Lack of Developmental Norms are a Societal Issue Affecting Schools

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Hello and welcome back to The Balancing Act podcast. I am Jamie Wonko here with

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Mr. Joseph Vitale. Hello, Mr. Joseph Vitale.

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Hello, Ms. Jamie Wonko. You might notice us looking a little different because

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we're trying something a little different today.

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Just a little special shout out to Rob and the team at Human Content just for

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helping us troubleshoot.

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If you've watched our episodes, you've seen some freezing issues and some stuff that has taken place.

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So they're letting us test things out on a different program.

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So that's why this looks a little different today.

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But we just want to say thank you to them for troubleshooting and helping us

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out and letting us test this out on their end and giving us a hand with it.

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So thank you, guys. Absolutely. Thank you, guys. Very much so.

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Yes. And you know who else we want to thank? I mean, who else do we want to

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thank? We want to thank our Season 3 sponsor.

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Season 3 is brought to you by our presenting sponsor, Teacher's Insurance Plan.

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Check out their website for more information and to get a quote.

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So, yeah, teacher's insurance plan, auto insurance that brings exclusive educator

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savings and exceptional customer care to New Jersey and Pennsylvania educational employees.

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Isn't that awesome? Isn't it? Yeah. You know what else is awesome?

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Listen, if you listen to our last few episodes, you may have noticed in the

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middle of the episode, we have some ad reads in there of my lovely co-host and

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myself reading about two new sponsors that have stepped in.

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And are now supporting our show.

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One of them is NJ School Jobs. A special shout out to Chris at Teacher's Insurance

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Plan for putting us in touch with Todd, who works for New Jersey School Jobs.

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You know, New Jersey helping New Jersey. We had some wonderful talks.

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Teacher's Insurance Plan, the Disney of insurance companies.

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The Disney of insurance companies. That's right. Yeah, we really are thankful.

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You know, when we first started our partnership with Chris and Teacher's Insurance

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Plan, He had said, our network is your network. He got us in touch with Todd.

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We had a number of talks before the holidays and worked some things out.

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They'll be a part of our show for the rest of the season. You'll hear us talking

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about them and New Jersey school jobs.

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If you are familiar with looking for a job in New Jersey, it's a great one-stop

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shop place to check in on all things online.

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New Jersey jobs related, whether, and again, it's not just for teaching.

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It can also be for school support staff or custodians and coaching.

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Coaching, admin, so many things. Counselors. Yes.

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Yeah. So please definitely check

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them out if you're looking for any job opportunities that are out there.

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And also a product that I've been using that I talked about.

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I may have talked about earlier in this season, something called Lesson Launchpad

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that I've been using, which is an automated program I use on my smart boarding

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class and it has timers and widgets.

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And what I love about it most is I can make like student groups where instead

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of like doing like little popsicle sticks, or I can do a randomizer where it picks kids to read.

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I put their birthdays in and automatically, like when they walk in the classroom

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and the class starts, I put it in by the start times by the bell and it'll be

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happy birthday with candles. And like, it's really cool to like see the kids

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come in and see that stuff. I love, love, love using it.

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And they've also are going to be sponsoring us for a little while.

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This is the LL Cool J. Yes. Ladies love.

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Cool Joe. But no, it's Lesson Launchpad. Yeah. Loves Joe.

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I was wondering where we were going with that. That took me a second. Hello, Cool J. Yeah.

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That's you. Lesson Launchpad with Joseph Idali. Yeah.

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No, it's, and we have a code. And you'll love it. And if you want to try a year

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subscription, which is not all that expensive, we have a code for $5 off.

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You can put in balance and get yourself a full year subscription.

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I know it's near, you know, we're getting into the springtime where we're getting

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spring fever and the kids are going to start getting crazy.

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But this is a good way to get your class started. You could do music.

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There are so many, like I could ramble on forever, but it's really fun.

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And I'm just dipping my toe in the water learning about it myself.

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So a lot of fun stuff out there. Please support people that support our show.

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And special shout outs to all those who have been helping us out to grow our

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show and get us in the ears of as many people as possible.

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So it's awesome that we're that we're growing this. We're doing a thing.

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I mean, you got to drive to work. You might as well take us with you.

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Yeah. I mean, we are a delight, as we say often.

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Of course we are. We are a delight. Come on.

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So what's new in the in the world these days there, Ms. Wonko?

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Well, I have to tell you, I was singing. What a shock.

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What a change. So I was singing and and my song was this. It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood.

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Because, you know, just before we start recording, I like to throw on my teacher's insurance plan,

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I put mine on today, too, as a matter of fact. Quarter zip. Yeah.

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Q-zip, baby. I don't know if you also sang Fred Rogers style.

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I did. It's a beautiful day for a neighbor.

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Would you be mine?

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Would you be mine? I do not sing Mr.

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Rogers, but today, well, before this episode came out, the Muppet Show is coming back on.

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And I'm really excited about the Muppet Show. It's going to be a special thing

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because I loved The Muppet Show as a kid. You know who wasn't excited about The Muppets?

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Who? People who attended Hollywood Studios. Yeah.

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In Disney World. Yeah, I like the Muppets. Because they took it down.

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Well, they closed it last summer.

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And it was just gut-wrenching to me. Because we never, I mean, we always went.

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We loved it. Yeah, me too. And even the store. I mean, I always would have to swing through.

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And even Pizza Rizzo. I mean, we would hit up Pizza Rizzo like nobody's business.

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Gotcha. Did you ever go to Pizza Rizzo, Mr. Ray Kelly? Not a huge fan of Pizza

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Rizzo. I'm going to be honest. You're wrong.

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And also, put it on the list of things. Put it on the list of things.

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I mean, it wasn't, you know, it's not like it's like elite pizza,

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but the experience was elite. No, the experience was fun. Yes.

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The experience was everything. And, you know, they had this secret hidden room

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upstairs for people like me who spent a lot of time with little kids doing crazy

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things like going to Florida in July.

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So they had this like secret room upstairs of Pizza Rizzo that was like Dance Party USA.

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So and it was like very, you know, very lots of open space up there.

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24, you know, and really, really nice AC.

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So I introduced my students today as they were leaving class because I talked

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about the Muppet Show. I'm like, hey, y'all got homework.

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Got to watch the Muppet Show tonight, 8 o'clock on TV. You know,

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if you missed TV, they're like, what's TV?

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So it's not on YouTube. So, yeah, I told them, you got to watch the Muppet Show.

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I mean, so I played the theme song at the end.

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I love the Muppet Show theme song. So I sang along, and they're all looking at me like I'm nuts.

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And it's just, you know, I'm with you on that. I mean, I'm with you with the

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singing and the happiness.

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Yeah, Jason's friend Randy is a Muppet. The Muppet?

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Yeah. Okay. He's Beaker? Yep.

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Red hair and everything. Love the Muppets. That was my jam back in the day.

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I really enjoyed Muppet Babies.

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I do remember. I don't remember it as well. Muppet Babies will do the same for

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you when your room is kind of weird and you wish that you weren't there.

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God, that's a pull right there. That is a theme song pull. I'm impressed.

