Teachers of Oppo

"Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection" (itsalwayssteve)
05/22/2019 at 13:11 • Filed to: None

It’s about time for state testing.

Also I walked for commencement on Saturday

DISCUSSION (45)

ttyymmnn > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection
05/22/2019 at 13:24

Congratulations! Walking for your degree is not overrated.

State testing is so stupid. At our schools, they constantly tell the kids that it’s no big deal, but then on the day of the tests the close campus, cancel recess, and generally make a big deal out of it.

lone_liberal > ttyymmnn
05/22/2019 at 13:28

I graduated after fall semester and could have walked the following spring but didn’t. I still regret it. For me college ended with a whimper instead of a bang.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection
05/22/2019 at 13:29

One of the best experiences in my life was commencement for my Ph.D.

Congratulations for getting it done!

Chariotoflove > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection
05/22/2019 at 13:30

Congrats buddy!

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection
05/22/2019 at 13:35

Your classroom is very tidy. Whose commencement, yours? Do tell more.

We did the testing for three weeks, finishing up last week. Next year, I will explicitly, overtly, and intentionally — and exclusively — teach to the state test. All year long. As well as build skills so that the kids show up on Algebra 9 with some skills.

Now, I have a just over three weeks remaining and I am striking a balance of finding things that will keep the kiddos engaged with minimal input from me. You’re a science teacher, no? I’ve worked up some scaling things that the kids enjoy. Sponge Bob is not one of the easier ones... These are scaled for tabloid (11x17) paper. I have some others scaled for Letter (8.5x11). Would these be of any use to you?

Kinja'd!!!

Also, some stuff like this:

Kinja'd!!!

Any of this be useful to you for year end scut work? I’ve got some graphiti that’s easier than the storm trooper.

ttyymmnn > lone_liberal
05/22/2019 at 13:41

I played in the commencement band for my undergrad and doctorate. I sat there in my cap and gown and played. It was fun. I graduated undergrad a year ahead of my future wife, and came back to play in the band for her commencement, too. Beats sitting there and doing nothing.

vondon302 > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection
05/22/2019 at 13:46

Congrats! Mrs vondon is a teacher and could go on for hours about state testing.

Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
05/22/2019 at 13:52

It’s my commencement. Finished my BA in education after 23 years. Graduated with a 3.6 cum laude which only about 1/5 of my department could muster. The Abbey is apparently #8 in the south for teacher training and teaching quality according to US News.

We have plans to visit the park next door, and field day, and a moving up ceremony, and a teachers’ day out where the elective teachers take our classes for half the day. Al l the troublemakers are suspended for testing. They’re only allowed to come to test and then go home. That makes things wonderful.

Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection > TheRealBicycleBuck
05/22/2019 at 13:55

Thanks! Next is hopefully a M.Ed in special education with focus on academically and intellectually gifted Kids. Then either an Ed.D or Ph.D so I can work with the kids who are advanced and maybe in a bad situation.

shop-teacher > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection
05/22/2019 at 13:55

Congrats!

Wow, you guys test late. We did ours 6 weeks ago .... barf.

shop-teacher > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
05/22/2019 at 13:56

I actually could use that to keep some of my kids busy on AutoCAD for the last few days (we’re done May 31).

Svend > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection
05/22/2019 at 14:08

Sir, sir!!!!

Congratul ations sir.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
05/22/2019 at 14:13

Three more weeks of school? Wow! My kids are out next week.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > shop-teacher
05/22/2019 at 14:15

Email me: oliphant.chuckerbutty@gmail.com

I’ve got a bunch of that stuff I’ll share you a Google Docs folder.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > TheRealBicycleBuck
05/22/2019 at 14:21

Yeah. My district is stupid about school calendars. Actually, I suspect the union picks what schedule the president and her cronies want, then make some fake Google Form action so they can say they sought our input.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
05/22/2019 at 14:23

When is the beginning of the school year? Are they pushing toward year-round schooling?

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
05/22/2019 at 14:25

Oh, man. The plot a picture pages are a throwback. I loved those!

Ohio’s state tests (we call em OSTs because we’re creative) were done in different waves through the year starting in February and ending in early May. I thought it was weird, but more conducive than the way it was when I was in high school.

(I’m not a teacher. I was assigned to a 9th grade math class as an in-class tutor. It was easily the most fun and most rewarding job I’ve ever had. Oh well. Time to be an engineer.)

shop-teacher > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
05/22/2019 at 14:26

Sent! Thanks!

MoCamino > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection
05/22/2019 at 14:34

Congratulations! And awesome tie, by the way. Periodic table FTW!

My daughter’s school finished on Monday. We’ve gotten hit with snow days so many times in the past few years that they build in a lot of make-up days so we’re guaranteed to be done before Memorial Day.

