Lesson Plan Roulette with Nancy Chung

Jordan: The podcast you're about to listen to has content that may be distressing to some listeners. Be sure to check the description below for content warnings. And now, a poem by Lauren Woolley. 

Lauran: Not by Lauren Woolley. By A. I. In the style of Edgar Allan Poe. Content warning. Shadows of the heart. Dear listener, you enter a realm where the burdens of teaching intertwine with the delicate dance of love.

Within echoes of toil, passion, and perseverance may stir your soul and awaken specters of tension. and truth. Take heed, for these reflections may cut deep, as the ravens claw upon the heart. Venture forth if you dare, but tread carefully, there is no turning. 

Nancy: Also, happy early birthday, Edgar Allen Poe! We talked about the difference between maternity leave here in the U.

1. versus Japan. They get two years of maternity leave. Holy lord. I know, I'm like, two 

Lauran: years? We're lucky if we get weeks. So, Jordan, you want to move to Japan for like, maybe the next five years of our life?

So, starting the episode right here. 

Jordan: Hi everybody, we're so excited you could join us at We Are Fine. You're getting a behind the scenes look today because we were originally just supposed to start, but Lauren was so upset that we didn't clap that we are gonna now clap. Are you ready to clap? It was. 

Lauran: It's part of my routine now.

I 

Jordan: know, so we're gonna clap. Okay. Ready? One, two, three. Yay! We are fine. You've gotten back on track. 

Lauran: Before you were like going to like early. That was, 

Jordan: yeah, that was not, I don't know. I was in a dark space at that time apparently in my life. 

Lauran: Are you fine? 

Jordan: I don't know. I guess I wasn't. 

Lauran: But you are now?

Because my 

Jordan: claps were not in sync. 

Lauran: Are the earclaps in sync now? Yes, we're back! That's Backstreet Boys! I 

Jordan: know, but it was too perfect not to use! 

Lauran: Awww. Oh, okay, speaking of the Backstreet Boys and in sync. Yes. Okay, so, currently, while we're filming this episode, it's December 5th. And my students have been requesting holiday music, so I've been playing it, and the, like, NSYNC Christmas song came on, and I was like, oh, yeah, NSYNC, and I looked at my student teacher, and she was like, like, confused, I was like, NSYNC?

I'm like, do you know who NSYNC is? And she was like, because she's young, like, she's, you know. You know, she's in college 

Jordan: and literally, and she was like, no, who's in sync. 

Lauran: And I was like, I'm just going to go build my coffin now. I felt so old. I was like, I looked at her. I was like, we are, I'm not that much older than you.

I'm like, you are not that, like, you're not like, Decades younger than me that, like, you might not have known who NSYNC is. No, it's funny though, because, like, I do the same thing with Casey, because Casey's never seen the Harry Potter movies. And, like, we know what Potter, what Harry Potter house we are, like.

Type 

Jordan: of wand you have. 

Lauran: Yeah, we know all that, because we're, we're Harry Potter fans. Yeah. But like, she's like, nah, I've never seen him. I was like, like I had to clutch my pearls cause I was so distraught that she had never seen Harry Potter. I am mad 

Jordan: at your teacher, Bestie, and co teacher right now. Listen, it's okay.

I'm going to try, 

Lauran: I'm going to try to have like a girl's night and have like a movie marathon. 

Jordan: You better. I am upset. I am upset. If they're up 

Lauran: to it. I mean, I'm not going to force them to watch it, but like. 

Jordan: I am visibly shook. Oh, 

Lauran: okay. I have to tell this cause, okay, Casey laughs at this too. Yes, okay. So.

Back during Halloween, they had these like Hershey's Harry Potter. Yeah, like mini candies. And when you opened the candy, it 

Jordan: told you your house. It 

Lauran: told you what Harry Potter house you had. So it was like literally imprinted into the chocolate and I brought one to school one day and I tossed it at Casey said here like see what Harry Potter House you are and she was like what and I was like open it It'll tell you what what Harry Potter house you are, what Hogwarts house you're in.

So And she was like, okay, and she opens it. I can't even say it with a straight face. She opens it and she goes, What's Gryphonor? I was like Gryffindor.

Jordan: Gryphonor. 

Lauran: Gryphonor. I'm not even exaggerating that. She said Gryphonor. I 

Jordan: am now going to work the hardest I've ever worked in my life to make a fictitious parody universe and Gryphonor will be a house. Okay, so 

Lauran: we have Gryphonor You 

Jordan: Hogglepoof, Slytherin, 

Lauran: and, hold on wait, let me do the last one. 

Jordan: Okay, you got it.

Lauran: Uh, let's see, Ravenclaw.

No, that was bad. What's yours? What would you do? 

Jordan: I would do. So we 

Lauran: got Hogglepoof. Hogglepoof is 

Jordan: funny. But 

Lauran: you did Slytherin, that's not that different. 

Jordan: Yeah, but I was coming off the high energy of Hogglepoof, I was able to just throw that in underneath. 

Lauran: Hogglepoof, Slytherin, and Reuben Clue. I like that!

That's good. See, 

Jordan: this is what we workshop. Okay, so we have 

Lauran: Gryphonore, Hogglepoof, 

Jordan: Slytherin, and Reubenclue. 

Lauran: Is it Reubenclue or Reubenclue? Yes, 

Jordan: it's Reubenclue. Reubenclue. Because Like a Rubik's Cube? The House symbol and the mascot of the house is a Reuben sandwich.

I love Reuben sandwiches. I have one in D. C. actually. 

Lauran: And they have a whole shelf dedicated to murder mystery games. I like that. Reuben clue. 

Jordan: Reuben clue. 

Lauran: I feel like we could talk about this forever. We 

Jordan: could and we need to move on because this is just going to keep circling about. Alright, so 

Lauran: put in the comments which of the, okay wait, what's Hogwarts called in our alternate universe?

Hogwarts, 

Jordan: what's another word for warts, oh my god, swine boil. 

Lauran: Eww, no. Eww. Eww. 

Jordan: Oh, we got a visceral reaction with that. Yeah, 

Lauran: that just is nasty. 

Jordan: It's my parody comedy universe. Okay, 

Lauran: but I don't want it to be swine what? Swine 

Jordan: boil. 

Lauran: No, give me a better one. 

Jordan: Swine bunion? No. Swine tag. 

Lauran: How about no! Why do we have to use swine?

Can't we use like pig? 

Jordan: Hog? Piggy? Swine. Piggy boil? No, I don't that makes me sad. 

Lauran: A piggy boil, no. No. No. Uh, Piggy, Piggy, PiggySist. Ew, can you get away from the, like, the skin diseases? Are they diseases? They're not diseases. They're technically diseases, yeah. Okay, fine. Well, skin ailments, can you get away from those?

Skin I don't even know. Misfortunes? Skin misfortunes? Um What about, like, farts? 

Jordan: Piggy farts. 

Lauran: I feel like you just 

Jordan: wanted to throw fart in there, so fine, it can be piggy farts. I'm more of a fan of swine boil, but 

Lauran: Welcome to 

Jordan: the school 

Lauran: of witchcraft and wizardry. 

Jordan: Witterdry. No, it's Witterdry. Piggy farts, the school of Witterdry.

Welcome to 

Lauran: Piggy Farts. The school of wi witchcraft and wiry. Not 

Jordan: witchcraft. Just wiry 

Lauran: witchcraft. 

Jordan: Witchcraft. Ooh, 

Lauran: witchcraft and wiry. Alright. You could be part of 

Jordan: Gryphonor, 

Lauran: Hooglepoof, Slytherin, or Reuben Clue. So decide in the comments what house you're 

Jordan: in. And guess what everybody, we just got the word, it's coming over the air, Hulu's picking this up for its first season, 2032, executive co produced.

Lauran: And it's gonna be, it's going to be, um, Like a, a game show, kind of, but like a, almost like real life, a real world, real world. 

Jordan: It's gonna be a reality show. Yeah, 

Lauran: oh thank you, a reality show, I couldn't think of the word. It's gonna be a reality show, kind of like real world. Yeah. Um, but we're gonna pick 300 students to live in a school.

Jordan: And one of them's gonna be a demon Wittered. Named. Vagamaw. 

Lauran: Sure. All right. Anyway, wow, that took a turn. Um, so I think it's just about time to get into our guest for today. I 

Jordan: think we had enough of an intro. We're gonna 

Lauran: skip the small talk. That 

Jordan: had nothing to do with the rest of the show. 

Lauran: Let's get into today's guest because we have Honestly, one of my favorite people on the internet, and if you don't follow her, you should, Fancy Nancy in 5th, Nancy Chung, she is a phenomenal human, the kindest person ever, so creative, and just an all around amazing person, I am so excited to have her and talk about all of the different experiences that she's, she's had, and um, trips she's taken, and just so many Unique perspectives that she brings to the conversation from like her school and other schools.