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That's why I can't learn anything new, guys. That's why I can't learn anything new.

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Yes. My head is filled with a 1980s and 90s theme music. You know,

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bring back the theme music.

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Jason and I have been watching a series. Could I tell you what it's on? No.

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But it's great. And it is essentially like the history of sitcoms and television.

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Oh, I want to hear about this. Really good. What is it on? Yeah.

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I mean, he says, Jamie, sit down. We're watching the show now.

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What's really? Okay, so I'll have to text it. I'll text the text in our thread later and ask.

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But one of the other things that's really great is my wife is famous for this.

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Okay. She will be like, oh, I want to watch that new show. It's on Netflix.

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Let's look for it. She goes on Netflix and it's like searching, searching, searching.

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Then she goes to a little magnifying glass and then she's typing it in.

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It's like, nope, it's not on Netflix. I think it's on Hulu.

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Searching, searching, searching. I'm like, oh my God, can you just Google it?

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Can you just Google what's on? Right.

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Relax, what's it on? We're flipping through the 700 streaming services that

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we have now. And I almost want to make it a screaming service.

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Screaming. Screaming service. Then you can just scream. Just put the show on.

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Yeah, put the show on. Right, exactly. 100%.

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Yeah, it was like... So yeah, she's notorious for that.

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I want to hear about that show. I definitely want to get the name of that.

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Well, part of it was, you know, the...

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Theme songs and how influential they were.

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And if you go back to what was the, so what we were, what we were watching,

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they were talking about the evolution of like the networks fighting with one

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another and how ABC was doing so poorly.

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And so they, you know, one of the executives said, hey, you know what we need to do?

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We need to tap into this resource of viewers called teenagers. Yes.

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And so they started with Happy Days, and then Happy Days did the spinoff to Laverne and Shirley.

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And so different people were commenting on, you know, Schlemiel,

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Schlemazel, and just how. Exactly.

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And really, it's like, it's such a lost art form. It's just so amazing.

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And it's like, Neil Diamond wrote so many theme songs and commercials.

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You're going to make it after all. and I throw my hat up in the air.

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Of course. They don't know. Nobody knows. I know.

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There's a, you do. There's a great bit with Paul Rudd that's,

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doing something with i don't remember who he did it with but did it with fallon

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i feel like he does a lot with jimmy fallon well no he did a thing with billy

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joel and he had billy joel come in because it was the song the song for for

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the show was um uh i don't remember the name of the,

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it's for bosom buddies that was the show so the theme song was from bosom buddies

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and they had billy joel come in and sing the song but the whole bit was like

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yeah you're not singing it like the guy so like but it's his song but it was

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like a remake of the billy joel song was that so they're Like,

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yeah, you got to do it like this.

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So they're like busting Billy Joel's chops. It's a great bit.

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Was it? Like, I don't care what they're saying. It might have been my life.

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Yeah. I feel like it's that. Yeah. That was another great show back in the day.

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That was also featured on this series, whatever this is. Yeah.

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Because they did an entire episode on sexuality in television.

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Oh. Yeah. It's really good. This is really up my eye. It's excellent. I got to figure that out.

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It's excellent. So speaking of like, you know, the kids and the teenagers,

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and we did a show a long time ago. It's like the kids are not all right.

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Yeah. And I don't remember exactly what we talked about on that episode. I don't remember.

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But I do know. Yeah.

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That the kids are not all right. Because there's a lot of things going on right now.

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There's a post that I've shared with you that we've talked about on occasion.

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100%. You think we can link that as part of the... Yeah, I will definitely do that. Great.

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I think it's Matt Boudreaux. I think is how it's pronounced.

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I'm sorry if I'm mispronouncing that. I don't know if he posted it or if I'm...

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I hope I'm giving credit to the right person.

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Sure. But it talks about across K to 12, teacher support that many students

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now struggle with tying shoes, using scissors,

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holding pencils correctly, zipping coats, opening food containers,

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following multi-step directions. Oh, we're giving the thumbs up.

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Well, the thumbs up came up for you, but it never comes up for me.

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But go ahead. It's these Macs.

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Got to like hold it for a while and then it comes up.

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And there's developmental deficits.

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Yes. And there are things that cite like over accommodation by parents,

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parents doing tests for kids instead of letting them struggle and learn.

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Yes. Screen time, replacing hands on play, fine motor skills,

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don't develop through swiping, fear of letting kids fail.

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I mean, there's a, the list goes on and on and on. Right. Yes.

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And today when we were leaving, right.

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You're nodding your head and you're just kind of smiling and you're looking

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at me and I'm like, what's up? And sometimes we see each other at the end of

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the day. Sometimes, you know, I'm like, what's going on?

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I really wanted to say your hat looks great.

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I loved your hat. Listen. Your hat looked great. It's a great hat.

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I love, I've had that hat for a very long time. It's a great hat. And it's warm.

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I mean, it looks like my grandmother knit it. My grandma couldn't knit,

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but it looks like my grandmother knitted it.

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I will take all the things you can, if you're busting my chops right now,

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I'll take it and wear it with a badge of honor. Oh, no, I was being sincere.

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Why can't you tell the difference between me being sincere and me being,

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I mean, I feel like I usually, it's pretty obvious.

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Have you met my wife? um so no i'm i'm serious

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it looked super warm it was and i actually thought

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to myself once i was on my um journey to my car

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i was thinking wow i wonder if jack jack i wonder

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if joe's gonna take that hat off because it's pretty nice out it was actually

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i got in my car and i took it off sweating uh yeah so i actually got that hat

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um it was a colonia swim team fundraiser i bought it a long long time ago when

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i worked at when i worked at the the previous middle school they were selling Long time ago,

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Joe bought that hat. It's really nice.

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When I saw you at the end of the day, you had this look on your face.

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You said, how did you buy?

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You're like, oh, you know, we use scissors today. We use scissors. And I would love to hear.

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It's amazing. Also, budgeting time. Put that on the list. Oh,

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yeah. You don't need to start with the executive function stuff. Absolutely.

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You know, the budgeting of the time. And so I was four for four.

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I was four for four. Four.

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You have 40 minutes. And they were like, oh, I got oodles of time.

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And across the board, in every single class, section by section by section,

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out of 25 kids, about five completed the task.

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And may I ask what the task was? Yeah. So the task was to cut out a mug.

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And the mug is a mug of love.

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Got it. And you need to cut out nine small hearts.

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About the size of like the palm of your hand. So not really,

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you know, not very small, but small enough, nine of them.

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But before you cut them out, you need to write on them things that fill you,

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you fill your love mug, your mug of love, mug of love, mug of love, your mug of love.

00:15:14.749 --> 00:15:19.289
And then you also need to, and you needed to color them.

00:15:19.389 --> 00:15:23.109
And I did recommend and had the directions written on the board.

00:15:24.463 --> 00:15:30.543
In the order that I wanted them to do it with two examples of completed projects.

00:15:32.123 --> 00:15:36.643
And I had it, you know, step by step by step. I went over it step by step by step.

