Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hi.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
I am Kate Hudson, and my name is Oliver Hudson.
We wanted to do something that highlighted our relationship and
what it's like to be siblings. We are a sibling. Railvalry.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
No, no, sibling, don't do that with your mouth, revelry.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
That's good. Oliver Hudson is back in Los Angeles. His
summer has come to an end, or has it. His
children are going to school in the next couple of weeks,
his son's birthday is coming up. But has Oliver Hudson's
(00:58):
summer actually, and he doesn't want it to end. He
really doesn't want it to end. Oliver Hudson loves summer.
In fact, Oliver Hudson, the one and only, very handsome
(01:18):
Oliver Hudson, is thinking about going to Lake Tahoe. I'm
moving to the first person now because I can't. I
can't keep speaking the third person. It's I don't like it.
I am thinking about going to Lake Tahoe. I had
a friend who just went up there and he took
these jet skis and he camped and it looked so
(01:40):
amazing and it was so beautiful. So I think I'm
gonna cap off summer probably going maybe going to Lake Tahoe.
It's so beautiful up there, and you know, I just
get like an Airbnb something on the water. Maybe. In fact,
(02:00):
maybe I'll now I'm just you're listening to my thoughts, Okay,
but I'm going to go on Airbnb. I'm gonna check
out what's going on, and then maybe I'll do le
like to Yeah. Anyway, the point is that I don't
want summer to end. I just love summer. When you
(02:20):
go back to school, when the kids go back to school,
you go back to school. When the kids go back
to school, you go back to school. You gotta wake
up in the morning at six thirty, you gotta deal
with the thing. Blah blah blah. You gotta pick him up. Yeah, yeah, Yeah,
It's just you know, but it is what it is. Anyway,
enough rambling. We have Brenda, I call her Brenda the Teacher,
(02:42):
and she's gone a bit viral with I think it
was on TikTok on how she is retiring after twenty
four years because she just can't she just can't take
the way it seems as though parents are dealing with
their children and how our educational system is sort of
(03:07):
moving anyway. I don't want to speak for her, but
she will be on in a second. I saw it
and read something and I was like, I want to
talk to her, you know, because I have my own
thoughts about education. Let's bring on Brenda's week in chat. Hey,
how are you and how are you? I'm good, Brenda molready,
(03:27):
thank you for coming on. I'm excited to talk to you.
I saw you know your I think it was on TikTok, right,
was that where you were talking. I saw your tiktoks
and I was like, I got to talk to Brenda
because it's just such an interesting take and I have
my own thoughts and feelings about education. You know, my
(03:49):
kids were in I have a sixteen, I have a fourteen,
I have an eleven, and they have oscillated between private
and public. Now they're all in private school, but they
did spend time in the LA public system and then
in Colorado we were there as well. But I just
before we even I even expouse any of my opinions
(04:11):
on anything, I just want to hear sort of what
you have reiterating what you had to say and why
you did what you did, and how you feel about
the viral nature of what you were saying and whether
that you were expecting that or not.
Speaker 3 (04:29):
Right, why I did what I did, you know, because
teaching is so much harder than anyone in the public
understands or even knows. And I did it because I
just felt like it's important to get the message out
(04:50):
because there's so much that could change in education, because
there's a lot wrong with it. And it breaks my
heart because I see what it could be, but I
know what it is and I know and I've seen
how it's deteriorating throughout the years. And I did it
because I wanted to start to spread awareness so that
(05:10):
they could be more support for teachers and for education,
because I feel like that's dwindlings, especially here in America,
given what I've seen as an educator throughout the years.
And did I expect it to go viral, Absolutely freaking not.
I'd never anticipated that. I think that was the day
(05:34):
before the when I created that video. That was the
day before I was deciding to resign in the middle
of the year. Now just I was done. I just
had it. I mean, there's also personal things going on
as well, but with education, and it broke my heart
because I miss it every day, believe it.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
Did you resign? You followed? You followed you? You actually
did it in the middle of the year.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
Yes, I resigned on February fourteenth, twenty twenty four, Valentine's Day,
my mother's birthday too.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
Oh wow, was there an inciting incident? I know that
something like this has been building obviously you've been in
education for what twenty four to twenty five years? But
was there something that was the straw you know where
it's like, you know what, fuck this, I can't deal with.
I can't do this anymore. I'm out.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
It was building for obviously, like you said, a long time.
Let me back up and I'm gonna answer that question. Yeah,
I was going through things with my mom. I'm my
mom's POA and I lived three thousand miles away from her.
So while I'm trying to teach class during the year,
I'm also talking to doctors in real time making important
health decisions for her while I'm in front of thirty
(06:46):
three kids during this time. So I was feeling the
stress and pressure of that, plus being done with the
environment of education. And then I had a parent meeting
and it was that morning on February fourteenth or the
day before I forget anyway, it was the parent meeting,
and I pretty much just after that meeting, I said,
(07:08):
I had it, sat down at my computer and I
sent my resignation out because in that meeting, you know,
there's a lack of understanding what it is to be
a teacher and from some of these parents. And this
is why the catalyst that pushed me over the edge.
