BDL Discussion Thread 2022

[MWil23]

Just now, EaglesPeteC said:

The Eagles won a Super Bowl in my lifetime. I can never be hurt again

[rackcs]

3 minutes ago, MWil23 said:

Thanks man! I also married the world's best woman, so that's impossible to factor into this as well.

Ooooh man I'm sorry! I did this last year where I gave up my plan for the extra pay and it almost forced me out of the profession and I almost left altogether. I made that same mistake.

I'm sorry man, that's super frustrating! You also deal with a harder group than I do, but Covid made it tough and no doubt other circumstances do as well. However, if they refuse to participate, that's unfortunately about your only viable alternative.

BEAUTIFUL!

I did an alternative setting for about 5 years, and those are super tough days, and there's not exactly a field manual for those days.

The options outside of education are vast, and I wish you the best in the meantime. Hang in there man, summer is CLOSE.

Trust me, I know. I have a countdown on the corner of my board. I start at 180 days and go down every day. Today there are only 47 days left! And Spring Break is mid-April for me as well. So I'm somewhat optimistic about the rest of the year. 

[MWil23]

Just now, rackcs said:

Trust me, I know. I have a countdown on the corner of my board. I start at 180 days and go down every day. Today there are only 47 days left! And Spring Break is mid-April for me as well. So I'm somewhat optimistic about the rest of the year. 

For what it's worth, and hopefully you stick it out in education but I get it if not, my wife was able to pull her entire retirement and roll it over into a traditional IRA (most states it is 5 years to be able to do this) tax free (she's a former teacher). It took a couple clicks of a button, then confirmation via the mail, then setting up an IRA.

You could also do a 403B if you ever went into higher education or another similar field.

[rackcs]

1 minute ago, MWil23 said:

For what it's worth, and hopefully you stick it out in education but I get it if not, my wife was able to pull her entire retirement and roll it over into a traditional IRA (most states it is 5 years to be able to do this) tax free (she's a former teacher). It took a couple clicks of a button, then confirmation via the mail, then setting up an IRA.

You could also do a 403B if you ever went into higher education or another similar field.

Yeah, we'll see. I've never considered a career outside of education before so I'm basically starting from zero trying to even consider what other options I might want to do. I do think it's like 70/30 right now that I stick with education long term but I just want to have other plans so I have options.

[EaglesPeteC]

1 minute ago, rackcs said:

Yeah, we'll see. I've never considered a career outside of education before so I'm basically starting from zero trying to even consider what other options I might want to do. I do think it's like 70/30 right now that I stick with education long term but I just want to have other plans so I have options.

How many years are you into teaching?

[MWil23]

2 minutes ago, rackcs said:

Yeah, we'll see. I've never considered a career outside of education before so I'm basically starting from zero trying to even consider what other options I might want to do. I do think it's like 70/30 right now that I stick with education long term but I just want to have other plans so I have options.

Best time to look for a job is while you have one. I could have gotten a well paying government job at a local Air Force Base. Good hours, good benefits, all but guaranteed advancement with an employer match.

Ironically, I was wanted (not a joke) for an FBI position where they were specifically looking for teachers as dual teaching/FBI agents. Long story.

[rackcs]

14 minutes ago, EaglesPeteC said:

How many years are you into teaching?

This is my fourth year

11 minutes ago, MWil23 said:

Best time to look for a job is while you have one. I could have gotten a well paying government job at a local Air Force Base. Good hours, good benefits, all but guaranteed advancement with an employer match.

Ironically, I was wanted (not a joke) for an FBI position where they were specifically looking for teachers as dual teaching/FBI agents. Long story.

Yeah, a lesson my parents taught me was to never quit your current job without another one lined up

[EaglesPeteC]

1 minute ago, rackcs said:

This is my fourth year

Yeah that can be a tough area of the career. Your youthful exuberance is gone but you still feel like you don't know wtf you are doing yet. Years like 5-8 are the years where I really really considered quitting teaching and doing something else. Then I made some life changes and hit my stride and I've enjoyed it so much more 

[MWil23]

1 hour ago, EaglesPeteC said:

Yeah that can be a tough area of the career. Your youthful exuberance is gone but you still feel like you don't know wtf you are doing yet. Years like 5-8 are the years where I really really considered quitting teaching and doing something else. Then I made some life changes and hit my stride and I've enjoyed it so much more 

That "10,000 hour to be an expert thing" is eerily on point, especially considering the < or = 5 year teacher burnout rate. Trying to find those life change/balances in priorities has been essential.