00:15:38.403 --> 00:15:42.923
And I recommended that they color before they cut to make it,

00:15:43.023 --> 00:15:44.163
you know, less of the mess.

00:15:44.263 --> 00:15:46.523
Because then they're coloring like these little palm shaped things.

00:15:46.703 --> 00:15:49.663
Also, what they tend to do then is color all over my tables.

00:15:49.943 --> 00:15:54.363
And I don't care for that. That's enough. Got it. And then they had to glue them.

00:15:54.743 --> 00:15:58.363
So to make it almost as if the hearts were like marshmallows or like bubbles

00:15:58.363 --> 00:15:59.703
coming up and out of the mug.

00:15:59.943 --> 00:16:03.243
So great. So this class today was essentially building the atomic bomb.

00:16:03.443 --> 00:16:06.863
That's what you were doing. You were like, hey, let's do it.

00:16:07.323 --> 00:16:11.963
And clean up. Oh, great. So I shut the door, you know, and I said,

00:16:12.343 --> 00:16:14.223
you're not leaving me with this mess.

00:16:14.903 --> 00:16:18.943
Everybody pitch in. And even if you're done, you have to help your table mates,

00:16:19.123 --> 00:16:24.583
right? Because right now we're living in a world where they are going, they chose their seats.

00:16:25.343 --> 00:16:30.583
Oh, yeah. So if you chose your seat, these are the people that you want to be with.

00:16:30.883 --> 00:16:34.263
That means that you like them and you help people.

00:16:34.463 --> 00:16:37.823
Like you should want to help everybody. But this crew, we're just going to start

00:16:37.823 --> 00:16:43.083
with like help the people that are close to you and that you report that you like. Right.

00:16:43.563 --> 00:16:53.023
But what was fantastic about it was how they were so self-assured that they were going to be.

00:16:53.183 --> 00:16:58.123
And I kept saying, OK, now 20 minutes and now 15 minutes.

00:16:58.923 --> 00:17:05.483
And then some of them with like the five minute cleanup warning were like, like trying.

00:17:05.783 --> 00:17:09.223
And it was like, but you you're not going to have time. And I did start the

00:17:09.223 --> 00:17:11.543
lesson also, because this is another thing that as a parent,

00:17:11.543 --> 00:17:16.603
I do not understand. And I get like equity and we don't all have the same and

00:17:16.603 --> 00:17:19.783
bring the same to the table, all those things. However...

00:17:21.304 --> 00:17:31.764
How in your home, apartment, your dwelling, do you not have like a 60 cent box of crayons? Okay.

00:17:32.244 --> 00:17:34.584
And the kids call them colors now.

00:17:35.264 --> 00:17:39.124
Do your students do that? No. This is a very common trend. I don't have colors

00:17:39.124 --> 00:17:41.604
at home. I don't have colors at home.

00:17:42.264 --> 00:17:46.784
I have literally never heard that. Oh, wow. Now tomorrow you're going to hear

00:17:46.784 --> 00:17:48.244
it six times. I probably will.

00:17:48.624 --> 00:17:51.744
Yeah. Mrs. Wong, I don't have any colors at home. Okay. So I said to them,

00:17:51.844 --> 00:17:53.484
look, I know you're going to high school next year.

00:17:53.564 --> 00:17:57.564
Because let's remind our listeners that I only did this with eighth graders.

00:17:58.824 --> 00:18:03.984
Kids that are, you know, some of them are old enough to work in the community

00:18:03.984 --> 00:18:06.204
at 14 years. Yes. Okay. Wow.

00:18:07.224 --> 00:18:10.664
And some, I have to tell you the funniest thing of like how many of them look

00:18:10.664 --> 00:18:14.844
at the scissors I have and they want to know, like, and they just look and they

00:18:14.844 --> 00:18:19.204
move the scissor back and forth.

00:18:21.044 --> 00:18:25.364
You got to watch this one, guys. I'm telling you, there's, there's,

00:18:25.664 --> 00:18:28.024
she's. Bro, how old are these?

00:18:28.324 --> 00:18:30.444
That's, that's great. Bro, I love the bro.

00:18:30.804 --> 00:18:34.044
Bro, bro. Yeah. How old are these? And I'm like, bro. Bro.

00:18:35.302 --> 00:18:38.562
Older than you yeah 25 years

00:18:38.562 --> 00:18:41.902
old they're like amazing amazing it's a

00:18:41.902 --> 00:18:44.922
relic so yeah i mean

00:18:44.922 --> 00:18:47.862
you you you look at that uh i'm doing

00:18:47.862 --> 00:18:52.342
i'm gonna keep doing it yeah i mean you have to so i do the same i i do a you

00:18:52.342 --> 00:18:55.642
know a couple different projects like that of and one of the things that i got

00:18:55.642 --> 00:18:59.562
from you in regards to stations is having them color oh i love the coloring

00:18:59.562 --> 00:19:02.882
like they're doing a discussion i have i give them like some discussion questions

00:19:02.882 --> 00:19:05.762
and honestly that's always the station that goes the best. Yeah.

00:19:06.602 --> 00:19:08.982
Yeah, because you give them something low stakes like coloring,

00:19:09.222 --> 00:19:12.342
but then they just sit and calmly color and also talk to each other.

00:19:12.662 --> 00:19:15.422
And I, you know, interject and pop in there and stuff like that.

00:19:16.002 --> 00:19:18.982
Hey, shout out to Lesson Launchpad with your time blindness.

00:19:20.022 --> 00:19:25.462
LL Cool J. Yeah, you could put Lesson Launchpad loves Joe or Joe loves Lesson

00:19:25.462 --> 00:19:28.262
Launchpad or Cool LL, whatever you want to say. J-L-L.

00:19:29.062 --> 00:19:31.822
Yes, with your smart boards and all your fun little fancy things,

00:19:31.882 --> 00:19:36.682
you can do a timer that's up there, but you can also do them in Lesson Launchpad.

00:19:36.922 --> 00:19:39.362
You can put them up there so then this way at the end it'll give you a little

00:19:39.362 --> 00:19:42.402
blibbity blorp, a little beepy beep thing at the end, which I love.

00:19:42.522 --> 00:19:43.302
Beep, beep, beep, boop, boop.

00:19:43.482 --> 00:19:47.502
Yeah, it's great stuff. I love it. Anyway, there's also another one to talk

00:19:47.502 --> 00:19:50.502
about, which is the bane of my existence because I have like,

00:19:50.602 --> 00:19:53.402
I call it morning meeting even though it doesn't always happen in the morning.

00:19:53.602 --> 00:19:56.502
Like we go over what the agenda is for the day.

00:19:56.662 --> 00:20:00.122
So I have my screen. I have two screens in the room. I do not have a whiteboard.

00:20:00.262 --> 00:20:04.382
So I utilize one of the reasons that, I know I keep going back to Lesson Launchpad,

00:20:04.382 --> 00:20:06.942
But I used to use Google Slides, which was good,

00:20:07.002 --> 00:20:10.982
but this just works a little bit better for me because I have a TV at the back

00:20:10.982 --> 00:20:13.842
of the room with a Chromebook hooked up to it that has like the agenda for the

00:20:13.842 --> 00:20:16.262
day and what we're working on with timers and everything else.

