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 Millennial with a Masters in Education; Passionate yapper, empathetic listener, & always here to validate your irrational thoughts. This podcast is a dedicated safe space where I share the good, the grim, & the WTF in a day of the life of a high school guidance counselor. Also a dedicated safe space for anyone in education or educator who loves what they do, but needs a drink.
Poolside with Sara
===
[00:00:00] intro
---
[00:00:00] me: Imposter syndrome.
Oh, she is not cute, honey. And if you know her personally, you know her to be kind of a biatch one who likes to overstay her. Welcome at that. Yeah. She's lingering with me on year three in being a school guidance counselor where y'all know, I feel I evolve every day at my job, but I am nowhere near perfect.
In fact, I feel I'm still at the novice level. I mean like bottom of the totem pole. So I'm excited to collab with different people from different departments at my job who can provide me more insight perspective, oftentimes support I. So with that being said, I am super excited to be able to interview and introduce a friend of mine who is also an educator.
She's been in education for a little over a decade, so she kind of knows what she's talking about. Um, she's from South Florida, like myself, and she recently moved to Massachusetts about a year ago. So I'm excited to see the stark contrast in school systems. Pick her brain on how state legislature affects school districts and curriculum differently.
We have story time. We share everything from lockdowns to loan forgiveness. I mean, are we really radicalizing the youth, like they say? We definitely touch on imposter syndrome. We share our proudest moments and not so proudest moments. We talk about the blind leading the blind that yeah, that may or may not translate to talking shit about our aps, but who cares? This is a safe space and we are tired. Lastly, are the kids alright? If you're new here. My name's Victoria. This is Counselor Chronicles, a dedicated safe space where I share the good, the grim, the WTF of a day in the life of a school guidance counselor.
Also, a dedicated safe space for anyone in education or educators who love what they do. But desperately need a drink.
[00:01:55] Episode intro
---
[00:02:03] me: So we are, um, hosting today's episode outside.
[00:02:07] sara: Hi.
[00:02:08] me: We are remote. We're definitely not in Massachusetts.
[00:02:13] sara: No. There's palm trees here.
[00:02:16] me: There's the sun is is working. She's not looking at snow.
[00:02:18] sara: No snow.
[00:02:19] me: She has been in, I don't know how many feet of snow for like the last couple of weeks.
Right. Close
[00:02:23] sara: to three baby.
[00:02:26] me: So yeah, this life's great. Life's great for her.
[00:02:28] sara: I'm defrosting
[00:02:29] me: on nice February break. Something that we don't, something that we don't have. Like why don't we, why don't we have a Feb break? 'cause I'm literally in the trenches right now. This is like the timing year where I feel, I really feel this is my lowest, my slump every, well this is
[00:02:42] sara: like third quarter right
[00:02:44] me: year.
Yes.
[00:02:44] sara: Yeah. Third quarter is the longest,
[00:02:46] me: the
[00:02:46] sara: most intense.
I remember that
[00:02:49] me: So, okay.
[00:02:51] Sara background/ history
---
[00:02:51] me: Little history on you. You were a history teacher at Dillard.
[00:02:56] sara: Yes.
[00:02:56] me: 10 years.
[00:02:57] sara: 10 years.
[00:02:57] me: 10 years. You gave them
[00:02:59] sara: decade.
[00:02:59] me: That's 10 years of your life you can't get back.
[00:03:01] sara: You're right. Loved obviously, but honestly they raised me.
[00:03:05] me: Right?
[00:03:05] sara: They did.
[00:03:06] me: Yeah.
[00:03:06] sara: No, Dillard is, Dillard has a lot of, a lot of po, a lot of positives, honestly. I think about it very fondly. I mean, it, there were a lot of things that were messed up, but like, honestly,
I survived. Yeah. And I thrived.
[00:03:21] me: I've seen you, I've seen you cry over that school.
[00:03:24] sara: Yeah.
[00:03:25] me: But that school has brought you so much pride and so much joy at the same time.
So it's, it's really cool to watch you like take off and do this again, but like start a new and
[00:03:35] sara: Yeah.
I mean, it's just interesting 'cause they really didn't have to take me in the way that they did, like Dillard, I mean, but like the community was just so welcoming and I just, I wanted to, I wanted to really.
I dunno feel I, I feel so fulfilled from my time there. Yes. I was stressed. Yes. I was on lockdown a lot, a lot more than I wasn't. And there were days where I had no ac, no wifi, no power and on lockdown like that. That was real,
[00:04:02] me: dude.
[00:04:02] sara: That, but, but like, I got students, I got so many students, college credit, I have kids there.
She goes, I have kids on Broadway now. Like went to Julliard, Manhattan Conservatory, all that. Like I definitely.
[00:04:22] me: Have you had any graduates, like touch base with you after?
[00:04:24] sara: Yeah.
[00:04:25] me: Like who do you, is it a
[00:04:26] sara: lot
[00:04:26] me: of them?
[00:04:27] sara: Yeah, there's a lot of them actually. There's a, there's, there's a select few that I've kept in like legit contact with, especially post-graduation.
Um, a lot of them are in like their last year of college or they've already graduated.
[00:04:38] me: Were you with 11th?
[00:04:39] sara: Yes.
[00:04:39] me: Like the whole time you were there?
[00:04:41] sara: Pretty much. I did have some like sophomores sprinkled in here and there, but it was majority juniors. Um, and I got them to pass their state US history exam, which has now been transformed into something else.
[00:04:54] me: Yeah.
[00:04:55] State legislature and curriculum
---
[00:04:55] sara: So there's that. Yeah, and I, I was there, I was at a historically black high school when they changed the standards for teaching African American history and also American history, so I really, it was really devastating to see that transition to. Be just like DeSantis playbook.
[00:05:15] me: Right.
[00:05:16] sara: And it was really disheartening to like, look at my classroom full of black kids and say like, this is what happened, but your test is gonna assess you very differently.
It's
[00:05:25] me: like, this is the right answer, but it's the wrong
[00:05:28] sara: answer. It was
[00:05:28] me: like, like you're
saying yes, but like, shaking, shaking, like, I'm like,
[00:05:32] sara: well, like the cause of the Civil War was slavery, but your your, your test is gonna tell you it was the 10th amendment, which is just like state's rights stuff.
You know what I mean?
[00:05:40] me: Yeah.
[00:05:40] sara: Which is just like, I guess you can argue it that way if you really wanna whitewash it down, but like what was the state Right,
[00:05:46] me: right.
[00:05:47] sara: To own slaves. To own people.
[00:05:48] me: Exactly.
[00:05:49] sara: So Massachusetts has given me the freedom to teach the truth. I will tell you that much and get paid a lot more while doing it.
[00:05:56] me: And that I remember that being,
[00:05:57] sara: but I do miss Dillard.
[00:05:58] me: Yeah.
That's gotta be a breath of fresh air. I remember that being the tip of the iceberg that, like the straw that broke the camel's back, kind of like in your last couple years leading up to your move to mass, I remember you losing your shit over all of these laws that DeSantis was implementing and
[00:06:14] sara: Yeah,
[00:06:15] me: a lot of the whitewashing and the curriculum
[00:06:17] sara: and like his weird, like civic seal of excellence.
So like if you go through his training as a history teacher mm-hmm. They like pay you extra, but then you're like under even more strict surveillance, which is pretty crazy. I never got that. But, um, I, I didn't do that training, I didn't do that. But also I was just like very dis disheartened by the way that the union was, you know, bending over backwards for
state-actors and stuff like that. Taking away teachers planning time.
[00:06:44] me: Jesus.
[00:06:44] sara: They took away all the early release days.
[00:06:46] me: We got 'em back.
[00:06:47] sara: Oh, we, you did. Well that's back. Fantastic. Shout out to that.
[00:06:50] me: Let's go, BTU!.
[00:06:51] sara: Well, that's, that's great. Alright, so then maybe they got an more of a
[00:06:53] me: Give em their flowers for this one.
[00:06:54] sara: They're gonna have more of a backbone for that. But I remember they like shoved that, um, clause into like, when we were like agreeing to a 0.8% raise. I'm like, okay, I'm not, I'm not that fit. But, um, but yeah, Massachusetts has been much, it's, it's interesting. So it's like relaxed in a lot of other, in a lot of ways, but then it's really intense in others.
Like they do not, they do not care about my Florida credentials at all. They're like, no, you're gonna retake all your tests
[00:07:25] me: because they mean nothing.
[00:07:26] sara: They mean nothing. Your masters doesn't matter. Nothing. If you had a PhD, you still take these tests. I'm,
[00:07:30] me: that's
wild.
[00:07:31] sara: That's crazy.
[00:07:32] me: They did, they did like, they did like, your resume?
[00:07:36] sara: Oh yes they did.
[00:07:37] me: How did they find out about that?
[00:07:39] sara: Well, 'cause I have a police report about me
[00:07:40] me: Yeah, yeah, yeah,
[00:07:41] sara: So, um, when I was more vocal publicly on Twitter
[00:07:47] me: and this was like, what? Circa, circa 2021.
[00:07:49] sara: 2021? Yeah. Okay. Um, somebody reported a very academic tweet, but in it it said that I wanted to radicalize the youth.
So that was a trigger word.
[00:08:00] me: That may or may not be true. I mean,
allegedly.
