Sisters Declassified Life Survival Guide: Two sisters with four daughters; dishing drama, trauma and survival tips for the everyday.
Two sisters with four daughters. Dishing drama, trauma and survival tips for the everyday.
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Cover Art by Grace Humble
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Sisters Declassified Life Survival Guide: Two sisters with four daughters; dishing drama, trauma and survival tips for the everyday.
Education vs. Butker
Controversy erupted at Benedictine College's graduation, and we pull no punches dissecting the speech that sparked heated debates. The address, which seemed to diminish women's roles to domesticity, despite their academic achievements, gets a critical analysis from us. We respect personal choices in homemaking, but we won't shy away from challenging views that threaten to undermine women's broader aspirations. Plus, we don't hold back on discussing the delicate interplay between Catholic doctrine on birth control and the responsibility of public speech.
Turning our gaze to the many cracks in the public education system, we expose the urgent need for literacy and self-education. Stories of individuals who've taken their learning into their own hands despite systemic failures underscore our conversation. We confront the stark realities of special education tracks, the weight of parental expectations, and the debilitating pressure of standardized tests—like the dreaded STAR tests in Texas. Ending on a personal note, I recount the disappointment of a lackluster university commencement, which left families like mine feeling undervalued after our investment in education. Join us for a candid exploration of how learning should truly prepare us for the journey ahead.
Thanks for listening!
good morning.
Speaker 2:Good morning oh, I have. Um, I think everyone's gonna be happy we're doing a podcast for tomorrow. Why? Because I've had several people go. Okay, we listen to your other two podcasts and you just keep releasing them, because some of the people that we listen to are already all of us, yeah, and already listen to the indoctrination. So when we posted it two weeks in a row, they're like when the fuck are you gonna do another podcast?
Speaker 1:I'm like okay, we're doing it, we're doing it.
Speaker 2:Tomorrow we'll be released um yeah, anyway, yeah, so I'm cutting my hair off today. Um, like, how much are you gonna?
Speaker 2:go so I think I'm gonna go like here, okay, and do bangs and do like, oh my god, baggage, yeah, um, I don't know. I've got several pictures lined up and so one of my girlfriends was supposed to cut it on Monday and she canceled on me and so I was like really bummed. So then she said, well, I'll do it tomorrow, and which was Tuesday, because she decided not to come in on Monday. So then Tuesday, get there and I'm completely booked and I'm like we have no time, and also I don't want to be rushed, you know, through a haircut, because when you do hair sometimes you're just like fit me in real quick and cut it. You know what I mean? I don't want something different. So, anyway, Liz is having a midlife.
Speaker 1:I'm having a midlife Like literally we're both having midlifes because I'm having a midlife, like literally we're both having midlifes because I'm I'm not giving a fuck and Liz is like changing her whole.
Speaker 2:Well, I didn't. I didn't give a fuck for four years. My hair was the same for four years and I had enough one day and I was like, fuck it, I'm changing it. So, to be fair, yeah, I'm in process and so, anyway, I don't know if I'll have time to color it today, but I'm definitely cutting, so we'll see anyway, I'm excited.
Speaker 1:How are you? I'm fine, I just I'm gonna let it all go. Okay, it's. It's oddly curly.
Speaker 2:I don't remember my hair being curly like I've done nothing to it, you know my hair was straight as a board when I was young and then, as I've got older, it's gotten more and more wavy.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's weirdly when I wash it if I scrunch it, I can have full-on curls, like it's crazy. Yeah, um, but I have wave to it. I I call it a wavy frizz. I don't have like good curl, it's like a frizz curl, wave, a wavy frizz. So it gets annoying as hell, but it's fine, um. So anyway, I just had to have it short and I cut my roommate one's hair this weekend and, bugging me to cut it, she was like cut my hair, cut my hair she went pretty short pictures that are like boy short, like I mean, you know, two inches on top and like shaved on the sides, and I was like, oh my god.
Speaker 2:I was like I don't think you're ready for that, because let me tell you about, I'm gonna say, a year. She begged me to cut her hair. It was middle of her back and she wanted it cut to here, you know, like chin length. So I cut it there and she hated it and went on this rampage center into a downward spiral.
Speaker 1:I don't know why you do that to yourself what the hell.
Speaker 2:So Randy was like you're not allowed to cut her hair anymore, like don cut her hair anymore. So I'm like, okay, I'm not going to. But then since then she's loved her short hair and so I've, you know, trimmed it up a few times and I'm just like you know the pressure. And she's like she uses things like I don't trust anybody else to cut my hair, you need to cut it for me. I'm like you just don't want to pay somebody to do it. Her boyfriend was like please don't cut her hair, please don't cut her hair.
Speaker 1:And I'm like and she's on the other. Why didn't he say that I want it?
Speaker 2:short and I'm like holy crap. No, I cut it actually slightly longer than the photo she sent me, but she loves it. She's called me every day and said how much she loves her hair. So I'm happy that that turned out okay because, my god, um, I said I will never speak to you again if you get mad at me.
Speaker 1:Wait why did her boyfriend not want it cut?
Speaker 2:because he had to witness the downward spiral okay, last time, like I mean she was losing her mind.
