Just 4 Kicks: What's Going On With Auditions?

In today's episode of Just 4 Kicks the girls get you up to date on everything thats going on with Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders auditions!

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
The following is a production of Dallas Cowboys dot Com
and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club. This is Just for
Kicks broadcasting live from Dallas Cowboys World headquarters at the
Star in Frisco. Now, your hosts Judy Trammel, Hayley Anderson,

(00:24):
and Kelly Fenn Glass. Hey, everybody, and welcome to Just
for Kicks. Does this girl talk? And you guys just
might want to listen. I'm Kelly Finn Glass and I'm
joined by Haley Anderson and Judy Trammell. Hi, Haley, Hi, Judy,
Hey guys, Hey Kelly, Miss Shaw and miss everybody. Now,
how how's everybody doing? On a scale on one to ten?

(00:46):
Like the little happy faces or sad faces have? Are
y'all hanging in there? We're hanging in there. I am todays.
Since they announced the quarantine to stay at home until
May fifteenth, I'm gonna say I went down to about
a four, but I'll pep it back up. You just
have to have a day to let that sink in
that it's going further. Then you've heard more than I

(01:08):
have heard. I just heard a governor Abbot talking about
April thirtieth, but he's going to make an even bigger
announcement on April twenty seventh as to whether or not
he's going to open up some businesses. So what's went
on till May fifteenth? They're going to still open up
some businesses and a few things at a time, and

(01:29):
then the parks are going to start reopening. But yes,
they did put out an alert today that Dallas County
extends stay at home order until May fifteenth. Dallas County. Okay, yeah,
Dallas County. Thank you to our good friend Meredith Land
who keeps us all informed. And I know I'm almost

(01:52):
hopeful that Mary Meredith does or doesn't watch our Just
Picks so that she can laugh at the non professionals
trying to be rationals. Okay, well, I know last Friday
we had a prep class, and Judy and Haley, you've
got some questions on social media, but I kind of
wanted to start off real quick and just talk about

(02:14):
what we're doing with auditions because that seems to be
a real hot topic when it comes to the Dallas
Cowboys cheerleaders. So Judy, can you We had the online
prep class and everybody is welcome to register, by the way,
at Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders dot Com for this Friday's class.
But can you remember, Judy, some of the questions that

(02:34):
kept coming to us from curious candidates. Yes, they all
wanted to know about their video submission and how long
the music needs to be, what kind of music we want,
what the beats per minute were, and we said upbeat,
popular music, something that you would see the cheerleaders dancing too.

(02:57):
I think that pop music, and it can be commercial track.
They're going to be submitting on video, and I think
we decided they're going to do a quick fifteen second
off their iPhone somewhere comfortable in their home or their backyard,
an introduction, and then a dance video. I think we
also announced form fitting fitness attire in the form of

(03:20):
shorts and a kind of modified broad top. And the
big news is is that that the application process starts
May second, and that's right around the corner, so I'm
getting really excited about that. In our new application system,
but May second through fifteenth, we will have the online
applications open for anybody that wants to try out or

(03:45):
Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader. We are going to stay safe and
we're going to be following federal, state, and county regulations
until everybody gets to a safe place on gathering in person.
They also want to the age, and you made the
good point that don't yet submit until the day that

(04:06):
you're eighteen if you are not eighteen yet. But eighteen
is our minimum and we don't have a maximum. So
we have a big show today. We all the three
of us were texting yesterday and started having these explosive,
great ideas and I'm really excited about today's show. We
are going to have Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders who are teachers

(04:29):
talk to us about what it's like to be in
the classroom from their own shelter and how they're communicating
with their kids. And then we're going to have Dallas
Cowboys cheerleaders moms trying to be teachers at home. We're
going to be joined by Melissa Ryecroft and see how
she's doing as a mom at home. And then finally
we have a little special insight from Haley on keeping

(04:50):
up with the Joneses to find out what it's like
to be with the Jones family just forty eight hours
before the NFL Draft. So we will start with visiting
with our teachers right after this break the Cowboys Way,
you're thanksgiving me and spending the day with one hundred
thousand of your closest family and friends to watch the
game live. Or sixteen Hall of Famers and five championships