00:20:16.342 --> 00:20:19.702
And I can use the front board to do all the other things, the instruction,

00:20:20.102 --> 00:20:23.162
use my bells and whistles with the smart board and, you know,

00:20:23.522 --> 00:20:25.402
music and all different stuff. Right. So.

00:20:28.605 --> 00:20:30.225
Following multi-step directions.

00:20:32.225 --> 00:20:38.605
I'm at a point where I finally saw something which just released in Google Classroom,

00:20:38.645 --> 00:20:43.265
which when I give them directions, I type directions on a separate document.

00:20:43.565 --> 00:20:47.265
I give them, please read this document below. Make sure you also read the rubric that's attached.

00:20:47.405 --> 00:20:51.865
And I don't go over it word for word. I give them a basic overview and then

00:20:51.865 --> 00:20:55.285
I say, hey, make sure you read the rubric because it's very important for you

00:20:55.285 --> 00:20:57.185
to know how you were going to be evaluated.

00:20:57.605 --> 00:21:01.705
I tell my own children to do that. I tell the kids that I tutor to do that.

00:21:01.825 --> 00:21:05.305
Like, hey, let's look at the rubric and see how we're supposed to be evaluated on this project.

00:21:05.585 --> 00:21:10.705
But now Google Classroom added something and they added, and I could show you

00:21:10.705 --> 00:21:11.765
where it is if you don't know where it is.

00:21:11.865 --> 00:21:17.065
They added like a spot underneath each of the documents that you provide them

00:21:17.065 --> 00:21:21.485
that says 17 kids didn't open this document, 14 kids didn't open this document.

00:21:21.725 --> 00:21:24.405
So you can say like, oh, did you read the directions?

00:21:24.725 --> 00:21:28.245
And they go, yeah. And then you can click on that and say, no,

00:21:28.305 --> 00:21:30.445
you didn't. Cause this says you never opened it.

00:21:31.225 --> 00:21:34.525
So there's of course a difference between opening it and actually reading it.

00:21:34.745 --> 00:21:39.785
But like I can say to them, Hey, all the things that I've gone over are all right here.

00:21:40.385 --> 00:21:43.985
And that's a big stressor for me that they can't follow.

00:21:44.145 --> 00:21:48.625
I mean, three step directions, complete this when you're done with it,

00:21:49.065 --> 00:21:52.505
put it in this bin over here and grab the paper that's next to it.

00:21:53.523 --> 00:22:00.563
And they can't do those things. Right. So the question is, can't or can't want to?

00:22:03.643 --> 00:22:08.883
Because. I think there's some can't. Some can't. But some can't want to.

00:22:09.223 --> 00:22:13.003
Have you ever thought, I work in education. Why is finding a job so weirdly hard?

00:22:13.283 --> 00:22:16.863
Yeah. Scrolling through random job boards where half the listings don't even

00:22:16.863 --> 00:22:18.663
make sense is not the vibe.

00:22:18.863 --> 00:22:21.943
That's why njschooljobs.com actually makes sense.

00:22:22.483 --> 00:22:25.643
It's a job board built specifically for New Jersey schools, public,

00:22:25.923 --> 00:22:27.643
private, charter, and parochial.

00:22:27.803 --> 00:22:31.043
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00:22:31.043 --> 00:22:35.483
If your job involves a bell schedule, this site's for you. It's free for job seekers.

00:22:35.743 --> 00:22:39.883
You can upload your resume, set job alerts, and apply without jumping through hoops.

00:22:40.063 --> 00:22:45.203
Schools across New Jersey actively use njschooljobs.com, so these are real, current openings.

00:22:45.443 --> 00:22:49.683
They also host virtual job fairs, where you can connect with multiple districts

00:22:49.683 --> 00:22:51.823
online. No driving all over the state.

00:22:51.943 --> 00:22:56.143
Those are coming up soon, so check the link in our episode description to register.

00:23:01.211 --> 00:23:02.451
Every teacher knows that the

00:23:02.451 --> 00:23:06.031
first five minutes of class set the tone for everything that comes after.

00:23:06.291 --> 00:23:10.091
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00:23:10.611 --> 00:23:15.331
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00:23:19.831 --> 00:23:23.611
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00:23:23.611 --> 00:23:27.131
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00:23:41.691 --> 00:23:48.031
Right. So there is this divide between – and this year, there's a lot of like,

00:23:48.071 --> 00:23:50.471
what did she say? What did she just say?

00:23:51.111 --> 00:23:54.431
And they say that to each other. And I hear them saying it to each other.

00:23:54.431 --> 00:24:01.011
And then I will reply, she just said, open your book. You know.

00:24:03.451 --> 00:24:07.031
And then they look at me and I'm she, she is me. With your scissors.

00:24:07.251 --> 00:24:10.591
I'm she, she is me. I say that a lot. I'm she, she is me. And she said.

00:24:13.471 --> 00:24:24.791
So there's a little bit of that we're lost in so many different routines. expectations.

00:24:25.811 --> 00:24:31.031
And we've spoken about this a little bit. I do believe that there is quite a

00:24:31.031 --> 00:24:35.751
bit of the place to place to place to place to place that you're going.

00:24:36.051 --> 00:24:38.831
And like you said, you know, you call it morning meeting and,

00:24:38.831 --> 00:24:40.631
you know, everybody has a different,

00:24:40.851 --> 00:24:43.271
you know, some teachers do a little bit of a do now, some don't.

00:24:43.411 --> 00:24:46.531
You come in, you know, some kids have to pick something up, some it's,

00:24:46.711 --> 00:24:48.931
you know, whatever you, whatever that is, the routine.

00:24:49.551 --> 00:24:53.811
And it is different six times. Correct.

00:24:56.999 --> 00:25:01.299
The access to information, I think,

00:25:01.359 --> 00:25:11.639
across the board is doing a disservice for many of our students because they

00:25:11.639 --> 00:25:16.359
are not curious and they're not seeking, you know,

00:25:16.599 --> 00:25:20.919
the, they're just not even looking, right?

00:25:21.139 --> 00:25:26.659
So we have a big gifted and talented program in our school district. Yes, we do.

00:25:26.999 --> 00:25:33.379
And every other Wednesday, droves of students, droves, leave.

00:25:33.739 --> 00:25:37.199
And I am a very big supporter of the arts.

00:25:37.479 --> 00:25:42.359
And they leave for, now our academic students don't leave. Their teachers come to them.

00:25:42.519 --> 00:25:46.579
Yeah, so the gifted and talented enrichment students, their teachers come to them.

00:25:46.739 --> 00:25:53.479
The gifted and talented arts, theater, music, vocal and instrumental,

00:25:53.879 --> 00:25:56.399
as well as creative writing and theater.

00:25:56.399 --> 00:26:05.559
They all leave okay they come in and or some of them miss the class completely

00:26:05.559 --> 00:26:12.539
and they'll come the next day as many students do when they're absent and they say what did i miss,

00:26:14.199 --> 00:26:18.339
did we do anything yesterday what did i miss.

