25. Why A Public School Teacher Chose Homeschool And What She Wants Every Parent To Know

We bring on Megan, a Texas elementary instructional specialist and former classroom teacher, who explains why she’s leaving the classroom to homeschool and what parents don’t see day to day. We compare school as it is with what kids actually need—sleep, protein, movement, and long blocks of unstructured play.

• why a veteran teacher chose homeschool now
• how tech in early grades shapes attention and behavior
• full-day kindergarten, lost naps, and rushed lunches
• sugar-heavy breakfasts and ADHD symptom spikes
• hallway silence rules and school as compliance training
• parent disconnection from teachers 
• message overload, dress-up days, and hidden mental load
• ineffective consequences, eloping, and classroom safety
• why homework fails tired kids and families
• system pressures that burn out teachers and parents

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Transcript

Why We Chose Homeschool;

SPEAKER_00 0:00

I don't like all of the technology that's in schools. I don't like all of the behaviors that my kids are exposed to. The stress that the teachers are under is really hard. As a parent and a teacher, like it's it's I'm kind of in this thing where I understand both sides. It's just it's very, very difficult.

SPEAKER_03 0:22

We are two full-time working parents who just made a crazy decision.

SPEAKER_04 0:27

After four years in public school, we're homeschooling our three kids and documenting the whole thing.

SPEAKER_03 0:33

Never in a million years did I think we would be homeschool people.

SPEAKER_04 0:37

Welcome to, well, this wasn't the plan podcast.

SPEAKER_05 0:41

I'm sleep, and school's in the kitchen now. I'm Scotty. We saw Scott when I say so. I'm a sailor, and this whole podcast was my idea.

SPEAKER_04 0:55

This podcast is our real-time journey. Unexpectedly juggling homeschool, jobs, parenting, and everything in between.

SPEAKER_03 1:03

Follow along each week as we document how it's going and share the good, the bad, and the ugly. Because we know some days are going to be ugly, and we're not holding back.

SPEAKER_04 1:14

We're learning to expect the unexpected. So let's get into it.

unknown 1:18

Let's go.

Meet Megan, Teacher Turned Homeschooler;

SPEAKER_03 1:22

We talk a lot about homeschooling from our side on this podcast, but today you're going to hear from someone who's been inside the classroom every single day. It's a really big episode because we're bringing on our first guest, Megan. She's a public school teacher here in Texas who spent nine years in the classroom and now is stepping out of the classroom to homeschool her own kids. So she brings a very unique perspective from inside the classroom and she's helping us understand what the school experience looks like for kids and teachers today. I'm excited for this conversation. So excited. To start, can you just tell everybody a little bit about yourself and share about your teaching background, your family, all of that good stuff?

SPEAKER_00 2:06

Hey Taryn, thanks so much for having me.

From Respiratory Therapy To Teaching;

SPEAKER_00 2:08

I'm so glad to be here. My name's Megan, and my current role right now is an elementary instructional specialist, which is just a really fancy phrase for someone who supports the teachers. I work for a small district, and this is my first year being out of the classroom. So for the past eight years, I was in the classroom in the trenches. I've taught pre-K, kindergarten, first grade, and my last year was in fourth grade. I'm a mom to two beautiful girls who are four and eight. So a second grader, and then my four-year-old goes to daycare. She is not old enough for pre-K yet. And my husband is a firefighter.

SPEAKER_03 2:46

So I want to know what led you into teaching, and then now what basically led you away from teaching? What made you change your mind?

SPEAKER_00 2:54

My first like dream job was to be a teacher. When I was a kid, I would set up my stuffies and I would teach them, and I just loved it. And my mom was like, You do not want to be a teacher, Megan. Like, don't do it. And so I did it. She was like, You really should do something in healthcare. So I went to school. I actually played golf in college, and I had my plan was to do nursing school, but it didn't work out to play golf and do nursing school at the same time. So I switched to be respiratory. And so my first career was a respiratory therapist, and I'm grateful for that because that's how I met my husband. So we both graduated from respiratory school. We moved to the big city and we worked in pediatric and neonatal respiratory therapy. So I've always loved kids. I knew regardless, whatever I was gonna do, I was gonna work with kids. We worked in intensive care units in Dallas. Big, you know, really high adrenaline job. After living in Dallas for a few years, we realized that this was not a place we wanted to have a family. Where my husband was from and where we graduated college, we just moved back there. In order to do that, though, we both had to change careers because they don't have pediatric and neonatal intensive care units, and neither one of us wanted to work with adults. So we went back to school and we just randomly decided to do this too, like on a trip. We were just driving home, and we just I signed up to go to training to be a teacher, and he signed up for the Fire Academy, and we just changed our life like that. So I love that so much. That's awesome. It's kind of crazy. That's how I got back into teaching. I was finally like, you know what, mom, I'm doing it. You know, I just kind of was like, it's happening.