(05:13):
show us what success looks like. Where we're all defined
by one single thing, the star, where we as fans
have the power to keep their tradition going. Bank of
America is proud to be the official bank of the
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the Cowboys Way. What would you like the power to do?
Bank of America cow Right. What do you like doing?
Back of America Corporation. Have you ever dreamed of being

(05:35):
a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader? This may be your year to
make the team. For the first time ever, the Dallas
Cowboys Cheerleaders will be hosting online auditions with a simple
application and video submission. This is a chance of a
lifetime to pursue your dream and perform in the NFL
from the convenience of your own home. Applications will be

(05:57):
accepted beginning May second at Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders dot Com.
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(07:00):
Stetson dot com. Back back to just for kicks. Okay,
So we promised a special treat today and we are
really excited to be joined by Taylor and Kaylin. Taylor,
as you know as a current to year member of
our team and she is a graduate of Texas A

(07:21):
and M and a teacher of fourth grade math, science
and social studies. Welcome Taylor, Hi, everybody, and we also
we're also joined by Kaylin who is recently retired three
year Dallas Cowboys cheerleader. And Kaylin's a graduate of the
University of North Texas and Kaylin is a special ed teacher.

(07:45):
So we are thrilled to have y'all and this is
a chance where we wanted to hear just straight from y'all.
What and how are you guys surviving on the teacher
side of this with your kids? Taylor, I'll start with you.
You always have funny story, is it rehearsal about the
kids and just normal survival. So how are you communicating

(08:06):
with your kids? And what does it look like for
a teacher right now? For you, you know, it's been
really different. I'm used to being in the classroom with
the kids and having that kind of interaction and if
you're a teacher like Kalen and I've already talked about,
having that relationship with the kids is the most important part.
You know. I could sit there and stand in front
of them and teach them whatever I wanted, but they're

(08:27):
not gonna absorb at all unless we have that relationship
down first. So it's definitely been hard. We've been on
zoom calls almost daily with my kids. We've got a
class virtual meeting weekly every Tuesday. We had ours this
morning and we do a just Dance video and the
kids are hilarious with it. I mean, some other parents

(08:50):
will get involved. They'll just get up and do it,
and they're always yelling at me to get involved too,
so I'll do it whether I'm just sitting down or
with my new puppy. So it's definitely been hard. I
miss my kids like crazy. They're fourth graders, so they're
going to be the leaders of the school next year,
and a lot of them are saying to me, like,

(09:11):
you know, I don't I don't think I could be
a fifth grader. I'm not the leader yet. You know,
I didn't get to finish fourth grade. How can I
be a fifth grader right now? And it's heartbreaking, But
it's also cool because I have some other kids in
the class that are like, no, man, we've got this.
You know we're gonna come back. We're going to be
great leaders, And it's cool to see all of this.
You know, obviously as adults we see it from a

(09:33):
different point of view, but seeing how the kids are
handling all this has been really uplifting in a way
because a lot of them have that just childlike vision
and they're just ready to see their friends and they're
just kind of saying like, yes, this is a bummer,
but like we've got it. So I really think they've
been the ones that have been keeping me sane through everything.

(09:54):
And are you starting to see new skills or new leaders?
You mentioned vision and the children are. Are you starting
to see who the new cless clowns are, the public
speakers are, the new content talkers? Are you getting to
see that? Yes? I was joking with some of my
coworkers that you know, some of the kids will sign
on and I'll have them just post a video and

(10:16):
explain to me what they felt like they learned from
the lesson that day. I'll be like, hey, guys, it's
so and so and out of here to bring what
I learned in social studies today? Who are it? Was? Okay?
Are they learning anything right now? Taylor or y'all just
having big zoom parties? I think they are learning you know,

(10:38):
I've seen my kids that maybe you're not the most
extroverted and that don't do well in a big group
of people, have really shine right now where they're in
the comfort of their own home. They're kind of behind
a screen where they feel a little bit more protected,
and I think those kids are really shining and they
feel almost empowered in a way behind behind closed doors

(10:59):
where they can just be themselves and not be like
they're being judged. So that's been really cool to see
some leaders in that way stand out that I do
think they're learning. Hopefully that's the goal. What's the first
thing you want to do when you get to finally
be back in person with your with your kids, which
unfortunately is probably going to be next year. M Yeah,