00:26:22.016 --> 00:26:27.056
And what's my response to them? What does she say to them, do you think,

00:26:27.196 --> 00:26:29.756
Mr. Vitaly? I am not she and she is not me.

00:26:30.876 --> 00:26:35.536
But I probably say you pose a question. Did you happen to look in Google Classroom

00:26:35.536 --> 00:26:40.116
or check and see if there's anything that you might have missed? Every time.

00:26:40.696 --> 00:26:45.976
Every time. To me, and I realize the line that I'm taking, they're not absent.

00:26:46.376 --> 00:26:49.336
So if they miss your class, this is me, right?

00:26:49.816 --> 00:26:54.796
If they miss your class to go somewhere else, they are responsible for the work

00:26:54.796 --> 00:26:55.776
that they missed that day.

00:26:56.096 --> 00:26:59.656
So anything that they then ask you the next day is late.

00:27:01.156 --> 00:27:06.176
I mean, and I don't even usually even I won't get in quite as deep as that because

00:27:06.176 --> 00:27:10.196
like and I my two of my children do participate in that program.

00:27:10.376 --> 00:27:14.876
And we do have that, you know, as a parent, I talk to them about it and I get,

00:27:15.036 --> 00:27:17.576
you know, do you want to talk to me? I'll talk to you.

00:27:17.776 --> 00:27:20.696
And, you know, if a student, you want to like make a connection and you want

00:27:20.696 --> 00:27:22.316
to have a chat 100 percent.

00:27:22.516 --> 00:27:28.236
But typically my very first response is, did you check Google Classroom?

00:27:28.476 --> 00:27:31.696
Did you read? Because like what you had just said about the directions,

00:27:31.736 --> 00:27:37.096
like I do tend to post my daily agenda there.

00:27:37.096 --> 00:27:42.336
I post my agenda every single day with page numbers, attachments,

00:27:42.816 --> 00:27:46.616
directions, rubrics, whatever that possibly is.

00:27:46.636 --> 00:27:50.656
And I don't expect them to do it, although a lot of them can.

00:27:53.668 --> 00:27:56.908
But the expectation is that you read it.

00:27:59.268 --> 00:28:04.828
And just like you're saying, I'm seeing like 17 unopened, 17, you know, with no edits.

00:28:05.128 --> 00:28:09.348
For those kids that are, I mean, especially as an eighth grader,

00:28:09.528 --> 00:28:15.108
you're a high achieving kid who is going to a supplemental program for the arts,

00:28:15.228 --> 00:28:17.008
which is, again, big supporter of the arts.

00:28:17.148 --> 00:28:22.428
I also was in the G&T program for music when I was in, I went to school in the

00:28:22.428 --> 00:28:23.408
district in which we work.

00:28:23.668 --> 00:28:27.848
So I was in that program a thousand years ago, back when we used candles for light.

00:28:29.748 --> 00:28:34.308
So I knew that when I was not there, I had to make up the work and there was

00:28:34.308 --> 00:28:35.788
no Chromebook or agenda.

00:28:35.988 --> 00:28:39.708
You went and had a face-to-face conversation with your teacher and you got the

00:28:39.708 --> 00:28:41.548
work that you missed and then you did it that night.

00:28:42.408 --> 00:28:48.868
So to me, and I, that's how I do it, right? I say, hey, if you're going to be a G&T.

00:28:50.148 --> 00:28:52.608
You're not going to be in class. You have to check in at some point.

00:28:52.728 --> 00:28:57.628
You literally walk by me. Yeah. Enough times where you can come and see me. Yeah.

00:28:58.108 --> 00:29:01.968
So, like, what did I miss? I know. And I try to like, oh, what did I miss?

00:29:02.068 --> 00:29:03.348
Yeah. Oh, I'll tell you. Sure.

00:29:03.648 --> 00:29:06.748
You know, and we do have like one day a week. Well, that's another thing.

00:29:06.888 --> 00:29:09.448
Right. So if we're adding on layers and layers of like trying to keep up with

00:29:09.448 --> 00:29:12.288
everything, we do also have one day a week that there's no computers.

00:29:13.368 --> 00:29:18.188
And, you know, and I do wish that we would push a little bit harder for absolutely

00:29:18.188 --> 00:29:20.868
no tech at lunch, because that

00:29:20.868 --> 00:29:25.888
really has worked very, very well in one of the cafeterias that I'm in.

00:29:26.008 --> 00:29:31.748
We are like 100 percent no tech, but we're only there every other day. So, you know, that.

00:29:33.148 --> 00:29:38.488
Yeah. So. So. So. So I think it was you posted like someone originally posted

00:29:38.488 --> 00:29:42.888
and an educator, Andrea, you know, had a little piece that she responded to.

00:29:44.228 --> 00:29:52.888
And she did go back to taking away some of the obstacles that were put forth during COVID.

00:29:53.368 --> 00:29:56.608
I thought her take was very interesting. It was interesting.

00:29:56.788 --> 00:29:59.528
I agree. And because one of the things that she said was, it's like we said

00:29:59.528 --> 00:30:02.688
to them, oh, let's give them grace. And by when we take away the accountability

00:30:02.688 --> 00:30:04.048
that they couldn't do it.

00:30:04.308 --> 00:30:07.768
Yes. We were basically saying, you can't do this. Right.

00:30:08.028 --> 00:30:10.908
So we were like validating the fact and saying that they can't.

00:30:11.008 --> 00:30:15.668
But now, like, they're not putting in the rigor or the effort to...

00:30:17.317 --> 00:30:20.397
Push and go through the extra mile. Right. Right.

00:30:21.477 --> 00:30:25.357
And that's an excuse, though. To what end?

00:30:25.477 --> 00:30:29.157
Right. Like, you know, I've said before, like, when or how long are we going to blame this on?

00:30:29.257 --> 00:30:33.577
And I'm going to tell you, like, my sister teaches kindergarten and those children

00:30:33.577 --> 00:30:37.277
were born during the pandemic.

00:30:37.557 --> 00:30:40.837
And people are saying they're covid babies. And it's like, No,

00:30:40.837 --> 00:30:48.217
no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, I think the other thing is when we talk,

00:30:48.297 --> 00:30:51.657
you know, we talked about kids missing class and going to a supplemental thing. Okay. Right.

00:30:51.857 --> 00:30:55.877
A nuanced thing a little bit, right. Where they have to know where to go, where to get to work.

00:30:56.457 --> 00:31:02.797
I also have major issue with the kids that are absent and never do makeup work.

00:31:03.437 --> 00:31:10.217
And this is where we go back to, oh, this is the way it was when I was like, when I.

00:31:10.377 --> 00:31:15.537
Like in the last six or seven years, there are kids who are absent for whatever reason.

00:31:15.797 --> 00:31:18.397
Right. And there are some kids that always do it. Like I'm out.

00:31:18.477 --> 00:31:22.137
I'm out sick. I'm going to do my work. There are kids that like I'm home sick for three days.

00:31:22.337 --> 00:31:26.257
I'm going to check on Google Classroom while I'm laying under a blanket watching,

00:31:26.257 --> 00:31:29.997
you know, TV shows. And I'm going to check my work. My kids do it.

