A Conversation About Nothing and Everything with Tyler Jackowski

Transcript

Lauran: This podcast has content that may be distressing to some listeners. Be sure to check the description below for content warnings. And now, a quatrain.

Jordan: Expect laughs, insights, maybe a tear. Topics, light and dark, both appear. If triggers or giggles give you a scare, listen with caution. And

Tyler: a comfy chair. I'm not gonna pretend that I'm a manly person, okay?

I'm not gonna, like, put on that mask. I'm not. I do what I need to do. That's okay.

Lauran: You don't have to be.

Tyler: I can swing my arms when I need to. I can run very fast for this reason. But I am not the manliest person. person you've ever met. I'm not running Ironmans. So this like mouse came out.

Lauran: How's it going? Welcome back to the we are fine podcast. Are we fine? I think so. Okay. I like

Jordan: that. I think we're good. That is a, that is a middle of the road answer. And you know, sometimes I like those answers. Nothing, nothing. Too crazy.

Lauran: Yeah, it's been, I mean, listen, it's been so chaotically busy. Just, I feel like I am getting up in the morning after, like, three hours of sleep, going to work all day, coming home, and then working all night.

Theme: Okay.

Lauran: And then getting grad school stuff done, and then sleeping for three hours. Like, that's how I feel like my life is just, I feel like weeks are just a flying by because they're going so fast.

Jordan: I don't know how you manage that little of sleep.

Lauran: I don't either. Because

Jordan: I have to sleep. I know you do. I mean, there are medical reasons why I have to get as much sleep as I do, but, um, I think even besides that, I am just a person who needs my eight hours of sleep and a Red Bull.

Because if I don't have those two things And a coffee,

Lauran: which you, I, I worry about him guys, because I tell him all the time, like, please stop drinking multiple caffeinated drinks in one day. Hold on,

Jordan: let me, let me say this. I have I get my eight hours of sleep, tired beyond all belief when I wake up, with eight hours of sleep.

That's what the doctors say, and I'm still exhausted. Whatever.

Lauran: Yeah, but you, like you said, you have a medical reason why you have, you know, only eight hours, or need eight hours of sleep in one. So then

Jordan: I drink. My 12 ounces of Red Bull, which I will be honest, I, I, I am bad because I don't get the sugar free kind.

Like I should, I get the full sugar kind because I like the sugar buzz that accompanies my caffeine rush. It's, it, I'm sorry, you don't drink energy drinks. They're, I don't know what it is. I get in this Zen state where I'm just like, I am flying through life. I do like,

Lauran: I do like the Ilani. Energy drinks? I don't drink them like you, like you could like drink it, drink one a day.

I can't do that, but like, on occasion, maybe like once in a blue moon, I like those

Jordan: ones. I love how they taste. I cannot do a Celsius. I feel

Lauran: I don't think I've had. I haven't had enough of them to have an opinion on. I

Jordan: love, love the flavor. I feel like my heart is jumping out of my chest and I'm dying. But Red Bull

Lauran: doesn't do that for you?

Jordan: No, Red Bull's half the calories. Red Bull's like melatonin compared to Celsius. Did I say calories? I did not mean half the caffeine. I was gonna say

Lauran: what do calories have to do with this? I think

Jordan: if I remember correctly, Red Bull is 110 calories. Milligrams of caffeine for their 12 ounce. Celsius is like 250.

It's something where it's like Celsius is

Lauran: double. That's my whole reason for being anxious about that you drink both of those because I'm like, I don't want you to have a heart attack or anything. No,

Jordan: no, what I do is my 8am I have, I get my energy drink in.

Lauran: Okay.

Jordan: And then about 12pm the rush starts to fade off.

Lauran: Yeah.

Jordan: I wait an hour to just reset the system and then I do my chaser of black coffee.

Lauran: Alright, well, I don't think it could give you as much energy as our guests that we have on the show today. Yes,

Jordan: very much.

Lauran: Oh my gosh, guys, you are in for a treat. And also some chaos, um, which I'm excited about. But I was gonna say,

Jordan: energy and chaos, and good chaos.

Lauran: It is good, yeah, absolutely good chaos.

Jordan: I don't think there's a better combo. That's just a That's just a recipe for fun.

Lauran: It's a fun time. Yes. Yeah, so if you're ready for like a super fun hour of your life Welcome in Tyler Joukowsky. Yeah, we're gonna have Tyler on the show today He is known as mr. J to his students And if you've seen him on social media, you already know what I'm talking about.

He is hilarious. So We can't wait to Get him in here and start up the show. So let's get it going

All right, guys, we are so excited to have tyler jakowski with us today I i'm just gonna call you fishing for clout for the rest of the episode because I okay So just a little bit of backstory. I met tyler this summer for the first time Um when we were on our covert mission to the white house Um, that still we are, you know, haven't spoken about on the Internet.

I mean, right, I'm still waiting for my picture to come back in, you know,

Tyler: singular picture to show that I like meet people. One thing. Everyone's like, you can't have it like,

Lauran: I'm like, okay, like the election and everything is over. Like, can I have my picture now? Can I have it?

Tyler: Okay. Now that now that the dust is beginning to fall, like, can you make a little bit of proof that I'm like doing things in my life so my dad will start talking to me again?

Like, please.

Lauran: So it's not much, right? Like just a little bit of context. So Tyler and I were two out of four teachers that were selected to get to meet dr Jill Biden. And. Which was pretty insane, probably a highlight of my career, I don't think anything cooler has ever happened to me thus far. That's like,

Jordan: top tier, so.

Lauran: I know, that's pretty cool, to get invited to DC.

Tyler: They'll really let anyone in there if they're gonna let me in. They don't even care, they're like, hey it's wide open, come on in.

Lauran: I think the funny part was though, that they weren't gonna let my mom come in.

Tyler: Oh my god, if your mom wasn't going in, I wasn't going in.

Lauran: When we got to the White House, um, like, the Secret Service is no joke, like, they, you go through like a whole airport security checkpoint, which, totally understand, and you have to give them, um, like, you, you give them a form ahead of time that, like, has all your information and everything on it so they can, like, Do background checks on you and stuff.

And I turned my mom's in for her, but I think she, when she typed in her information, something was, you know, a typo or whatever. So when she got there, it didn't match and they were like, not going to let her in at first. So they had to have a refill out a whole nother form. It was a whole thing.

Tyler: Oh my God, this poor woman.

I remember because we all got through and it's like, okay, so it was actually really funny because you obviously saw it, but for context, like we got through and like in this little like side room and we're looking around and we're like, where the hell's Lauren and her mom? For a hot second I was like I was like, if anyone's a, a heavy drug lord, we just found out, you know, the least likely person in the world.

I'm like, I'm like,

Lauran: yeah, not mom.

Tyler: We got over here. I love it.

Lauran: Not Susan. No, no, no.

Tyler: Susan keeps it pretty, pretty PG.

Lauran: Yeah, Susan, Susan's chill. She's chill. So, um, but yeah, we, we got in and we got to take like a tour of the White House and everything. It was, it was pretty sick. Like that was, I have been to like, you know, last year, Jordan and I went to Europe and we got to go to Buckingham Palace and that was awesome.

And going to the white house. Yeah. We, so you can take tours of Buckingham palace in August each year. Um, so they open it up to the public one month out of the year and you get like a whole tour of like all the state rooms. And then there's, um, like basically they have like a little cafe set up at the back of the property.

And there's like a whole room where like the coronation gown for, um, What's her name?

Tyler: Oh boy. Come on. Come on,

Lauran: Camilla. They're watching.

Tyler: They're watching. I'm sorry. I apologize.

Lauran: Uh, yeah, but like all their, their coronation, um, attire is like in a showcase you get to see. And it was really cool. Um,

Tyler: crap,

Lauran: but like the white house.

Felt like that times 10 because like it's our country, so it felt really cool to see all the history that there is there. And guys, when I tell you the rooms in the White House are so strategically designed and like everything, the tour guide was telling us everything in the White House is very purposefully placed and it was just really cool to learn about the history that, you know, and why they had things in certain locations.

Tyler: another thing that was crazy about it. Remember when we were on the first floor and then out of nowhere our tour guide was like get up the stairs right now All right, guys, we're going upstairs

Theme: She's

Tyler: like time to see the upper floor and i'm like, okay Let's go and then she like rushed us up and then I turned around and I see like Fifteen Secret Service people like entering the hallway and I'm like, ah, we just got diverted because Joe Biden's walking out.

Lauran: I asked her when we're walking up the stairs, I was like, did someone important just arrive? And she was like, yeah. And I'm like, so we can't see them? Like why? I

Tyler: mean, it's just like, I think the thing is. It's tough for me as someone who's like, it's like mildly psychotic to be offered free will because in those moments, there's like, I live for screwing with people.