(11:21):
since they anounced last Friday that school is canceled for
the rest of the year, and I cried all day.
I had my kids on FaceTime on Zoom and they
were crying, thankfully, heart right, Thankfully I've got fourth grade,
so they're just going to be across the hall next
year and I cannot cal and I were talking about,

(11:44):
like the first day of school next year is going
to be just a full day of hugs and stories
and crying and you know everything we have missed out
on at the end of the school year. Um, you know,
I can't imagine having a senior right now. I know
I'm doing an adopt a senior program right now where
you can just adopt a senior and kind of try

(12:05):
to make them uplift them in a way. It's really cool.
They've got it going on. I know in Frisco. I
think Plano is doing it as well, So, UM, it's
a really cool I think it's it's obviously a hard
time right now, and it's different from what we're used to,
but different isn't always a bad thing, and it's brought

(12:27):
on some new new experiences and I think a new
appreciation for what we didn't always appreciate beforehand. We're gonna
bring on two Dallas Cowboys chillers. We have Dina Brown Donnelly,
and we have Melissa Rycroft. They're going to come in
a little bit later and talk about exactly that. Dina
has a junior and a freshman and Melissa's got just

(12:47):
I think three toddlers. But um, and hope maybe I'll
can stay stay in this meeting. You just get to
hear it but Kaylin, I want to hear about you.
You're you're a teacher of special education and that you're
teaching multiple grades, right, yes, how are you? How are
you communicating with your students and what ages or grades
are they? I have first graders, fourth graders, and fifth graders,

(13:13):
so they're all over the place, a lot of zooms.
Like Taylor and said, I am meeting with small groups
every week. We do a read aloud every Friday with
a small group of my first graders. And it breaks
my heart because, you know, I just imagine that, you know,
being back next year, just hugging them, and I kind

(13:34):
of just see them growing and developing, and I'm like, oh,
I've got there, and it really it really breaks a heart.
I didn't know how much I would miss them until now.
And I was saying earlier, I will never complain again
about a big at school because I would much rather
be there. But yeah, we're just trying to keep those

(13:55):
relationships strong, especially for my students. The type of knee
they they need are very specific and very heavy, and
so just trying to keep get them acclimated as much
as possible. Schedules are very important for my students. UM
so just kind of trying to shift them from being
at school to being at home and mirror them as

(14:17):
much as possible. So just constant communication with parents and
students every day. And you may may or may not
can answer this, but what types of special needs are
you working with for the people that are are curious
about how you're communicating what? What are some Yeah, the

(14:38):
range My students range from UM, just like behavior problems,
students on the autism spectrum, students with specific learning disabilities.
So that's my main kind of case float that I
deal with. So if you find that you're working closer,
I'm sorry, I'm learning. I don't know how to ask

(14:58):
these questions and wait for the Do you find that
you are working closer with the parents, And I bet,
I bet the parents are really having to learn some
new day to days on what you do. I bet
y'all your parents appreciate your much so much more now

(15:20):
for sure, I've already had a couple of parents reach
out to me and say, hey, my child is doing this,
They're not wanting to do the work. They're on the
fourth or tangum what do I do? Um? And so
I've just kind of had to make sure that we
implement the same things that we had at school, and
now that they're you know, so they can do it
in the home. Um, so it's been difficult because they're

(15:41):
seeing a lot of what they're you know, their kids
do it at school, which is uh, you know, good
on both parts. So yeah, just trying to mimic the
same things that we would do at school. The best
thing that we can do for for my students right now?
How many hours a day are you online with either
your students or your administrators? Like what is your day?

(16:05):
Is it really scheduled or is it a little bit
more loosely scheduled? Yes, so I have to be in
planning meetings with each grade level I'll work with. So
since I work with three different grade levels, I'm I'm
meeting with three different grades a day. We still have
big staff meetings every week and then on top of

(16:25):
that students, So it's still just about eight to three
for a school day. It's still the same. And are
you making sure you get camera ready or are you
doing school and pajamas or are you like us dressed
from the neck up. I will say I started off strong.
I started off like trying to fix my hair and

(16:46):
do my makeup. But then I got comfortable with this
quarantine life, and I started doing less and less each day.
So my students now know me with a face of
just fair. We get We got real close to thank you,
Taylor jumped back in here, because you're always our comic relief.