There was an expectation that you're supposed to, You're supposed to. Yeah,
(07:29):
well I was supposed to be a millionaire, but I'm
not right. What do you mean I'm supposed to. It's
there are no supposed tos. If you're a teacher, you
know that you can't do everything. But some of these parents,
this one in particular, you're supposed to do this. Well,
I know I'm supposed to, but I'm supposed to do
that for thirty two other kids as well. So after
(07:54):
that meeting, I just said, all right, that's it. I'm
out of here.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
Mm hmm, yeah, no, Okay, I totally understand what you're saying. Again,
I've been a parent to three kids, I have a
I was expelled from high school, okay, for cheating on
a chemistry test. And then I got back in interesting. Yeah,
before I get into my own sort of philosophies about
(08:19):
academics and where it is now and how I feel
that it's a bit behind the times and there needs
to be some sort of an adjustment. You know what
I mean to deal with kids today, you know, the
new landscape of what it is to learn, how they're learning,
how AI is completely changing the game and chat GPT.
(08:45):
You can't rail against it because it's here. So then
how do we create an opportunity around it. I don't
know the answer to that, but we can't go backwards obviously.
I think we need the basics. But learning and education,
they're so it's so vast, and it's so broad. For me,
(09:07):
it's about work ethic and less about grades. I always
said to my kids, if you work your ass off
and I see you're working your ass off and you
get a D on a math test, I don't give
a shit, okay, because this is the life. Lesson there is.
You worked hard and you failed, and now you got
to work hard again and try to get better. That's it.
(09:29):
The grade itself does not matter to me. You know,
I was not an academic myself. I got expelled from
high school. I went to college for two years. I
was not ready to learn. We all, I believe, are
operating on different levels. Some people are academically inclined early
or have a thirst for knowledge, some don't. Mine came
(09:52):
after college in my nineteen twenty twenty one. That's when
all of a sudden, I want to pick up books
and just learn about the world. I was too immature
to be in school. And when you really think about it,
and you're sending a kid off at seventeen to college
to try to go sort of find themselves in there
in the academic space, you know, some will thrive and
(10:13):
then some It's going to take a little bit of time,
you know. Anyway, I just went off there a little
bit on my own kind of philosophies. But I want
to get back to the parents, okay, because this is
really why I wanted to talk to you, and how
you have seen that shift in twenty years, Because I
looked at a TikTok of yours and you said you
had these emails from twenty and eleven and reading them back,
(10:38):
it's just night and day difference on how these parents are,
what their expectations are, and how they're sort of raising
their children. I want you to talk about that because
I think it's extremely important, and.
Speaker 3 (10:52):
It is extremely important because that's where everything starts. Right.
Let's be clear though, And I want to be clear.
You know I made that video I said I'm leading
because of parents, right. It's not all parents, okay. And
I was that people out there would get that, right
because when people people say like all teachers suck, well,
I'm smart enough to know they don't mean every single
teacher on the planet, right, But there are people out
(11:14):
there who say, well, use all parents. No. I mean,
I was hoping people would use common sense to understand
that that's hyperbolic speaks, right, that being said parents. Unfortunately,
through the years, like you said, I have seen there
be a huge change and shift. At one point, families
(11:37):
were adult centered. As the time has gone on, now
families are child centered. It's all about the kids. I
got no problem, you know. Okay, yeah, I get it,
but not when you allow the kids to rule the roost.
And in a lot of homes, we teachers are seeing
that in the classroom because when a teacher says, sorry,
(12:00):
you can't do that, the pushback from these children is
amazing Now. Ten years ago, no, it was okay, okay,
missus MURRITTI I get it. I'll move on today. It's
not that way now. This is not all kids, so let's.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
Be cleary totally okay.
Speaker 3 (12:16):
So but the point of this is is those some
parents who are teaching their children that the world revolves
around them and everything is for them and buy them
and about them. Will they come in the room with
that same thought process because they've been reared that way. Well,
we're the real world, right, classroom is the real world.
(12:37):
The world doesn't work like that. So that's when then
you get the pushback from some of these kids. And
then you go and you try to explain this to
the parents. Well, Johnny's doing X, Y and Z and
the teacher's full. So there's been the shift. Homes are
now child centered and this type of parenting, you know
where it's the gentle or whatever they call it now,
(12:59):
I don't know, I don't if you've heard those terms.
Speaker 2 (13:01):
No, it's the coddling. It's it's the coddling. There's a
book called the Coddling of America. Correct, there is no
more grit. We are, we are, we are, we are
rearing the grit out of our children. Yes, you know,
I couldn't agree more. And I live in Los Angeles,
you know, so even a lot of my friends do
it very differently than my wife and I do it.
(13:23):
You know, it's it's coddally, it's well, how does that
make you feel? I don't give a fuck how it
makes you feel. Okay, this is right and this is wrong.
There is no how you feel in this specific situation. Okay,
you're you're you're an asshole, and and that's just how
it is right now. You know, kids, I believe unconsciously
(13:44):
want structure and they want discipline. They almost need it.
I think they thrive, they thrive when they have it.
And I believe, just like you, we're letting our kids
run to fucking free these days. You know, I couldn't
agree more.
Speaker 3 (14:01):
And that I'm old school. I mean, I'm a lot
older than you are, and I'm from the Northeast and
I was born and bred. You suck it up, buttercup,
you figure it out. I mean, and that's what you
don't have a lot today with these children because of
the parents, that there's too much coddling. You know, they're
sending these kids to school in bubble wrap. Right, you
can't do that, But this is what we're seeing. And
(14:23):
now in schools we're teaching social emotional learning. We're actually
teaching it, and we're making that part of the curriculum.