She's visited. So you guys are in for a real treat today But let's go ahead and get right into it. All right, everybody. We are here with the fancy Nancy in fifth I'm so excited So excited. Hi, I was just on Nancy's podcast actually not too long ago and we had a blast. Like we, it was, um, Nancy, Josh Monroe, uh, and myself and we were chatting for like over an hour about anything and everything.

It was, it was great. Oh my gosh. I loved it. So we're super excited for you to be here on our show also. So thank you for being here and you're still in your classroom. Right? So you like just finished a school day. Yep. Yep. I kicked all the kids out. I'm like, hurry up. I have things to do. You're a trooper because I would be exhausted if I had to go straight into filming a podcast right after work.

And 

Jordan: I was going to say, ma'am, you had a two hour delay today too. I did. I 

Lauran: did have a two hour delay today. So I got to sleep in. Oh 

Jordan: yeah. 

Lauran: No, this was the part I was looking forward to all day, so thank you. 

Jordan: Aw, thank you! 

Lauran: And, Nancy, so, when we were talking on her podcast, because we're both 5th grade teachers, so we were kind of comparing classes and stuff, she, you have 36 kids, right?

36 students, all at once. Isn't that wild? 

Jordan: Because you have what you're, you're in a 

Lauran: I have a, I have a co-taught class. Yeah. 

Jordan: Of 17, of 

Lauran: 20. No, no, no. I wish, oh no. I have a co-taught class of 29. 

Jordan: 29 

Lauran: on a, on a day when everybody's there because like 90% of the time somebody's absent. Yeah. So you know, at most. We usually have like 26.

That's 

Jordan: just a lot. I think for one teacher to handle, 

Lauran: it is a lot, right? Nancy, Nancy is a beast when it comes to education. So I'm super excited for you to share your wealth of knowledge with. You know, our listeners as well. Um, if you want to take a second and just tell about yourself, what kind of content you make, and what kind of got you into doing 

Nancy: social media.

So, my name's Nancy Chung, also known as Fancy Nancy in 5th on TikTok and Instagram. Um, I didn't know that this whole teacher community existed on social media until I kept on posting all of my teacher content on my personal content. And one of my friends said, you know. There is, there is like a community of teachers.

Like if you want to post your teacher stuff, why don't you create a public teacher account and just upload everything there? I'm like, what? I didn't know that. And then once I discovered like one person, I was like searching hashtags and I found so many amazing teachers and educators on Instagram. And I started sharing like fun ideas, I, you know, that I do in my classroom in my fifth grade class, but also like classroom decorations, uh, cause I love like just decking out my classroom just because I spend so much time in my room, I want to make it beautiful, so I have a big couch in my room, I, like, every wall is different, and so I started sharing, like, classroom setup and classroom decor kind of content, and it just kind of blew up from there.

Lauran: I love it, and I 100 percent agree with that. My classroom is not this, it's not, your classroom is very, like, peaceful and cozy. My classroom is more, like, funky and, like, fun. Yeah. I'll call it. But, like Yeah, like all colorful, but I, I feel the same way about that. I feel like I spend so much of my time in that room, and so do the kids.

Like, Why not make it a space that you want to be in, you know? Yeah, so my students 

Nancy: walk in and they're like, oh, it feels like a home. I'm like, yes, this is our home. And we're a family. 

Lauran: It does. Your classroom does feel like a home. Like, I feel like I could live in your classroom. Please come live in my classroom.

I will, I will. I'll come camp out on the couch. 

Jordan: I'm so jealous of kids today because I remember when we were in school, it was like little like, just straight rows. And it was just like, Like the most bland room you can be in, just a couple posters, the cat hanging off the tree, hanging in there, and that was like it, and then like your classroom, like man, I wish I was a fifth grader to have like an awesome classroom like this.

Lauran: Listen, times have changed, and I, I think a lot of teachers are, are trying to make their classrooms really like enjoyable places for their students to be. 

Jordan: I know every once in a while, um, When you'll do like your classroom stuff, you'll get somebody in the comment who like hates on it. And it's like, this is too much.

Like kids need to pay attention. I just see that. I'm like, I think someone's a little jealous. They didn't get to grow up. Cause it's always an older white guy that's posting about that. It 

Lauran: happens. I mean, I get it. Like my classroom is not going to be everybody's cup of tea and that's okay. But like, I mean, I ask my students their opinion of things.

Like I'll ask them, like, do you guys like when I do this? Do you like this stuff? Would you rather me change this? And. I mean, I try to incorporate some of the things that they suggest, and a lot of the times they really like, you know, the things that we have in our classroom, and they feel, like, at home there, so, um, but your classroom, I feel like, every time I turn around, you have some amazing project displayed somewhere in your classroom.

Oh, fake. No, I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding, I'm just kidding. I know. 

Theme: I'm just kidding. 

Lauran: No, I know. No, I know, because you have the, you have the receipts, Nancy. You make the videos to prove that you have, like, Like, you're so creative and I just like, where do you come up with all, like, do you come up with all of this yourself or do you get inspiration from other people or is 

Nancy: it kind of a mixture?

A little bit of, yeah, a little bit of everything. Um, I was an art edu, I was an art education major so I, I started out, you know, wanting to be an art teacher and so since I went into like multiple subject, I try to incorporate art into everything I do and I love technology so that's what I try to do. I, I borrow and steal ideas from Instagram and TikTok and make it my own.

And every year I do the project, I just feel like I make it better and I add something else to it and it just, each year it just gets bigger and better. And the students are amazing. My students are amazing and they're able to, um, to do it, to create it. 

Lauran: Yeah, you have some awesome, I actually, so my, my co teacher Casey, she and I are very different, um, I'm very type A, she's more type B, but she's the crafty one in the, in the teacher bestie relationship, and I, Showed her your page, cause I was like, hey, like, you need to look at her, her account, cause she has so many cute ideas that you would totally be amazing at, like, implementing in, in our room, cause I, like, I know myself, I know my strengths, I know my weaknesses, like, I can draw, and like, I can do art, but when it comes to, like, crafting things, like, I had to do, um, Like I do, I partner with Cricket a lot and like I was making, I decided to make a scrapbook for one of my campaigns and it was literally like me being angry at my scrapbook because I was bad at scrapbooking.

Jordan: I came down, you were so upset, I could hear you yelling from the basement and I was just like, I think I'm gonna make, it was right before Thanksgiving and I made, uh, Like a little impromptu, like little pre Thanksgiving dinner and everything. I'm like, here you go. You brought me dinner. Your 

Lauran: glass of 

Jordan: wine and everything.

I was just like, I'm just going to. 

Lauran: Sympathy meal. Yes. So I, like, I showed her your page and we, we fell in love with the, cause we're working on ecosystems and biomes right now. So like your apex predator project. The paper clutch. Yes. She's like, okay, we're doing this. I'm like, that sounds fantastic. Yeah.

We'll do that. Hey, whatever you need, I'll send it your way. Oh my gosh. I, yeah, for sure. We're gonna check it out because I, I also love art and I love being able to incorporate like crafts and projects because that's what makes learning fun is when you do more hands on activities. And I, like, I just, how do you find the time?

Like, what, what is your schedule like that you are able to do so many, cause it's not even like you're just doing like one project every now and then, like, you have projects for everything, and I think that you're such an inspiration in terms of like, you're like, and I, and I said this on your show too, but I truly do mean it, like, I'm so inspired by the teacher that you are, and I, I hope to be this kind of teacher someday that can make these experiences for my students and like, Go above and beyond like that.

It's just so impressive. Thank you. My head is inflating so much. I'm like 

Nancy: filling up the screen. It should. You deserve to. Well, okay. So this is my 28th year of teaching. So I've been teaching for a while, so I know the fifth grade content pretty well. So I think I think, um, I'm having to study the standards and content a lot less because I, I've been doing it for a while.

I also don't sleep and, you know, and my, my own kids are all grown up and I'm an empty nester. So only person I have to really worry about is my, well, my husband, who I don't worry about, I just have to worry about taking care of my dog. And that's it. So I pour a lot of my time and attention on my students.

And you know, like some people are like, you know, you need to have a life outside of school. Well, I do. I, you know, I work hard and play hard, but I really maximize, maximize my time that I have. And, um, And it's just, it's, it's fun for me, and this is my creative outlet, so it works, 

Lauran: yeah. And your school's very much like that as well, isn't it?

I mean, I see all the time you're posting, like, they have, like, all kinds of family events and, you know, things to celebrate 

Nancy: students. Exactly. We have, like, an entrepreneur fair tonight. Uh, so as soon as I'm done recording, I have to hop on over to the middle school side because all these students, elementary and middle school students have set up their own shops.