(17:08):
Tell us something funny. Is there anything funny or unexpected
that you've encountered with with the classroom on Virtual Classroom? Oh? Man,
I honestly a lot of a lot of the funny
things have come from my kid's reactions. So I, like
Klen said, started off really strong. I've you know, put

(17:29):
on makeup. I did my hair a little bit, and
then as we've kind of gone on, it's definitely turned
into not doing much with my hair and not putting
on any makeup at all. And they have one kid
that signed on and he was like, you kind of
look different today, and I was like, you better watch yourself. Yeah,

(17:52):
this kid tell you the truth. Well, they sure will.
But I think the funniest thing too, is just seeing
them be blogger. So I know I said that earlier,
but it's just hilarious. You know. I've had some of
them on our zoom calls that will say, hey, guys,
do you want to see my tea set that I
just got um when I was like five, But like
it's fine, and then they'll take me through their house

(18:13):
and I'm like, guys, we've got to work on math. Right.
Have you shown your students your new dog? Yes? I have,
she's outside right now, or else i'd bring her up,
But um, I have. And she actually has the same
name as one of my students, but the name is
just too cute. Her name was Kata, and one of
my students was like, why don't you name her after me?

(18:39):
But yes I did. I did show her as moms,
and Haley is a sibling of students, but as moms, genuinely,
we appreciate what you and Calin do for the for
the youth and and the parents. Y'all have no idea
the impact that teachers have on the lives of children

(18:59):
and the parents. But you're sure rising to the occasion
going in our but above and beyond, y'all both deserve
an Abbey bear after this is over with for what
you're doing. So hats off to y'all. We're gonna go
to a break. If I'd love if you'll have time
to stick around because we're going to be joined by
Melissa Ryecroft, who's probably pulling her hair out. DNA Donneley

(19:24):
to give us the perspective of as moms with young
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looks like. Where we're all defined by one single thing,
the star, where we as fans have the power to

(20:51):
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(21:44):
So we're back on Just for Kicks and we are
joined by Melissa Rycroft Brown Donley and Melissa and Dena
y'all are y'all are also joined by Kaylin and Taylor,
both school teachers, and they've given us their entire perspective
being sheltered in school. But we're dying to hear about

(22:04):
Melissa pretty much. I was thinking about this today. I
don't know what you haven't done. Melissa's done The Bachelor,
Melissa's won the mirrored ball on Dancing with the Stars,
Melissa got duck? Was it in the Dominican Republic during
that whole feature? And now you're a mom of three

(22:25):
and they're all under the age of eight. That what's
your oldest Yeah, now I'm a teacher, Um, she's nine,
just turned nine. Andrew a podcaster. Um, logically irrational. So
there's nothing you haven't done and you can't talk about.
And then dina' is also on and I wanted Dana
to come on, because she has two high schoolers and
I've heard personally some of the challenges that she and

(22:48):
he are, some of the sacrifices that she and her
sons have gone through, um with not being to have
not being able to have a normal spring. So welcome
to you both, and this can be girl talk. Kaitlin
and Taylor jumpin if you have some advice, but let
start you tell us. I noticed that you've got an
updo go, which is a sign not doing full blowouts

(23:12):
and rolling um and sweatpants. I'll show you look at that,
and it's just been pajamas for five weeks straight with
you dressing shoulder up. How are you doing because you're
having to you're doing school for a nine year old.
I'm doing school for a nine year old she's in

(23:34):
third grade. And then I'm also I've got a kindergartener
I'm doing school for, and I have a three year
old who I have nothing to do for him. So, um,
you were hanging in there. I mean when we first
heard about this, I went, oh, this will be easy,
no big deal. The teachers are gonna send us what
to do. Um And the first day we got everything.

(23:58):
I went, well, this is not going to be as
easy as I thought. I don't care, I don't work.
What's that? Well, so I don't know about yo. My
kids just don't respect me as an authority figure, you know,
and I'm like, all right, well, um, so getting them

(24:18):
motivated has been very challenging, you know, um, keeping their
interest level up. You know, my son he had a
really difficult assignment today, my kindergartener. He had to he
had to write a two sentence opinion piece on whether
he liked crayons or markers banner. That took him. Now,
it took off about two hours to get to my rough.

