Who Is Mr. Wilson… and Why Did We Almost Call CPS?

Andrea: [00:00:00] That started out so dark. That started out so dark you guys. Oh my gosh. How mortifying would that be if Child Protective Services showed up and you were like, sorry, Mr. Will, who is Mr. Wilson in this child's life?

Have you ever wondered what I would say if my mother. And my administrators weren't watching every single thing I do on social media. Well, that's exactly what my standup show is, and I'm gonna be coming to a town near you super soon. You can get tickets@educatorandrea.com slash tickets.

Hey, teacher besties. Welcome to How to Survive the Classroom. Um, I'm bringing in some chaotic energy today because I am a little sleep deprived. I have spent this week at Indiana State University, um, with a bunch of teachers, which has been so much fun. So, [00:01:00] in the state of Indiana, and there's a couple other states that do this, there's a teacher creativity fellowship that is put on by the Lily Foundation, the the lily.

I think Lilly is the name of the comp, like the org, like the company itself, and it's like a pharmaceutical company based out of Indiana, Indianapolis area. I just know they have a really big building in Indianapolis. I actually don't know if they're fully based out of there, but what I do know is they do a fellowship each year and so like a bunch of teachers, I think it's around a hundred and twenty, a hundred and twenty five teachers will write a proposal.

And we'll get to attempt to do something that renews them in some way to stay in the classroom. So it is, for a lot of people, it's things like, oh, I'm gonna go and I really love Italian food and I wanna go to Italy for five weeks and I wanna learn how to cook Italian food. And they get up to $15,000 for this grant to just go and.

Everything is covered by the grant as long as you've included it in your [00:02:00] proposal. Um, and then after they do this really cool creativity thing, um, every single year they also have the option to come back to this retreat and they've done it. Now I. Since the beginning of the, um, the, the grants start, they've done it at Indiana State.

And so when I started here, they asked me if I would wanna run one of the, the workshops. And so there's a bunch of different workshops. There's things like stained glass and. Um, I'm trying to remember because, uh, digital alchemy, which is where you're taking pictures and you're like putting it onto other things.

There's like a yarn one. There's another one where they like learned how to like roll sushi one day and then another day they did like a bunch of other, it's just so, so cool. Um, and so my workshop is basically learning how to do social media. Um. Which is really, really fun. And it's always fascinating to me because I, I, I don't know what, I guess when I first started doing it, this is my second year doing it, I thought that the people who sign up for that workshop would be gonna be people who like.

I [00:03:00] already had a start with social media, but weren't sure how to like navigate the trends and stuff like that. This time I had some people who had never put their phone on, like their camera, on their phone into selfie mode before. Um. And so we went from that into like, they started doing like lip syncs and had like all of these really, really cool things, um, that they did.

But it was also really fun being there because obviously like this is my, my demographic of people that I love to hang out with, um, and support is teachers. And it's just so funny because I had several people that came up to me and were like, oh, like I do recognize you. I don't follow you, but. I've, I think I've seen your videos and I'm like, cool.

Thank you. Like, that's awesome. And it's so funny the amount of times, and this is something I've talked to other creators about and um, other comics about, is that you will have people come up to you to tell you [00:04:00] they don't follow you. Which is such a funny thing to tell somebody and no one's doing it, like they weren't trying to be mean or anything like that.

It was just so funny 'cause it was like, Hey, I actually recognize you. So number one, I've seen your content. It's come across my page. I don't follow you though, which means they saw my content, it came across their page and they were. Nah. Which I think is so funny to tell somebody. But then also they would then say, I do follow, and then they'll list one of, you know, the other creators who I'm, I'm friends with so many of the teacher creators that are like in my niche.

And it was so funny 'cause over this break there was like a lot of teachers that mentioned Phil, who, Mr. Mr. Philip Lindsay sped, who is going to be touring with me, um, for the teacher's lounge. And it was just. So funny. The amount of people that were like, I have seen you. I don't follow you. I follow Phil.

