-head, what's their record? Head-to-head? Yeah. I feel like Tom Brady probably has more wins, right? Tom Brady definitely would has more wins right tom brady definitely would have more wins if i had to guess probably like probably has like a six six fifty record against honestly like i'm not even like being smart like it never it never felt like that like it always felt like peyton manning was honestly better well you always had that feeling

like if there was anybody who could yeah beat brady and the patriots it was going to be him yeah like that was the one he was the one guy and he just couldn't do it on the road um like i think it was oh i think it was oh four in the playoffs i was in college at the time and the flight back because we went on vacation during myself and a few buddies went on vacation during uh winter break and we came back and then the colts were playing at new england that that sunday yeah and and this was before like bluetooth and wi-fi and all that so like a whole flight home i'm like what the heck what's the score what's going on and we land in i don't know boston or providence and somebody finally finds out when it goes down the rows and it was the game i think it was the divisional round colts lost 20 to 3 and i just

like start hitting the airplane like i i just it was so frustrating always losing to new england um in the winter time yeah so but just out of curiosity if you were born you said you were born in baltimore yeah so were you like is it like cult hatred down there i don't know i've never been i don't know if i would want to be like ever, uh, ever there to be honest. Like from what I've seen. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like, I don't want to bash my hometown,

but I mean, you've got like, you know, obviously the drug problem down there, everything that's going on. I don't know what the nice parts would be. Yeah. Um,

but yeah, it was like, my dad was a hardcore Dan Marino fan. Okay. When he was growing up, he was growing up. He was in love with it. He had the Wheaties box and everything.

We had matching sweaters. Awesome. So he was a Dolphins fan. And then I remember going... I mean, I was born in Baltimore, so I felt like a due diligence growing up to have that. If I wasn't a Patriots fan, I'd probably be a Baltimore Ravens fan. Not a big fan of the steelers honestly good uh never been a sealers fan but like all my family in pennsylvania that there are like diehard sealers fans and they hate the patriots so i'm just like whatever like we beat you every year like it's fine yeah yeah i just felt like growing up like

i always felt like i should have been a ravens fan but i don't know i was always a patriots fan yeah and i mean it's because like i remember being here yeah you remember being here and that's that's their heyday i mean it lasted so long and everyone loves tom brady and like i can't argue you know what i mean like it's it's even when he went to tampa bay it was kind of like i've probably i've probably watched more tampa bay games than i did patriots and i'm just being honest it's fun to watch and play and i'll admit like as a colts fan like i don't hate tom It's kind of like I've probably watched more Tampa Bay games than I did Patriots. And I'm just being honest. It's just fun to watch and play. And I'll admit, like, as a Colts fan, like, I don't hate Tom Brady.

Yeah. I think I'll say, like, he probably is the most accomplished football player in the history of the game. And to do what he's doing at this age, like, and you see pictures of him, dude looks better at 43 yeah he does that 23 um so how he takes care of himself it's yeah impressive it's hard not to watch the like even if i wasn't a patriots fan i'd probably still watch the games too because of all the comebacks yeah even if even if like even if i followed him at michigan like all those comeback games like how can you not enjoy watching

yeah i mean yeah i wonder what the michigan coach or recruiters feel like not seeing that talent that was there yeah well i mean the draft is kind of like a joke anyway the nfl drafts yeah i mean like the analytics yeah i mean yeah it's like how are you going to measure someone like i guess you can get like a solid base off of it but the projections are wrong every year yeah they are i feel that way about the nba draft too it's like all potential yeah it's like the younger you are it's not so much what you've accomplished but if you have the right measurements right and the right individual vertical jumps and all that yeah then we'll give you more money yeah so much potential yeah i never i never followed the

draft or like the analytics because every year i was like they were just like they were just hype up someone and then they just like once they got the nfl they just fall off yeah and it's just like like what more like what more do you need to just not watch the draft you know what i mean but it's like it's always exciting to see people come up, you know? Yeah. But, yeah, when I walked in your class, it was just like I wonder what the story is behind this. I just didn't want to raise my hand and be like, what is this? Yeah, that would have been the first time.

You'd have been like, whoa. Yeah. No, I always keep a few up there. But I keep the one score from the 38-34 game, the AFC Championship, when they finally got over the hump. Then there's a couple of Peyton Manning up. It's pretty cool, though. Yeah, I got a new classroom now.

It's a lot smaller, so I don't know if it's going to make the cut. Losing a lot of wall space. Losing a lot of wall space. So you were in college in 2004? i graduated college in 05 so you were like so you're five years in oh not even when did you start your first teaching gig uh my first i was lucky i graduated rick in 05 and i had to take summer classes just to finish up the degree yeah um and so i finished up that july and then i started applying for teacher jobs english positions like at the end of july beginning of august and i was lucky enough to get the job at cumberland yeah straight out of college

well i mean let's be let's be honest like hands down like the most notable teacher that i can think of like i don't think i don't know if you pay attention to any of that you know what i mean but like when i was when i was a freshman even when i was a senior like we were all like dude you remember mr rider man like i think i was the man and i appreciate that yeah so like i mean do you take pride in that or you just kind of like i do um because it's weird the like you can get evaluated and they get this score and that score but i know it's kind of cliche but like it truly is like the relationships and and what lasts yeah that that leaves an impact so like the other day on facebook there was one girl and they've been friends apparently they met in my class over a group

project yeah and it was on the post like been x amount of years since we met in mr writer's class and one of them just started complimenting the other and like i i wrote on it like hey glad you this provided more than just learning about shakespeare yeah um so i do take pride in that because it's not so it's not like you want it's not a popularity contest like teachers really they liked whatever all right but you want to just have a positive impact on someone because one of the pieces of advice, especially to a new teacher, I know a lot of new teachers are like, I want to be liked. I want to be liked. And it's not about being their friend, but being friendly. And if you can be friendly, that can build that rapport that hopefully, all right, it's not just a teacher that, all right, I'm done their class.

But, hey, I took something out of that class, whether it was academic, social, whatever it may be. Yeah. It was always like I was too young to pick it out. Like, I mean, you probably had kids with ADHD in your class who were going to the doctor and they were like, listen, like, I don't need this Adderall anymore. I have Mr. Ryder. You know what I mean? Like, it was because I knew the people in my class. Yeah.

And I had seen them in other classes. And in your class, they were just like locked in. In other classes, you know, who knows what they're doing. Yeah. They're getting detention. Like, so I was just like, what is it about this guy? But, I mean mean you made shakespeare interesting you made everything interesting and uh yeah honestly like even as seniors because like

in high school you don't have many teachers where you're like that's a great class you're kind of like dreadful especially when you're in athletics you're just like i had practice last night i just want to get this yeah you're tired you're. But just the way like even like considering like the average attention span was like eight seconds. Yeah. Like you had everyone. That's generous. Yeah, you had everyone locked in and everyone like I've never heard anyone say anything bad about you. I appreciate that.