There's nothing I would have loved to do more than hear you be like, did someone important just come up and be like Just go flying at the stairs, like, and then just like jump down the stairs, like, I don't know, and obviously, like, I'm not, like, what am I gonna do? Are you kidding me? Yeah. But, like, at the same time, I, just to see the look on their face of, like, oh my god, oh my god, no.

Lauran: would just love to see you get tackled by Secret Service agents, like,

Tyler: The fact that I didn't genuinely blows my mind. I would have paid money, honestly, like, and, and the fact of the matter is, like, everything's on camera. You know, I could just pick that up from the Secret Service, post it on TikTok, we'll be golden.

Oh my god. Wow, I will never get security clearance again. Oh my god.

Lauran: I felt so bad because Jordan didn't get to come to Washington with me. No, I was

Jordan: gonna say, I got a great view from Ohio, so. Yeah, well,

Lauran: I was trying to like, take a lot of pictures.

Jordan: Yeah, I was gonna say, oh. Like downtown Youngstown, Washington, D.

C., similar, you

Lauran: know, the White House,

Tyler: whatever.

Lauran: But that was, it was such a cool experience. And like I said, that's the first time I ever met you over the summer. And I, you know, we had a blast, so I was so excited that you decided to come on the show.

Tyler: We had such a solid group. No, I mean, I realized in that moment because like it's, I think the thing is like, I can talk to anybody, but I don't have like, I don't have like really, really fun conversations with just anybody.

And I think the thing that like made me realize that you were really cool and Bree's really cool and Shelby's really cool. And that we're a cool little group was like when we were at the little coffee table waiting for Jill to come in and we were, we had already been talking for like 40, 50 minutes, and then she came in and it was almost, it was so bad to say, it was almost like someone else, like butting in on a conversation and she comes in, we're all, we're all laughing our asses off about God knows what, and she's like, hi guys, and we're like, oh, that's right.

We're here to see her. That's crazy. You're the reason we're

Lauran: here. Yeah.

Tyler: I'm just saying. That's a like. She had to sneak her way in and I had to do like that millennial pause of like trying to make sense of what we were saying because I know that if I'm saying it, it's probably nonsense.

Lauran: It was, I mean, it was just so fun.

Yeah. Anyway, it's, it's been a crazy like school year so far. It's been really fun and chaotic. We were just talking about how I like, cause earlier today I just did what we were talking about. Like when we first started. Recording we were like, okay, make sure you close out of any extra tabs on your computer because it'll help with the processing speed or whatever and he's like, oh, you mean I'm not supposed to have like 400 tabs on my computer and I just relate to that so heavily because he's always yelling at me.

Tyler: Well, my students will like, look at my computer and they'll be like. Are you okay? Like, do you fear? Like, do you fear for your life? Like, what are you trying to hide from, like, the government to the point where they, like, don't want to look through your computer because there's too many tabs. And I'm like, dude, you gotta understand.

As teachers, we have to have, like, what we meant to do, then what we're gonna do when that goes wrong, and then what happens when there's a fire in the corner of the class, and then, like, everything else behind that. We have to have, like, phase six. Ready to go and look at me and if I don't if I have one tab if you catch me with one tab Then my Zoloft is starting to work We're like so far past the point of like everything's okay.

Like no they can judge me all they want

Jordan: I was going to say, I'm going to judge you two, both of you, because I know if I grab her phone right now and pull up either Chrome or Safari, whichever one you're using that day, there will be at a minimum 50 to 75 tabs on your phone. That is not hyperbolic. And then the kicker is you're always like, well, why is my phone drain it's battery so often?

It's like your processor is literally dying because it is just like, what is going on?

Lauran: No, that's why my

Jordan: phone keeps dying. Yeah. Yeah. Those tabs run in

Tyler: the background, so the processor's running, so the battery drains. My phone is dead constantly. Yeah, apparently New York had something to do with the start of the country.

My phone's always dead for a reason. I'm like, it's brand new, and they're like, you have literally 75 tabs open right now. It's like, use your head.

Lauran: This morning I was, so I was, um, I have open at a minimum every single day. I have Spotify in one tab. I have GoGuardian in another tab, watching all their Chromebooks.

I have Google Classroom open to whatever assignment I'm doing. Progress Book to take attendance in grades and stuff. And then Out of Google Classroom, I have about seven or eight assignments that are lined up that I, so I can just get to them quickly. On top of that, there are two documents I always keep open.

It's my newsletter and then our like grammar, like, you know, assignment we have for easy access so I can get to them quickly. And like at minimum, there's probably a good 15 to 20 things open on my computer at one point. And today I'm teaching. And I was like, alright guys, we're gonna get started with our opinion essay, and I'm like, hold on, I gotta find the tab, and it's on like seven windows, and I'm like, nope, not that one, nope, not that one, nope, not that one, and I'm like closing out of all these windows, and the kids are like, what are you doing?

And I'm like, I don't know guys, my best. Of course. Like.

Jordan: You said, you open up all these tabs and windows so you could have everything ready to go. I know, I hear the irony. I hear it. Okay, as I'm saying it,

Lauran: I hear it.

Jordan: What's the point of having them open to start with?

Lauran: Well, the plan was there. Execution, eh. I mean, I did my best, is all I can say.

Tyler: To be a fly on the wall in your house to watch you debate. How New York was implementing a part of like starting the country and then tabs like I I would love this. I'd pay a monthly. Oh my god That's

Lauran: such a funny part of our marriage because obviously I'm a teacher. He's not he's very much into like corporate America life and so In our conversations are just insane and like the The wealth of knowledge each of us has on such vastly different topics is just so funny because he'll be like, you know, I can be very logical and, you know, very.

intelligent in a conversation about very specific education topics and things related to that realm and like social media and things like that. But other things Jordan's like, no, that's not how. So, yeah,

Tyler: but at the same time, you guys are a dream team for trivia.

Jordan: Yeah, that's true. Oh my God. That's what we used to do all the

Tyler: time.

Are you kidding me?

Jordan: Yeah, we did. That's the

Tyler: dream. I had a set of friends that we used to go to trivia with every single weekend. One person was in, uh, like the medical field. Love it. Biology, take that away. Mitochondria, powerhouse of the cell. You got me, who is literally useless. I'm the personality hire of the century.

I do nothing. You keep the team

Lauran: hyped up.

Tyler: Yeah, I drink and I high five when other people get things right. I had a friend who was a, one of my friends was a, I think that's the most important

Theme: job. That is. A

Tyler: hundred percent. Yeah, I'm, I, I boost morale. One of my friends was a librarian. So anything that has to do with like, History, literature, that kind of thing.

And then I had a friend who was a lawyer. And then I, like, my girlfriend right now, she's a, a, a writer at Billboard. So yeah, let's shoot on.

Lauran: Let's talk about that. How did that happen? Cause like, I love talking about it. That is so awesome. She's been to like the Oscars and stuff, right?

Tyler: Oh, she goes to the Oscars, Grammys, women in music, all of them.

She gets invited to these parties. It's wild. She's like on red carpets, like interviewing every, like if you name an artist, she, there's a 99 percent chance that she's in an interview with them. Yeah. Wow.

Lauran: Wow. She's incredible. She's

Tyler: literally incredible. And she does like, okay, forget me meeting

Lauran: the, the, uh, first lady of the United States.

She tops all of that. I mean, dang, she's met everyone.

Tyler: No, she, she, she's hardcore. She's fantastic. I love talking about her. She's my favorite topic, but it's like, she does like all the on camera stuff, but then she also like right now, she, what time is it? Yeah, right now she's like writing articles as we speak in the other room, you know, so she's like, she runs it.

It's wild. Yeah,

Lauran: that's really awesome. She

Tyler: like gives attention to me for God knows what reason.

Lauran: Well, you're the life of the party. You're the boost of morale.

Tyler: Well, I think that like on tick tock everybody sees because she has her own tick tock page and I have mine and obviously we're on each other's and people are like, you are the perfect Golden Retriever and Black Cat Energy, except that we are, we're very similar to like, um, God, Parks and Rec.

We have like Aubrey Plaza and what's it, what's his name? Oh, Chris Pratt. Chris

Lauran: Pratt.

Tyler: Chris Pratt. Like, we are similar to them, but like, she's also just like the sweetest, like nicest person ever. So she's just like, so not Aubrey Plaza. But like, if you look at us on paper, we are like that perfect Golden Retriever, Black Cat Energy.

Oh my God. I

Jordan: love that. What, what, what are we? Oh boy, I don't know. Actually,

Tyler: can I jump in here? Yeah, absolutely. Have you seen the meme of the two owls?

Lauran: Which one?

Tyler: There's a, there's a, I saw this meme. So it wasn't quite, it was like a picture of two owls. It was like a cartoon drawing of two owls, and one has glasses and one doesn't.

And they're just like, There, there was something written above it. I don't know. I have like wicked ADHD, but when I see you guys, I think of like two owls because you're both like very knowledgeable and you like to have like the conversations about that, but then you're also like vigilant. I don't know.