Speaker 1:I mean not even kidding, you know, and I think people I understand it because um roommate number four does the same thing and but I stopped that in high school because she would be like I should wake up one day and go. I want to go, blonde, blonde, and I'm like you're half Middle Eastern and you have horse hair.
Speaker 2:The amount of bleach that it would take for you to go blonde is going to kill a small human, so yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1:And then she would whine because it was all freaking fried.
Speaker 2:It was oh my God, I remember that, and she would always want me to. Was all freaking fried, it was oh my god, I remember that, and she would always want me to do it when I would go down there and I'm like that you're not, I mean, I love, but she won't get mad at you, I know, but uh, the undertaking of that amount of hair and that dark of hair to go blonde is such a mountain yes, well, and I remember at one point she did it with her girlfriend oh, yeah, like on a sleepover and I'm like what the what now?
Speaker 2:okay, everybody has to do that everybody has to do at some point yeah, they've got to go. Oh, let me see if I can do it myself and then realize, oh shit, who?
Speaker 1:are you? Yeah, who are you? You haven't even introduced yourself yet. Anyway, you haven't even introduced yourself yet.
Speaker 2:Okay, I'm Liz and I'm Rachel. Welcome to the shit show. Yeah, sisters, declassified Life Survival Guide the longest name for a podcast ever, but we love it I just like sisters declassified.
Speaker 1:Yeah, sisters declassified is great. Yeah, it sounds more cia.
Speaker 2:That's kind of what I was going for. We can totally change it on your pod, okay. Okay, like that's the thing we have the power to change. It's the thing, we have the power to change it, we have the power. We have the power.
Speaker 1:Absolute power. What are we talking about? You have to introduce this because you know more about the fool's ball than I do.
Speaker 2:Oh, my dear God, and I know so we're going to talk about this in the beginning because it's been on my mind and it just literally pisses me off. Also, it falls into a category of cult and, like this whole, this whole thing of surrounding religion and believing something so much that you spread it like a poison to everyone you know yes, and you literally are fucking crazy.
Speaker 2:Okay, so we, so as you, as most of the world knows, the kicker as my stomach turns. Yes, kansas city did a speech at a um catholic college. Right, was it catholic? It was catholic I did not know that. I'm pretty. I'm 99 sure from what I've read that it's a catholic college. Okay, um, he is catholic like stout, catholic like cult catholic like I think they call it devout, devout not stout.
Speaker 1:I think that's a beer yeah, devout.
Speaker 2:Okay, he's a devout catholic, as he mentions multiple times. Oh my god, I literally I could not even I mean so. I kept seeing these memes over the weekend and I did too, but I really didn't know who he was, and I'm like okay, and I'm thinking this has got to be taken out of context, right, so I go.
Speaker 2:Okay, I am going to listen to this full speech because I listen to the whole thing, right, oh, I did um, vomiting halfway through um, and then I pulled up the transcript and I was like I have to provide quotes from this man because this man is insane. Um, so and uh, you can believe whatever you want to believe. Don't get me wrong. I think that if you believe something different than me, that's okay, not in this country?
Speaker 1:It's not.
Speaker 2:But when you are pushing it on to other people, that's not okay, it's not okay, it's not okay, it's not okay, okay. And so this is in an education setting, which brings us to our topic for this week, which we're going to talk about education. Um, because it's been in our brains recently, since roommate number four graduated college, that and other things, but, yes, a lot of other things going on right.
Speaker 1:So okay, oh, I am going to read some of these quotes from this I need to wait until I'm not drinking coffee, because I'm probably gonna spit it on my computer okay, so in the first minute I mean not even a minute into his speech, he talks you have to explain who he is, because nobody no, I don't know. I didn't know who he was. I saw memes and I saw little things, but I don't know who he is. You got to explain the backstory like who?
Speaker 2:are we talking about? What does this guy is a kicker for the kansas city chiefs. Okay, so he plays football about three minutes a year. He's a kicker. Nobody cares, right? They only care if he makes the point, that's when he's celebrated. But you know, all the times he doesn't make a point, they also care because then he's fucked up the whole team. Oh my God, All the way to the end, and then he screws it up.
Speaker 1:The replacements. Remember the guy that was the kicker on the replacements? He was the replacements. Remember the guy that was the kicker on the replacements? He was wiry. Do you know what I'm talking about? I love that actor. Remember that movie is amazing anyway.
Speaker 2:So this guy's a kicker, he, you know, I'm sure he makes millions of dollars, whatever. Who cares, right? Well, um, in the first minute of his speech that he gave yes at a graduation he gave to this religious college.
Speaker 2:I'll just say religious college. There we go. It was a religious college. Um, he talks about how everybody has missed that. They miss. The kids that are graduating this year miss their high school graduation. Yes, they did so. Anybody that are graduating this year miss their high school graduation yes, they did so. Anybody that's graduating from college this year, if they did it in four years, they miss their high school graduation because of COVID. And he said you know, as a group, this is this is a quote you witnessed firsthand how bad leaders who don't stay in their lane can have a negative impact on society. I'm like wait a minute, what now?
Speaker 1:What now?
Speaker 2:What so? The pandemic is because of bad leaders, basically, okay, I'm like no, everybody in the pandemic was just trying to figure out how the fuck to survive well, were you not? There, when there was thousands and thousands and thousands of people who died from this.