Boundaries, Burnout, And Parent Apps;

SPEAKER_00 4:39

And I was so excited to be able to have a career that I could be more present because when you are a respiratory therapist, you work three twelves, and it was really hard for me. I'm like a person that needs a schedule like every single day. And on those four days off, and a lot of times we would work extra days too, but on any days off, you were just so tired, and also I just couldn't figure out how to schedule things around. And so I was really looking forward to having like, you know, seven to three jobs that I can be a little bit more functional. Little did I know that teaching takes so much brain power and so much time and thought outside of the classroom that it's actually been it's actually been really hard. If you have students who are difficult or parents who are difficult, sometimes I would like just replay like events and like how I handled it, or you know, I could have said that better, or and the other thing was it's like there's apps that parents and teachers can communicate with, and there's not really good boundaries on that. I think teachers have gotten better over over that, like like setting their office hours and things now. But like I would be sitting at the dinner table and I would get a message from a parent and it would upset me, and I would feel like I would have to respond, and then I would uh not be even present with my own family. And so I've learned to set those boundaries now, but as a new teacher, it was really hard.

Faith, Anxiety, And The Leap Home;

SPEAKER_03 6:07

So, was there a moment where you realized that you wanted to stop teaching and you wanted something different for your kids, or was it just a lot of things? What made you want to step away?

SPEAKER_00 6:19

Man, there are really so many things, it's hard to pick. First of all, it's not an easy choice. I'm 34, I've already changed my career once. My husband's like, what are we gonna do for retirement? Like, hello. So we live in a society where we really need two working parents. And he's like, You can't just stay at home with our kids. Like, what are you talking about? So we've been talking about this for a long time, and something has just finally worked out that I'm going to be able to work from home. And honestly, listening to your podcast has really given me the courage to do it as well. I'm like, well, they can do it, I can do it too. And they're so there are so many working parents who make it work, and just hearing that just made gave me the courage too. In September, I found my way back to church. I was just like, man, I haven't been to church in a couple years. I really, I just felt the urge to go back. And ever since then, God just really put it on my heart. He was like, you need to homeschool your girls, and you're gonna need to figure out we're we're gonna figure this out together, you know? And so I was applying for different things. I was like, okay, I can be a remote teacher, I can teach via Z, you know, there's all these different companies. And so I've applied for probably 10 different remote teaching jobs, and they're like, We're you're not the right fit for this, or this isn't going to work. And I'm a person who, when I interview for something, I get the job. And so that was really not to sound braggy or anything, but it was, I was like, man, okay, I guess this really isn't my path. And then what I'm actually going to be doing just kind of fell into my lap, and I think it's gonna be so much better, and there's huge potential for growth. My second grader has a lot of anxiety, a lot of anxiety, and so she's

Tech Overload And Attention Crises;

SPEAKER_00 8:03

she actually is fine, truly. Like, she hasn't asked to be homeschooled because I don't think that she really knows that's a thing. I've been talking about it every so often, and so she knows that it's on my mind for sure. I don't like all of the technology that's in schools, I don't like all of the behaviors that my kids are exposed to. The stress that the teachers are under is is really hard. As a parent and a teacher, like it's it's I'm kind of in this thing where I understand both sides. It's just it's very, very difficult. So there's been a lot of things. I've gone down some rabbit holes on what actually is being taught in the classroom, and I'm not a huge fan of of some of the things, and so there's just so many different things that have led to this, but truly, like the biggest thing is just God really put it on my heart, and then I found your podcast and different things that have just kind of given me the courage that I can do this.