00:31:30.357 --> 00:31:32.757
Like if they're home sick, they're like, OK, I'll at least check in on Google

00:31:32.757 --> 00:31:34.997
Classroom. What do I need to do? Do I need to read something?

00:31:35.477 --> 00:31:39.777
OK. But I have multiple kids where they come in. I sit down with them.

00:31:39.777 --> 00:31:41.037
I say, here's what you missed.

00:31:42.637 --> 00:31:45.897
Here's the assignments that you need. Here's when it's due. And I write it on

00:31:45.897 --> 00:31:49.837
top. And I say, I will check in with you to make sure that you hand these assignments in.

00:31:51.237 --> 00:31:52.877
And they don't get handed in.

00:31:54.047 --> 00:31:57.867
Ever. And then it becomes a, well, can I hand it at the end of the market?

00:31:58.427 --> 00:32:04.207
No, like I'm not like this whole, let's remove a barrier, remove a barrier, remove a barrier.

00:32:04.427 --> 00:32:08.687
And the constant conversations I hear about my colleagues, by my colleagues

00:32:08.687 --> 00:32:10.307
about like, oh, I, this is Simon.

00:32:10.427 --> 00:32:13.347
I chased this one down and I got this and I printed out this missing work and

00:32:13.347 --> 00:32:14.187
I gave it to all these people.

00:32:14.387 --> 00:32:18.427
And for those of you that, you know, listen at work that had these conversations,

00:32:19.287 --> 00:32:23.427
I'm in no way being critical that's you that's your process but like that's

00:32:23.427 --> 00:32:26.547
exhausting it's exhausting like how many,

00:32:27.187 --> 00:32:32.207
missing work lists am I going to print out for somebody how many phone calls

00:32:32.207 --> 00:32:35.747
am I going to make home I know it's the job I know how I'm sounding I'm getting

00:32:35.747 --> 00:32:41.707
animated I'll put my hands down please put them up yeah put them up but like.

00:32:42.647 --> 00:32:46.267
And like I'll definitely link Andrea's,

00:32:46.867 --> 00:32:49.787
um post yeah it was for sure a lot of really it

00:32:49.787 --> 00:32:52.427
was great i actually i sent it to her and i you know because she's been a

00:32:52.427 --> 00:32:55.807
guest on our show oh yeah i i reached out to um andrea

00:32:55.807 --> 00:32:58.787
and i i said to her like hey this this this like far and

00:32:58.787 --> 00:33:02.247
wide this needs to be everywhere for people to hear it because like i

00:33:02.247 --> 00:33:05.027
think that we didn't know that that was like what she

00:33:05.027 --> 00:33:07.707
talked about we didn't know what's going to happen we didn't have

00:33:07.707 --> 00:33:10.527
the like the forward thinking to be like here's what it's going to look like in five

00:33:10.527 --> 00:33:13.407
years but what you just said is very interesting like oh

00:33:13.407 --> 00:33:16.527
they're covid babies and their kinder nope like that

00:33:16.527 --> 00:33:20.047
is not an excuse for me so now is that a we go

00:33:20.047 --> 00:33:23.107
back to that that post that we were talking about like parents removing

00:33:23.107 --> 00:33:25.827
barriers and not you know allowing their child

00:33:25.827 --> 00:33:28.707
to fail to learn as an opportunity and hands-on play like

00:33:28.707 --> 00:33:33.827
yes yeah those things need to happen more of and there is a shift i feel there's

00:33:33.827 --> 00:33:38.967
a shift going on both in education and in society in general about technology

00:33:38.967 --> 00:33:44.167
and how it's used and the the elephant in the room about how much screen time

00:33:44.167 --> 00:33:47.427
kids are getting and are we adding on to that in school?

00:33:48.627 --> 00:33:50.147
I'm just going to tell you.

00:33:51.256 --> 00:33:57.896
That they're going to try to take it all away in school, but you're still going

00:33:57.896 --> 00:34:03.356
to have like your average three-year-old in a restaurant on a phone. Yeah.

00:34:05.856 --> 00:34:10.576
And that's not an issue that you and I can fix. It's not. It's just,

00:34:10.576 --> 00:34:13.076
it's another education blame.

00:34:13.576 --> 00:34:17.196
Yeah. And I know for... To me, they're going to scapegoat school.

00:34:17.476 --> 00:34:26.556
Uh-huh. And I genuinely, for 10 years, have used technology in my classroom in a very similar way.

00:34:26.996 --> 00:34:29.836
I have never been a 100 percenter.

00:34:30.556 --> 00:34:36.296
I never will be a 100 percenter. I do not use it 100 percent of the time.

00:34:36.576 --> 00:34:42.096
My kids still have no books. And I have always looked at it as,

00:34:42.236 --> 00:34:44.496
how can I use this as an enhancement?

00:34:44.796 --> 00:34:48.976
It's a tool. It's not the tool. And not as just a replacement,

00:34:48.976 --> 00:34:56.616
but I love, for my subject, I absolutely love incorporating videos.

00:34:56.876 --> 00:35:00.356
I love virtual field trips.

00:35:00.636 --> 00:35:03.356
Yep. I can talk about the Coliseum.

00:35:04.036 --> 00:35:07.456
I can put up pictures of the Coliseum. But

00:35:07.456 --> 00:35:15.356
to use a Nearpod and go to the Coliseum and stand and look at it and what it

00:35:15.356 --> 00:35:20.856
looked like and what it looks like now and what it looked like then is completely

00:35:20.856 --> 00:35:27.376
a different way of teaching them that I could not do if I did not have that technology.

00:35:29.776 --> 00:35:37.796
So the idea of society, again, blaming, oh, it's got to be the school, must be the school.

00:35:39.922 --> 00:35:42.742
Is just, I'm pre-annoyed, right?

00:35:43.482 --> 00:35:46.842
I'm pre-annoyed. I just want to say, I'm pre-annoyed because,

00:35:46.842 --> 00:35:49.522
you know, yes, schools are cutting.

00:35:49.822 --> 00:35:54.122
Kids are learning to cut, but it's not being reinforced at all.

00:35:54.582 --> 00:36:01.762
And like you said, you know, if the child is not in school and you're absent,

00:36:02.162 --> 00:36:04.562
you're like, hey, do you have any homework?

00:36:04.682 --> 00:36:07.322
You feeling better? Can I get, you know, what do you, Right.

00:36:07.522 --> 00:36:15.122
So it does and always has to be families and schools working towards the same

00:36:15.122 --> 00:36:20.782
outcome, wanting and desiring the same positive outcome.

00:36:20.782 --> 00:36:24.102
And one of the things we'll be talking about later in this season,

00:36:24.382 --> 00:36:29.862
a little theme for us is, and we're still working out the logistics of the deets

00:36:29.862 --> 00:36:33.102
and the logistics of all of it, because we're going to have some extra guests coming on.

00:36:34.082 --> 00:36:36.162
We're going to talk about a little bit, and I've mentioned this before,

00:36:36.282 --> 00:36:41.802
the tech reset. Like, what are school districts doing? What are parents doing?