Speaker 2:Yeah, bodies piling up in the morgues I'm like, oh, okay, how would you have handled that, mr fucker? Like, oh my god, what the hell? Okay, um says our own nation is led by a man who publicly and proudly proclaims his Catholic faith but, at the same time, is delusional enough to make the sign of the cross during a pro-abortion rally. What?
Speaker 1:What is he talking about right now?
Speaker 2:I know he literally makes no sense. Like it's so funny those lines did not vocal. He says he's been so vocal in his support for the murder of innocent babies that I'm sure to many people it appears you can both be catholic and pro-choice.
Speaker 1:This is him just like, pushing like is he aware that, like 80 of the country, is for like choice, pro-choice?
Speaker 2:yeah, yeah, no, it's. It's absolutely crazy. He was literally just like bashing the president. I mean, it was like a president bashing ceremony. Um, from the man behind the covid lockdowns to the people pushing dangerous gender ideologies onto the youth of america are you kidding me? Um, they all have a glaring thing in common they're catholic. This is an important reminder that being catholic alone doesn't cut it, so you need to be a devout catholic. Don't just say you're catholic, no, a stout catholic a stout catholic.
Speaker 1:You need to be a stout catholic I love it, I love it. I am all for the rights of every stout Catholic like I think you should believe. Whatever the fuck you want to believe, oh my god, it's not a one thing fits all.
Speaker 2:No for anything you know, what I mean.
Speaker 2:And, um, oh my god, I know a lot of good saying that. Him saying that just makes me think well and know that the catholic church can be a cult. Okay, so it can be. It can be. Yes, I think there's many people in the catholic religion that practice that are not, you know, cult-like. Um, I think that the rituals of the catholic church, in my opinion, are a little cult-like, but it is. It's not a one-size-fits-all, and I have talked to many people who are Catholic. I have friends who are Catholic, lots of people that are Catholic, and everybody is a little bit different. But he's stating that if you don't believe the way he believes, you're not a Catholic. So I thought that was hysterical. But here's where the speech starts to get good. Okay, for the ladies present today.
Speaker 1:Wait, who's wait? Are there ladies present today?
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah, because there's women and men graduating from this college. Okay, congratulations on an amazing accomplishment. You should be proud of all that you have achieved to this part in your young lives. I want to speak directly to you briefly, because I think it is you, the women, who have had the most diabolical lies told to you. Okay, what? Well, let's just get into it. How many of you this is all in the same paragraph. Okay, I literally copied from the transcript. Okay, how many of you are sitting here now about to cross this stage and are thinking about all the promotions and titles you are going to get in your career? Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world, but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world.
Speaker 1:Wow.
Speaker 2:Wow, is it a college that promotes marriage like I mean? I don't know so if it's, if it's actually a catholic college, which I probably should have done a little more research to find out exactly but I'll look it up while you're talking, okay I can tell you that my beautiful wife, isabella, would be the first to say that her life truly started when she began living her vocation as a wife and a mother.
Speaker 2:Oh my God, nothing wrong with that if that's what you want to do, but, dear God, he's basically putting his wife in this box. Um, I'm on the stage today and I'm able to be the man I am because I have a wife who learns her vocation.
Speaker 1:oh wait, wait, wait, it's okay. It's benedictine College, a Catholic, private, liberal art school, so it is Catholic, but it's a private. Well, if it's Catholic, it's private, but it's a liberal art school. So he's talking to a bunch of teachers oh, my God, okay, fuck, isn't that crazy? Uh-huh? Well, it also negates anything that happened in someone's life before they have a child, which is really effed up, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, oh, I have a wife who learns her vocation. I'm beyond blessed with the many talents God has given me made possible because a girl I met in band class back in middle school would convert to the faith, become my wife and embrace the most important title of all homemaker.
Speaker 1:Okay, Now I we gotta break that down, cause I don't mind. If you like, if that's what you want to do, oh for sure. Like there are women, you, that's what they want to do and and that is fine and I support that 100, because I think you know what that is amazing and I know a ton of really like fucking phenomenal people that are really good at it, yes, yes, and I'm like that's, if that's your jam, you freaking, do you man?
Speaker 1:sorry, I oh no um, but but butker, but why would you shove it on people?
Speaker 2:well, and basically he's telling all of these students their that if they don't do nothing. Yes, their degrees mean nothing if they're female, because their job is to be a wife at home. As I think women can change the world, why do you have to be isolated to this one thing?
Speaker 1:no, well, the, the there's so problematic in so many ways? Only because it's like who the fuck brought you here? Right, the? Why would you disrespect women by just relegating them to? Reproduction right, that's. That's. I absolutely 100 percent respect anyone who wants to do that, but if you reduce women down to that, that's what he's doing.
Speaker 2:Yes, that is his speech. It's not a. You choose to do this. This is a. This is your duty, Right? Who cares about your fucking degree that you just fucking spent four years earning?
Speaker 1:You should be a wife and mother or the effort that was put into that Right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he's negating all of their hard work. Basically, that's that's what I get from it. I'm like no, no, no, no, um. I mean there's so many more quotes, but he said at one point no matter how you spin it, there's nothing natural about catholic birth control I use that I use that line statement in his speech to a group of college okay, I use that line all the time when I'm teaching clients, right?