[00:08:02] sara: Yeah. Just like not, but I get, I dunno if they thought I was a clan member or what they, what they thought I was. I mean, but this person who reported me, like, did this to try to ruin my life. Like they didn't, they like reported me to the, office school performance accountability. So like, ospa, which is like the top of the, the line for Broward. And then they sent detectives to interview me and my principal was so embarrassed. And then I had to like act, like explain myself out of it. And I was saying that I was like talking about the criminal justice system and black on black crime is a style concept.
[00:08:34] me: This was in the midst of the blm
[00:08:35] sara: Yeah.
[00:08:35] me: Movement.
So of course you were on that
[00:08:37] sara: and Yeah. Was was
was, yeah. I, I took everything from my black radical thought class and just disputed at these detectives. And they basically, they wrote a police report saying the threat was neutralized, LOL, but
[00:08:50] me: LOL neutralized,
neutralized neutralized.
[00:08:51] sara: Like, or unfounded what? Right. But they still had to file that about me. And like, I honestly forgot about it. Even though I had seen the police report. I was like, this doesn't matter. This is like a fluff piece or whatever. Yeah. But then when I did my background check for Massachusetts, it popped up and the principal was like, I'm definitely hiring you now.
And I'm just like, oh,
[00:09:12] me: that's
beautiful.
[00:09:13] sara: Yeah.
So it's pretty cool.
Yeah.
Yeah. We have, there's a lot. The, the overall community consensus about all the like current state of affairs with this administration and everything is much more left wing than down here.
[00:09:28] me: Of course. Yeah.
[00:09:28] sara: It's very, very against ice, very vocal Palestinian solidarity groups, like very, not Broward.
So it has been really nice in that aspect, but there is no discipline. So at least Broward has that, but like, not really, but like at least there's a matrix
[00:09:52] me: What even is that? Because honestly when it, when I think about the discipline that we implement in most schools here, which is like what the zero tolerance policy and all of the, you know, everything has a domino effect.
But then I'm seeing like, dude, this has brought, this, brings nothing. Nothing but like a school to prison pipeline.
[00:10:10] sara: Right. But like the thing is, yes, I completely agree with that. I don't know what the alternative is, but like all I know is that Right. I remember in Broward, like if you got into a fight, you're like automatically suspended for a certain amount of time.
I think there is a difference.
[00:10:22] me: Nine days.
[00:10:23] sara: Nine days. And I think if like you, without question, it's like, it's like assault or battery. Like you really made the other kid like bleed. It's even worse. But like I've had a student literally, like there was, I've, I mean I saw the video. She slammed a girl's head into the bathroom stall and got suspended for one day and then comes back bragging like, of course she's gonna brag 'cause she knows that she can get away with it.
And like I had a student literally leave campus and go to Dunking Donuts and come back and all he got was a warning. Like that's. Weird. I don't get it.
[00:10:54] me: Kids smoke in classrooms now and it's like,
[00:10:56] sara: oh yeah, they're vaping in
bathrooms,
[00:10:57] me: don't cares and stuff. Don't care. They're doing it all right in front of
[00:11:00] sara: Yeah.
[00:11:00] me: Teacher's faces. I've had kids openly say, yeah, I'm not even that zooted today.
[00:11:04] sara: Oh, no.
[00:11:04] The Blind Leading the Blind
---
[00:11:04] me: And they get sent to their admin and their admin's like, did you call home? And it's like, dude, is that not your job at this point? Point, yeah.
Why am
I calling home? Like, why am I calling
home?
Does this not warrant like disciplinary action?
Yeah. I don't know. For some things it's like, okay, they, , they got a hard on to discipline students and make an example out of them and shit.
Yeah.
But for other things, it's like, I've noticed it's impossible to get them to do their jobs.
Right.
I'm just kind of like, are we, are we the blind leading the blind? Why can't I get answers? Why does nobody care to find answers? And it's like if they deem, I'm just on my rant right now, but if, if
[00:11:38] sara: No, you're okay.
[00:11:39] me: If there's a student that's deemed to be too difficult or challenging to deal with, they don't even fucking-
it's not that they don't care. I'm gonna speak lightly. It's not that they don't care that they have an IEP, they don't care to acknowledge the fact that there are other factors going on. Yeah. So it's like, all right. And you're right that we don't even know if there's an alternative, but to which point do we, do we find the zero tolerance policy successful?
[00:12:02] sara: Yeah.
Right. It's, it's really interesting too, because if a student does have an IEP, they are, they're entitled to more due process than the average student. So there has to be like, additional hearings with the parent.
[00:12:14] me: Yeah.
[00:12:14] sara: And any other, I guess you call them stakeholders, which is so crazy to like classify a, a group of people as a stakeholder within the public school system.
[00:12:22] me: Yeah. But they're weird though. They'll choose which, which stakeholders they wanna include.
[00:12:25] sara: Oh, exactly.
[00:12:26] me: And why and when. Yeah, and when not, it's convenient.
[00:12:28] sara: Right.
[00:12:28] me: I've, i've been left outta meetings like from like principals and at aps I've had to like, follow up through email and say like, okay, am I not a valuable stakeholder here? Like, am I not a guidance counselor? Right. Why wouldn't I, why wouldn't you think to include me?
[00:12:40] sara: Right.
[00:12:40] me: And then it's like a follow up with a knock at the door. 'cause it's like, oh.
[00:12:43] sara: Oh yeah. They can't put it in writing.
[00:12:44] me: Oh, I can't. No. But it's like, I, I do that shit to kind of put them on their toes. Yeah. Because it's like, don't think that you can just step all over, not follow due process. Not like, not follow ethical boundaries either.
[00:12:55] sara: Yeah.
[00:12:56] me: And
expect to not hear back from me like I, my, my boss . Like, not my, not, you know, not like the principal or anybody, but like my direct boss in guidance. His advice to me is always like, don't, don't rock the boat. Don't rock the boat.
[00:13:11] sara: Yeah. And like my, I, I always
say,
[00:13:12] me: bitch, I'll rock this boat your battles and I'll flip this boat over.
[00:13:15] sara: Right. Like, this is the battle I'm picking Then like,
[00:13:18] me: this is the
battle I'm picking.
[00:13:19] sara: If I have to pick battles and
[00:13:19] me: I'll die on this hill.
[00:13:20] sara: Right. Oops. Sorry about my phone. Hey, popular.
[00:13:23] The kids are alright...?
---
[00:13:23] me: AI is something else.
[00:13:25] sara: Yeah.
[00:13:25] me: I've noticed like a lot of kids just not only depending on it, but
[00:13:30] sara: Oh, they, they completely depend on it,
[00:13:33] me: openly bragging about how they can just rely on that. It's like, you know, you're openly admitting to just not having, having a
brain,
a brain critical thing.
A critical
thought.
[00:13:41] sara: Yeah. Can't, you can't think for yourself, like, why did you, why did you just ask Chat GPT, like, to, like, help you with your text messages to your friend? Like, that's so strange. And like, now they only know how to write in bullet points. Like, it is like getting kids to like, it's like pulling teeth, being like, can you write this in a complete sentence?
And they're like, can I just answer it? It's like, no. Then you don't know what you said.
You don't,
you know what you just said. The impact of what, what are we talking about here? Like, if you go back and study what you wrote down, you don't, you're not gonna know what you said. You just wrote like a thing.
And like now I have to give guided notes. They can't, they can't take notes on their own.
[00:14:16] me: I'm noticing that's becoming
a huge issue 'cause they don't know how. Huge
issue.
[00:14:19] sara: Yeah. And it's like, and then they get annoyed about the guided notes too. Like this is so many blanks.
[00:14:26] me: Is it because they can't like listen and write at the same time?
[00:14:29] sara: Yes. And they were
and
[00:14:30] me: they, they're taking in what you're saying
[00:14:32] sara: and their fine motor skills are bad. There are some, there are some kids there are like, they're freshmen and their handwriting looks like they're in first
grade. I even,
[00:14:39] me: I forgot about that.
Yeah. Like their, their fine motor skills are also like not developed.
I mean, I, I don't know if, I mean, I think COVID is only partially to blame. 'cause that was just like a year. Just like, well, I mean in Massachusetts they were online a lot longer. I'm not gonna lie. They were online I think for a whole other '
cause they
[00:14:53] sara: actually took a serious up there. Yeah. At least a semester.
Yeah. Right. Than, than down here.
[00:14:58] me: So we had masks off by like week three.
[00:15:00] sara: Yeah. So like they, if they can't type it, and also if there isn't, like if template, they're just, they're flailing. I remember I tried to assign something in the textbook,
[00:15:12] me: just, they're probably used to texting everything
[00:15:13] sara: just to like, I like define these words and answer the questions on this page.
And they're like, what page, am I on? Where do I find the words? Like, what do you mean answer these questions? Where are they? Where do I find the answer? And if it's not explicitly, the questions stem is, isn't explicitly in the reading.
They
can't
[00:15:29] me: use context clues
[00:15:30] sara: to figure out, the comprehension doesn't match.
So if, if I ask them, for example, like what were three causes of the first crusade, , if the text doesn't say the three causes of the first crusade were, they're like, where is it? I'm like, oh no,
[00:15:45] me: read,
[00:15:45] sara: read it. And they're like, no. And I'm like, wait,
[00:15:49] me: I ha
[00:15:49] sara: it's bad.
[00:15:50] me: I'll have kids hand me a piece of paper, like a dual enrollment form.
Um, hey, you know, how do I sign up for dual enrollment? Oh, forms over, there's what's, okay. They'll come and grab it and they give it to me. Okay. Now what? I'm like, well read it.
