Middle School Minds Need Organized Systems

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You are listening to The Balancing Act Podcast. Here's your hosts,

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Jamie Wonko and Joe Vitale.

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Oh my goodness, I got like the finger flick. Yeah, I know. It's a new thing.

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Hello and welcome to The Balancing Act Podcast. I am Jamie Wanko here with Mr.

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Joseph Vitale. And we are so happy to bring you our show today Yes,

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we're very happy to be here once again My finger flicking was more of trying

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to get dexterity in my frozen fingers Oh my goodness,

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you are Because I am outside in the early spring in New Jersey Which is,

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I'm hoping when this episode airs There's like warm weather Because this is,

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I can't take it anymore The weather is as unpredictable as a toddler You know,

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you just don't know what you're going to get it just changes so quickly.

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I actually put my winter coat on today.

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I didn't have my winter coat going to school.

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And, um, you know, I thought, gee, that seems ridiculous. I thought I had put

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her away, like, see you next year lady.

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Um, but nope, she got pulled back out. It was just too cold.

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I couldn't, I just couldn't do it. I have like the same outfit that I wear at the baseball field.

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Um, and like a uniform.

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Yeah. It's almost like a uniform for me. That's the funny part.

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Uh, and it's like me and my fleece line Costco pants.

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Uh, and I had this battery operated heated jacket, uh, that my wife got me thankfully

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a couple of years ago, um.

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From Amazon for a special purchase and it is glorious, but yet I was still freezing.

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Like it's just, I can't take it.

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Um, I know. Well, hopefully soon we will get, uh, you know, we will get it together

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and, and the sun will be in our favor.

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I did see like our local pool, um, has a little spray ground and everything

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was bubble wrapped for the winter and it was unwrapped and I am so,

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I was so excited and I don't even have little kids.

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You know, I just like, just seeing that it was just like it,

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it gave me all the feels today. I was so excited.

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There is somebody now, again, we're recording this in, uh, in,

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uh, you know, early spring, uh, there is somebody in my neighborhood that has

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a, it has to be heated. Their pool is open. Wow.

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It is the end of March and it is absolutely early.

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Yes. My sister's pool in New Jersey was heated and they would open it, um,

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like early May, I would say, but, um, you know, they would crank that bad boy

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up to 90 and it was, it was nice, but, um, wow, that's early, I guess.

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I mean, they're getting a jump start on the season. Yeah. Uh.

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They're open. There's this open late. There has to be some, they have to have

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some kind of like super duper heating system or like maybe it's a hot tub.

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I don't know. Can you imagine the bell for that?

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Yeah, it's pretty crazy. I can't. I cannot imagine.

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Neither can I. Yes. So, um, you know, uh, I know that you have been,

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um, holding down the fort as your wife has been, um, away on business.

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Do you, um, what are some of the things that.

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Um, happen over there at Casa Vitale when, um, the missus is, uh, is not home.

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Um, well, some things that are different. My son's phone doesn't work.

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And he forgets that, like I sent him text messages and he doesn't respond to me.

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And we've also joked about this, how like you and I have both texted my son

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and then let's see who he gets back to.

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And he gets back to you and doesn't, it's like, Oh, I've responded to you.

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And I'm like, no, you didn't. He's like, yeah, I did.

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Oh, oh yeah. That's right. I thought I responded to you. Yeah.

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No, really, it's about, you know, their schedules are just as busy as ours are adults.

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They're going to school in the morning for, my daughter does science tutoring

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and helps out with the Science Honor Society, and, you know,

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my son is playing baseball, and he has practice here and there.

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No, that's not what I asked you. What?

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What did you ask me? I asked you. What? What things are different?

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Yeah. Oh, that's what I was getting to. Oh, okay. What I was getting to is like-

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Well, you just told me the list of their schedule.

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Yeah. But that's not what I meant. However, what's different is that I'm kind of managing.

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I mean, normally my wife and I are managing that stuff, but I'm kind of managing

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all of that, including getting dinner on the table and making sure that they

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have everything that they need. Who needs to get picked up when?

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We normally do that together and it's divide and conquer.

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Right. But this time it's a little bit more challenging for me to go so long.

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When I was a kid, when I was a child, my dad, you know, he was a principal.

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So he wasn't out like a ton because, you know, it was a K-8 school.

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So it wasn't like being a high school principal.

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But, you know, he was out now and again.

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And the highlight of my childhood of like when my dad was not home was that

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we would have chicken pot pie for dinner. Oh, nice.

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Swanson, like probably at the time they were like 38 cents because now they're

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only like 98 cents, you know?

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So like that was a thing that we always looked forward to like,

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oh, dad's not going to be here. So it was like this big deal.

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Do you guys have anything like that where...

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Not really. We don't. It's funny because if I go away, which happens every once in a while,

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I remember when we used to live in Pennsylvania for a time and I was commuting

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over an hour each way. I don't recommend it.

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And there were times where I had a morning early faculty meeting and And I'd

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have to be in by like 7.15.

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And there was just, it was just too hard to like get home and get back.

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So like when I had faculty meetings, since my parents are local,

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I would just crash at their house.

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Or like if I was away and I was doing something, but it would be funny because

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I'd like call home or we'd like FaceTime or whatever.

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And it'd be like, the kids are having wacky dinner. And it's like cereal for

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dinner, which is endearing and it's cute.

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Uh and my kids will still do it every once in a while every

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once in a while they'll be like yeah i'm just gonna have cereal i'm like okay you know

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what you do you it's um yeah but honestly honestly

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nothing nothing really crazy like yeah we might every

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once in a while go to like this mexican restaurant we have in in town called

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jose tejas because my wife was never really a huge fan of it she's kind of taken

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more of a liking to it recently um but really don't have anything like that

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though where it's like oh it's chicken pot pie time right um yeah yeah i mean and it's hard too,

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because there's like, is there time to, you know, even like go somewhere different or do something?

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But that's, yeah, because that can be tricky with everybody's schedules.

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Yeah, I think that's, that's the hard part is this is also, and my wife knows this too.

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I mean, this is the part where at the end of her semester, you know,

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working where she works at the end of her semester, it becomes very busy with

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like kids needing to, you know, I say kids, but like adults that are going through

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the program that she works for,

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finishing up and getting ready for graduation and her auditing, all that stuff.

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It's like a super duper stressful event for her.

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So like I kind of, not that I become a single parent, but like I'm the only

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one that's like doing a lot of that running around because somebody has to,

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and she has other things that she has to focus on until that kind of settles down for her.

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But also when that settles down, everything kind of settles down Cause it's

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like mid-May and we start to get to like that, that groove where you're getting

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towards the end of the school year.

