growNman
growNman
I am growNman 94
Our discussion doesn't stop there. We also delve into the importance of teaching financial literacy and structuring learning environments, even in challenging conditions. Sharing experiences from the classroom, we highlight the significance of fostering discipline and perseverance in children, despite obstacles like extreme temperatures and lack of resources. By creating engaging educational spaces and promoting continuous improvement, we aim to inspire both parents and educators to help children take control of their futures and work diligently toward their dreams. Tune in for a candid exploration of these vital topics and more.
what up, though, and welcome back to. I'm growing man. It's your man, john d, in the building. Um, I wanted to get on here and try to clarify something.
Speaker 1:There's a couple of posts where women are really coming in my life, because my wife and I are discussing if it's okay if your kids have family members and if they feel like they shouldn't, then they shouldn't. Like. Women say that kids know instincts and stuff like that, and it's not that I don't. I don't disagree with that at all, but I feel like if I'm putting you around some family members, like I trust these family members, so if I'm wrong, then I don't want to be around these family members and I want to know how many women are willing to do that Cause I'll tell you this I don't want to be around anybody that's preying on my family, like it doesn't even make sense, and I feel like, uh, when women say that they shouldn't be able to hug you, they know some intuition that we don't know. Then why are we putting them around? That? You know this isn't a cause of fight at all, but I know that I'm willing to lose family members or friends. Anybody that would endanger my, like the mental capacity of my family, anybody for that matter. So I would like to stand on it that I feel like I want my kids to hug their family members because, you know, some of the hang ups were, like you know, they get anxiety or whatever they make they creep them out, or something like that. Some of the hangups where, like you know, they get anxiety or whatever they make they creep them out, or something like that, like what is creeping about?
Speaker 1:You know, I remember there were reasons I didn't want to hug family members, but I look back on it, it was just because a lot of them were being that had beards and they didn't shave it. And then when they hugged me, they always would like rub their face and scratch my face. You know what I'm saying, and they used to used to bother me, but that was the way that they showed their affection. You know they loved me. You know what I'm saying. I look back and and I can, I can appreciate me hugging for that. That that case.
Speaker 1:So to give a kid permission to say who they can and can't hug under your watch, it's, it's crazy to me like why are they around? I wish my wife you know what I think she and I don't have to have another conversation, but I do want you guys to understand this the conversations my wife and I have it's not to like who's right. It's how can we move forward and make better decisions for our kids. And I feel like a lot of times, because I'm not really good at communicating, a lot of my words sound like this is the only way it has to be, that people can use my words against me, that people can use my words against me and I'll end up defending something that I only was trying to make the best decision with the information that I had, and sometimes, again, I'll get attacked, even from my wife. But I understand this is the way that I communicate. I'm working on it because I don't want anybody to think that I only know the only way. I'm just trying to figure out. If we talk more and communicate it as people more, maybe we could see what don't work.
Speaker 1:A lot of us is just out here just trying to figure it out. So the idea that I'm around, maybe I just don't see why my kids should be able to not hug family members unless they got in an argument or something. But just like you ain't never met this family member, you're not gonna hug them because you, whatever reason I don't know, I don't understand how we can. Well, I guess, I guess I don't know. You know before, I remember hearing stories about. You know the messaging. I can't say so much me, to be honest, in my family, but I do know hearing stories about those uncles or older cousins or whatnot that people gave them nicknames for, like Chester Molester, and all of that. Like I don't understand how you can just swoop down under the rug and I come from the generation that they probably continue to do that, but I just I don't know. I don't know I'd have to, like I would have to just have more information to feel like we can give our kids the autonomy to make those decisions in that capacity.
Speaker 1:Like I don't know, maybe I well, I know that I'm blind because I know there are a million situations that I have no, no clue about. But I'm saying, as their parent, I feel like I'm, my job is to protect them. And what do they know that I don't know. And if whatever they know they're into't know, and if whatever they know they're into, like is it wrong? If it's wrong, what are we going to do? Like this could be offensive, whatever it is, let's say, if it's right as their parent, that's the end of the relationship until my kid feels anything other than. But I don't want my kid to feel any type of anxiety or pressure with who they hug or are around. That doesn't make sense to me. So I think I think that me and my wife are gonna go dwell, delve back into um this conversation so I can get a better understanding, because you know, she and I are on the same team and we don't. We don't argue to be right, we argue because there's a misunderstanding. But ultimately we want to come to an understanding that we can pass on our kids like hey, this is the best information we got from the experiences we had. So it's not about me being right. I don't want anybody to ever think that now.