It's nothing to do with academia. But here's the people.
I understand. Unless you have a child who is socially
and emotionally solid, they're not going to learn anything. So
I get the premise of it, But why why do
(14:43):
we have to take care of their social and emotional
part of them? And it's what you said. Over time,
kids are becoming with less scrit less determination, less work ethic,
more coddling, and more victimization. Like everybody's victim today. And
these kids they're not done. They see, oh, if I
(15:04):
play this victim card, I'm going to get away with X,
Y and Z. Especially in the classroom.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
Of course, they're they're they're playing the sort of new landscape.
You know, they understand it. They're they're fucking smart. They
know how to they know how to do it, you
know what I mean? And one hundred percent that they're
doing that, you know, And I can see how that
then translates to what you're doing because now instead of
(15:33):
teaching children, you are becoming a bit of a daycare
center and trying to deal with all of these fires, uh,
these social emotional fires or these manipulations of kids who
are just trying to you know, buck the system in
a way and again who have no no grit. So
(15:54):
when a teacher says, hey, sit down, just shut up
for a second, get quiet, and you know, it's like,
oh my god, like you violated this feeling that I had,
you know, and immediately you're off to the races of like,
oh shit, because.
Speaker 3 (16:09):
The ship after that is you're gonna get emails and
phone calls. So that one encounter and not clearly you know,
teacher's not gonna say it like that, right, No, no, no,
would I get the premise right, Yeah, here's what happens.
Here's what happens that creates a snowball effect. That kid
goes home and says, my teacher doesn't like me. I
want to get out of his or her class, Mom, dad, whoever? Emails?
(16:31):
Then not the teacher. Sometimes it goes right to the principal.
Principal comes to you. You gotta sit down and talk
to the principal. Then from there, you got to sit
down and talk to the parent and you go and
and this is hours and hours and hours literally of
time because you asked a child to sit down mm
hmm and stop talking. And then this is what Snowball's into.
(16:54):
This is again, this is some children, and this happens sometimes.
But what ends up happening is it completely disrupts the
learning environment. And I'm not saying at that moment in time,
I'm saying in the future time, because your teacher has
to address this now that I have to, and the
time and energy that your teacher could be doing something
else is gone just because you, as a child four
(17:18):
times to sit down. My teacher doesn't like me. That's
not true. I'm just asking you to follow a direction.
And this is what teachers are seeing today because of
that lack of parent parenting, saying Okay, your teacher's there,
she's not asking you to do anything illegal or moral
will put you in harm's way.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
You listen, you listen, yeah, or or or even how
about I don't like my teacher, Okay, so what you
guess what? You're not going to like a lot of
people in life, and you're going to have to deal
with it. You know. I had a situation my older
one where he was in a math class with I
think it was in ninth grade. He's going into eleventh.
(18:01):
There's ninth grade, and it was like she was the
hardest teacher, you know, and some of the other math
teachers were much easier and more lenient. And he goes,
I want to move. I'm like, no, you drew the straw.
Deal with it. Figure it out, you know what I mean,
and figure it it will figure it out. It literally
(18:24):
is going to be on my headstone. I mean, my
wife hates me because she wants to plan all the
time and I do not. I'm not a planner. And
she's like, well what, I'm like, I don't know. We'll
figure it out. And I think that phrase needs to
it needs to be more. It needs to be put
(18:44):
into the children more, just not even at school, but
in life. They don't have an opportunity to figure it
out anymore. You know, everyone is saying, oh my god,
I'm so worried. You're going to get hurt, You're going
to fall down, You're going to do this. I'm like, no,
go if you want to take your bike, you know,
into Westwood or wherever I am go, but be smart,
(19:06):
you know what I mean. And if you get in
a situation, you got to figure it out.
Speaker 3 (19:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:11):
Now, you know, back in the day, we didn't have phones,
we didn't have shit, so when something went down, you
had no one to call. It was like, oh, I gotta,
I just gotta, I gotta figure this out. I got
to get myself out of this situation, you know. And
we just don't have that anymore. We don't allow our
kids to have the opportunity to go figure it out
on their own because they are they have such a
(19:31):
soft landing with everything.
Speaker 3 (19:33):
What you're talking about, you know, is the problem solving.
We see that, and we see that in the classroom
as teachers. Some of these kids don't missus, so and
so my pencil doesn't work well shopping it. And I'm
not kidding. I'm not exaggerating when I say these things.
I'm really not And I taught, you know, seventh and
(19:53):
eighth grade. We'll go shopping your pencil, you know, or
miss so and so, I have a cut in my hand.
There are band aids in the classroom going. I mean,
I know this sounds ridiculous and trivial, but I'm telling
you this is what is happening. And these are twelve, thirteen,
fourteen year old kids, not all the kids, but a
(20:14):
lot of them. And why is it they lack the
problem solving skills? Well, I think for some of them. Again,
all this starts at home. Yeah, when you look at
the children's background, you find out that, let's say that
child with the little cut, I find out he only
has like it's just his mom. His dad's not in
the picture, and he has three other siblings, and one
(20:34):
of his siblings has special needs. And this little boy
is pretty much neglected. And you can tell because he
comes to school and he's unkempt, his hair hasn't watched
in a couple of days. So someone like him asking
me what to do about the little cut in his hand,
I guess what I'm saying is he'd lacks those problems
solving skills because of there's always a because of always,
(20:55):
and it's unfortunate. But this is what is the reality.