[00:16:02] sara: Yeah. No,
[00:16:03] me: some of these kids can't tell. Like a time on the clock. Oh,
[00:16:06] sara: they can't, what is that? It's
[00:16:07] me: not digital.
[00:16:08] sara: Yeah. Analog. They're like, what do you mean?
I'm like,
[00:16:10] me: oh, no, no, we talked about that. . The note taking is the fine motor skills is an issue because now, now that I'm thinking about it, like even though COVID was just a thing, think about like, this is the generation that was born with the phone in their hand.
[00:16:21] sara: Yeah, that's
[00:16:21] me: true.
So they're texting everything. Mm-hmm. Everything is just a type of way.
[00:16:24] sara: Mm-hmm.
[00:16:25] me: So they don't even know Cursive. Cursive is not even
[00:16:27] sara: talk. Oh no, they say sign your name. They just print it.
[00:16:31] me: Yeah.
[00:16:31] sara: But, and then again, I, there are those like anomaly kids that,
[00:16:35] me: do you think they don't want them reading cursive so that they can't read the constitution?
[00:16:38] sara: Ah. I mean, that's a part of it. You know, if you keep the masses illiterate, they won't question anything.
[00:16:44] me: they want these kids dumber and dumber.
[00:16:45] Stark contrast between Massachussetts and FL
---
[00:16:45] sara: Yeah. If you keep them illiterate, they won't question shit. So. I don't know. It's interesting. And also like Will Massachusetts,
Difference in there is a big difference, but this is gonna be interesting. So Broward Stratifies kids almost immediately, pretty much in middle school, right?
[00:17:01] me: Yeah.
[00:17:02] sara: There's honors, there's advanced, there's Gem, there's ib, ap. Yes. Cambridge. I'm so Cambridge. Well, Cambridge hasn't made its way up to mass yet.
Interesting. Right. They're like, what's Ace or Cambridge? I'm like, oh no, that's way better than college board. But I digress. But um, hold on, I got a cough. So, at my school in particular, so I work in North Hampton and also a big difference with Massachusetts is every city in town essentially gets their own district.
So for example, north Hampton has one high school and I'm at it.
[00:17:33] me: Yeah.
[00:17:34] sara: And they do not stratify the kids until they're in 11th grade. And then they can self-select if they wanna take AP or dual enrollment classes. So what that means in ninth and 10th grade, and I teach ninth grade, I have students who are.
On the collegiate reading level and kids who are on a third grad reading level in the same class.
Yeah. In the same class.
[00:17:56] me: You guys have an honors or true honors program though?
[00:17:58] sara: No.
[00:17:58] me: 'cause we don't either.
[00:17:58] sara: Well, there's a true AP program. There's a true, like advanced classes. Once you get to your junior and senior year,
so they're like, do not, they, there are no honors. There's just like advanced, there's ap and then like for the math kids that like, like pre-calculus is automatically considered honors. Yeah. But like, they don't call it pre-cal honors, but if you're in ninth and 10th grade, you're basically like, it's just like luck of the draw of where you fall.
So like my first period, they're all very bright. Like they're all Yeah, I would, they're all pretty much on the same level. My second period, I have, I, I have a kid on the third grade reading level who, uh, can't do anything without para support or being redirected. And then I have somebody else who's mother and father, they run the medieval history program at Smith College, and they're like having a very, like, complex debates with their friends about things like, while the other ones are struggling to get to question number three.
There's no stratification and it's, it's, uh, it is one of the, I wouldn't, I don't wanna call it necessarily a flaw, but the, I guess you could say. The least restrictive environment.
[00:19:12] me: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:19:13] sara: So , a lot of parents and then stakeholders will be like, no, I do not want them in a separate program. I want them to be with like
[00:19:20] me: gen ed.
[00:19:20] sara: Gen ed, essentially. Yeah. And it's just like there's, there's, so there's a lot of students who end up in, in that, where they kind of shouldn't be type thing. Now there are others that completely thrive and that, that is, they should be in that type of environment. But it honestly, it's just like when you blanket diagnose or when you like
[00:19:39] me: right.
[00:19:39] sara: Overgeneralize people's abilities based off of like one test or like one evaluation. It just kind of like, I don't know who like the least, it's the least in restrictive environment for that kid. But then what about their classmates? Like the, like I I, in my class last semester, which had quite a few heavy hitters in the, in the like.
I can't do a lot category. I had collegiate level kids who just like had to sit there while I was like, redirecting.
[00:20:09] me: Oh man,
[00:20:10] sara: you know, buddy wanted Buddy two to like not be slapping each other. We should be learning about the Magna Carta. But like I have to now play Simon says with you to get you to stop.
Like
Yeah. What I
mean's
[00:20:24] me: you have kids with like behavioral
[00:20:25] sara: Yeah,
[00:20:26] me: behavioral issues
[00:20:27] sara: and like of Yeah, it's like, it's, it's very interesting. But you know, I've been doing it for so long, I can, like, this is something that I can do, but like for the average person, I'm so overstimulated still. Like I'm overstimulated all the time.
[00:20:44] me: Do you feel it differently though? Do you feel like now that you have paras and you have more support than you did in, it's a little better
[00:20:51] sara: In the Florida classroom it's a little bit better. 'cause I know like there were, there were a couple instances last semester where I had some blow ups with my... interesting kids, and I would be a, I would be able to go cool off in the bathroom for like five minutes because I had a para in the room that could just like watch.
[00:21:08] me: Oh, that's beautiful.
[00:21:08] sara: Which I, that would never happen.
[00:21:10] me: What if it, yeah. What I was gonna say, what even Is that here?
[00:21:11] sara: Just have to pray that a security guard shows up.
Like, so there's no security guards
[00:21:16] me: Girl.
[00:21:17] sara: I haven't even,
there's no school resource officer.
That's interesting.
[00:21:20] me: There's no SRO.
[00:21:21] sara: No SRO.
[00:21:23] me: What happens if like, there's a major issue,
[00:21:25] sara: you just have to wait for the Northampton police to show up, which they, they, they do very quickly
they're bored, so they will come right away. So like, they will come, but,
[00:21:34] me: oh, there's no crime. So that's,
[00:21:35] sara: there's no crime. There's just like homeless loitering, which is like, help them, you know?
[00:21:40] me: Right.
[00:21:40] sara: Which they do. There is, there are a lot more shelters and a lot more like
[00:21:44] me: mm-hmm. There's a lot.
[00:21:44] sara: It's a lot more accessible for the impoverished to, to receive resources. There's a very big. Community activism. There's a lot of food banks, there's a lot of stuff
[00:21:54] me: that's sounds like in Portland too. They're big on that.
[00:21:56] sara: Yeah.
[00:21:56] me: Their taxes go to the homeless too.
[00:21:58] sara: Exactly. Taxes. So the same thing with, same thing with the part of math.
I mean honestly, all
of Massachusetts, I don't mind paying
Right.
[00:22:05] me: Taxes towards genocide. Not so much.
[00:22:07] sara: Right.
[00:22:08] me: Not prefer that.
[00:22:10] sara: Yeah.
Yeah,
I mean mass, there's a few cities in Massachusetts and I think actually Northampton might be one of 'em that like completely divested from everything
[00:22:18] me: I love.
[00:22:19] sara: Yeah.
And Mass is very big on keeping ice out as much as possible, which has been really great. 'cause
[00:22:25] me: Were you guys successful in your walkout?
[00:22:27] sara: So, yes. Um, even the,
[00:22:29] me: we were not,
[00:22:29] sara: well, here's the difference though. The walk, the walkouts and the marches are not as big of a deal where I am because everybody agrees.
So you're not really making a
point.
[00:22:38] me: 'cause everyone's like Yeah, because
everyone's like, this is bad.
[00:22:40] sara: Yeah. Everyone's like, no, you're, we, we agree. Like, let's,
we agree
this, we,
[00:22:44] me: this is bad.
[00:22:45] sara: So like every, everybody's down.
[00:22:47] me: I love
that.
[00:22:47] sara: So it's interesting like everybody agrees,
[00:22:50] me: no, we got letters sent.
You know, 'cause it trickles down from the state.
[00:22:53] sara: Yeah.
[00:22:53] me: And then, you know, to the district. And then, you know what's weird, Sarah, we've never used, we never used to do, not to like chime in politically, but we never used to. Since I've been there, I don't remember having to do the Pledge of Allegiance. And this year it's just,
[00:23:07] sara: oh, I, I never get it done.
[00:23:08] me: Now.
[00:23:08] sara: Oh, now it's a required,
[00:23:09] me: now they're, they're making it a required thing.
[00:23:11] sara: The
10 commandments are about to come back. Right.
[00:23:13] me: 10 commandments.
[00:23:14] sara: Yeah.
[00:23:14] me: And
corporal punishment, is that how it's called? Right.
[00:23:16] sara: Well, well Corporal punishment is actually still legal in, in Florida, but only in certain counties.
Yeah. You know, it's just sidebar, happy hour is illegal in Massachusetts.
Mm-hmm.
You cannot discount drinks for a certain hour 'cause that leads too much.
[00:23:32] me: Oh, well you can go drink at, at 4:00
PM
[00:23:33] sara: you can definitely go drink at 4:00 PM There's no discount.
[00:23:35] me: So there specials,
[00:23:36] sara: no.
[00:23:37] me: No brunch specials either.