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So, um, that's a challenge for us balance wise. Uh,

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you know, for who's got to do what and when, because it's always,

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um, you know, our kids have always been involved in sports and athletics and stuff like that.

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But that's, that's nearing its end with our kids being juniors.

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Cause they won't be pursuing that in college. Um, and you know,

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they say that you'll miss it.

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And then when I'm like, yeah, but I won't miss standing outside full circle to bring it cold.

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Yeah. Freezing cold with a battery operated heated jacket on.

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Like, I just won't. You'll get a reprieve until you're a grandparent, probably.

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And then you'll be back out there again. Probably. But I will be a fair weather

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grandparent, meaning I will go out there in the fair weather because I just I can't take it.

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Encourage indoor activities. Yes. Encourage indoor activities. Play volleyball.

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Crazy. Yeah. Yeah. We have different spring breaks this year in our house.

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So that is a challenge. I have mentioned before my desire for a statewide calendar.

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I think it would be terrific if we all had the same schedules, but we do not.

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So, and this is an issue for, you know, many parents, obviously,

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who are teachers and who are not, who are not teachers to, you know, maintain the schedule.

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And of course, like there's lots of school districts that bank in the snow days

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and then didn't use any of them.

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So now the end of the year becomes this time where every other day you have

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a day off from school, which can be crazy maddening when you have little ones.

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So, you know, so that's a whole other thing. But we really don't like having

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different spring breaks or, you know, any break for that matter.

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So that's upon us. And and we really are annoyed by it, I'll say.

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We like when they overlap and we We all have off, you know, it's like there's

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nothing worse than like you have to get up and your, you know,

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partner is like, you know, sleeping and you're separate. You know,

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you can't have fun together at the same time.

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So, yeah, that'll be next up for us. That's definitely a bummer.

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It is a bummer. Yeah. And.

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I could see how, you know, just from a schedule perspective,

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you know, you want to spend that time with your significant other and catch

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up and relax. And the kids and, yeah, everybody all together.

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So, you know, me and the kids have off together and Jason does not.

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So we're upset, officially upset.

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You know, so it's interesting because there's going to be, you know,

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I'm sure there's so many people.

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And that is the one benefit I know that you know that, you know,

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of teaching and working in the same district as my kids that I don't have to

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ever think about that schedule because we always have off at the same time.

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But it's very stressful for people in opposite, you know, in opposite situations.

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So, you know, but crazy, even that, too, is a very short lived thing.

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So all of a sudden your kids are old enough and you don't have to think about that so much anymore.

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But when they're little, it is a rough go. I wonder why there isn't more of

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a push to do like a statewide calendar like that.

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I honestly think that there is so much, I am, I can only surmise there's so much differences.

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There's so many differences specifically with like religious observances for

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different towns that I think that it would be,

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there would be a ton of pushback from different communities that wouldn't have certain holidays off.

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Because, right, our school district doesn't do religious holidays.

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We do federal and, you know, and that obviously can get tricky in other places

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if you had, you know, let's say, for instance, like a huge Jewish population

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and we don't have offer like Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur.

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So, um, I, I, that would be my, yeah, anymore, that would be my guess as to

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why, um, you know, they couldn't have a statewide, but, um.

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I know that my husband's school district made a very specific push to have,

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uh, to get out before Juneteenth.

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So they kind of moved things around and they have a different kind of schedule

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this year than they have before.

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Whereas we have, you know, school and then off and then school and off. Yeah.

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The end of the end of our year is just going to be.

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It's getting more like, you know, swish cheesy.

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Honestly, it's stop, start, stop, start, stop, start, you know.

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Yeah. And to the point where, you know, from a grade perspective, like I guess.

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Like, I guess I'll be done the first week of June. Like, like,

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and you'll, you'll have to be teaching, uh, you know, graduation for promotion. Yeah.

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I already have nine grades in the, in the grade book.

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For the new marking period. Yeah. And that's crazy. Cause we,

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we just recently started, but like everyone else, you probably ended a little earlier.

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So this week you can start the next one a little earlier. It's just a weird. Had to.

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Yeah. It's just a weird headspace to get yourself into.

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Yeah. Had to, had to do it. Had no choice.

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And, you know, if there's any possibility of me getting, that's an interesting question, honestly.

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I'm so curious for other schools. And if you're a teacher, this will be a great

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poll question for us to put out there to everybody.

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How many grades do you need to have?

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Because we recently have a new schedule and, you know, we're getting used to

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it. And it's very different from our old schedule, which was block.

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And now we have periods. So the kids had four blocks. Now they have six periods.

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But we have the same amount of grades that we had as the old schedule.

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We still have 20 minor and five major.

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So is that typical?

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I honestly, I would have no idea, no way of knowing.

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So I'd be so curious to see where other people land with that,

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especially also because the other grades I'm looking at are my kids and I already

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know because we're here. So I'd be curious.

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Is that a lot? One of the things I, you know, this is kind of a personal issue

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with me that I struggle with.

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I think the hardest thing for me personally, being a teacher and having my kids

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go to school in the same district where I work at, is that I know what the policies are, right?

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Now, any parent can go, and this is going to lead us into our conversation today.

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Any parent can go on the district website and they can look up all of the public

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district policies in regards to grading, in regards to attendance.

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You know, water bottles, dress code, all that stuff, right? So when I know,

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I am told by my administrators, it's 20 and five, meaning 20 minor assessments,

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five major assessments, and that's the standard.

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And that's what it needs to be every marking period. And then my kids get evaluated

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with three major grades in a class and let's say eight minors.

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And one of those majors is a doubled major.

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They took one assignment and just gave it the grade twice.

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I don't like I don't understand why there if there is a this is just me as Mr. Rule follower.

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If there is a policy, why is everyone not following the policy?

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So that is another conversation I'd love to hear from people about,

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like, does it differ from level to level?

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Does it different from department to department?

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Can you really like what is the best way to truly evaluate a child?

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And there are times where we've been told like, Hey, you know,

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during COVID grades were grades, um,

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you know, that things were a little bit different, but you know,

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it's, it's kind of a sore subject for me because like, I'm like,

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why, why, why aren't people just doing this?

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I think of them as like, okay, well, you know, uh, you can't just be like,

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you know what? I don't like stop signs.

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Stop signs are stupid and they're red and they tell me what to do. And they're octagon.

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Are they an octagon? I guess. Yeah. They're an octagon. Like I don't like,

00:15:41.914 --> 00:15:48.034
yeah, sides, dumb, but like, there's a reason why they exist to keep order and

00:15:48.034 --> 00:15:49.814
to make sure people don't crash into each other.

00:15:50.054 --> 00:15:52.294
Like, I don't understand why there's not a uniform standard.