But I always wondered like if you took pride in that or if it was kind of like a therapist type thing. Like you're like, I don't want to be friends, but I'm going to help you out. You know what I mean? No, it's not. It's just like the two things, like I being a teacher, I like excluding like all the,

the content, the academic stuff, like the two things I strive to be, I'm going to be authentic. All right. Cause I know it's not a lot of people say, well, you,

you, you're a teacher. Like part of your job is almost like an entertainer. Like if I've had an awful morning at home, authentic all right because i know it's not a lot of people say oh you you're a teacher like part of your job is almost like an entertainer like if i've had an awful morning at home all right if my daughter had a meltdown and it was frustrating like yeah i've got to leave that at the door for my first period class at 7 15 um but i'm not gonna hide what what happened. Like, hey, guys, it was a frustrating morning for me. Like, this is what happened. So being authentic with, A, what goes on with me

and also how I act towards them. Because I'll tell you one thing, teenagers, they'll pick up a fraud like that. They'll pick up a fraud any moment. So I just wanted to be authentic and then just know that i'm here to help um because it can be it's not easy being a high school kid i've always said like i loved high school but i wouldn't want to go back to it because i was there of course pre

social media i would not want to do it today. Yeah. No, high school was tough. Yeah. The thing I respected about you most was, like, because I was super quiet. Yeah. So I would always get, like, roasted by teachers. You know what I'm saying?

For being quiet? Yeah. Yeah. And that was painful. Never do that. Yeah. So I would, like, I would go to different classes. And, like, any time I raised my hand, like, the teacher would be like, John go to different classes and like anytime i raised my

hand like the teacher would be like john's about to say his first words everyone like you know what i mean like they would always all eyes on you yeah so that was that was my biggest struggle like throughout high school even college but i never really understood like what was wrong with being quiet like isn't that kind of like what you want you know what i mean well it's weird that you say that because in high school i was incredibly quiet quiet. Yeah. Like around my buddies. Like, yeah, I was vocal. But in class, like, honestly, I was very similar to you. Yeah.

I was quiet, sat, paid attention, did what I had to do. And that was it. But it's weird what you said. And this is something I do take pride in, what you said about how, like, students will observe how other people or other students act in my class versus others. And last year, I got a note at the end of the year from a girl. And those notes, I keep them. That's honestly the best thing about being a teacher is when you get those notes. Because sometimes you don't even know what you did.

thing about being a teacher is when you get those notes because sometimes you don't even know what you did and she was saying just how oh you created a classroom environment that made people so comfortable she's like there were so many people who acted on like who felt comfortable in here that don't in other classes and thank you for doing that yeah um. Um, so it's just, I don't know. I just try to be authentic and just know I'm here to help. And if you help yourself, I'll help you. I can't help you if you can't help yourself first. Yeah. So,

but yeah, no, I love being a teacher. Yeah. It's, it's like weird to think about like now that I'm at my age, cause like a lot of people, I wouldn't want to be a teacher because of like the parents or whatever.

But at the same time, like you have a long lasting effect on kids. Yeah. I mean, like you're here now. It's been what, 11 years? Yeah. I was surprised by how long it's been. Well, I did see you at my comedy show and that wasn't that long ago.

So. Yeah. It feels like so long ago because of COVID. But yeah, I remember since you graduated, I remember catching you at one of, it was a baseball game at Lincoln High. Do you remember that? Lincoln high yeah yeah it was like a super brief conversation though yeah i think um because joe i was talking to joe fine first yeah i think we went together okay yeah um i remember i was just talking to joe because he was telling me about he was at bryant at the time and i think you met him up there so we talked briefly and then

the the whole comedy show my wife and i we were just looking like a date to go out on and i'm like let's go to a comedy show and you probably know him um it's one of my co-workers buddies brian something yeah brian boden yes all right so he was yeah he was there and then i looked at the rest of the lineup and i saw john psyche and i was like we're going we're going end of story find the babysitter get the grandparents we're going yeah yeah he was uh he was headlined it was my birthday i remember that it was like that day was your birthday yeah it was uh it was april 20th yeah and i i knew i was booked on the show but they were like yeah brian's headlining like you want to do like an opening spot and i was like yeah of course i'll

say i'll say yes to pretty much almost anything yep and that day i was super sick i couldn't even speak so i was like chugging day quote before i went and i remember walking in and seeing you and i was like i don't know if i should say anything you know what i mean yeah but people are always like they're always like, because this happens like sometimes, like I'll go to the connection and I'll see someone that I know, like from a professional standpoint and they'll be like, dude, when you see people like that, are you just like, do you just not tell them?

Like, do you just change your set? I'm like, no. I just go up there. You know what I mean? Like I've done show, I've literally done shows at like laundromats and I've seen people I know doing the laundry and they're just like, yeah, I'll just wear dirty clothes for like two weeks.

Like I'm out of here. You know what I mean? Yeah. So like, it wasn't a big deal for me, but it was definitely like cool to see. Yeah. No,

we enjoyed, we enjoyed the show. It was, and like I said, to see when you guys grow up and see you out of that classroom or that athletic element, that's what's awesome. Because I know you have a passion for comedy. You're following what you want to do. And I mean, I couldn't tell you were sick that night.

So you did an awesome job. And even now one of my my daughters she just started dance one of her dance teachers is one of my former students yeah so just to see like the evolution of you guys yeah and it's just i don't know i like it a lot yeah i almost felt bad i was like i've said maybe five words this guy now he's gonna see me on stage might you know affect him mentally a little bit. Yeah, no, you said a lot more than you ever said in the entire year in my class. There's nothing wrong with that, though. Yeah, no.

I'm glad you feel that way. I mean, honestly, like, I'm sure, like, a lot of people, I mean, when you start comedy, obviously, they're like, good luck with that, man. You know what I mean? obviously they're like good luck with that man yeah i mean like so it's cool that like you're you know you're happy people are actually pursuing things that they want to do instead of just being like you should you should do this instead you know what i mean yeah no i know the whole well everyone's got to go to college but yeah for and i know you obviously have a successful degree but yeah don't you have an interest in something pursue it yeah all right pursue it um that's been kind of my motto yeah so that's dope yeah it's dope that you think that way so that's like the that's like the opposing thought process of most teachers you know what i mean like not

not to bash teachers oh i know like you're uh like you're a rare breed you know so well i don't know about that but uh well being honest you know i appreciate it um but like as far as like when you so when you went to college um why english like to be honest i just knew i wanted to be a teacher i had english so i kind of decided I wanted to be a teacher. The year I was graduating high school, I liked high school, and I was kind of like, let me just stay there. So I was like, maybe I'll be a teacher. I like working with teenagers.