So this is where the lack of problem solve the
skills comes from. And so far as that child is concerned, I.
Speaker 2 (21:15):
Mean, do you have to you know, have empathy or
sympathy for specific cases as you were teaching, meaning when
you look back, like the example you just gave me,
I mean, that's a circumstantial not that that's true, but
if in fact that was true, there's a circumstantial situation
(21:35):
in that family that hasn't really allowed that kid, because
of his mother and no father and three siblings, to
be able to fend for him or herself. Do you
take that into account when you are sort of you know,
working with or evaluating, you know, children who may or
(21:58):
may not have that kind of great or can be
self sufficient all.
Speaker 3 (22:03):
Day, every day, all day every day. Yeah, you do.
You know, at the end of the day, the first
thing as a teacher, we love the children. That's it.
That's why you get into teaching. That and the love
of learning. But absolutely, you know in that instance, and
I'm gonna I had a student like that, Not exactly, Okay,
(22:24):
I'm speaking hyperbolically in some of the background, I'm that child,
but absolutely so, there's a lot more patience, there's a
lot more understanding, and there's a lot more I mean,
this poor kid, he can't help himself, right, So absolutely,
you know, we're human beings. We empathize, we sympathize have you.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
Got any pushback from You're just your sort of viral
videos of people saying there are the people who are
agreeing with you, and others were saying, hey, how dare you?
And you know, I mean, has it been both?
Speaker 3 (22:57):
Oh? Yeah, you say, you know you probably you know,
you saw you should have quit a long time ago.
Speaker 2 (23:05):
Yeah, what is Yeah? I say the overarching thing is like,
have more compassion. Is that kind of the idea that
the haters.
Speaker 3 (23:14):
No. I think it's more hate for the profession rather
than be as me personally, if that makes sense to you.
You know all you're you're a teacher, because you're a teacher.
You suck. I don't care who you are behind the screen,
you suck. I mean it could have been you know,
Mary Poppins who created that uh that TikTok, right, The
same response would have given to Mary Poppins because Mary
(23:36):
is a teacher. So I think it's the profession that
they're going after. You asked me about that or personally.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
No, personally, you know what I mean, where it's like,
how dare you say that that you it's your job
to take care of the kids, and you know, blah
blah blah and you need to, you know, evolve with
the times and you know all that.
Speaker 3 (23:56):
Yes, yes, yes, I have gotten a lot of those.
I have gotten a lot of those. You know, this
is whatever, not nineteen ninety anymore. This is to twenty
twenty four. Just teach, right or yeah, I've gotten you
were probably an ass teacher anyway. You know you suck.
(24:19):
You're too old to teach. You should have, like I said,
you should have retired a long time ago. Good. I'm
glad you're old. Time you're leaving, you know. So, yes,
I have gotten Personally.
Speaker 2 (24:28):
Do you does it affect you or it seems like
it doesn't Like you're you're pretty tough, You're like, fuck it.
I don't care.
Speaker 3 (24:35):
I have fun with it. Yeah, I mean, I'm not
an asshole. I don't want to be an asshole. So
I try not to come off as an asshole. I
can be, but I don't want to be. I mean,
I think we all could be assholes. It's just it's
a defense mechanism, right, But I don't want to come
off that way. So if I choose to address them,
I don't care I come off with an air of
(24:59):
I don't really care, because honestly, Oliver, I really don't
care because I never care. I'm the kind of person
is I've never cared about what people ever thought about me,
even as a child. I think it's because I grew
up so uber independent, and I'm so incredibly independent even
as an adult. I need no one for anything in
my life. I'm going to marry and everything, but at
the end of the day, I am just a very
(25:22):
I'm self actualized, if that makes sense to you, because
of my own trauma in my own life as a
little girl. But that being said, I don't care. Mm hmm.
Speaker 2 (25:31):
It's the best way to live, you know.
Speaker 3 (25:33):
Yeah. Nobody knows our stories. Yeah, no one knows the stories. Yeah,
and I'm not you know the way I say, and
I've said this to children. If I allow it, somebody
says to me to make me feel bad, or to
hurt my feelings or become offended, then I'm not in
control of me. They are in control of me. And
(25:57):
that's There'll be a whole a warm day in hell
before that ever happens to me. No one's going to
be in control of my emotions and how I feel.
You can say whatever you want to me. You can
go tell me to pound sand. You can tell me
I suck. You can tell me, Oh, You're not going
to determine how I respond to that your opinion. Let's
(26:18):
go have coffee. Yeah, that's how I literally live my
life because I'm in control of me. And again, this
is what I teach the kids. Where I taught the kids,
you can't allow people to control of your emotions because
then you're not in control of you. They got power
of you. That's a good. When you allow someone to
(26:38):
take your power away from you, you have to turn
it around and be empowered.
Speaker 2 (26:45):
Yeah. Ah, So what about public school versus private school?