00:15:52.434 --> 00:15:57.014
It's getting riled up, getting riled up. No, it's just are flying high.

00:15:58.594 --> 00:16:02.114
That's the Italian in me. Uh, no, it's, it's one of those things where like,

00:16:02.274 --> 00:16:05.874
if, if, if I'm an administrator, that's something that I feel.

00:16:06.747 --> 00:16:09.447
Should be uniform for all kids across the district.

00:16:09.627 --> 00:16:13.467
I kind of also think, though, like if you're an administrator and you have people

00:16:13.467 --> 00:16:16.227
who are working for you that are professionals,

00:16:16.567 --> 00:16:20.627
like the assumption would be that they are following the professional,

00:16:20.627 --> 00:16:27.607
you know, code and the rules that they know and the policies that they signed off on.

00:16:28.147 --> 00:16:30.927
Right. Literally signed off on. Signed off.

00:16:31.127 --> 00:16:37.087
Right. Signed off on. So to me, what I don't understand is, if you have a parent

00:16:37.087 --> 00:16:39.027
who reaches out and says,

00:16:39.227 --> 00:16:42.807
you know, my child is in this class, and this is like now the third marking

00:16:42.807 --> 00:16:46.887
period in a row, where they're supposed to have 25 grades, and they've had six,

00:16:47.387 --> 00:16:51.767
and I, you know, can you just look into that for me?

00:16:51.767 --> 00:16:55.947
And then as a parent, you realize like you're now entering the fourth marking

00:16:55.947 --> 00:17:00.787
period and there's nowhere anywhere near the grade that you're supposed,

00:17:01.027 --> 00:17:02.907
the number that you're supposed to have.

00:17:03.107 --> 00:17:11.007
Nothing is going to change. So you either just have to like deal with it or go berserk.

00:17:11.307 --> 00:17:14.727
I, you know, I've at this point, I'm like the stakes aren't that high in my

00:17:14.727 --> 00:17:18.647
situation. So I'm like, OK, we're just going to I'm even like to the point where

00:17:18.647 --> 00:17:22.307
I reached out and said, are you going to have to the teacher?

00:17:22.427 --> 00:17:24.247
Like, are you going to have any more grades?

00:17:24.447 --> 00:17:28.487
Because six doesn't really seem like enough.

00:17:29.127 --> 00:17:32.967
Oh, yeah, yeah, sure. No problem. I'm yes. No, I just was like,

00:17:33.047 --> 00:17:34.047
I'm right on top of that, Rose.

00:17:34.907 --> 00:17:37.027
Do you get that reference? I do.

00:17:38.727 --> 00:17:43.027
And I think that are you, Rose? I could be.

00:17:44.207 --> 00:17:49.047
I think the hard part is also boys don't usually get that reference joe i'm

00:17:49.047 --> 00:17:53.307
so proud of you um i know it i can't was it christina applegate that you like

00:17:53.307 --> 00:17:57.287
that made you watch don't tell mom the babysitter's dad um.

00:17:58.735 --> 00:18:01.175
No, I do remember the movie, though. I thought it was a fun movie.

00:18:01.495 --> 00:18:03.035
And don't tell mom the babysitter's dead.

00:18:03.235 --> 00:18:07.535
Is that the one where they're, is that what the woman on the roof and their dishes are done, man?

00:18:08.035 --> 00:18:12.095
And they're, like, shooting the dishes. Yeah, but the greatest line of all time

00:18:12.095 --> 00:18:16.055
from that movie was, you know, her boss, she, you know, she's only 17,

00:18:16.055 --> 00:18:18.875
but she's got to get to work because they killed the babysitter and they buried

00:18:18.875 --> 00:18:19.855
her with all the money. Whoops.

00:18:20.355 --> 00:18:23.275
Or she just dies. She dies of old age, right? 80s classics.

00:18:24.015 --> 00:18:27.915
So then they, so she has to go to work and she like fakes her whole,

00:18:28.075 --> 00:18:30.995
this is, you know, even before chat GPT, she fakes her whole resume.

00:18:31.235 --> 00:18:32.095
She copies it from a book.

00:18:32.375 --> 00:18:36.555
Anyway, she gets this high powered job and her boss, Rose, you know,

00:18:36.695 --> 00:18:42.415
tells her like, anytime we get a call, no matter what it is,

00:18:42.535 --> 00:18:46.455
you say, I'm right on top of that, Rose.

00:18:47.095 --> 00:18:49.875
And so that becomes like a whole and to me like

00:18:49.875 --> 00:18:54.435
it's just the perfect response for like oh hey hey teacher do you think maybe

00:18:54.435 --> 00:18:56.995
you have a few more grades and they're like oh yeah and i'm like i'm right on

00:18:56.995 --> 00:19:02.615
top it's such a bs i'm right on top of that joe yeah that's funny yeah so today

00:19:02.615 --> 00:19:07.295
we're going to talk about i want to make one more comment i'm sorry i interrupted you because.

00:19:08.775 --> 00:19:11.555
Piggybacking on top of that like yes i'm a teacher in the district and my kids

00:19:11.555 --> 00:19:15.935
go here that's the other reason that I don't want to be like the guy who's like

00:19:15.935 --> 00:19:19.095
pointing that out and making waves because I,

00:19:20.512 --> 00:19:24.612
I don't want to put myself under a microscope. I mean, and it's not that it's

00:19:24.612 --> 00:19:26.792
funny to me, too, because like it's not that I'm worried about that.

00:19:26.932 --> 00:19:29.032
Like I'm dedicated to what I do.

00:19:29.172 --> 00:19:31.672
I enjoy what I do. I get good evaluations.

00:19:31.852 --> 00:19:35.132
Like I think I'm well respected by my colleagues and my boss.

00:19:35.292 --> 00:19:39.232
Like it's not something I should really be worried about. But I don't want people

00:19:39.232 --> 00:19:41.472
to like roll their eyes when they get an email from me.

00:19:41.552 --> 00:19:44.412
And I also do the things as a parent that I'm supposed to do.

00:19:44.512 --> 00:19:49.172
Like if I'm going to email a teacher, I email from my personal account, not my work account.

