#and even if it was i could never teach maths/science well enough.

[areyouwho-ithinkyouare]

the sheer amount of therapy i would have to go through before having kids would add like….. at LEAST £15000 to the cost of that already extortionate life stage lmao

[anthroamazed]

tips for stem majors in math and science courses (spoonie + neurodivergent friendly)

hi y’all! my nameis lila and i’m a 28 year old physics and anthropology major who’s about 2 years through college (in the US)! as we’re coming up on the start of the fall ‘23 college semester, i thought i might share some really solid hacks for fellow STEM students taking science and/or math courses that i’ve basically built my college academic career on. and! these study tips are spoonie and adhd friendly! as a matter of fact, a lot of these are tips/methods that specifically work for me as a neurodivergent spoonie (i have pretty severe adhd, as well as POTS and ME/CFS), but that i think non-disabled/non-spoonie and/or neurotypical students could also benefit from using! so with out any further ado, here are my 7 tried and true study hacks for college math and science classes…

1) discover your learning style and tailor your studying towards leveraging it.

you’ve probably heard of visual, audio, and kinesthetic learning styles, but did you now there’s actually way more learning styles than just those three? i’m personally a “social learner,” meaning i learn best through discussion and socialization with 1+ other people to interact with. this could look like teaching other classmates concepts and methods that we’ve learned or discussing ideas with classmates and/or professors until i fully understand the concepts at play and how they connect and can reflect them in performing analysis and application, etc. honestly, figuring out my learning style was hands down one of the most helpful things i’ve done in college. it has allowed me to choose professors who i will mesh better with in terms of how they teach, as well as to adapt materials and methods to my style of learning in order to master them quicker and more effectively.

2) rewrite your notes after lecture, for the love of god.

this tip actually comes from my high school IB Math HL teacher, who told me to do this when i originally left high school for college. even if you think you’ve mastered the basics of the topic covered during the lecture, rewriting those notes after lecture helps really hammer in the knowledge that you’ve already established and also helps to get the wheels turning on pieces of information you might have less of a grasp on. try tp set aside at least 30 - 40 minutes after class to just rewrite your notes and try to really digest the information.

3) body doubling is one of the most beneficial things ever to be invented even if you’re not adhd, and i WILL die on that hill, thank you very much.

“body doubling” or “having an accountabilibuddy” are interchangeable terms in the adhd community that mean you have one or more consistent study buddy/buddies who you do all the homework and/or studying with in person on a regular basis, even if you’re just working next to each other in total silence. this does a couple of things. first off, it forces homework/assignments/studying to become a concrete social obligation you need to regularly show up for, rather than a nebulous obligation based on an invisible deadline. second off, it gives you 1+ partners to work out your problems concerning course topics with. third off, it allows you to build a network of peers where you feel comfortable helping each other with course material (this is especially great because it’s likely you and your classmates have different strengths regarding course content). tbh, body doubling is the other method that i, personally, have found most useful in college and i highly recommend trying it, even if you don’t have adhd.

4) teach others/your classmates the analysis and application methods you’ve learned, even if those methods aren’t 100% solidified for you (trust me on this).

the goal of stem courses is never memorization, but rather being able to understand a topic well enough to analyze a similar situation and apply the what you’ve learned creatively. this is where teaching others comes in. in order to teach others a concept and its related analysis and application well, you have to have at least a fraction of a decent understanding of these things yourself, and, further, often time in teaching these things you also learn to grasp the concepts/aanalysis/applications even better than you did before with each new teaching session. basically: teaching others is a creative way of also teaching yourself. you get the benefits of repetition, of thinking about a concept/technique/analysis and application in a new way, and of getting to apply the concept/technique/analysis and applicatioin to a new scenario each time. plus, you’ll typically make friends quickly in the process! there’s really no downside to this tip imo ;-)

5) utilize your college’s tutoring center/program(s), even when you don’t think you need to.

usually colleges have either set up a general “tutoring center,” on campus where you can find tutors for all different kinds of topics and courses available during regular hours for walk-in sessions and/or appointments free of charge or departments will hold regular weekly (or twice weekly) free on-campus tutoring sessions for specific courses. regardless of which of these options your college has, i highly recommend attending at least one tutoring session/appointment (ideally with the same tutor if/when you eventually find one you click with) every single week, even when you don’t feel like you’re struggling with the topic(s) covered in that week’s lecture. this will help you review topics and techniques covered in lecture, deepen your understanding of them, and, if nothing else, it’s an excuse to get homework out of the way while having someone else there who can help you if/when you get stuck. attending at least one session weekly also helps you get into a habit and routine of keeping up with your assignments, so you’re not left scrambling at the last minute before they’re due.

6) if you have accommodations, request access to record lectures. if you do not have accommodations, ask your professor if you are allowed to record lectures. IF YOU RECORD LECTURES, DO NOT FORGET TO REVIEW THEM!

okay, so first up for my fellow spoonies and neurodivergent peeps: when you apply for/renew your accommodations, make sure that “recordinng lectures” is on your MOA (memorandum of accommodations), because so long as it is, your professors legally cannot deny you permission to record lectures without risk of themself and the college being sued for an ADA violation. also, make friends with a classmate and ask them to record lectures and send them to you if/when you are absent (let the professor know that you’ve asked this classmate to record and send you the lecture if you are absent)

now, if you aren’t disabled, a spoonie, and/or neurodivergent, you aren’t guaranteed permission to record lectures. however. ask the professor if you can have their permission to audio record lectures (be sure to also let them know that such a recording would be for personal use only and that you don’t plan on distributing the recordings). i’ve found that many professors don’t mind you having an audio recording.

even if you aren’t an audible learner it can be really useful to have these recordings to review at a later point. oftentimes reviewing lecture recordings can be useful if you glazed over and missed a section of the lecture and/or if you can’t remember what a professor taught during a section of a lecture.

7) last but not least, on a related note, if you have accommodations, also request access to your professor’s lecture notes. if you don’t have accommodations, check if your professor posts their lecture notes for students to use.

having your professor’s notes can be extremely useful for review purposes, but they can also help you understand where your professor is going with course content and what they want to stress as important.

[tthatsonme]

Intellect, by molly.

— People often underestimate the seriousness of your sudden shift of motivation, in this day and age; it’s uncommon to see anyone (especially younger people) read a book or have any interest in having goals whatsoever, but you’re different, you’ve set the curve, you’re the centre of attention and everyone should be like you especially when it comes to academics, parents are constantly asking you to teach their kids your way because of how effortless your work ethic and dedication to school seems.

— Whenever the teacher needs an example on how to do a math equation or what a well written and worded essay SHOULD look like they always hold up your assignments as an example, you are 100% the best example of what a student should be like an any generation but especially this one, all of the parents and guardians with the “brain rotted iPad babies” or “wasting their lives away because of technology addiction teenagers” beg you to tell them what your “secret is” but maybe you’re not even fully aware of your greatness or level of discipline and success.

— You have a very distinct and important morning routine that you do every day, whether your routine has 4-steps or 40-steps it’s almost like it’s been burned into your DNA to follow it daily, your routine is not optional, you have the most perfect sleep schedule it’s almost as perfect as you, but in case you need a late study night you wake up everyday well rested regardless of whether you slept a full 8-hours or not, your memory to do things is amazing, you have a better memory than most people in your classes, you remember everything that you hear, read, and write in terms of school, you remember how to spell everything, your handwriting is always neat and legible, you could basically rewrite the dictionary at this point, fun fact: most people in this generation aren’t fluent in English because of the lack of spelling and vocabulary (my teacher said this so it’s probably true), while the other people in your class are crying over the phone ban if you have you you’re perfectly fine without your phone for 6-8 hours a day, you’ve never had any issues writing stories or having original thoughts, you have an extremely expanded vocabulary and are an amazing writer, “You don’t use brain rot?? Nerd alert!” It’s surprising to hear someone only use quote “brain rot terms” ironically, whilst the rest of the world is having unintelligent conversations about skibidi toilet and whatnot you’re the complete opposite.