(24:46):
He decided markers, but then it couldn't figure out why.
I don't know more, I don't want so. Yeah, I
mean we take lots of break um challenging. I mean
it's recess time again, lots of parents. So it would

(25:09):
make me feel better to know that y'all are all
feeling this way too. Well. Caitlin was just saying that
she's online with her parents a lot, and they're telling
her my dad was doing this, what would you do? Like,
they're seeing things that they probably never experienced. Yeah, I
don't think any of our kids see us as authority.
That's funny. Oh my gosh. I feel like during school,

(25:32):
if if we have to reprimand a kid and we
need to take an extra step, we call parents. But
now are parents are calling guys and they're like, I
told you they were doing that, and we don't have
much credibility. Whenever Eva my third grade or whenever she

(25:52):
has a question that I don't know how to answer,
and I get on my phone and I'm asking Sirium, going, well, no,
wonder she has no faith in me. I don't know
how to answer, Ryse. You know I've had I've had
parents call me and they'll put their child on the
phone and they'll say, I'm gonna tell your teacher what
you're doing. And it's completely rolls reverse, and you know,
it's not me saying I'm gonna tell your parents what

(26:14):
you're doing. It's them saying I'm gonna tell your teachers.
And then I get on the phone, I'm like, guy,
you're fine. On Melissa, you had have you had one
of those clenched jaw doors slamming I need a break
moment yet? And you don't have to answer that. But
I've got a lot every day. I mean, I, yes, absolutely,

(26:36):
we the breaks are a necessity. Um. But our school
system has has said something that I really like. They say,
it's grace over grades right now, and you can't the
second that mom or dad gets stressed out and the
kids get stressed out, you have to walk away because
there's nothing productive is going to come from it. Um.

(26:57):
And so that's been something that I try to remember,
you know, funny stuff aside that you know, I don't
want my kids to look back on this experience and
hate it because I was so stressed out the whole
time and I was trying to make sure that they
had everything down. And I know that's a good point,
that's good advice. It's hard to remember, but I do
think it's it's important. At the same time, Yeah, I'll

(27:20):
have to come up with that too. My son, my
daughter is at college and I misheard dearly. She stayed
there to finish her online classes. Her college graduation is canceled.
There is no cap and gown. Um. I got an order.
I got a junk mail where you can order the
diploma and the frame and all that stuff. And I
just broke in tears. And my son's taken over my WiFi,

(27:44):
my kitchen table in the broad band. But I've kind
of like given given that because I don't want him
to believe. So so yeah, it's but I I too
have had to slam the door a couple of times,
so I'm going to remember that grace advice. DNA done,
Lady to jump in here now. Dina has two high
school boys, once a freshman and one's a junior, both

(28:07):
heavily involved in sports. DNA, tell us a little bit
about how this has impacted you with I believe, with
all the UIL sports shutting down right right, it's it's
been hard. We're a sports family and you know, that's
kind of our life for so many years. And then Drew,
my oldest, he's the junior. He has been training so

(28:27):
hard and he was really lying to go to the
state championships this year, and so it's kind of heartbreaking
for all these kids who are worked so hard, and
it's just kind of like the rug pulled out from
underneath them. You know, we do feel blessed because you know,
a lot of his good friends are seniors and they
don't have any more opportunities. So you know, we all
have next year. But it's been hard. And Jak my youngest,

(28:49):
he you know, he was his first year at high
school sports and so he was really looking forward to
it and had been training really hard too. So you know,
it breaks my heart for them. But they're still getting
The teachers or the coaches are sending them workouts and
they are doing it. I heard that the stairs just
are the floors just pound pound pound pi pound them
come up and they're doing their Yeah, that's Paxton right now.