And so I was like messaging Phil how much I [00:05:00] hated him because I'm like, this is so like, so petty of me to just be like, of all the people don't follow him. Like just bullying him when he is not there to defend himself essentially. Um, but it was really funny because. I had one of the teachers, um, was sharing some stories of things that happened to her in her time in the classroom.

Um, 'cause she's now kind of getting close to retirement and stuff. And she said there was one group that, um, she had a bunch of students that had a bunch of different colored hair and everything and she loved it. And so she was thinking she was gonna like dye the bottom of her hair. Purple. And so apparently she was like only kind of facing away talking to some kids and she told them that, um, she was gonna die dye her tips purple, DIPS tips.

But they of course heard t and so all the kids in that class, especially when she wasn't facing, we were like, did she just say that she's [00:06:00] gonna dye her tits purple? Like. That is insane. Um, it was, gosh guys, it was just so much fun. So this is like a happy, delusively, tired, I think, of just having so much fun and getting to see all these teachers relax and spend time together and all of that.

Um, also, I don't know. If you know how people make stained glass, but it is so hard. Um, I only get to do the stuff that's in my workshop, but I do walk around and like peek on what the other workshops are doing, and there was a group making stained glass, so they're like taking chunks of glass and like shaving it down and then they're.

Like using all of these things to like form it together. It's so hard. Um, and a lot of these workshops are really hard and it's so cool to see teachers that are just exploring other interests. And I think that's one of the cool things about programs like that is that they will, um, they encourage teachers to do stuff that are not productive [00:07:00] in the teaching sense.

Right. Because I feel like for so many. Teaching or teacher support type programs. It's always something that is like, here is how you can do your job better and here is something that's gonna make your job easier, which is amazing. Like we should have that. That's largely what my book is going to be, is going to be like, like on the ground advice for teaching, but it's also really valuable to just give somebody a second to just be like, Hey.

Maybe try stained glass, maybe try a writer's workshop. You know, like all of these different things that I think are so, so valuable. Um, so yeah, very, very fun. Had the best time. Um, I did have, uh, somebody. Somebody who was less familiar with social media and they uploaded a display picture. 'cause I had them all create TikTok accounts and all of that and they uploaded a display picture.

And then one of the things I did have a conversation with them about was like, Hey guys. Be aware [00:08:00] that sometimes TikTok will just add an audio over something. Like it doesn't ask you, you don't choose it, it'll just add something over it. Usually something that's trending, maybe it's based off of what they think about you based on the algorithm, stuff like that.

Um. And so one of the people in my group ended up doing that and she, she added a, um, just the picture and then the song that overlayed, it was like an AI generated country song, um, that was incredibly profane, like so sexual and profane, and. I did not see it because I, we were all like looking at each other's stuff, but most of us had the audio off, and even if you had the audio on, it just sounded like a, like a country song of some kind.

Um, and so I was like getting ready for bed last night and I'm scrolling and all of a sudden I realized. That the, the song that is on it is like so [00:09:00] filthy. And so I messaged her, I'm like, girl, are you aware of this song that is on here? And I screen recorded it first and she messaged me and she was like, oh my gosh, that's so embarrassing.

It was up for 13 hours. Which is so funny to me that for 13 hours was out there. I mean, she had like no followers 'cause she just started her account and all of that. But then on top of that, one of the people in our group had listened to it. Like had heard it. It was the, like the one guy in our group had heard it and he's like, yeah, I heard that and I thought.

Well that's, that's bigger risk than I'd be willing to say. Like, he didn't question it at all, which I think is hilarious. 'cause she doesn't seem like the type to place like to, to choose a song like that. Like she's got a good sense of humor, but she's not gonna choose a song like that. And he was just like, I don't know, like.

To each their own, I guess, which I thought was so frigging funny. Um, so yeah, so it was absolutely incredible. It was so much fun just getting to hang out with them. And I did [00:10:00] have some teachers that do follow me and like came over and said hi and all of that, which is always really fun, especially when, um.