Maybe this makes sense. I don't know. Cause I think that like, personally, I think an owl is like the, one of the sickest animals in the world, but I think that your dynamic is funny because like you both, I

Jordan: did not. Damn it. I know. I'm sorry. It's funny. It's funny. You bring up an owl too. Oh no, we lost them.

He's running away. Are you kidding? Yeah, I'm out of here. The worst stop. Um, no, it's funny. You say that though, because when me and Lauren were first talking, even before we were dating, I don't know why we would have these like, and this is throwing it back. We would have Skype dates.

Lauran: Oh my God. I forgot about Skype.

Yeah, this is before FaceTime, like before, well I didn't know if FaceTime existed, but I didn't have an iPhone, so. No, it was,

Jordan: it was, I think FaceTime did exist, but it wasn't on like MacBooks yet and everything, so we're really like starting to date ourselves here. Oh

Lauran: god, are we old?

Tyler: Are you not like 25 years old?

Lauran: Shut the hell up. Lauren,

Tyler: I swear to god. Are you not?

Lauran: I'm 30.

Tyler: Runya's 30. You guys aren't old.

Lauran: I mean, okay. No, we're not. But like, I don't know what it is. Maybe it's a phenomenon. But like, when you turn 30, it's just like the universe is like, you're gonna start feeling old now. And like, every way possible that you can feel old.

Hits you like when you bend down and your knees start cracking and like yeah, I was gonna

Jordan: bring up It's when you hit 30 because this never happened before in my life. You will get with your knees I call it the velcro knees every time I bend down and stand up. It is just

Tyler: Yep,

Jordan: a hundred. Well, here's the

Lauran: thing and then you're tired all the time

Tyler: You're talking about 30, like, that's the cutoff.

I'm in the gym, like, doing everything I can to try cardio, and I'm running, and every time I take a step, I'm like, alright, that's bone to bone, like, that's, that's not good for, like, longevity. You know, and then, like, every time I get out of a chair, every time I get, if I sat on that couch right now, you would hear this noise if I had to get up, but I feel like every time I get up, I'm like,

And then like, starting my day, R. I. P. to whoever has headphones, including you two that I just deafened. But that's like, every single time, when I sit down, I'm like, uh, and I'm like, wow, I am becoming my father, and it's too early.

Lauran: The dad groan.

Tyler: Oh,

Jordan: the dad groans.

Lauran: Yeah. No, you have the dad sound. Sneeze

Jordan: the dad sneeze.

Oh, yeah, that's like a new going on. Oh my god

Lauran: Going off anytime you sneeze. Okay,

Jordan: i'm gonna be honest. I'm gonna i'm gonna let it out Part of it is just it feels good to sneeze that loud like I can totally sneeze So much quieter. It just feels so good He

Lauran: did this in the car. We're in the car. So in an enclosed space and he he like You know, has this nuclear sneeze and I said, I'm like, why do you feel the need to sneeze like that?

And he was like blowing away the devil. Made me completely right. The perfect answer.

Tyler: Oh, it is. It is 100 percent right. Yeah. When he says that it feels better when you sneeze. Like I used to get so pissed off at my dad when he just. Ah, like it just started and I was like, you're just doing it to annoy everyone around you and deafen your children.

But like now I'll sneeze and like, I'll be right in, in God bless her soul. Like when I tell you in, let me Jordan, tell me if this is the same for you where it's like you don't have like that. It's like out of absolute thin air where it's like, yes. So, so I sneeze and she's like. Her soul like leaves her body and I'm like, I don't, I don't, it kind of, kind of sounds like a gunshot when I sneeze.

I don't blame you.

Jordan: Oh, yeah. No, it is. It is that like. You'll get like, like the tangle, and it's just like, oh, it's coming, and then it's just, you're like, you just let it out, and it's just one of those things where it's completely unnecessary, but it's just like, oh, I just want it to be loud.

Tyler: I'm gonna start moving furniture around so that there's dust in here, so that at some point during this, I can just be like, As loud as I possibly can, just right into the microphone.

Lauran: Uh, you know what I want to do? Not that we're going to bleep out any cuss words, but I kind of want to take your ah and like use it to bleep all the swears.

Tyler: Honestly, you should. You absolutely should. I would love that. I was actually going to say, if we start swearing, are they all going to get bleeped out?

Lauran: No, we haven't really talked much about that. Like, you know, minimal swears, I'm okay with. I mean, you know, this is for adults. Yeah.

Tyler: You know what's funny? And I think that this is like, this is something that's been like so unanimously agreed on with every teacher I've ever talked about. My students, I've taught like everything from Christ kindergarten up to like high schoolers.

All of my students think that I have never sworn before.

Lauran: And

Tyler: when they hear it, Every now and again, like when I was with, and especially with my 11th and 12th graders, because the school that I was in last year, it was a turnaround school and embossed in public for a turnaround school. It's like, you're working with kids who have like, like displaced education and like huge gaps in their educational careers.

And I don't know if they call it something different where you guys are, but I was

Lauran: just about to ask what a turnaround school was. Yeah. So

Tyler: a turnaround school is specifically for, uh, for like a, a A school that has a massive population of students who had, like, breaks in their education. So, a lot of the time it has to do with, like, time you spent Displaced from your house.

Sometimes it's during gang life. Sometimes it's like, you know, the, the kids who are at home, like taking care of family members, stuff like that, regardless of the reason, if you missed a little bit of education, typically you'll go to a turnaround school so you can catch up and then graduate as soon as possible.

So my 11 and 12th graders aren't just like 16 through 18 year olds. They're like, Okay. 20 year olds and I'm like, oh, 27, you know, so I'm like looking at them and, and what am I going to say, like, do your homework? And they're like, no, it's like, that's sort of how it is. But I remember like this past school year.

Oh my God, something we, oh my God. Now I remember what it was. This is a bad story. So there in my school. is like crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy old. Like like Boston's an old place in general. Excuse my puberty. So Boston's like crazy old in general, but the school that I'm in is like a castle. And um, I remember I opened up a door, you know, this little like mouse came out and I, I'm not going to pretend that I'm a manly person.

Okay. I'm Not gonna like put on that mask. I'm not. I do what I need to do. That's

Lauran: okay. You don't have to

Tyler: be. I can swing my arms when I need to. I can run very fast for this reason. But I am not the manliest person you've ever met. I'm not running Iron Mans. So, this like, mouse came out and I, I, it just came from my gut and I was like, shit!

And my students looked over and they're like They're like, who is this young woman that just cursed in front of all of us? And I, I looked at them and I thought to myself, I was like, They, they don't think I've ever sworn in my entire life. And there was one that was much worse than that. When I was working with, uh, elementary school students, uh, it was like, It was like the Halloween season and one kid made the, the fantastic decision to hide behind my door when I was on my, uh, my, my break, my, my planning period.

And it's, it was just one of those, like, you know, 8 a. m. There's no reason for there to be a student behind the door. There's obviously no one in my room. There's no, like, nothing's going to happen. Kid jumped down. It was like, and I turned around and I was, uh, I'm not going to say the F word, but I was like,

Lauran: At

Tyler: this kid's face and the kid looks at me like,

Lauran: what

Tyler: do you expect?

Are you kidding me? It was like the opposite of what I could have seen coming, walking into my own classroom. I'm like, where's your teacher? Where are your parents? Like, and then, and then this kid has the balls to go to the principal and be like, Mr. J swore at me. I'm like, no, I swore at the intruder in my classroom.

Okay. It was your fault. I don't care if you're a first grader, if you scare me that bad that I have to have like an instinctive, very high pitched cursing moment, I'm gonna have ya. Exactly, right? Like my soul leaves my body, like my, it was bad. All that to say. I've had moments like that where you have

Lauran: to just hold in.

The, the cuss word, like, I, I mean, and I'm, here's the thing, teaching fifth grade is such a weird age, because they're at the age where they're still children, but they try to act like they're older than they are, and they want, they want to be older. So, we have a talk. At the beginning of the year about like professional language and like home language and I, and I'm honest with them.

I'm like, I'm an adult when I'm at home with my family, like there's a time and a place where I might say a swear word.

school is not the time and like, because I have, you know, and they, the thing is, kids will try to skirt around swearing, like, instead of saying the F word, they'll say frick or like, you know, frickin and like, I talk about placeholder words with them because I'm like, guys.

Okay, when you're saying these words, like, yeah, you're right, they're not swear words, but we know what you're trying to say, I'm like, so, let's

Theme: just, right,

Lauran: I'm like, let's just try and avoid those, so we don't, you know, have any kind of issues, like, I mean, don't, just don't,

Jordan: like, I mean, it's, like, I love, I love, cause it's, It's almost like the hypocrisy watching it happen because we went to an after school event.