SPEAKER_03 9:03

I love that, and I know it's really hard to answer that question. It's just there's so many little things. It wasn't for us, it came out of left field, and they're like, oh, there must have been something that happened with a teacher or something. And I'm like, no, no, no, there really wasn't. It just was all the little tiny little reasons that added up. I was the same way. It had been on my heart for a long time. Like I tried to start a school at some point, and Carson wouldn't let me and try to do all of these things, but really what was coming out was that I just wasn't happy with what we were doing, and I just didn't know how to fix it. And I had said, in in a different world, I would homeschool the kids. And he just kind of chuckled, like, well, you work, so how how the heck would you homeschool our children? So I think it did take like the kids getting just being unhappy to for me to take that that was already on my heart and like go for it. Because I think what a lot of

Kindergarten Now Feels Like Boot Camp;

SPEAKER_03 9:55

people don't realize is that when you're already in it, like you are, and I was, it's really hard to take a step back because you're in you're invested and you are with people that are invested. And then those people kind of feel like you are saying that what they're doing is not a good idea anymore. And it they kind of, or at least for us, it kind of made them feel like insulted that we chose something. But I felt that for sure. Yes. And it's hard because you're obviously you're just making the the best decision for your family, but that's kind of how people take it. Whereas if you start from homeschooling and you're just like, I'm a homeschooler, that's who I am, you have a little bit of a different path. So no path is easy for homeschooling, but I do I do want to point that out that that's part that I didn't really expect. But that's why it's so hard to tell everyone and to like make this decision, even if you you feel very strongly that you should, it's still very difficult to do.

SPEAKER_00 10:55

Yeah, and like it's funny because in my heart I know it's what's right for me, I know it's what's right for my family. And then you like tell someone about it and you're so excited, and they just kind of stare at you like, are you racing?

SPEAKER_03 11:09

Yeah, they they say, How are you gonna be around your kids all day? And you're like, I don't know, like, but I'll I'll figure it out.

SPEAKER_00 11:17

It's just too funny. But I I totally get the I feel like people kind of go in defense mode, like, oh, well, I couldn't do that because, and truly, like, if if you're listening to this and you don't want to homeschool your kids, that is okay, you know? Yeah, like you do what's right for you. But as a working mom, I am so tired. I am tired of running all over the place, and that has been on my heart too. Like, I'm just exhausted. I mean, leave the house. I have to leave my house by 6:45 in the morning and get my kids to daycare, get my youngest to daycare, and then I have to be at my school at my post, happy and greeting kids by 7:15. And then I don't get home until 4:30. And it's just like we're constantly running, running, running. And then you've got dance practice and all of these things. And I know you have spoken about this at length that like kids just they need sleep, and

Free Play As A Daily Essential;

SPEAKER_00 12:10

and you know, we do our best to make sure that that happens, but it's it's exhausting making sure that they get a healthy meal, and then you pack them healthy food in their lunch, and my kids get made fun of because their lunch smells weird or whatever because they have a bold egg in there, and yeah, it's just it's so hard. And we've always been people that kind of went against the norm. So, you know, just this is just one more thing.

SPEAKER_03 12:34

Yeah, you sound just like me. I know. I'm like, you know what? I keep having to do this over and over again. I guess sign me up again because here we go. So let's get into these schools and the inside scoop of it all. The first thing we want to talk about is just how schools have changed. So they seem very, very different to me. And it wasn't what I was expecting because I went to public school, and then I feel like that's what I was expecting to sign my kids up, and then a lot has changed. So I just want to hear, like from your perspective, how has elementary school changed in the last like 10 years that you've been there?

SPEAKER_00 13:12

The behaviors of students have gotten increasingly worse, and also the amount of technology that students are using at a very young age has gotten increasingly higher. So I don't know if there's a correlation there, but to me it seems like it. I think that as a teacher, it has gotten harder and harder and harder to keep the kids' attention. I am not as entertaining as their iPad. I'm not as fun and engaging as whatever three-second clip they're watching and they're used to. Their brains are going so fast, and so many of them, like the amount of parent-teacher conferences that I was having in kindergarten of kids who were ADHD has just astronomically increased. So I'm not a doctor, I

Hallway Silence And Rushed Lunch;

