After a very brief hiatus—apologies, but all is explained in the first five minutes of this episode—the lads are back. And there will be a flood of new content in the coming days, to make up for our testicular tardiness (also explained in the first five minutes of this episode). Also note: this episode was plagued by technical difficulties, but we hope, through the magic of editing, that you won’t notice.
I have the best vasectomy story which I won’t share out of respect for my husband, but I did hear a nurse say, “I’ve never seen anything like that happen before!”
After 23 years teaching in the public school system (19 at the high school level), I finally submitted my resignation a few weeks ago. My one regret is that I was never able to teach the eldest Welch daughter. I get the feeling she and I would’ve been like🤞
Was part of the decision to leave connected to progressive identitarian stuff? My high school English lit prof is retiring after forty years in part due to that.
I appreciate you asking. 😊 That’s certainly a factor, and it’s fair to say I’m relatively out-of-step philosophically with several colleagues. But my first Kendi-style anti-racism/DEI training was in 2015, so by the time it was lighting up public discourse in 2020, I remember thinking, “Wait, the public isn’t aware of this?” Seems naive of me in retrospect, and I understand why many parents felt blindsided and fought back.
What I find more onerous, though, is the continual piling on of state and federal regulations, and the constant power struggle between the union and the school committee this elicits. These two factors have an enormous impact on how much content teachers can actually teach. It’s incredibly frustrating.
Having said all that, the deeper reason I chose to leave is that I stopped growing in the profession. I got stale. All the above reasons certainly contribute, but at the end of the day I’m genuinely just ready for a change. Apologies for the long-winded answer. 😊
I think many non teachers are just unaware of the realities teachers face. We have been dealing with these things for a very long time. The kinds of PD we get is often mindlessly unrelated to actual in classroom procedures. I often find it humorous that arguments are about "what" is being taught, but in my school I was told "don't worry about content, focus on skills" which is what I do but it kind of cheapens the content (I hope I can move to a school that does emphasize content).
The last time I had a PD that focused on anything related to actual teaching was right before summer 2018, when my school paid two consultants to come explain to us why we should all be using a teaching method that 90% of us were already using.
Since then, our "PD" has focused on:
-grading and why our current system is outdated, inequitable, etc.
-cell phones and why they are just the worst but also we can't ban them
-developing an extremely generic "portrait of a graduate" for the school
-the world's most vanilla diversity consultant who revealed to us the astonishing truth that words mean things and sometimes have impacts
-grading and why the new system we just switched to is outdated, inequitable, etc.
-the dress code
-the new dress code
-whether the dress code is body shaming
-grading and why the new system we're considering is going to solve all the problems of outdatedness, inequity, etc. for at least two years
-whether teachers should have to set technology-related goals every year
-so much teen mental health, which would be great if it ever included actionable steps beyond "be aware that all your students are anxiety monsters."
I assume that most professions are loaded down with this kind of BS to some degree (goodness knows my mom, a lawyer, has read through enough anti-racism PowerPoints), but the BS-to-useful ratio for teachers *feels* exceptionally high.
Yeah I feel you on that. One thing I loved about my current school is that I told my best class of students "I once had a PD about how using red pens to mark students grades was harmful. Then I laughed and swore to ALWAYS use red pen from there on out." They laughed at that.
But attempting to go to a new school (since mine is merging), I may not get away with that. I feel you on that, though I am not sure how much of that is "wokery" or whether it is just the typical "stupid education stuff." Maybe they work well with each other.
I think wokery is a subset of stupid education stuff, because there are three great truths in this universe, and they are death, taxes, and resume-padding school administrators latching onto every trend that floats in their direction like a hoard of lampreys. Since educators are usually nurturing sorts, most of these trends will be of the "increase care/reduce harm" variety.
My GOD 😏 I envy you. Speaking of envy, shouldn't we also add the 7 deadly sins on our classroom walls?
Anyway, I'm planning on making my great escape at the end of next year. And that will not be a tough decision. I'd rather do data entry in a cubicle covered with decor that has nothing to do with education. I will be taking my Prose Before Hoes Shakespeare poster with me, though.
The bit about "warts and all" or "only warts" when teaching American history is one of the reasons I started my podcast. In an open letter, students from my school basically called my AP US History teacher racist and claimed that he largely ignored the warts.