— You have no issues in and are the best at all forms of mathematics, geometry, algebra, calculus, arithmetic, trigonometry, number theory, statistics, set theory, topology, discrete mathematics, probability, combinatorics, numbers, mathematics analysis, analytical geometry, differential equations, applied mathematics, game theory, pure mathematics, linear algebra, numerical analysis, and matrix algebra, natural sciences, engineering, medicine, finance, computer science and social sciences, biology, chemistry, physics, astronomy, earth sciences, zoology, ecology, microbiology, astrophysics, neuroscience, logic, ethics, psychology, philosophy, mechanics, and social sciences, morphology, sociolinguistics, pragmatics, psycholinguistic, linguistics, phonetics, historical linguistics, stylistics, and computational linguistics plus whatever other courses and classes that you have. [If this last part seems random it’s because it is, it’s copy and pasted from a personal sub I made a year ago for 11th grade :p]

_Things to remember

You can and will only ever manifest what you desire from this subliminal

Make sure not to obsess over your results because they can lead to limiting beliefs

You don’t have to listen daily or 1-7 times or anything like that, one is always enough with any subliminal :)

[dustin4ce]

stability.

young! tony stark x male!teacher! reader

a/n: i kinda threw this together while talking to a friend, but if you enjoy it… let me know and i’ll write a follow up!!

warnings: student-teacher relationship, brief mention of sex, mention of abuse, tony crying (poor baby)

ace is the only stability a young tony stark has. mr. (ace) ellis teaches the junior english class at tony’s high school. tony was never good in english, but he tried his hardest. he was a smart kid, he just put all his energy towards science and maths to impress his father, causing his english grade and writing portion of school to fall short.

tony walked into english with his head down, he didn’t want mr. ellis to see the black eye. ace cared too much about tony, and it would immediately bring attention to him. tony hates being the center of attention. the young stark sat his bag down next to his chair as he sat. his head falling heavy on the wooden desk in from of him. this was unusual. tony always seemed interested in english. tony enjoyed english (mainly because of his teacher). mr. ellis came from his desk rubbing tony’s back like he did with everyone, but he got no response. people still filing into class, giving ace the perfect opportunity to talk to tony. the taller authority squated down next to tony, hand still on his back. “hey kiddo — you alright?” that was all it took. the small shakes of tony’s body told him everything. the quiet sniffing and shake in stark’s breath. tony’s fists clenched as he gripped onto his own sleeves, yet he made no effort to turn to look at his teacher. “hey.. why don’t you step out into the hall? maybe go to the bathroom — wipe your eyes with a wet paper towel. i’ll be out there after i explain the lesson.” tony, still shaking, got up with his head down and went outside.

mr. ellis didn’t take long to explain. some simple assignment. ‘write me an essay about a life motto you believe is important’. ace was proud, he came up with the idea himself. he even wrote his own essay. ‘don’t take what you earned for granted.’ it sounded stupid, (the motto), but ace had realized many times that he’d work for something — then quit working to improve what he got as soon as he got it. he wanted to be better. that’s why he was really trying to check on tony — he wanted to be someone people could depend on, especially tony. stark had always had a portion in ace’s mind. tony had trusted him with things — his dreams, life goals, his family. ace always wondered what tony was doing, how tony was doing. he knew it was wrong, but couldn’t stop himself when it was just him in his bed at night. his thoughts always wondered back to tony. the soft touches, his almost perfect smile, his shy personality, his (as ace would classify it) adorable face. his hand always found a way to his pants. he knew better, he swore he’d never let it get out of hand, but when the images of a young tony stark being bent over his desk under him and his control flooded his mind, he just couldn’t keep that promise.

ace had rubbed his hair back after explaining then stepped outside. tony was sitting on the ground, knees basically to his chest, his arms wrapped around his legs, and his forehead pressed to his knees. the young boy was still crying. mr. ellis sat down next to him. “tony — talk to me? what’s going on today?” tony blubbered, he finally looked up, ace’s eyes widened as he saw the bruising on tony’s face. first, he felt sympathy and sorrow. then, he felt anger. who could do this to his boy? his sweet, little baby. he was gonna get to the bottom of it, he made sure of it. “what happened, kid?” ace gently touched tony’s cheek, his fingers shocking tony. “don’t be mad.” tony’s frown and tears still evident. ace nodded. “my dad, uh, didn’t like my grades — maths and science — they weren’t good enough for him.” tony sniffled, he did really well for the term, but it wasn’t perfect — so howard obviously didn’t like it. “so he hit you?” ace’s voice was laced with anger. stark just nodded. “oh kid — i’m so sorry, i really am.” tony teared up more as ace pulled him into a hug, stark’s head immediately landing on the older man’s chest and cuddling into him. he always loved the smell of mr. ellis, and his sweet gentle demeanor. ace kissed the top of the young man’s head and rubbed his back. tony couldn’t take it, through his tears he mumbled what he thought would be incoherent. “mm — ‘m sorry. i love you.” but ace heard, yet said nothing. just smiled. he heard all he needed to. tony stark had told him he loved him, and ace knew he loved his tony stark. nothing was ever going to hurt tony again, especially not his father.

[haee-elia]

spence-tober: day 14 - middle school teacher

pairing: middle school teacher!spencer reid x fem!reader

summary: in which you greet your new colleague who happens to be the same age as you

word count: 1634

warnings: fluff, awkward, its a meet cute

spence-tober masterlist

As you turn down the colorfully, painted hallway of the middle school classrooms, you spot an unfamiliar sight. 

Usually so early in the morning, you were one of the few to be in the school and to your knowledge, you were the only middle school teacher who came so early to prep for the school day.

Carrying your tote bag and your large to-go coffee cup and dressed for the school day, your interest peaks as you spot a man sprawled out on the floor on his hands and knees, collecting a large amount of papers that had obviously escaped from his hands.

You rush down the hall, your flat shoes clicking on the tile of the hallway, and then set your stuff on the ground, bending down to help the man.

Even though his face is angled to the floor, the man looks to be about your age. His face is slightly flushed, you guess by embarrassment, but it’s a rather handsome face you can tell. He’s dressed in a nice button up with a cardigan over it and some nice slacks with some white vans on his feet. His brown hair is messy, but short enough that it doesn’t roam about around his face.

“Are you okay?” You ask, him, trying to search his face to see if he had slipped and fallen.

He looks up at you and gives you a small, shy, smile, “Yeah, I just tripped.” The tips of his ears turn a bit red. 

“I didn’t fall.” He corrects, “But I did send all of these papers flying.” He chuckles, nervously, “Thank you, for the help,” He says, gesturing to the collection of papers you have gathered from around the hallway for him.

You shrug it off and offer him a kind smile of your own, “It’s no problem. Are you new to the school?” You inquire.

You, yourself, have been working as a middle school teacher at this school for about six years now, having started right after you graduated with your degree. You had interned as a student teacher in your last year of college to gain experience and then accepted the offer by your mentor to take her place when she retired. 

The man nods and gratefully takes the papers from your hand, adding it to the pile in his own, “Uh, yeah, I am. I’m Spencer, by the way.” He introduces. He offers his free hand not holding the stack of papers for you to shake.

You give him your name and shake his hand with yours.

“What are you teaching, Spencer?” You ask, wanting to get to know your new co-worker more.

“English for 7th and Math for 6th.” He responds, his nervousness starting to dissipate. “How about you?”

“Science for 7th and 6th.” You answer, “I’ve never been very good at grammar or inferences.” You admit to him.

“Well, you must be pretty good at math to teach a variety of sciences.” Spencer assures you.

You giggle and shake your head, “As long as I’ve got a calculator, I’m fine.”

Spencer chuckles back at you, “A calculator never hurts to have.”

You glance at the stack of papers in his arms, “So those are your first day activities?” You ask him, pointing down at the pile held by his hands.

The top paper is one of those get to know me print out sheets that could be found all over the internet. If you’re not mistaken, you used that exact print out during your first official year of teaching.

Spencer nods and neatly tucks in the paper edges of the stack to be more uniform, “Oh, yeah. Um, just some get to know me’s. I have some math puzzle sheets and a few of my favorite short stories too.”

“That’s really nice of you to share your favorites.” You compliment with a warm smile, “Don’t worry, the middle schoolers aren’t too ruthless.” You joke. 

He returns with a smile equally as warm as your own, “That’s good to know. I don’t want to get eaten alive on my first day.” He quips.

“Oh, I wouldn’t let them.” You assure him, playfully bantering back and forth now.

Neither of you go to leave and still stay, standing stagnant in the hallway together alone. “Do you, um, usually come to school this early?” Spencer asks, trying to make some small talk.

You nod, “Yeah, I usually like to get the work day started. Leaves me less to do at the end of the day and all that.”

He grins at you, “That’s really smart.” He holds up the stack of papers in his hands, “I wanted to get everything printed and ready for today.” There’s a hint of nervousness in his expressions.

He adjusts the stack once again and seems to struggle a little bit when he has to readjust the glasses up further on his nose. “Can I help you with that?” You ask, pointing to the papers.

Spencer looks like he’s about to refuse your offer when the papers slide once again. You chuckle and go ahead and take about half the stack in your free hand, having grabbed your own possessions off the floor but easily juggling them.