I have people that say like, I feel like we're already friends. And I love that. I love, love, love getting to chat with people who followed me for a long time. Um, and feel like they have a relationship with me 'cause I know there's a lot of creators that I feel the same way about. So, um, but yeah, Phil got a kick out of that and he is probably being really, um, really obnoxious now because he thinks he is so, so famous.

So, thanks a lot Phil. Um, alright. So. Now I want us to jump in to the first submitted story from you guys, and just as a reminder, I know it's like summer slash coming off of summer, but I know you guys have stories, so make sure that you go to podcast or andrea.com and leave a voicemail so you can be featured too.

So let's listen to what was said in this week. 

Voicemail: Okay, so this is actually a nice story, not a [00:11:00] bad story. My very first year teaching, I taught halftime special ed, and I had a grade seven student named, or call her Catherine, and I was helping her out one-on-one help, and one day she started crying while we were doing geography, and I asked her what's wrong, and she said she was crying because she doesn't understand this.

Then I said, nobody cries this hard because. They don't understand how mountains are formed. So she proceeded to tell me that she's, by far the tallest kid in the cool grade. She has a learning disability. Her dad has cancer. Her mom's had to go back to work, and she just found out that she needs to go get braces.

By this point. I'm hearing up too, and I said, yeah, your life does kind of suck right now. And we bonded after that and I taught her for the next couple years. And even after she left the school, we kept in touch and she asked me for help. And then in high school she got scouted to be a model [00:12:00] and became a model.

But when they wanted her to go overseas, she said no, she wants to become a nurse because of all the nurses that helped her dad. We then lost touch a little bit. Fast forward a few years, and my sister was in the hospital. For some mental health reasons and I went to go visit her and she said, oh, here comes my nurse.

I want you to meet her. She's really nice and he should walk in. But my student, Catherine, and the two of us sort of instantly knew that we needed to pretend that we didn't know each other. But we reconnected afterwards and she's gone on to do master's degrees and all sorts of wonderful things, and I just feel so blessed that she was my student.

Andrea: That is so sweet. Like what? What an incredible gift to run into them years later after, you know, especially like man. And I life. [00:13:00] Life does feel, especially like middle school. I think that that is the time where life is the hardest. I remember specifically being in like seventh, eighth grade, and everything feels really big, right?

Like all the things in your life feel really big. And that student in particular, Catherine had. Actual really big things, right? To have a, a parent that has cancer. Um, ha. And then like, there's the smaller things of, and now I have to get braces and I'm the tallest girl in class. But even the braces and tallest girl in class at that age, like, feels so big and feels so frustrating.

Um, I just remember like everything just felt. Insurmountable at that age. So I love that you shared that she, like, you guys kind of connected and then it came back around. I just, that is, I think the. Really like the core of the gift of teaching. Um, I'm right now working on the last couple of [00:14:00] chapters of my book and I'm talking a lot about the, you know, I do have a chapter that talks about like, when do you.

When do you know it's maybe time not to be a teacher anymore? Because, um, I've never seen a teacher book that has that, I've never seen a teacher book that acknowledges the fact that for some people it might not be a forever career. Um, and I wanna be honest enough to. To talk about that and to talk about why for some people it's a good idea to step away from the classroom.

And so I have that in a chapter. And then that was like kind of scheduled to be my last chapter and I was like, oh, that's awful. Like I can't end it that way. That sounds so depressing. Um, and so I kind of went back and I adjusted it so that. The last chapter now is going to be a chapter about, um, the way that teaching is about hope.

And I've said this a lot. I, and you know, I've done it, said it a lot in my keynote [00:15:00] speeches and stuff like that, that teaching is an act of. Defiant hope because for kids like that who are really going through it, like life is a struggle. Learning is hard. Your parents are sick, you're feeling awkward and super tall, and then you need braces.

So you're tall and you have braces, which for a girl in middle school sounds like torture, like. All of those things, like giving them hope and being like, yeah, like don't gaslight 'em and tell 'em life is perfect for them. Like, no, like, yeah, it's pretty hard right now. Um, but giving them the hope of like, yeah, but you know, the fact that she got the op, the opportunity to like be a model because that height that she hated actually ended up being incredibly helpful.