And so I'm going to go shop. We have like international fair where all the different cultures represented at our school, like set up a booth and it's just, we, we have this huge sense of community and everyone like shines in their own element, whatever they're good at, what they love doing. So I just feel so blessed to be here.

Lauran: That is phenomenal. I 

Jordan: love the little entrepreneur thing. That is so cool. 

Lauran: I feel like that's something that we could do at my school because their kids are constantly making little crafts and things and wanting to sell like their little items like in our class store. They, I had kids last year that were like, okay, we were making these like puffy iPhone like makeshift squishies.

Can we sell them in the store? And I was like, sure. Like if you want to put them in the class store, like go for it. So, okay. So, you know how we 

Nancy: talked about class economy before, and I know you guys are developing this amazing, like, like, uh, like financial literacy, you know, things in your, in with your program too.

So we have like classroom economy as well. And so instead of just having the store or like an auction, we have something called a classroom economy. Bizarre. Bizarre. So it's like a, you know. Oh, so I like that name. Bizarre. Bizarre. And they have to spell it right too, which is, you know, tricky . Yeah. So, so it's like a smaller version of the Entrepreneur Fair where they have to set up shop and they sell and buy things using our classroom economy.

We talk about that. Yeah. We, you know, and some kids who don't have money, they're like, what do we do? Like maybe somebody will hire you to work at their shop while they go shopping. Yeah. So we, we do all of that. So. It's just so much fun and teachers don't have to spend any money like kids will buy and sell things from each other.

Lauran: Right, right. I mean, kids will make all kinds of things to sell, like, like those little, like, friendship bracelets. They're constantly getting traded back and forth and Like the water balloon stress balls that 

Nancy: they decorate, like little hairpins, or baseball cards. Like sometimes they'll, like, bring in, like, sports cards, baseball cards, or things that they have.

It doesn't have to be Like trading 

Lauran: cards, yeah. Like Pokemon. 

Nancy: Pokemon was big last 

Lauran: year. Yes. Oh, that's a great idea. I love that. I feel like I want to do that. I also kind of thought about making a job in my classroom, uh, almost like a, like a delivery person. Like people would Buy their items that they wanted, like order their items they wanted to purchase.

And then that person's job would be to like fulfill the orders . I thought that would be kind of cute. Yeah. With the, with the format that we use. But I love the Bizarre. Bizarre. I know. Like that know . That's so fun. That's so fun. Well see. I mean that's just a testament to like how amazing of a teacher you are.

'cause that's just like so creative and amazing. I. I love that. That's so funny. Your students have to love you. I can't imagine, you know, coming into your fifth grade class and being in a bad mood ever because you just always seem like you care so much about your students and them enjoying learning.

Well, don't ask 

Nancy: them today. I was a little stressed and on the edge today So many things happening. We, we have a program called D. A. R. E, like Drug Abuse Reduction Education. Yeah. So we had a D. A. R. E. graduation in the morning. We had our hearing and vision screening test today. We had, like, my student teacher was getting up, like, constantly.

And so I was a little on the edge. So if you ask them today, they might be, they might be like, she's a little scary. 

Lauran: No, 

Nancy: but I think they, I think 

Lauran: they know. If it makes you feel any better, I was the same way this morning. I was, so I was in a good mood, like, going to school because we had a two hour delay.

But. Then when I got there, because I'm putting on an event at school for the families this weekend, we're doing, we do a bear breakfast. So it's like a holiday breakfast. And there's all kinds of like activities for families to do and things like that. And I'm one of the people in charge of it. So like, one of the other people on our committee, she hurt, she got hurt.

She fell on her icy stairs and got hurt. And so she she's out. Yeah. And I was like, Oh my gosh, like, You know, we'll take care of it. It'll be fine. Like, you worry about getting better. But then, reality set in and I was like, oh crap, now I have to do all this stuff. I'm panicking. I'm like, it's, it's Saturday.

So like, the kids knew I was stressing out. But, yeah, it, it was Uh, it was rough first thing this morning. I was like, Oh my gosh, we have so much to do. And then we did like our reading lesson and the kids were just like so impressive. And I was like, See, I knew you guys were gonna make me feel better because I I'm like, I was so impressed by your answers.

So yeah, they they get it, though. They know we're human. Um, But yeah, okay, so I, I know Jordan is really excited to talk about this with you because I mentioned to him that over this summer you went to Japan, correct? Oh yes, uh huh. 

Jordan: Yes. Okay. And I saw all the food videos and all like the, like the gorgeous scenery you got to see.

I was low key stalking you on that trip. I was so jealous. 

Nancy: So I'm a self proclaimed foodie. So if you travel with me, I will make you try all sorts of different things. I am also a foodie. 

Lauran: Oh, good. Yes, I will try everything. But yeah, we want to, we want to hear about 

Nancy: Japan and your trip. Okay, so it was through an organization called Book Back Tours.

And they reached out to me and said, Hey, we're planning this trip. And originally it was It was going to start out with a teacher cruise, um, and that is going to still happen this following summer, but last summer it didn't happen and they invited me to go on a different trip and I think, I can't remember how many countries.

I think there are like over 20 countries that they send teachers out to. And so you don't have to be a teacher. You could be, I mean, we had some librarians join. We had some spouses join too. Um, But teachers from all over the U S and some from Canada, like got together. And I believe our group was a group of 20 teachers and we went to Japan.

We actually got to visit three different Japanese schools, which were my favorite parts, and we got to meet with the staff and ask them questions and ask them about what, you know, some of the challenges that they're facing. And some of the struggles and how they're overcoming that. And we talked about our struggles and, you know, after COVID, you know, like how we're dealing with certain things, what issues we're noticing.

And one of the, one of the, uh, the principal said what they're dealing with is absenteeism. And I was like, us too, uh, and we talked about that. We talked about the difference between maternity leave here in the U. S. versus Japan. They get two years of maternity leave. Holy Lord. I know, I'm like, two 

Lauran: years?

We're lucky if we get three weeks. So, Jordan, you want to move to Japan for like Maybe the next five years of our life. 

Nancy: And they'll pay you. That's awesome. When you come back, they'll pay, they'll help you pay for child care too. And so we're like, wow, so we're talking about all those differences. That is crazy.

That's so awesome. So we got to experience not just, you know, like, All the touristy places of Japan or like, you know, and learn about the history of Japan. But we also got to visit, visit the schools and talk amongst each other too. So, you know, we had teachers from like all over Florida, South Carolina, Georgia, California, and.

All over the U. S. and so we were talking about how we do things differently and how can we, you know, help one another and support each other even, you know, across the country too. 

Lauran: That's awesome. That just sounds amazing. This is so fun. I think going to the schools, yeah, I think going to the schools would be so interesting because I, like, I, I, I literally, when I say I stalked you, I did.

I watched every single one of your story frames because I wanted to be on that trip with you. It was so informative. Like she showed like all kinds of um, like pictures and video of like what their classrooms look like and just like things that are completely normal to them in their classrooms that like American schools never would have ever thought of.

Right. I 

Nancy: mean, each desk had, uh, each chair had like a rag, uh, hanging underneath because that's what they used to wipe down the floor. Uh, one of the classrooms had an actual live axolotl. 

Lauran: Yeah. 

Nancy: Oh my god! I got so excited. 

Lauran: I was like

And the teachers, they all had little desks, like a little office, like a giant room and every teacher had their own desk as like an office space. Oh, like a little office space. Yeah. Yeah. 

Jordan: That's so cool. Yeah. You 

Lauran: can tell, like, type A teachers, type B teachers. Yeah, I remember, I saw that one because you were like, we all exist across the world.

Jordan: The universal debate across the world, which type of teacher are you? 

Lauran: Yeah, Uh huh. Yes. You That was so interesting. And then didn't you post something about like the, the kids wear like a, like a helmet or like a hard hat? Yes. So not 

Nancy: in, not in Tokyo, but one of the schools that we visited was in Karazawa, which is in the countryside and they have, um, they have volcanoes.

And so all the students wear little yellow helmets to school and they have these backpacks and they looked really cute, but I guess they're really expensive. They also, um, Uh, are buoyant so they can actually float. I'm like, why, why do they need to float? But just in case, like for safety, just in case there's a flood or they've and they all had little bells.

I'm like, Oh, is that to like alert? Like adults, like, oh, there's a kid nearby. And they said, no, that's to scare the bears away. I'm like, what? So these little dogs are bears. Like bears are bears. Right. So that it was so different. And so like, just like how we have cubbies and like the American classrooms in the back of their classroom, they had all of their helmets lined up and all of their backpacks lined up and they had unicycles, like, you have a unicycle?

Like, uh, yeah, it was a strange experience. I'm like, where are we right now? 