It's a fun group. I like high school. I could stay here. But I didn't really know what I wanted to teach. I just didn't want it to be high school like i could stay here um but i didn't really know what i wanted to teach i just don't want it to be high school like i could not teach elementary or middle school i couldn't do that so i always knew high school and at first i wanted to teach history and then i realized all i wanted to teach was American history because I kind of like it. But you can't really pick what class you're going to teach. So that and then I was like, let me try math.

So then I took calculus and I did all right in it. And then I was like, because I never really had like a passion for science or math or English. Like I never had. I know some people like, oh, I'm a math person. I'm a science person math or english like yeah i never had i know like some people like oh i'm a math person i'm a science person i'm an english person like in high school i never really had an a draw to one of them yeah and then of course in college they make you like write a lot more and i remember taking my western lit class. It was second, yeah, I think second semester freshman year. And I was like, you know, it's kind of cool to like pull these books apart. I know you guys probably don't find it so cool, but that's the challenge.

I try to make it fun for you guys to pull these books apart and teaching people how to write. And the day I needed to go have some paper signed to declare like english major so it was funny it was the day i ended up getting um my midterm back in one of my english classes and the professor wrote at the bottom of it um like great insight or whatever have you ever considered being an English major? It was the day I actually was going to ask her for a signature cause I needed a professor's signature on that declaration. Um, and I just declared it and I took the classes and I could tell like there were people in there that were like,

like diehard English, like fans. Yeah. And I was never like, I love English. I love what I teach. But I went into teaching more for the teaching part than being in love with the content. Yeah, it's weird, like, I don't know.

I mean, there's obviously a stigmatism behind going to college for English. Yeah. It's like, oh, like, what are you going to do with that? What are you going to do with a liberal arts degree? What are you going to do with, you know, specific degrees? But it's crazy when, like, even now where I am, like, writing is so important. Yeah. Like, writing, I mean, you have to be good at writing in almost, like, the majority of jobs.

So where do you think that comes from? The. Like, the stigmatism in general towards that. For the liberal arts. Yeah. I, unfortunately, I think it's always been around. Yeah. the the stigmatism in general towards that for the liberal arts yeah i think unfortunately i think it's always been around yeah um and that stigma of like oh the english geek like sitting there drinking their their their cold brew nitro at like the local coffee shop yeah like not going

to a mainstream coffee shop it's got to be an independent one downtown starbucks yeah um and it's always been there but with the rise of like you talk i don't know i think we talked about it earlier like this there's this pressure for a lot of kids like go towards engineering go towards mathematics technology the whole stem uh industry and i feel like liberal arts have gotten a back seat to that and with that comes writing and it doesn't matter what profession you're in you do have to be a coherent clear writer and i don't think a lot of kids realize that even in a business setting so like this is actually a new assignment. It's going to be our first assignment this year. I'll tell you about it now.

We've noticed, and when I say we, I'm talking about like myself and the other freshman English teachers. We've noticed a decline in email etiquette. Like I've had kids in the past few years, like, yo, why did i fail this like that's like not like hey mr rider or hi mr rider i noticed i didn't do so well on the the essay could we conference about it like i've literally gotten emails that start with yo

or like um just like rider why did I do so bad? Wow. So our first assignment this year is literally, it's still writing, but email etiquette. Yeah. So, yeah. That's wild. I never would have thought of that, to be honest. Yeah, it didn't happen when you were around. Yeah. I mean, I'm sending probably like 50 emails a day, too.

Yeah. Which is like were around. Yeah. I mean, I'm sending probably like 50 emails a day too. Yeah. Which is like super important. Yeah. So, I mean, at least it'll relate to the real world. Yeah. That's the other thing, obviously, like when you're in high school, they're just like, yeah, like none of this pertains to the real world. No. Like, what are your thoughts on that?

I mean, obviously, without a doubt, English relates to the real world. Yeah. Whether you like it or not. But there are some classes where you're like, probably not going to use this. I've always had a lot of kids ask me about math class, like during advisory. Yeah. Like when you were there, was there advisory or was it still homeroom? It changed.

So, yeah, when I started, it was advisory and then it uh it changed as uh it became like uh the new principal came on okay I think it uh changed like some sort of reading uh oh were you there the um stop everything and read yeah I think that's what it was yeah and the whole like no matter where you were you had to yeah stop and read something yeah I remember that just keep keep it at that yeah we'll just we'll just keep it at that yeah um but yeah a lot of kids ask me like mr writer this algebra one or whatever when am i going to use this in life and i mean i can't speak to that but i mean yeah there's actually a comedian who has a joke about that about algebra yeah like uh like right angles and stuff yeah uh he was just talking about like how he's never going to use like what he learned in algebra class in the real

world yeah like if a carpenter is at his house he's not going to be like dude is that a right angle like so he's like he'll have jokes about that yeah yeah math uh i was never a big math guy what i always wondered like this is more towards like um when i was in college i probably took like i remember taking this one history class and my teacher she would always like she would have opposing views from like what i was taught in high school and i would be like i don't understand this and i thought deeper and i'm like wait a second like i have like a buddy who's a history buff and i always ask him this i'm like how do I know what's like written in this book is correct? How do I know who wrote this?

Like, when was it established? Because like we all have a different perspective, right? Yes. So like you'll see something, I'll see something. We'll both have two different views on it of what we saw. And then there's like what actually happened. Isn't that what history is really? Yeah.

And you're right. I mean, and I think that's something that a lot of kids don't learn until late high school and in college. Everything you read is funneled through a lens. Yeah. All right? So you have your own lens based on your old past experiences, your own biases, your own beliefs. All right? But then you got to look at the same thing for the author.

All right? all right but then you got to look at the same thing for the author all right because like you said well they wrote it how because it's in a book is it was published so does that make it accurate um so i think that's actually a good thing all right to have that that critical lens and that viewpoint um because so many kids will just be like oh it's written there must be right and when especially today with i mean the misinformation that's out there you it's you don't want to take everything literally yeah just how it's written when it's published so you think that's like when critical thinking comes into play yeah yeah and i think i think there's an opportunity to use social media as a way to teach critical thinking. But unfortunately, you bring anything from social media and because I've tried to do it a few times and everyone gets caught up in who it's coming from.

All right. And not really seeing, well, why did that person say that? Just I like this person. I don't like that person. That makes it right. So I do think part of the critical thinking comes from that different lens, which is good. It's just like the whole Christopher Columbus thing.