Um. I just love that we get to be those people for our students where we get to have those conversations of like, Hey, yeah. So, um, things haven't been great, however. They, they might get great and what an exciting thing that is. Um, and a big thing that I [00:16:00] talk about in, in that chapter as well is the fact that, you know, I get very stressed out by the news.

I get stressed out by all of the thing. Like, you turn on the news and everything's depressing and it feels so overwhelming. And it's like, what am I gonna do? You know, like there are some things that we can do in our communities and stuff, um, but usually they're like. Big things like attending a march, go writing a letter, phone calls, stuff like that.

But I'm like, okay, what can I do today? Like, 'cause I have to go to work, right? I have kids, I have to go to work. I can't like, you know, my, my, my schedule's pretty full. Taking care of my family, taking care of my, my classes. And so I feel like teaching is such a wonderful act of. Defiance against the bad in the world and that we get to be the people that even though there's all the bad outside of our classroom, that we get to be the people who are actually with our students, helping them kind of navigate things that are super, super hard.

Um, and as somebody who has [00:17:00] a DHD and didn't realize it until they were an adult, I think it's especially helpful that we now have so many examples of people who have. Like different things going on with their brains and are incredibly successful because the traditional academic classroom doesn't always lend itself to people with A DHD or people with other learning disabilities.

Um, so it's just, it's exciting that we now have access to those stories as well. So thank you so much for sharing that, that. The absolute sweetest and I love to hear when, uh, we have something like that where the student like it comes all around and you get to see where that student ended up. Alright, let's go ahead and listen to the second voice memo that was sent in this week.

Voicemail: I teach kindergarten and one day a student. During circle time told me that his neighbor touches and kisses him and it makes him feel weird. So I send the other students away to go play a game and I ask him, do your mom and dad know what is his name? [00:18:00] How old is he? When does he do this to you? And he responded that yes, his mom and dad know, um, his name is Mr.

Wilson and he is his dad's age, he thinks, and that he does this when, um, he is out jogging. And so I ended up going to my principal because his mom worked in our school and. We are planning to call Child Protective Services. And so we called her in there, um, because he said she already knows. So we were calling in her into the office to consult with her and tell her that we were doing this.

Um, and it turns out that Mr. Wilson is a horse and that when he is jogging around the field, um, he touches and kisses him. Like licking him. So, uh, I almost called Child Protective Services on a horse 

Andrea: that started [00:19:00] out so dark that started out so dark you guys. Oh my gosh. How mortifying would that be if Child Protective Services showed up and you were like, sorry, Mr.

Will, who is Mr. Wilson in this child's life? And they're like, it's. It's the horse like, oh no. It is so difficult with kids because you obviously don't wanna shut down conversations like that, like you want them to feel like they're safe to share if there's something that you know is making them uncomfortable or anything like that.

But kids also don't live in the context that we do, and so they'll say stuff sometimes and you're just like, I know that's not. How you meant it or I, my, my son is like notorious for this and you guys will not be surprised that this week I got a report from the day camp that my daughter has been very bossy and my son [00:20:00] has been very disobedient because every time.

My daughter tells him to do something. 'cause she's like, I think one of the leaders, 'cause it's like one big group altogether. Um, and then he'll just be like, no, I'm not doing that. Which I'm like, well, you can't put her in charge. Like, you're gonna have to, you're gonna have to find some, somebody else to tell him what to do.

Um, but like kids are notorious for stuff like that where it's like, oh yeah, like my, like when my, my dad took my son to go to the bathroom and. He, I'm trying to figure out if I can tell this story. I don't think it, it'll be fine. Um, so my dad took my son to the bathroom and they were at the urinals, right?

And my son is standing there and you know, like there is like a whole culture surrounding which urinal you're supposed to stand at. This is not something that is part of my culture. So obviously I don't know the urinal rules, but I've seen memes and stuff online that have allowed me to [00:21:00] pick up that, like if you have six.