Yeah, and one of your like students was running around and they dropped something and they just go damn and then you're right there You're like, hey, watch your language. Not like 10 minutes before that We were driving in you almost hit an animal and you like you could have been I didn't win! This was, um, the Christmas event last year, the Christmas event because it was like a deer.

Yeah.

Lauran: Oh, cause yeah. Okay. Listen. Okay. In my, in my, okay. I was going to say in my defense before you say almost hit an animal, it's not cause I was driving recklessly or anything in Ohio deer pop out like ghosts, like they just are on the side of the road and then bam, they're in front of your car. So. I believe you that I almost hit an animal because like anyone who's from the Midwest can attest to the fact that deer are rampant.

Especially in

Jordan: northeast Ohio. Yes. Deer have a death wish. They do. They just want to die apparently. I mean, let's

Tyler: be, let's be real here. You're on a podcast with someone who was born in Boston. We're not going to talk about like, like what, like I drive peacefully. Are you out of your mind? I, when I am, when I get into a car, I go from being a very loving, And peaceful and like kumbaya type to the public enemy.

Public enemy number one. Any other person behind the wheel is going to be my first enemy. That's you. Stop, Lord. Jordan has, Jordan,

Lauran: Jordan is like that too. He'll, he won't do anything or like tailgate anyone or anything like that. But he has some choice words for people who do

Jordan: this to him. No, I don't tailgate because tailgating is stupid and dangerous.

I agree. I'm

Lauran: just saying when people do it to you. Like, Oh,

Jordan: I get so mad. I get heated.

Tyler: Oh, but but you got to be petty with it though, right? Yes. If I like, that's the thing. That's what you need to understand about driving. Is that like when I and I'm such a I'm such a hypocrite, but it's like I don't like tailgating people either.

If I'm tailgating you, it's because you're going half. The speed limit and you deserve it. But when you're going like 25 and a 50, yes. Oh my God. If someone's tailgating me, I will put my foot through the goddamn floorboard break checking you. And if you hit me, I'm going to take every dollar of insurance money.

Lauran: So what I've started to do is. It's

Jordan: not going to

Lauran: happen. Don't get in accidents, please. I don't, I

Jordan: don't brake check people because my favorite thing to do to them is I drive a lot of highway. So you're moving like real fast. And my favorite thing to do is instead of brake checking people, when they're right on your bumper, just hold down the windshield wiper because of your speed carries it over and it's just getting on their windshield.

Just annoying them.

Tyler: You know what? That has pissed me off so many times in the past where I'm like, you got water on my windshield. Yes. Like that. How dare you? No, I said to be

Lauran: to be a fly on your windshield.

Tyler: You don't want to be. No, it's like, I don't know it for me. I have fully accepted the fact and now like, like, I like I'm in L.

right now with Rania and it's like if I drive over here, it's like. It's like the same drink in a different flavor where it's like, I hate everyone still, but over here they are mental. Okay. Like it's different. Like in Boston, we're both offensively driving and trying to be like, Oh no, I'm going to be the one who survives this over here.

They're like, Jesus, take the wheel. I'm going through an intersection. And if you're in that intersection, Jesus, take the wheel for him too. And I think that like in Boston, there's like strategy to it. Here, it's like, I'm going to roll my car and if it ends up in that spot, great, you know, it is what it is.

Oh my god, I was going to say, I

Jordan: was going to say, Ohio has two flavors. You either have, you're 90 years old on your way to church and the only thing you can do is 10 miles an hour. Or, hey guys, I have a lifted F 150 and I'm going to be right on top of you with my high beams on. And that is it.

Lauran: Oh

Jordan: my gosh.

Do you know what the problem

Tyler: is? The fatal flaw for me is I have the, I have, like, the personality of someone who drives a giant truck, but I'm in a Kia. That's the problem for me. That's where

Lauran: I'm

Tyler: like, how dare you make

Lauran: A Kia Soul?

Tyler: No.

Lauran: Aw, it would have been better if it was a Kia Soul.

Tyler: No, even more of a mom car.

Lauran: Well, okay, wait Kia Sorento. Oh, no! Okay, so, this I'm sorry I'm getting so off the rails, but anyway. We went

Tyler: podcasts are made for I

Lauran: know we went on like a friend vacation a few years back and our car at the time We didn't want to put all the miles on our car because we were driving down a Myrtle Beach.

So we rented an SUV So I go to pick up the rental and we were supposed to get I think it was like a Ford Explorer or something along those lines and I show up And there in the parking lot, ready for us to take on our vacation, is a Kia Sorento. And, we, it was this maroon. Kia Sorento, that just looked like I was about to take my kids to soccer.

Because I was going to say, what year

Jordan: Kia Sorento do you have? Because I want to know, because if it was the 2018 Kia Sorento, or no, 17, 2017 Kia Sorento. No, yeah, it was 18. Something like that. Yeah, it was a 2018 Kia Sorento. It was. It drove as the most. Unoffensive. I am just here to get you from point A to point B 100 percent as safely

Tyler: as possible.

I'm looking it up to make sure because I think I might have that same car. Oh my gosh. No, no, no. God, no. Mine's way older than that. I'm a 2011.

Lauran: Oh, wow. Oh, okay. For some reason in my head, I was

Tyler: like, it could be one or the other.

Lauran: I was about to say We called it, like, The whole trip we called it the kiosaur like a dinosaur.

So like not

Jordan: just kiosaur. It was the kiosk or because it was just like an apathetic dinosaur because you would like I'm telling you, man, you could put your foot on that accelerator. Just slam it down and it just be, uh, 100%. Yes.

Lauran: So speaking of like road trips, it makes me think of like road trip music and I have to ask.

Okay, we're gonna play it. We're gonna play a little a little round of it. You Hear me out. Okay, so I want to know

want to know what is your most Hear me out Roadtrip music if you're gonna if you're gonna play it in the car for all to hear if you've got the aux cord What are we listening to hear me out style?

So like okay something that is like something you have to explain.

Tyler: I Love like punk rock stuff In like early 2000s punk rock.

Theme: Yeah.

Tyler: In one album that just like slapped the whole way and had like such a good vibe for like keeping you up and energized.

Theme: Mhm.

Tyler: Blink 182.

Theme: Yes! Yes!

Tyler: Oh my. We are your biggest Blink

Lauran: fans.

Tyler: Oh, my God, it kept the vibe going the entire time we are screaming. We're harmonizing. I'm air drumming, almost rolling my Kia. It was I don't

Lauran: think I don't think that's a hear me out because you get massive

Jordan: bonus points as a guest because you have named our most seen live artists. We've seen Blink 182 every time they've been.

At Cleveland, at least I have, I will say the only other band that puts on a better performance is 21 Pilots. They do. Really?

Lauran: Yes.

Jordan: Especially with us, um, being in, because we'll see them in Cleveland. It's a home, like, it's essentially a hometown show for them. So, like, it is. Oh, that's where they're from? Yeah, they're from Columbus.

Yeah, they're from

Lauran: Columbus. I had

Jordan: no idea. Yep, that's crazy. Yeah, so, and they still live in Columbus. Yeah, they still live in, um, I forget what, I think it's either like, Gahanna or Dublin, where they're Somewhere around there. Yeah, somewhere in the suburbs of Columbus, but yeah, they are, uh, yeah, they're still Ohio, so it's just like, it's an event when they play an Ohio show.

Yeah, actually, so Oh, of course.

Lauran: They, we just went and saw them in September and, um, or October, whatever, a friend of ours. Um, she went with her boyfriend to see them and then they were playing in Cleveland and then also in Columbus the following week. They went to both shows, and like, from where we are located, Columbus is like a two and a half hour drive, so, which is fine, it's not a big deal for a concert, but like, that's some dedication.

I'm

Jordan: also upset with her because, if I'm right, she was at the show where they recorded the live music video for Routines in the Night, and I was just like, oh my god.

Lauran: Yeah, it was pretty lucky.

Tyler: Here's what I'm confused about now, because in my mind, the blink 182, because it's so like high energy and like, not like that chill, like long drive vibe, if that's not a hear me out, what is,

Lauran: I guess, I think a hear me out is something that your friends are like, what?

Like, why are you putting this on the radio right now?

Jordan: I will say my hear me out, hear me out. Cause it's just, it'll get the car excited and it doesn't seem like a road trip song. Yeah. Careless Whispers, George Michael. Ohhh. It is. Oh my god. As soon as that comes on, everybody loses their mind. Everybody's playing air sax.

You're just screaming those lyrics. I love George Michael. And I know that song's kind of a meme. It is magic.

Lauran: One of my favorite things to do is to just play, like, nonsense songs and just, like, memes throughout the whole car ride. Because usually it's not just Jordan and I. Like, usually our friends are coming with us.

So Like, when, when we leave Ohio to go down to, like, South Carolina, we head, like, through the mountains of West Virginia, and the whole time, I'll just, like, everyone will be chillin in the car, regular music is playing, and then I'll just randomly pop on some, like, Hardcore banjo music and it's like down there and it's like it just makes the road trip so much more fun You know what?