You know, I know you in one of your tiktoks,
you're like, go you said something, You're like, then go
(27:06):
to private school. Do they do it differently? I know
classrooms are smaller, you can pay more attention to your children,
need the students, But how do you see the difference
there and is it still existing in your opinion in
private school as far as how the parents, In my opinion,
it's almost worse by the way. Some of these parents
are nuts, totally crazy. But how do you differentiate the two.
Speaker 3 (27:33):
Everything you just said smaller class sizes, more teacher attention.
You know, private schools are not bound by government. I
mean they do. I don't know about at least I
know it's some private schools here. They do follow the
common Core curriculum like Floria standards. I don't know if
(27:54):
that's in private school your children go to, so they
are they do follow that, but they pretty much can
write their own ticket. For one, and for you, you
have smaller class sizes, you have more of a chance
for the teacher to get to know the kids and
(28:16):
to get to actually teach the children. And if a
child is problematic or struggling, you have more of an opportunity.
Let me back up, you have more of an opportunity
to get to know the parents in a more personal
and intimate way than you do in public school. So
then there's more of a team environment between the child,
(28:36):
the parent, and the teacher because class sizes are smaller,
because teachers really can get to know that child more
and more and more in a public school. You know,
when I was in a class of thirty three kids
in a fifty five to ninety minute period, depending on
the school, the amount of time I spent with the
child was if five minutes the class period if five minutes,
(29:01):
and I'm not exaggerating, I mean, how do I teach
a child one to one in five minutes in a
private school. Again, it's about numbers in that ratio between
teacher and student. And again I think you know, I
did work in a private school for a little while,
(29:22):
and parental involvement was there, but the admen took most
of the parent complaints, most of the parent inquiries. The
teacher didn't have to be concerned with that. In a
public school, you do, mm hmm. You have to be
(29:43):
involved with the parent. In a private school, no, because
again this is just my guess. You know, the admin
wants to keep that parent happy. Why because it's about
fine money.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
Oh yeah, it's a business.
Speaker 3 (29:56):
Exactly exactly, So that's why admin is going to take
care of that parent. I didn't really spend much time
in terms of those types of things. I mean I
did talk to parents, yes, but they were more involved.
In a public school. Yeah, they're involved, the admin is,
but predominantly it's up to the teacher the end of
the day. Mm hmmm.
Speaker 2 (30:18):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (30:19):
If I were sorry, if I were school aged children,
they'd be in private school.
Speaker 2 (30:24):
They would where where where do you teach where or
where did you teach? Where are you? I'm a call
now where in Cali?
Speaker 3 (30:31):
The Bay Area?
Speaker 2 (30:32):
Okay? Okay, yeah, So it's a parent problem, but it's
also a system problem, right, Oh yeah, I mean but
how does this how does this change? I mean, do
you see it changing anytime soon as far as the
public school system goes, because you're dealing with state by
(30:55):
state now. You know, I moved the kids to Colorado
for two years because I wanted to put them in
the mountains. I had that experience and I wanted them
to leave LA and find their independence and get lost
in the woods. And you know that was important to me.
We were in a public school in Colorado and it
(31:15):
was awesome. I mean, it was so different. In fact,
one of the teachers became my wife's like best friend.
You know. It was very much there was a lot
of involvement. The class sizes were definitely a little bit smaller,
you know. So it's a California issue, I'm assuming as well,
(31:35):
there's a state by state, you know, situation with public
school But overall, I mean, is there anything to be
done realistically in the public school system in Cali?
Speaker 3 (31:49):
Specifically in Cali.
Speaker 2 (31:51):
I guess so or just generally, but I know there's
some great public schools obviously around the country. But what
can be done? You know, how do you remedy this?
Speaker 3 (32:02):
I think what you just said earlier, it has to
start systemically, right, But here's the problem, and I'm going
to continue to answer the question, but I'm going to
go backwards a little bit. Here's the problem. Anytime there's
a system involved in anything, legal system, healthcare, it's a
cluster f unfortunately, because why you have human beings running
(32:22):
that system. Okay, it is a systemic issue. That's where
it starts. How can it change? In my opinion, I
think you need teachers making these decisions, not these high
position bureaucrats making these decisions about what goes in a
classroom who've never been in a classroom. We're in the trenches.
Let us make the curriculum, let us make the standards,
(32:47):
Let us decide what's best in terms of discipline. Let
us let the teachers do this. Let the teachers have
those high positions or former teachers have those high positions
to make those important decisions. And I don't know how
that happens, right, I don't know how that happens. But
(33:07):
I think it has to start systemically. First. You got
to get rid of those curmudgeon rule you know, bureaucrats
up there who are trying to tell teachers what to
do in the classroom when they've never done this before.
That's number one. Number two, how does it get fixed?
And no one's going to say this, No politicians going
to say this, but the homes. Unfortunately, that's the facts
(33:30):
I have seen. And even when I do all my tiktoks,
the comments I get beside system because the system's up there.