[00:23:37] sara: No brunch specials. Well maybe you can do brunch if you do it an all day thing. You just can't
like
[00:23:43] me: Mass is like a super Catholic
state though.
[00:23:44] sara: Yes.
[00:23:45] me: Even though they're left, they're like, hey.
[00:23:46] sara: Yeah, I mean like city up city upon a hill baby. Like it is.
It is real. Puritans came there for a reason, but
[00:23:52] me: you wanna get fucked up, you do that on your own, your own dime.
[00:23:54] sara: Fireworks are illegal. No fireworks. Okay. Yeah. You have to go to Connecticut for that. And happy hour.
[00:24:00] me: I'm assuming that's like an environmental
[00:24:01] sara: Yeah
and
there's, there's,
[00:24:03] me: those are sensible laws.
[00:24:04] sara: Right?
So they're very big on the environment and light pollution. So there are no, there's like barely any street lamps. There's no reflectors in the road. So like good luck driving at night.
[00:24:15] me: I can bring a lighter.
[00:24:16] sara: Yeah. You don't have a lighter?
[00:24:18] me: No, it's in my,
[00:24:18] sara: I think I have one.
[00:24:19] me: If you have one. That's great.
[00:24:20] sara: Yeah. I'm gonna pause. Quick break.
[00:24:24] Loan Forgiveness
---
[00:24:24] sara: Now that you're on your third year though, um, you've accumulated sick time, right? Or no? Not really.
[00:24:33] me: I don't even know what that means.
[00:24:34] sara: True.
[00:24:34] me: 'cause it's like what, you get six, you get like six for a year and then they front you, quote-on-quote "front you."
[00:24:40] sara: So you're
four.
[00:24:41] me: Yes.
So you get like a total of 10 maybe?
[00:24:42] sara: Yes, you do get 10.
[00:24:43] me: But then if you, if you like
[00:24:45] sara: Yes.
[00:24:45] me: Use them all by the time your year's up, they like take them back.
[00:24:48] sara: Yeah. They dock. Yeah, they do
dock
[00:24:50] me: and they have,
[00:24:51] sara: damn.
[00:24:51] me: So like I've, I haven't taken too many days off this year. I've been very mindful 'cause like I'm more intentional.
Third year in, I gotta be responsible. Can't avoid.
[00:25:01] sara: If you make it to war in Broward, they will forgive some of your loans.
[00:25:09] me: I don't do, I've been the PSLF.
[00:25:11] sara: Oh, then just continue doing. That's better.
[00:25:13] me: Right?
[00:25:14] sara: I did the teacher loan forgiveness because I wasn't sure I was gonna make it to 10. And then I did, but I also had way less, I loans too.
I just got lucky in that. Um, I paid for grad school out of pocket, like a dumb ass. But it also helped in the long run. But, um, after my fifth year, they forgave, um, I think five KI only had like nine. So that's why.
Like all Biden had to do was pass a fucking executive order. Or just, I don't know, something. And he decided to do like the,
[00:25:46] me: the what the fuck he was doing.
[00:25:47] sara: Weirdest, right?
[00:25:48] me: It wa it had nothing to do with mine clearly, because nothing happened to mine.
[00:25:51] sara: Same, same. Interesting. I have, I have, so I have a littlest amount left now. I'm under two grand left. And they just won't forgive me. Is, forgive me, forgive me.
[00:25:59] me: You been, wait, hold on. But you've been in the like non-profit dude.
[00:26:03] sara: I don't know. I'm too, I got so much going on
Maybe I'll start after filing my taxes..
[00:26:07] me: I'm mad. I did, I did cry in my office about that. Like when I was on the phone with the student aid gov.
I'm like, what do you mean this is my only option? They're like, well, you can do that, or you can try to opt into another plan, but it wouldn't be PSLF. And I'm like, it doesn't, none of those other plans benefit me and I'd rather just. Be able to do this.
[00:26:24] sara: Nothing is good for the
consumer.
[00:26:25] me: In 120 payments, I'm done.
[00:26:26] sara: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:26:27] me: So I'm on like, what payment? 18.
[00:26:29] sara: Oh my God. I know. It's tragic, dude.
[00:26:32] me: S.O.S.
[00:26:33] sara: Oh my God.
[00:26:34] me: But do schools in Mass offer like tuition reimbursement?
[00:26:38] sara: I believe so, yes. That's good. It's very diff. It's everything is different and is also by the city, so I know that that like, like for example, like North Hampton and Holyoke have different, they have different unions and they have different everything.
So it really just depends. Now everybody that works for 'em, everybody that works for the state of Massachusetts in any capacity, it automatically gets put into the, Massachusetts Retirement System, whatever it is.
[00:27:07] me: Yeah.
[00:27:07] sara: But what I have realized is that.
Massachusetts, it takes 10 years to get completely vested. Whereas Florida's eight, which is a little bit better. But I do know that DeSantis is trying to dismantle the FRS system. So you're-I hate to say this- but you may not make it to eight. So the good thing is, is that when you are ready, if and when you are ready to leave and it's pre eight, you'll be able to take that money with you.
[00:27:36] me: With you.
[00:27:36] sara: Yeah.
But they're gonna fucking tax you on it
[00:27:41] me: can't win. Can't fucking win.
[00:27:45] sara: It's so, it's, yeah. It's nothing as good for the consumer. It's pretty tragic.
[00:27:50] Sara's "why"
---
[00:27:50] me: Yeah. It's real bleak. Well, speaking of bleak, tell me what's your why?
[00:27:55] sara: My why?
[00:27:56] me: Why did you get in? Why did get, why did you get into teaching?
I don't think I've ever really on on a friend level. Wow. I don't think I've ever, I know you're passionate, . Yeah. I've always like raved about like. How awesome you are, what you do.
[00:28:07] sara: Thank you.
[00:28:07] me: But like I never asked you, why did you get into, I mean, other than your passion for history?
[00:28:11] sara: Yeah.
Well, I mean, it's really interesting. I always think about this story. So in eighth grade I had, in my social studies class, we were about to do the like American Indian removal portion. So like Andrew Jackson, trail of Tears, 1830s. And my, my dad lived in Arizona and worked on the Navajo reservation for a while.
[00:28:35] me: Oh.
[00:28:35] sara: And had always, I don't know, my dad just was always really into like Native American culture and stuff like that. So I was, I grew up watching like of the Mohegans as like a 7-year-old and stuff like that. And like, I know it's problematic now, but like dances with wolves and stuff like that. But I was really into Native American history.
It is pretty problematic now, but last of Mohegans is still a little bit better, but they have their issues. So when we got to that portion in eighth grade, my teacher was like. You are just gonna read this portion of the textbook and answer these questions, then we'll move on to the more interesting stuff.
And I was like, absolutely not. I was like, that is, um,
no ma'am.
So I, I remember like having like a vendetta and like thinking at that moment, like, if, if and when I become a teacher, I'm never gonna do that.
[00:29:19] me: Right.
[00:29:19] sara: And I remember even when I was in high school, I would be like, psych, not psychoanalyzing, but like really analyzing the way that my teachers would like, control a classroom and would like be able to really get out the content.
And my favorite teachers always ended up being history and that was always my favorite subject. So, I don't know, I guess I just, my why is that I just, I know that I can explain something in a way that will make. People learn and understand. It is true, especially with history. And
[00:29:49] me: you do,
[00:29:50] sara: I do.
[00:29:51] me: You did enlighten me to the history of Palestine.
I will say that I would've been an ignorant fool had you not put me on.
[00:29:56] sara: Yeah.
[00:29:56] me: I mean, I would've read eventually, but like you kind of put it in a way where it made, made sense. And I'm like, holy shit.
[00:30:00] sara: And another thing, shout out to my dad for always being an anti-Zionist Jew from day one. So like,
[00:30:05] me: love him
King Shit, only!,
[00:30:07] sara: when I was more involved in my Jewish youth group and stuff like that, like I was in a program called Kadima and they would would start talking about birthright and stuff like that.
And my dad was like, Nope, no ma'am. Not doing that.
[00:30:20] me: Cut the show,
[00:30:20] sara: cut the, cut the cameras. And I was just like, I never really got, I didn't get it until I started studying history more. So like, I don't know. I basically, my why is that? I, I really do love history. It is a series of. Human triumph and error in a way that is like, when it is explained properly, it is just so beautiful, resilient, and like poetic.
[00:30:44] me: Mm-hmm.
[00:30:45] sara: To just like the, the, the triumphs and the faults of man and how, I don't know, just how like civilizations have just like done such great things. They've also done such awful things, but if we don't learn from the mistakes and powers of other people, how are we gonna, you know, keep going.
And I also, I just like seeing like the spark and like teenagers especially are, they're, they have so much unlocked potential and they're just, they're so endearing.
I don't know. Like they, they just, they just wanna be like respected as a kid and they, and like nobody wants to be at school, so we might as well all have like a good time and learn something while
we're here.
[00:31:26] me: That's exactly my point. Just be that authentic, safe space.
[00:31:29] sara: Right.
Exactly.
[00:31:30] me: Make it make sense to them.
Right. Make them feel like, okay, I don't wanna be here either, but like,
[00:31:34] sara: right.
[00:31:35] me: Let's not be here together. Right.
[00:31:36] sara: Not
work
against each other.
[00:31:38] me: I See you.
[00:31:38] sara: Right. Like, let me help you be a better version of you.
[00:31:41] me: Let's get through this together.