SPEAKER_00 14:02

can't speak to what has caused that, but I think technology has played a huge role, and and also as parents, we're a little bit more disengaged too, because of us having technology. So it's just this cycle that has been really, really difficult. My daughter, when she started pre-K, had never ever been on my phone, had never been on an iPad, had never been on a computer, nothing. She had, of course, watched some movies and things. We just kind of limited screen time, but she had never no idea how to work it. Yeah. In pre-K, she gets given a Chromebook, okay? And is just expected to know what to do. And you know, it's frustrating for the teachers when the kids don't know what to do on the Chromebook, but it's also so useful for the teachers to have those things because they have, you know, when a kid is starting pre-K or kindergarten or even first grade, there are so many different levels, right? And I think Carson has has spoken to this, how like really resonated with me when he was talking about how there should be a class for the kids who are behind and a class who for the kids who are on point and a class for the kids who are ahead. And as a teacher, I was like, yes, because it's so hard to meet every single one's needs when you have 20 little kids and they're all at such a different place. Yeah. The standards also. So now that I am in this position that I'm in, which is instructional specialist, I actually go to meetings with like people who work in the admin building and help organize all of the standards and things. So I teach in Texas and we have the TEE standards for every grade level. And then every district also provides some different curriculums and different things and pacing tools to help make sure that you're meeting all of those standards. Well, I think because in Texas kids are failing, like they're not where they should be, like in high school, that they're bringing

Sugar Breakfasts And ADHD Spikes;

SPEAKER_00 16:03

those standards down to lower grades. And so when I went to kindergarten, I went to half-day kindergarten. Like when half-day kindergarten, I think I learned my letters and we played. Yeah. That's pretty much the extent of it. And now it is full day. These kids are exhausted. There's no nap, nothing. Some schools implement purposeful play, which is just like center time where they can play with their friends. And some schools don't just because there isn't enough time. Snack and recess and lunch and specials and math and reading and science and all of these things that they have to get in in this day. And they're five. So many behavior issues, too, is because developmentally, they don't need to be in school for eight hours. Unstructured play is something that they need, and they just need to be outside, and that's just something that doesn't happen.

SPEAKER_03 17:01

I struggled with this a little bit when we started homeschooling because we do have a schedule and we have a routine, and that's because things have to be done every single day, and we have to make sure they all get done. But then it was like in the afternoon, we needed to get back to work a little bit, and I'm like, okay, what can they do now? Or what should I have them doing now? What I missed was the big picture. Nothing. I should have plenty of time every single day that they can do whatever the heck they want to do because that's what they were missing. And so now at first I was like, okay, in the afternoon, like I'm gonna be working again, like you guys need to do this, this, and this. And finally realized that what they need to do is have their school work in the morning, get it done. Everyone's done. My oldest loves to just get it done as fast as possible. So the rest of the day, she can do whatever she wants. And I feel like it truly has brought life back to her because she's 10, almost 11, and she just was never getting that like playtime. So now every single day they are getting, I don't know, anywhere from two to four hours to do whatever the heck they want to do. And I feel like it's been the best thing for them. But in my head, it was drilled in that I need to have them occupied and doing

Locked Doors And Distant Teachers;

SPEAKER_03 18:14

something all of the time, or like I was failing in some way. But I'm like, newsflash, Tieron, that's exactly what you signed up for, was to make sure that they don't have instruction all the time doing something. So I think that we somehow get it in our heads that if our kids aren't doing all of these things, we're a bad parent.

SPEAKER_00 18:30

And we're not, actually. Absolutely. You know, and I think it's it's going to be hard for me to like unlearn the fact that I don't have to entertain and plan for my kids for eight hours. But I'm like, if I can plan lesson plans to teach, you know, kids in fourth grade who still don't know all their letters, along with kids who have an eighth-grade comprehension level, I for sure can plan for my own two kids who are a couple years apart. Like it it will not be.

SPEAKER_03 19:08

Absolutely. You totally can. But I do think that it's hard to just get some of those things that have been ingrained in you out of your head so that you can get out of your own way and do what you actually know you should be doing.