[Ragnarok]

4 hours ago, MWil23 said:

Sorry my man. I've felt this way for 3 school years now going back to COVID, but I'm finally getting some of my old mojo and momentum back on the teaching front and starting to hit my groove again.

Last week

PSA:

For those of you who don't know, one of my daughters was born with a cleft lip and palate several years ago. You likely wouldn't know it by looking at her, but she has had several procedures and will have a lot more over the course of her life. She had fat injections into her palate that they took from her stomach and implanted back in the back of her palate and throat this week and tubes (her third set).

Her surgeon is unbelievably gifted (he's the man), but her little tummy looks like she went about 1,000 body shots to the abdomen. He sighed and said that it was very difficult because she "doesn't have much of any fat at all". She's likely going to have this procedure done another 2 or 3 times in her life, followed by dental implants, bone grafts, a full nosejob when she's 17 (she's missing 1/2 of the bone in her nose, her left nostril is a bit turned up).

But thankfully, she's a happy and healthy and very athletic 5 year old. We're trying to keep things in perspective and take it one procedure and recovery at a time, but it absolutely is tough as a parent to see your kid(s) go through this. For her, she is used to it by now and does a great job.

So I get if you don't want to address/answer this, but me being a new girl dad, how are yall handling the mental health aspect of something like that?

[MWil23]

Just now, Ragnarok said:

So I get if you don't want to address/answer this, but me being a new girl dad, how are yall handling the mental health aspect of something like that?

I have no problem answering that ever man. It’s especially difficult or at least was in the beginning seeing or fearing the obvious stereotypes of traditional beauty and I still worry sometimes that despite my and her family’s reassurances of that beauty, she could struggle with this and I feel inadequate.

That said, we decided to address this head on with her and her sister(s), cousins, etc and show them and her Al pictures of the before and after, allowing her to take pride in those beautiful baby pictures and her big cleft smile and now her crooked little smirk. That’s really helped her now, age 5.

Aside from that, and I’m sure some will not like this, but our faith in Jesus and his sovereignty is 💯 what’s gotten is through. I’m always happy to talk about my faith to anyone that wants to talk. My wife is also incredible and I’m thankful for her and the team of surgeons and nurses and other support staff that God has placed in our lives and in her life. I’m not without fear, but taking things a day and procedure at a time on the micro has helped deal with the macro.

Hopefully that makes sense. If anyone has any “practical or specific” questions, I’m always happy to answer. Being a father of girls is something I’d never trade for the world but it’s a massive responsibility.

[EaglesPeteC]

[Ragnarok]

4 minutes ago, MWil23 said:

I have no problem answering that ever man. It’s especially difficult or at least was in the beginning seeing or fearing the obvious stereotypes of traditional beauty and I still worry sometimes that despite my and her family’s reassurances of that beauty, she could struggle with this and I feel inadequate.

That said, we decided to address this head on with her and her sister(s), cousins, etc and show them and her Al pictures of the before and after, allowing her to take pride in those beautiful baby pictures and her big cleft smile and now her crooked little smirk. That’s really helped her now, age 5.

Aside from that, and I’m sure some will not like this, but our faith in Jesus and his sovereignty is 💯 what’s gotten is through. I’m always happy to talk about my faith to anyone that wants to talk. My wife is also incredible and I’m thankful for her and the team of surgeons and nurses and other support staff that God has placed in our lives and in her life. I’m not without fear, but taking things a day and procedure at a time on the micro has helped deal with the macro.

Hopefully that makes sense. If anyone has any “practical or specific” questions, I’m always happy to answer. Being a father of girls is something I’d never trade for the world but it’s a massive responsibility.

Thanks.  That makes a lot of sense.  Shes around the age where kids start to notice differences, hence my question.  I figured you got out in front of it, and showing pictures is a really good idea.

Mara doesn't have anything noticeable right now, but I think every little girl struggles with appearance and self esteem.

[Scoundrel]

6 minutes ago, EaglesPeteC said:

[Scoundrel]

Lol at Kayvon possibly falling out of the top 10 and Hamilton possibly dropping to the second half of round 1. Silly season