But besides that, the second biggest factor to change education
is home life. What's going on in homes today? Why
are we seeing these kids coming in with social, emotional, physical, financial,
and spiritual deficits? Why? Because, let's face it, according to
(33:55):
Maslow too, you know Maslow's hierarchy of needs, basic foundations
have to be met in a child before a child
is ready to do anything, and that's included learning. If
I got a little boy walking in there, a little
girl walking in there who hasn't bathed in three days,
and you can see it because they've had the same
(34:16):
clothes on. Their hair is greasy. And I'm not making
this stuff up, stuff happens. Your heart goes out to
these kids. That kid's blest thing that child wants to
do is learn. So here's the bottom line. The system
has to change, and homes have to change. There has
to be more involvement with a child and the child's
(34:36):
education and the child's full well being. And here in
America too. This is another thing I believe has to
change is how we value education. In my experience, I'm
not telling you this is how he does all over
the country. I'm just speaking from my own first person experience.
The value of education has declined over the years, and
(34:58):
I don't what's that about.
Speaker 2 (35:00):
Well, let me ask a question. What is the value
of education today? And I'm talking about let's go back
to even to the fifties, it was you get an
education and you get like a vocational job or like
it really led into what you're going to do with
your life, you know what I mean? And has education
(35:20):
evolved to meet sort of the standards of today and
how it has shifted so much? Like what is the
value of education? Is it actually learning algebra? Is it
actually learning about you know, the slip slip fault? Like
what is the value and how does it help a
(35:43):
human being?
Speaker 3 (35:45):
I think it goes back to the very first things
you said earlier in this interview, where you didn't care
whether your kid got a D or learned grit. You
rather have your try to learn grit and walk away
with the D. And I'm paraphrase yeah. To me, that's
the value of education. You get up every day, you
(36:05):
learn how to problem solve, You become a critical thinker,
You learn how to socialize, You learn how to start
something and finish something. You learn how to fail, You
learn how to be determined. You learn that maybe I
don't want to go to college, I want to do
a vocation, which is fine. You learn that it's not
about the grade, it's about the effort that you put
(36:27):
behind it, because you showed that you cared about something,
that you had passion about something. Because if I have
passionate about something and I get out of school and
I want to be a ditch digger and I am
uberly I no, that's not a word, but I'm uber
passionate about being a ditch digger and I become a millionaire.
(36:48):
How do I become a millionaire because I develop passion
for something, that's the value of education. Now, if you're
going to go into the sciences or something, then of
course the value of it or math, right, that's the
value of education. You have to know to know those
And I'm not saying that science and math or the
end all be all, but I guess you get my point.
The value of education is learning how to be a
(37:10):
productive member of society, so that you can come out
and be a productive member of society, so you can
learn how to be a producer rather than just a consumer,
because you can't just suck off the tit of everybody
else in this country. You have to produce. To me,
that's the value of education. And I know that controversial.
Speaker 2 (37:32):
Nah, I love that, Are you kidding me? That's exactly
how I feel. The problem that I think though, is,
you know, uh, there's no way to measure grid. There
is a way to measure how many you got wrong
on a test, So then you are now basing the
performance of that child on the grade and not the effort,
(37:59):
and those grades that GPA will then determine what kind
of future or what kind of college you might get into.
And so that's that's hard for me because it's not
about a grade to me. So, how do you measure
grit and how do you reward grit by the advancement
(38:21):
of your education if you're not getting a's you know
what I'm saying, Like, it's it's it's tough because my
kid could get ceased, but work his fucking ass off
and he's not going to get into a great college.
But the kid has worked his butt off and has
learned a ton, you know, and it's probably bet, it's
probably you know, going to do all right, But now
(38:43):
he's not going to get into the college that he
wants to and YadA YadA yah.
Speaker 3 (38:47):
But doesn't matter that he didn't get into the college
that he wanted to, because what's the end goal?
Speaker 2 (38:51):
Right?
Speaker 3 (38:51):
You know what I mean? I mean, what, well, what
does you want in this scenario? Like what does he
want to do with his life? And I'm going to
say a perfect example here. I wanted to be a teacher. Right,
I'm not going to go to Harvard to be a teacher.
First of all, I wouldn't have gotten accepted into Harvard.
But let's say, why would I go to Harvard to
be a teacher to come out making fifty thousand dollars
a year? Meaning so what that it doesn't get into
(39:12):
that that whatever college, what does he want to do?
I think the college has to match what you want
to do for a living, because why would I go
to Harvard and get all these bills and never pay
them back on your salary. So I guess what I
would have to ask is what is the end goal
(39:33):
for a child saying I got to get into Yale?
What you're mean?
Speaker 2 (39:38):
Yeah, no, I totally agree. I mean I knew what
I wanted to do, Okay. I come from a family
of entertainers. It's just sort of what it is. I
was making movies and being in little things since I
was a kid. So I knew that academics wasn't going
(39:59):
to take me to my profession. I knew I had
to get involved in it early. And I went to college,
went to Boulder for two years, and I called my
mom and I said, I am wasting your money. I
am partying, I am having fun, and that is it.
I need to come home and start my life.
Speaker 3 (40:16):
You know.
Speaker 2 (40:18):
And so yes, I agree, what is the end goal?
And how will you know? Secondary education advance and get
you to that goal?
Speaker 3 (40:27):
You know?
Speaker 2 (40:29):
I guess that is the determining factor. But at the
end of the day and leaving, when you're finishing high school,
you don't know what the fuck you really want to do.
I mean, some kids, of course do, but you have
no idea.
Speaker 3 (40:40):
You know, you're still a kid.
Speaker 2 (40:43):
Yeah, you're still a kid. You have some sort of
an idea, you know. You go to college. I went
to college and what I learned was I learned my
Social Security number. I mean, that's what I learned in college.