Speaker 1:so I'll say squeeze your legs together like catholic birth control. I'm not kidding. You think I'm joking. I'm. I say it all the time because it's funny, funny. Well, the Catholic Church did not approve of using birth control.
Speaker 2:No. But they also believe in natural family planning, which is like no birth control? No, it's have sex only around the days where you're not fertile.
Speaker 1:well, but they've updated a lot of their um, oh, absolutely things in the most recent past to like, stay current, uh, as opposed to the supreme court, who's taken us back 200 years and basically precedent is for suckers um he closed it.
Speaker 2:This is his closing to his speech. Never be afraid to profess the one holy catholic and apostolistic church. Apostolic. This is the church that jesus christ established, through which we receive sanctifying grace okay, well, good, good on him.
Speaker 1:I mean, that is, uh, he's a good catholic boy. The problem of it, or the problem with it absolutely is not that he's catholic or not, that he's right speaking at a graduation ceremony. It's that he's using a platform to negate the accomplishments of the people he's speaking to oh yeah, specifically women and to negate them or downgrade their accomplishments to simple reproduction, and that's problematic yes, it's so problematic.
Speaker 2:Anyway, that was my um speaking of last week because it's been on my brain and I'm like okay. So I was like I finally have to watch this speech because I'm just like appalled that all these means, because I like to give people the benefit of the doubt. Yeah, I'm like maybe he was thanking his wife for, like, putting her career aside and doing this because he wanted somebody there to raise his kids, and he didn't career aside and doing this because he wanted somebody there to raise his kids and he didn't want a stranger to raise them. He wanted nice coffee. Do you need some coffee, liz? I have some. Thank you. Um, but I was like, you know, maybe it was taken out of context, maybe it was this. So then I was like, okay, well, I have to read this, because if I don't listen to the entire thing, I'm yeah.
Speaker 1:I want to know the content. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah. I want to be a fair, a fair judgment here, because I was judging harsh.
Speaker 1:Um, and then I heard, was the little clips to like little, and I didn't, I didn't, I didn't even care that much, or enough to to go, you know.
Speaker 2:I mean this problem is is that he has such a big platform and he's pushing this agenda and the chiefs are supporting it like they. Literally I I don't know if it was the owner or the coach that got behind him and said we support him 100 and I'm like, really like, have you seen there's? A petition for him to be fired. There's all these petitions and I don't think someone should be fired I don't, I don't agree with that, but I also don't think that. Um, I feel like him.
Speaker 1:Putting down people's accomplishments is really fucked up I really um, that's, that's my disagreement is not from any of you know any of the things, except for, yeah, like kind of really making it a small accomplishment. But we had that problem in, uh, arizona also, so I'm like, it's not that, it's not not fresh on our brains, yeah with like negating a big, huge deal, that you know.
Speaker 1:And it wasn't religiously, you know, even directed in that context, it was just trivial, trivialized in like all the worst ways, and that's sort of what he did in the same way, just in a religious, um, reproduction sort of way, like putting putting everything in a cup of oh okay, your one job is just reproduction and that's all you care about. And that's not true for everyone and nor should it be.
Speaker 1:Um, ours, ours was roommate number four, graduating from college, which so, yes, we just went to watch that proud of and very proud, very proud single mother who didn't really get much help other than the love and support of her family. Um, that, uh, it was so cattle call, I mean okay, for for all intents and purposes it was a state school, right? Um, it's also, uh, a very high ranked business school and that's what my uh roommate number four went to. So I didn't have any delusions of grandeur going into it, that it wasn't going to be you know too many people, um, and that it was right, cause they didn't even do tickets. They had 36 graduation ceremonies, um, throughout the whole entirety of the school.
Speaker 1:Their graduation program was 448 pages long. I'm not. There's 20 700 graduates. So if I just simply did the math of what I paid me, not her I paid for her to go to school by for over a four-year time period for 20 700 graduates, and that's low-balling it, by the way, that's right, probably low because she got part. I didn't even count her scholarships.
Speaker 1:I did not count her scholarship, um, I just put in the money that I paid into it, which is about average, because the scholarship only took care of her out-of-state tuition, which is also bullshit. Um, but it was about three. It was like 3.9 trillion dollars that's insane.
Speaker 2:Let's talk.
Speaker 1:Schools are big business hello, it's not education, it's business. Yes, oh my god, and you know what good. On the private catholic schools, because you know what? That's where my roommate number four got her best education years, and I won't, I won't like back down from that, because they did teach her good reading, they did teach her good writing, they did teach her good sportsmanship. Right, they did teach quite a few good things. So I'm not bagging on any like, but private schools and public schools are both becoming just a really, really poor business model, because they're not getting that.
Speaker 2:Private schools, like people think, if it's a private school, it's a good school, and that is not necessarily true, because private schools have different regulations. Also, they have no regulations in a lot of states, um, like, for instance, our schools that we went to growing up our school singular right, right. Um, to growing up our school singular right, right um, zero, zero, zero accountability. Um, if we weren't intelligent on our own, we we would be totally stupid because our education sucked. I mean, I will say the first probably three years of school were pretty good. We had good teachers who actually cared and actually taught us some important things. My mom taught me stuff, um, my mom gave me an education before I even went to school, but if we were just average kids, we would not have got any kind of or type of education.