Jordan: want is I just want an audio clip of that as a stinger

Lauran: I thought I did a pretty good. I did a good imitation of a banjo. I mean It's just fun though. I like that. That's my hear me out is random banjo music.

Tyler: Well, I, here's the problem. So what a lot of people don't know about me and probably wouldn't guess about me is that like that direction of like punk rock in like my favorite genre of music is metal.

Like, I'm a huge Slipknot fan, I'm, like, I'm a huge, I love A Day to Remember, I love Pierce the Veil, I love, you know, like,

Lauran: Okay, I'm not trying to show my feet or anything, but I have a A Day to Remember lyric tattooed on my foot.

Tyler: You can't do this for free, what are you doing, Lauren?

Lauran: Okay, so I want a picture of, uh, Of, well, a cranberry juice.

I want a cranberry jug, uh, superimposed over my foot to cover it.

Tyler: That's a good idea. Yeah, I was gonna say, you know, like, foot, foot finder's a very real career.

Lauran: No, I'm good. I'm good. I'm, no. I'm good. Um, but I, I can't, I can't recover from that one. Oh my god. No, but we, we love them too. And, like, Jordan, so Jordan actually.

Was, uh, like signed to a record label that was owned by Alessana.

Jordan: Yeah, so we, it was, um, it was a subsidiary of Sony Records and it was signed by Sean Melke from Alessana. It was called Revival Records. Yeah. Um, yeah, I, I did that, did the whole touring thing and everything. I was on the phone with him quite a bit.

Super nice guy. What did you play? I played guitar and fun fact, I did The Screams.

Lauran: Yeah, he does not seem like a screamer, but

Jordan: oh,

Tyler: no. Oh my god. Oh my god. I'm not leaving until I hear a scream Like amazing I can't do it like I

Lauran: It's so it's so unlike his personality like yeah What and we hear this all the time like especially when he was still in the band.

It was like Oh, Jordan doesn't look like that's what he was, he would do, or I would never think he would do that because he's so like, he gives off very much like golden retriever energy also, so it's funny to see like when he was on stage and I would like watch him on stage and be like, who are you?

You're a mystery.

Tyler: Well, you know, it's funny. So when I was in college, so I went to school at Emanuel college in Boston and right down the street was Berkeley arts music school. So like a lot of the people, and I spent like the entire four years of my college, like out and about it, like. All of the other schools and in the city and all this.

So I met a lot, a lot, a lot of kids from Berkeley. And we'd go to like parties with people and Berkeley does this really, really cool thing where like you imagine a house party for a college and it's like upstairs is just like people. Drinking downstairs, people drinking Berkeley house parties are different on like the the main floor and up is just like a house party But in the basement is a show where all of these kids are like training themselves and like trying out new songs and all this and what I'd come to find was like I'd be upstairs for a little bit like talking to kids and I'd meet the most like Chill, like, like, borderline, like, calm, like, very simple people, and then they'd go downstairs, and they'd be like, pig squealing into the microphone, while someone's on, like, while someone's ripping, like, drop D, the most metal guitar you've ever heard in your whole life, and I'm like, Jerry, what are you doing?

I was like, I thought you'd be singing like Cher. I, I didn't, I didn't know what to expect at him, but it wasn't this.

Lauran: Yeah, I'll have to, okay, after, after this, I'll have to share with you his band and, because their music is still on Spotify. You can still listen to it. Okay. So, I'll have to, I'll have to share with you so you can listen to it, because I, I might be biased, but I thought it was, it was pretty good.

Um, but yeah, okay. So, speaking of Like all these chaotic situations. All right, I have one more question that I want you to answer and then we'll go to a real quick break, okay? So, you seem like you give chaotic energy and I love it and it makes,

Theme: I'm

Lauran: sure it makes your classroom so fun. So, I, I wanna know, okay.

Let me paint a picture for you. You're in your classroom.

Theme: It's

Lauran: a normal school day. Kids are working on something independently. You're working on something at your desk. And then all of a sudden, you hear alarms go off. And it's the start of the apocalypse. Okay? And you're stuck in your classroom. You have to barricade yourself into your classroom.

I want to know, what do you have in your classroom that you're going to entertain yourself with? For the next, like, decade that you're barricaded into your classroom with these kids, and how are you surviving?

Tyler: Okay, so I didn't know what the hell was gonna what was Okay, so So here's one thing that I will say about my chaotic energy is that my M.

for being a teacher is that, like, You need to have fun in the classroom. Kids need to be able to walk in and be like, we're going to get work done. And once the work's done and we like show that we can do it, we're going to have like a ball. We're going to chill. We're going to do what we need to do. So I have a couple of things.

Actually, I think that like my classrooms, especially historically, are like. They're the ones you want to get locked in. I have like a mini basketball hoop that we can play basketball on. I always have a TV because I'm not like a projector type. I can't do it. I don't like writing on a whiteboard if I don't have to.

So I have a TV that can connect to all of my streaming platforms and movies and all this, but even more than that, I am a game classroom. I have Jenga. I have Monopoly. I have Connect four. I have like all of the I have probably 30 different games in my classroom at all times, specifically because there will not be a time where students just like sitting around doing nothing.

If you're so far ahead that you're like done in 10 minutes. That's fine, but you're going to be doing something. And also like as an English teacher, you have like a lot at your disposal for like students that like to read. I have 400 books in the class.

Lauran: The

Tyler: biggest thing for me is like, we can watch movies, we can watch TV, we can watch like.

Any live channel that we want, but it's, it's somewhere between like the streaming and the games. And I honestly think that with how competitive I am and how much of an asshole I am when it comes to like games like Jenga and I'm like, you're not going to win. And they're like, Mr. J I'm going to kill you.

That's the problem is that like, if we were talking apocalypse I wouldn't be so worried about how I'm going to entertain myself. It would be more of like, how am I going to get these kids to not murder me? Now that they have the opportunity. Now that they can get away with it, how am I not going to become like Yeah, they're like,

Lauran: there's nothing holding us back now, we can get rid of him.

The

Tyler: big thing for me is like, screw the Netflix, how am I not going to become dinner in this classroom right now?

Jordan: I was going to say, it's, how do we prevent Lord of the Flies from happening in this classroom right now? There you go, there you go. Thank

Tyler: you. Do you know how quickly I'd be, uh, what's his name?

Who's the one that got rolled over by a rock? It's like bubbles or something like that.

Lauran: Bubbles. I honestly, I can't even lie. I never read Lord of the Flies. It's been so long

Jordan: since I read Lord of the Flies.

Lauran: Okay, then I think you're solid for an apocalypse to happen. I don't think you guys will be bored at all.

Jordan: I was gonna say, the threat is definitely from within in that classroom. Yeah, I don't think you're

Lauran: safe in there, but you'll definitely be having fun.

Tyler: But I think one thing that's beautiful is that like in this apocalypse, assuming that there's still internet connection, we would just be like making TikToks the whole time and we'd have a ball.

Lauran: He'd be like, Day 47, locked in my classroom!

Tyler: Two kids have tried to kill me, no big deal. It happens.

Lauran: Oh my god, that would, I'm not gonna lie, that, I love my students to death, don't get me wrong. But I also think I would become dinner, I don't know if they would, I don't know if they'd put up with me for, for long.

But I agree, I agree, my classroom is also a classroom you would want to be locked in, I feel like, cause I literally have a futon in there, so, a bed, I have a fridge, uh, granted, no food, but like, you know, if we, if we happen upon something, I have something to keep it cold. And then,

Jordan: you

Lauran: know, if they dropped like, you know, like in Fortnite, when they drop like loot crates or whatever, I could like, you know, if they drop one outside my window, I'm on the first floor.

I could just make a dash for the loot crate and jump back in the window.

Tyler: Yeah, honestly, I think that if I was stuck in, especially if I was stuck in a room, like, back when I was teaching, like, elementary, I would be like, alright, we're gonna make it, and then one kid would say I have, like, skibbity Ohio riz, and I would sacrifice myself.

Lauran: Okay, not gonna lie, that actually took place in the classroom today, uh, because You know, we are we were just announcing something and after we said every last sentence I heard Like every single time and I was like, oh my gosh

Tyler: No,

Lauran: like

Tyler: no, you can count me out of that one

Lauran: the Just listening to I I don't want to count how many times i've heard the word skippity in my life No,

Tyler: i'll take no for 500 alex.

I'm good. You can miss me with that any day of the week

Lauran: I'm, not i'm not a hater of any slang like I like all the new words that kids come up with I think it's fun Keeps things interesting I But Skibbity is probably one of the worst.

Jordan: I say that was the first one I was just completely oblivious to until I walked into Walmart the other day and there was a Skibbity toilet toll toy.

Yeah. I was just like, what is this?