He profusely thanks you for the help, but you brush it off. 

“Don’t worry about it. It’ll get easier to carry stacks of papers when there’s a crowd of students in the hallway and you only have time to make one trip to and back. Trust me.” You inform him, trying to calm some of his nerves, “Everything will get a lot easier. Teaching’s the easy part, wrangling middle schoolers who are in the midst of drama is much harder.”

“Thanks,” Spencer says again, “First day jitters are getting to me and all that.” He chuckles, nervously.

“Well, my classroom is the one with my name on the door.” You say, pointing down the hallway a little further back, “Let me know if I can help you. I swear, I had first day jitters my entire first year of student teaching.”

He nods, “Hopefully I can get into the routine of things. I, uh, was teaching at a community college for some time, but realized I wanted to teach a little younger. This is my first time with middle schoolers.” Spencer walks with you until you reach a door. It’s like yours, just a little bit more plain and instead has his name on it, Mr. Spencer Reid. 

He holds the door open for you and gestures you to go first, “Here, if you could just put it on my desk.” He directs.

You do as he says and find a space on the crowded desk for the papers. He follows behind you and piles on the rest of the papers in his hand.

While he straightens things out, you decide to look around the classroom. You were familiar with it, of course, you knew the older teacher who retired last year and often came into the classroom for supplies or otherwise. All of the decorations from the prior teacher were gone and it was still quite bare bones, but you could see the little things Spencer has started to add. 

The large shelves were filled with many books of different variety and sorted by genre. You could spot The Hunger Games Trilogy, the Illiad, Geronimo Stilton, and Magic Tree House, to name a few. The walls were pretty bare, but there were some brand new dinosaur themed garlands decorating the tops of the cabinets and bulletin boards. Judging by the plastic bags resting on the floor near the teacher’s desk, Spencer wasn’t quite done with decorating yet.

Spencer turns back to you when he’s finished straightening out his desk. He watches your eyes take in the room around you, “It’s not done yet, I, uh, didn’t realize how much stuff I need to fill a classroom.” He chuckles, rubbing the back of his head with his hand. 

“It looks really good so far.” You compliment, looking back at Spencer with a smile.

“Sorry, bye the way.” Spencer blurts out next, like he had been sitting on saying it for a while. 

You furrow your eyebrows, “What?”

“I’m sorry,” Spencer repeats, a bit bashful this time. “For keeping you. You came early to get things done and I’ve kept occupied. You haven’t even bene able to put your stuff down.” He gestures with his hands towards the tote on your shoulder and the travel coffee cup in your hand.

Before you can respond, a school bell sounds off and Spencer visibly panics. You know the panic all too well and hold up your hand to stop him in his tracks, “That’s the teacher bell. No students yet. They test the bell on the first day to let all the teachers know its 30 minutes until students will show up.”

“Oh,” Spence relaxes and his tense shoulders melt with your explanation.

“I should get going though and sort out my classroom.” You say, looking at the watch on your wrist, “And don’t worry about keeping me today, any time you need help, just come find me. The first year teaching middle school can be stressful.” You tell him, honestly, “I’m here early every day and I leave about an hour after school ends.”

You collect yourself and move towards the door, turning around one last time, “Have a good first day.” You say, wishing him the best.

“You too!” He says, catching you right before you left down the hallway.

It would be years before you would tell Spencer that when you left his classroom starting down the hallway towards your own, that the other teachers were giving you very knowing looks. 

When you did finally tell him, it would be on your honeymoon.

a/n: i am not very happy with how this turned out but at least its done? at this point (sorta halfway through writing the month) all these prompts and blurbs are running together...

[my-castles-crumbling]

Hey, cas!

I think I need some advice. Apologies in advance if this sounds too urgent or something. I know one of your boundaries is to not feel pressured to answer immediately and I don’t want you to feel like that’s what I’m doing.

So school started again about three weeks ago but I was sick the entirety of last week, so I’ve only actually been to school for two. Where I live the school system is a bit different from America, but you could say that this is my first year of high school, only that I didn’t have to change schools.

Even though it’s only been two weeks, I’m already immensely stressed out. Now that I’ve been sick for a week, I’m scared I missed too much stuff, especially because the level of things we need to do has doubled since last year. I’ve always been pretty lazy and never really studied for anything except sometimes math. I never needed to because I got Bs and often As anyway. Now however I’m completely overwhelmed.

Last night I panicked so much about having to go back to school today, that I almost threw up. When I realized, I found myself thinking about forcing myself to throw up to prove to my mother that I was still sick so I wouldn’t have to go to school.

When I realized that that was what was going on I had another breakdown and didn’t do anything. I felt almost disgusted at myself for even thinking about that.

This morning I wanted to fake a headache, but ended up not because my mother kept insisting I go to school.

When I was on my way to school, my bike had issues, so I asked my mom to come help me. I had a breakdown before she even arrived. When she did, she tried to help me and understand what was going on, but I couldn’t really speak or listen to anything she told me. I think I may have had a panic attack of some sort.

When I’d calmed down enough to explain what was going on, she tried to reassure me that everything would be alright and that my grades didn’t matter to her. I knew all of that already, but it did calm me down a bit.

After we agreed that I can stay home today as long as I promise to go tomorrow, no matter what, she suggested that I go to therapy, which I was planning on asking for anyway.

All in all it doesn’t sound as bad anymore now that I’ve typed it all out like this. The only issue is that in my country Therapy waiting lists take an average of 6 months. I don’t know how I’m supposed to wait that long.

Do you have any advice on how to get my anxiety under control until then. Or how to feel less stressed about school in general. I can’t talk to my teacher because she’s very strict and her method of teaching people who don’t know stuff yet is to repeatedly call on them and throw them in ice water basically. I’m sure she means well, but it only increases my anxiety by a tenfold. What would you tell your students if they were having trouble with something?

I definitely struggled with this when I was younger, so I completely get it. I think one of the things about feeling overwhelmed like this is you feel like you have to get it all done in one day. So instead, could you maybe make a list of the things you need to get done, but then separate it into manageable chunks? Like Make up all your math work on Monday, science on Tuesday, etc? You could even show your teacher your plans to let her know you're working toward getting caught up.

Honestly, I would tell my student that you need to go easy on yourself. If you push yourself too much, you're going to end up learning less because you're too stressed! The people what expect you to be perfect aren't worth it. Take breaks, do a little at a time, and remind yourself that it's just as important to take care of yourself as it is to catch up <3

Sending love and naming you catch up anon!

[simknowsstuff]

The human mind has no definite state on any matter. No one mind comprehends the world the same, but many people conform. No one model of the mind exists, but many work well enough to be used, but also many conflict in key components.

Behaviour can come from biology, physical structure, environmental influences, current received input, taught behaviour, hormones, neurotransmitters, specialised structures, and inward conjecture. All of which differ vastly

If the brain were an actual neural network, the synaptic firing that regularly occurs would just be teaching the brain to retain its current state. Memories would just be a gradient mapping and recall of input relativity to other inputs.

We can't map out neuron clusters because not every brain has the wiring.

Neural networks aren't even close to the brain. I fucking hate that comparison. They're using math to approximate the shape some function makes. Its like covering a frozen blanket over an art student's sculpture using only a ballpoint pen

The brain is a machine that uses nature to construct these approximations, encoding hyper-compressed genetic data on the right initial firings and right densities that would preclude the degradation of function, leading to "functional groups" of neurons that have no purpose but to generally exist, made to roughly approximate hundreds of models that process things in ways we could never even comprehend, or imagine the intended genetic function of.

If you try and describe the brain to anybody it'll sound like fucking science fiction, but life is a metaphysical entity that yearns to feed off of waves of entropy, so it burst through the seams of whatever part of the earth FUCA came from, and decided "hey lets lead to a maximised creature designed to create change"

I'm not saying we are maximally made, but we're the best that there is currently in the same way that adding and modifying more and more computer parts to a shitty pc would make a maximally good computer

and thus society and industry and classes and hierarchies are born, dents in the pathways that make up the multidimensional shape we call our hippocampus, forged likely from the will of life, as the first step into catalysing the world.

Creatures that don't maximally destroy or change are the ones that fall victims to those that maximally do, after all.

Idk what this rant is about, brains weird, do whatever the fuck you want and make your mind whatever the fuck you want, as long as it perpetuates and encourages the story of your life and others to be beautiful and complex.

Moral of the story: fuckin idk

[docholligay]

Consider a setting where graduating from a certain school gives you the right to wield political power on a national level, depriving everyone who doesn’t attend of the right to vote, but the bottom third students of every year get transformed into magical slaves. How terribly would the Senshi or Overwatch crew handle that?