Speaker 1:So I disagree with you only because no accountability. Well, I disagree with you on one of these things. So what I disagree with you on is that Our primary education meaning like kindergarten through fourth, fifth, sixth grade, right however, I don't feel like fourth, fifth and sixth was good for me, I think.
Speaker 1:Okay, third grade, yeah, um that personal but we were personal, personal opinions aside and teacher specific aside that we were taught how to read, how to write right and and, and basic math skills. Okay, okay, if you can't read, you can't learn right, period, okay, so, so, in terms of our primary education meaning teaching us how to read, write and add or subtract or multiply we had a pretty decent education beyond that, yeah, you're right, you're absolutely right. Nothing else like social sciences, history, right, any of the government, like a lot of, yeah, science, science wasn't a thing. Um, yeah, um. So, yes, you're right in the other aspects, but in the things that matter, meaning, if you know how to read, you can educate yourself. I, I just pulled up this book don't say the name of it, but um, that okay, okay, um, and also a similar experience to ours, um, in terms, but that was like yeah, I think lds, but but like freakishly weird lds and also again taught themselves how to read, write and do the thing, and that made all the difference in the world. Because then, once you learn how to read this is why a lot of the like extremists want to ban books because once you learn, then you know better and you do better um, but that's reading. So if you can't read um, uh, my boyfriend teaches, uh, special ed, right. Uh, um, public high school right In Southern California and you know their biggest deal is like there. So they have kids that are in certificate track and kids that are on like a graduation diploma track, right in special ed.
Speaker 1:So, but the kids have to then ask for. So let's say you can't read, right. Let's say you can't read like he. His one student was at a like second or third grade level and is now currently a junior. Okay, still can't read beyond a second or third grade level. But the parents want the kid to graduate and become a pilot. Meanwhile they won't even let him drive or cook his own meals because there's just not the competency there to do that. But he can't be on a second grade level, so, but the parents want him to get a diploma so he can go into a college, right, and do all this stuff. The parents want him to do that. He's feeling drastically right, right, here's the fucked up part of it. So there are parents that have.
Speaker 1:So basically, they push their kid. They're like no, we don't want them to do a certificate, we want them to do a diploma program. The the school cannot, public school cannot intervene and go hey, no, no, no, we want you to go on certificate. If the parents are pushing for a diploma, right. So then it puts pressure on the teachers to then pass the kid, right. So they're like, ok, even if we give you like D's and C's right, you barely pass, like by the skin of your teeth. Then they've had parents come back and sue the school district for quote-unquote passing their kid when they weren't prepared for life. Yeah, and I'm like I'm sorry, what's not no right, that is so fucked up in so many ways. So basically they're saying, no, you need to pass our kid, you need to pass our kid. That puts pressure on this. So at what point is like actual education happening?
Speaker 2:never, like they're not learning, they're learning that well, I do feel like public school, which I read this thing this morning for the state of Texas and I want to say 19 billion dollars is spent in the state of Texas. I better get that right. Let me look. I don't want to misquote 19 billion.
Speaker 2:Hang on. 90 million, okay, not billion million $90 million per year is paid to write, distribute and grade star tests. Okay, I'm like, can you imagine what $90 million would do for schools I mean, they weren't testing If they weren't doing that testing and just did the regular? Like I don't know that the star testing helps at all, except I remember when my kids were doing it helps at all, except I remember when my kids were doing it, um it, all it did was the teachers were stressed about the kids doing it, because if they don't pass then it's bad on the teacher, and so they literally stress my kids out.
Speaker 2:I mean physical, emotional stress that the kids went through for these tests because the teachers put so much pressure on them. Like you need to make sure you eat, you need to make sure you do this, you need to make sure you do this, you need to make sure you do this because you have to take this test, and blah, blah, blah. Um, I actually had a friend and this is hysterical that you had a friend no, the story about my friend's kid.
Speaker 2:So he got pissed. He was like in second or third grade and I don't remember when they were taking the test it's probably second grade anyway and he was like I'm just gonna refuse to take the test, that's a choice. He literally sat there every day doing nothing, yeah, and did not take the test, did not write anything. When it was time to turn it in, he turned it in empty and she got a call from the principal what the heck? And he said she stressed me out so much that I didn't want to do it.
Speaker 2:Yep, and so he didn't do it, but but I'm like, here's my thought on the whole situation was like why which I think it's so funny of this kid to do that I think it's great, it's fantastic, it's called civil disobedience I was really pissed, but also I was like this is awesome, but how did the teacher not notice that for five days he was sitting there doing nothing like, didn't have a pen in hand, didn't like write?
Speaker 1:well, that's just because amazing yeah, but I mean in general, it's it. Testing is not educating, it's testing it's testing.
Speaker 2:It's not teaching them anything. It's supposed to show what you've learned. You know that you know what you've learned, but it's the same with like okay. So, for instance, in my field of barbering, cosmetology, there's people who graduate, go and take the board test and pass and go on to do hair and suck at it because they happen all the time what you need to pass the test. Yes, and so I feel like that's exactly what they're doing, you know, in schools and they're underfunded and under under everything.