SPEAKER_00 19:20

Yeah, it will take some time for sure. For sure. Absolutely. Being in this position that I'm in this year, I actually like walk around and I support teachers. And my goal is to improve tier one instruction, which is just general instruction that the teachers give to the whole class. And so I'm in and out of classrooms all day, and also my office is in the hallway with classrooms. And so I hear all of the things, and the kids have to walk quietly in the hall, and they they don't get to be kids. And being in this position has made me really, really realize that it's almost like boot camp. Like they just have to be quiet everywhere they're going, their line has to be straight, they have to stop at the end of the hall. And as a teacher, I was like that. I was like, you guys can't talk because other classes are learning. Like, we have to respect that. And I tried to always explain that to my kids that that was why, but they don't get it. All they know is

Dress-Up Days And Parent Overload;

SPEAKER_00 20:18

that this lady is telling them to stop talking all day.

SPEAKER_03 20:21

I think that does surprise parents. It did surprise me when I went and visited the school and had lunch with my kids. How they had like people walking around, kind of like wardens, and they're like, Be quiet, be quiet, be quiet, be quiet. And they're like, Okay, are you done? Are you done? Are you done? And then they're like, Okay. And they brought here come all the trash cans, and then they're souping up all the food. And I was like, Is that all the time you get? And Taylor's like, Yeah, mom. And it was so, so fast. And I was actually like kind of mad at my kindergartner because she wasn't eating her lunches. And I'm like, girl, no wonder you're grumpy when I pick you up. You didn't eat. And she kept being like, I didn't have enough time. And now I'm like, okay.

SPEAKER_02 21:02

I can speak to that. They really do not have enough time to eat. It's awful. So she was not lying to me. She was being truthful for sure.

SPEAKER_03 21:11

No. And with a five-year-old, I feel like you just need to give a buffer. Like, was she talking some? Absolutely. But I mean, you cannot expect a five-year-old just to sit there and get it done as quickly as possible without interacting with anyone.

SPEAKER_00 21:25

And to speak to how kindergarten was when I was a kid too, you know, it was half day. I think we got there at like nine and left at like 11. So you maybe didn't even eat a meal at kindergarten. And now you drop off your babies and they go to kindergarten and they get breakfast, and then it's free, right? The government provides free breakfast for everyone. And do you know that almost every single breakfast has at least 30 grams of sugar and no protein? That I'm supposed to keep these kids entertained.

SPEAKER_03 21:55

Yeah. I obviously am not a doctor either, but I've done a lot of research on. ADHD and they're like, it is so surprising how much what you eat the first meal impacts the symptoms of ADHD. Dude. And it's crazy because I and I have always noticed that with my daughter. She can't have like a sonic smoothie or something like that. Like my parents would take her to get like a slush and she would act like an absolute insane person. And I would tell them, she cannot have that. Like I'm not trying to be like super strict. I just I cannot parent her when she's like that. Well, you have these kids that are like, I feel like every day was donut day at school. And so, like you said, they are getting just an injection of sugar, no protein, anything like that to keep them sustained all day. And they're crazy.

SPEAKER_00 22:46

Yes. And then lunch is a lot of times gross, and the kids don't want to eat it. So their only thing that they have in their bellies is that toaster strudel pastry that has 30 grams of sugar in it and chocolate milk.

Homework Doesn’t Help Tired Kids;

SPEAKER_00 23:00

And then, you know, and then that they're grumpy and they're bouncing off the walls.

SPEAKER_01 23:05

And then oh wait, it's somebody's birthday, so you get a cupcake. It's always somebody's birthday, right? Always. There's 20%. Every single day.

SPEAKER_03 23:14

So I feel like something that's changed a lot from when I went to school to now is the interaction level with teachers. I think in kindergarten, my parents could come to the door and like talk to my teacher and things like that. And then when they dropped us off, they would either drop us off in the parking lot and we would run to the classroom ourselves, or they could go straight to the classroom. But now everything's locked down. Like I didn't see my kids' teacher all year unless it was like a class party or something like that. On a day-to-day basis, there was no face-to-face interaction with the teacher. So I would drop them off at the door. Parents are not allowed to go inside the school on drop-off. And then I would pick them up either in the car line or pick them up at the door. So once again, not seeing their teacher. To me, that felt just really strange because it just felt like I wasn't able to actually get to know the person that they're spending the majority of their time with. Like I just want to know, like coming from your perspective, like, do you think that that is a good thing that you're not getting interaction with the teachers, or do you think that it's a bad thing? Because for me, I just feel like it's just not I don't like it. I wish it was back to the way it was when I was in school.