(29:12):
Haley tell us about that, because Paxton's getting ready past
college football. Yes, he's a senior, and so he is
doing what he can with what we have. Workout wise,
I'm feeding him a lot just so he so he
needs super tight end. But no, he's using every equipment
we can find in the house. Is trying to stay
in shape for football season. University of Texas. Do you

(29:34):
feel like this has made you guys closer as siblings?
Hailey and Dana? Have you seen that with your sons
or is it had? Are we starting to get family phobia?
What's crazy? Is no? I mean, this is the first
time since I guess we've been home since high school,
that we've all been together for so long. Yeah, and

(29:57):
my mom's actually surprised that we haven't tried to kill
each other. She was shocked out while we were just
getting along. And I think Packson and I are eight
your age difference, and Shy and I are about eighteen months,
so it is kind of a bit of age difference.
But tax and I are working out together and we're
just having fun and making the best of it. Why
we came before you go to college? We're watching We're

(30:18):
not working out together. Rhyme goes and runs miles very
fast miles. I can't keep up with that. But we're
watching we did Tiger King together. It's getting distarted. Ask
oh my god, hey Milinna, who gasps? Was that line? Yea,

(30:38):
have you seen Tiger King? Are you just like as
disturbed as the rest of us. The fact that there
are people out there that really live like that is
fascinating to me. And series went on, they kept adding
on those kind of characters and it never happening. Wh
Where can they find At one point, there's a guy

(31:02):
driving up and like a four wheeler with a skeleton.
Next year. At that point, I was like, look, you
know that's about normal. Maybe the best part of that
show is this last kind of newly released episode where
the cast was interviewed and they're they're doing a kind
of a virtual interview just like this, and oh my gosh,

(31:23):
it's very revealing to hear their insight and they're real.
I mean, all it all really happened, and you can't
you can't write this. I don't know where it came,
but I think I need more. It's like Cowbell does

(31:43):
make you look at your teenage boys and going, Okay,
they didn't turn out so bad, right, I couldn't. Okay, okay.
Friends whose kids did drive up there, you know they're
not far from us, and um, you know, there was
a whole phase where people were dashing up to Oakland
Home and to get their photos. They're selfies made with
the baby baby tigers. I had a friend who drove up.

(32:05):
She actually to owe you, and so she had drive
enough to go visit them and had pictures of the tigers.
I'm like, I need you to send those to me
as soon as you can, just so it can. And
they said the charge admission. I think the mission was like,
let's call it thirty dollars and then you pay another
fee to take your actual picture with with the cubs.
So I'm I'm gonna I'm gonna start a new business.

(32:27):
It's pictures with sugar. She take know what what's her heart? Yeah?
I know she's a pleep right now? She did. Oh
she's on the stairs. I don't know if I can
see her. She actually is too. Can you see her
on the stairs? Oh? Yes, I was barely Yeah. No, um,

(32:50):
Lissa anything, you can't tell us? What kind trying to
find us funny at this too. What's the funniest thing
that's happened to you, because you have to talk every
day on your podcast too, what's the what's amazing, the
funniest thing that you had to survive during this this time?
And how's time doing? You mean besides trying to decide
between clients and markers? Right this is you know, Tie's

(33:13):
actually doing well because he owned several businesses and they're
all essential. So his life has not changed, which is
hard for me because now I'm home eight to five
kind of what I normally would be doing, but I
have all the kids with me. This responsibility has fallen
solely on my shoulders. And not to mention, I don't

(33:36):
like that he's out, you know, I don't like he
has to be out and about and doing all of that.
But yeah, I mean, I don't know. The craziest thing
that we've had. Our family goes three days where it's
like my kids are best friends and I'm going, oh
my gosh, we've done it. We and other days that
we all just have to be quarantined in different rooms.

(33:58):
Ye yeah, but out. Um, it does make me sad
that this starts to feel like the new normal, like
that none of them, we haven't changed our clothes in
a week, and sometimes we forget to brush our teeth
into our hair, and I miss the socialization for the kids,
you know. I know mine are a lot younger than yas,

(34:18):
but it's so important to all of them at all
ages that you know, they interact with other kids and
get to go out and do stuff, and so it
it does kind of make me sad, and I do
hope that there is a point here soon or at
least we can go out to parks and get back
to a little bit of normal for their sake and

(34:40):
for our sake. Stay strong. I'm all of my phone
calls are on FaceTime now. I haven't made a single
phone call um without the face there, because that's something
I'm realizing I have badly. I need that interact. Yeah, yeah,

(35:01):
I think the best thing for us is that we've
been doing TikTok with our kids. They have introduced us
to this whole or all and it's so much fun
and my husband's even getting into it and you know,
busses really yeah, it's it's been fun. So there's been
a little bit more connecting because usually we're all going
in different directions, so we're trying to look at that
blessing of being home together and what we can do