You know what I mean? You're taught he's a hero, and then later on you're like, wow, he was actually a murderer. Yeah, no, he committed genocide. Yeah, that guy was ruthless. I mean, because i remember i used to have a censorship unit that i would teach um i don't know if we read it in your class but haroon in the sea of stories does that sound familiar you probably just forgot about fresh yeah just forget i didn't read it all

right i remember some stuff i remember like shakespeare and like to kill a mockingbird and like all that. Okay. All right. Awesome. But there's one book that I teach some years, Harun and the Sea of Stories. And it's an allegory against censorship. And to introduce censorship, we would talk about Columbus and, we grow up, especially in elementary school, there's a holiday for him. He's a hero. He discovered America. Well, no, he didn't do that,

all right, and now there's a whole group trying to, looking to censor that, and rightfully so. I mean, I think some states have, like, renamed it Indigenous People's Day, Some states have renamed it Indigenous People's Day and other names like that. But yeah, Columbus, his actions, his brutality was censored quite a time. This is an extreme example, too. Yeah. I think probably the most notable example. There's so many conspiracy theorists behind Hitler. Yes.

And I mean, obviously like it's what everyone remembers from history class yeah do you guys learn a lot about hitler and that's like the that's the other thing especially in college like you'll you'll learn something in high school about hitler right yeah caused a genocide yeah all this other stuff when you get into college that's kind of like when all the conspiracy theorists like come out yeah and you gotta realize like i'm in a class like i haven't said a word i'm just listening everyone yeah like this is cool you know yeah but um there's always like the conspiracy theorists um and then there's all like these different point of views and then you have your teacher too who's expressing her point of view yeah and

you're just trying to piece things together well when you said piece things together personally i think that's part of the beauty of education because you come in with your own you're just introduced to a book or a topic yeah and you're going to have your interpretation of it based on your lens and your past experience but then the teacher you're going to pick up on the teachers no matter what. A teacher can remain, and I try to do it, just remain as neutral as possible in a perspective. But eventually you can, if you listen close enough, you can pick up nuances through their body language,

tone of voice about where they stand. But then you get your other classmates too. And it's not like one is right and one is wrong but you're i think the most important job of a student is to kind of piece meal them together to figure out what your viewpoint is how do you find that balance though when kids are writing for you and they just have like one solidified point of view and they're like this is the right way there's no other way that it's funny that you ask about that because that happens all that because kids always ask well what happens if i write if if my thesis is completely different from what you think

all right that's actually come up a lot more the past few years with um with argumentative writing. And I'm just like, I don't care. Like I, I I'm trained. I can put my opinion aside. Yeah. It's as long as you, and I just look at the evidence from the text and your interpretation of it. So like there was a couple of years ago, there's a,

there was a girl. Um, I think the question, I forget what the prompt was, but you, I, it was the book Tending to Grace and just to make it quick, um, the protagonist, young girl, Cornelia, and she does not speak at all. All right.

Come to find out it's because she has a stutter and then you find out on top of that, her mom abandoned her um so she's dealing with a lot and it's about her kind of overcoming her stutter and recognizing she can grow from the loss of her mother yeah so it was um it was a prompt of like do you and i know this isn't the exact wording, so bear with me. Do you see Cornelia as a sympathetic or an unsympathetic victim? Notice the word victim is already in there. The student just said, I don't see her as a victim at all. She created a whole different argument about how she would be seen and like she had no sympathy for this character whatsoever despite the the turbulence

she went through in her own life and i said as long as you can support it with textual evidence and she did successfully all how she inferred and interpreted. And it was logical. So it's, and that's part of, I'm actually glad I ended up teaching English because you can see those different perspectives. Yeah. So it's just about, it's like how people say, put your ego, like leave your ego at the door. You just got to leave your opinion at the door.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, there's a lot of it. I mean, I've never been political and I don't want to get into politics. No, neither do I. I try to stay away from it. Yeah, I know we lot of it. I mean, I've never been political, and I don't want to get into politics. No, neither do I. I try to stay away from it. Yeah, I know we both don't.

But it's always interesting when you have, like, all these different news outlets, all different sources of information, and you have to piece things together. But then you also have people who are just, like, one-sided, you know? Like, they're not very open-minded. Yeah. It's cool to watch. I'm not going to partake in it you know what i mean like i've never i've never once in my life followed politics and i've been fine yep um so i'm i'm john i'm with you 100 on that like i

like i can have my own opinion i'll keep it it to myself. But, like, I have a buddy, and he is very vocal about certain political beliefs. Yeah. They don't always match up with mine. I don't let it impact our friendship. Yeah. And we've talked about it. Like, we disagree, but our friendship, we've been friends since elementary school. Yeah.

Like, we're not going to let our different beliefs impact our friendship. Yeah. I don't know like unfortunately i mean unfortunately sometimes that probably does happen but um i mean i was always i was always taught you know agree to disagree yep uh that's that's all really yeah right that's that's it because yeah and i love it like you go on social media and of course it's those people that have the extremes that post yeah and then the other people come back with a comment opposing it like do you really think you're going to change somebody else's position with a facebook facebook post or a comment it's just and that's wild that's what everybody sees are the two extremes and then it's probably there's probably more people like you and i who just hey let's stay

out of it it is what it is yeah and those are the voices that you don't see every day on a screen yeah i think it's like legitimate poison oh yeah like i because i went i went rogue for a while like i went off the grid off social media yeah i've never felt so good in my life i'm sure like like it was undeniably liberating liberating like it was insane i was like i don't have to like see any of this yeah nobody knows that i'm off it no one cares it's the best feeling ever you know there there is and i mean i obviously i'm older than you but yeah i mean by the time I graduated college, it was I think Facebook came out like 07. So I had been teaching a couple of years then.

And that's my that's the only social media. And of course, 15 year olds today, they're like Facebook. That's for old people. All right. And yeah, that's that's fine. But even like I could not like I don't have a twitter i don't have instagram like i don't i would imagine that to be so time consuming unless it's for professional purposes yeah like sometimes i'll do something that i typically wouldn't like so when i got off social media i

would start doing things that i typically wouldn't do. How long were you off for? Four months, which felt like a year. Yeah. The first week, I was like, I don't know if I can do this. No, because I've done it before just with Facebook. That was one thing. And I lasted like a month. But you're right.