00:36:41.982 --> 00:36:45.102
What are, like, societies doing? Like, you know, in Australia,

00:36:45.282 --> 00:36:48.242
they're removing access to social media for 16-year-olds.

00:36:48.322 --> 00:36:51.122
And Spain. Yeah, I'm sure they're finding ways around it.

00:36:51.362 --> 00:36:57.142
But at the same time, these are, I think, steps in the right direction.

00:36:57.142 --> 00:37:02.702
Well, did you know now they're going to pass, or it's already passed,

00:37:02.762 --> 00:37:08.642
at least in regards to Spain specifically, where if those companies that run

00:37:08.642 --> 00:37:18.042
social media that is targeted to teenagers do not change the way that it is marketed or used,

00:37:18.042 --> 00:37:22.022
they will be held responsible. Yeah.

00:37:22.522 --> 00:37:27.382
So they're going to have to approach it in a different way. Yeah.

00:37:27.882 --> 00:37:32.842
You know? It's a huge... I mean, my kids watched TV, and my kids had iPads and,

00:37:32.842 --> 00:37:35.522
you know, and played games and still do.

00:37:36.142 --> 00:37:39.182
Same. But there's... But the balance...

00:37:41.063 --> 00:37:47.403
Is paramount. So the balance is what people I think are missing.

00:37:47.983 --> 00:37:51.103
And then of course, they're just going to scapegoat the school.

00:37:51.303 --> 00:37:54.163
Those skills, and I mean, this is a whole other conversation.

00:37:54.503 --> 00:38:00.863
One of the things that's listed here is these aren't academic deficits.

00:38:00.863 --> 00:38:04.123
They're developmental and executive function gaps.

00:38:04.663 --> 00:38:13.103
We're expecting these kids to do material and do math that is in some cases

00:38:13.103 --> 00:38:16.323
is above their academic level, not just math, it's all subjects.

00:38:16.523 --> 00:38:23.043
But then we're talking about using scissors and it's something that 12 and 13-year-olds struggle doing.

00:38:24.163 --> 00:38:29.023
We're talking about following simple two, three-step directions and some kids

00:38:29.023 --> 00:38:31.503
either can't or don't want to.

00:38:31.883 --> 00:38:36.383
Right, and believe me, I have a couple of kids, it's like, and we're not talking

00:38:36.383 --> 00:38:39.643
about our students that have, you know, been identified or that they really

00:38:39.643 --> 00:38:43.123
struggle, you know, because obviously I always have, like, even for today,

00:38:43.123 --> 00:38:45.643
I have some that I pre-cut,

00:38:45.883 --> 00:38:48.943
you know, I was ready. I was ready to help. I was ready to swing in.

00:38:49.843 --> 00:38:53.103
However, they also do not have the stamina.

00:38:55.323 --> 00:38:59.623
They just don't have the stamina. So I was seeing so much of,

00:38:59.763 --> 00:39:02.163
like, they were just taking their hands and shaking them.

00:39:03.723 --> 00:39:08.683
It was like, you're so tired. It's only nine little things.

00:39:09.003 --> 00:39:12.743
The post that we have here, it says teachers are reporting that they're spending

00:39:12.743 --> 00:39:16.403
instructional time on how to sit in a circle. More on that in a moment.

00:39:17.243 --> 00:39:20.583
Teaching kids how to wait their turn. How to wait their turn. That's right.

00:39:21.043 --> 00:39:26.263
How to wait their turn. Why you don't take your shoes off at circle time and throw them at someone.

00:39:26.543 --> 00:39:29.983
Teaching kids how to open a juice box. Maybe that's not a big problem in middle

00:39:29.983 --> 00:39:30.943
school, but you know what I mean.

00:39:31.323 --> 00:39:37.483
I do. So, when we are constantly removing friction from a child's life, we're also...

00:39:38.177 --> 00:39:46.857
Like creating conditions that build incompetence, like they're unable to do basic things.

00:39:46.857 --> 00:39:50.557
And that becomes a challenge academically

00:39:50.557 --> 00:39:55.377
for certain kids where they are developmentally behind. Absolutely.

00:39:55.737 --> 00:40:01.397
So, and we are by no means developmental experts, but these are things we are

00:40:01.397 --> 00:40:03.277
seeing in real time in the classroom. Absolutely.

00:40:03.577 --> 00:40:06.077
And, you know, that feeling and sense of accomplishment.

00:40:06.637 --> 00:40:10.297
And I say this a lot to my students. I say it to my children.

00:40:10.457 --> 00:40:14.477
I say it to myself, to be honest with you. You can do hard things.

00:40:14.917 --> 00:40:21.497
Yes. You can do hard things. And sometimes, like, you know, what is really difficult

00:40:21.497 --> 00:40:24.817
for one or not for the other, you know, you can do hard things.

00:40:25.037 --> 00:40:27.797
That's what she said. I'm going to delete that out. I just had to say it because

00:40:27.797 --> 00:40:29.337
she said it too many times. Michael Scott, damn it.

00:40:30.357 --> 00:40:33.177
Sorry. That's funny. That was for me because I'm a 12-year-old.

00:40:33.517 --> 00:40:35.117
Of course. But it's true.

00:40:35.317 --> 00:40:41.457
It is true. And they have to know that because life only gets more difficult as time goes on.

00:40:41.657 --> 00:40:46.677
Yeah. And the challenges never stop. They never stop.

00:40:48.717 --> 00:40:54.937
There's other posts that are out there. There's posts on different teacher misery

00:40:54.937 --> 00:40:57.977
posts at teacher misery.com.

00:40:58.157 --> 00:41:01.277
There's all things like that. It's like, oh, I have parents that are asking

00:41:01.277 --> 00:41:05.977
for an extension on a Google Slides project did in class.

00:41:06.137 --> 00:41:10.137
And we worked on it. They needed to create two original slides and they had four days.

00:41:11.602 --> 00:41:12.802
And they want extension on it.

00:41:12.962 --> 00:41:15.142
And you know what? Sometimes the answer just is going to have to be no.

00:41:15.562 --> 00:41:19.702
And, you know, again, I was trying to build a bridge from the other side and

00:41:19.702 --> 00:41:22.822
think about, like, oh, maybe there was an extenuating circumstance or whatever.

00:41:22.942 --> 00:41:25.842
But, like, come on. Like, at what point? Sometimes it's just no.

00:41:25.982 --> 00:41:27.622
Sometimes it's no. It is no.

00:41:27.922 --> 00:41:35.402
And you are, we are living right now in a society where it is very difficult to say no.

00:41:36.422 --> 00:41:42.202
It really just is. Even as parents, it's so hard. You say no. Oh, why not? No, come on.

00:41:42.602 --> 00:41:48.002
No, no, it's just no. Like the deadline came and went. You missed it.

00:41:48.842 --> 00:41:53.162
My friends at my old school, we would talk about this t-shirt,

00:41:53.362 --> 00:41:56.042
this fantasy t-shirt that everybody always wanted to have.