Speaker 1:Yes, understaffed under overworked underpaid, all the things I mean. And I I I say this from experience, like personal experience, like I know, because I teach in public education and so does my uh boyfriend, and it's a shit show. I know this, um, and the problem is not the teachers, the problem is not the students, it's administration, it's funding, and all they're worried about is they don't get funding to pay to educate quote unquote educate or test kids if they don't follow the requirements for their funding. This is the problem is because they're not teaching for understanding and learning, they're teaching for funding, so they can stay open. And I'm like, why, why is that? Why do they have to jump through all these hoops to get money? We should be, as a society, all invested in the fact that if our kids are fucking smarter and they understand and they learn, we're going to go further in life.
Speaker 1:That we will all succeed, but no, that's not it. So there's been all these stupid requirements put in place that require them to do A, b, c, d, E, f and G, rather than actually teach the kids how to fucking live life and be a human and a good person, a member of society. That's like contributing and not just a reproductive machine, like a fucking battery from the matrix. Right, right, which is what? Uh, what's his face's speech was? Oh my god, watching you do this on camera is hilarious, because it looks like you're doing it backwards.
Speaker 2:Oh my god, sorry, liz is putting on her. Frida Kahlo, I'm putting on my makeup while we're doing the podcast, because I go to work shortly after we're done. I thought well, I can talk and do makeup at the same time.
Speaker 1:Oh, you can. I know, know, I watched you do it um let me see you do it okay.
Speaker 2:So, like when we were talking about private education versus public education, I feel like not all schools are equal, absolutely in public and this is all blanket generalization. Yes, yes, um, you know they're not all equal. There are public schools that are fantastic. My kids went to one of the most amazing public schools when we lived in california, um, in lake elsinore amazing education. We moved to new mexico from there and my kids were a year and a half at least behind, like they were like why are we doing this again?
Speaker 2:this is stupid you mean ahead yeah, they were so so far ahead. Yes, the school in new mexico was a year and a half behind. Yes, the school in california, um, and everyone says, oh, california schools are shit, not all schools. Some schools are great, some are bad. Same with new mexico, the one my kids went to shit. But there's also probably some really good schools there, you know. So it just you know, it depends on.
Speaker 1:It absolutely depends on funding yep teachers.
Speaker 2:You know there's a million things it depends on, but the system is definitely broken. Well, it's fair go ahead.
Speaker 1:It's not across the board in any way. Shape or form, and this is part of our problem is everyone gets their b in a bonnet about one issue and then fucks up the entire program for everyone. So you know it. It's not federalized in that sense. Where there's there's state standards, there's federal standards but you know every, all of those almost in some sense get in the way of actually learning yeah, yes, yes, um, do you want to share?
Speaker 2:share how you were? We were talking about this and then you walked away, and so I started talking about something else, about her graduation and how the president came across.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, and again it's like well, this is supposed to be, it is high ranked business program. That roommate for attended high-ranked business program that roommate four attended, and it was for that reason, um of the graduating ceremony that she went to. So again, there were 36 ceremonies, um over that graduation season at this one school, arizona state university, and um, it is a state school, obviously public education, but no, so the president of the entire university made a speech, uh, over video, as if it were covid, and the speech of which was about two and a half minutes of the most unhinged, completely chaotic and cacophonous bullshit that I've ever heard in my entire life made zero sense.
Speaker 1:Know how he actually is the president of the university and can actually speak in that tone, because it was one non sequitur sentence to the next. It made absolutely no sense. It was as if he just walked out of the bathroom from taking a giant load of crap and then talk to the camera off the cuff for about two and a half minutes and it made no sense whatsoever.
Speaker 1:It didn't really encourage the graduates in any way. It didn't uh in any way shape or form uh, make uh a commemoration of their accomplishments, um, but rather just went off the cuff on just completely nonsense for two and a half it made no sense, absolutely none.
Speaker 2:I was sitting there going what, what the heck is everybody was.
Speaker 1:Nobody knew what was happening. Why is he even?
Speaker 2:talking, and why was that even shown? I guarantee you it's pre-recorded.
Speaker 1:Yes, um which makes no sense either they probably right.
Speaker 2:If it's pre-recorded, you would think at least, if you're that incompetent of speaking, that they would write a speech for you that you could read. That made sense. I mean, he could have passed. The student made zero sense. It was the dumbest thing I've ever heard. I was like what is going on here?
Speaker 1:so, anyway, in terms of the budget of a small country for 10 years, um, right, it was really, really offensive because it basically undermined accomplishments of 750 graduates at this particular ceremony. Um, and you know, it just seemed very, um, irreverent for the circumstances, um, and particularly given the fact that you know, uh, there was a lot of hard work that went into this particular, you know, graduates education two years were online because of covid you know they didn't have a high school graduation.
Speaker 2:This is their first experience with a graduation actual, yeah, ceremony that they walk like a ceremony where they get to walk.
Speaker 1:It's a ritual, it's a commemoration. That's what it's meant to be, yep, and um, it was just horrifying.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you sent an email to the school, right, I did, I did and I got a response back.
Speaker 1:Should I read oh you did?
Speaker 1:yes, let's read it. Okay, let's see. Did I delete it? Because I was just like what the fuck ever? I really don't care. Um, let's see, let's go to my sent emails, um, so I sent it to the, the president of the university, and then I sent it to, like, the dean of the school that she went to, um anyway, and yeah, I can read the response. Well, actually I don't think I saved it, but anyway, um, I here, I'll read it quickly.