Lauran: It's so cool. That is, I, I'm a huge, like, nerd when it comes to learning about other cultures and other, just like, other parts of the world. I 

Jordan: think, that's one of my favorite things to do is like, just, travel and learn. Yeah, because it's it's I always love finding those things that it's like, of course, everybody wants to know, like, what's the thing that's like, drastically different than what we do.

But finding those unexpected things that is like, Oh, like, this is like a real commonality between like, our cultures, like different parts of the world and everything. So 

Nancy: yeah, it was so what did you Oh, what did you go ahead? Go ahead. I was gonna say we went into a middle school English class. Transcribed And so the teacher said, like said, go practice, go talk to these teachers.

And so, you know, like, can you imagine 20, 20 teachers coming in, strangers, and the teacher says, go practice what you've been learning. But they were so shy, so they would come up and they're like, 

oh, hello, 

you'll get stuck. 

So we would 

ask them questions and they're 

Lauran: just smiling and like acting all shy, you know, it was so fun.

Is that like their, so do they all learn English? 

Nancy: Yes, uh huh. Okay, so kind of like 

Lauran: how like we took like a foreign language in, in schools. Okay. 

Nancy: It's like embedded into their day. And so they learn Japanese, but they also learn, you know, English too. 

Lauran: That's so cool. Hey, I'm leading a trip 

Nancy: to Korea next summer, 2025.

There's two spots left. Right there. You too . 

Jordan: I totally wanna go to Korea. Wanna go? I've been wanting to go so bad. My, uh, my best friend, my best friend growing up, he, his family's from Korea and he like, um, he was at, he was born in Jersey, but from like his parents and everything that he's learned and I think, uh, he has family that's still over there that comes over and everything.

And we've gotten to learn. His cousin. Yeah, his cousin. Yeah. They came down. 

Lauran: Long story short his, um, She was so much fun and she was so 

Jordan: sweet. Oh, yeah, 

Lauran: we all go to Myrtle Beach every year because his family has like a little vacation condo down there So we take our friend group there because you know, it's a free trip yeah, we can just travel down there and hang out together once a year and get away from like adult life and His cousin came over to America from Korea for the first time ever and came to Myrtle Beach with us So like We kept asking her all kinds of questions and we were like, okay, so like, what do you think of this?

Or what do you think of that? And like, she really hated the food. Like she 

Jordan: was like, everything is so 

Lauran: fried. Well, 

Jordan: I was gonna say, because that was the problem was like, we went to Myrtle Beach and Myrtle Beach, like all the food, it's like, it's deep fried, it's super salty, seafood and everything. And from 

Lauran: Or like southern comfort food too.

Nancy: Too creamy and uh huh. Yeah, yeah, 

Lauran: yeah. So like when we went to like seafood restaurants, she would like look for things that were not deep fried, which I'm like, I get it. I'm like not a huge fan of fried. Seafood either. Oh yeah. But I, yeah, it was, it was fun getting to see her experience things. Mm-hmm. For the first time.

Also Uhhuh , so that was really interesting. But yeah, I would love to go to Korea. 

Jordan: No, absolutely. Yeah, because, um, oh, we're gonna 

Nancy: have so much fun. Yeah. I'll be your tour guide 

Lauran: anytime. 

Nancy: Yeah, for sure. For 

Lauran: sure. Um, okay, so I, I wanna hear about, um, you know, some, you. Really, you sent in some stories that literally almost made me cry.

They were so sweet. So I want to hear about your, your teachers, um, and then your family's story of coming over 

Nancy: to America when you were 10. Yeah, so my family decided to immigrate to America when I was 10. So I started fifth grade here and I really think the only two English words I knew how to say were hi and bye.

And I had to like, you know, and back then we had the ESL program, but my school didn't really have a lot of students from another country. So it was kind of like sink or swim. And I remember my, my teacher just kind of like sent me to kindergarten room and just kind of hope that I would learn how to read and how to speak, you know, how to speak English there.

And so, I believe it was about like 45 minutes a day, 30 to 45 minutes a day, uh, I was sent to my ESL class and my, uh, my ESL teacher, Mrs. Weiser, and I still remember she had those like. You know, like when you, when you think of like an old, old teacher with like the butterfly glasses, with like, curly, like, permed hair, you know, like that stereotypical grandma 

Lauran: teacher?

That was my second grade Sunday school teacher. It was exactly what you described. Certain smell, like, the necklace, cardigans, yes, the permed curly hair, she would wear this like sweater vest. Over her skirt and her dress, and then she had on those glasses. Yep. She's this little, she's this little short lady.

Oh yeah. Aw, . So that was Mrs. 

Nancy: Wiser. And I, I still remember how, like, how she smelled, you know, like it's just all these like memories and she just, yeah, she just made me feel, seen and heard. She just made me, yeah, because you know, like. When you don't speak the language, people think you're dumb. They just assume that you are dumb and you don't know anything.

And so I just wanted somebody to notice me and not, I was just this invisible person, you know, sitting in my classroom and I was just like a sponge, just absorbing everything. But whenever I would go to ESL, she would ask me questions. She would have me draw things and just really showed me that she cared.

And so, you know, even as a 10 year old, I was like, I love her. She cares about me. I wanted to go to school because of her and I know like when you were asking about like teachers who've made an impact in my life like positive or negative like I'm usually very optimistic and I, I focus on all the positives, but one teacher, like complete opposite of Mrs.

Weiser, when I was, when I went up to seventh grade, so this is like two years after I came to America, I had to take the states and capitals test. I still remember even as an English speaker, it's hard to memorize all 50 states and capitals and the locations. 

Lauran: Yeah, I'd be lying if I said I knew all 50 states and capitals.

But like the capitals of all 

Nancy: 50 

Lauran: states, I 

Nancy: definitely don't know. Some of them can be a little confusing. Like, like geographic locations, like I'm terrible at that, you know? But I remember taking the test and I did poorly. I did poorly on the test because I just, it was too overwhelming. It's hard. And then I remember in front of the whole class, Mrs.

Matthews said, your sister Judy got a hundred percent on her first try and she was brand new to the country. I can't believe you guys are sisters. And, and at that time I didn't know I wanted to be a teacher, but that was such a humiliating, heartbreaking moment. And I told myself, wow, How can an adult do this to a child?

And I said, if I ever become a teacher, I would never compare any of the siblings like that. And I would never do this to any of my students. And so that, you know, so, but she did make a huge impact because, you know, it just made me realize the power of an authority figure, power of a teacher. Yeah, 

Lauran: that's something, honestly, I have those same discussions with parents that I've had, of students that I've had, because I feel like some parents, it's hard for them because they, like, all parents want the best for their children, and they really just want their child to have the best life.

A good life and to get a good education, but sometimes, you know, when there are families with multiple children in them, comparisons happen, they just do, and, and for, for parents, sometimes it's really hard, and I'm not a parent yet myself, but like, I, I mean, I can empathize with that, like, you know, if you have one child that goes through school first and just It's a breeze for them and just is really everything's super easy for them.

Like I could see wanting that for your second child, but also like coming to the realization that every child is different and Not everything is gonna go the same way for every single kid going through school and I mean I at one point I had a parent that was like in tears during conferences because their their son had I think like a high I don't even high C.

I think he had a like a B in my English class but but like his older sibling And, you know, she was, this parent was devastated that like their child might be struggling, air quotes. And I, I had to like reassure her. I'm like, if this is, I'm like, you, I'm like, you have to know that. Your son is trying so hard and you should be proud of how hard he's, he's working and I know you are, but I just want you to know that, you know, it's okay if both children don't get the same grades.

That's okay. And it is hard. It's hard though, because you want the best for your kid, you know, as a parent. 

Jordan: No, it's just one of those like skill sets like differ so drastically from kid to kid, you can't. Put like expectations and just force a child to like be a complete replicate of the child that came before the pressure.

Yeah, because I was gonna say even just like personally, like me and my brother are just two drastically different people. Um, I excelled really well, did really well in school. That was where I thrived and everything. Um, went to college and all that. And my brother, he was just he was a CB student. Um, just He was more extroverted than I am, but like didn't pay attention in school, just wanted to have fun.

He's 

Lauran: very handy though. But that's what I was gonna say. 

Jordan: He is mechanically, like when it comes to cars and like, um, he was, he actually served in the military. Um, he repaired black hop helicopters. 

Theme: Oh my gosh. Wow. And 

Jordan: he, yeah, he was, um, he was part of like special forces and everything. So like the, he succeeded in the environment that like he was meant to succeed into.

So like when you're going through school, like your child might not be like. A straight A student, but that doesn't mean that they're not going to succeed. That doesn't mean that, like, 

Lauran: I was the same way. My brother and I, like, my, I, my brother and I both got A's and B's through school. I mean, I, math was always really hard for me, so I remember when I was in 8th grade, I got my first C in math on a report card, and I about had a panic attack.