It's like withdrawal. The first few weeks are the hardest. I felt kind of like a coward because I have this. So I didn't do this the whole time. I just went off the grid.'t think anyone noticed but you know that's the thing i was like when i did it i was like i'm not telling anyone you know i'm not gonna put up a facebook post it's like hey listen i'm off this some people will yeah yeah it's you know it's like i'm just gonna do it see what happens and go with it so like the first week i was like i don't know if i can do this yeah after that i literally just forgot about it yeah i was like this this doesn't even play that huge of a role in my life it doesn't but i think that's like where it gets poisonous because

you think when you see something that you're a part of it that it actually affects you and it doesn't no like that person doesn't even know who you are exactly i mean that's the scariest thing is when people like they follow other people's lives and they're like i think it's almost like they think like they know yeah you know it's all well like i said a screen gives everybody courage yeah screen gives everybody courage unfortunately and i don't know i'll pass on that yeah i think i think it on it takes a sense of pride you know what i mean oh Oh, yeah. I think for me, I just wanted to prove that I'm not selfish.

Yep. Like, does that make sense? Yeah. Like, I just want to prove to myself that I don't need this. Because social media, and I'm not saying, like, social media, I know we can already tell, like, I'm not a big fan of it. Yeah. All right? But it does have its purposes.

Like, yeah, you can reach a wider audience all right but for just using it on a daily basis to express your own personal opinions yeah how how far is that gonna go i i don't know i just think you can find a better use of your time even if you like the thing when i when i you know when i went off the grid i would like i would do these like small tasks i love how you call it like off the grid like i feel like you're going like that was the wood somewhere that was the goal all right i just wanted to get away you ever hear of the north pond hermit no no can i say it really quick yeah all right it's a true story too i read a book about it a few years ago.

So it was this guy. I forgot his name, but it happened up in Maine. It was 25 years. He left his car on the side of a road in Maine, not far from where he lived. And he, it was North Pond. I forgot the name of the town in Maine. It was North Pond. I forgot the name of the town in Maine.

And he chose to live in the woods, Thoreau style, all right, for 25 years. And now, obviously, the weather in Maine gets cold. But the woods were behind this pond. And in front of that pond was like this local campground and um every summer and early fall he would break into vacation homes and he wouldn't like ransack it but he would take like canned food beans all right blankets magazines for entertainment um of course all the locals and the vacationers they created when you fit the fear of the unknown, they started to call him the North Pond Hermit because nobody could ever figure out who was breaking in. And there was some fear in the community until he was finally caught in around like 2011 or 12.

But for close to 25 years, he lived. I mean, that's extreme. In solitary isolation by choice yeah yeah so when you i when i hear you say like off the grid like i picture you like going off into the woods like setting up camp all right yeah i i thought about that too and that's i don't know i i hate the like i like the word balance but i also hate it like um because i was like yeah i'm off the grid now and like in my head i'm like am i just gonna like not talk to anyone i'm just gonna be like alone like i was like dude don't do that like don't be dramatic

you know don't just be like i want nothing to do with you people it was just solely based on social media you know like I'm off that grid. Yes. Yes. Yeah. But as far as like, I've still got buddies I'm hanging out with. It's just not publicized. You know what I mean?

Exactly. So that was, that was like the balance I needed to find. It's like, you're not, I'm not, like isolation is terrifying. You know what I mean? Like I don't want to completely isolate myself from society. Like it's important to communicate with people. But people view getting off the technological grid. They view that as isolation.

Well, no, it's not. It's not. I'm just getting off that grid that you're holding right now. Yeah. Yeah. It's almost like its own world,

you know? Yeah. Um, would you do it again? No, because of comedy. And that's the only reason. Yeah. That's the only reason yeah that's the only reason yeah because you have an audience you need to reach yeah it's uh like if i didn't have comedy i would definitely

be off the grid i'd just be like this isn't even uh worth it but you have facebook and that's where you find like where all the open mics are and like where you can go okay and you know like booker c that they'll be like oh john did a show here and you know it's tough that's the only reason i have facebook i won't use it for anything else yeah but then instagram it's cool to have a platform where like you can make other people laugh like i was making sketches for a while just like comedy sketches and i'm like there's really like no negative you know connotation to this i'm just like you know just like trying to make as many people laugh as possible. Yeah. Whether I like win or lose, you know what I mean?

Yeah. And that's like, that's all it is. But, um, but you, it's like, you use it just for more sensible.

It's a joke. It's a joke in general. I might as well put jokes out there. You know what I mean? Yeah. Uh, but yeah, it's just like,

it's tough. Like, cause if you see something on Instagram and it makes you upset yeah it's just like it's tough like because if you see something on instagram and it makes you upset it's like that's your fault you know what i mean like you read it it's nobody else's fault yep and like you want to help other people like people who are you know like i think motivation is garbage personally like i think i think motivation is like a feeling right okay you know it's not something that's going to be around every day i think discipline is more important than motivation right Right. Um, so when I go on Instagram and I see someone who puts up like a motivational quote, which happens all the time,

and then you see them in real life and they're not taking any action. Yeah. Like, honestly, that bothers me, but it's like, it's my fault. Like I, I, you know, yeah. I associated myself with that person. I read what they put up. And, like, the fact that that even, like, moderately bothers me, bothers me. You know what I mean? It's like, what am I doing? Like, I'm wasting my time. But there was things like that.

And that's what I was going to ask you. I was like, do you think discipline is more important than motivation? That's tough because they're both so important. Yeah. um like even when you just said it right now like i was thinking to myself which one is more important because like motivation is a huge uh it's getting more and more popular because you have like like well-known public speakers now yep my favorite public speakers are the ones who say the motivation is garbage. Like it's all about discipline. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? But that's just my point of view. Oh, yeah. I think discipline, I think you need to have a combination of the two.

Because that discipline, I think that's going to separate you from other people. All right? Just no matter what you do. that's going to separate you from other people all right just no matter what you do um but the motivation and this is one thing i've been trying to figure out for teaching for 16 years how do you intrinsically motivate someone yeah like how do you make them want to do something um because if they don't see the benefit in it like to say which one is more important yeah i mean i guess honestly that's a tough one i i would i think it's i know this doesn't answer your question completely. I think discipline is harder to find the motivation within someone because I think discipline is what separates people in any industry that they do.

Yeah. Yeah. Cause I think I personally, I think you can be motivated and still not do anything. Oh, but I think discipline is actually doing it. Like when you don't want to do it. all right like i mean discipline is action yeah discipline is action like you said all right like on you can put up as many quotes on social media as you want yeah all right and people can give it as many click baits and likes as they want but are you going to act on that do you have the discipline to act on whatever that quote is and that's what i think that's what separates people whether it's as a

friend as a worker uh as a as a teammate as a coach whatever it may be so i don't know i think discipline would be more important just because it's the factor that separates you yeah so much harder to work on though yeah it's like i don't want to do this right now but yeah i'm gonna have to do it yeah and you just gotta like i just i think part of it's just like we all hate taking out the trash it's got to go out once a week it's gotta go out every night you just got to do it yeah this is the toughest part about comedy. Toughest part? Yeah. I mean, right now, especially at my age, because, like, I'm super motivated. Yeah. But if I sit in my room and think about how motivated I am and, like, what I could be, I'm not doing much.