00:41:56.542 --> 00:41:59.862
And it was, everybody wanted to have these t-shirts made.

00:42:00.002 --> 00:42:07.222
And it was a person and they were missing a train and they had their hand up

00:42:07.222 --> 00:42:10.162
and the train was gone. And it said deadlines matter.

00:42:10.842 --> 00:42:14.162
You know and it was like yeah it matters

00:42:14.162 --> 00:42:17.342
like it really does time knowing how

00:42:17.342 --> 00:42:20.242
much you have you have to be there like you can't

00:42:20.242 --> 00:42:23.042
get to the airport three hours for your

00:42:23.042 --> 00:42:29.082
flight and expect that your flight is waiting for you yeah you know and so i

00:42:29.082 --> 00:42:32.962
think a lot of schools are struggling with those same things kids you know chronic

00:42:32.962 --> 00:42:41.242
absenteeism chronic tardiness and yeah i mean i I, there are things that I marvel at, um.

00:42:43.137 --> 00:42:49.077
You know, we are very, it's our kids' senior year, and there's a number of things

00:42:49.077 --> 00:42:54.257
that we have, you know, planned for them, and some of them are them missing

00:42:54.257 --> 00:42:56.157
school in order to do these things, right?

00:42:58.097 --> 00:43:02.297
And this is not me bragging or patting myself on the back. My kids get A's,

00:43:02.857 --> 00:43:04.957
okay? They work hard in the classes that they have.

00:43:05.817 --> 00:43:10.197
So if I want to take them out for two days or three days at the end of their

00:43:10.197 --> 00:43:12.157
senior year, I'm going to take them out.

00:43:14.157 --> 00:43:17.197
And there shouldn't be or there is not an issue with attendance,

00:43:17.437 --> 00:43:20.777
but even if there was, there's kids that we see that are late.

00:43:22.288 --> 00:43:28.608
We're in February now, right? It's about 100 years of, excuse me.

00:43:29.028 --> 00:43:32.828
100 days of school. 100 days of school. Yeah. And in looking at certain people

00:43:32.828 --> 00:43:36.828
that I see come in and you look and you're like, that person has been late to

00:43:36.828 --> 00:43:40.168
school, unexcused, 56 times.

00:43:40.528 --> 00:43:45.908
Yeah. So again, maybe there's an extenuating circumstance that I don't know

00:43:45.908 --> 00:43:47.388
about. Right. Maybe they are. Absolutely.

00:43:47.828 --> 00:43:52.008
Wait, maybe they are. Maybe the principal already knows and they're saying or the whatever.

00:43:52.288 --> 00:43:56.208
And I'm making up these numbers in these scenarios, right? But maybe the principal's

00:43:56.208 --> 00:44:00.388
like, hey, this child is getting their little brother or sister off to school.

00:44:01.888 --> 00:44:04.568
And we're going to let them come in late during homeroom or they're going to

00:44:04.568 --> 00:44:05.748
come in late during first period.

00:44:05.888 --> 00:44:11.808
But at what point is it like, hey, mom and dad, could we make sure that our

00:44:11.808 --> 00:44:15.288
child gets to school on time? Because that's very important to the learning process.

00:44:15.648 --> 00:44:17.848
And for middle school, it's a little different because we don't have credits.

00:44:18.188 --> 00:44:20.848
So at the high school, you cannot be late that much.

00:44:20.848 --> 00:44:26.948
So at the same time, like if your child is, you know, absent a certain amount

00:44:26.948 --> 00:44:32.128
of days and they're still high achieving and making up every assignment you

00:44:32.128 --> 00:44:34.228
give them, there shouldn't be an issue.

00:44:34.408 --> 00:44:39.508
But if I showed up late to work 54 days, I'm going to be an issue.

00:44:40.448 --> 00:44:44.468
I'm going to have letters in my mailbox. I'm going to have problems arise that

00:44:44.468 --> 00:44:45.248
I'm going to have to deal with.

00:44:45.628 --> 00:44:50.348
So, yeah, this is this is a larger conversation, something that we're going to keep talking about.

00:44:50.348 --> 00:44:57.528
It's ongoing for sure on for uh yeah unfortunately yeah because these developmental gaps are.

00:44:59.208 --> 00:45:03.848
In many ways just dragging the aggregate of the whole class down so you you

00:45:03.848 --> 00:45:07.108
i i found an activity that i really wanted to do and it was like this foldable

00:45:07.108 --> 00:45:09.988
activity it was like okay you take three pieces of paper and you fold it together

00:45:09.988 --> 00:45:14.168
and then you do this and you fold it again and i was i'm literally doing it at my desk and i'm like,

00:45:15.519 --> 00:45:19.799
This is going to take three days. Like, I can't do this. But all the more reason you should.

00:45:20.539 --> 00:45:23.439
But I didn't. Put on your big boy pants and do it to it.

00:45:24.039 --> 00:45:27.819
I didn't. I took the path of least resistance. Because in that moment,

00:45:27.959 --> 00:45:30.179
that's what, no, honestly. So you had to give yourself grace, Mr.

00:45:30.379 --> 00:45:32.939
Vitelli. And no one is going to argue with you about that.

00:45:33.199 --> 00:45:36.059
At that moment, that's what I needed to do to make life a little bit better.

00:45:36.259 --> 00:45:41.779
So before we wrap up, I just want to mention again, I'm going to link the two

00:45:41.779 --> 00:45:43.079
posts that we've talked about.

00:45:43.239 --> 00:45:45.279
One of them is a text post. The other one is from Educator Andrew.

00:45:45.419 --> 00:45:48.939
Shout out to Educator Andrew. Definitely check out those posts.

00:45:50.019 --> 00:45:54.059
You know, maybe even like, you know, take a look at them and listen to them

00:45:54.059 --> 00:45:58.059
during the episode. So this way you guys have a familiarity of what we're talking about.

00:45:58.899 --> 00:46:02.139
I also, again, want to just mention that I thank our new sponsors.

00:46:02.259 --> 00:46:07.019
We appreciate you, NJ School Jobs and Lesson Launchpad, iHeart Lesson Launchpad.

00:46:08.319 --> 00:46:12.439
So we appreciate you guys jumping on board and being a part of our show and

00:46:12.439 --> 00:46:18.059
getting us into the ears of many more listeners. So thanks a lot for that. Yes.

00:46:18.379 --> 00:46:22.399
And, you know, we may have a lot of obstacles out there, but car insurance is

00:46:22.399 --> 00:46:24.999
not one of them. It's not one of them. That's not. All right.

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00:46:48.519 --> 00:46:51.399
hey guess what they do guess what

00:46:51.399 --> 00:46:54.219
friend i'm going to go use your 25 year old scissors

00:46:54.219 --> 00:47:01.339
uh and uh go cut something out for the muppet show i don't know what i'm talking

00:47:01.339 --> 00:47:04.859
about i'm trying to wrap it all up let's start the music yeah let's it's time

00:47:04.859 --> 00:47:08.039
to play the music it's time to light the lights that's right it's time to meet

00:47:08.039 --> 00:47:11.739
the muppets on the muppet show tonight so uh forgot.