00:19:49.172 --> 00:19:51.792
Because that's just me that's just

00:19:51.792 --> 00:19:56.172
me I do a separate church and state um but

00:19:56.172 --> 00:19:59.052
yeah there's what difference does it make really I know I know

00:19:59.052 --> 00:20:01.812
it's just I don't know I bet I'm like me also it's like

00:20:01.812 --> 00:20:05.352
I'm not trying to pick at people I'm not trying to say

00:20:05.352 --> 00:20:07.992
um you know I'm not

00:20:07.992 --> 00:20:11.052
trying to tattle on them it's like you always go to the teacher first but

00:20:11.052 --> 00:20:14.032
um I mean I don't know that I would split hairs

00:20:14.032 --> 00:20:17.092
over like okay you're supposed to have 25 let's say

00:20:17.092 --> 00:20:21.312
you have 16 yeah 18 six seven

00:20:21.312 --> 00:20:24.552
i mean yeah but six or seven if

00:20:24.552 --> 00:20:28.512
you're in a if you're in a specific honors class no

00:20:28.512 --> 00:20:31.172
honors not honors i don't care it's like i i feel

00:20:31.172 --> 00:20:34.492
like i'm i'm saying right i feel like i get like to a level where

00:20:34.492 --> 00:20:37.432
i'm like sweating and grading and doing and we're doing

00:20:37.432 --> 00:20:40.952
and activities and we're planning and it's like that's that

00:20:40.952 --> 00:20:44.032
that's the other part too is is it a

00:20:44.032 --> 00:20:46.872
dereliction of duty right are we now

00:20:46.872 --> 00:20:52.032
had duty are we now stepping aside from the fact that we are responsible for

00:20:52.032 --> 00:20:56.592
doing these things like grading things in a timely manner because you get five

00:20:56.592 --> 00:21:01.272
days to grade a major assessment and two days to grade a minor or whatever it

00:21:01.272 --> 00:21:04.172
is and yes you give grace to people Oh, I'm not like looking.

00:21:04.472 --> 00:21:09.332
Oh, it wasn't five days. Like, you know, I'm talking about it's the last week

00:21:09.332 --> 00:21:12.292
of the marking period and there's still six grades.

00:21:13.688 --> 00:21:18.548
So I'm going to tell this story, but I am, but I am really quick and I am going

00:21:18.548 --> 00:21:19.908
to ask my daughter if it's okay.

00:21:20.008 --> 00:21:23.608
So if we might wind up cutting this out, but I'm going to leave this in right now.

00:21:23.688 --> 00:21:26.608
And my daughter, at the end of last year was in a particular class and handed

00:21:26.608 --> 00:21:30.188
in a project and it was the middle of May that she handed in a project and it was a major.

00:21:31.208 --> 00:21:36.848
And we took, she took a final exam in the end of June. And that project was

00:21:36.848 --> 00:21:38.528
not graded for five weeks.

00:21:39.168 --> 00:21:41.968
And we get to the end of the school year and she took her final

00:21:41.968 --> 00:21:45.208
exam and it was uh the last

00:21:45.208 --> 00:21:47.908
two days of school or like a high school or like it's really

00:21:47.908 --> 00:21:50.988
for seniors and they go do graduation practice and the barbecue and all that

00:21:50.988 --> 00:21:56.268
stuff so kids don't go if as long as they don't need the attendance days and

00:21:56.268 --> 00:22:00.128
my kids had not been out they were out a handful of times and said you guys

00:22:00.128 --> 00:22:04.068
can stay home you're fine you've been to school your grades are good okay and

00:22:04.068 --> 00:22:06.148
my daughter we were at of my son's baseball game.

00:22:06.768 --> 00:22:08.888
And she goes, you know, I'm going to go into school tomorrow.

00:22:09.048 --> 00:22:10.728
And we were like, what are you going to school tomorrow?

00:22:10.808 --> 00:22:13.788
She wanted to go talk to the vice principal and be like, I don't think it was

00:22:13.788 --> 00:22:15.728
right that I went into a final exam.

00:22:16.848 --> 00:22:21.188
Not knowing what I was going to get, uh, like not knowing what I had on that

00:22:21.188 --> 00:22:26.388
project to then know what I needed on my final exam to get the grade that I wanted to get.

00:22:26.548 --> 00:22:29.588
And she's like, it wouldn't have changed how I prepared. I still would have studied.

00:22:29.808 --> 00:22:32.968
I still would have worked hard, but like, I think it's messed up that like I

00:22:32.968 --> 00:22:35.848
waited five weeks and I asked, like, is this project going to be graded?

00:22:35.988 --> 00:22:40.028
Do you know what the grade happens to be? And it was just time after time, after time, after time.

00:22:40.188 --> 00:22:44.888
And you just get to a point where you want to step in, but she decided to advocate

00:22:44.888 --> 00:22:46.708
for herself and went and had that conversation.

00:22:47.608 --> 00:22:50.048
And I'm proud of her for doing that. She didn't have to do that.

00:22:50.168 --> 00:22:51.128
It was the end of the school year.

00:22:51.248 --> 00:22:54.708
She could have just, you know, wiped her hands clean of it, phoned it in.

00:22:54.908 --> 00:22:56.948
But she decided to be like, I don't think it's right.

00:22:57.228 --> 00:22:58.408
And I think someone should know

00:22:58.408 --> 00:23:01.328
that that happened. So hopefully it won't happen to somebody else again?

00:23:02.408 --> 00:23:09.448
I don't get, I just, it's just so, I don't get five weeks. I honestly, I don't get it either.

00:23:09.708 --> 00:23:14.368
Get itchy. If I have anything on my to-do list, it makes me,

00:23:14.548 --> 00:23:17.468
you know, and there are obviously there are times you just can't do it.

00:23:17.548 --> 00:23:20.448
You got to put it until the next day or, I mean, especially this year and it

00:23:20.448 --> 00:23:26.928
was under, and I agreed fully, you know, so I only get an hour prep every other

00:23:26.928 --> 00:23:31.848
day. So I, you know, have to hustle in other ways, other times before school, after school.

00:23:31.948 --> 00:23:36.628
And that's my agreement, right, to teach an extra class. And I'm,

00:23:36.708 --> 00:23:40.488
you know, financially compensated for it. So it's fair, completely fair.

00:23:41.068 --> 00:23:47.748
But at the same time, like even teaching the five classes, I don't like to have,

00:23:48.320 --> 00:23:54.360
read multiple things on my to-do list. So I just, it baffles me.

00:23:54.560 --> 00:23:59.800
Like, what are you doing? And did you forget? And then you couldn't just say like, oh, I'm so sorry.

00:23:59.960 --> 00:24:03.000
I forgot. You know what? It's like my biggest crime as a teacher.

00:24:04.440 --> 00:24:08.600
This is not funny, but it's a little funny. But I always, I say it on my back to school night speech.

00:24:08.840 --> 00:24:12.180
And I tell the kids, when I was in college, back in the day,

00:24:12.300 --> 00:24:13.600
we didn't even have computers.

00:24:14.340 --> 00:24:17.500
And I never thought I'd be like a data entry specialist.

00:24:17.880 --> 00:24:23.220
And so if you ever find that I gave you a 10 instead of a 100, please tell me.