You know what I'm saying? So, like, actually getting out there is super tough for me, but just trying to work on it, I guess. Yeah. You know? So how, I know you know you're saying early obviously covid impacted the comedy um so how long did you go without a show for probably so i mean what happened was back i was 20 20. Yeah. So when I was 23. So like when you start comedy, right? Everyone's like, you're a loser, whatever.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. All right. So you have to deal with that. Yeah. Right. And then you go to open mics and you shed a few tears while you're up there.

You figure out like, hey, am I going to do this or not? Yeah. So for me, that took like, because I was always into sports. Yeah. So I was like, I don't know. Like, I really like sports. I want to follow through with this. And then when that fell through and I actually started doing comedy, I was like, i don't know like i really like sports i want to follow through with this and then when that fell through and i actually started doing comedy i was like

i don't know like this is this is just who i am you know what i mean so you start doing open mics and then you start doing bringer shows so you have to bring people right yeah so it's like you have to bring five people or you can't do the show i remember like there was one month where i had three bringer shows so the first one people came out to i tell my jokes yeah i couldn't get anyone to come to the next two because they're like they're like dude we know your jokes like we're not gonna pay money to see the same jokes yep i'm like damn it so i remember bailing on these two bringer shows and i was i was i wasn't even 21 at the time i was like i'm done with this with this. Really? Like, I can't, you know, I can't do this.

And I was just being sensitive. But then I got into it again. And I was just like, listen, man, like, if you're going to do this, like, you can't stop. Yeah. You know what I mean? Kind of go all in. Yeah. Like, go all in.

This isn't like a one-year thing. This is like a 15, 20-year thing. Yeah. I was like, I'm just going to go all in. My biggest thing was, was like not going to open mics right and you have i really like you evolve over time right so i was always the coward who never went to open mics but i would go to actual shows and i would i would get booked on this friday show after bringer shows so like you want to you want to graduate from open mic to bringer

well you're always going to do open mics but you want to graduate from bringer shows so i'm going to go to the show and i don't have to bring anyone. There's already people in the crowd. Yep. And that's what I was doing. And then the virus hit and I was on like an upward trajectory. And like I would never, I'm not, I'm never the type of guy who's like, I had a good show. Like I'll never say that.

I'll never say I'm a comedian. I'm just a guy who does comedy. Yeah. Right. Because that's really what I comedian. I'm just a guy who does comedy. That's really what I am. I'm just an open mic-er. Then I ended up, I took the trip up to Boston. I was like, I just want to see what Boston's like. I had never been in an open mic there.

I went up there, right in the middle of downtown, got booked for a show, and then the virus came. I was like, I went to one open mic, got booked for one show in the heart of downtown boston and now you know this happens yeah and then for it was a year straight and people were like dude you had a year to write jokes it's like yeah but i had a year to not try those jokes out in front of people exactly you know what i mean because like comedy's just like trial and error yeah i mean like i might write i write jokes all the time and i'm like dude this is gonna crush go up there and just yeah yeah just silence silence yeah so like that went on for like yeah don't get me wrong i was writing but it's like when you take a year off from something you know especially something that you're not you used to well the epitome of it is doing it live yeah on stage there was no trial and error process and it was just

like that for like a year and then obviously like the whole mask thing and stuff so right now i'm just like you know they always say comedy's peaks and valleys but everyone has their own peaks and valleys at different times yep but at this point in time everyone's in a deep valley yeah like a really deep valley yeah you know like those i feel bad like there's people out there who were you know they were on a way more upward trajectory than i was you know maybe they were just about to headline or maybe they were just about to feature and now this happens and now you're basically just starting from like square one just going back to open mics trying to get booked that's all it is that's all it ever was for me but it's like you know sometimes you get momentum and you're like yeah this is cool and the other thing is like at that point

in time like there was a lot of shows like there was a lot of opportunity now a lot of shows just aren't a thing anymore you know especially a lot of the shows like the friday shows that i used to do with the comedy connection those are no longer a thing like the late show i would do like the late show they don't have it there anymore they don't have it there anymore so it's just headliners really yeah and if i mean if you're if you're featuring for a headliner like you're a big deal you know what i mean yeah um so yeah it's just like uh you're basically like i said you're just starting from square one which is tough but i don't know i mean you have to do it like you're gonna you were gonna do it anyway. So, I mean, like, I mean, I'm 25. I feel old because I started when I was 19.

Yeah. I mean, some other comedians start when they're 25. Yeah. You know what I mean? I'm sure it's like with your athletic background, I mean, it's sort of like almost recovering from a major injury. Yeah. It's basically like, yeah, you have to get your feet back onto you

and, like, you know, ease back into it. Well, there's that discipline that's more important. Yeah. I mean, the biggest thing for me was always open mics because people would be like, this kid doesn't even go to open mics and he's on the late show. Why can't I be on the late show? I'd be like, I don't know, man.

Now that I'm going to open mics, I'm just like, wow. I could have been so much better. I went to to open mics, I'm just like, wow. I could have been so much better. I went to Johnson & Wales, and when I was there, I was never a big partier. I wasn't in a frat. I wasn't going out a lot on the weekends. I was just kind of like, I'd exercise, work out, go to class. That was really it. I was still doing comedy, but what I didn't realize,

what I didn't truly fathom was that all of the open mics are surrounding johnston wales they're in walking distance like you could walk down the road just go to an open mic like i could have literally gone to class all day exercise done whatever i want then later that night just walked over to the open mic and just gotten better but i guess that's the part like that's part of the evolution process you know i mean like you free that stuff later on yeah hindsight's 2020 yeah i mean the other thing is like age right nobody wants to listen to a 19 year old talk about his life you know what i mean so you have to be creative you know i mean yeah like uh that's the other thing so that's why i don't want to be isolated like i still have to go out and like do stuff to write about stories and stuff and experience life but

do you feel like your age like being 25 gives you more of an advantage now than 19 no no because it's like i that was the one thing that really bothered me a lot the when i would i'd be in the green room sometimes i'd be on like the friday late shows and like these guys would come in for like new york city and stuff and they'd be like dude i just spoke to gaffigan like you know yeah or all these and i'm just like sitting there like whoa whoa like listening to them and i'm 22 at the time 23 i'm like dude if you can do this like you know like the fact that anyone would bring up your age is kind of like not offensive but it's like come on man don't bring me like don't think about like listen to me when i'm on stage like don't bring up my age yeah you know because time flies man time zooms by