Speaker 1:I'm a parent, a single mother, and also an educator, who attended my daughter's undergraduate commencement ceremony this past Wednesday evening. I came in from out of state, as did my mother's sister, niece, great niece, my student's father and also her aunt from his family. I was shocked by the poor quality of the commencement ceremony. My blood, sweat and tears have gone into most of my life raising my daughter single-handedly, with little support from anyone. I expected more. I believe that I've paid for more. I feel ashamed that this is what my hard-earned dollar produced.
Speaker 1:I have had limited but highly concerning interactions with several of the upper-level faculty from your school during my daughter's time as a student. I left each one thinking that there is much to be desired. The fact that the president of neither the university nor the business school bothered to show up for this annual event is appalling. The fact that you couldn't bother to bring in a speaker to given the slightest bit of law and encouragement is insulting. The speeches that were given were meaningless, empty and simply unhinged in light of the importance of the moment. I'm deeply disappointed and certainly disillusioned with your programs. I've worked for the last 22 years for this moment and you simply deflated and devalued all of that with your trifle, offensive and flippant production without any hint of gravity.
Speaker 1:Gratitude, rachel which was excellent worded email my god, well, but it was also fitting because that's basically what they gave us. They would just give us like trash and I'm like, yeah, well, let me hand that right back to you, because that was appalling. Yes, anyway, I think the um, actually the guy that I've talked to in, uh, years past again, I was like this isn't just coming from the ceremony like I've had interactions with some of these people and they've all come away like that, like, like we don't care, it doesn't matter, and your students the problem, not us. That's always how it came off and I was like I'm sorry, you know what, you should take some of your own medicine, because that was complete trash. And, yeah, you, you basically devalued and cheapened everything that like went into the moment. Thanks for that. Devalued and cheapened everything that like went into the moment thanks for that, thanks for nothing thanks for that, yes anyway.
Speaker 2:Um so well, I wish I had. I wish you had the response. I would love to hear it I'm sure it was a uh, total formatted response wasn't no, um, I think in general I'll.
Speaker 1:Just I can't find it right now because I think I did delete it. I was just like whatever. Um, let's see if I can pull up his. Uh, yeah, my computer doesn't want to work for me today, that's fine um, but anyway in general, the overall response was I'm sorry, you felt it was meaningless.
Speaker 2:I tried my best and I was like okay if that's your best yeah, perhaps we made the wrong choice entirely whatever, um, anyway, I mean I was, I was physically laughing during everyone was like.
Speaker 1:Our whole entire row was.
Speaker 2:I mean, we're like, what is he even saying? Like it was so laughable, yeah um it's like what is going on? Nonsense nonsense, it's all nonsense nonsense.
Speaker 1:What's it all mean, I tell?
Speaker 2:you. Yeah, it's all mean bizarro, anyway, um, it is what it is. But she graduated, she did the thing, you did the thing, it was very, it was a very good moment, um, so, anyway, so, uh, I don't know what else we need to say. There's more things we need to say.
Speaker 1:I'm certain I go to bed every night with that on my mind. I'm certain there's more things. Yeah, yeah, no, we really don't need to say anything more. It's kind of like leaves you speechless, how, yeah, and, and I think that in general, we get overwhelmed with like the ins and outs and the nuts and bolts of like people doing bullshit, stuff like that in terms of education. But in general, it's like as a society, we don't really value education, and that's apparent, um, because of the way that like things like this go down, um, and it's not like a a dagger in the heart of like whether it's public, whether it's private, whether it's funding, but I'm like, well, in general, we just don't value it. So the fact that that fact is obvious and there's not a whole lot to say about it other than like, if we educate everyone, then we all benefit from that. You know, I don't see the problem there, but we're really not educating, you know.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's sad, yeah sad, but true, that is sad. It is sad, um, not, I mean, education is important. I think everybody has a responsibility to educate themselves a little bit, um, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2:Like, I don't think that it's on somebody else to educate you, um, especially when you're grown um people and y'all grown all the time and I I'm guilty of the same thing and I stop myself and I'm like hang on, I can't speak on that because I'm not 100 percent, yeah, certain on something. But if I'm sure of something, you can goddamn guarantee it that I have, like, looked like I have.
Speaker 1:I have my opinions because I've educated myself on the subject well, exhibit a um, sisters do classified um, and, of course, there is a lot of opinion, yeah, and I think I think, speaking of numbers, numbers having having.
Speaker 2:I guess maybe I'm saying beliefs, like if you have strong beliefs in something and you try and relay those, you need to be educated on why you believe that and you know things like that Come to it from a place of honest investigation about the topic and not just share, but that's. That's the Internet culture, though, share, but that's that's the internet culture, though well, I think our everybody's an expert now are definitely things that we feel strongly about. Love the hair flip, hair flip. I'm gonna have the Bieber pretty soon.
Speaker 1:I don't know what that is, but okay, oh my god, okay, you're not a hair person.
Speaker 2:So when Justin Bieber was at the height of his like young career, um, when he was young and everybody would come in and say I want the bieber what?
Speaker 1:does that mean like?
Speaker 2:the long bangs where he flipped it.
Speaker 1:Oh um anyway uh, I haven't paid attention enough.