00:24:23.580 --> 00:24:25.600
And I, oh, and that's always, and they'll be like, Mrs. Monco.

00:24:25.720 --> 00:24:28.860
And it doesn't happen like, you know, constantly or anything,

00:24:28.940 --> 00:24:32.900
but I do that every once in a while and they're really polite and so sweet.

00:24:33.020 --> 00:24:34.760
Like, Mrs. Monco, it's a hundred.

00:24:35.060 --> 00:24:38.020
And I'm like, oh my goodness, thank you so much. Because it is crazy.

00:24:38.140 --> 00:24:43.160
Like 115 kids that you're grading times 25 grades. It's a lot of grading.

00:24:43.920 --> 00:24:49.020
I mean, I literally like the midpoint of the marking period,

00:24:49.100 --> 00:24:50.320
close to the end of the marking period.

00:24:50.520 --> 00:24:56.140
I stand up and I say, I am a human being who is subject to faults and mistakes.

00:24:56.140 --> 00:25:01.160
I said, I said the one thing that I want to make sure for every single person

00:25:01.160 --> 00:25:05.720
in this room is that you get the credit that you deserve on your assignments.

00:25:05.820 --> 00:25:10.540
So if I put something in wrong, I will never be angry. I'll never be upset.

00:25:10.760 --> 00:25:13.640
You want to grab me in the cafeteria? you like and then

00:25:13.640 --> 00:25:16.600
i even go one step further and say you need

00:25:16.600 --> 00:25:19.680
to see me write it down and if you don't see me write it down you

00:25:19.680 --> 00:25:22.580
need to say hey could could you write that down just because like i'm

00:25:22.580 --> 00:25:25.840
yeah literally an air traffic controller right you're

00:25:25.840 --> 00:25:30.080
dealing with problems all the time so i want to make like that is a huge thing

00:25:30.080 --> 00:25:33.060
i even go as far as telling them like look if you got in trouble because your

00:25:33.060 --> 00:25:36.740
parents saw that you got a 60 and i was supposed to put in a 75 or whatever

00:25:36.740 --> 00:25:41.300
like i will literally call them and say this is my mistake because i do not

00:25:41.300 --> 00:25:44.420
want you to get in trouble for something that I made a mistake on.

00:25:44.600 --> 00:25:49.240
And I've sent an email or two in the last couple of years. It happens all the

00:25:49.240 --> 00:25:50.600
time. And I think that the parent...

00:25:50.931 --> 00:25:53.331
The parent response, because I always say that on back to school night,

00:25:53.391 --> 00:25:57.771
but the parent response, the student response to being able to like admit a

00:25:57.771 --> 00:26:00.811
mistake or to say like, hey, you know, we're all just trying to do our best.

00:26:00.971 --> 00:26:06.371
We're all trying to, you know, be, you know, the best version of ourselves that we can.

00:26:06.651 --> 00:26:12.071
And I find people to be more than forgiving, more than understanding.

00:26:12.611 --> 00:26:17.271
And it kind of makes a better relationship for everybody.

00:26:17.671 --> 00:26:20.491
Genuinely. Yeah, for sure. so this is

00:26:20.491 --> 00:26:23.291
a great conversation um and i think it's really

00:26:23.291 --> 00:26:26.611
important to realize like we're we're in that like we're all

00:26:26.611 --> 00:26:29.811
a team right like me the kids the parents like

00:26:29.811 --> 00:26:34.391
yeah of course i'm the person that's supposed to be in charge um my biggest

00:26:34.391 --> 00:26:38.091
crime in um in my career is that i eat other people's lunches out of the out

00:26:38.091 --> 00:26:43.631
of the uh refrigerator no i do not i'm just kidding um no i had like a complex

00:26:43.631 --> 00:26:46.941
because i forgot salad dressing and then i used somebody's and i was who is this?

00:26:47.081 --> 00:26:51.341
I know it's a whole bottle and I needed some. And I got a pop. I didn't ask.

00:26:51.761 --> 00:26:56.601
Did you write like, dear salad dressing owner? Hi, it's me, Joe.

00:26:57.221 --> 00:27:02.361
I am sorry that I used a doll. Would it be like a dollop of your,

00:27:02.581 --> 00:27:05.001
did you find out who it was? Balsamic with honey.

00:27:05.481 --> 00:27:09.961
Yes, it was one of our science teachers. And she was like, okay, whatever. That's fine.

00:27:11.121 --> 00:27:14.541
Anyway, no, it's one of those things where like, Like we're all a team.

00:27:14.641 --> 00:27:15.881
Right. And I tell the kids like.

00:27:16.399 --> 00:27:19.519
You got to communicate with me. Like, I'm never going to be upset if I make

00:27:19.519 --> 00:27:23.939
a mistake or like if I put in the wrong grade or when I give you a paperback,

00:27:24.039 --> 00:27:26.379
I feel like, wait, this says, this says I got an 80.

00:27:27.079 --> 00:27:31.179
I was like, and if you come up to me, I've had the thing too,

00:27:31.379 --> 00:27:34.759
is that you're teaching them a really important communication skill,

00:27:34.759 --> 00:27:39.979
how that they can, you know, how they can approach you, how open you are to listening.

00:27:40.519 --> 00:27:46.859
Their ability to communicate and advocate for themselves, it's such an important skill.

00:27:47.159 --> 00:27:51.319
And then I always do give them the out of, if you are not comfortable talking

00:27:51.319 --> 00:27:55.899
to me about it, you can send me an email. Your parents can send me an email.

00:27:56.179 --> 00:27:59.419
I don't really fancy my selfie.

00:27:59.699 --> 00:28:04.319
Please leave me a comment in Google Classroom kind of lady because that's a

00:28:04.319 --> 00:28:05.339
dangerous, slippery slope.

00:28:05.479 --> 00:28:08.419
I don't know. I tell them my comments are on, but I'm like,

00:28:08.839 --> 00:28:11.719
guys, I can't tell you how many times I have to tell you this oh my gosh i

00:28:11.719 --> 00:28:14.659
never look at them when i'm at home i don't bring my work laptop home

00:28:14.659 --> 00:28:17.579
i find that it's too distracting for me i said

00:28:17.579 --> 00:28:21.139
i check my email a few times an evening um you

00:28:21.139 --> 00:28:24.159
know when they're when they have like a project check

00:28:24.159 --> 00:28:27.319
your email a few times in the evening it when when when

00:28:27.319 --> 00:28:30.419
they're working on something from home if they're working on a project they're

00:28:30.419 --> 00:28:33.219
finishing something up i'll tell them like hey i could check

00:28:33.219 --> 00:28:35.979
it a few times and like but i also tell them like look

00:28:35.979 --> 00:28:39.099
if you email me past like 8 30 yeah it

00:28:39.099 --> 00:28:42.479
ain't happening yeah like i'd be more than happy to help you so i check it like

00:28:42.479 --> 00:28:46.039
on when they're working on a project when they're doing something more long

00:28:46.039 --> 00:28:49.279
term if they're studying for something it's like the day before a test i'll

00:28:49.279 --> 00:28:52.399
tell them like okay tonight i'll check things if you have questions you know

00:28:52.399 --> 00:28:57.019
and i don't mind doing that it's it's small um it it's something i i feel is

00:28:57.019 --> 00:28:58.339
necessary that creates that.