It’s just now settling in that my youngest will be a senior next year. Geez I’m old.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > TheRealBicycleBuck
05/22/2019 at 15:10

I have zero idea what their motivations might be. To find out, I’d have to talk with people that I viscerally loathe, and they would lie to me anyhow. So I just show up to work when they tell me to. I really hate how these people make me feel.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
05/22/2019 at 15:15

Dang. There’s a lot to be said for working at a place where you like your coworkers.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
05/22/2019 at 15:27

It’s okay; we need engineers for things.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection
05/22/2019 at 15:27

Congrats! Enjoy your summer.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > TheRealBicycleBuck
05/22/2019 at 15:28

I like my coworkers. A couple of them are weird, because, well, teachers, but I like them. The people I refer to are the union politicians: despicable sacks of dung. *shudders*

TheRealBicycleBuck > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
05/22/2019 at 15:36

Ah, gotcha. Leadership in my firm is ok. One guy is a competitive skydiver in his spare time , so he can’t be all bad, right?

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > TheRealBicycleBuck
05/22/2019 at 15:43

I’ve been on a general quest in my life to complain less about things and even less about people, though certain politicians test my resolve. But the union president is in a class by herself. Corrupt, back stabbing, two-faced, F A K E.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
05/22/2019 at 16:09

I understand. I’m not a fan of the language, but this guy makes some excellent points:

Kinja'd!!!

If I were dealing with someone who was an ass and who directly affected my job, I’d be a lot more vocal about how screwed up they were.

You show admirable constraint.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection
05/22/2019 at 16:55

Congrats! :D

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > TheRealBicycleBuck
05/23/2019 at 09:24

You show admirable constraint.

Thank you, though I think the word you want here is restraint .

The people are entrenched and have been for many years, and have a wide following. Battling them would bring me nothing but contention and stress and anxiety and there’s no telling what retribution they might organize for me. Or, more likely, what retribution or other negative things they might stand aside from. Not worth it. I do give a f**k, about kids . They claim they do, but they care more about greetings at meetings, and quenching their thirst for power and influence. I have nothing but disdain.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
05/23/2019 at 09:38

You are correct. I’d blame it on autocorrect, but I’m typing into Kinja on a laptop and there’s no excuse!

There are people like that in nearly every organization. That’s the way it was in my academic job. I’m lucky that within my company, that isn’t too much of a problem. The contract I’m currently working on is with a government entity. Power struggles and passive-aggressiveness are the norm. I need information, the department we are contracted with requests the information, the department that holds the information says they will give it to us, yet six months later, still no data.

It’s all about who holds what power and how risky it is for them to ignore requests in order to hold their power over someone else. If they can take the credit for the accomplishments, then they are more likely to comply with our requests.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > TheRealBicycleBuck
05/23/2019 at 09:50

Back when I was in the Army, around 1990, I had this sergeant, who was in control of a rifle range, go completely ballistic on me about something. The guy had very serious anger management issues. I was also a sergeant at the time. I went to the executive officer, a 1st lieutenant whom I liked and respected very much. I suspect he may have been gay, also, though we weren’t allowed to ask, and he wouldn’t be allowed to tell... Anyhow, I went in to him and told him what happened, and he said the guy was “a powerless person on a power trip.”

What’s your field of endeavor?

TheRealBicycleBuck > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
05/23/2019 at 10:15

My work right now is in disaster recovery. I’m working in Houston to lend a hand with recovery projects after Hurricane Harvey.

Being in such a broad field, I get to wear a lot of different hats. Over the past 18 months, I’ve had a chance to work on a variety of problems. I had to wear my geospatial expert hat to study the flood extent, determine FEMA eligibility for proposed projects, and help prioritize projects based on risk. I wore my disaster recovery hat when I was filing applications for CDBG and HMGP recovery funds. My technology hat is on right now as I help build an interface between different project management systems in use by different departments so the people in charge can see and manage the overall recovery program. Once that’s done, I’ll put on my project manager hat and start working on specific recovery projects (for example, an updated drainage outfall and bank stabilization project).

I’ve worked on many projects over the years, from environmental analyses to storm water protection systems to infrastructure repair. The hardest part is working for an engineering firm yet not being a licensed engineer.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > TheRealBicycleBuck
05/23/2019 at 11:21

Do you have a degree? If so, in what?

TheRealBicycleBuck > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
05/23/2019 at 11:43

I have three degrees! My Ph.D. is in Urban and Regional Science with a focus on disaster recovery. My wife (and others) tell me I should have pursued a B.S. in engineering, but I went the biology route instead.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > TheRealBicycleBuck
05/23/2019 at 12:23

I have a B.S. in BS and an MS Ed. in BS.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
05/23/2019 at 13:30

Would that be Biological Sciences or British Standards?