Speaker 2:We we are strong in our beliefs because when we grew up, we were taught one thing and only one thing, and so we had to. It comes from a force to come to figure out what we believe and learn about a lot of things that we never had before.
Speaker 1:Yeah Well, and just to function in society, yeah, just to be a person and live in the world, um and, and that is honestly something like, even to this day, like I'm not sure of a lot of things. So I'll be like I'm not sure why I don't know this, but I'll investigate it and try and figure out why I don't know it. And then like, but I'm not really putting myself against anyone other than myself because I'm not sure why I don't know it, like sure, and I blame really no one for that, because it's like well, if you don't know it, it's because you didn't learn it yet, so there's no one to blame. There's only things to learn or figure out or investigate or discover on your own. It's not as though you know there's a things to learn or figure out or investigate or discover on your own. It's not as though, you know, there's a huge load of blame on any one thing person, ideology, belief system, whatever. It's. Just well, the information is out there, at least at this moment in time it is.
Speaker 1:That said, you know you have to do your best not to be an asshole about it and and pretend that you know something more than you don't, because, in all honesty, I assume that I don't in most instances yeah, I think, and I think, if you, come from that place of assuming I probably don't know, of assuming I probably don't know, right, like, and I think there is an element of humor about it, because I just giggle often where I'm like. There's no way I know that.
Speaker 2:And.
Speaker 1:I can start to explain why. I probably don't, but it really doesn't matter, and if I'm interested then I will find out, you know? Yeah, for sure. But I think that's the characteristic of having curiosity and humility and being willing to learn is something that is also not valued or taught or appreciated as much as it should be, and it's like, well, no, if I don't know, then I'm gonna try to do it. Power, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's our whole thing. Yeah, um, are we done? Do we do the thing?
Speaker 2:I think we did the thing I think we did the thing I think we, I think we did the thing.
Speaker 1:Do you want to do your high, your uh win and loss for the week uh, okay, oh fuck, there's so many losses um, um, okay, my win is um, my personal commitment to not giving a fuck. That's my win, um, and it might also be my loss I see how that could clearly be your loss as well.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh, it's gonna rest somewhere between like the debilitating, like Just complete crumble of the Supreme Court, because that's probably going to be there for a while. Anyway, that's my loss. I think my win is you know. Oh, I know what my win is.
Speaker 1:I mentioned this yesterday and I think it's if we think about what we leave behind cause that's been on my mind a bit lately is that I need to do a little bit more contribution to my immediate community, and I used to do that quite often like a food bank or volunteering. I did a stint with Planned Parenthood for a while and then also like uh sending out uh letters and stuff for voter, you know, voting things, um, to make sure you know people are aware of what's going on, um. But I stopped doing that and I think COVID was a big thing. I did online stuff for Planned Parenthood then. But I think the win is that I was like, okay, I need to recommit to that because I think it's something that I value personally and uh want to do not in any other sense other than giving back.
Speaker 2:So that's my win, okay um, my, mine is gonna be kind of all the same thing too, my win and loss. But like, the loss is like when you see your kids like in pain or struggling and yeah. So my roommate number two has been struggling for a long time, um, since before she got pregnant, with gallbladder issues, right and um. So then she got pregnant so she couldn't get her gallbladder out while she was pregnant which they could have, but it was risky, whatever and so she didn't want to do it and so she's been literally so miserable miserable thought to see that.
Speaker 2:But Friday she is finally getting it out and I'm sure that will create other issues, but there will not be that pain anymore. So that's a win for me, for mom, for good yeah getting to see her finally getting to take care of pain. Yeah, yeah for sure, because I mean, honestly, like it sucked. I saw there was a, she had an episode and I think she feels like she's having a heart attack and I was with her and she was like I mean a short of breath, all these things and.
Speaker 2:I said well, go sit down. She was helping me with something. I said go sit down, drink some water. I went to check on her. She was like shaking from head to toe. Um, had her whole head in pain thrown up, you know, like the whole nine. And so I'm like, oh my god, this child is in a lot of pain and so, anyway, that sucks. The doctor finally said yes, actually she has golf stones like the size of golf balls.
Speaker 2:So yeah that's pretty, pretty large for a gallstone. So anyway, she's finally getting that taken care of, so I'm happy about that. There'll be tomorrow Yay.
Speaker 1:Good, I'm glad.
Speaker 2:Yep, yep, yep.
Speaker 1:All right?
Speaker 2:Anyway, well, we will talk with y'all in two weeks. Um, we'd love to do another mailbag episode If you want to send us a um question, comment or questions. Um, our email is sisters, declassified at gmailcom. And? Um, listen to our podcast. Our book we're still working on. If you're an editor out or if you're a publisher out there and want to uh, see our book, let us know, because we are searching for publishers. We're sending it out and trying to find someone that will take it on.
Speaker 1:Should we try a new sign-off? Let's see if we can come up with new sign-offs. Ready, our new sign-off. I've been trying to use this more often, so I'm going to practice. Okay, stay fresh cheese bags more often, so I'm gonna. I'm gonna practice. Okay, stay fresh cheese bags, I love it. Okay, so you gotta come up with one next week.
Speaker 2:Okay, next week I will come up with one. You can finish with that, all right stay fresh cheese bags.