SPEAKER_00 24:27

It's so hard because you know, it's all locked down and stuff because of school shootings and things, safety and and all of that. And so I get the reason. But I did start to feel very disconnected from my parents of my classroom. And that's why, you know, parents utilize the apps and and and talking on their on there. But there were times where, especially if a parent worked and a student went to after school care, that I never saw that parent once all year long. It is hard. It's really hard as a teacher to not have that bond with the parent and know, you know, because there are some parents who want to know a lot of things, and there are some parents who are just very disengaged. And I almost think like the public school system is now becoming more that they don't want parents involved. Like it, yeah, that's what it feels like to me. I don't like that. Another reason I want to homeschool.

SPEAKER_03 25:23

So and another thing

What Teaching Really Looks Like;

SPEAKER_03 25:25

that's changed, and I I just wanted to ask you about this, also, is just the amount of stuff that parents are doing in elementary. I thought, well, maybe it's been like this forever. I don't know. I wasn't a mom, but my mom is like, this is insane. Y'all are doing so many things. You have dress up days, you have all of these emails coming in, you have all of these things going on. And I'm like, mom, I can't keep up. I've got three kids in elementary school, I've got three parent squares, I've got group me, I've got emails coming in from the school, I've got every single day their folder comes home. I've got three more things that I have to do. I've got a project to do, I've got spelling words to go over, we've got glow day next week. Like, I'm like, I feel like I'm drowning. Like, how did you do it with four kids? And she was like, we didn't do all that stuff. She said, Y'all might have had one dress up day and it came home in the form of one flyer. Like that was it. Once again, I felt kind of scroogey. Like, I don't want to do all of this stuff. I don't want the fundraisers. I don't want the hundred days of school and the glow day and red ribbon week and book fair and Aunt Anne because I can't keep up as your mom. Like I can't get you ready to go to school and prepare all of these things because every single day one of my three kids had something extra that I needed to do. And I just was like losing it. I feel like you probably feel the same way as a teacher because you're the one having to send out messages and respond. But I would like to hear like your perspective on that. And do you feel like it's gotten out of control?

SPEAKER_00 26:53

So when I started teaching, I was pregnant with my first. And so it's been a progression as you know, I feel like I got better at teaching and

Consequences, Eloping, And Chaos;

SPEAKER_00 27:03

figuring out how to manage a classroom and parents and things just over time, but then also having my daughter experience things, I have it has improved my perspective, if that makes sense. Yeah. And I truly never thought about my parents having multiple kids in different grade levels. So as a teacher, you're like, this is what I need for my classroom. I'm so overwhelmed because I only get a 20-minute lunch break by the time I drop my kids off. I barely get a chance to pee. I've got a 45-minute conference period that I've got to plan for the next week. I've got to meet with a parent because their kid was, you know, you know, pushed someone and is really struggling. I've got to have a meeting with my principal because she's got something to tell me, and all this has to happen in 45 minutes, and then I got to go pick my kids up again. And so, real quick, let me message a parent because I don't have time to go to the store because I'm exhausted. And so I just never thought about the fact that, like, oh my gosh, they're paying these parents who have kids in multiple grades are getting messages from me and from two other teachers. And our school-wide message too would send out things. Plus, they're in some sport and all kinds of things. And so as I start, as I moved along, I stopped asking for things and I just kind of did it. And like, if we had a party, I just started asking parents to send in money instead of sending in stuff. And then I would just do a Walmart order myself because as a working mom who had a kiddo in elementary school, I just didn't realize how much of a burden it put on the parents. And not to say that like teachers have burdens too. Like it's it's exhausting being a teacher. It is so exhausting. But I don't think we had all of these dress-up days. I don't remember all of these things. I remember having maybe a program. I don't remember having a dress up day at all ever. No. And like my school this year had a dress up day every single day of December.

SPEAKER_03 29:02

Yes, we did that also and about killed me.

SPEAKER_00 29:05

Absolutely. And I think it's also principle-based, too. Some there are some schools that don't allow, like, they're like, don't ask the parents for stuff. And it's just kind of principal preference and principal awareness, too, that I've noticed since I switched schools.