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > TheRealBicycleBuck
05/23/2019 at 14:07

I have a BS in math and the MS is in Educational Technology Leadership , which gets me a yuge salary boost of $500/yr.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
05/23/2019 at 14:23

I’ve learned that a benefit/cost calculation should be a prerequisite to starting any degree program. I’ll be paying on student loans for myself and my wife until I die. Between us, we hold nearly 6 degrees.

The upside is that my kids are working on plans to get through college debt-free.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > TheRealBicycleBuck
05/23/2019 at 14:50

Agreed. We are financing our girls’ school. #HELOC

TheRealBicycleBuck > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
05/23/2019 at 15:43

Being the financier, do you have a say in the degree they choose?

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > TheRealBicycleBuck
05/23/2019 at 15:47

Entirely up to me to pursue it or not. I went on a bit of a binge trying to bigger my career until I came to understand that public school teaching really is a dead end job in that you cannot receive a promotion, nor a raise and, being collectively bargained, you’ll get paid exactly the same as the putz across the hall who phones it in every day.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
05/23/2019 at 16:04

I always knew I wanted an M.D. or Ph.D., I just never knew why I wanted the degree, never mind what field of study. After I graduated with my B.S., I tried to make ends meet, but couldn’t. A friend of mine said I could rent his spare room, so I ended up being a roommate. Because of how I talked about broad-scale problems, he thought I should meet one of his old professors who was into solving broad-scale problems. He was right. The old prof and I hit it off and I was in grad school three months later.

I never stopped to consider how much I was going to spend to get the degree or what I would do with it beyond academics. I taught at a university for a few years before going into the private sector. It was a good jump, but the job market beyond academia is hard for people with a doctorate unless it’s required for the work. There aren’t many jobs in the disaster recovery arena and I haven’t found one yet that requires a Ph.D.

I hope Steve is paying attention to this thread and considers his options before starting on that Ed.D. he was talking about.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > TheRealBicycleBuck
05/23/2019 at 16:28

That’s interesting. I could go on a rant about the Ed.D. degree, but then I might sound like an opinionated butthole. I meet students every day and build relationships with them and make a difference. Ed.D. holders, in the experiences I’ve had, are held by folks who spend all their time in the classroom trying to get out of the classroom, or who serve as principals and use that time to earn their degrees and don’t accomplish much of value because they don’t want to rock the boat because they want to go be the Director of Bullcrap somewhere that’s completely out of touch with children in classrooms and, furthermore, is a gyre of people changing jobs all the time so nobody in the trenches can ever build any sense of connection to any of them.

Now, having said all of that...

I was in the Army for half a dozen years, 30 years ago. I was enlisted. I had to salute people who had shiny things on their hats. If I liked or respected the officer, I’d salute him or her. If I did not, I’d salute the shiny thing. What qualified them to wear a shiny thing was their college degree. I decided I wanted to be qualified to wear the shiny insignia on my hat, even if I were no longer in the military. And in the ensuing years, I would imagine what rank I might be wearing: major? Lieutenant colonel? But now, thirty years on, I realize that what I really am is a senior enlisted guy both because of how I am paid, and because of how I am in touch with the troops. I see myself as an E-8, senior chief or master sergeant.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
05/23/2019 at 16:43

I’ve always seen myself as the bridge. I know enough about a lot of things to be conversant and can act as the translator. Put an environmentalist and an engineer in the room and I’m the one that can help them have a meaningful conversation. One of the best compliments I’ve received came from a park superintendent. He said, “I never would h a ve guessed you have a doctorate. You don’t act like you have one.”

My direct supervisor is a retired Army two-star General. You’d never know it because he doesn’t behave how most people believe a General would behave. I think it’s part of his success in both the military and in the private sector. When he found out I was working on my pilot’s license and I told him that I had considered flying in the Army, he gave me a long stare and said I would have done well as an Army pilot. He said t hey can follow orders and get things done, but have the autonomy to tell a General, “sorry, sir, we aren’t flying to that location today.”

I like to think that was a compliment.

I have my moments where I wish I was higher up the food chain, but I have to admit that I’ve really enjoyed the freedom I’ve been given in my current job. There aren’t many dads who have spent as much time with their kids as I have with mine. I was blessed with the opportunity to coach basketball, volleyball, and track. I did Scouts with my son and assisted with the robotics club. I even served the swim team as their safety lifeguard for several years.

I’m glad there are dedicated people like yourself who really care about the kids. I’ve seen plenty of teachers who don’t.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > TheRealBicycleBuck
05/23/2019 at 17:51

I’ve seen plenty of teachers who don’t.

So have I, sadly.

That’s cool about that general. When I was in the Army, as a sergeant, I was responsible for the fuel for our battalion, though I was not trained specifically for that. But I had a soldier who was, and one night, because of lightning, she said we cannot issue fuel right now and some captain was having a fit and I had to say, “Sir, Specialist Salyers is a trained fuel handler and she says we can’t issue fuel, so Sir, I have to go with that.”