[00:31:42] sara: Right? Yeah. And like, learn how to read and write and not be a goofball. When someone asks you about the history of something, like you would actually know you could win the trivia night in the future,
[00:31:53] Imposters Syndrome
---
[00:31:53] me: did you feel like, did you have imposter syndrome? Like when you started at Dillard, and I ask this more or less in the sense that like you were working at a predominantly black
[00:32:02] sara: Yeah.
[00:32:02] me: Historical black school.
[00:32:03] sara: I did. I did.
You know, it's funny,
[00:32:05] me: like probably one of the only white teachers there.
[00:32:08] sara: Yes. I was, I, there were so many times, I mean, I taught there for 10 years
[00:32:13] me: and the youngest one.
[00:32:14] sara: Right.
The youngest for a period of time. Yeah. I mean, I start when I was, when I started I was 22, which is wild.
And they gave me like, and they gave me juniors, and some of them were like 17, 18. So I'm literally like,
[00:32:23] me: my god,
[00:32:24] sara: four years older than them. Some of them were parents on top of that. So they be like, right. So they'd be like, my bad, I was taking care of my kid last night. And I'm like, oh my, no problem.
Turning your assignment later. Like, and this is, hey, you were raising your child love. Like you can get to this, this assignment later. Like, I don't know. Um, impo. Yeah, I did.
[00:32:43] me: You're relate, but you're relatable and you have, you hold a lot of empathy so
[00:32:46] sara: that Yeah.
[00:32:47] me: I think that's what made kids respect you too,
[00:32:49] sara: right?
And I start off the year with saying like, respect is something that's earned. It can't be demanded, so I'm gonna earn yours. You're gonna earn mine. It's a mutual thing. Like, let's, let's, let's make the best of this. And um, when I got to grad school, I remember like, obviously I've always been interested in indigenous Native American history.
And then I got really into, slave uprisings and rebellions as well. And I remember asking my, his, my like history professors, I was like, how do you feel becoming like, I guess a quote unquote expert on a historical subject from a culture that you, you don't necessarily identify with? And nobody was ever really able to give me a clear answer except just like, let your body of work speak for itself type thing.
So like as long as you come across extremely knowledgeable and respectful, you can be an expert at, even if, if it like, instead of playing like identity politics with certain stuff, like I, I have to as a history teacher now, and now that I'm teaching world history, like I also have to teach like. You know, futile Japan, and I'm not of Japanese descent, but I have to be the expert in the room on
Right, right.
The Samurai culture and boto and stuff like that. So it's like, it's been interesting. I mean, imposter syndrome is always gonna happen because like when do you ever really stop being a kid? And then when you're like put in front of a group of kids Yeah. And you have to be the adult in the room. It's just like, I think, am I really doing this shit?
Like, but you just,
[00:34:17] me: I'm really in here.
[00:34:18] sara: I'm really out here. Yeah. Like I really, yeah,
[00:34:20] me: you are really out here doing this.
[00:34:22] sara: Imposter syndrome is crazy though. It always sneaks up on you.
[00:34:26] me: I think it's crazy for me to know that I'm fresh into this. I'm only year three. I feel like I'm still at such a novice level and even there's so many factors that I feel in my head work against me.
One, I don't have kids, so what could I possibly know about?
[00:34:43] sara: I don't either though,
[00:34:43] me: you know, high school kids at that, but at the same time, yeah. I'm like, dude, I'm relatable. I was there not too, too long ago.
[00:34:49] sara: Right.
[00:34:50] me: Um, but yeah, you're, there's sometimes when parents come in a room, you have a conference or you have like a 504 meeting and it's like, bro, I just, I just work here.
[00:34:58] sara: Yeah.
[00:34:59] me: I'm just trying to like, make your kid have an equitable shot at success.
[00:35:03] sara: Right.
[00:35:03] me: That's what I'm here, here in short, just wanna make feel supported.
[00:35:06] sara: Yeah.
[00:35:06] me: Whatever you fucking want.
Right, right. You use
extra time on a test. You got
it.
[00:35:10] sara: Let's, let's get some extra time on that goddamn test. I have no problem with that because like, and honestly time limits on tests are like, they're just made up too.
[00:35:17] me: State testing you have all day anyway. So what the,
[00:35:18] sara: basically.
[00:35:21] me: That accommodation is silly.
[00:35:22] sara: Not my, not my teacher test in Massachusetts, though. They gave me a time limit. I'm like, really? This is, this is, this is interesting,
[00:35:28] me: bro. No, I mean, it's, it's crazy to think that we're really out here just guiding the youth.
'cause it's, I do feel like it's the blind leading the blind half the time. Yeah. I'm here. Like, I'm really in this bitch. I don't know. I don't know.
[00:35:40] sara: Yeah.
[00:35:42] me: Like your guess is as good as mine, man. This world could end tomorrow. I have no idea. Do, do you see who's in power? I don't know what he's gonna do next. We'll, we'll figure it out together.
[00:35:48] sara: Pizzagate is real. What do you mean?
Like what do you mean?
[00:35:51] me: You know what's crazy? Pizzagate is real. I was, I was barking about this back in 2020 and people said I was going down a rabbit hole. I thought Ellen's part
of
it. Ellen
dinners is part of it. Listen,
[00:36:00] sara: I made fun of those people and I'm like, damn, I was wrong.
And they were right and they're eating I whatever. Yeah. You know what? Lemme not get off on that tangent.
Well, year threes is a big deal. You're gonna be a pro after this one.
[00:36:12] me: No. Well at this point, because I literally do everybody's job for them. My, so my aps, my two aps. 'cause I have two, two for the same grade, one over the guys and one over the girls. And both are as useless as fucking-
[00:36:24] sara: I bet.
And I I was about I was about to ask you because I always, I always got like really mad that I felt like all the guidance counselors at Dillard were doing, were like scheduling and doing tests.
[00:36:35] me: Yeah.
[00:36:35] sara: Is that the bulk of your, your duties?
[00:36:38] me: Yeah,
[00:36:38] sara: that's not,
[00:36:38] me: yeah, it's course selection.
[00:36:40] sara: Oh my God, that's so obnoxious.
[00:36:41] me: It's schedule changes. Oh man. It's everything you could think of. I mean,
[00:36:47] sara: so when are you guiding in counseling?
[00:36:50] me: They sometimes say that that's not like the "priority".
[00:36:52] sara: Yeah.
[00:36:52] me: Like, like, I mean, and I'm not even going to try to bash them like they do let me have ample time with my kids and like they know that I've built strong rapport with them.
I think like, they hate the fact that I do have such rapport because they're always in my office, but it's like, that's my job.
[00:37:09] sara: Right.
[00:37:09] me: But I guess now it's like, because the counseling role and the laws have changed and it's like a kid shouldn't, A kid shouldn't see you more than like three times.
Otherwise they need to be referred to like, counseling type shit.
[00:37:23] sara: Oh.
[00:37:23] me: Or they need to have, like, every time you meet with, uh, a kid, you're supposed to like call home and document it. So I mean, Let's be real. Do I, do I document? Yes. But am I going to call home every time?
Um, you know, Sally or Jerry wants to walk in my office and just say, Hey, I've had a bad day. Fuck no.
[00:37:41] Story Time
---
[00:37:41] sara: Yeah, I mean, I have so many wild stories.
I did have a, I had, a male student who had got caught cheating on his girl, and the girl busted into my classroom and tried to throw a desk at him. So that was interesting. That was in the desk? No, this was in, this was in at Dillard.
[00:37:59] me: Oh,
[00:38:00] sara: so Massachusetts. I would say the craziest thing is that the girl jumping out the window.
The same girl also beat the shit out of somebody in the bathroom, which is unheard of at this school. Um, she, she has ran away from the school like three times. They call it eloping, which I was like, who are,
[00:38:23] me: that's nice way to put it.
[00:38:24] sara: She's getting married. Like, what do you mean, eloping?
So she's eloped from the building a few times, but like, this girl does not get disciplined. But speaking of that girl, she also just had an incident at the school the day before I left to come down here.
So last week, um, i'm gonna call her Nancy.
[00:38:42] me: Mm-hmm.
[00:38:44] sara: So Nancy is a junior, and Nancy was in my class in the first semester and she was, she started off the year being pretty much a truant. She only came to school four times in 25 days.
So on day four when she came in, she, I was trying to catch her up and she gave me an insane amount of attitude and I, and I told her to get outta my classroom and she said that she ran this fucking school and that was wild. So I wrote her up.
[00:39:10] me: True, true, true, true, true.
[00:39:10] sara: And then later the day, they sent me an email saying she's being evaluated for an IEP.
So that's crazy. So now this same girl, okay, she gets evaluated for the IEP. She gets put into a program where she gets to come to school late and leave late because she just can't handle being up at 9:00 AM She has to come in at like 11 or 12 and stay till like five. So,
[00:39:31] me: oh,
[00:39:31] sara: that's interesting. So on Wednesday she comes to school wearing a really big chain.
And apparently this chain belonged to a girl's ex-boyfriend who she owed money to the girl.
[00:39:51] me: Oh.
[00:39:51] sara: So nancy owes money- We'll call the other one 'Rose'- owes Rose money and is now wearing Rose's ex-boyfriend's chain.
[00:39:57] me: Oh my God.
[00:39:58] sara: So Rose finds out about Nancy wearing this chain and calls her people to come to the school and somebody lets them in.