Urinals there and there's a guy in one of the urinals. You do not go to the urinal next to that guy. Like not, not allowed. So obviously like kids don't know, they, they don't know that there's supposed to be like urinals between each of, you know, between you and a person. So he's standing, standing right next to my dad when my dad goes to the bathroom and there's other people in the bathroom and stuff as well.

And my son just goes, wow, pop bop. You sure do have a big penis. And like, it's one of those things where my dad was like, okay, but we don't, we don't talk about that. We don't have those discussions. Like let's not talk about each other's bodies like that. But it's one of those things that too, like out of context, somebody else is in the room or something like that.

Like so, so uncomfortable. Kids just are masters at making situations wildly uncomfortable at times, and it just, ugh. What, what a treasure it is, especially with little kids. That was one of the things I [00:22:00] talked to the teachers I was with this week about was the unintentional honesty and unintentional meanness that these kids sometimes have, because they'll come and they'll be like so ready to help you by telling you that you know, did you know that you have something on your face and the thing on your face is like a mole or a zit?

And that doesn't go away. I've always had high schoolers that would point out zits to me, and I'm like, who do you think you're helping with this information? Like you think, I don't know that there's like this, like massive zit on my face that is physically painful, obviously I do. Um, I feel like that one, like doesn't, doesn't go away, but it's like the kids that are little don't like necessarily intend to be malicious.

And then as they get older, the maliciousness just. Grows with the age, which, you know, sometimes the maliciousness is hilarious, which is how I've built my entire platform. [00:23:00] And it's so funny, I just posted a couple videos this week that are talking about like things students have said to me and all of that, and I decided to have a prop this time, which was like a little pen on a little checklist or whatever.

And every single time I post a video, there's always somebody telling me that Ms. Dugan, who is a Kansas City teacher who does like teacher stories and stuff too. Who I've met and I adore. Um, they always will comment like, Ms. Dugan does it better or something. And so I tag her in it and I'm like, you mean this wonderful Queen Ms.

Dugan? And then she's like, El comment, you guys are lame, blah, blah. Like, like they think they're trying to do something and like ingratiate their themselves, but like she and I don't beef. I love her. I think she's so great and so funny. Um. But it is so funny to me how on social media sometimes people are like, oh, is this beef?

And then the creators themselves are like, it's actually not like we all can have insane stories about the things our students are saying and doing that is kind of a big part of the profession. So, um, [00:24:00] I am really excited to share with you guys about the resource at the end here. So don't go away because we will be right back.

All right. Welcome back, teacher besties. So I mentioned at the top of the episode about the Lilly Endowment, uh, grant that brings teachers financial support for really, really cool experiences. And so like some of the thi like I I mentioned like the Italian cooking one. I also, there was another one of the teachers from my group where.

She really loved to do nonfiction, short stories, and her sister loved to do photography, so her grant covered, she and her sister, who's also a teacher to travel to a bunch of national parks, and her sister would take the picture and then she would write a story about it. And so it's stuff like that where it's like just.

Fun, renewing, engaging things that they're gonna do. And the idea is that if you're doing something like [00:25:00] that over the summer, then maybe you'll have the energy and the renewal to be able to stay in the classroom longer. And I love that. Um. And I just wanna point out that although the Lilly Endowment only provides for the grants in the state of Indiana, there are other ones that exist.

And so I want you guys to take a look and search for teacher renewal grants and your state, because I know that there have been. I know there's one in Texas. Um, I think that there, I'm trying to remember, um, where our friend Charles, uh, got his from the, the guy who does the podcast, I, I had him on at the top of this season.

Um, he does the, those who can't teach anymore podcast and he got his whole first season funded through a grant just like that. Um, and there's a million different ways you can use it, but if it's something that you are excited about, but you don't have the finance. The finances for, and it's not teacher related.

'cause most of these they can be teaching adjacent [00:26:00] and that's fine, but it's not gonna be funding for your classroom. Like it's not going to be, Hey, this is money. So that you can like create an editing studio in your classroom. Like that's not what this is for. This is for stuff that is going to help be enriching for you and help make you feel renewed.