And I learned how to open beer bottles with lighters,
you know, I mean that's pretty much it. But yeah,
(41:05):
this has been just a fascinating conversation. I think an
important one too. I guess one last thing is as
far as just your standard education, how have you seen
(41:26):
the curriculum shift from twenty four to twenty five years
ago to now? And do you think that in the
public school system that it needs to keep evolving with
the times? Are we still in? Are we? Are? We?
Speaker 3 (41:44):
Are? We?
Speaker 2 (41:44):
Archaic? Is a public school system archaic?
Speaker 3 (41:48):
And when you say curriculum, you're talking about what says standards?
Speaker 2 (41:51):
Correct the standards meaning like, look, we live in a
different world now, we live in a different time. Now,
you know what is education like exactly what you're saying.
It's grit, it's it's you know, it's effort, it's all
of these things. Do you think that we're behind the times?
Speaker 3 (42:08):
Well, let's back up and say to what you just said.
We might be behind the times, but then again, how
we're going to measure one's academic prowess, how we're going
to measure grit? How do I think we're behind the times?
(42:29):
I can only speak here for California. California curriculum is
always evolving, is.
Speaker 2 (42:35):
It, yeah?
Speaker 3 (42:36):
To keep up with and then again, this is just
my opinion, to keep up with the times. For instance,
he has a part of the curriculum that's made that's
made his way into the curriculum is sel social emotional learning.
That wasn't something that we had to learn and and
you know, put as part of our curriculum until about
(42:56):
oh maybe five years ago. I'm trying to think what
else we put in?
Speaker 2 (43:01):
What is that? What I mean explain that? What is
social emotional learning? How do you teach that?
Speaker 3 (43:07):
Okay, social emotional learning? For instance, maybe on a Monday, Wednesday,
and Friday, the first five minutes of class, we would
have a community circle where i'd ask a question. I'd
have a little ball and we'd throw the ball back
and forth and the kids would he answered the question.
So you're building community. You're building a quote unquote you
know the new term safe space. So you're building a
(43:28):
place for the children socially where they're getting to know
each other emotionally, where they're starting to feel comfortable. You're
starting to build a quote unquote family so that their
social development can develop and they can develop more emotionally
because why, they start to feel like they belong to something.
(43:49):
So that's what social emotional learning is, creating a space
where you're developing again a second home, I suppose for
the lack of a word. And you're also social emotional
learning is spending time teaching children how to I'm going
(44:10):
to use this word and I can't stand it. Navigate.
They're feelings. You know, you got a kid who's having
these freaking words.
Speaker 2 (44:17):
You know, I got I use them too, as all
the fucking buzzwords now exactly.
Speaker 3 (44:22):
It's like I know, I know, I'm gonna.
Speaker 2 (44:25):
Pivot now, all right, pivot navigate right, yeah, whatever.
Speaker 3 (44:30):
So you know, literally part of social emotional learning was
let's say I had a kid in my class who
was having a meltdown. I now have a little space
in the back of the room, little squishy toys and
toys where he can or she can stop and center themselves.
Speaker 2 (44:47):
So what did you do before we like, instead of
the squishy corner like ten years ago, having a meltdown,
how do you handle it?
Speaker 3 (44:56):
You sent them out to the office. You did you
can't do it anymore. So now in the classroom, the teacher,
I'm okay, let's I get a calcul a kid. Yeah,
I get it, This is okay. And that's a whole
lother conversation. But so in terms of answering your question,
the curriculum now has social emotional learning.
Speaker 2 (45:17):
Yes, yes, I totally I get it. So what you're
saying is before it was like you're having a breakdown,
go to the office, call your parents to do whatever
you gotta do. But I have a job to do
in the classroom. I'm not hear I'm here to teach.
But now I have to take ten minutes out of
my time to put you in the squishy corner, and
(45:38):
you know, stroke your head and say everything is Everything's
going to be okay, rather than saying, hey, look, you're
having a moment, go outside. When that moment is over,
you can come right back in.
Speaker 3 (45:50):
Right.
Speaker 2 (45:51):
And you would say that ten years ago was better
or easier.
Speaker 3 (45:58):
It was easier, yeah, hey, because you have so many
children with social and emotional needs, it was different. And
be for those that did you could say, hey, Johnny Man,
you know he has a pass, go to the office. Yeah,
and Johnny would come back. Maybe Johnny would not come back,
(46:18):
maybe it just depended, but Johnny would come back. And
a lot of times Johnny wouldn't keep doing that.
Speaker 2 (46:23):
Yeah. Today, And by the way, you're seeing way more
of those sort of meltdowns or those social emotional deficiencies
now than you did ten years ago, like by a
long shot.
Speaker 3 (46:36):
Absolu freely. I mean yes, and not only that, And
I know this is not part of it, but it's
going to parlay into it. More students with add add
odd more students with IEPs five zero fours. I mean
to give them out like candy.
Speaker 2 (46:53):
Do you think the diagnoses are just getting more you
know what I mean? The diagnosis are have it names
and letters and numbers for all this shit now and
they had everyone had it back then, but it was
just called something else. You know, it's like Johnny, you're
like your hyper you're nuts, Like, go calm yourself down.
Now that's add and needs to be addressed rather than
(47:15):
you're crazy, like figure it out right, and that.