Okay, so, let's get this out of the way first: WHAT THE FUCK.

Now that we've taken that important break, let's think about this.

Do we know what they teach at this school? Because I think that would be a large part of my decision for this. Some of the cannier players in the game would enter if they thought they stood a chance, but by the very nature of the thing they ALSO know that the best of the best are going to go here. Do you think you're in the top 66% of 1000 driven and probably proven intelligent people? I mean, I probably would be like, "I guess I am a voteless worker bee."

So, for the purposes of this question, we'll assume it's a standard high school type setup, with, fuck, I'm just doing this for the purposes of answering. We'll use what was the AP track for each at my high school, because, well, I'm familiar with it.

Math : Algebra, Geometry, Trig, Calc

Science: Earth, Biology, Chemistry, Physics

English: Four years of upper level Literature courses focusing on analysis and knowledge of the canon.

History: (Insert country of origin here), Government, World i, World ii

Language: Four years of a language, I took Spanish.

And then we can make space for other shit. We had 6 periods a day, but not every day had to be the same. Whatever, we'll go with the guideline.

SAILOR MOON

Rei goes because Rei has never been humble for even one moment in her life, and also she wants to boss the entire country around. She knows that she is going to be in the top 66%, and also probably graduate first in the class, she's just that smart. Is she though???? We don't see one way or the other, and I think of her as a sort high-middling student, and in an environment like this one, I could see her maybe ending up on bottom.

Minako would never do it unless she was sure she could find a good way to cheat on everything. Minako's not stupid, but I do think she can be a little intellectually lazy. Sitting down and actually doing the work would take her aback a little bit, but I also think she knows that and also isn't too proud to admit, to herself at least, that she might be in danger there.

Michiru's family has so much money and influence that even if she can't vote, she can vote, so I don't see her willingly putting herself through that.

Haruka would not attend, but it would only be because Minako stopped her from some desperate and quasi-suicidal jaunt to prove herself worthy or some shit. She knows its dumb, Mina knows its dumb, but here she is, signing up for it! It seemed like a good idea at the time.

Overwatch:

Lena has laughed herself out of the building already. Thanks but no thanks. Voting isn't worth the entirety of a physics class and having to do well in it on top of everything else. She'll go wash glasses in a pub if she has to, goodbye.

Fareeha acknowledges that it is a difficult task, and it will encourage a high level of competition, but luckily, rigorous testing of her abilities is a boon in her eyes. She spends long nights studying and sharpening her acumen. Literature is never her strongest class, and she does worry about it, but she gets it together just fine, and is strong enough in everything else.

Mercy is the sort that is more than smart enough for this sort of thing, but I don't know that she would want to sign up for it because it just seems cruel. It seems wrong. She will, of course, be talked into taking a spot, because better someone with her scruples than someone chomping at the bit to have the power.

Dva is following Lena out the door but she's posting the whole reel to TikTok, including she and Lena popping babychams in the parking lot.

[alcoholttm]

@shipwrght asked:

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." Though, he can't deny his curiosity to peel back the curtain to Kaku's true past. Out of all the time they had spent together, before and after everything that happened, his past had always felt more of a taboo topic. Never quite pressing further to avoid discomfort, but always having that wish he would bring it up first. Paulie sighs, scratching at his face. "I won't lie, I want to know... but I'm guessing it's going to be a lot." And even then, he feels like that was an understatement.

"no, no, it's about time that i actually tell you what happened," it was a loaded question that paulie had asked, but kaku knew that he deserved some explanation on how he came to be what he was. so, with a breath he looked down at his hands, they were scarred sure, but there were times that he swore he could still see blood upon them.

"i was sold to the world government from a very young age," he started, eyes glancing upwards just a bit to look at the window of their bedroom, he could remember bits and pieces of the nursery that he grew up in when he wasn't learning all that he could about the world from the eyes of the government. "see, my father was in debt and the only way to get out of it was to sell me. my mother had passed away when i was only a year old so i don't even remember what she looked like--not that i really remember my old man either." he then eyed paulie for a moment. "i was two when i was sold, from what i was told it wasn't much-babies don't really sell much, not like slaves who could actually do labor, but it was enough to get him out of debt and then some so he took the deal and never looked back."

he was starting to fiddle with his hands now as he thought about the training.

"they started out like a school, i guess, you know, learning to read and write, math and science and such, so it wasn't so bad at first," yet another breath left his throat, head shaking slightly. "but then when i turned ten they called it an advanced curriculum. teaching me how to hone my body to become stronger, there were nights that i came back to the dorms aching with pain, cuts and bruises all over my body but i couldn't complain." no, if he did so much as weep at the pain he'd have wake up the next day without any breakfast--without food for even a day kaku learned quickly not to show any agony of the days training.

"my training to become an actually assassin didn't really start until i was around fifteen. i got my first gun and was taught how to shoot it, taught how to zip around without being noticed--it's how i got so good at jumping across this city actually, so it wasn't all that bad." he always had to look at the positive of his trainings or he'd lose it. "i learned how to read pulses to check of people were lying--" he was sure that skill in and of itself would bring back some bad memories from paulie, but he did say he was curious about his childhood upbringing. "and then the guns turned into using my fingers to pierce people's skin, my legs now act like swords--i can cut a building in two if i wanted to.." he grew silent, unsure if he wanted to keep talking about this.

"i know now how wrong the world government is, but they did teach me some techniques that have gotten me to where i am today." did he regret his choices back on that day? of course he did, but at the same time if he didn't grow up the way he did he couldn't fight as well as he could now. "but now i use those techniques to keep this city safe, keep us safe..y'know?"

spilling his guts onto the floor, he hated himself somedays because of his past, and now that paulie knew a bit more about it--could he hate him now, too?

[bitchineering]

You don't know me... but let's work on that

Okay so like, I'm never active anymore. Really just gave up being active on tumblr because who the f is active here. Also I have a funny name now so it's fine- don't hate me for it.

Anyway, I thought, wow I really hate some stuff with teaching and no one having resources to free educational things so I thought to myself, why don't I just post items on here?!

Yea so that's what this is. You have classes you want to take, you don't have the ability to learn almost everything you ever wanted? Your teacher sucks ass? Well hopefully this helps makes everything better.

Mostly, all resources I know are about science and math (🫢wow surprised?!), and they can be tailored for whatever you need in long run. This became much longer than I thought it would be lol!

Topics Included:

Computer Science

Physics/Engineering

Math (HS Algebra and up)

Arts/Humanities

Computer Science

https://github.com/ossu/computer-science: this literally builds so much for coding and getting someone into programming. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it for some classes (I don't know how much it would help with AP Computer Science or Principles, but it has so much information, anyone really wanting to learn about code could get started with this.

https://www.freecodecamp.org/: another win website, I'd def say a little more chaotic (?). It depends how you want to learn you know. Love the web design bs, not really into it, but their tuts and videos were helpful enough for myself.

https://cs50.harvard.edu/x/2023/: Another beauty, these lectures really give so much for programming. Classes are held where you can even attend without being a harvard student. Lectures are intense imo, as it is a lot of content all in your face but just love the guy.

https://www.youtube.com/@alexlorenlee: Java. If you need any help in starting Java, I love these videos. He got me through a horrible class in my uni. Love him fr fr.

https://www.youtube.com/@crr0ww: Learning about any sorta malware, educational resources to get started with understanding your network, overall, just a really smart and funny guy. Love his videos. Really good at explaining basic contents.

https://www.youtube.com/@ColinGalen: Recommend his learning videos and how to think almost like a chess grandmaster. My own cs professor talks about drawing out code and being able to actually write what is going on in code.

Physics/Engineering/Sciences?

(sorry, I'm not mechanical engineer 🙈)

Electrical Engineering: Youtuber Michel Van Biezen is AMAZING. Also, dude as a sick ass drip and I love the bow tie. His circuits and physics lectures are so entertaining and helpful to understand. I really really really loved his videos as they helped me pull my grades up. His explanations are top tear, I really feel like he's so good at this.

GaTech Coursera Circuits: There are two of these classes here.

DC Circuit Analysis: First course. Helps you learn almost everything you should have learned in Physics Two and if not, don't worry they explain it somewhat well. Videos are condensed and good enough for someone to watch. Just know they don't do calculations on screen, and those can be pretty lengthy to solve.

AC Circuit Analysis: Same as above, they don't have as many items for this course, but def know it is a good course and necessary for understanding more modern circuit applications.

Every engineer wants to be him -> Michael Reeves , if you've never heard of him, please. This man will make you want to recreate his robots. He's a genius. He's everything every engineer wishes they could be.