So, I set out to determine how it was taught and if the warts were hidden. It's still an open question, but the thing I've realized so far is how much there is to teach in general. I've only gained an appreciation for the challenge of consolidating it all, and to make it palatable for 16 year olds. That's a monumental task
As someone who taught US History this year in NYC, there is a TON of stuff to cover. I chafe against the both "warts and all" and "teaching is political" rhetoric since my approach to teaching tends to be "Well, what happened and what should we learn from this?" I think Moynihan is half right about current textbooks but I have different criticisms. One, some APUSH teachers I am aware of use Howard Zinn as their textbook, which is a problem of bias. Not all but some. Second though, as regards to the history of slavery, whether it is American or Global History, the Atlantic Slave trade gets tremendous coverage but when speaking of the Aztecs, the Romans, the Ottomans, Arabs, West Africans, slavery is maybe a sentence or two.
I suppose I am somewhat political though, when it comes to slavery, I like to highlight those who excelled in spite of the system, mentioning Robert Smalls, as one very good example (If you don't know who he is google him and you can thank me later).
I do remember watching a Netflix documentary series called the "The Hidden History of the US," or something similar, a few years after taking the class. I remember being shocked that I knew basically all of it. We didn't use it as a textbook, but that's something I have been trying to keep an eye out for.
I think slavery is a tough topic since it could be an entire college class. Focusing on the impact in the New World seems fine, but I agree, taking it out of its proper context as if slavery came into existence in 1619 is a disgrace.
Another similar topic that frustrated me was the discussion of native culture and conflict. The oppressed narrative is far too prevalent. They were obviously the victims of terrible luck, but one need not pretend they were angels. The Iroquois straight up ethnically cleansed, if not genocides, the Huron. They were just as human as everyone else involved. There were few good people in the 17th century.
Anecdotal, but I've not met a single teacher who refers to the 1619 Project as their curriculum. I kind of feel like it was promoted as "this is now how we teach history" but in reality, isn't. In reality, most teachers lean on the "New Visions Curriculum" which is a charter school in NYC that did pretty good work, overall.
I also deeply resist the "hard history" approach. I feel like that is disingenuous, the idea that certain parts of history is difficult. Difficult for whom? I teach about the Holocaust & the Holodomor and sure, they were terrible events that happened to people and I feel bad that many people died unfairly, but people should not feel personally responsible. Again, I am not saying "this isn't happening" it clearly is happening in some places, but I would argue that it is more the exception, not the rule.
I have a bachelors in US History from a pretty good school (no, im not Nathan Fielder) and I took on the task of tutoring my nephew for his AP US History class this past year. It was fucking impossible to decipher if I was being too broad vs too nuanced, what was too critical or if I was planting my own biases in his head or if he was just bored or just having a bad day. I'm sure you get better at reading cues the more you teach, but nothing in my life made me more empathetic to teachers. And this was tutoring a smart, nice, and engaged kid! He got an A though and I'm legitimately anxious waiting for his AP score.
The biggest bias is selection bias. I get and agree with not wanting to grant the premise that neutrality is not actually possible but given there is just so much possible material wouldn't it be better to just be honest and admit that there is no such thing as history without a particular perspective? Every history you will learn is incomplete and that's totally cool and part of the deal, what you learned (assuming it's actually true) is still worth learning and no class is the be all end all of a topic. All learning is incomplete so I guess I'd just rather people who are using Howard Zinn admit to me the obvious perspective being taken of the history and let us all move forward with an understanding that isn't the neutral Just The Facts ™️.
I’m sure racism is responsible for keeping the connection bad. It’s obvious. Hochul just told us that black youth in The Bronx don’t even know about computers.
I think it is actually anti-racism. The Kendi crowd is trying to convince him he really is black by showing him what it is like to be a black man in America.
I think most voters know exactly what they’re getting with Trump, warts and all. Unlike Biden, he doesn’t have a vast media apparatus trying to paint him in a better light — quite the opposite. Ohhh, and the shamelessly fawning talk show hosts! Blech! No President of the United States, let alone one who is a lifelong politician, should be so coddled. They shouldn’t be coddled at all.
I can assure you, there is no shortage of Biden supporters who have deluded themselves into thinking that not only is he is a better choice than Trump, but that he is a vigorous, heroic figure, “Dark Brandon,” despite him being known as a babbling boob for most of his career, and his first presidential campaign, in the 1980s, ending abruptly when he was caught lying and plagiarizing.