Speaker 1:At one point I did practice poor communication skills and it was all about me thinking I was right. But now I just move and I try to speak with with a voice that wants to learn and share information. That's it. And I know sometimes it sounds like I'm arrogant and coming off real pompous and that's just personalities that I used to have in my former life, like I used to like, live like that. But now you know, life has slowed down and I'm blessed and I don't believe anybody deserves that type of energy for me. So I just wanted to get out here and try to understand a different view on why kids can say they're not going to hug somebody because of whatever feeling they got, and, as a parent, why we continue to put them in a situation like that and that I don't understand. So I guess me it's just me being arrogant, thinking that I'm protecting my kids better than they can protect themselves, and I still believe that they have enough information to do. Well, I mean, that's just because we're parents, we're supposed to be raising them, so all of a sudden they get this instinct that we lost or something over time. I don't know. I just, I just hope that all the parents I know will do everything they can to protect them from those situations. You know, like I don't know. Oh yeah, I do want to jump on this. This is my.
Speaker 1:I just completed some of the best days of my life as a teacher. Can't lie, but it's a hiccup and I hate butts, but it's. It's disturbing me where people took things in the wrong way and just learning my personality because I used to be like a really cool educator, like like I. I wasn't. I don't think I was high stress, I was real laid back. As long as I could relate to the kids and try to give them information, I created great relationships. But this this year these kids are by far it's crazy Like they're really the best group of kids I've had like in a week, like just learning. So they because they know it's like my class has rules. As long as you play in the rules, you can't ever fail at anything. You know what I'm saying no inappropriate language. If you got inappropriate language, apologize, say my bad. I tell them like new options, like when they're trying, like they know, then you know.
Speaker 1:I remember some kids used to think like I've been listening to kids and I'm like hey, I know I'm the only adult in this room and I'm not and I don't curse, so if I hear it it's just automatically like, hey, watch them out. And they was like oh, that do make sense. Like we ain't supposed to be cursed, yeah, so letting them know this. It was like oh, that do make sense. Like when are you supposed to be cursed? Yeah, so letting them know this. It was like aha, like I'm like trying to like give these aha moments where they can appreciate where they are, because right now they're learning to learn. They're learning structure, what helps them. I got them going. I'm teaching them this that they're supposed to create a routine for whatever they want. I was like you could be a millionaire by my senior year, but you have to create a routine to develop that and I'm like this is probably the best time to do it because they're at home and like their free time.
Speaker 1:I look back at my childhood. I would have loved to have become so good at something that people would want to pay me at a young age. You know, I know that that wouldn't have been a good thing for me because I definitely would have blew all of that money. I just think about how ignorant I was as far as just finances and you know they got better over time, without a doubt. But I've blown so much money that I'm trying to teach these kids how to become more financially literate. But I'm showing them the process of what it takes to become so good in an area that people will want to pay you.
Speaker 1:And I was like, if you really want that life, you don't have to go to college. You can go to college to get more information in that area, but if you could create a routine and work on it every single day and you really enjoy working on it it can't do nothing but become better and better and over the course of time you're going to become an expert in that area and if you continue to work, you're going to open up so many doors for yourself that when they do decide to go to college let's say, if somebody decided to take what I'm saying seriously, I'm like preaching 10,000 hours all of this by the time they go to college if they want, somebody's going to pay them to go because they've accumulated so many hours. And they have this imagination that most adults lose when they start working in the real world. Think about me. Adults are in the hamster wheel. They work the same job every day and the pay stays the same and that's it. You just might get a raise and might get a bonus, but overall you're working for this pay. They don't have no side hustle as far as like working on something where you put those hours in and then at some point you become so good in it that you don't have to worry about this day-to-day anymore because the love of whatever you have came to life.