They get past all types of security. Grown ass adult comes in and beats Nancy's ass. And Nancy also beats her ass and they, I got put on lockdown when this happened. This was last Wednesday.
[00:40:24] me: This is Massachusetts.
[00:40:25] sara: Oh my God. Yeah. This is Massachusetts. And the, oh, they get down out there, the grown ass person, they really get down, got taken out in cuffs, and Nancy left in an ambulance.
So when I get back after February break, I'll find out about that because that's a big security breach that this adult was able to get into the building and then just go beat up the kid.
[00:40:42] me: Yeah, that's so very serious.
[00:40:43] sara: Which is crazy. So I don't know how they're gonna handle that shit, but that's, that's the craziest thing that I've had happen to me.
But in Broward, like people's family would come to the school, but they wouldn't, they wouldn't beat anybody up at the school. They would like do that at McDonald's or something, or like nearby and like, that was weird.
[00:41:03] me: How'd they get past?
Like,
[00:41:04] sara: I don't know.
[00:41:05] me: Well, you guys, SROs, that's the big, that's the big,
you guys don't have sro,
[00:41:07] sara: so that's, no, that's the big controversy. So did someone let this adult in or did they sneak in like what happened?
[00:41:13] me: No, that's, that is serious.
[00:41:14] sara: That's serious. No, that's serious. That's some like breach of security stuff. So that is really serious.
So Nancy hasn't been in my class though since our incident. Sh they switched her out because it was, I had her first period that started at nine.
[00:41:28] me: Is that more serious than like the history teacher at my school? Like tussling with that kid on the floor. She's still there, by the way. She's teaching this year.
[00:41:37] sara: That's crazy.
[00:41:37] me: And she still, she has like 40 kids every period. No planning.
[00:41:41] sara: Oh my God.
[00:41:41] me: Yeah. Like, and it's like, why did you wanna come back here?
[00:41:43] sara: And they went back and, yeah. That's crazy.
[00:41:44] me: The student is now back too.
[00:41:46] sara: Oh.
[00:41:47] me: It's like, that's a recipe for disaster.
[00:41:49] sara: Oh God. Get And no planning.
So she's teaching an extra class, like.
[00:41:53] me: Yeah, I don't know. I don't if that was just like they were, that was their f you to her 'cause they were trying to push her out.
[00:41:58] sara: Well
see, they do. Yeah.
[00:41:59] me: But she's still there and it's like you're still
[00:42:00] sara: oh my God.
That is, I can't believe she's back at that school. That's like shocking.
[00:42:05] me: She like stood up at a meeting and was like,
[00:42:07] sara: what??
[00:42:07] me: Talking about , how the principal didn't vouch for her and how like he didn't come to her defense.
'cause
[00:42:12] sara: this, is that a faculty meeting?
[00:42:13] me: Yep.
[00:42:13] sara: Okay.
[00:42:14] me: This was like at 7:00 AM too, and this is like last Wednesday. And this was in light of a fight that happened at the school. And like the principal decided to be all heroic and try to like get in the middle of the two girls.
But like, yeah, he was just kind of reprimanding, like, kind of like, daddy's, you're in trouble. Like, daddy's like,
[00:42:29] sara: oh no.
[00:42:29] me: You know what I mean? So we're all like, all right, and this teacher just comes outta the woodwork and she's like, yeah, well, you know.
Where was all this when I was tussling on the floor last year? You didn't come to my defense and I've been real quiet about it. I'm like, dude,
[00:42:41] sara: oh no.
[00:42:42] me: And he's like, well, you're not gonna disrupt my meeting. So that's, let's talk this laters.
[00:42:45] sara: At least
handle that.
[00:42:46] me: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:42:47] sara: Wow.
[00:42:48] me: I dunno what happened with her after that.
[00:42:49] sara: I, I think that is really, I mean, I think it's crazier that she's back, but I think that the fact that some us a stranger got onto campus and beat the fuck out of a kid is pretty wild.
[00:42:59] me: That's, that's so pretty crazy. Like that would be all over the news here. You know that.
[00:43:03] sara: You know what, I'm gonna Google it.
[00:43:06] me: Is it on the It's got, I even, it has to made headlines got,
I
[00:43:08] sara: hopped on a plane 12 hours later, so.
So this literally, it's literally just, just happened.
no, me big D is my girl, but like she's nuts. Like, she's absolutely nuts. So I don't have her anymore, but they still wanted me to come to her like, uh, evaluation, but I couldn't go 'cause I was down here.
So I don't know what's happening to her.
[00:43:24] me: I can't wait for the update on that story.
Yeah, I'll let you know when I get back.
Yeah.
I'm gonna give you one more Florida and then one more Massachusetts. I'm gonna start with Massachusetts. All right. So my girl, big D, we're gonna call her Big D. She's the one who did beat the girl up in the bathroom and jump out the window.
So you have heard about her. She's interesting. So one day we're having a normal class period, and I'm just passing back old work, including a test. Big D did pretty solid. She got a 89. That's a good grade. That's a good
grade.
That a great,
like in grad school. That's disappointing.
But as a ninth grader, like hell yeah.
That's a thumbs up.
It's a great job. It's a b plus. It's a a if you really wanna get technical. Anyways, I give it to her and she loses it. She starts like disassociating and like she just starts screaming at me saying I like failing kids. And I, and I like tried to talk her down, being like.
My love. Y you earned an 89. That's that's not failing. And she goes, yes, it's, and she screams that and she runs out the room and she goes to tell everybody else that Godfrey likes failing kids. And everybody's telling her she's losing her mind. And they had to like,
Godfrey failed.
Yeah. And I have her third period.
So she spent all a fourth period in, I don't know, an adjustment counselor's office, just like venting about how I like failing kids. And it's just like you, you earned an 89. My love.
So I had her every day, first semester. I do not have her anymore.
Our last day together was actually my birthday, LOL. Um, she brought me present birthday. What a treat she did. She brought me a present.
And like she knows I love Twix, so she got me some Twix, which is Well,
that's thoughtful.
It's very cute. Yeah. Well, but my Florida story, I'm trying to think of which one. How about
the baby? How about the tiny gun?
Oh, the tiny gun.
The lockdown over the tiny gun.
Over the, over the little last six shooter.
Like, yeah. So we had a lockdown, one of many. One year, because it was my student, I just hadn't had him yet that day. I was supposed to have him later in the day. He brought like an antique gun to school, like a fucking idiot. Tiny, tiny, tiny brass gun. Like, and we were on lockdown for, for like, dude, think you guys were on the news.
Like four hours. This tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny gun, tiny gun. And then there was another time we were on lockdown all day because a kid decided to bring like six bullets in his pocket. Like, what was that? You're so, you're so hard with your bullets like. Whatever
these kids, dude.
Yeah. But the other, the other story is the time that an eighth grader tried to fight me.
At Dillard because Dillard
right. I've heard
this became a center. Yes. You have heard this one. Okay. I don't have
to wait. No, no, no. But like please
reminded
So this wasn't even my kid. I was just like in the office minding my own business and he was like spinning around in a rolly chair, like a weirdo, I guess, waiting for an admin to like discipline him.
And I come in the office, like to go to my mailbox, like innocent. I'm on planning. And he slurps at me like, like that kind of, and I just, all I did was like, go, ew. And I like laughed. And then he basically. He like, he, I don't know what he said. It was up
from
there. He said yeah, he was ready to fight me. I come out of the mailbox.
He told me good luck getting home, bitch. And then he tried to like, he tried to like follow me out the office. How it was crazy. Yeah. I had to like get, I had to get a bunch of security guards from the slurp and then he ends up getting expelled 'cause he was giving kids Swirlies in the bathroom and stealing their money.
Like a real bully in eighth grade.
Swirly are still a thing. That's crazy to me.
Yeah, this was like 2017 though.
I've broken up so many fights though at Dillard, which is really, I don't
even try to like, well, I
don't, I I'm not doing the physical breaking up.
I'm just going like, oh, no. Please stop.
I'm not here playing fucking,
please stop.
I'm not here playing Captain Save-A-Hoe, trying get in the middle I know my, I know my lane.
I know my
rights. I know where to fucking. Chime in,
but yeah, big D, I'll let you know what happens to her.
We'll see.
So I'm try to swat the library.
Oh, literally.
I'm gonna get some sunscreen though. Yes.
But yeah, that happened in October.
One more. So this is like year, year six or seven. And I had a junior who again just didn't come to school, but I had been like following up and documenting it like all year.
Like social worker referrals, calling home, telling admin. They didn't do anything about it. Nothing. And it was may 'cause I know I was proctoring the AP world exam and that's for 10th graders. My girl's a junior and I was in like a random classroom about to administer the test and like this weirdo like walked in.
And mind you, this is like two weeks before I was like just complaining, like, why is she still on my roster? She doesn't come to school. Like, we need to do something about this girl. But then she just like pops up while I'm in this exam. She's
still in your roster because like head count,
[00:48:07] sara: fte, whatever, fuck that means she passed the essay.
So that, that's a big
[00:48:09] me: deal. Oh my god.
[00:48:10] sara: So, um,
[00:48:12] me: the numbers, it's the numbers game.
[00:48:14] sara: So she pops,
[00:48:15] me: no, we, we can't withdraw her. She hasn't been here for a month. No, we can't withdraw her. Right?
[00:48:18] sara: So she pops up in this exam and I'm immediately horrified and I'm like, no, get, get out. What are you doing here? I think I literally said, what the hell are you doing here?