NileRed : Do you want to be a fake chemist because Ochem made you want to die?? Well actually I just took chem 1 and changed my major, but NileRed it literally so fun. His chem videos are so fun and cool.

Thought Emporium -> mad biology scientists? Love this guy too! He's trying to be Spider-man and I love him for that. I hope he recreates those spiderwebs, I've been watching it for so long. Love this dude.

Robotics Engineering: Done by a youtuber who love for the anime reps!!! This guy focuses more on VR/AR, but loves carrying the same vibes as Michael Reeves, a Russian youtuber I know, and just overall very fun.

Mechatronics: Things to know for going into the field of Mechatronics (basically this is Robotics, just the more machine side). They recommend having that backbone in the core classes.

Learning for Engineering Students: Love that someone who was an actual engineer made some sort of engineering studying help. Would totally recommend watching, along with some other youtubers,

Tamer Shaheen (Mechanical Engineer) notes and exam recitation guides

British Engineer Loved her video, really similar to my own method of doing repeated practice problems.

My own study method!!! Create a google docs with Three columns:

Topic -> Usually this is how I'd organize the question. I did docs like these for each class, so I instead would put this as some topic within my class OR I would organize it by assignment it correlated to. I.E. alternating circuits or homework

Question -> really self explanatory, make sure to give details, dates, who you think you should ask, etc etc. There are no dumb questions, I'd really recommended these for computer science and would totally give my notes out for that shit.

Answers -> another self explanatory category, however, would recommend doing something a lil different with this box. Don't overwrite explanations. Also, don't take explanations. Write your own understanding of the solution, and a link/cite/provide some evidence for you or someone to turn back to.

Math

Organic Chemistry Tutor: Just, this man is everything. He has so many videos not only for chemistry but for other classes. I put him in math mostly because I used him for calculus I and II.

Khan Academy : Tbh, I loved their calculus course material. I'm not the biggest fan of them overall with some other provided materials (Like their SAT prep, really is only effective for helping students take it online and grading fast, but I'm pretty sure I have another post explaining how I found online materials for that bs and got a passing grade).

3 Blue 1 Brown (Math/ Calculus) : I feel like everyone knows him, he's so good at visualizing concepts. Great but still very complex videos, please understand that before going in. You might not be able to understand everything on first try, but always draw them out.

Studying Pure Math : Once you finished calculus and would enjoy some rigorous applications/learn about higher levels of math, this youtuber has linked a multitude of resources for those mathematical desires lol.

Small ideas of what is mathematics but this is such a beautiful video in explaining how mathematics is built up from each other. I think it changes your idea of how to study math (however, he does say you shouldn't memorize this stuff, but in the next bullet point, I wanted to show how I studied for math which did involve memorizing methods).

Studying thing I learned from youtuber but had sorta done myself, just think showing off this youtuber who's in oxford is fun!!!!

(Okay so I didn't find it, but the youtuber I thought who said the idea was Lucy Wang, still linking channel for the woman in math!!!).

So, in class you should be writing down examples, writing questions to the side, and looking for a pattern. When you find this pattern, you can organize your notes and your test answers. So like when doing an optimization problem in calculus, you have to draw the system, set up equations, ask what are you solving for, and the show the methods you used to solve. I would also recommend this for any numerical questions (for me, this included circuits, physics, and other math classes I've taken for a long time).

Professor Leonard: This man saved my calculus III grade. I love him. Please, he has almost all calculus classes, I don't think he has finished Differential equations and possibly one of his algebra courses, but his information is just great. His method of teaching is also phenomenal. And in the last video of his multivariable calculus playlist, he had the best quote ever. His wife and him were expecting a child, and he stated (this is horribly paraphrased but this was all I was thinking during my own calc III final):

"I'm pregnant- wait no- my wife's pregnant... But damn, I bet you I'd look good pregnant."

Arts/Literature/Humanities

https://www.youtube.com/@Chommang: Beautiful art, really enjoyed drawing alongside. Implores you to find your own style, but helps with anatomy, reference drawing, I literally knew nothing about this bs. But I really enjoy the videos.

Puppet History : Okay. So I know what you'll say if you saw these videos. But really, just if you want to start with history, it's such a good introduction, such a fun cast, and the lore is also something that I really think makes characters funny, long lasting, god. It's just so good and well written for some youtube puppet fever dream.

Reading Analysis: Literally just came up on my rec on youtube. Really nice in explaining the actual analysis of the text.

Japanese: I used it for practicing listening to Japanese, mostly just me trying to recognized sounds and words. I'm still a beginner in Japanese, cannot actually hold conversations, but this has helped me listen to others better.

Geography Now!: Learning anything about countries/ needing to learn about countries relationships, just enjoy knowing much trivia. I'd recommend this for those items. Also like, learning about other countries are so much fun! I would def say, there are countries he doesn't examine as in depth, ie, India. But if you're just getting into geography boom, here you go.

Some other recommendations for history, look up on coursera, edx, I mostly learn alot of these topics on youtube with video essays. Ngl, your own political beliefs will heavily affect how you learn these topics. There's no way around this. I hope for the sake of whomever, just please, learn both sides actual arguments. And if debates ever turn to arguments/yelling matches, leave. You need to have a strong sense of self- and in the end, if the other person doesn't understand or want to, there's nothing you can do about it. You can keep thinking your own beliefs, or feel inclined to research the topic later. If anyone gives you shit for believe in something that turns out to be factually incorrect, accept how you were wrong, why you were wrong, and understand that being wrong is a path of knowledge. If someone else believes you are wrong, however, they can't factual cite this, that is just a disagreement over some topic.

A thing I've said to others, is that everyone interprets the bible differently. You interpret His messages in a way I can never understand. And I the same. Since I cannot tell you how to interpret the bible, you cannot tell me. Something I truly believe is everyone has their own connection with God (not saved to Christianity, I know this is from an idiot in the bible belt in the USA but we'll deal with that later), and that connection guides them through life.

So for building this mindset, some books/videos I'd recommend:

*Please know, these books may contain triggering/unpleasant topics that readers should look into before selecting a book to read.*

The Myth Of Sisyphus, Albert Camus

Everyone's favorite psychopath, No Longer Human Osamu Dazai

Capitalism Realism Mark Fisher

Ecrits Jacques Lacan

Make It Stick Science of Successful Learning

Absurdism: A video similar to topic above, less academia-y language.

Classics Worth Reading: love love love Emmie! Her videos are pretty fun and I really enjoyed her classics recommendation.

Small amount of topics to go look up, search what you love, stay away from what you don't like. In the end, help yourself become a well rounded person by building up those ideas.

If yall wanna add more, please please please! Education is something I'll never get enough of. I believe it should be free, nonpolitical, and inspiring for all. Everyone deserves education because it makes us smart, capable, and healthy individuals. It builds our future. Good luck in your educational future. Hopefully I have spur of the moment to post my small study ideas, or resources for studying, so that others can focus being more time efficient. Just remember, control f (windows <3) or command f (mac users) to find whatever you need.

[paigesprojectpan]

Here's Why You Shouldn't Give Me A Scholarship

You shouldn’t give me a scholarship because I have withdrawn from three courses so far in my college career. Because I chose to take seven dual-enrollment courses instead of eight in high school. Because I have severe imposter syndrome within my chosen major. Because I already have a 40,000 scholarship. Because my parents work hard and make good choices with their money. Because I am white. Because I am not going into healthcare or music, engineering, coding, or even dance. I don’t deserve a scholarship because I procrastinate and then have missing assignments and because my room is messy.

I could think of a million more reasons why you shouldn't give me a scholarship. I don’t set aside time for assignments, I do not apply often to scholarships or internships. I am not in more than two clubs on campus. But I am a summer camp counselor. I have been for five years. I pick up shifts at Steam Anchor Coffee Co. where I work. I have always picked up extra shifts. And it has never been for money. It is because I liked my job. I like working with kids. I like to write, but not when someone else tells me what to write, where I can take evidence from, how long the piece has to be, and when I have to have it complete. I like to learn, but when I find things interesting. 

I am more in the Chemistry Teacher Education major for teaching than chemistry. And as I have said, ‘if not me then who?’ If I don’t pick up this shift and help someone else out, then who will. Because the group chats are most often silent. The National Science Foundation created a nation-wide scholarship for university juniors and seniors studying to become teachers in the STEM subjects. At my school there are 3 math majors, 2 bio, and 1 chem. Me. There are no physics teachers. I was not even a junior when I received my scholarship. I was a sophomore with junior hours thanks to the 7 dual-enrollment courses in high school.