Speaker 1:And I told him I was like I am not a millionaire. I said, but I do believe I understand the process of how to become one. And I said I'm in it right now. I said I've been working on my craft and I've documented in that that's. They got a little a journal. They have to document every single day. And I was like if you, if you in your journal, if you didn't do anything, you gotta say I didn't do anything, so that when you do ever mature and you'll be able to be like this is why I'm not a millionaire, because I wasn't doing the things I was supposed to do.
Speaker 1:So I'm trying to get them in a mindset just planning to see like if you really want something, you got to go get it. And I was like like who teaches their kids this? And at the end of the day, I want them to be successful in the mindset that whatever teacher I go to, they're trying to give me something. I'm going to go get it If, lucky, I build a relationship and they give me even more. But I want them to know that every adult wants to be that teacher. They just don't really know how to communicate that because of whatever reasons. But if you can make education fun, you create a relationship where they buy into it, your, your product.
Speaker 1:It looks different and that's the reason why I believe that this year is crazy, but I was really. This is what I was really. You know like. This is how this I've given them this information. I got great relationships. I got kids coming up to me introducing themselves. I don't even have them, but the downfall, the butt part, they have no air conditioning now and I'm gonna tell you this I was blessed enough to have a pick of whatever school I wanted to go to, right, and I said I'll just go to the one closest to me and I'm blessed. I think I said these kids are awesome, the staff are even better and I really enjoy. You know what they got over there and I wish I could describe a type of complaining that I've been doing that I haven't done in a long time. I don don't complain, I really enjoy life.
Speaker 1:This thing is really when I tell you I wore a shirt and tie on Monday. I know they don't got hair, but I'm trying to create this mindset on Mondays I can stay clean throughout the week. Whatever. I can show a different type of wardrobes of what men wear and then on friday, dress down, put some sneakers on jeans, show them like you know, whatever. But on monday I wore a shirt and tie. A lot of people said, nice bow tie, hey, you look really nice, debonair, whatnot.
Speaker 1:But when I tell you it was so hot, like I was thinking, thinking like so this is water bottle, like tip, this is like 50, 50 ounces, like I was, by the end of the day I completed like three of them and like I didn't do any jogging, I didn't do any type. Look, it was that hot and I'm not really understanding why that was. That information wasn't revealed. But I'm so hurt because I don't understand, like I'm going to stay to the end of the year, but I won't. I won't come back. Yeah, honestly, I feel like it's unfair, like we expect these kids to like learn in uncomfortable temperatures for adults and you we're trying to teach kids to take tests and succeed in unbearable conditions. This is what's so crazy.
Speaker 1:I know people that's been more than five years and I don't understand. So that's why I wanted to get out here letting y'all know that by far the best and worst part of a school year that I've ever experienced, and those are some extremes. The best is credit. That's remarkable, to be honest. The best part because I've had some great years. The worst, that might be like I don't even know what. The second works with me because I know I kind of describe myself as having some some tough days and I didn't have any tough years. I don't know why I said that. I just I don't know.
Speaker 1:I guess this, this look, when you work in temperatures like this, it make you, make you just like talk outside of your neck. I'm glad I was able to correct myself like I don't have bad days. Oh, I didn't have bad years or bad beginnings, but this year is by far the best beginning I've ever had. Like I don't have bad days. Oh, I didn't have bad years or bad beginnings, but this year is by far the best beginning I've ever had. Like I just feel like I'm able to teach a routine and teach math where they understand. I tell them look, we, we go hard the first four days. We see what we got. On the fifth day you earn 20 minutes of free time when we go outside like they was like for real. I'm like, yeah, that's easy work, I just need you to do what you need to do.
Speaker 1:But this heat temperature went down that day and it looked at my it was how about this? It's? I think it was like 81 degrees today. So that means what on? Where I was had to be like 86 87 maybe, like whoever can teach in this, this uh temperature, and not think anything of it. I admire you and you deserve a raise and I don't know, maybe I'm supposed to learn a different way to teach and become better. And I'm out here just complaining right, I gotta make lemonade, that's what they say, right? But I'm telling you I really do believe this is like conditions that I don't know. Like is this like? Is this regular? It's like my 22nd year and I've I've never worked in a building that didn't have air conditioning. I'm shit, but I love the school. Y'all make today better than yesterday. Don't worry about anything you can't control G-A-T-A. Get after that action or that action Won't get after it. Be great on purpose Go.