Which I, I love the idea of that. I think it's such a cool program and they have it in a bunch of different states. So, um, right now. Probably no surprise to anyone. There's not any federal ones that I'm aware of. Um, but there are definitely a bunch of ones for different states, even states that traditionally might not be, um, considered states where teachers are heavily supported, like Indiana.

Um, there might be private organizations or nonprofits that are doing this work, which is really, really cool. Which is the case for the Lilly Endowment because that's not state run. It has nothing to do with the state. Um, it's just this separate. Entity that, um, works with the university, works with a bunch of other people to help put on [00:27:00] kind of different experiences for teachers and give them an opportunity and the financial backing to be able to take advantage of some of these things, which I think is just the coolest.

Um, so when this episode comes out, I believe, let me check, hold on. Wait for it. When this episode comes out, it is going to be in the beginning, uh, or late August. So that means that I will have already been to California and Arizona. So Tempe and Irvine shows for the teacher's lounge will have already passed you by.

So I have my show at, um, in Chicago on September 6th, and then we're gonna be in Richmond, Virginia, which. Mr. Eugene, who was my assistant principal, who I've had on the show before, he is actually going to be at that show as well as a couple of my former students are gonna be at that show because my first teaching job was in Virginia, so very exciting.

Um, then we're gonna be in Cary, North Carolina, September four, 14th. [00:28:00] We're going to Texas in October. Um, we're gonna be in Houston and Addison. We're gonna be in Columbus, Ohio, November 8th. In Pittsburgh, November 9th, and then Florida at the end of December. Um, and then we are gonna be in the Howard Theater on February 28th in Washington dc which is very, very exciting.

Um, and then we're gonna be in Philly on March 1st. So if you have not yet gotten your tickets for these shows. Seriously, please do go on there, especially as you guys are like my podcast crew. Um, I would love to have you at the show so that you can tell Phil that you've seen his stuff, but you don't actually follow him.

Um, and you actually follow me and like me, and you've never seen him before, ever. And you actually don't even know who he is even after the show, if you guys could just humble him. Is all I want from you, I guess. Um, I'm super, super excited. The shows are gonna be amazing. They're selling out like really, really well.

So if you want to go to one of these shows, do not wait until a week before. I know we all [00:29:00] tend to do that, but don't wait till a week before because these tickets are moving and I wanna make sure that you guys can make it and just have the absolute best time. 'cause I am so excited. It's gonna be so much fun.

And if you have thoughts about what we've chatted about today, um, if you have. Specific, uh, grants that you're aware of that you wanna share with the community, please let me know. I would love to share about them. Um, or if you wanna share with me your project, 'cause I absolutely wanna hear about your projects, if you guys have won a grant.

'cause I think those are so fascinating, the different interests and ways that these grants have been used. Um, and if you wanna reach out and give us stories or have questions, you can contact me, Andrea, at human content.com or at educator Andrea. Or the Human Content Podcast family, um, at Human Content Pods, and we have a review.

So thank you so much. Kandy Graham, um, they wrote this new format for the podcast has been great. Highlighting, superstars and a vital area of society encourages me and I always enjoy [00:30:00] the inherent humor. Great listen for educators and lifelong learners alike. So thank you so much for your wonderful review.

And if you have not done your review yet, if you haven't given a review, like. It's kind of awkward that you haven't yet, so you should probably get on that. Um, and if you wanna see full video episodes, they're up every single week on YouTube. Thank you so much for listening. I'm your host, Andrea Forche.

Our executive producers are Andrea Forche, Aaron Corny, Rob Goldman and Shanti Brook. Our editor is Andrew Sims. Our engineer is Jason Zo. Our music is by Omer Ben-Zvi. Our recording loca a recording location. I don't know why I couldn't say that. Is Indiana State by College of Education to learn more about how to survive the classroom's program disclaimer and ethics policy and submission verification and licensing terms, you can go to podcaster andrea.com.

How to survive the classroom is a human content production.[00:31:00] 

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