Get out. Okay. So she leaves. I write this up, tell the administration, this girl came into the AP room. What the hell? Like, why? Why is she allowed back on campus? Why isn't this, why am I being not notified? Whatever, why is, why is this happening? And basically my AP was like, don't worry, we're gonna handle it by the end of next week or whatever.
She's gonna be off your roster. So I feel like that was on a Thursday, the following Monday. It's her period. And I like in between classes, when I was at di I would go to the bathroom and my kids would like be either waiting outside for me or like my neighbor would let them in, but they were waiting outside for me that day and she was there, like posted up at my door, ready to beat my ass.
And I, I didn't curse. I essentially said her name was, her name was Jay. Something like that. And I was just like, Jay, I don't know why you're here. You need to get outta my classroom. Yeah. Like you're not allowed to be here. You haven't been here all year. You need to go.
[00:49:24] me: Yeah.
[00:49:25] sara: And she started walking away and again, talking shit under her breath.
And I know she called me, she called me a bitch. She called me a fucking hoe.
Probably called me white bitch at some point. And I got really activated. And I put my hands up in the air like, let's talk about it, Jay.
[00:49:42] me: No,
[00:49:42] sara: let's fucking talk about it. And she, went to come back and like, charge me and my students held me back,
[00:49:52] me: not holding the teacher back,
[00:49:53] sara: saying like, Ms. Fireman's not worth it, don't do it, all this stuff. And she ran to the office and I flicked her off and she left. So I thought I knew that would be on camera. I was, I was stupid of me to do.
[00:50:04] me: But like, did they
catch you on camera?
[00:50:05] sara: I don't know. But she runs the office claiming that I tried to fight her. Which is not
[00:50:10] me: now, not, there were entirely true witnesses in
the classroom. Right.
[00:50:13] sara: Right. Which is not entirely true. But I remember like as soon as that happened, I remember going to my union steward and telling her, you know, I'm being embarrassed, but also like, what do I do?
[00:50:22] me: I'm human.
[00:50:22] sara: Yeah. And I remember I get a call, I text, I also texted my AP saying like, I just had an incident with Jay, the one that we've been having an incident with all year. And I remember
[00:50:34] me: the
ticking
time bomb that I warned you about. Yeah.
[00:50:36] sara: Yeah. He called me and he said like, if you bring the union steward with you to our, to our meeting after school, there will be, I will have to write something in your file, but if you don't, I won't write it in your file.
[00:50:50] me: Um, okay, so you're like on the ledge.
[00:50:52] sara: So I'm on the ledge. I end up not bringing her, 'cause I'm like, I guess I'm gonna take that option
[00:50:57] me: 'cause I'm fucked. If I do, I'm
fucked if
[00:50:58] sara: Right. And I remember like. Being really distraught in his office and, and like, just like explaining the circumstances over and over again.
But he could not stop referring that like, image wise, I would've been the bad guy regardless if anything were to happen. 'cause I'm a white teacher at a black school and I was, I beat up a black kid.
[00:51:14] me: Optics
[00:51:15] sara: just did not, it's just optics. We're not in your favor. We're not in my favor. So, I mean, I'm lucky that nothing happened, but like yeah, that was crazy.
Yeah.
Yeah. That's the, that's the only time I ever, I ever like almost completely came at my face. Like literally. Almost lost. No. Lost it all.
[00:51:31] me: I've lost my cool at work though. I mean, I've definitely, I've had not my proudest moments.
I had my moment with shit. Remember with Sherry when I was at her defense with that crazy bitch on the field trip who was like charging at her saying all this weird shit. Oh, that was crazy. And I had to get off from the bus and, and lower myself. And look down at her and say, I know you're not coming on this bus to touch me like you're my mommy.
[00:51:51] sara: Right?
[00:51:52] me: You're not back the fuck up.
[00:51:54] sara: Let's,
[00:51:54] me: and I definitely got reprimanded, but I, I already told the principal, I'm like, yeah. I said what I said, and I'm gonna stand on that hill and I'm gonna die on it.
[00:52:02] sara: I mean,
at least it wasn't a kid.
So,
[00:52:03] me: It was an adult. It was another adult. Not my proudest moment, but still, it was like my first year. And in my career I was,
[00:52:10] sara: it's so hard.
[00:52:11] me: It's so hard to just, especially in Broward , just, just not snap.
[00:52:15] sara: Yeah.
I know I set you
[00:52:17] me: up. I can't tell you how many times I try to keep composure.
I mean, it's, it, it's a discipline . Maintaining graceful in a, in a toxic environment mm-hmm. Is a fucking discipline.
[00:52:25] sara: Mm-hmm. It is. It is.
[00:52:28] me: And I'm I'm just a girl. Okay.
[00:52:30] sara: Yeah.
[00:52:31] me: And I'm only a girl in her thirties, so I, trust me when I say I have nothing to lose, I don't even got kids
[00:52:36] sara: say less.
Our students are our kids for now. That's enough.
[00:52:39] me: They really are. I know that we talk about like not having kids, but like I seriously, every year that I'm in this profession, I want them less and less.
[00:52:47] sara: I know.
[00:52:47] me: Like, trust me, like these little ducklings will follow me for the rest of my life.
[00:52:51] sara: Yeah.
[00:52:52] me: I will. I will find them in the next life. I'm good.
[00:52:55] sara: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:52:58] Fraud of your former self
---
[00:52:58] me: Okay. Let's talk about how useless fucking admin is and their role.
it's a lot less micromanaging though, don't you think? Absolutely. At your job.
[00:53:04] sara: 100%.
[00:53:05] me: I hate that shit. I bet you don't miss that here.
[00:53:07] sara: No micromanage.
[00:53:08] me: We don't miss Gail.
[00:53:10] sara: I do not miss Gail. Fuck Gail. She's the principal now
of,
uh,
[00:53:15] me: Dillard.
[00:53:16] sara: No, Strahan. She's principal. Oh.
[00:53:18] me: Oh my God.
[00:53:19] sara: So like Dillard Plantation and MacArthur had a weird administrative swap the year I left, I think Dillard got MacArthur's Principal. Dillard's principal went to Plantation
[00:53:31] me: too. If you don't, if you don't remember. Yeah,
allocated funds.
[00:53:34] sara: Girl, we've
[00:53:35] me: lost coaches.
We've lost security 'cause of that
[00:53:37] sara: shit. They're all, they're all frauds.
[00:53:38] me: There's just drama, honey.
[00:53:39] sara: They're all frauds. Of course, when you go into admin, you're just a fraud. No, no offense, but also full offense. You're just a fraud of your former self.
[00:53:47] me: This is no shade, but this is T.
[00:53:50] sara: Okay.
[00:53:50] me: But I found out recently that one of my aps has two DUIs.
First of all, how do you do that and get a job that scandalous as an ap?
[00:53:57] sara: That's actually very scandalous because that should be scandal. The one thing that gets you one of the one things that gets you gone, how do you get,
[00:54:03] me: how do you get hired?
[00:54:04] sara: I don't know. Someone saw that in the record and said, no problem.
Which is problematic. Which is problematic.
[00:54:10] me: They'll hire, they'll hire anyone.
[00:54:11] sara: Yeah. Literally this Florida. Florida will hire anyone. If you just like served in the military, you can just get a job. But you're not gonna get paid well,
[00:54:19] me: no, it's nuts.
[00:54:21] sara: But you will get a job.
[00:54:24] Do what you love, they say..
---
[00:54:24] me: Do you believe that? If you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life. Debatable.
[00:54:32] sara: No.
Debatable,
no. There is no dream job because why would I dream of labor?
[00:54:36] me: I
don't,
[00:54:37] sara: you know what I mean? Dream of labor. Of labor.
No. Dream job.
Right? I do really like, I do like what I do most of the time, but would I rather be off? Fuck yeah. Like would I rather not go to work? Absolutely. I would love to be a real housewife of Northampton, Massachusetts. Honestly, it's lesbian capital of the world.
[00:55:00] me: Shout out to the gays.
[00:55:02] sara: You Google it. It says that Lesbian capital, Northampton, mass.
[00:55:05] me: Love that for me.
[00:55:06] sara: Yeah. So just, I'm gonna retire with the lesbians Wes likes them too. But no, we'll see. I mean. Like, re relaxation is the goal, honestly.
[00:55:19] me: I think I'm taking an extra day off. 'cause like I just,
yeah,
I'm definitely, because school has me so pissed off, bro.
[00:55:25] sara: Yeah.
You deserve it.
[00:55:26] me: It's once a year
[00:55:27] sara: and you go in at like seven, you have to go in at like seven or something still.
I remember that, that, so that's so, that's so torturous.
But if you can get out of there, I think you should go outta
state.
[00:55:36] Salaries, State Certs, & Weather
---
[00:55:36] sara: Right? No, I definitely to get outta the state so I can get paid more. 'cause Florida makes the lowest in the nation.
Literally.
[00:55:41] me: Fun fact, for anyone who doesn't know
[00:55:43] sara: Connecticut is the highest paying,
[00:55:44] me: and then it's Mass
[00:55:46] sara: Mass, and then New York.
[00:55:47] me: Good
[00:55:48] sara: for you. Well, Hartford, which is the biggest city that I'm the closest to, they pay the most.
[00:55:54] me: Yeah.