yes it does and i'm aware of that you know what i mean yeah and that's what's that's that's the scariest thing to me is like how fast time flies by yeah it does so i'm the type of guy who's like listen i don't care like what my age is like what if you know what i mean like just listen to i'm gonna do it yeah good for you yeah good for you that's awesome this one it's like i said it's like a 15 20 year thing like it's not like a one two year thing you know what i mean yeah so that's awesome yeah that's awesome that's what it is man no i remember the first time and i just saw it on facebook where you were gonna i think it was um when you got something from mohegan sun oh the serious xm thing maybe i don't know but it had it said at mohegan sun and i saw like john psyche comedian and i was like this is awesome yeah like because i just remember

you as that quiet kid i'm just like yeah i just found it awesome because i figured it like i said it's got to be a passion and you're pursuing it um so i can't believe you've been doing it i mean i know like you said the pandemic put a gap in it but i didn't know you started at 19 and yeah been doing it for five six years super inconsistent when i was 19 because i was was in college. Oh, yeah. You know what I mean? Yeah, it's got to be tough to do. And I understand that,

but after college, I mean, the whole goal is to be consistent. And I don't think, I think comedy is the coolest thing in the world, but I think it's cool because it's uncensored, and it's genuine. That's why I think it's cool.

You know what I mean? Yeah. That's the only reason. There's nothing cooler than making people laugh. Yeah. But, I mean? Yeah. That's the only reason. Like there's nothing cooler than like making people laugh. Yeah. But I mean, people like, you know,

a lot of people are like, dude, like you're immature. Like, you know, things like that. And it's just like, that's gotta be annoying.

At least I'm like, like I'm not going to a job that I hate every day and doing the same thing. I'm not waiting for Friday. You know what I mean? It's a good way to put it. Yeah. Yeah. Some people,

some people today, they just wait for hump day on Wednesdaynesday exactly yeah no um that's a good way because like even kids who ask like i know we're talking about this before but hey find something you're passionate about yeah and and surround yourself with people you like doing it with um because you don't want to count down the hours and you don't want to count down the hours and you don't want to count down the days yeah never want to do that at all yeah that's the scariest thing to me is just like imagine waiting for fridays for like 35 years that keeps me up at night man keeps you yeah we got a guy at work he just got hired and people like oh like what brought you here he's

just like seven years to retirement it's like dude seven years he's like yeah just waiting uh waiting for that social security and we're like wow dude you're not somebody i would look up to man yeah you know what i mean and unfortunately i think that i mean i know i'm only 38 but i think that happens to too many people a lot of people yeah too many people it's unfortunate yeah what was uh i mean when you were growing up like what were like the most like notable like societal differences from when i was growing up till now i was born in 83 so i was like an 80s 90s kid yeah um it's it's funny because the other day um I went up to the Red Sox game uh with a couple of my buddies and it was that Tuesday night when we

all got up there rained out all right unfortunately three out of the four of us were able to go back on Wednesday and we were there and we were talking about, cause one of my buddies is a school psychologist and we were talking about like all these trends. Yeah. All right. I know it's not so much as a societal difference. I'll get to that in a minute, but some of the trends that were popular and now these kids today,

they're doing it and they think it's like the first, first thing that's happened and they think it's amazing. We had these things, those slap bracelets yep those are making a comeback all right like i like i remember when i was in second grade on recess i had a neon green and black one thought it was the coolest thing yeah and if you like slapped it on your wrist you thought you were like god all right um so and then um so we're just talking about like some of the trends that are coming back but societally what i think is a lot different is the i think just the pressure put on kids today.

All right. Um, like there was pressure like when I was growing up, like in the eighties and nineties, but it was like unstructured pressure. Like, I know this sounds like old, like back from the fifties,

but when I was like, like even at a young age, like back from the fifties, but when I was like half, like even at a young age, like kids are like, all right, you have school and then, all right, then you go to this practice and this lesson and that practice and you're going to eat at this time. And it's like the whole day for like an eight year old. Yeah. It's just like laid out for them. Like, where are they just gonna like

make their own choices play do whatever yeah um and like i remember like especially in the summertime i would literally like go outside all day hang out with my friends and my mom would like yell my name from the door like something you think back from like the 50s and 60s yeah and i so i just think like there's this structure where parents literally have a say in every single thing that their kid does yeah and i'm not saying that's a right or wrong i just think it's a major difference in terms of how you grow up. I almost think it's like healthy. I think growing up, like you should be bored sometimes so you can figure out what you like. Yeah.

Because no one is going to, no one's going to sign you up for anything. No one's going to make you happy. That's on you. Yeah. sign you up for anything no one's gonna make you happy that's on you um so i almost think to like you need to go through periods of boredom especially like summertime boredom like i remember there are times in the summer in elementary school like yeah i remember summers being bored yeah like being bored at some in the summertime well you can't have something every you gotta figure out what works for you what you like yeah to keep your mind and your body occupied yeah yeah the reason i bring it up because like you're obviously a super super mellow dude and like you're not like one of those old people

who's like always angry you know what i mean so i don't want to be that guy when i'm older like i don't think i ever would be yeah because i'm super quiet yeah super relaxed all the time yep but even not in the workplace but just like in society in general, like you see these old dudes who are just like, they're so angry at change. Yeah. I mean, obviously accepting change is important, but like when do you draw the line? When do you like, you know? And that's the thing.

Change is good. Yeah. Because I think in order to grow and growth is change there's going to be some sort of discomfort yep all right just like you said with comedy like yeah there's going to be those peaks and those valleys yeah a lot of valleys a lot of a lot of valleys all right guess what teaching like there's a lot of peaks and valleys with teaching too all right athletic same thing um but there's a reason we peaks and valleys with teaching too. All right. Athletic, same thing. But there's a reason we all stick with it and do it.

We take pride in it. We evolve. We become a better version of ourselves. Hopefully we provide something positive for people. But like whatever is good at the end, it's on the other side of hard. Like, you got to go through something hard, all right, for that benefit to happen. Like, I firmly believe, like, everything, most things that are good in life are on the other side of hard. Yeah. All right?

And you can take that in, like I said, with sports. You can take it with a marriage, anything like that. Yeah. Yeah. So it's a good way to put it. I don't know. A little bit of wisdom for 38. A little bit.

Yeah. A little bit. A little bit. No, that makes sense. Yeah. Yeah. I'm trying to just go head first into it. You know what I mean?

That's not the best approach, but I mean, uh, yeah, it uh yeah just it's time is scary and then when time flies you don't want to be that guy wakes up later on in life and you're like what if you know do you think that's one of the reason they're so cranky i think i think yeah too many regrets it's confusing because it's like i mean you have like the saying nowadays like like Karen's right. Oh, yeah. Karen's suck. But it's like, who is Karen raised by? You know, like, why? Why is Karen the way she is? You know, so I think about that. And I just I hate angry people in general.