(35:23):
together and just trying to enjoy it. So I actually
like that part. Yeah, I think that's that's something that
we try to tell um, you know, all of our parents,
is that, you know, and just kind of background. Um,
every year, we have certain standards that we have to
teach the kids, so you know, there's fourth grade standards,
fifth grade standards, etc. And next year, I know, my

(35:45):
district m Kayla and I are in the same one
is kind of changing up the standards so that like
in fourth grade, I'll be teaching third grade standards at
the beginning of the year to make sure that they
actually feel like they know the information and aren't just
skipping over everything. So what I'm telling my parents is
right now to if your child doesn't understand something, it's

(36:09):
okay because they're going to learn it at some point.
This is the time to focus on, like teaching your
child how to be a human being and not worrying about,
you know what, if they can do their math backs
right now, because obviously it's important to teach that. But
this is such a special time that I don't think
any of us obviously expected, so, you know, being like
you said, what a special time for a family to

(36:30):
just get to know each other better because we're always
moving one hundred miles an hour. Taylor has the state
UM loosened up the Star testing or whatever the testing
that happens at the end of the year. Is that
going to have any any grace periods? Because because of
just what you said, Yes, so I know the Star

(36:51):
test has been canceled for this year, they're not having
that at all. As far as UM kind of going
into the next year and not really sure how they're
going to handle everything. What I'm guessing is we'll give
our fourth graders next year there right now, third Gradersy,
my daughter there. Yes, we'll give them some sort of

(37:12):
a third grade end of year test just to see
where they're at, and then we can just kind of
go from there. And that's we give them tests throughout
the year and study the data like crazy anyways, just
to see this group of kids specifically needs help on
problems solving, this group of kids can't visualize problems, and
we'll group them up and kind of specifically target what

(37:34):
they need. So just know that your teachers are gonna
make sure that your kids are not left behind next year.
I think that's probably a fear of all parents right now,
but we do it anyways. So next year we'll just
be a little bit of different content that we'll be
teaching them. But that's okay. So Caylin and Taylor, you'll

(37:57):
realize that when you're sending home any type of homework
assign But you got people like Melissa just pining over
whether or not a marker with sharp edges is better. Yes,
trust me, we know I'm trying to I'm trying to
communicate what I need, but I'm trying not to over
communicate because I do realize that parents are, you know,

(38:20):
working their own jobs, but also having to teach. But
I would say the biggest thing is when teachers say hey,
I'm here to help, they really are use the resources
that the teachers are giving, or just say hey, can
you you know, can you step in and do a
zoom call with them on this specific area through your

(38:42):
best friend right now? And we're willing to do any
and everything we can at this time. So I tell
you that common core math is no joke, Like who
came up with that? But I've never heard of it?
What is it? Common core math? We all learned how
to do math normally, and I feel like I'm a

(39:03):
pretty intelligent person and I look at math going now, Babe,
I can get you to the answer they want me
to right exactly, because I don't understand this new math
that these males are out there doing. It's different. It's
completely different. It's crazy complicated. Yes, that's it, Taylor, A

(39:29):
lot of it. You know. I learned you divide and
you put the or you multiply, you put the zero underneath.
You do that, you know, just because that's how it is.
But now, and in fourth grade, that's when they learned
to buy too multiplication. And now I'm teaching them why
you put the zero there. And a lot of what
is happening now and why we teach weird ways and

(39:49):
do what kinds of stuff like that, it's because now
it's um, you know, why do you do that? But
I definitely sometimes you just want to say, just put
the zero there, and that's what you do. Just do
it works for that kid and they can it's as
long as they can get to the answer, then you're good.

(40:12):
I photo bombed one of Ryan's classes. He was having
a one on one with a professor for me and him,
and I didn't I'd like say high and step and
he was. He was dying. He kicked me under the table,
but it was I was kind of excited. It was
kind of fun. I didn't see a time. Well, Kaylin
and Taylor and Melissa, Um and Dana, thank y'all so

(40:33):
much for joining us. This so humanizes what so many
people are going through. You gotta laugh a little bit.
Thank you for for your insight. It's it's really refreshing
and we were so appreciate that you guys joined us today.
This has been a production of Dallas Cowboys dot Com
and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club.