SPEAKER_03 29:21

Yeah, that's good to know. And I don't know what the what the solution there is.

SPEAKER_00 29:25

It's just it's a both principals I worked for on an elementary school set like they did not agree with homework. And I was grateful for that just because the studies have shown that it the kids are done, they're not going to retain anything. And it's just, it just makes the parents feel like they're doing something to help.

SPEAKER_03 29:42

Yes. I do love that you brought that up because our school switched that. So they were doing a little bit, not a lot, but we would need to like review this or review that and like do your check mark in your folder at that day. And then that we went to a no homework school. And it was so much better for the parents because kids are done. They do they're not going to sit down with their parent and do things with them at night. And

Root Causes Of Behavior;

SPEAKER_03 30:05

if you are listening and you're thinking, I can't be my kids' teacher because we sit down at night and it's awful. Do not base it on how that goes at night because that was us. My daughter was in tears. And I'm like, dude, I'm just asking you to write one word. Like, I'm not trying to be mean or anything, and it was awful. And that's kind of how we felt was like, that's how it's gonna be, right? It's completely different when they've had a solid night's sleep and they've had a good breakfast, and then you start doing it. Like homework after they've been dysregulated all day and told what to do in your tiny little window that you have is just cruel and unusual punishment for every single person involved.

SPEAKER_00 30:43

Brutal.

SPEAKER_03 30:45

So can you explain to us like what a typical day is, a typical school day, what it actually looks like compared to like what maybe us as parents might think it looks like?

SPEAKER_00 30:54

There's nobody else in the room helping or managing or anything. So it's a lot of teaching the kids how to be independent. So if you are worried that you as a parent and you want to homeschool your kids, you're like, How am I gonna work while these kids are doing things independently? You just have to teach them. And if you don't have 20, it'll go way faster than six weeks. So a lot of it is just tea ex expectations. So as a teacher, if you demand those expectations and set those expectations and follow through with them, as the classroom teacher, I had to have consequences that were allowed, right? And also, so you have more leeway with that as a parent for sure. In kindergarten, it was it was the easiest for me to have consequences because at the end of the day, I had the kids had purposeful playtime where they would play in their centers. And it was unstructured. They could like go from centers to center and play with whoever as long as there weren't, you know, too many kids at each center, because that gets a bit chaotic. But that was in my back pocket all the time. Like if they interrupted me and they didn't, you know, or they weren't quiet in the hall, or they, you know, pushed their friends or whatever, then they would have to practice and go to practice academy during center time.

unknown 32:12

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 32:12

And it would only be five minutes because they're five, right? But still, them missing

When Teaching Feels Impossible;

SPEAKER_00 32:18

out five minutes of of playtime. That was something that I was able to use because the public school system, like there are really not a lot of consequences that you're allowed to do. And almost everything has to be framed in a positive, like you have to spin it into a positive sentence. So instead of saying, like, don't run in the hall, you have to say, Oh, we have to use walking feet. And it just it's exhausting to try to make everything so positive all the time. And then also the kids can kind of walk all over you too.

SPEAKER_03 32:48

Yeah. I was gonna ask that. This is actually on my list is that we've had some years where my kids have it seemed like their class was only classroom management. They had a kid that was like escaping from the classroom a lot. It was like chaos. And a lot of times they were taking her recess away as a classroom punishment, which I absolutely disagree with. I a hundred percent would agree with punishments. Like, I don't even like the positive language all the time. I like I'm very old school with parenting and stuff, but I hated that for her being having ADHD, I could tell the days that she came home and she didn't have recess. So I want to like hear from you on the behavior issue. And part of that is you have no other thing to do. And I get that. Like, what are you gonna do? How are you gonna discipline these kids? There's not a lot of tools in your pocket. It's like, what do you think that the behavior is stemming from? Because I mean, I have a lot of ideas, but I would like to hear like what you think it's coming from.

SPEAKER_00 33:45

It's crazy how young of an age that kiddos can figure out the system. Like they know, like the kids you said, like if you have a kiddo escaping. So I've never had a kid try to leave my class until the past five years, maybe like for the first four or five years I taught that was not an issue. But now there's kids eloping, that's what it's called.