Like, I, Because I am very much a perfectionist and it really bothered me and like for any like tests I had to take, like I had to study. I had to try hard to get my A's and B's. My brother really didn't have to try all that hard. Yeah, he just kind of would glance over stuff and then get a B or an A and like it didn't happen like that for me.

So I mean it's, It just is the way it is. And I, you know, I think that's awful that your teachers did that to you. Well, it just 

Nancy: motivated me to find something. But I'm glad it motivated 

Lauran: you. Yeah. Yeah. To be a better teacher for your students. 

Nancy: And I think that's like, that's really important. You know, like when parents come to me and they're like, Oh, my, my child, uh, needs a math tutor because have an A minus.

And I'm like, Oh my gosh, I always encourage them, find something that they love doing and get like, you know, whether it's like extra art classes or extra music classes, whatever they love doing, just nurture that. Don't only look for the weak areas, you know, like find something that they're good at and just let them soar.

Lauran: Yes, yes, and I, I get it. Again, nothing against any parent out there that just wants the best for their child because I, I get it 100%, but like also, take a deep breath, your children are doing great, be proud of yourself for being a good parent, be proud of your children for working hard in school, and don't expect perfection, because we're human, nobody is perfect, so it's okay if perfection is not happening.

But I'm dying grass. Well, thank you so much for sharing those stories. I loved hearing those. Um, but we will be right back and we're going to play a fun little game with Nancy. Yeah. We'll see you in a minute.

All right, guys, we are back. And you're in for a treat. So 

Jordan: I'd like to say we have a fun little, yeah, we 

Lauran: have, for those of you that can't see what we're doing, we have a color spinny wheel. It's like a prize wheel. Um, but we're going to be playing lesson plan roulette. So each of us, 

Jordan: how much money is the ante?

Lauran: Uh, 3 million. 

Jordan: 3 million. Oh my god. Go hard. 

Lauran: Go, go big or go home. I 

Jordan: don't have pockets that deep. What is it? 

Lauran: Right? Go big or go home? 

Jordan: Yeah, 

Lauran: it is. Okay. Well, you can write me a check. Okay. 

Jordan: I will. 

Lauran: Uh, so each of us will hear three different lesson plan topics. Okay. I'm going to read them out. Um, and then we're going to spin the wheel and see which one we are forced to give a one minute lesson on, um, and if it lands on, so our, our wheel has like A, B, C, um, twice, but then if you land on D, it's dealer's choice, so I get to pick for you, or if it's my turn, I'll let Jordan pick for me, um, and then, um, The E will, will make E, you know, the other person's choice.

So if it's your turn, you get to pick which one you want to give it. All right, that sounds 

Theme: fine. 

Lauran: Lesson on. So, I'll be the guinea pig. I'll go first. Oh, you're spinning. Um, so I'm going to spin in a second. My first, first I'm going to read the three topic, Ideas that I get to give a lesson on So my first topic is how to befriend a pigeon.

Jordan: Okay 

Lauran: Okay, and my second topic is how to draw the perfect stick figure. 

Jordan: Ooh that that that's That's a tough one. Yes, it's tricky. It's a tough one. 

Lauran: That's some advanced art right there And then the third topic I could potentially give a lesson on is how to host a tea party for imaginary guests. 

Jordan: Oh, okay Spin away.

Alright, 

Lauran: I'm spinning. Oh, 

Jordan: that was a poor spin. What was that? That 

Lauran: was like when you missed the wheel on Wheel of Fortune. 

Jordan: Yes 

Lauran: Alright, what do we got? Round and 

Jordan: round it goes, where does it stop? Nobody, oh, do not touch that. 

Lauran: Oh, I don't, you want me to stop it? 

Jordan: Okay, you can stop it now. What is that, B? Is that B?

Option B? 

Lauran: Alright, how to draw the perfect stick figure. 

Jordan: I better come out of this lesson the next Picasso. Alright, do you got 

Lauran: your imaginary paper and pencil ready? What was that? 

Jordan: Me getting my wrist ready. Oh, okay. Here's my paper. A swish and flick? Yeah, it's a swish and flick. Okay, 

Lauran: uh, okay. Alright class, welcome, welcome.

Have you ever felt like you're walking down the sidewalk and you see this plain brick wall right in front of you? Yes. 

Jordan: I have to go to the bathroom. Get 

Lauran: out of here. He's one of those. See, but that's so realistic. Yeah. You see this giant plain brick wall right in front of you. Yes. And you think to yourself, man, that could really use a stick figure on it.

Jordan: What blank canvas. What a blank 

Lauran: canvas. Yeah. Right? Yes. Question, what a 

Jordan: blank canvas. What a blank canvas. 

Lauran: So today I'm going to teach you how to draw the absolute. Best, most perfect stick figure you've ever drawn in your entire life. Are you ready? I am ready. Okay. Now, I'm gonna do it first so I can model to you how to draw a stick figure and then we're gonna do it together.

Yes, Jordan? 

Jordan: My mom watches Project One Ray 2. 

Lauran: Oh my god. And then, 

Jordan: you said model, 

Lauran: then you'll have the opportunity to practice on your own. See how I scaffolded that? That's a teaching term. Okay. Uh, so first class, get your paper, make sure that it's nice and flat on your table. And then you're going to take your pencil in your dominant writing hand.

So first, you're going to draw a perfect circle. Then, after you've drawn your circle, you're going to take your pencil and put it at the base of your circle. 

Jordan: What if it's at the top of the circle? Put it at the 

Lauran: base and put, make one straight line. Down about three inches. Maybe, depends on how tall you want your stick person to be, but about three inches after you've drawn your, your stick person's body, he needs some arms and legs, right?

Because you don't want a brick wall with just a circle and a stick on it. Cause that's, 

Jordan: I 

Lauran: don't know. So

you just don't. Um, so you're going to take your pencil. And you're gonna draw two diagonal lines going upwards towards the circle, ish, but not directly into the circle, outwards, kinda. 

Jordan: So both on the left side? 

Lauran: They could be, if the sick person's reaching for something, they could be. Yeah. Yeah, or if you want your sick person to be doing like the YMCA, they could be doing this, or this, whatever direction that goes.

Um. Yeah, and then you're going to do the same thing with the legs, but they need to be going down away from the circle. 

Jordan: Oh. Can they go up? 

Lauran: If your legs are going up, you've gone the wrong way.

Okay, now, do you feel you have mastered drawing a stick figure? 

Jordan: Maybe. I think I need to be tested. 

Lauran: Okay, draw your stick figure. 

Jordan: Um, 

Lauran: here's mine. I 

Jordan: guess I'll draw it in the air. Oh, look 

Lauran: at that! Oh, that's a perfect one! Yay! See, Nancy's in her classroom, so she's like, let me just get out the, oh, what are those called?

I have those. The clean slate boards. The clean slate. Oh the clean slate boards. Okay, Nancy, you get an A plus. Okay, Jordan. 

Jordan: Do you have a sheet of paper? I didn't come with. Draw it in the air. I didn't come with. 

Lauran: Air. 

Jordan: Okay. Triangle. Okay. I wanted him to have a triangle head. 

Lauran: Okay, a triangle head. correct you. 

Jordan: I played Silent Hill as a kid, so.

Lauran: What does that mean? 

Jordan: Pyramid Head was the villain. 

Lauran: Oh, Pyramid Head. Okay, 

Jordan: okay. And then four and a half inches down. 

Lauran: Sure, he could be tall. 

Jordan: One arm here. 

Lauran: Okay. 

Jordan: One arm straight out. So 

Nancy: he's like this? Yeah. 

Jordan: You said I could do whatever way I wanted. Okay. So that's what I want. And then two legs. 

Lauran: B plus. I got a B plus.

Jordan: Yay! 

Lauran: Alright, congratulations, you made it through my lesson of how to draw a stick figure. thank you. You 

Jordan: did such a great job. Hope you enjoyed 

Lauran: my class. Yes, I came out 

Jordan: Picasso. 

Lauran: You did. Alright, uh, Nancy, would you like to go next or do you want Jordan to go? I'll go next. 

Theme: Okay. Okay. I'll try going next. Okay, 

Lauran: so.

I'm nervous. You're three. Don't be. I just literally, I made that up completely off the top of my head. Um, okay. So your first topic potentially could be why pineapple on pizza is both right and wrong. Your second topic could be the perfect high five, a scientific approach. And your third topic could be how to write the world's worst poem.

Okay, are you ready? Let's spin the wheel and see what we get. I feel like we need like some game show music here. I know. Ba 

Jordan: ba da ba ba ba. 