00:28:59.286 --> 00:29:02.246
Relationship back and forth. Right. If I'm expecting them to do something and

00:29:02.246 --> 00:29:05.926
I let them know, like, but I'll even tell them like, Hey, I don't have the time tonight.

00:29:06.106 --> 00:29:09.986
Like I, I'd be more than willing to, but I'm tutoring or I'm stressed for,

00:29:10.086 --> 00:29:11.706
for this, or I have to go to this thing.

00:29:11.946 --> 00:29:14.786
Um, it's just something that I feel is necessary.

00:29:15.126 --> 00:29:17.726
So let me, let me just blow your mind for a second.

00:29:18.686 --> 00:29:23.866
We've talked, okay. We've talked before about my, um, I think that the way that

00:29:23.866 --> 00:29:27.026
I post in Google Classroom is better than everybody.

00:29:29.186 --> 00:29:33.746
I mean, not that you're judgmental. I mean, it's so silly, but like everybody should.

00:29:34.266 --> 00:29:38.306
I'm not saying it's the best way. I do think that there should be a uniformed

00:29:38.306 --> 00:29:41.226
way of doing it to be less confusing for the kids.

00:29:41.326 --> 00:29:44.266
So I could bend if someone could say, yes, we'll all do it the same.

00:29:44.366 --> 00:29:52.086
But anyway, so in my little team room the other day with many of the people

00:29:52.086 --> 00:29:54.906
that teach the same grade level that I teach,

00:29:55.146 --> 00:30:01.786
I made a comment about how I use the stream as the refrigerator of our classroom.

00:30:01.786 --> 00:30:04.346
And it is only for announcements.

00:30:04.566 --> 00:30:08.726
I put all of the flyers for all of like the theme days.

00:30:09.046 --> 00:30:15.386
And if I have, you know, something. Other than that, everything is turned off. Yeah.

00:30:16.686 --> 00:30:22.906
Let me just tell you. What? What? Wait, what? What do you do?

00:30:23.806 --> 00:30:27.726
Yeah, you know, it doesn't, the work doesn't have to post to the stream.

00:30:29.706 --> 00:30:34.926
Let me just tell you. It was, what?

00:30:35.106 --> 00:30:38.826
Like, what is this sorcery, Jamie? Do you know how many, do you know how many

00:30:38.826 --> 00:30:45.306
trainings I, I, I'm going to say, I, I'm going to say so many trainings and

00:30:45.306 --> 00:30:48.906
you were like, you know, the goo goo ga ga guy and I get it.

00:30:48.926 --> 00:30:53.106
And I'm like, Oh my gosh, this isn't even like this would, this was like,

00:30:53.306 --> 00:30:57.886
so like level zero to me, you know, that, and they were like, how do you know that?

00:30:57.966 --> 00:31:01.186
So we walked through, I walked the whole table

00:31:01.186 --> 00:31:05.486
of people through and that one

00:31:05.486 --> 00:31:08.506
little thing though which is so fascinating to

00:31:08.506 --> 00:31:11.686
me that one little step takes so

00:31:11.686 --> 00:31:15.106
much unnecessary scrolling away

00:31:15.106 --> 00:31:21.246
for the kids because now it's not they're not looking looking down the stream

00:31:21.246 --> 00:31:25.386
trying to find the work which one was it which assignment where right it i was

00:31:25.386 --> 00:31:30.246
like this is something that we could do across the board yep and they didn't

00:31:30.246 --> 00:31:34.766
know that it existed i love like when i learned And stuff like, wow, you know, classic.

00:31:35.546 --> 00:31:38.186
How did I not know that? How did I not know that?

00:31:39.546 --> 00:31:44.206
But that, I'm telling you, and there was a bunch of people in there. And nobody.

00:31:44.786 --> 00:31:47.506
That did not, you know, ring a ding, a bell. And I was like,

00:31:47.546 --> 00:31:51.926
I guess maybe you didn't take Joe's class. Yeah. I, um...

00:31:53.669 --> 00:31:58.609
You're not surprised. No, I'm not surprised. I was genuinely shocked.

00:31:58.969 --> 00:32:00.709
To me, it's such a basic thing.

00:32:01.089 --> 00:32:06.109
I think the teachers that dove into learning about Google Classroom and all

00:32:06.109 --> 00:32:10.189
the things that you could do with it, which some of the changes have outpaced

00:32:10.189 --> 00:32:11.169
my ability to learn them.

00:32:11.249 --> 00:32:14.809
I've talked about that before because it's just not on my radar in my life right

00:32:14.809 --> 00:32:18.809
now because I spent a lot of time outside of school learning,

00:32:19.029 --> 00:32:20.429
taking classes, doing that stuff.

00:32:20.569 --> 00:32:23.269
And that it's just not possible for me to do right now.

00:32:23.669 --> 00:32:28.049
But the students that I do executive function with, with educational connections,

00:32:28.609 --> 00:32:33.269
you know, one of the main things that those kids struggle with is that there

00:32:33.269 --> 00:32:35.749
is no uniformity to how the work gets posted.

00:32:36.049 --> 00:32:39.869
Right. One teacher puts it on a Google slide deck that gets attached in Canvas.

00:32:40.029 --> 00:32:42.989
The other one puts it on the announcement board. The other one puts it on the

00:32:42.989 --> 00:32:46.049
to-do list that comes in. So we have to go to five different places.

00:32:46.549 --> 00:32:51.089
People don't understand that that is detrimental to the middle.

00:32:51.309 --> 00:32:54.509
I'm talking about middle school. that is detrimental to the middle school mind.

00:32:54.869 --> 00:32:58.949
It is, you cannot expect them to go to five different places.

00:32:59.169 --> 00:33:00.749
So I literally go old school.

00:33:00.989 --> 00:33:05.129
It's a rare bird that will do that. Yeah. So I literally will start with the

00:33:05.129 --> 00:33:07.089
executive function kids and say, here's what we're going to do.

00:33:07.209 --> 00:33:08.449
You're going to get a paper planner.

