The "You know what?" thread

[cjd874]

LONG POST AHEAD:
So as most of you know, I am a band teacher at an elementary school. I have an older sibling who, after bouncing between several jobs, also went into education and got a master's degree in secondary mathematics (you know, Algebra, geometry, calculus, and other things that go bump in the night). We both did our student teaching at the same middle school, went to the same graduate school, and even found jobs in the same school district. I got a teaching job right out of school, but my brother has been laboring as a long-term substitute between different middle & high schools for almost two years. He's thinking about leaving and going into finance (he has a bachelor's double degree in math & economics) even though he doesn't have a particularly big network outside of the school district where we work. When I talked with him about it, he said that he just doesn't know what he wants to do and wants to "keep his options open." I agreed, but I countered that if he leaves it may be hard for him to get a teaching job in that district ever again. He said at this point there are too many unknowns. I don't know...he just seems indifferent about it, like he doesn't care about what happens anymore. I've brought this up to a few of my colleagues who said that he should keep working as a sub until a full-time job comes along.

By seeing what my brother is going through, I've realized how tough it is for people to get jobs these days and how unfair life can be for some people. I was lucky and happened to be in the right place at the right time. I got my job because somebody retired after 35 years of teaching band. My brother wasn't so lucky, and even thought he busts his *** every day to get the work done and help his kids succeed, he still gets paid much less than he deserves. He doesn't even have a salary or benefits, but he's been expected to do most of the things that full-time teachers do. What can I do to help him out? Does anybody have suggestions? It hurts me to see him doing so much for so little, and I fear that he might be burning out before he's even starting working full-time.
EDIT: I'm tagging Reverend Brian aka @fuzzygobo so that he can offer some wise words of advice.

 

[fuzzygobo]

I'll definitely pray for your brother. If he thinks he might do better in finance, by all means pursue it. Maybe a full time opening will turn up. But don't quit teaching until he secures something else.A teaching job still might open up, probably when he least expects it.
I really don't believe in luck. Yes, you were fortunate to get a job right off the bat. Everyone is where we are for some purpose. We can't always understand why.You were destined to be a band teacher. Your brother- his path might have been harder to test his commitment and patience. See if teaching really is for him.Keeping your options open is good. At least being a substitute can give him the flexibility o look into finance while still bringing something in.
A consultant would charge you five hundred bucks for this advice.
No charge here.

 

[D'Snowth]

Somebody pointed something out on Discord today that was . . . interesting, to say the least: fandoms aren't toxic, fans are toxic.

That sounds very similar to the same logic that brought us: guns don't kill people, people kill people.

 

[LittleJerry92]

As a group, yes, fandoms are toxic.

Individual fans aren’t because you do have your good apples.

 

[cjd874]

I'll definitely pray for your brother. If he thinks he might do better in finance, by all means pursue it. Maybe a full time opening will turn up. But don't quit teaching until he secures something else.A teaching job still might open up, probably when he least expects it.
I really don't believe in luck. Yes, you were fortunate to get a job right off the bat. Everyone is where we are for some purpose. We can't always understand why.You were destined to be a band teacher. Your brother- his path might have been harder to test his commitment and patience. See if teaching really is for him.Keeping your options open is good. At least being a substitute can give him the flexibility o look into finance while still bringing something in.
A consultant would charge you five hundred bucks for this advice.
No charge here.

Thank you Brian! I would honestly pay you for that advice. I needed to hear something comforting after seeing him struggle to get his career going. And in the future...you (and my other forum pals) can call me Doug. Not sure if I've revealed my name yet, but it's about time I suppose.

 

[LittleJerry92]

I was honestly looking for a name to put on you lol.

 

[minor muppetz]

Spoiler about the last episodes of St. Elsewhere and Newhart, though they are among the most famous “last episode spoilers” of all time.

fans (and even cast members) have considered the St. Elsewhere finale among the worst ever, while fans consider the Newhart finale among the best ever, and yet they’re both the same kind of twist - the entire series was all just a fantasy/dream. And they are among the main things that get brought up when the shows are discussed (the ending twists might be better known than the shows or last episode plots themselves).

and both are MTM series.

Speaking of which, with St. Elsewhere having many crossovers with other shows (which may or may not have had their own crossovers as well) and being the imagination of a kid, people tend to say/joke that the other shows are just part of a fantasy. But couldn’t the kid have just been exposed to all those shows, therefore they’re in his mind while he’s daydreaming his own worlds?

 

[minor muppetz]

In Home Alone 2, while it’s understandable that Harry and Marv would want to kill Kevin when they see him unexpectedly, it might have been in their best interest to just not confront him at all, since their goal was to just lay low, steal cash, and get passports. If they didn’t go chasing after Kevin, he woudln’t have found out about their plan or gotten it recorded (and wouldn’t have had to outsmart them again).

Though to be fair, it was Marv who told Kevin the plan as they were planning to kill him, Harry didn’t seem to approve of telling him (and Marv typically says things to first incriminate them).

 

[D'Snowth]

Harry and especially Marv weren't that bright.

 

[minor muppetz]

In Aladdin, after Genie is free, he asks Aladdin to wish for something to see if he’s truly free. However, Aladdin had already used up all three wishes (unless Genie had decided not to count Aladdin’s wish to be saved from drowning). So regardless of whether Genie was free, he wouldn’t have had to grant Aladdin’s wish (or anyone else’s, as none of the others let him out of the lamp).