There’s a Red Cult and a Blue Cult. Nevertheless, Biden and Trump are generally, historically unpopular...
Recently got around to Andrew Sullivan’s interview with George Will from a few weeks ago. Will said “Biden was a mediocrity in his prime, and his prime was 40 years ago.” jfc…I almost called 911 over that violence
Ol’ Icy Balls returns to the rough streets of Chi-Town with his former mentor, ‘Ol Piss Eyes. Join us at 9/8 Central and watch as this classic duo self-own, EVERY WEEK.
I understand MM’s position vis-à-vis his daughter’s school. She’ll be fine because she has him. The captive audience are the children of recent immigrants who use school by necessity as day care. They don’t know the nonsense their children are taught by blue haired scholars and probably can’t/won’t check it due to language & education limitations.
Immigrants tend to be more traditional and conservative. I am pretty sure when those kids come home and say they can change their gender, the parents are not too pleased.
Correct but by the time the kids get to that they've had a long period of they/thems & Latinx telling them that they can be any sex they wish and that their parents don't actually love them if they don't accept their new name etc. The parents in the meantime are in the dark because they work all day and don't speak English.
Castrating a black man on Juneteenth?! The think pieces write themselves.
Is he trans now?
Don't kink shame.
😩😩😩😩
I have the best vasectomy story which I won’t share out of respect for my husband, but I did hear a nurse say, “I’ve never seen anything like that happen before!”
After 23 years teaching in the public school system (19 at the high school level), I finally submitted my resignation a few weeks ago. My one regret is that I was never able to teach the eldest Welch daughter. I get the feeling she and I would’ve been like🤞
If she ever needs a tutor, I’m your girl. 🤓
Was part of the decision to leave connected to progressive identitarian stuff? My high school English lit prof is retiring after forty years in part due to that.
I appreciate you asking. 😊 That’s certainly a factor, and it’s fair to say I’m relatively out-of-step philosophically with several colleagues. But my first Kendi-style anti-racism/DEI training was in 2015, so by the time it was lighting up public discourse in 2020, I remember thinking, “Wait, the public isn’t aware of this?” Seems naive of me in retrospect, and I understand why many parents felt blindsided and fought back.
What I find more onerous, though, is the continual piling on of state and federal regulations, and the constant power struggle between the union and the school committee this elicits. These two factors have an enormous impact on how much content teachers can actually teach. It’s incredibly frustrating.
Having said all that, the deeper reason I chose to leave is that I stopped growing in the profession. I got stale. All the above reasons certainly contribute, but at the end of the day I’m genuinely just ready for a change. Apologies for the long-winded answer. 😊
I think many non teachers are just unaware of the realities teachers face. We have been dealing with these things for a very long time. The kinds of PD we get is often mindlessly unrelated to actual in classroom procedures. I often find it humorous that arguments are about "what" is being taught, but in my school I was told "don't worry about content, focus on skills" which is what I do but it kind of cheapens the content (I hope I can move to a school that does emphasize content).
The last time I had a PD that focused on anything related to actual teaching was right before summer 2018, when my school paid two consultants to come explain to us why we should all be using a teaching method that 90% of us were already using.
Since then, our "PD" has focused on:
-grading and why our current system is outdated, inequitable, etc.
-cell phones and why they are just the worst but also we can't ban them
-developing an extremely generic "portrait of a graduate" for the school
-the world's most vanilla diversity consultant who revealed to us the astonishing truth that words mean things and sometimes have impacts
-grading and why the new system we just switched to is outdated, inequitable, etc.
-the dress code
-the new dress code
-whether the dress code is body shaming
-grading and why the new system we're considering is going to solve all the problems of outdatedness, inequity, etc. for at least two years
-whether teachers should have to set technology-related goals every year
-so much teen mental health, which would be great if it ever included actionable steps beyond "be aware that all your students are anxiety monsters."
I assume that most professions are loaded down with this kind of BS to some degree (goodness knows my mom, a lawyer, has read through enough anti-racism PowerPoints), but the BS-to-useful ratio for teachers *feels* exceptionally high.
Yeah I feel you on that. One thing I loved about my current school is that I told my best class of students "I once had a PD about how using red pens to mark students grades was harmful. Then I laughed and swore to ALWAYS use red pen from there on out." They laughed at that.