Lauran: A, why pineapple on pizza is both right and wrong. 

Nancy: Okay, boys and girls, today's debate topic is why pineapple should or should not belong on a pizza. Why they, that could be a good topping or a bad topping.

All right, so raise your hand if you think pineapple is a good topping on a pizza. Yay, Lauren. Okay. So, Jordan, you're saying it's not a good topping on a pizza? Yes. 

Jordan: Okay. Yes, I am saying it is not a good topping. It never will be a good topping. You're all lying. 

Nancy: Okay, okay, hold on. Okay, you have to hold on to your reason, reasons.

So we're going to have a debate. So what we're going to do is we're going to have Lauren give us a reason, like number one reason why. The pineapple belongs on a pizza or why that's a good reason. And then we're going to have Jordan kind of have like a rebuttal and say, why, like, why you think that is not a good idea.

And then we'll have Jordan give his reason why it's a bad idea. And we'll have, so we'll just kind of bounce back and forth. Are you guys ready? Yeah. Okay. 

Jordan: So ready. 

Nancy: All right, Lauren, why do you think 

Lauran: it belongs on a pizza? So, pineapple belongs on pizza. 

Nancy: Boo. Jordan. Time out. Sorry. He 

Lauran: booed me. Okay, uh, ten fair bucks.

No, I'm just kidding. 

Nancy: No! Ha! 

Lauran: Okay, pineapple belongs on pizza because I like when I have pineapple and chorizo on my chicken. Um, so I feel like it would be a good, like, fresh. addition to my pizza, and it would give, like, an interesting flavor. Jordan, what do you say to that? 

Nancy: Let 

Jordan: me push up my glasses with my index finger.

According to the scientific method, we should be using facts, not feelings, and your whole reasoning for why pineapple is a good flavor on pizza is because of personal opinion, which is a logical fallacy, therefore it is wrong. 

Nancy: Well, Jordan, we're going to, let me just clarify, when we're having a debate on why it belongs there or not, it could be an opinion, too.

This is how 

Lauran: Warren feels. Shut 

Jordan: down. I was shot 

Lauran: down. Also, fine, if you want a fact, in the culinary world, 

Jordan: sweet and 

Lauran: savory flavors often complement each other. Yes. Yes. 

Nancy: But Jordan, so give me a reason why you think that's a bad topping. 

Jordan: I can't, um, because it tastes terrible with anchovies. 

Nancy: Oh, well, you don't have to have anchovies on there.

Oh, but I want anchovies 

Jordan: on there. 

Nancy: Or ham. 

Jordan: Yes, I want the anchovies on the pizza. 

Nancy: Oh, no, that's a no no. Well, anchovies are disgusting, so 

Jordan: Oh, that is, this is where I die on my hill is if there's not enough room for the anchovies, I don't want it on my pizza. Oh 

Nancy: my gosh, anchovies. What else do you put on an anchovy pizza?

Jordan: Uh, I do anchovies, mushrooms, and sausage, and pepper. 

Lauran: Interesting. That's too much. 

Jordan: Interesting. 

Lauran: Alright, I feel like we're getting away from the debate, but I'm going to say this anyway. Anchovies are evil. They are not evil. They are evil little fish. 

Jordan: So you're saying that my side of the debate is wrong because anchovies are evil and pineapples are good?

Nancy: And that's how I feel. 

Jordan: And that's the fact? That's the fact. 

Nancy: Okay. Um, I think I, I kind of like, um, Losing my students here. And this is when I go, okay, time's up. Bye. Well, I think, I think what Lauren said, I agree with what Lauren said too. Like if you have something really savory and salty, I think the sweetness and the tartness of the pineapple would just kick in.

Perfectly offset it. Like, but I agree, Jordan, like, anchovies and pineapple do not belong together. So just take the anchovies off. No, but I want to keep the anchovies!

Alright. I mean Okay, what grade, what grade do I get? Just because I agree with you, I'm going to be very biased and give you an A Sort an F for the anchovies. An F? Oh no! 

Lauran: Not even a 

Nancy: B! You 

Lauran: got an 

Jordan: F! Straight to F. I think there's going to be a lot of people that are going to give me an F on that one. Yeah, 

Lauran: I'm sorry.

Like, I apologize if you like anchovies on your pizza, but I just don't agree with you at all. Do I have something to throw at you? No. That was so good. That was so good. That was a great lesson. I, I was, did you, okay, I don't know if you caught my face, but like when she started teaching, I was like, I was like so excited to be in Nancy's class for a minute.

Jordan: Oh my gosh. 

Lauran: Okay. Oh boy. Alright, Jordan. 

Jordan: Yes. 

Lauran: Your potential topics are. 

Jordan: Okay. 

Lauran: The art of making the perfect PB& J sandwich. Okay. How to fake knowing the words to Bohemian Rhapsody. Or the art of the perfect nap. 

Jordan: Okay, two of these, I have a lot, a lot of practice in. I 

Lauran: know. Wait, which two? Because I feel like you have practice in all three.

I know the words 

Jordan: to Bohemian Rhapsody. 

Lauran: Okay, alright. But you're teaching someone how to fake it. Yeah, just Okay. And we're spinning the wheel! Alright, round and 

Jordan: round it goes, where's it stop nobody knows! 

Lauran: Dun na, dun na, dun na, dun na, dun na, dun na na! 

Jordan: Bap! Ay! 

Lauran: Alright! The art of making the perfect PB& J sandwich!

Jordan: Alright everybody! Alright, let's hear it! Are we ready for this? 

Lauran: I am ready! 

Jordan: Alright, welcome to Mr. Wooley's Culinary Class 101! Yes, Mrs. Wooley! 

Nancy: I don't like you! 

Jordan: That's fine. I don't either. So,

so I'm not gonna, I'm going to be honest. If I was a teacher, that would be my response. And I don't either. So let's keep moving. 

Lauran: Yeah, I'd be like, okay, not to sidetrack you. I actually had a kid tell me that we were doing math today and he goes, yeah, I'm just bored. I was like, I get it. I get it, dude. I'm like, long division's not the most exciting thing in the world, but I'm like, we gotta do it.

And he's like, yeah, no. Anyway. 

Jordan: Okay. Back to your class. Thank you for interrupting my class. Welcome to being a teacher. I know. This is why I'm not a teacher. This is why I'm a substitute. And this was the lesson plan that was given to me today. This is my first try, so yeah, not going hot. Alright, so, in today's lesson we're going to be learning how to make the perfect PB& J.

Yes, mrs. Bully. 

Lauran: What if I'm allergic to peanuts? That's a great question. Me too, that's what I was gonna say. 

Jordan: Oh boy. I'm not 

Lauran: actually allergic to peanuts, but. Me neither. I was just trying to, okay, okay, I was like, I'm just trying to give him a hard time. 

Jordan: Hazelnut. 

Lauran: Oh, I'm allergic to hazelnut. Okay, so like, so like, Nutella.

Jordan: I'm allergic to 

Lauran: all tree nuts. 

Jordan: I guess, when we get to the peanut part, don't put that on your sandwich. 

Nancy: Okay. And 

Jordan: if you, if you If you can't inhale it, please leave the classroom now before we open the peanut butter jars. So you're saying 

Nancy: I can go home? 

Jordan: No, go to the other culinary class where they're cooking with anchovies today.

Lauran: I'm allergic to anchovies. No, I'm kidding. 

Jordan: Oh, no, I don't know what to do. I'm failing as a teacher here. I'm kidding. I'm kidding. All right. So for all our non peanut allergy people, we're going to gather our ingredients. Mrs. Woolley, what's the first ingredient? Raw, crunchy peanut 

Lauran: butter. 

Jordan: Definitely wrong.

Smooth peanut butter. 

Lauran: This is a constant debate in our house. Oh, 

Jordan: all right. So we got our smooth peanut butter. Miss Nancy, what's the second ingredient? 

Nancy: Well, you would need the bread. Do we already have the bread? Correct! Yes! The bread! Yay! 

Jordan: Final third one is, everybody. 

Nancy: Grape jelly. Ooh. Or 

Jordan: strawberry? Yes. I was going to say, I like strawberry.

Ooh. You can use grape jelly. Okay. Yeah, it doesn't matter. It's just jelly. It's whatever jelly. Whatever. Can I use 

Lauran: jam? 

Jordan: You could use jam. You could use marmalade. What about preserves? You could use preserves. Okay. Whatever is your fancy. Now there's an optional secret ingredient that you can use. Do you know what it is?

Lauran: Banana. Marshmallow fluff. 

Jordan: Oh man there's a lot more than I was thinking 

Lauran: of. He's like wait there are there are more secret ingredients. 

Jordan: Guys my lesson's going way terrible. I did not think this through. I was thinking honey and then she said banana. I'm like oh banana sounds really good too. And then you said marshmallow fluff.