Lauran: Yes. No, I am a hater. I had my kids for Halloween this year. I had them draw my Halloween costume and one of them Skibbity toilet. So. You know, I would quit.

Tyler: No, I'd lose my job. No, 100%. No, see ya. I'll try another career. I'll find something else to do with this English and secondary education degree.

Bye.

Lauran: I, I would also. I'm like, if I, the day I become a skibbity toilet is the day that I quit my job.

Tyler: No, a hundred percent. I could not agree more.

Lauran: Hopefully that never happens to us.

Jordan: What I'm gonna do though now is I'm going to buy a toilet seat and I'm just gonna hang it on you at inappropriate times without your knowledge.

Lauran: I'm gonna be so sad. I'll cry.

Tyler: If we don't come back from this break and she has a toilet on top of her head, I'm gonna lose my mind. Cause that would be hysterical.

Jordan: Oh my god, I wish I had this prepared. I

Lauran: know. He's gonna, he's gonna go run and like, MacGyver, a papier mâché toilet.

Theme: I would love that.

Lauran: We'll be right back from this break, and we'll figure out who Lord of the Flies character, which one that was.

But, alright. We'll be, we'll be back. I'll be a toilet. You sound so defeated. It's fine. I know. Alright guys, welcome back. So we did learn, thanks to our producer Rob, over the break, that the character's name, Piggy, Not Bubbles.

Tyler: That's, I think the thing I'm learning, it took me 27 years to find out that I had ADHD.

Which everyone else is like, how?

Lauran: Fun fact, I, I, I didn't find out until I was 29. So, you know, it's, it's okay.

Tyler: You know, but I'm realizing, one of the things that my psychiatrist was like, yeah, obviously. Is that moments like that, where I'm like, what was that character's name? I won't sleep.

Lauran: Right you have to figure it out.

Tyler: I will lay awake like I

Lauran: am the same exact way you have to it's like it's gonna Gnaw at your brain until you you figure it's like a an itch. You can't scratch. I hate

Tyler: 100%. It's the worst thing

Lauran: So today we are gonna play kind of like a riddle game and a producer Rob with the help of chat GPT has come up with three riddles for us to try and solve so the first riddle reads I'm a treasure, hidden from sight, growing quietly with each passing year.

Though you cannot hold me, I shape how you see the world. What am I? This is like those itches you can't scratch. Oh god. I'm gonna be honest, like, I'm not terrible at riddles, but I take a while to think through them. Like some people are so quick with it, I'm not.

Tyler: I'm a treasure,

Lauran: hidden from sight, growing quietly with each passing year.

Jordan: Retirement account.

Lauran: Yes.

Jordan: Is it really?

Lauran: No, I don't know. Can you imagine? It's a

Jordan: Roth IRA.

Lauran: Oh, we get a hint. Oh, we're getting a real time hint. Oh, what's the hint? Oh, god. Oh, okay, well, here, I'm dumb. They're all classroom related.

Tyler: Oh. Okay, well, now I need to think of that. Now I need to think about this. I'm a treasure hidden from sight.

Lauran: Growing quietly with each passing year. Though you cannot hold me, I shape how you see the world. What am I? Okay, so I my brain now that I know it's classroom and education related. I'm thinking it's Something like you in like instill in your students.

Jordan: Is it knowledge?

Lauran: Maybe.

Jordan: Because I feel like that's knowledge.

Growing

Lauran: every year. Yeah, it's a treasure. You can't hold it But you shape it shapes how you see the world. Knowledge. Knowledge. Yeah,

Tyler: I mean that makes sense if we if it's not knowledge, then I'm gonna lose my mind

Lauran: It's knowledge! Yay! Good thing we have a smart person with us. I was gonna say,

Tyler: the minute that you said riddle, I was like, alright, time to take a back seat.

Lauran: Alright, um, so Jordan, you're gonna be the star of the show now. Oh boy, yay, finally. It's my time to shine. It's your time

Tyler: to shine. We should do three, and then with each one, if he got it right, he can't help with the second one. And then whichever one of us gets it right, the last person's just like, put on, put on like the hot seat and he was like, finger that dummy.

Lauran: Let's do it. Okay. Okay, riddle, riddle two.

Tyler: Okay, I was joking. I'm 100 percent gonna end up alone on the last one.

Lauran: And that's what I'm praying for. No.

Tyler: Oh, God.

Lauran: Riddle number two. I'm a language without letters, understood worldwide, without a single word, er, single sound. What am I?

Tyler: American Sign Language. Okay,

Lauran: okay.

Not American Sign Language.

Tyler: Is it not?

Lauran: No, American Sign Language still has letters.

Tyler: Do they technically? Yeah, they

Lauran: use signs for like, What is it? L A U R A N.

Tyler: But I guess, theoretically speaking, it's not like a written letter. It would be more of like a representative of the letter. But math, unfortunately, is probably the right, it's probably the right answer.

Lauran: Listen, am I, if I, if I'm about to end up alone on this last riddle, I swear. Alright. Oh my god!

Tyler: Two for two, baby! You know what the problem is? He's just gonna get all three of these. How many do we have?

Lauran: Just the third.

Tyler: Oh no. So, oh, good lord. Okay. But you

Lauran: got the second one, so that means I'm,

Tyler: I didn't get the second one.

He got the second one.

Lauran: When did say math? I

told him the second one.

When did you tell, tell us. He told me the second one. . When? Because I, where was I? I

Jordan: knew at the first, as soon as you said I'm a language without letters, I was like, oh, it's math.

Lauran: Here's US American Sign Language, LA ui. I'm like, I'm trying to spell my name.

No, that

Tyler: was never gonna work for me.

Lauran: Oh, no.

Jordan: Because you could write and discuss without ever like speaking in mathematics. Yeah, it's. It was math.

Tyler: Okay, so now here's what's going to happen. Lauren, we're on a team. It is now a two versus one. Oh, okay. Okay, I like this. All right, we have

Lauran: to win this. We have to, we have to.

Tyler: It's all for nothing.

Lauran: Uh, what is that word when you're trying to, uh, redeem? Yes, we have to redeem ourselves. I'm

Tyler: terrified. I know I'm not going to, but I'm ready to try.

Lauran: Riddle number three. Though I am not a class. I'm part of school. Though I'm not a playground, I'm filled with kids.

Uh, okay. Though I'm not a class. I'm part of the school. Though I'm not a playground, I'm filled with kids. Is it a cafeteria? A bus. Oh, wait, wait. A part of school? Nobody says it's a part of the school. Is

Jordan: it school spirit?

Lauran: Part of school. School spirit is filled with kids?

Tyler: Yeah, but like, the kids would be full of spirit.

Yeah, they would be full of it.

Jordan: Um, okay, um.

Lauran: I, I'm gonna say, I think it's a cafeteria. What about like a,

Jordan: what about like a yearbook? Oh.

Lauran: Oh my god, if I, It's a,

Jordan: I think it's a yearbook.

Lauran: Alright, I think you're right. I feel like you're also right. Okay, ready?

Tyler: I'm ready.

Lauran: Oh my god, it was a school bus! I thought it was a school bus!

We were just thinking more like a profound answer. No, just a bus. Just a

Jordan: bus.

Lauran: But wait, that doesn't make sense. It says part of school. Yeah, it's part of school. We are

Theme: the champions, my friend. Oh, yay!

Lauran: No, I was, I was adding an article into the sentence. I was adding, I am part of a school. So I was thinking it was like an actual part of the building, or like part of,

Tyler: I told you guys I'm not good with riddles.

You know what my dumb ass went to? When you said I'm part of a school, I took the word school, and it was like, what letters inside of the

Theme: S C H O O L? Uh, CHOOL! CHOOL!

Tyler: It's a CHOOL! Yeah, I thought it was gonna be like, cool, and I'm like, no, that's definitely not it.

Lauran: Oh my gosh, a bus. Hey, I got one.

Tyler: I'm feeling great.

Lauran: Yeah, well, I guess I'm the loser today.

Jordan: Yeah, I got none over there. I got

Lauran: none. Hey, I remembered how to spell my name in sign language. So, I am a winner. Thumbs

Tyler: up. Look at you go.

Lauran: Look at me go. I know

Tyler: one thing in sign language and it's how to say F U. So, I don't know if I'm the right fit for that.

Lauran: Uh, no, uh, don't say that.

I'll say, fun

Jordan: fact, my mom used to teach sign language. Oh

Lauran: yeah, she did. Yeah. What? Does she still know it?

Jordan: Uh, no, she's, she's too out of like, she hasn't done it in so long. Yeah, but yeah, she Are you fluent? My mom used to teach No, I don't know sign language. I've only I'm not my mom. I have

Lauran: learned a few words in sign language because there's a student at our school who is deaf.