But attempting to go to a new school (since mine is merging), I may not get away with that. I feel you on that, though I am not sure how much of that is "wokery" or whether it is just the typical "stupid education stuff." Maybe they work well with each other.
I think wokery is a subset of stupid education stuff, because there are three great truths in this universe, and they are death, taxes, and resume-padding school administrators latching onto every trend that floats in their direction like a hoard of lampreys. Since educators are usually nurturing sorts, most of these trends will be of the "increase care/reduce harm" variety.
Congratulations on surviving!
Haha! Thanks. It was a tough decision, but it was time for me to go. I felt myself becoming the old cranky one. Not a good sign. 😂
My GOD 😏 I envy you. Speaking of envy, shouldn't we also add the 7 deadly sins on our classroom walls?
Anyway, I'm planning on making my great escape at the end of next year. And that will not be a tough decision. I'd rather do data entry in a cubicle covered with decor that has nothing to do with education. I will be taking my Prose Before Hoes Shakespeare poster with me, though.
Gotta keep it real! 😆 Happy you get to leave in a year! 🎉
The bit about "warts and all" or "only warts" when teaching American history is one of the reasons I started my podcast. In an open letter, students from my school basically called my AP US History teacher racist and claimed that he largely ignored the warts.
So, I set out to determine how it was taught and if the warts were hidden. It's still an open question, but the thing I've realized so far is how much there is to teach in general. I've only gained an appreciation for the challenge of consolidating it all, and to make it palatable for 16 year olds. That's a monumental task
As someone who taught US History this year in NYC, there is a TON of stuff to cover. I chafe against the both "warts and all" and "teaching is political" rhetoric since my approach to teaching tends to be "Well, what happened and what should we learn from this?" I think Moynihan is half right about current textbooks but I have different criticisms. One, some APUSH teachers I am aware of use Howard Zinn as their textbook, which is a problem of bias. Not all but some. Second though, as regards to the history of slavery, whether it is American or Global History, the Atlantic Slave trade gets tremendous coverage but when speaking of the Aztecs, the Romans, the Ottomans, Arabs, West Africans, slavery is maybe a sentence or two.
I suppose I am somewhat political though, when it comes to slavery, I like to highlight those who excelled in spite of the system, mentioning Robert Smalls, as one very good example (If you don't know who he is google him and you can thank me later).
I do remember watching a Netflix documentary series called the "The Hidden History of the US," or something similar, a few years after taking the class. I remember being shocked that I knew basically all of it. We didn't use it as a textbook, but that's something I have been trying to keep an eye out for.
I think slavery is a tough topic since it could be an entire college class. Focusing on the impact in the New World seems fine, but I agree, taking it out of its proper context as if slavery came into existence in 1619 is a disgrace.
Another similar topic that frustrated me was the discussion of native culture and conflict. The oppressed narrative is far too prevalent. They were obviously the victims of terrible luck, but one need not pretend they were angels. The Iroquois straight up ethnically cleansed, if not genocides, the Huron. They were just as human as everyone else involved. There were few good people in the 17th century.
Anecdotal, but I've not met a single teacher who refers to the 1619 Project as their curriculum. I kind of feel like it was promoted as "this is now how we teach history" but in reality, isn't. In reality, most teachers lean on the "New Visions Curriculum" which is a charter school in NYC that did pretty good work, overall.
I also deeply resist the "hard history" approach. I feel like that is disingenuous, the idea that certain parts of history is difficult. Difficult for whom? I teach about the Holocaust & the Holodomor and sure, they were terrible events that happened to people and I feel bad that many people died unfairly, but people should not feel personally responsible. Again, I am not saying "this isn't happening" it clearly is happening in some places, but I would argue that it is more the exception, not the rule.
I have a bachelors in US History from a pretty good school (no, im not Nathan Fielder) and I took on the task of tutoring my nephew for his AP US History class this past year. It was fucking impossible to decipher if I was being too broad vs too nuanced, what was too critical or if I was planting my own biases in his head or if he was just bored or just having a bad day. I'm sure you get better at reading cues the more you teach, but nothing in my life made me more empathetic to teachers. And this was tutoring a smart, nice, and engaged kid! He got an A though and I'm legitimately anxious waiting for his AP score.