00:33:09.509 --> 00:33:10.729
We're going to go through everything.

00:33:10.889 --> 00:33:13.089
You're going to write down what your assignments are, even if it's none.

00:33:13.769 --> 00:33:17.449
And then, because I only work with them if there's 168 hours in a week,

00:33:17.589 --> 00:33:21.829
I'm only working with them for maybe 90 minutes, two hours, an hour,

00:33:22.109 --> 00:33:26.749
two times a week, maybe 45 minutes, two times a week, they're going to take

00:33:26.749 --> 00:33:28.489
a picture of their planner and send it to me.

00:33:28.609 --> 00:33:30.949
Like, okay, this is what my homework is. And they take a picture.

00:33:31.129 --> 00:33:33.169
And they do that with me and with mom and dad.

00:33:33.729 --> 00:33:37.129
Do you think there are people that exist without a to-do list?

00:33:38.009 --> 00:33:42.629
There are people that try to exist without a to-do list. My son doesn't use one.

00:33:44.289 --> 00:33:47.409
My son forgets nothing. That's amazing.

00:33:47.409 --> 00:33:50.749
No i don't know i don't know how he does it um

00:33:50.749 --> 00:33:53.709
it's just the way his brain works as we've joked

00:33:53.709 --> 00:33:58.249
about before he's just he's mr go with the flow um which

00:33:58.249 --> 00:34:01.789
which is great and and you know we joke all my wife and i joke all the time

00:34:01.789 --> 00:34:07.129
like are we sure he's our kid are we sure um so it's uh he looks just like your

00:34:07.129 --> 00:34:09.249
your uh father-in-law oh yeah

00:34:09.249 --> 00:34:15.009
100 yeah um but no he like he doesn't but there are some kids that like,

00:34:15.089 --> 00:34:17.809
yeah, I don't need to write that down. I'm like, no, no, you do.

00:34:18.009 --> 00:34:22.469
Cause, and then I, I go through and I show them like, I don't have it with me

00:34:22.469 --> 00:34:25.609
here for the people on YouTube, but my wife has like a book that she has for

00:34:25.609 --> 00:34:28.489
all the different projects she works on with like little tabs.

00:34:28.909 --> 00:34:31.889
And that's how she fills everything out. And she has her to-do list papers,

00:34:32.049 --> 00:34:35.169
which I'm looking around them and see if any of them are down here and they're

00:34:35.169 --> 00:34:36.689
not. She's got like a pad that she buys.

00:34:37.089 --> 00:34:38.889
Um, I use stuff on my phone.

00:34:39.529 --> 00:34:43.629
Um, I used to, you know, the to-do list on my phone to like keep track of things

00:34:43.629 --> 00:34:46.709
and then mark stuff off. And I could also do it by date, which goes to my calendar.

00:34:46.809 --> 00:34:49.629
So I can kind of keep track of what I need to do when.

00:34:50.909 --> 00:34:52.489
But I think there are people that

00:34:52.913 --> 00:34:55.773
don't work with to-do lists or the ability to

00:34:55.773 --> 00:35:00.193
keep themselves organized and um i

00:35:00.193 --> 00:35:03.013
think that's can't i can't imagine i mean that's the first

00:35:03.013 --> 00:35:06.673
thing that's the first thing i work with those kids on the parents get frustrated

00:35:06.673 --> 00:35:10.533
they're like why is my kids missing this assignment why did they do because

00:35:10.533 --> 00:35:14.433
and it's in 18 different places for them i'm not trying to blame the teacher

00:35:14.433 --> 00:35:21.753
but it's it's in 18 different places for them to do it yeah if if if my first executive order.

00:35:24.173 --> 00:35:27.133
If i ever were to be you know if i ever decide

00:35:27.133 --> 00:35:30.333
that you're going to work with the department of education go ahead yeah well

00:35:30.333 --> 00:35:33.653
the what oh is that

00:35:33.653 --> 00:35:37.833
a thing i don't know we are not getting we are not getting political on this

00:35:37.833 --> 00:35:42.553
podcast we're not talking about it um yeah no no if i were if i were principal

00:35:42.553 --> 00:35:48.393
or vice principal of a building i would be fighting tooth and nail um for uniformity

00:35:48.393 --> 00:35:52.433
with the way work gets posted so students can easily find what assignments they have to do.

00:35:52.813 --> 00:35:56.553
Yeah. And no one will be allowed to go rogue.

00:35:56.893 --> 00:36:01.693
Yeah. Like, this is the way it's going to be because it's in the best interest of the child.

00:36:01.973 --> 00:36:07.573
And I have multiple pieces of research that I can throw at you to make you realize

00:36:07.573 --> 00:36:08.893
that, like, everybody's got to do it.

00:36:08.993 --> 00:36:10.953
And that would be my biggest fear is, like, we all say, hey,

00:36:11.033 --> 00:36:14.273
we're all going to do this. And then one person's like, eh, but I kind of like

00:36:14.273 --> 00:36:15.453
the way... I know. It would be May.

00:36:16.233 --> 00:36:19.253
No, it wouldn't be. No, I'm just kidding. It wouldn't be. It wouldn't be me,

00:36:19.293 --> 00:36:26.293
but if, you know, I am, like, endlessly fascinated by how, like,

00:36:26.493 --> 00:36:30.173
systems, how things work for people, why they work for people.

00:36:30.413 --> 00:36:34.393
I love, like, hearing about, like, how other people organize their time and

00:36:34.393 --> 00:36:37.473
what they do and how, like, those systems occur for them or what,

00:36:37.593 --> 00:36:40.193
why it clicks and how it works.

00:36:40.193 --> 00:36:48.153
And that started for me, for sure, in about the 4th grade, where I got my very first planner and.

00:36:50.311 --> 00:36:55.791
And there was nothing that was more thrilling to me than to make a list and

00:36:55.791 --> 00:37:00.591
then check things off the list and then make a new list and check things off that list.

00:37:00.671 --> 00:37:05.371
I can remember such a sense of satisfaction at 11 years old,

00:37:05.371 --> 00:37:12.551
not having to rely on anyone else and being able to do it myself and then just

00:37:12.551 --> 00:37:14.451
knowing that I finished something.

00:37:14.451 --> 00:37:18.391
So I can't, you know, it to me and whatever the system might be,

00:37:18.391 --> 00:37:24.411
if it works for someone, then, you know, then that is so interesting. Yeah. Why? Yeah.

00:37:25.471 --> 00:37:30.511
Like the kids that I and I spend the start of the school year talking about

00:37:30.511 --> 00:37:36.811
like the and I look through with the kids, like where their schedules are,

00:37:36.931 --> 00:37:40.051
where things get posted and we bookmark things on their Google Chrome,

00:37:40.331 --> 00:37:43.271
like web browser. or like here's the teacher's school wires.