Um, so, you know, we use sign language to communicate with him. And so I, I don't know many words, but I just know like a couple. Um, and I mean, I know, I feel like thank you is one everyone kind of knows. It's like this, thank you. Um, and then I think what's stop is stop. I think it's this. Yeah,

Tyler: that makes sense.

Lauran: no. It's either no or stop is one of those. Well, you

Tyler: know what's funny? What I learned when I, because obviously like part of the role of being a teacher is like, you need to find ways to make the money to like make ends meet. So like, obviously the way that you do that is through like other degrees and licenses and stuff like this.

In. The, so this obviously could have changed and I also could be very wrong because it's just by word of mouth and I don't trust humans, but I got told that in Boston public schools, the, if you get a certificate for being like bilingual, being like, obviously you speak English and then, uh, being able to do American sign language, you can add like 18, 000 to your salary.

Lauran: Nice. Wow. Yeah. Cause like the, like I was saying, the student in our school, um, he's not in my class. So that's why, like, I, I'm not. Like fluent by any means sure, but he's in my friend's class So I she's like is teaching me by when she comes and brings him down to visit us And yeah, I just think it's so interesting.

Like I would love to learn how to speak sign language. There's actually a creator I follow Who does that like I can't remember his name Off the top of my head, I'll have to look for it. But, um, he, he does videos where he teaches, you know, sign language of the day. And it's like a couple of words a day that he teaches people.

And there are ones that are, you could, ones you would use frequently and, you know, different topics and subject matter. So it's really, really cool to learn.

Tyler: Well, did you see that guy that like absolutely exploded on Tik Tok? Cause he taught himself how to read. And like each, it was like, it was like once or twice a week, he would make content about like all of the words that he learned and like the sentences that he learned.

And it was like the most heartwarming thing you've ever seen in your entire life. And he's got like millions of followers because it's like, why wouldn't you people want to follow along on his journey? He was like completely illiterate and then he was like reading full books by the end of it. Wow.

Lauran: That's so inspiring. That is.

Tyler: I think he, I think he was on like Good Morning America or something, but it's like those are the creators where I'm like, I'm glad that something like TikTok exists because then I can see these people just like. I guess like, I mean, changing your

Lauran: life,

Tyler: changing your life, but being able to do it on like that public stage, you know, I think it's a beautiful thing.

Lauran: Yeah, and that's such a good like model and, you know, lesson to show other kids because we all know kids are on TikTok and for them to like see that kind of content is really cool because kids are in that stage. Of life where it's uncool to not know things or they think so they think and like, I just had this discussion with them today.

I was like, guys, when you don't understand something, I'm like, there are no stupid questions like you, if you don't understand something and you ask, it's showing that you care enough about yourself to raise your intelligence and your build your knowledge and your background knowledge. And learn something additional to what you already know.

And,

Theme: like,

Lauran: I, I wish that kids could get out of the mindset of, you know, feeling, you know, judged when they're wrong because they're like, there are so many opportunities to learn when you are not afraid to ask questions about things you don't know. And I think as teachers, that's something really important to me because I have known plenty of teachers.

Who are like, get really, I guess, defensive or get really, you know, offended or feel disrespected when a student corrects them or when they don't know something, they feel like they need to know everything. And the fact of the matter is we're all human and we, nobody knows everything. And I'm, I'm very open and honest with my students about that and telling them like, you know, if they bring something up in class where, you know, it's a piece of information that I don't know.

I, I, I flat out, I'm like, you know, I didn't know that I'll have to look that up. Or, you know, I, when we were reading a book the other week. Um, the text in our textbook was about, um, scientists that were going onto a ship to study a certain type of, um, dolphin and how they were being trapped in these nets.

And the net, uh, it was, it was something specific. It was called a. Purse saner and it's like a drawstring net essentially that just collects all this tuna in it, but dolphins can swim out of it so they don't get, you know, caught in the net.

Theme: And

Lauran: when I, when I came across the word as I'm reading the text to them, I purposely made a point to be like, you know, I've never heard of this word before.

Let me look it up. And I got on my phone and I put it into like Google to like pronounce it for me and then looked up the definition and. Like I think that's such a good skill to demonstrate to kids because they always feel like they have to know everything and that we have to know everything and we don't and I think that's a life skill to teach.

Tyler: A hundred percent. You have to model that.

Lauran: Yeah, don't just be okay with ignorance and not knowing it. Look it up. Find the research yourself.

Tyler: Absolutely. Also, it's like, I think that one thing that teachers get wrong so often, and the thing that my students, like, there are a million things that I've done wrong as a teacher.

There are a million things I can't do as a teacher, but one thing that I will say my students have Always appreciated is in the beginning of the year. I tell them I'm like, I do not know everything about everything I'm not gonna pretend that I'm this all knowing being I'm not in any way superior to any of you all like there are certain things That I have an ADHD fixation on and I know a lot about one of them is Shakespeare But I told him I was like I was like during this school year I'm probably going to learn more from you about various things than you will learn from me about one isolated topic in an English class.

Lauran: Kids are insanely smart.

Tyler: But that's the thing. I was like, that doesn't make me a failure and it doesn't make you superior. It makes us like a coagulation of different experiences that can ultimately lead to a positive thing. There are things that I can, there are experiences I can never understand. And I can only learn them from going straight to the source, you know, and I think that that's like like the individuality of it all makes them realize that like they as an existing entity.

Are something that to learn about, you know, and the knowledge that comes with that is, it's just beautiful. Like, let's fill each other's cups. There's no reason not to.

Lauran: I agree. 100%. 100%. Well, I thank you so much for coming on our show today. It was so much fun catching up. And, um, I just want to give you a minute to talk about, like, any of the cool projects that you want to share with our audience, because you've got a few of them.

Tyler: Oh yeah, so right now the stuff that I'm ready to talk, there's, there's, there's so much going on at once, but basically the focus right now is I actually have my own podcast that I've been working on. It's called the no one asked for this podcast because single person. Asked for it. Um, no one asked for

Lauran: ours either,

Tyler: but that's the thing, like a podcast and like, how are we going to sit down here and talk about what we listened to in the car?

And the fact that he knows how to scream. It's like people need to talk. We need to get back to talking. So I got my own podcast. I've brought on a couple of other content creators, influencers, educators. It's all sort of around the idea of just like, Okay. We're all living in this generation. It's like, why, why not talk about it?

I brought a former student of mine on. Um, actually, the next episode that we I

Lauran: was gonna say, you have to dress up now. I saw this video. Go ahead and explain.

Tyler: I have this. That I'm gonna have to wear.

Lauran: That is a beautiful mustache. No one else has said

Tyler: that. So, enjoy that. So, like the thing with my podcast is that it's just like, it's very light hearted.

It's very like, it's just like good news. It's feeling happy about things. Uh, it's my students roasting me to death. Uh, and then other than that like, obviously we're gonna talk about education because it's It's the core of our society. So yeah, the no one asked for this podcast is on Spotify, YouTube and Apple podcast.

Other than that, something that actually dropped today is my merch store that I've been working on. Uh, we just got it on tick tock shop. So I have two of the three pieces of merch that are available in the shop right now. The first one is this beauty. That says students deserve better. I

Lauran: love that. I want one.

Tyler: It's warm as hell. I've been sweating my ass off this entire podcast. But I'm thinking like when I'm back on the East Coast, when it's nice and cool outside, or even since I'm in the desert right now, so when the clock strikes 4, it's going to drop to like 20 degrees, this will be really, really nice. Um, also the proceeds from this are going to go towards one thing that I can't tell you all about yet.

But a lot of the proceeds are also going to go to charities like, uh, No Kid Hungry, who I've been talking to. Love it. Um, all for a good cause. The other one that I have here says, Yes, I'm a teacher. No, don't ask me how my day was. So, in case you want to not get your teacher another mug that has their initial of their last name on it.

I got some stuff that'll actually make them laugh and they'll want to wear it in school

Lauran: or world's best teacher mugs Oh my god, if I get another friggin world's

Tyler: best teacher mug, I would lose my mind It's the craziest thing and actually fun fact I took that fact that teachers hate getting mugs and I made one that's actually funny where on the front it says Don't talk to me until you can see the bottom of this mug and on the bottom.

It says alright, you're good So

Theme: if you're going

Tyler: to get him a mug, get him a mug that doesn't suck. But all of that, if you go to, if you find me on Tick Tock at Fishing for Clout, my merch store is linked to my Tick Tock shop. So please, that's what I got going on.

Lauran: Love that. Yeah, I'm gonna have to, I'll have to hit that up because I love that hoodie and I, I mean, this sweatshirt is funny.

I think that's the way to send you one.

Tyler: Don't worry about it. I'll get you one. No, no,

Lauran: no. The money's going to a good cause. I'm a buy it. Um, but also guys, I know, I know he can't share with you what his like super awesome project is, but just know it's a good one. And then he told me about it. I'm super excited for it.

I can't wait for you guys to hear about it.