Banana does, okay, 

Lauran: I'm gonna go with banana. Banana sounds good. But marshmallow fluff is good. So 

Jordan: we're gonna do my favorite thing here. Now it's just gonna be freeform jazz with this PB& J. So, what you're gonna do is you're gonna take your bread. You need two slices. Do not use the butts. You will die if you use the butt of the bread.

Oh no, 

Nancy: I have one butt! 

Jordan: Get rid of it! Throw it away, throw it, yeah, go on, out of here. Did you get another one? Because right now you only have one piece of bread. There we go, okay. Yeah, I got bread, 

Lauran: I got bread. 

Jordan: Okay, now put the bread on the table, okay. 

Nancy: Okay. 

Jordan: Now we're gonna get a butter knife, not a steak knife.

I don't trust you with the steak knife. Do we have those at school? Yeah, there was butter knives in Steak 

Lauran: knives? 

Jordan: I don't uh, my culinary class did have one in high school. Oh, okay. You took a culinary class? Yeah, I took culinary class. How come you don't cook me dinner more? I do, and you're always like, it's really good, and why don't you cook more, and I'm like I 

Lauran: feel like this is my secret.

I just pretend like I don't cook. No, he's actually really good at cooking. You're gonna take, 

Jordan: you're gonna take the knife. I got my 

Lauran: butter knife. 

Jordan: You're just gonna shove it in the peanut butter jar. Swirl it around, get as much on there, and you know, push it out onto the bread. Scoop it, yep. 

Nancy: Wait, hold on, hold on.

I have to interrupt. Lauren, have you seen those TikToks where a teacher is demonstrating this lesson in class? Yes, yes. And they're doing exactly what the students are doing, and when they're like, stab it, like, You didn't open the lid, you didn't do anything, so like, they do exactly what the students say, and it becomes a disaster of a lesson.

So 

Lauran: funny. 

Nancy: It's like this 

Lauran: right now, we're 

Nancy: like, yes, 

Lauran: shove it into the lid. Or shove it into the jar, I'm like, without opening the lid. It's, it's a lesson that's supposed to teach kids the, like, when you're writing a paper, the importance of including as many details. And as many steps as you can. And yeah, so like the teacher will actually do this.

Yes, 

Jordan: I'm sorry. I'm a 31 year old man. I forgot I was teaching five year olds. Please remove the lid. 

Lauran: Oh, okay. Okay. Sorry. I 

Jordan: am terrible. This is why I'm, this is why I don't teach. So okay, 

Lauran: lid is gone. 

Jordan: All right, now we stab the peanut butter jar. 

Lauran: Okay, so on the side? 

Jordan: No, in the hole that we open. 

Lauran: Okay. 

Jordan: Swirl it around in there, get as much peanut butter on that knife and push it out onto the bread.

Push what out? The peanut butter out with the knife. Get it out. Yes. Get it on the bread. Okay. And you can smear it around on the bread. Keep it on the bread though. Don't put it on the table. Keep it on the bread. Yes. Smear it around. There we go. Okay. We could put the knife down. We're gonna grab the Smucker's squeeze jelly.

Oh, that we all have. Okay. 

Lauran: We got the squeeze jelly. Yeah, I 

Jordan: thought that through. See, we're a, we're a rich school and we're gonna squeeze the jelly as jelly as we want. We have fancy Onto the bread. Onto the bread. Everyone, which side? No. Did he say which bread side? I mean, it doesn't really matter. You could put it on either bread, but just make sure it does 

Lauran: matter.

Jordan: Wait, why does it matter? 

Lauran: It matters. It has to be spread 

Nancy: perfectly onto 

Lauran: the 

Nancy: surface 

Lauran: of the 

Nancy: bread. 

Lauran: Yeah, so you put it on the bread that has nothing yet. Right, like an even spread. 

Nancy: Because if you 

Lauran: put it on top of the peanut on one side and one side jelly. 

Nancy: Uh huh. Otherwise you're not going to get a perfectly even coating.

I think we should be teaching this class, Lauren. Yeah. I know. He's 

Lauran: like, I surrender. 

Jordan: Apparently, I'm just chaos incarnate, because I'm putting it on the peanut butter, because it's the squeeze one. I would agree if we were using jar jelly, but the squeeze one, you just squeeze it on. You make a little face.

Lauran: I'm putting it on the other side. All right. I'm 

Jordan: And then take the other bread, put it on top, with the jelly side No, see, you didn't let me 

Theme: finish. 

Jordan: You didn't let me finish. With the jelly side and the peanut butter side facing each other. I mean, you can make it like that. It doesn't matter. You can make it so the bread tops don't align.

It's your sandwich. All right, pick it up. 

Nancy: Now he's all nervous. Eat 

Jordan: it. Yes, just shove it in your face. Alright. 

Nancy: I forgot I'm allergic to grapes. 

Jordan: Oh my god, why didn't you tell me? 

Nancy: I have a gluten allergy. 

Jordan: Oh my god, people. 

Lauran: I need to know these things. Can you imagine eating that? Having to teach that lesson and being like, okay, we're going to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches today.

And then having one kid be like, I'm allergic to peanut butter, jelly, and bread. Well, uh, you can watch. I guess we're not doing 

Jordan: this now. 

Lauran: Yeah, no, um, we're not going to do this anymore because, uh, we don't want anyone to be going into anaphylactic shock. So. That would not 

Jordan: be fun. I don't want that. No, it would not.

Lauran: Well, okay. What do I get? Mr. Woolley, what's my grade? F. What? 

Jordan: Cause you were mean. 

Lauran: That 

Nancy: is an unethical grade. And he said he didn't care. When you first said you didn't like him, he said he didn't care, but he's holding a grudge. He did. 

Jordan: I am, I am upset. You didn't like me. 

Lauran: I'm gonna have my mom call the principal on you.

Jordan: Nancy gets a C because she was your accomplice. A C? Yeah. Cause I am mad. 

Lauran: This was fun. I like, I like lesson plan roulette. That was fun. Okay. Out of all three lessons, I definitely think that Nancy's lesson was the most teachery of all of us. 

Nancy: Yours was really good, Lauren. 

Lauran: No, mine was just very specific, but 

Jordan: you use buzzwords like scaffolding.

I did. I used a buzzword. 

Lauran: I used a single buzzword. Oh no, I guess model. Okay. You used model. Yeah, I did. Yeah, but that's just me being. A nerd. Um, all right, I'm giving, I give Nancy the A plus teacher win.

She wins the three million dollar lesson plan roulette pot. Oh, 

Jordan: wouldn't it be? 

Lauran: Nine million. Yeah. Because I thought you meant, I thought you, I forgot you said auntie. Auntie. Congratulations. You won a fake 9 million. I'm taking you all to Korea 

Nancy: and Japan. On a fake trip.

This 

Lauran: was so fun. 

Nancy: Thank you so much for coming on our show. Thank you so much for having me. This So fun. So fun. 

Lauran: I loved it. Um, before we let you go to your awesome fair at your school, um, is there any fun projects you're working on that you would like to share with our audience? 

Nancy: Besides like the 10 million projects I have going on in my classroom, not, not that, but we are kind of wrapping up the second part of our season two on the podcast that on the school yard podcast.

So I'm really excited about that. So that's kind of like my big project right now. We have some. An amazing light up of guests on the show and, and really awesome topics. 

Jordan: Awesome. 

Lauran: Awesome. Make sure you guys check out her podcast also. She has so many awesome episodes ready for you guys to listen to now. So check that out.

And remember you can find her everywhere at Fancy Nancy in 5th and yeah, thank you for spending time with us today. We hope to have you back. Bye. Bye. Bye!

We are back! I love Nancy! Oh my god, that was She's one of the best people that I have met on the internet. 

Jordan: I am just gonna say, I do not agree with her anti anchovy stance. 

Lauran: I do. 

Jordan: No. That is the wrong stance. Everybody! I don't care. I want the comments to be flooded with pro anchovies. Put little fish emojis if you love anchovies, please.

Lauran: Okay, and if you Just do it 

Jordan: so I can prove her wrong. And 

Lauran: if you don't like anchovies, put the little fishing emoji, with like the guy fishing. Because we're catching all the anchovies and throwing them away. 

Jordan: Oh, okay, that took a trip to get there. I didn't know where you were going at first. I was like, why a fishing guy?

That seems like pro anchovies. Fine! 

Lauran: Put a pineapple in the comments. I 

Jordan: like that. Is there 

Lauran: a pineapple emoji? I don't know, maybe. If not I don't know, if not pick a fruit. Pick 

Jordan: a fruit. Okay, that's, I want, I want the debate finished in the comments. Okay, fish or fruit? Fish for pro anchovies, pineapple or any other fruit.