[00:55:54] sara: So like my goal is to hope, maybe get there. If I can't get into the, into, uh, academia,
[00:56:02] me: I wanna go to Oregon. But they're K through 12 education system. I read. It's not the strongest, not the best. So, oh,
[00:56:08] sara: Mass is top
[00:56:09] me: they said, yeah, Mass is top. And I just gotta be, gotta think strategically.
[00:56:14] sara: Okay. So what would it take for you to get, 'cause I don't know now with all these different titles.
So for you, what is it? LMH, licensed Mental Health. Health Counselor. L-M-H-C-L-M-H-T. How long is that?
[00:56:26] me: I don't know, but I'm not going back to school. Especially with these fucking loans. I'm not, not wasting any more of my time. It's
[00:56:31] sara: like you would be such a good adjustment counselor.
That would be your case.
[00:56:34] me: That's such a cool, that is a really cool title.
[00:56:37] sara: It's a, it's a really cool title.
[00:56:38] me: It's not guidance, like, I mean it's guidance in a way, but it's not, but it's not education. You're not doing schedule changes. You're actually like.
[00:56:45] sara: You're legit. You're like a, A therapist.
[00:56:47] me: Yeah.
[00:56:48] sara: Essentially. I mean, I mean, but you have the hours of a teacher.
[00:56:53] me: I like what I do. Don't get me wrong. I love the, a academic part too. I love being able,
[00:56:57] sara: well, you could just be a guidance counselor. Yeah. I just, I just think, I just know that, that that is a, but
[00:57:01] me: I do love the thought of that role.
[00:57:03] sara: Yeah, that's,
[00:57:04] me: that's different. And maybe
[00:57:07] sara: all it would take would be you just taking a certain test in mass instead of doing
[00:57:11] me: all you said.
Yeah. You said you have to take how many tests? You have to jump through
[00:57:14] sara: a couple hoops. At least two, you're gonna have to take at least two.
[00:57:15] me: At
least two.
At least two. I'm trying to take either
wicked hard and or what?
[00:57:19] sara: Wicked hard. Wicked expensive
[00:57:21] me: They are,
[00:57:21] sara: yeah.
[00:57:22] me: How much are we talking
[00:57:23] sara: $140 a pop? It's not that bad.
[00:57:26] me: Okay. That's what you paid for the professional stuff.
[00:57:27] sara: Yeah, I know. Well, UCF they paid for it for me,
[00:57:31] me: but Oh
[00:57:32] sara: yeah.
[00:57:32] me: Have you made any teacher friends since you've been
[00:57:34] sara: so many? It's been really great actually.
[00:57:35] me: Yeah,
[00:57:36] sara: they're really interesting.
[00:57:37] me: You've built little congregation?
[00:57:38] sara: Yes. We go to this, uh, dive bar. A lot of Fridays after work. Aw. And now the wait waitress knows my order.
[00:57:44] me: Friends.
[00:57:45] sara: White wine.
Not white wine. Why would I even say that? Red wine, everybody. I don't know why I said white.
[00:57:50] me: White wine,
[00:57:51] sara: not white, red. I'm an adult.
[00:57:54] me: Wes is loving it though. I hear Kirby says that. Oh yeah. He says he's never coming back.
[00:57:58] sara: That's what he says all the time. He hates, he hates being hot. But like being cold also is bad.
So like, I mean, I don't know. I do know that I would rather be, I don't know. 'cause my mom asked me this question. She was like, would you rather be without AC in Flo, south Florida in August or without heat in Massachusetts in February? Ooh. Bad. Bad. Exactly.
[00:58:25] me: Both
bad.
[00:58:25] sara: I don't know. I think evil. I think
[00:58:28] me: both hellish,
[00:58:29] sara: I mean, I did the without AC in August in my building in, in Fort Lauderdale.
That happened to us because they had to redo the roof. So we had to shut the AC off for like nine days. That was insane. My landlord ended up paying for a hotel for like one day with like, I guess thanks for that. But yeah, I was like 98 degrees in my apartment one time when I looked at it and I was like, I wouldn't wish this on my enemy, but like now I would
[00:58:49] me: But like think of like no heat and the
[00:58:51] sara: No, I know that cold.
You just die. I mean you could die from it's slow
[00:58:54] me: death. That's a slow death dude.
[00:58:56] sara: You could die from both, but I think you're more likely to die from the cold.
[00:58:59] me: Yeah,
[00:59:00] sara: I think like that's also, yeah, like yes, he, stroke is very possible. But I
[00:59:04] me: think of all the possible extremes. If I wanted to move, 'cause I do wanna move, but then I'm like, Victoria, is this really all that bad?
I'm as, I'm literally here. Well the thing is, is like under palm trees, right? In
[00:59:15] sara: like
[00:59:15] me: what? 80 degree weather in
[00:59:17] sara: February? Well like if Santi gets his like HVAC stuff also like
[00:59:19] me: Yeah, he just graduated
actually. He just got zip diploma.
[00:59:21] sara: So that's super marketable and mass too. And they make good money.
[00:59:26] me: Yeah, he's interested.
[00:59:28] sara: So like maybe he can get big there and let you be a housewife for like a couple months. That's what I did while we moved.
[00:59:33] me: Living your,
your best life there.
[00:59:35] sara: Mm-hmm.
[00:59:36] closing
---
[00:59:36] me: Well thank you so much for coming out. Oh my, I know you have short time here, but like, I'm glad I could just snag you for at least an hour.
Yeah. And just pick your brain. I had so many other questions, but my script didn't load, so.
[00:59:48] sara: No, it's okay. I'll be back.
[00:59:49] me: A free ball in this bitch.
[00:59:50] sara: I'll be back.
[00:59:51] me: And we'll definitely have games. We'll do, we'll do more of these. Yeah. But this is cool. 'cause I've,
I have an interview with a student. I have an interview with a teacher. I wanna interview the ESE department.
[01:00:02] sara: Yes.
[01:00:03] me: The ESE department's my next group interview. And that one's gonna be,
[01:00:06] sara: yeah. They're, they are the best people.
[01:00:07] me: They are the
best.
[01:00:08] sara: They're the best people.
[01:00:08] me: They're heaven
sent.
I cannot wait. They're heavy sent.
I, I'm obsessed with that department in my school too. They're
so useful
[01:00:14] sara: and it's insightful.
[01:00:15] me: I, I'm learning so much through them and they are my mommies. They
are literally all moms.
[01:00:18] sara: I know. I know. Same, same. And north, like North Hampton, I gravitated towards the history department and they call it SPED instead of ESC, which I kind of, I like both honestly.
Kids do
say sped, but essay is also cool.
[01:00:32] me: USAS.
[01:00:33] sara: Fuck. Look, my they'll be like, I'm gonna my SPED class. I'm like, good. Good luck with that.
[01:00:37] me: I definitely have to come, I gotta come visit you in Massachusetts now soon.
[01:00:40] sara: Yeah. And
[01:00:41] me: compare.
[01:00:42] sara: Yeah. I mean, if you, I mean the, the tickets will be relatively cheaper now 'cause no one wants to come up.
[01:00:48] me: All right. Last question before I leave you. Yes. Um, most rewarding moment you've had in your career this far.
[01:00:54] sara: Oh, wow.
[01:00:55] me: Inside the classroom could be in or out,
[01:00:57] sara: oh, well, oh geez.
I have a few, but like my most recent one was so, like, obviously leaving Dillard was one of the hardest things I've had to do, but I made a promise to my last group of kids that I would be back for their graduation, and I was very lucky to be able to fulfill that promise.
This last you did last June.
[01:01:20] me: Right.
[01:01:21] sara: And when I went onto campus. And I went to their graduation rehearsal and the reaction that I got was so overwhelming.
[01:01:33] me: Oh, I'm sure you bawled.
[01:01:34] sara: I did,
[01:01:36] me: yeah. Like a baby.
That moment lives red free in
[01:01:38] sara: your
[01:01:38] me: mind.
[01:01:39] sara: Yeah. And the students that I have remained in contact with, like, somebody texted me pretty recently saying that like the lessons that I had taught in like their junior year, they've carried with them through college and it's made them a more responsible and more like responsive adult.
[01:01:54] me: Yeah.
[01:01:55] sara: And that's just. That's just really beautiful. But yeah, I mean, I, I really, I really do love being a teacher. I am. I am.
[01:02:04] me: You are in the right, you
[01:02:05] sara: I am in the
right call too.
[01:02:06] me: Yeah. You're in the right calling. You've definitely been a change agent for a lot of these kids, I'm sure.
[01:02:12] sara: Thank
you.
[01:02:13] me: Definitely
have.
[01:02:13] sara: Thank you. Left your mark,
and I'm glad you were able to come see me too before I left Dillard. That was beautiful.
[01:02:18] me: That
was special.
[01:02:19] sara: Yeah.
[01:02:20] me: So now every time I hear Dillard, I'm like, yeah, I know. I knew a gem there. Shout out to shout out. Shout out. Toyman Fey Godfrey.
Sorry. Oh, yeah.
[01:02:26] sara: No, Fey is, I'm forever Fineman in Florida forever. I'm Godfrey in Massachusetts. I had, I had to keep my identity and I have to separate it a little bit, kind of.
[01:02:37] me: All right. Well, this was fun.
[01:02:38] sara: Yeah. Thank you so much.
[01:02:40] me: Yes. Yay. This was fun, friends.
[01:02:42] sara: Yay friends. Love you. Bye.
[01:02:44] me: Bye.