Speaker 3 (47:19):
Comes with awareness right where we are more aware Now
when you see X, Y and Z behaviors, Oh, that's
showing as add But here's the DEALO. You have, unfortunately
a lot of kids who are being given these five
all fours and i EPs or five all fours? Where's
five all fours less than an i EP, ADD and
ADHD And some of them aren't the parents push for it.
(47:43):
Not in all cases. I mean most of them are needed.
Speaker 2 (47:46):
Yeah, yes, them are needed. Yeah. And I'm not knocking
any of that, by the way. I mean, I think
the diagnosis is great because then you can work on
it because you there is there are remedies, whether it's
medicine or just meditatoration or you know, self awareness. There's
lots of things that can help once diagnosed. There's no
doubt about that. So I'm not knocking that at all.
(48:09):
You know, So what's the plan. What are you doing
now you're done with teaching or are you just going
to teach in a different capacity.
Speaker 3 (48:17):
Well, I'm trying to sub and what am I doing?
I'm still you know, let's back up. I retired way
too early, way too early. I mean, I didn't want
to go, but I had to go for my own
mental wellbeing. What am I going to do? I don't know.
I am still. I need a purpose. I need a
(48:40):
purpose in life, and I don't know. I don't know
where to parley my strengths. I don't and this is
what I'm struggling with them.
Speaker 2 (48:48):
Is that scary to you a little bit?
Speaker 3 (48:51):
It is scary, and so far as just because I
know who I am. I'm the kind of person who
has to be productive. I set goals for myself, even
yearly goals have nothing to do with education. So for me,
that's scary because for me to be sedentary is just
not something I can do financially. Thank God, I'm okay
because I have a husband, blah blah blah. So but
it's scary only in so in so far as my
(49:12):
own life is concerned, because I'm not one to just
get up every day, you know, and.
Speaker 2 (49:19):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah.
Speaker 3 (49:21):
So so that part is scary for me because I
have to have a purpose because I think I have
just too much to offer. I have too much to give.
I have And I'm not saying I'm not patting myself
on the back. That's not I'm nobody. I'm not important.
I know I'm nobody. I'm just a working class slob.
For me, that's how I describe myself. And let's say
anybody else is people think that's how I describe myself.
(49:44):
Just the working class slob trying to make it through
this world. And I just want to be able to
offer what I have.
Speaker 2 (49:52):
And you know, the irony is, however old you are,
and you've been through your life and you've you've you've
and you understand the educational system more than most because
you've seen it evolve or devolve. But now you're almost
a child yourself. You're back to square one as far
as what is my purpose? What do I do? These
(50:14):
are all questions that you ask yourself after you graduate college.
You're in college, you know what I mean, Like you're
almost the iron You've almost gone back to sort of
having to re establish your life and figure it out,
figure out what you want to do for the rest
of it. You know what I mean? It's kind of interesting.
Speaker 3 (50:33):
And that's the scary part because I had a purpose.
I had a purpose and that was it was teaching.
I had a purpose. And I'm sixty. So what do you?
What do you do it? What do you do? You know?
What are you doing? Not that that's old?
Speaker 2 (50:51):
No, Brad Pitt is sixty.
Speaker 3 (50:53):
It will get it a little bit better than us.
Speaker 2 (51:00):
You still got a whole life out of.
Speaker 3 (51:03):
But I completely feel the way that you just said,
I know, what's my freaking purpose that freaking sixty come out?
Speaker 2 (51:10):
You'll find it. You'll find it. I mean you probably
have to open up your mind a little bit, move
outside of this your educ your your your teacher mind
and figure figure something out. If finances aren't really an issue,
you know, then your your sky's a limit. You know.
It could be something I don't know. Let me know.
(51:31):
If you figure it out, maybe I'll join you. Well,
this has been fun. We got a roll and uh,
I appreciate you coming on. It's just you know, you
read about education. You know obviously in this election cycle
it's always being talked about, uh, And it's just fun
(51:52):
to sort of hear someone's opinion who is not necessarily
in the in the world that I'm living in now
with sort of this coddling and how you feel, and
it's like, no, I couldn't do this anymore. Parents need
to get their shit together. Parents need to understand that
their kids are better off when they when they are
(52:14):
given the opportunity to be independent and figure their own
shit out. So I appreciate you coming on.
Speaker 3 (52:22):
Thank you for having me. I really enjoyed this.
Speaker 2 (52:24):
Yeah, this was fun. And uh, let me know, let
me know when you figure out the next path. I'm curious.
You got a lot of fire, you know what I mean?
So they use that whatever it is. Yeah, you know,
maybe you should just be a TikTok sensation. Yeah, all
(52:45):
the kids want and want followers, and look their teach
got as more followers than they do now. So maybe
this is your new path.
Speaker 3 (52:52):
I don't know, man, Well, I just it will happen
because I'm not you know, I'm going to keep pushing forward.
Speaker 2 (52:58):
So a right, good, All right, cool, we'll talk to you.
I'll talk to you again, hopefully. Good luck with nice
to meet.
Speaker 3 (53:05):
You, take ease you bye.
Speaker 2 (53:09):
Well, there you have it. I think i'd like her.
I think i'd like her as my teacher. She's awesome anyway,
all Right, I'm out. Peace a