Tyler: And the moment that the moment that it's ready, yeah. And it, it, it's, it's where it needs to be. Everyone's going to know about it. If you, if you want hints about what it is or to talk to me about it, you can DM me on Instagram. It's at Tyler Joukowsky official.

We can talk, we can, we can hint about it. We can, we can have little conversations, but yeah, no, that. That reveal is coming out very, very soon.

Lauran: Can't wait to hear it. Well, thank you so much, Tyler, for being here. We're super excited for everything that you guys, you guys, well, you and, you know, your girlfriend are doing and hope you're enjoying life right now.

So I am

Tyler: loving, loving life. Hate driving, but loving life.

Lauran: Tyler was fun. He was a lot of fun. I had a blast. I can't wait to have him back on the show. I was gonna

Jordan: say, absolutely.

Lauran: All right, so it is time for this week's special bond. Oh

Jordan: wait, we started back off the break. I thought you were just talking. No, I was starting. I just popped my back on camera.

Lauran: Jordan didn't even know that we were talking to you guys.

Jordan: didn't, I thought.

Lauran: Are you ready?

Jordan: Yeah, I'm ready.

Lauran: All right. Well, we're just, we're going from there because, I mean, movie magic. We're

Jordan: keeping it. We're doing it live. Let's go. We are. All right,

Lauran: Jordan.

Jordan: Take us

Lauran: away.

Jordan: All right. This is a special bond from Ashley. I'm sorry, Ashley. I popped my back before I started reading your story.

Just getting ready. I am 31 years old and I am getting old, so. All right. My second grade teacher had a huge impact in my education. She believed in me when I didn't believe in myself. She was the reason why I became a teacher. During my program, I was able to student teach with her in second grade. She has always been there for me.

She had helped me throughout my education journey and never stopped believing in me. She even helped me set up my room. We are still in contact today.

Lauran: That is amazing. I was

Jordan: gonna say, that reminds me too of you and, uh, Andrea.

Lauran: Yeah, how

Jordan: much like when you find that formative teacher or formative mentor, how much you just

Lauran: kind of click with and they just become like a lifelong friend.

Oh,

Jordan: yeah. So

Lauran: I've had, I have two of those. Well, kind of, sort of Andrea is definitely like. My top tier number one teacher and slash lifelong friend, like she was a huge role model for me. She's become kind

Jordan: of like a quasi big sister to you. I agree. Yeah,

Lauran: because I don't, I didn't have any sisters growing up.

So she kind of filled that role for me when I, she was my ninth grade English teacher and she got me into speech and debate. Uh, which was a huge, huge impact in my life. I, I can't say enough good things about speech and debate. So, if you've never heard of or participated in, um, a, like a speech team, highly recommend you look into it because it's literally life changing.

It, it just. It's so much fun and you gain so many amazing skills from it and meet so many cool people. Um, but I digress. Hey,

Jordan: that's my

Lauran: thing. I'm dying grass. Um, but Andrea was kind of my, you know, my second grade teacher for you, Ashley. I, I just loved going to her class and then our, like, because she was my coach for all four years of high school, then we kind of, after I graduated, Kept in touch.

And I, she actually asked me to come back and coach, which I did for 10 years. And we're still friends even now. I mean, we just, I just saw her a couple of weeks ago at a mutual friends wedding. Um, and we were just talking about life stuff and, um. Like, uh, like Jordan and I were trying to start a family, so I was getting advice and stuff about things I needed to know from her because she's been there, done that, and it's just like an amazing connection that you can have with like that one special teacher in your life, um, but like, as far as yours goes with going back into your second grade teacher's classroom.

When you student taught. So when I was a senior in high school, like my kindergarten teacher was like one of my favorite elementary school teachers. Her name was Mrs. Schnernberger. It's such a fun love. I know she was so fun. And I remember my senior year, not really knowing what I wanted to do with my life.

Um, I kind of toyed around with the idea of going to law school. I, you know, was a little bit hesitant in that. And I, then I was like, Oh no, I want to go to. School to be a pastry chef cause I loved baking. And then I, you know, I had already, I had always loved school, but I just didn't know what I wanted to do.

And they, my school gave me a day to go and job shadow. So I chose to job shadow my kindergarten teacher. And, um, I went into her classroom and it just felt like I was back in, like I had gone back, you know, 10, 11 years. And. Like the nostalgia hit hard, um, but she was always so encouraging and, um, she, you know, after I job shadowed in her class, I knew like that was what I wanted to do.

I wanted to work with kids and I wanted to have fun with them and learn. Um, so I'm, I'm really grateful that you had the same experience or a similar experience to what I experienced. So that's really awesome, Ashley.

Jordan: I just did mental math here for a second.

Lauran: Yeah.

Jordan: Those kindergartners, like you job shadow.

Cause that would have been 2012, right?

Lauran: Are you about to make me feel disgustingly old?

Jordan: I think they just graduated this year.

Lauran: Did they?

Jordan: Yeah, because that would have been 12 years in school.

Lauran: Like 2024?

Jordan: Yeah, either they graduated this year or next year.

Lauran: Oh my god, that's so nice. Congratulations, class of 2024.

I was in your classroom when you were in kindergarten.

Jordan: That doesn't sound creepy at all. It doesn't!

Lauran: What do you mean? I was in your classroom.

Jordan: I was in your classroom.

Lauran: That sounded creepy.

Jordan: Reminded me of salad fingers. Oh,

Lauran: get out of here with your salad fingers. Anyway, if you would like to send in your special bond that you had with a teacher, or if you're a teacher and you had a special bond with maybe a colleague or another student or anybody that you want to share with us, please send them to hello at wearefinepod.

com. We would love to read them on the podcast and kind of give our thoughts and, you know, share a nice little moment with

Jordan: you. A little special bond. A nice little special bond with you. on.

Lauran: Um, so definitely make sure to reach out there. If you also want to tell us who else we should have on the show, aside from Tyler, who is phenomenal and all of our other amazing guests that we've had so far, uh, definitely reach out at hello at we are fine pod.

com or you can reach out to our podcast family at human content pods on Instagram and tick tock.

Jordan: So I guess if you want to watch full videos of this, Because you're crazy or something or if you want to see Tyler

Lauran: with a Lorax mustache.

Jordan: Yes

Lauran: Definitely definitely check it out.

Jordan: That is one beautiful. I wish I could grow A mustache like that.

You won't let me.

Lauran: Okay. Okay. I was gonna say i'm like, I feel like you definitely Yes.

Jordan: Ah, could you imagine just like, just me, just manicuring my mustache just always sitting there? No, now it's a definite no. Mmm, whenever I'm deep in thought, I'll just mmm, yes, I'll just rub my fingers on the mustache and just be

Lauran: Why did my, why did my first thought just go to you having like eating chicken wings and getting like mild sauce all up in it?

Jordan: Oh, I love that. Me drinking milk and just having just a milk mustache on my mustache.

Lauran: Well, if you want to see something like that, definitely check out the actual video episodes on my YouTube channel, Mrs. Wooley in 5th.

Jordan: Yes, and thank you so much for listening. Uh, this is the We Are Fine podcast. We are your hosts.

And we are,

Lauran: we are fine. We're, we're going to be fine. Are

Jordan: we going to be fine? We're fine. Oh, we're fine. I guess, um, I guess I'm fine. And I guess my name is Jordan Woolley and I guess that's Lauren Woolley.

Lauran: Special thanks to our guest, Tyler Joukowsky. You can follow him at Tyler Joukowsky official on Instagram or fishinforclout on TikTok.

Jordan: love that name. Right? It's the best. I just imagine myself just out on a.

Lauran: I think that's how he got started was he was making like fishing videos. I didn't know that. I think I could be totally making that up, but I really hope

Jordan: you're making that up. I really want that. Like it was, it was just him just like reading books or something.

Just not something completely different from fishing. He was out fishing. That's how he came up with the name for clout. Oh my gosh. Our executive producers are Lauren Woolley, Jordan Woolley, Aaron Corny, Rob Goldman, and Shanti Brooks.

Lauran: Our editor is Andrew Sims.

Jordan: Our engineer is It's Jason Portizzo

Lauran: and our music is by Omer Bensby.

Jordan: To learn about our program disclaimer and ethics policy and submission verification and licensing term, go to our website at wearefinepod. com or reach out to us at hello at wearefinepod. com with any questions or concerns.

Lauran: This podcast discusses sensitive and challenging topics, including mental health and personal struggles.

If you are in crisis. If you are in crisis or need someone to talk to, please reach out to the Suicide Hotline at 988. The Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You are not alone.

Jordan: We are fine as a human content production.

Hey you! I love that shirt you're wearing. And you know what would go great with that shirt? What? A nice big virtual hug. And you can get that by hitting some of these buttons down here. Subscribe, like, comment. We'll give you a big ol virtual hug.

Lauran: Thank you so much for listening and we will see you guys next Wednesday.

Bye!