it is fun. swing by the beignet place in the new orleans area and get one of those or a mint julep, then mosey on to haunted mansion while eating that, then after that, splash mountain to finish it off.
that was a standard circuit for me, haha
Had the beignets for the first time in 2019. They are fucking incredible
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In case it wasn’t clear, I was not writing a completely serious post.
I mean, you’re right, but then a lot of zoos nowadays have really good enclosures and programs for the great apes. “good” is relative, of course, and I’ve seen one or two pretty bad cases (Oakland Zoo at least 20 years ago had a very small space for chimps, and at least like 15 years ago the San Diego wild animal park didn’t really have a decent place for the gorillas to hide and the gorillas really do not like to be constantly eyeballed - it’s very much a sign of aggression for them), but there are many exhibits I think are really pretty good for them.
The LA zoo (the one I’ve been to the most) had a really big rebuilding of the gorilla exhibit during the time we were going and the result was really good.
Some animals I think never do well in zoos though…especially elephants and tigers. They need to roam.
In CA anyway schools have to spend basically the same money on students in rich areas and poor areas. The schools in rich areas make up for some of this by having the PTA/Ed Foundation pay for some things, but there are restrictions on what they are allowed to pay for. The Ed Foundation in Manhattan Beach raises about $1000/student. In case you’re wondering if it’s a rich area or not, they raise about $1M/year with a wine auction.
My wife’s family is like all public school teachers.* There’s a pretty good chance one of my kids will be a public school teacher. They pretty much all like doing it and the pay/benefits aren’t that bad. My eldest is going back and forth between applying to Medical School and going into teaching right at this moment.
(*) 7 of them that I can think of offhand and she doesn’t have a huge family.
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So basically rich pricks subsidize their own schools on the side so they can keep fucking over the poor kids?
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gl with that, I hope America learns to respect teachers more.
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We moved here when my first born was going into 2nd grade. The school was full. They were very strict about class sizes. 3 kids that year, including my kid, had to go to a school in the same district, but not the one down the street from us. One of the parents offered to pay for a teacher for a new class. Yes, their entire salary. They weren’t allowed to do that. You can only pay for some things. But, like equipment, field trips, music/art…stuff like that gets money from the parents.
in CA at least, with the proper credentials, you can make a really decent living as a teacher. I don’t know her exact income, but an old coworker with a master’s in education made 6 figs easily teaching 5th grade, from what I recall.
my sister was a CA public school teacher and did ok. not rich, but it’s an ok living.
I think my sister-in-law makes like $98k or something. When you figure in the vacation time and what is still a good retirement (though that may change), it’s not that bad. She’s been teaching elementary school for about 25 years.
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with basically unlimited job security too, plus not to mention not really ever needing to job hop, I wouldn’t fault anyone for taking that path. there’s also routes to becoming an administrator and those guys make $$$.
sorta wish I had gone more that route these days, I got paid as a freelance tutor in college and enjoy teaching people stuff.
My sister got her degree in music and then spent a year or two getting her teaching credentials. I remember it being kind of hard for her to get into it, but once she did, she was set. I remember early-ish she didnt have much say in what schools she taught at.
she gave it up to raise her kids, which I thought was a mistake, but that’s none of my business.
I volunteered a bit at an elementary school when I was in college, thinking I might go into teaching and in a world where not everyone would be wondering if I were a pedo or if I were a woman, I’d probably have done that. I think being like a K-5 teacher would be fun.
my sis did second grade and loved every part of it but said there’s two really awful things about it -
- seeing obvious signs of neglect or abuse but being unable to do anything
- dealing with shitty parents in meetings
The ansewr here is a prett clear yes. The large majority of NYC families could not consider paying 4 figure school supply budgets. In wealthier neighborhoods, private school tuition is over 50k.
Also, you are never going to guess where the funds for Central Park come from!
My mom teaches preschool in a Catholic school in a pretty wealthy suburb and besides the money being crap it’s a great gig. The class sizes are small, very good insurance, everyone knows each other, the parents are very involved (in a good way), they’re always paying for classroom stuff and once or twice a week buying the teachers lunches. Although my mom always bristles if I suggest they should pay her more instead of getting free lunches and Starbucks gift cards.
The difficulty of teaching in America comes with the range of responsibilities a teacher has. They’re basically 5 jobs in one.
Teachers are a mix of parents, child services, professors, psychologists, and police officers in one person in America. For so many of my friends teaching in America, they spend more time doing things outside of teaching (lots of paperwork) than actually teaching.
That’s the type of stuff that keeps me from teaching in America. I don’t teach in America and I enjoy being able to focus on actually teaching and having the freedom to teach what I want to teach rather than what the Department of Education tells me to. I also have the joy of not taking work home with me and I don’t have to pay for school supplies for my students. Of course, I don’t have to conduct school shooter drills and find myself risking my life against some maniac with an AR-15. Obviously, my pay is less but I don’t have the same stress that teachers in America appear to have
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This is kinda cool.
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