00:37:46.071 --> 00:37:51.631
That's back in the day for you. Google sites and like where they find everything.

00:37:51.811 --> 00:37:56.351
But like we have so like it's there's no uniformity to what we're doing.

00:37:56.571 --> 00:37:59.731
Yeah, that would work. That would work for you. You want to give teachers and

00:37:59.731 --> 00:38:02.691
you want to give teachers autonomy and you want to let them make their own decisions.

00:38:03.351 --> 00:38:07.851
But at some point you have to go like, no, like we were talking today,

00:38:07.851 --> 00:38:10.511
you and I, about a number of things like.

00:38:10.511 --> 00:38:14.431
Like, like, I don't want to necessarily the hills we will die on,

00:38:14.491 --> 00:38:18.871
but that would be something, um, you know, throwing, I talked about like,

00:38:18.891 --> 00:38:21.871
we have issues in the, in the bathroom in our school, right?

00:38:22.191 --> 00:38:25.171
Who, what school doesn't have issues in the bathroom? Okay.

00:38:25.591 --> 00:38:29.011
Kids that are hanging out in there or they're messing around or they're,

00:38:29.171 --> 00:38:31.831
you know, meeting up with their friends or stuff like that.

00:38:32.011 --> 00:38:35.191
Any of those things would be, you know, a big problem. Okay.

00:38:35.831 --> 00:38:40.111
Um, and we see that all the time, but the girls are all meeting in there.

00:38:40.111 --> 00:38:41.771
Or kids are on their phones or whatever it is.

00:38:42.151 --> 00:38:45.431
So like there's something out there called, I think it's called class pass,

00:38:45.671 --> 00:38:47.551
like throw money at the problem.

00:38:47.751 --> 00:38:50.951
I realized it's another subscription. It would be something that district meets

00:38:50.951 --> 00:38:56.551
the purpose, but it's going to alleviate some of the, allegedly alleviate some

00:38:56.551 --> 00:38:58.911
of the problems. I don't exactly know how it works.

00:38:59.911 --> 00:39:03.091
There's probably pros and cons to everything, but like, why not try it?

00:39:03.191 --> 00:39:06.511
Because we're going, you know, one kid in the bathroom at a time.

00:39:06.671 --> 00:39:09.871
There's a line at the bathroom. That's around half the, the,

00:39:10.111 --> 00:39:13.351
the goddamn hallway and kids are missing instructional time.

00:39:13.811 --> 00:39:16.791
Sorry. And kids are missing instruction. Should I not have said that?

00:39:16.911 --> 00:39:18.871
I don't know. I'm having a day people.

00:39:19.531 --> 00:39:26.011
Gosh. I mean, you're, you are, you went from thawed to warm to fire. Okay. That's funny.

00:39:26.591 --> 00:39:31.571
Um, the fires of learning. No, no, I just think that, I just think that like,

00:39:31.671 --> 00:39:35.231
there is a way for us to try to solve a problem and it's not,

00:39:35.371 --> 00:39:37.011
let's have one kid go to the bathroom at a time.

00:39:37.151 --> 00:39:39.871
And then when that kid comes out, the teacher goes in and checks the bathroom,

00:39:39.871 --> 00:39:42.931
and make sure they don't graffiti it. And then the next person goes in and then the teacher goes...

00:39:43.866 --> 00:39:47.766
Come on. Like, seriously, I'm right on top of that rose. Yeah.

00:39:47.846 --> 00:39:48.666
Right on top of that rose.

00:39:48.826 --> 00:39:53.086
There are so many better things that we could be allocating our time to. Yes.

00:39:54.166 --> 00:39:58.226
There's there's things like that. There would be uniformity in the way of of,

00:39:58.426 --> 00:40:00.226
you know, the way things are posted. Yeah.

00:40:01.006 --> 00:40:04.706
Which I think would be important. And again, I'm not in charge of anything.

00:40:04.826 --> 00:40:05.606
I don't make any decisions.

00:40:05.806 --> 00:40:09.066
So none of the things I say matter. they they matter

00:40:09.066 --> 00:40:12.306
to me um mr vitale i want to make um a

00:40:12.306 --> 00:40:15.686
little uh formal congratulations and

00:40:15.686 --> 00:40:18.826
shout out before we wrap up today to uh

00:40:18.826 --> 00:40:21.826
katie schneider miss katie schneider was uh

00:40:21.826 --> 00:40:24.886
on the pod last season yes she was um she

00:40:24.886 --> 00:40:27.946
is um getting married having a baby all the

00:40:27.946 --> 00:40:30.686
things so um we just want to

00:40:30.686 --> 00:40:33.926
wish you the very very best yes katie schneider

00:40:33.926 --> 00:40:36.986
uh and um you know her open letter

00:40:36.986 --> 00:40:39.766
to the uh katie wrote an open letter

00:40:39.766 --> 00:40:42.746
to parents about things that we need from them yeah um

00:40:42.746 --> 00:40:45.746
we thought it was great reached out to her and had her on the pod um

00:40:45.746 --> 00:40:48.466
but yeah congratulations to katie um fields of

00:40:48.466 --> 00:40:51.706
nebraska the cornfields of nebraska uh which

00:40:51.706 --> 00:40:55.086
is mr right tally i appreciate you hey guess

00:40:55.086 --> 00:40:58.306
what buddy yeah i'm warmed up now uh

00:40:58.306 --> 00:41:02.486
and i appreciate you

00:41:02.486 --> 00:41:06.566
too um you know we really want to we keep saying like we want to hear what you

00:41:06.566 --> 00:41:10.786
think but like yeah we really do want to hear what you do like if you're our

00:41:10.786 --> 00:41:15.046
listeners out there we want to know like what are some things that you um you

00:41:15.046 --> 00:41:19.306
know about grades about all the scheduling planning.

00:41:20.326 --> 00:41:26.946
How many do you does your school have a class pass pass yeah pants yeah absolutely

00:41:26.946 --> 00:41:31.466
yeah um you know it all comes down to time and money and access so it definitely.

00:41:29.520 --> 00:41:50.320
Music.

00:41:31.466 --> 00:41:33.286
Would be interesting to hear what people are using.

00:41:33.606 --> 00:41:37.706
So as always, we will see everybody next time on the Bouncing Act podcast.

00:41:49.826 --> 00:41:54.366
Look for the Bouncing Act podcast every week on your favorite podcast platform.

00:41:54.746 --> 00:41:58.686
New episodes drop every Tuesday. Thank you for being a part of our audience.

00:41:59.120 --> 00:42:13.481
Music.