You know, it's like you should be grateful like you're even alive. But especially like with like politics nowadays and everything like that, like that's where you see it a lot is like the anger. Because they're like back in my day, you know, like it's like I mean, it isn't back in the day, though, like it's today. You know what I mean? Yeah. So I don't know. I don't think I don't think anger is the solution. No.

At the end of the day. And it's hard to say like, yeah, we see as adults, we see the anger that's out there today. It's so easy to see on social media growing up. I don't know if that's a societal difference. Was that same anger there, but just not publicized. All right. Not publicized. Maybe.

I don't know. So it seems like a difference, but I really don't know. Yeah. All right. I really don't know. But I'm glad, glad I grew up when I did. I know it sounds selfish. Yeah, yeah.

I was right on the border. Yeah. Yeah. Because you were born when? 96. 96. Yeah, so I was 13. All right.

So, yeah, because I don't know. I just think it's a lot harder to grow up today all right with the social media and how easily kids can be influenced yeah um so even myself like like my daughter she's gonna start uh a paintbox preschool here in cumberland uh, a paint box preschool here in Cumberland. All right. Down the road. Oh,

well, yeah. Um, but one day when she's in elementary school, I'm sure she's going to see a classmate with a phone in first or second grade. Yeah. Like she was going to come home and want it. So you're kind of like,

I mean, uh, I don't mean this in like a bad way, but you kind of like want your kids to fail to learn from it. Because like if I have a kid, maybe one day. Maybe one day. Maybe one day. If I have a kid, right.

You just want to put them into a dark hole so they fail. Put them in a puddle, you know, just so he knows what's up. You know what I'm saying? Like I kind of want, because like everything i learned was like from failing well somebody was like like i don't even know like jordan peterson has an analogy he's like listen there's like two type of parents right you're approaching a puddle one parent will be like hey walk around the puddle the other parent won't say anything yep yep i don't know i like i tend to think i'm the second one yeah because we've walked through a lot of puddles all right um but it's weird it's funny that you say that because do i want i don't

think any parent naturally wants their child to fail yeah i mean all right but but i do think failure can be healthy because you grow from discomfort. And it's weird because you talk about all these quotes that are online, especially regarding sports. It's become so cliche now. Like, you need to face adversity in sports. You need to lose, all right, and come back from an injury or come back from a tough game. But when that happens in life outside of sports, then it's almost like it's wrong.

Yeah. It's almost like it's wrong. Um, so, uh, do I want her to fail? Maybe just a little bit, maybe just a little bit.

All right. Help her learn, help her grow. And even as a parent, I know you probably don't want to hear like parenting advice right now, but I've noticed like she's going to be five. My daughter, oldest daughter, Reagan, she's going to be five in a couple of weeks. And if she knows she did something wrong, she might start becoming emotional and crying. becoming emotional and crying like one thing my wife and i never do we can count on one hand in five years the number of times we raised our voice because it's like all right if you did something

wrong we don't call it wrong we just say you learn i'm just gonna learn from this yeah all right and try to improve on it the next time because i think what life is like every day and every year and i say this i probably didn't say it to when you were in my class because it's something i kind of came up with like maybe eight years ago on the first day of school i always tell students and i'm sure some of it goes right over their hair their head in one ear out the other and it's the first day of high school they're worried about who they're eating lunch with etc but i you're in my class for eight and a half months hopefully i say by the time you leave here in june hopefully you're a better version of yourself in some capacity whether you're a better

writer all right you're more analytical you can make better inferences you're more self-aware better collaborative worker like it's just about growth yeah that's it like i hate this man this mantra of something's right or wrong it's just growth and just take it for what it is growth and how do you grow it's usually from error all right you said it's with like being a comedian trial and error okay all right yeah so yeah i was gonna ask you before we wrap up like uh i was gonna ask you like uh i mean you kind of just answered it but okay if you had uh for the people listening who have had you in class other people who might not know you yep if you had you know one message of advice to those people uh what would it be one message could be multiple messages but um after after well anyone who's listening and wants advice from a 38 year old uh well i mean

english teacher yeah i mean you have all you know yeah you're still pretty young yeah um no i consider myself blessed to to still be young but have had the experiences professionally that i have had if i had one piece of advice um and i think this is something i still work on myself figure out who you are and just be comfortable with it just figure out who you are and be comfortable with it. Just figure out who you are and be comfortable with it. Both the strengths, the weaknesses, and that's just part of who you are. And if there are parts of yourself you don't like, work on them.

Because I think life is just an evolution of figuring out who you are. Because like I said, you don't want to be those cranky old men at 60 Because I think life is just an evolution of figuring out who you are. Because, like I said, you don't want to be those cranky old men at 60. Maybe they're still trying to figure out who they are. Because they haven't changed much from 15 or 25 or 35 or even 45. So just kind of figure out who you are. Be comfortable with that.

And that's kind of what I would say. Yeah. Yeah. And what goals do you have right now for yourself as far as moving forward? Moving forward? So I don't know. It's hard. Like, I'm 38. Like, my buddies and I joke, like, shoot, we're almost 40.

Like, it seems scary because a lot of my buddies like we've been friends since high school like kind of like a smaller part of our core group has stayed friends since we all were pretty local for college um and having two young children i just one of my fears is not being a good parent so short term i just want to be the best parent the best father i can be yeah um especially to two daughters i know the whole cliche out there the whole girl dad thing yeah my wife bought me a shirt the other week. Yeah. I've worn it twice. Yeah.

That's official. Um, and I know it can, I just want to raise them to have a positive view of themselves because I know how easy I'm, especially now I'm seeing how easy groups and certain people can be torn down. So short term, I just want to be the best father that I can be. And at CHS, hopefully, I'm still teaching freshman English.

I still enjoy it. And I'm just going to try to keep crushing it the best I can. I appreciate you for coming by. I appreciate you having me on. Like I said, definitely my favorite teacher of all time. I mean, think about it. It's been 11 years. Yeah.

I was surprised how long it has been. Yeah, yeah. I thought it had been under 10. I thought it had been under 10. But no, when you reached out and said, hey, you want to be on? I was like, why not? Yeah. All right.

Why not? I wish everyone said that, you know. Do some people really say no? I mean, I've been kept on read a few times. Okay. Yeah. It's all right, though. All right.

Yeah. Hey, peaks and valleys, right? Peaks and valleys. All right. But no, thanks for having me on, John. uh no we'll keep up with each other no we definitely will i mean hopefully i'll see you in another comedy show yep see you around yeah um but honestly thanks for coming i appreciate it i'm grateful for everything you taught me and uh i think people are really gonna like this episode thanks i appreciate it