Contempt

I know what you mean and maybe I didn't explain it well enough. They are instructed on how to do the work, how to use the required tools to do the work, and shown examples of end product both good and bad. I have a significant number of people who are absolutely crippled by any ambiguity or by anything they can't cut and paste. I'll explain to them how to get the stuff accomplished themselves as many times as needed. A lot of the trouble comes when I ask them to research a problem that doesn't really have a clear easy answer that they can't Google and copy. They have to come up with an imperfect solution based on what they learned about the topic. For example water use in the Western US. There isn't an easy answer to that and no matter what your solution is someone will be very angry about it. You also can't pop that into Google and get a nice prepackaged answer to give me because it's complicated. They desperately want me to tell them what I think the solution is or if I personally agree with their solutions and I won't do that. They have to be ok with an imperfect solution. My honors students actually struggle with this concept the most because they are focusing on getting an A and are used to getting an A for being "right" rather than for completing a process or for problem solving and they think that if they know what I think they can mimic my answer to please me and get a high grade. Not having a "correct" answer to arrive at drives them crazy but that's what the actual real world is about. There aren't perfect answers, if you are solving real problems there isn't a playbook to follow to get the A at the end. You have to learn about the topic, come to your own conclusions, and be creative in your own solutions. Those are the things they really really struggle with. They want to be able to look up the answer, repackage it, and give it back to me. There's a place for some of that because like it or not there are some facts people need to know, but for project/problem based stuff it's much less like that and way more open ended. At least I try to make it that way.

It's not just teachers that need to do it, it's parents that need to be accepting of it and not throw a fit when their kids come home with poor grades when they do something poorly. You should see what happens when I give project assignments and don't tell the kids exactly what to do every step of the way in order to end up with the exact end product I want. In other words they (and their parents) don't want to do the project, they want to copy a project I've already done. It's an absolute shitshow and my email box and voicemail fill up instantly every single time I do this even though I clearly explain to them why I'm doing it this way and part of the grade they are getting is for problem solving their way through issues. Will I help them if they ask? Yes. Will I give them a pre-planned template to fill in and return to me? No. Additionally, our apparent increased desire for standardized testing makes application of useful methodology like this difficult. Sure, I can do project based stuff to teach you almost anything and that's fine. The problem comes at the end of the year when the state evaluates you completely differently and not at all in a project based way. If you aren't prepared for the type of test they give you'll do worse on it than you should. Since many people seem to enjoy throwing test scores in people's faces to determine which schools and teachers are effective and ineffective it creates a divide between what is probably good practice and what is actually wanted. Another issue with group project based work is that it relies on the assumption that everyone will actually do work or attempt to pull equal weight. What ends up happening is the same thing that happens in the real world. The people who are invested and care do more than they should and pick up all the slack to make sure the group project gets done well while those who don't give a damn do nothing and skate by. The competent and invested end up resentful at the end, the incompetent and uninvested get rewarded for it. School isn't like the real world because I can't fire crappy workers for being crappy. Speaking of shitshows, try giving one kid an A and one a C (not even an F, a C) for the same project that they worked on together. Amplify the shitshow by making it a diverse grouping. edit: to clarify what I mean by "diverse grouping" I mean kids who are different at all. Race, gender, IEP status, anything. Whichever kid ends up with a lower grade because they did a lousy job on their part of the project will have their parents run to my principal. In the last 5 years I've been accused of having a left wing agenda, a right wing agenda, racism favoring whites, racism favoring non-whites, sexism favoring males, sexism favoring females, ableism, transphobia, homophobia, etc. It's a good time and people wonder why there is a teaching shortage. It's this as much as anything else. Any time you step outside the rails of multiple choice testing with bubble sheets you get punished for doing it and it's frankly exhausting. When I'm deciding how to teach something part of the conversation is now "how much crap to I want to deal with for doing it this way?" Keep in mind this is from a veteran teacher who is relatively difficult to fire at this point who has hugely supportive administration. If I didn't have those things the pushing of boundaries would be much less.

Leaving the field before retirement age isn't the same as retiring. I know several teachers who have retired the last two years but all of them had already put in their 25 years or more. I also know some much younger people who left the field before they got to year 5. I'm at year 13 and I'm in a position where I could switch jobs or schools or districts, but leaving the field entirely would be difficult.

I'd love to trade them Anderson. What else can they give away to us?

This is obnoxious.

We don't live in a Judge Dredd comic book either. I think most reasonable people appreciate actual police but want the world rid of thugs with badges.

I'm sure somehow, some way, this is Buffalo's fault.

The rules around here aren't what I would call evenly applied. Hence you can receive a 72 hour timeout that lasts 3 months.

I'm out

and HEEEERE COMES SHIEEELDS! Loved watching that live, love watching it on replay. I'm a Neanderthal. I don't care. To that end, I don't think hockey fights count. Off the ice, my kid is really nice and respectful and has no problems with anyone, makes friends everywhere he goes. On the ice? He's a prick and a half. 😅

Dunkirk Don: Follow the money

He's got the budget for a fashion consultant and he owns the god damned team, can he have a branded shirt?

Granddad could invest in a decent t-shirt.

Yes please.

Well, he didn't want to play in Rochester and didn't have to. I doubt he'd have been super happy on a two-way on another team either so trading him wasn't likely. Plus he's getting paid in chocolate watches now so that's a plus.

So now they move Huberdeau amirite? Also, those of you who were adamant that Tkachuk is a selfish, unsportsmanlike, player and not worth it, now you get to have him and his brother in your division for the rest of time. Win?

Too busy crapping on the NBA for not taking on China.

That picture is a compelling argument to keep Finland out of NATO

Where do you want Krebs, Fitzgerald, Peterka, Quinn, and Lukkonnen to play next year? Rochester or Buffalo? I'm not even counting guys like Samuelsson or Power. The only way to build the sort of team you are talking about is to have many successful drafts in a row so there is a constant stream of talent coming in to replace that which graduates to the NHL. While the Sabres do have a number of prospects right now, they don't have a number of players ready to step into the AHL to replace the players I just listed. They will in a year or two, but not right now. If those players I listed are all in Buffalo, Rochester will suffer for it this season. If they crank out 3 or 4 good drafts in a row where they hit on a handful of guys each draft then the AHL team will be and will remain strong for a couple years provided those guys aren't screwed up by the Swedish League rules, or stay in the NCAA for the full 4 years, etc. Portillo and Johnson COULD be in Rochester this year, but won't be. The Sabres drafting has been so bad for so long they don't have the layers of talent within the organization. The talent that they do have has been needed in Buffalo. There has also been a trend league wide to get guys into the league at younger ages. You don't see as many players marinating in the AHL for 2 years or more if they can actually play. It's one and done or less. I look at it this way, if you have a great AHL team it means a couple things. 1 you drafted really well at least a couple years in a row AND you have a really good NHL team that is blocking some of those guys from immediate call-ups. The Sabres have neither right now.

It costs me $5 just to go to New Jersey so $4 or even $8 for an international crossing doesn't seem crazy. Cross the GW Bridge some time for poops and grins. $16 or $13.75 E-ZPass.

If this is what you've got for being a selfish player, ok. As for the extra curricular stuff he gets into I'm of the opinion it's a plus. Give me him and Kadri both. I'm tired of the whining about Brad Marchand, etc. Give me some of that. I don't want 23 Lady Byng candidates.

We know this based on what?

? Playing where they want to play instead of where they are told to play?

Gaudreau was apparently set on leaving no matter what and now Tkachuk wants out too? Wonder what the issue is. Can they hate Sutter that much or is it something else?

He's not getting to UFA next summer if he's traded now.