My mom is going to be so mad at me because I had to withdraw from both of my summer classes. I did not make a lick of time for either of them in the first week. And, well, it set me up for failure. Late work gets zero’s in the gradebook so I would have an ‘F’. But instead I choose ‘W’. I have withdrawn from a class before. I withdrew from a psychology course my second semester of freshman year at Clinton Community College. I was registered for 5, 16-week classes and I looked at the workload after syllabus week and said, “Nope.” I got 100% tuition reimbursement though since I withdrew during the first week.

This is starting to sound like a sob-story and I hate it.

I am thinking of completely leaving college altogether. But I do not want to be considered a drop-out. I want to get a degree in something since I am already here. But, when I come home for summer I am blinded with the amount of people that go straight into the workforce or military after high school. Or they stopped after receiving an associate’s or a certificate or license. I am not sure I am cut out for the length of time it will take me to finish my bachelor’s in Chemistry Teacher Education (especially since I withdrew from two classes this summer).

I really liked geology, but I am not sure I liked it enough to do a whole major in it. I have said this about concerts as well. I like Taylor Swift, but I’m not sure I like her enough to go sit through 3 hours of her.

Am I screwed? No one is going to give a summer job to someone wanting to start in mid-June and leaving and mid-August. No one is going to give a scholarship to someone who would rather see a ‘W’ on her college record than an ‘F’. No one is going to give a scholarship to someone who procrastinates so bad she just doesn’t do her assignments. No one is going to give a scholarship to a hypocrite.

[everythingismadeofchaos]

I get that YouTube drama is some pretty weak shit to get interested in. I get that most of YouTube contains misinformation, often the people you hear from are not qualified to really promulgate the ideas that they are waving around like giant flags, that a lot of YouTube is just people disagreeing with each other and making responses to responses to responses to responses. Logical fallacies fly back and forth like cannonballs. One side accepts facts the other one doesn't.

But it's a hell of a gift that if I have a passing interest in something vaguely controversial among kooky people, like astronomy is to the flat Earthers, or like actual history is to the biblical literalists, or like evolutionary biology is to the young Earth creationists, I can get to know specific YouTubers with actual qualifications and come to trust them and learn an enormous amount a specific field of study while listening to the glorious evisceration of these grifting cretinous assholes. It is an absolute pleasure beyond belief to hear somebody like Paulogia casually and politely and calmly go through a Ken Ham video point by point pointing out every lie, every intentional misstatement, while a guest, represented by a cartoon on his show, often sporting credibility in the form of an advanced degree from an accredited University, casually teaches me real information about how the world actually works.

Science presenters on television used to work so hard. They had budgets far beyond what a guy in his basement in Canada has access to. And they produced great things, like Carl Sagan's Cosmos show or Connections, starring James Burke. Those things are marvelous and instructive pieces of art that give you a casual familiarity with interesting quirks of history or facts that you can read entire books about later but at the very least keep you informed as to what the current human understanding is as regards some specific field of study.

But Gutsick Gibbon keeps me entertained. It's not even a fair contest. It's like watching the Tampa Bay buccaneers play a game of American football against my 10-year-old nephew's baseball team. It's not even close. She's a PhD student arguing with a breatharian. But the drama is so fun. It's so satisfying to hear these posturing nitwits actively making stuff up and misinterpreting stuff they heard on one of these preposterous History Channel shows about aliens and the pyramids, carefully edited together with measured responses that teach me more about anatomy and human history than I learned watching a decade's worth of documentaries in my twenties.

Sci Man Dan. Gutsick Gibbon. Paulogia. HealthyGamerGG. Dan McClellan. The Green brothers, Hank and John. Stand-Up maths. The Millennial Gardner. Emma Thorne. Lindsay Nikole. Dami Lee. Sabine Hossenfelder. EV Nautilus. Yoga with Adriene, Oh God how could I forget someone who makes me feel 5 years younger if I pay enough attention to her. Rocky Kanaka ... I learned a little bit about dog psychology from my sister, who used to train dogs, and a little bit about it from my friend who used to rescue and foster dogs, but I learned a lot from Rocky Kanaka, and his videos are so positive and upbeat sometimes they make me cry a little bit. In a good way, I mean. There's so much stuff to learn. You have to fact check things, but all of these people are just giving me all of this knowledge for free. That's a brilliant thing and I treasure it. Crime Pays but Botany Doesn't! Learn new things and have a brilliant time at the same time! And I can listen while I'm driving around and doing nothing important anyway! I just can't watch like that obviously. But still! It's great! Anton Petrov! Sauti Reese! Good god, I've learned things from Sir Sic I'd never thought about before, and that guy is, well, a dumb. Edit: dear God, how could I forget about Angela Collier? And I'm sure there are other people I'm forgetting about.

I'm so pleased to be here you guys. Going to go cut the grass with my noise suppression earbuds. I love you all

[poltergeist-coffee]

Writing this while my physics teacher corrects the exams

I don't have anxiety but I might have now because of him

Help

Anyway

About the college au

YAS, ART STUDENT JAIDEN FOR THE WIN

Also, I love the duality of Jaiden and Cellbit, they are both obsessed with Cucurucho in opposite ways and I think Cellbit deserves to hate Cucurucho without reason

He has enough traumas on canon

Do you have any idea for the french in the au?

- 🍽️

i’m sure you did great plate anon <33 i don’t think i’ve personally ever took a physics class before… i always did chemistry (which sucks) (i’m so bad at science and math MAKNCINKAJO)

rip cellbit <//3 in every universe he hates cucurucho but has to listen to jaiden talk about it like it’s her best friend

hmmm for the french in the au…

i think baghera would be an animal conservation major? just something to do with nature in general or she’s a law student as well. etoiles in the au is whatever the real life streamer has done (i think cc!etoiles has said before he studied like computer science or something?? i don’t remember). Antoine i have no idea but maybe linguistics or something to do with language could be cool? Aypierre very obviously is an engineering major and Kameto is in business.

I’ve thought the most about etoiles in the au so MKSNHCKJA uh mini ramble about him so sorry <//3

he’s apart of an esports club on campus and gone to tournaments and stuff before which he’s won!! he’s sort of well known for being super fucking good at Smash Bros and beating literally anyone who challenges him lol. i think he would also teach a self defense class or help run it (pac found out and immediately signed up for it btw…if u even care…). i think etoiles would just be content living in a box but none of his friends are so he is roommates with antoine (by force) (dw he’s fine) etoiles also would probably never go out to any school event unless he’s physically dragged there or he hears that philza is also going (they’re best friends you honor) then he’s more willing to attend kekw

[pb-loves-owls]

speaking of school au’s though. hb school au below cut

blitz would totally be more of a kinetic learner. Needs to move and touch things and see them all splayed out kind of deal. Needs to be able to say his thoughts out loud in order fully immerse himself into the assignment. Maybe also use special interests to keep him hooked? he’d do great in biology and physics if he focused on how horses move and work, also picking up other bits of knowledge about other stuff. bc sometimes when someone is super into something and hyperfixates on it, the things around it also get soaked in.

It is 100% how I managed to pass my math classes. Just focused on numbers divisible by three and five.

He’d also love history class but struggle in his grades with them.

Stolas would benefit from standard academia in controlled classroom environments. Of course this never happened in the show But. If he had grown in a space surrounded by peers, some would Eventually Hopefully become his friends, and he would’ve strived and had more confidence. He’d also learn about boundaries, which could potentially protect him from Stella. or at least some of her abuse. He’d do great in all his classes except maybe history.

Moxxie would probably be the same as Stol with a bit of Blitz. I think he’d be best working with visuals and sounds. Like audiobooks! Either in place or alongside paperback. For Lit classes. He’d probably strive in language arts and stuff. He’d be too nervous to join a sports team but would actually be great in it. It would improve his ability to work in teams. I don’t think he works well with others. Not because he wouldn’t want to, but because of his general attitude. Snobbish but self conscious, gets pushed to his limits easily, argumentative in a not helpful way.

Example: saying to Loona “Can’t you do anything right” is freakin harsh my dude. I mean. I get having a coworker who’s difficult to work with. But back up a second and see her as a person first. Bc okay, you see someone who is acting out from stress. You know you can’t make that better, and you can’t change them. The only solution that will be good for both of you is to back off. Antagonizing them is just asking for them to push back.

Millie, without Mox, would be an awesome student. And competitive. Which can be friendly competition (probs against Stolas) or with the purpose of annihilation (Striker). I think she’s more emotionally intelligent, which would be great in team sports where you gotta understand one another enough to work together. which doesn’t involve liking each other one bit. Just makes you respect your teammate enough to help them when they get hurt on the field. Her morals are way stronger than her anger. I don’t think she’d actively hurt someone just to hurt them. She’d probably be great in group projects. Maaaybe decent in math? So-so in history and language arts, fucking baller in science class.