The biggest bias is selection bias. I get and agree with not wanting to grant the premise that neutrality is not actually possible but given there is just so much possible material wouldn't it be better to just be honest and admit that there is no such thing as history without a particular perspective? Every history you will learn is incomplete and that's totally cool and part of the deal, what you learned (assuming it's actually true) is still worth learning and no class is the be all end all of a topic. All learning is incomplete so I guess I'd just rather people who are using Howard Zinn admit to me the obvious perspective being taken of the history and let us all move forward with an understanding that isn't the neutral Just The Facts ™️.
What kind of reparations do we need to do to get Kmele a reliable internet connection?
I’m sure racism is responsible for keeping the connection bad. It’s obvious. Hochul just told us that black youth in The Bronx don’t even know about computers.
I think it is actually anti-racism. The Kendi crowd is trying to convince him he really is black by showing him what it is like to be a black man in America.
When I am on the subway and he fades out like that I am not sure if I just lost the pod or what. I was wondering what those blanking out spots were.
So, the epi is late because Kmele had to get castrated?
BARpod has also been a bit silent. I fear for Jesse's Jewels (though Katie would never do the same to Moose).
I couldn’t finish the Weigel episode, so it feels especially long 😥
I thought that was the weakest episode by far. I couldn't finish it either.
I’m so wishing that Kmele had done the whole show in falsetto.
😵😵
I’m crossing my fingers that the Summer Firehose of Content will include the missing Second Sunday recordings. (Too optimistic?)
Summer Firehose has a whole new meaning after the first 5 minutes.
I actually attended that one briefly
Well done, Izzy. Impeccable Cher Horowitz vibes.
Voters see the phoniness of Biden but not the phoniness of Trump? God help us if that is the case.
I'm all for voting for whoever you want for any reason but people shouldn't delude themselves into thinking Trump isn't a charlatan.
I didn’t hear anyone say that.
I think most voters know exactly what they’re getting with Trump, warts and all. Unlike Biden, he doesn’t have a vast media apparatus trying to paint him in a better light — quite the opposite. Ohhh, and the shamelessly fawning talk show hosts! Blech! No President of the United States, let alone one who is a lifelong politician, should be so coddled. They shouldn’t be coddled at all.
I can assure you, there is no shortage of Biden supporters who have deluded themselves into thinking that not only is he is a better choice than Trump, but that he is a vigorous, heroic figure, “Dark Brandon,” despite him being known as a babbling boob for most of his career, and his first presidential campaign, in the 1980s, ending abruptly when he was caught lying and plagiarizing.
There’s a Red Cult and a Blue Cult. Nevertheless, Biden and Trump are generally, historically unpopular...
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/06/14/biden-trump-are-least-liked-pair-of-major-party-presidential-candidates-in-at-least-3-decades/
Recently got around to Andrew Sullivan’s interview with George Will from a few weeks ago. Will said “Biden was a mediocrity in his prime, and his prime was 40 years ago.” jfc…I almost called 911 over that violence
Brilliant! Williant?
Thank you for reminding me that I haven’t listened to that yet.
You’re welcome!
32:00-34:20 is where they discuss this.
Kmele lost his manhood
His pauses were often pregnant
I did the opposite of turn it off. I listened to the first 5 minutes twice
Ol’ Icy Balls returns to the rough streets of Chi-Town with his former mentor, ‘Ol Piss Eyes. Join us at 9/8 Central and watch as this classic duo self-own, EVERY WEEK.
Jeebus guys. I decided to listen to the new podcast *while I’m having lunch* and two seconds!? Spunk? Wtf. 😂. And I was eating grapes too! 🤣
At least it wasn't plums.
I SO close to choosing dates instead of grapes. 😂
I can’t wait to see how Spencer responds to this revelation.
Eye for an eye?
I understand MM’s position vis-à-vis his daughter’s school. She’ll be fine because she has him. The captive audience are the children of recent immigrants who use school by necessity as day care. They don’t know the nonsense their children are taught by blue haired scholars and probably can’t/won’t check it due to language & education limitations.
Immigrants tend to be more traditional and conservative. I am pretty sure when those kids come home and say they can change their gender, the parents are not too pleased.
Correct but by the time the kids get to that they've had a long period of they/thems & Latinx telling them that they can be any sex they wish and that their parents don't actually love them if they don't accept their new name etc. The parents in the meantime are in the dark because they work all day and don't speak English.
Good point.