The System Is Not Sustainable;

SPEAKER_00 34:08

They elope all the time. And you're just like, what is happening? You know? And so the number one thing that helps kiddos who are overreacting or having some sort of behavior thing, sometimes they get so frustrated they'll throw things or you know, take their shoes off, or I mean, these are things I have never seen until these past five years. It's traumatizing as a as a teacher, but I can't imagine what the other kiddos feel too seeing seeing these behaviors. And like my second grader, now second grader would come would talk to me about it. And it was interesting hearing her side, like they got so mad, they just threw the chair. And I'm just like, Yeah, I don't want my kid exposed to these things. It's scary. Something I've learned over the years is that kids aren't inherently bad, they're they are not made like that, like good, they are created. Nobody is created to be bad. No, they have seen things or they're traumatized by things, whatever it is, there's something wrong. So as a teacher, it took me years to figure that out though. I just would try to get to the root of the problem too, but it's really difficult because as a teacher, I have that relationship with the kiddo that nobody else in the school has, right? Like I've built that relationship, especially if you've been there for a few months. But if you need help because a kid's freaking out or a kid escaped, or a kid, you know, threw something or whatever, somebody else has to come in and take that kiddo. And then they're brought right back. And I think that was the hardest, most frustrating part for me as a teacher because a kid would push me or throw something or throw a shoe or push a kid, and then they would get to come right back to class after going to sit in the office and like writing a sorry note or something. Right. And so I feel like the kids know that there isn't a consequence, so they can do what they want. They also don't know how to regulate their emotions as good. And I think a lot of that has to do with technology, and then there's a lot of broken homes too. I kiddos from broken homes, in my experience as a teacher, had a lot harder time coping with their emotions than students from a home with two parents.

SPEAKER_03 36:26

There's a lot of factors, I would assume. How much of your day do you feel like is having to manage things like that versus being able to actually do your job?

SPEAKER_00 36:37

So much. And it's interesting too because being in the position that I am in, like my job as an instructional specialist is to help improve tier one instruction. So I look at lesson plans and I make sure that they have the best content that they can and that I help support them with their curriculum and different things. And there was a point this like probably October that I was like, my job is pointless because the teachers can't even teach. I, as a teacher, felt like that. I felt like defeated and it it was so frustrating. And there's years you have, I had a great class there, and I could teach everything that I was allowed to teach, and the kids learned it, and it was great. But that was probably two out of my nine years.

SPEAKER_03 37:19

Very rare now, and you feel the same way, like it's definitely getting worse for whatever reason.

SPEAKER_00 37:25

Whatever I yeah, yeah, I think there's a lot of factors, and I'm you know, not an expert in that, but I do think that it's like we have more and more and more ADHD kids, and studies have shown that ADHD kids need to be outside, they need to be moving and also not eating all the sugar, and like the public school system is just doing all of the opposite things, and so all the opposite things that they need. But and there's more and more ADHD, so it just seems very backwards to me. And I don't, especially in this position that I've been, I've got I've been able to see like all the different classrooms. I'm just like, this is not sustainable.

SPEAKER_03 38:01

I feel like the train's going in the wrong direction, and a lot of us are waking up going, oh no, we've got to save this train. But there's so many things in the in the way. Like, what do you what do you even do? Where do you even start? I feel like there's so many issues with the education system that we need to like scrap it and start over.

SPEAKER_00 38:19

Start all over. I agree. You said that once, and I was like, yes, that's the only fix because it's so, so, so far broken. Like it's so far down the track the wrong

Part One Wrap And What’s Next

SPEAKER_00 38:31

way that I don't I don't know how to come back from it.

SPEAKER_03 38:34

Well, guys, that wraps it up for part one of my discussion with Megan. We talked for so long that I had to break this into two episodes. So stay tuned for next week where we dive into some more really hot topics on public school and homeschool. And if you haven't done so already, please leave us a review. We haven't got one in a while, so we would love to see what you like about the podcast, if you're enjoying it, all of that good stuff. So please leave a review. And until next time, thank you so much for listening to. Well, this wasn't the planned podcast.

SPEAKER_05 39:08

We will work really hard on this podcast. Make sure to subscribe so you don't miss a single podcast episode. Thank you, have a good day.