They’d all meet in an after-school program for environmentally challenged kids.

Stolas, despite having straight A’s, would still struggle making friends and speaking up.

Blitz would struggle with grades even though his hand is always the first one up and he gets all the questions right. It’s the homework that’s a problem. “So why give homework if he’s already good???” Because sometimes schools just make you. It’s not always up to the teacher. We don’t have as much power over what we give and teach as people think we do.

Moxxie would be much of the same but be resistant in participating. He acts out a lot after the loss of his mother, same with Blitz.

Millie is there for the free food, mostly. But she’s really supposed to be there for anger management. She gets grouped into shit she has nothing to do with easy. Fighting bullies who are on another kid and getting in trouble instead kind of a deal. “No Sir see, he was beating up little Timmy so I defended Tim by beating Chad with his own skateboard. Because if he gets his board broken then he can get a whoopin from his ma”. She’s a well meaning menace and we love her. Her family loves her too but they worry about her getting in serious trouble with the wrong people.

Loona is baby still we don’t see her yet.

The program is like group therapy. They talk, do homework, hang out, get to know each other. They build connections that they wouldn’t otherwise. It’s not a part of their respective schools, but the program itself is advertised widely in every school district in the Pride Ring.

Might think of an HH version later.

[porcupine-girl]

My husband is a math professor at a large state university. He is also the director of his department’s graduate program, which means he has to deal with deans, administrators, and various higher-level policies more than most professors, as well as constantly fighting to get more funding for their grad students.

Apparently the university policy is that every college has to bring in more money than they spend - but not only that, each year they need to improve over the previous year. If they don’t (which they never do), their funding gets cut. So the college of arts and sciences’ budget keeps shrinking because they aren’t doing a good enough job of spending less and less - even as the university is constantly and loudly bragging about record enrollments.

That’s right, the incredibly toxic pathological need for not just steady but ever-increasing profits, which has destroyed corporations and is driving enshittification (thank you for that word @mostlysignssomeportents ) across the board has infected non-profit publicly-funded universities.

I get that being a non-profit doesn’t mean you can operate at a deficit forever, but that’s not what’s happening here. Again, they have had record enrollment every semester since we went back on campus in fall 2021. Tuition certainly hasn’t gone down. They just announced a significant raise for adjuncts (which I am), but until then we were getting paid at a rate about 2/3 of the national average. (We’re still below it, but finally at a rate where you could live in this area on it - if you can secure a full-time teaching schedule year-round, which is never even close to guaranteed, and still no benefits.) And don’t even get me started on my husband’s struggle for grad student funding, it’s truly ridiculous (they are in the bottom 10% among PhD programs in their field, they can barely keep enough students for their classes to run, and the college keeps trying to give them less).

I don’t know where all the money is going. I don’t understand the financial structures here nearly well enough to have any idea who, specifically, is benefitting from this. But I guarantee that at least one driving force is the same attitude that brought us Race to the Top in the Dept of Education - what happened there was, completely literally, that Bill Gates convinced Obama that Microsoft’s management strategy would work for the US education system as a whole, which reflected a larger assumption that what works for for-profit businesses will also work for non-profit orgs and government. (Except… it turned out that the policies that inspired RttT didn’t work at Microsoft either! Microsoft quietly dropped them years before RttT was canceled!)

We need to stop running the government, universities, and other non-profit enterprises like for-profit companies. Even if you think that this infinite-growth model is working for for-profit companies (it’s not), the fact is that those entities have a different purpose and different goals. Their purpose is NOT to bring in more money than they spend. Yes, they need to be sustainable, but that’s not what they’re trying for, and it’s destroying our educational system.

Do you have any idea where all the money in education IS going? People talk about administrators, but their percentage of the overall budget seems lowish? Facilities are expensive, but often paid for with bequests, no? Where the hell is all the money going?

The same place it's going in every other capitalistic American enterprise: to senior executives, endowments, and other places that decidedly do not "trickle down" (because you know, it never does). See my many previous posts about how college costs skyrocketed starting in the 1980s and post-secondary higher education was transformed from something in which most of the costs were governmentally subsidized to something expected to be paid (at higher and higher levels) either privately out of the consumer's pocket or from thousands of dollars in student loans. Because you guessed it, Reaganomics.

I can tell you one place it absolutely is NOT going, i.e. salaries of faculty and staff, at least in the less capitalistically sexy fields of study. The university where I work never hurts for money in the business and law schools, but because I am in the humanities/education/history, yeah, our department's budget is not in great shape. Of course, yes, COVID hit the higher-education sector like crazy (as it did everywhere else) and universities haven't figured how to recover from that, but just as with the rest of America, it's a model that is designed to funnel the vast majority of profits, i.e. from skyrocketing student tuition rates and other increased fees, to the highly compensated senior leadership and very little to the academics who do the work that makes the place, you know, RUN.

This is a bugaboo for both me and every other academic I know, because (again, just as with the rest of capitalism) it doesn't HAVE to be this way. I shouldn't be trying to manage a department that has to rely heavily on adjunct faculty every quarter and doesn't have a sustainable long-term scheduling or research model, because we're so badly understaffed with core tenure-track faculty and they won't let us hire any more, while constantly cutting our budget and giving us laughable raises (mine, after getting sterling performance reviews across the board, was a whole... 72 extra cents an hour. I wish I was joking). There is money tied up in the institution and the establishment (and as noted, I work at a well-regarded and highly-ranked private university, so it's not a matter of not having enough), but the system distributes it in a way that is inequitable and results in enforced scarcity, especially in the humanities. It's not that there isn't money to pay us fairly, it's just that they have chosen not to, because they exist in the same capitalist system as the rest of the west.

This is why there have been strikes by graduate and early-career academics in both the UK and US (I have worked/studied/taught in both places, and they're both BAD for paying lower-level academics and even established-career academics), because they simply do not pay us enough to live on or build a career on (by a long shot, ESPECIALLY if you're the only person in your household and don't have shared expenses with a partner/roommate/several roommates). This is after most of us have several advanced degrees and the debt resulting from such. We get burned out, we can't make a living in this field, we leave, and it's hollowed out even further. So. Yeah.

[lunarticxenia]

Moon Signs Pt. 2

Hi guys here’s part 2 of the moon sign series! After I post this, I’m going to be focusing more on answering your questions, I have a lot to answer. Thanks so much for all the support! Without further ado, here’s Libra through Pisces moons! 

🌵Libra Moon: You guys LOVE attention, and you don’t even try to hide it LMAO. One of my good friends is a Libra moon and he literally loves to say outlandish things just to get a reaction from us and to get attention from us if we’re not talking to him enough in a conversation. Libra moons also love relationships and if underdeveloped they may feel incomplete without one. They can also be very dependent on their partner for happiness as well. However, they are romantic and in love with love. They’re also extremely sensitive and are very feminine. Even in men, it gives them a more feminine touch to their personality. They also hold their morals in very high regard. They have their set morals and won’t change them for anything or anyone. They also tend to hate conflict and usually shy away from confrontation. They’re also too nice, WAYYYYYY too nice. You guys need to be more assertive LMAO. They’re also extremely optimistic and if they don’t believe in that particular way they at least try to be optimistic with others. They’re always reminding you the glass is half full. Also, Libra moons are mad clingy. Even with those they’re not dating LMAO. My Libra moon friend whenever I try to leave the FaceTime Call, he’s like “Don’t go... :(”. They just love to be around the ones they love. They’re also in love with beauty, and all things beautiful in the world. They’re lovers of music, art, film, and literature. Libra moons also have a softness in their eyes, I can’t describe it. This girl I used to like has a Libra moon and her eyes were just so soft. They’re also extremely indecisive, they tend to flip flop between who they wanna be and what they wanna do. They also aren’t shy when it comes to compliments, they will compliment TF out of you. They’re the best hype man. They also put others before themselves a lot, and can be very shy upon first meeting them. However once they feel comfortable around you they open up. One last thing, I feel like they tend to like anyone who’s nice to them...don’t attack me. LMAO.  