Lauran: For anti anchovies. For anti 

Jordan: anchovies. Alright. And if there are more fruit, I'm going to be so sad, I'm going to be so disappointed If there are more fruit, 

Lauran: Then on if there, what's the bet? 

Jordan: What's the bet? 

Lauran: If there are more fruit, 

Jordan: yes, 

Lauran: you need to eat a pineapple pizza. 

Jordan: I will eat a pineapple pizza while wearing a pineapple costume and painting my face yellow 

Lauran: please.

Y'all, I need to see this. If there are more anchovies, 

Jordan: you have to eat an anchovy pizza. 

Lauran: No, 

Jordan: you have to eat an anchovy pizza. No, you cannot. Back out. Anchovy pizza dressed up like a fish. 

Lauran: I might throw up. 

Jordan: And you have to paint your face blue. 

Lauran: Why blue? 

Jordan: Because a lot of fish are blue and that's the first color I thought of.

Like a grayish blue, steely blue. 

Lauran: All right guys, this is a golden opportunity. Golden, like a pineapple. 

Jordan: No, do not listen to her. Do not listen to her propaganda. We all know that anchovies are the best. What are you talking about? 

Lauran: Listen, we all know that anchovies are evil and we need to be on the side of Pineapple.

Jordan: I wish my phone wasn't recording because I would call my dad right now. I would call Monty Woolley and he would tell you that anchovies are a great topping. 

Lauran: Not if I called him first and told him to tell you not to tell you that because he would believe me and agree with me first. 

Jordan: I know he would do that too.

That's the problem. Even though I know he's eaten anchovy pizzas. Where do you think I got it from? It's him. 

Lauran: Alright guys, it's time for this week's special bond and it's submitted by Jake. Thank you, Jake. Thanks, Jake. A few years ago, I worked at a charter school in Strongsville, teaching grades 4 through 12.

Hey, that's 

Theme: near us, I think. That is 

Lauran: near us. I taught the same group of kids for three years and watched them grow up. My 5th graders became 8th graders about to head to high school. Many of them came into my class behind academically, struggling with social anxiety and not liking school. But by the time I left, they were completely different.

Leaders in the classroom, social butterflies, and even giving tours to prospective students. Now I hear from former coworkers that those same kids are thriving in high school, leading their classes and excelling. I think my sense of humor and connection with them played a big role. I made them laugh, helped them feel comfortable and showed them that learning could be fun.

It wasn't just about academics. It was about building relationships and helping them believe in themselves. 

Jordan: I love that. 

Lauran: I don't have words for that. That is. That is exactly my philosophy. 

Jordan: It just made me smile just hearing about like the student growth from like being the kids that he was like making that impression on to them turning around and like being such positive like role models in their school.

Lauran: I agree. I love that. And I, I feel that same way. I feel like when you have a sense of humor and you're able to joke around with your students and make learning enjoyable, I mean, like I said earlier, I had a kid literally tell me to my face that he was bored today. I didn't get offended by it. Like, I don't make up for it.

You know, the standards I have to teach. So, you know, I'm like, yeah, you know what, dude, I agree. I get that long division's not the most exciting 

Jordan: thing in the world. Like, take an objective look at it, too. Like, some of the topics, like, there are topics you have to teach. That are just kind of dry. They're just dry.

Like, and there's nothing against them. It's not that they're not important, but, like, they are. They're dry. Like, it's, and it's okay for the kid to be bored. And I think that's, yeah, that, like, as teachers, like, infusing. When I was 

Lauran: real with him about it, and I was like. You know what? You're right. I'm sorry.

Like, not everything's gonna be the most exciting, but we still gotta do it. And he was like, yeah, I 

Theme: know. Like, 

Lauran: it's okay to be humorous and have, like, a normal human conversation with kids. 

Jordan: Wait, are you telling me it's okay to be a person and just to be a human? 

Lauran: As a teacher. 

Jordan: Wow. 

Lauran: It is. I know what a novel idea, right?

That's 

Theme: insane. 

Lauran: I know. But it sounds like you made a true impact on your students. And I know that that is something that is going to stick with them for the rest of their lives. Even if you never hear from those kids again. 

Theme: Yeah, 

Lauran: you know, somewhere down the line, those kids are gonna be like, Ah, do you remember Mr.

So and so's class? I loved blah, blah, blah. And they're gonna talk about it. How you were as a teacher. So thank you for sharing that Jake. I loved hearing your story and if you have a story that you would like us to read on the podcast to talk about a special bond that you had with your students or if you are a student and had a special bond with your teachers or Just any relationship you had a special bond With somebody in school, we'd love to hear about it.

Go ahead and send it over to hello at wearefinepod. com and it might just get featured on one of the episodes of the podcast. Also, you can reach out to our human content family at humancontentpods on Instagram and TikTok. If you'd like to tell us about what you think of the show, talk about any guests that we might have on the show 

Jordan: or 

Lauran: Your anti anchovy policies and agenda No, your 

Jordan: pro anti pro pro anti anchovy is what I was gonna say, no!

Lauran: Yes, our pro anti 

Jordan: anchovy. Your pro anchovy. Propaganda. Send it. Please. 

Lauran: Um, I would love if, if you guys just sent our, uh, our producers a bunch of like, weird anchovy propaganda. 

Jordan: Please. Oh my gosh. Please. I want some like, Obey style, like, posters of like, just propaganda for pro anchovy pizzas. 

Lauran: I want an anchovy pointing the finger at me saying like, Anchovies want you and like Oh my gosh, 

Jordan: you know, what would be a funny one too?

What? Okay. This is fan art I really want I want a pineapple like given like a like kind of like this position and on top it says only you can prevent anchovy pizzas 

Lauran: I love all of those. Please, we want to see all your fan art. I love art. Obviously, we just talked about that with Nancy, so I would love to see your, your anti anchovy, pro pineapple art.

And 

Jordan: one more time, where can they send all that fun fan art? 

Lauran: They can send all of that fun fan art to hello at wearefinepod. com or at 

Jordan: We Are Fine Pod. No. No, where? Mrs. William Finn? 

Lauran: Okay, yeah, you can send it to me. Yeah. You can send it to me or Human content pods on Instagram and TikTok. Oh 

Theme: man, I'm terrible today.

Guys, 

Jordan: Jordan 

Lauran: just got back from a trip last night, got very little sleep. I got 

Jordan: back from a work trip last night at like one o'clock. 

Lauran: He's running on fumes here. And then I had to 

Jordan: be at work today. So yeah, we're making it through. We're fighting it. For you. I love you. 

Lauran: We would love to see your fan art, so make sure you send it our way.

Jordan: Yes, and if you want to check out the full YouTube of this, you can go to her YouTube page at Mrs. Woolley in fifth. 

Lauran: Yes, please do, because it's, it's a hoot. It's, 

Jordan: is it a hoot? 

Lauran: It's a hoot and a half. 

Jordan: It's a hoot, any hoot. Any hoot. Any hoot. Thank you 

Lauran: guys so much for listening. We are your hosts, Lauren and Jordan Woolley.

Jordan: You cut me off, I was gonna say that, and now I'm gonna bring attention to it, because I feel so good. Oh, I'm sorry. I thought that was my turn. No, I'm teasing you. I'm teasing you. Listen 

Lauran: guys, if you've, if you've listened to the first few episodes of the show, you realize by now the end of the episode is just a dumpster fire.

Let me bring up Trash Bandicoot here. Uh, it's just a dumpster fire of us, you know, butchering all of our Credits. So it's a fun time though. If you stick around to the end, 

Jordan: it's chaos. 

Lauran: All right. So let's try that again. Thanks for listening. We're your hosts, Lauren and Jordan Woolley. And thank you to our special guest, Nancy Chung.

You can follow her at fancy Nancy in fifth on Instagram and Tik 

Jordan: TOK. Our executive producers of this just. Dumpster fire of a show is Jordan Woolley, Lauren Woolley, Aron Korney, Rob Goldman, and Shahnti Brooke. Our 

Lauran: editor 

Jordan: is Andrew Sims. Our engineer is Jason Portizo. And 

Lauran: our music is by Omer Ben Zvi. 

Jordan: To learn about our program, disclaimer, and ethics policy.

And what else can we learn about? Our submission, verification, 

Lauran: and licensing terms. Then go 

Jordan: to wearefinepaw. com or reach out to us at hello at wearefinepaw. com with any questions or concerns. 

Lauran: This podcast discusses sensitive and challenging topics, including mental health and personal struggles. If you're 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: Do you want to know what we are fine is? 

Lauran: What is it? 

Jordan: It's a human content production. Awww. Awww. We are, we are gone.

Theme: Hey you. Hey. 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. Bye.