🌵Scorpio Moon: I feel like Scorpio moons have about ten different playlists relating to their emotions and still won’t open up to anyone about how they feel. Scorpio moons I feel have such intense emotions that they just don’t deal with them and they tend to implode after a while. I relate to them a lot in that respect tbh with my Sun square Moon, because that’s how I am. You guys are also super passionate and super creative. Every Scorpio moon I’ve met has been really creative in some way whether it be makeup, fashion style, or artwork. I’ve also noticed that this is a very alluring placement, there’s this intriguing way about them, and like Aries Moons, they have a fire in their eyes. Their gaze is INTENSE. They’re also very selective with who they let close to them, they don’t let just anybody in. They’re also very good at reading other people and seeing people’s true intentions. They have an extremely good intuition. If underdeveloped this can be used to manipulate other people, as well as being compulsive liars. Scorpio moons are also very protective over the ones they love. If you mess with anyone they care about, they will kill you. End of story. Also I feel like every Scorpio moon I’ve met has been through the wringer, like they’ve really had some hard experiences, it’s so sad to me. Scorpio moons are also extremely stubborn, remember this is a fixed sign. Scorpio moons ain’t playing, once they’ve settled on something, they’re not budging. Also, can we just say, masters at investigating people. These are the friends you want stalking your ex’s social media. They will find out everything. They’re also really good psychologists as well, almost all the Scorpio moons I’ve met are actually Psychology majors LMAO. They’re very good at finding the root causes of people’s issues. I also feel like Scorpio moons undergo a lot of transformations in their lives. I’ve known a Scorpio moon for about 10 years now and he’s undergone so many different transformations in his life. Mentally and physically. They’re also extremely sarcastic and have a tendency to be pessimistic. They’re also mad scary when angry. I’ve seen them angry before, as an Aries moon, even I get a little scared.... love y’all tho. 

🌵Sagittarius Moon: The funniest people ever. Sagittarius moons always have me laughing my ass off. Their sense of humor is very diverse. They tend to stick with sarcasm and like to say outlandish things to make people laugh. Also, I feel like Sagittarius moons tend to go for science/math oriented careers or at least have an interest in those subjects. I know four Sag moons, and they’re all in STEM it’s actually crazy. They’re also extremely blunt and honest, especially when it comes to people they don’t like LMAO. They make it very clear when they don’t like someone, it’s so funny. They’re also just so much fun, like they’re genuinely so much fun to hang out with. I feel like I’ve never not had a good time hanging out with a Sagittarius moon. I feel like Sag moons however tend to struggle with asserting themselves a lot of times, until they get really fed up.  They’re very much go with the flow kinda people, and this can be to their detriment especially with the ones they love, they don’t wanna rock the boat. However, they also make really good mediators and are good at settling arguments. They also really like to travel, and likely have traveled a lot. All the Sagittarius moons I know have traveled to at least 4+ countries. They love traveling the world, and I’ve also noticed move or want to move far away from their childhood home. They wanna explore everything the world has to offer. My cousin who’s a Sag moon left her parents’ house to move a few states away and my other friend who’s a Sag moon wants to move to the other side of the country. These individuals also tend to like foreign culture as well. I’ve noticed Sagittarius moons tend to like foreign music or foreign tv shows. I feel like they also tend to ignore their emotions when they get sad and just don’t like to deal with their emotions. They also don’t like to talk about how they feel and will brush sad things off because it’s just too upsetting for them. However, once the emotions boil over, just like their anger, they will blow up LMAO. I’ve also noticed that they’re really good at teaching people things? Like my Sag moon friend explained this Chemistry equation to me I couldn’t understand and I got it after 10 minutes. Natural teachers. 

🌵 Capricorn Moon: Guys, it’s okay to open up. You don’t have to pretend to be so strong all the time, you’re not weak for showing your emotions. Anyway, Cap moons have high expectations for people, and will not tolerate any bs from people. I seriously commend them for that. I feel like Cap moons struggle with how their points are being expressed, they can say one thing, but it’s seen as something else. While Capricorn moons may struggle with expressing their emotions, I haven’t found them to be closed off or cold when meeting them. Every Capricorn moon I’ve met has warmed up to me very quickly and have been super nice. I feel like they’re very friendly and once they have a conversation with you they’re really warm and kind. Also, they’re not afraid of anything?? Except for showing their feelings maybe. But like, they’re so open to trying new things like scary rollercoasters and aren’t afraid to fight for themselves if they have to. Also, super fucking ambitious. I wish I could be ambitious. These people will really have like three jobs, be in school, and tend to household responsibilities. I don’t know how you guys do it. Now everyone says Capricorn moons are just analytical and systematic when confronted with conflict, and I personally haven’t found that to be true. If they feel wronged?? Nah. They’re not going to be systematic or logical or anything. They will go off. As for personal challenges, yes they’ll be more analytical. But I feel like everyone boils down Cap moons to emotionless and machine-like nerds, which I find to be very untrue. Capricorn moons are very soft once they’re vulnerable with you, and genuinely feel like they’re bothering people when they show their emotions and feel weak for showing them. Also I’ve noticed that their mom is a big motivator for their success. Their moms always push them to do their best in work and school. If poorly aspected, they could feel too pressured by their moms to do well. Also, they’re so underrated for being funny. They have a really dry sense of humor and it’s well developed. I also feel like they get overlooked for putting others before themselves, when it comes to the people they love they’ll do anything for them. Brb gonna go give my Cap moon friends a hug. 

🌵Aquarius Moon: You guys are just so unique. There’s something unique about each and every Aquarius moon, whether it’s a quirk or a hobby. These people are literally the best to talk to. It’s so easy to have a conversation with them, they really can talk about anything. I’ve also noticed that Aquarius moons tend to be interested in astrology and tarot and things of that kind. Every Aquarius moon I’ve met has been really interested in it, and even involved in it. I feel like they also have big dreams, and have big plans for themselves. Aquarius moons also love to get lost in their music and tend to use it as an escape. This can be a problem because they tend to avoid dealing with their feelings. They also go between reacting to things really heavily vs not reacting at all. It just seems like it goes back and forth. They speak up with things are unjust however only to their friends or online. They just don’t like to deal with face to face conflict in that regard. They also give really great advice. My best friend is an Aquarius moon and she always gives me the best advice. She knows me better than I know myself tbh. I feel like Aquarius moons relish in being unique LMAO. I’m 99% sure they had an “I’m not like other girls” phase. I feel like this placement always tends to space out and daydream a lot. They also aren’t the types to just lash out at people, their anger is more subtle (unless they have other placements of course). I feel like Aquarius moons also have a lot of friends but they tend to have a small group of friends that they tend to be super super close with. They’re also...really charming? I don’t know what it is, but like every single one I’ve met has been really charming and likable. They also have a really goofy sense of humor and love to do wild shit to make people laugh. I feel like some downsides of Aquarius moons are that they tend to be too analytical and rationalize things too much, and they inadvertently invalidate other people’s feelings. Aquarius moons are also super open minded to all opinions. I have a friend who I tend to disagree with on certain issues but they’ve always been open to hearing my opinion. They also love to travel too. I’ve noticed that as well. 

🌵Pisces Moon: To think, I was almost one of you guys. No seriously I almost was, if I were born four hours earlier I would’ve been a Pisces moon LMAO. Anyhoo, Pisces moons are just so sweet. I don’t know how else to start, they literally are the sweetest people and give off this mystical type of aura. They’re very otherworldly. Also, these people daydream 24/7. They put Aquarius moons to shame in daydreaming. This girl I like is a Pisces moon and I always catch her daydreaming LMAO. They’re also extremely sensitive too and feel things so deeply. They try to hide how they feel from people, but you can see it in their eyes. I can always tell when my Pisces moon friend is upset just by the look in her eyes. They also tend to be introverted and it takes a while for them to warm up to someone. My co-worker is a Pisces moon and it took 2 weeks for her to finally start talking to me LMAO. They also have really vivid and wild dreams too. I feel like my Pisces moon friend is always telling me about some wild dream they had like that they were in a castle or in an ocean. They also can be really moody, they can be fine one second and then get really sad out of nowhere. Their emotions are like the ocean. I feel like another downside of Pisces Moons are that they can be very manipulative however this is really with any underdeveloped water moon/sun placement. I also feel like they tend to be escapists a lot. They don’t like to deal with reality a lot, and they see the best in everything and everyone even if it’s to their demise. They’re also super friendly and are nice to everyone they meet, even if they’re reserved they’re still very sweet. They’re also extremely creative too, I feel like every Pisces moon I’ve ever met has some sort of creative hobby. My co-worker who’s a Pisces moon is working on becoming a photographer and her stuff is AMAZING. I think that’s because they see the best in the world and the beauty in everything; and they know how to show that in their work so others can see the world like they do. They’re also super empathetic and are really good listeners. You can talk to them about anything and feel understood. :) 

So this wraps up my moon sign series! I hope you guys liked it! Again, don’t take offense these are just my opinions on each moon sign! Hope you guys enjoyed, and if you don’t see your moon sign here it’s likely in part one.