Episode 17: Tammy Haddad - Blending Beauty As A Navajo-LGBTQ-School Teacher

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Hello, beautiful humans.
Welcome to role models.

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GC conversations with beautiful
humans.

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I'm Jennifer Norman founder of
the human Beauty movement and

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your host.
This lovely lady sitting across

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from me is Tiny heads, add Tammy
is a proud member of the Navajo

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Nation and member of the lgbtq
community.

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She's also a modern-day
third-generation educator.

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He's kind of like mr.
Rogers with a hot pink

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scrunchie, so I'm excited for
our conversation.

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Welcome to a me.
Hi, it's so nice to be talking

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with you today.
I'm so glad you're here now, I

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am such a big proponent of
intersection lism, and you come

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from all these wonderful parts
of your backgrounds?

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I would love for you.
To tell us a little bit about

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your story.
Oh, great!

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Yeah.
So my mom is actually the one.

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She is Navajo, Native American.
So she brought me up as Actually

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grew up on the reservation and
then moved here to Las Vegas to

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be with my dad.
They met in college and my mom

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worked really, really hard to
leave the reservation and get

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her degree.
And then, you know, she kind of

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started working with my dad and
stuff and then they decided to

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birth me and I have three other
siblings.

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So we are all half Navajo and
enrolled in the tribe.

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It's definitely a very
interesting background to have

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because growing Growing up.
I never actually met anybody who

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is Navajo that I wasn't related
to pretty much until I went to

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college and I met maybe like 55
other.

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Wow.
So what is it?

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Like imagining that your mom
probably kept some of the

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traditions in your family
upbringing was there anything

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specific but you can share my
favorite.

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Part of my Navajo culture is the
food.

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I think a lot of people like the
food in any culture, Because

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it's something so easily that we
can all Bond over.

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My mom, makes a Navajo Tacos.
It's kind of like fry bread.

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It's just fried bread.
I don't know how else to

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describe it.
Somebody I had one of my friends

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try it one time and she told me
it's kind of like a sopapillas

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and you put like chili beans in
there and kind of make it into

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like a Chili Taco with like or
cheese, toppings and lettuce,

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and that kind of stuff.
So it sounds amazing.

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You're making me happy.
Yeah.

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Yeah and then also just visiting
the reservation to I think is a

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really interesting experience
that I didn't really realize

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that I was seeing something that
not a lot of people get to see

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and their day-to-day life when I
would visit my mom's family on

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the reservation because there's
very few roads and my great

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grandma lived in it's called a
hoe gone and so it's kind of

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like mud hut.
I don't want to call it a mud

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hut because that sounds bad.
But It's a natural type of home

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and she didn't have running
water or anything like that, she

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passed away when I was a
teenager.

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So and she was so old.
Nobody actually knew how old she

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was because she didn't have a
birth certificate, right?

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Because she's born on the
reservation and she was all this

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one.
Wow, how amazing?

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And that's really just a love of
nature, isn't there?

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Oh, definitely I think on the
reservation so if you've heard

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of the Navajo long walk the Then
why Native American people ended

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up on the reservation?
The reservation is a very

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desolate kind of area.
I guess he should could say and

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it's not all reservations.
I'm talking about the one that

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my grandparents live at, which
is in the Navajo Nation, it can

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be very dry there but there are
these absolutely beautiful

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rocks.
And, you know, I grew up really

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far away from that because I
live in a big city, so I grew up

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very far away from all of that.
So, visiting, and kind of taking

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the time to hear what true.
Sounds like because there's

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nobody around for miles and
miles.

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I am very thankful for that
experience as well.

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And being able to see the stars
on the reservation because

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there's no light pollution,
really incredible.

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That is a beautiful thing.
Wow.

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And what about any kinds of
rituals or Traditions that you

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might have held in your family?
Oh yeah, my grandpa is actually

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a medicine man.
So he does different types of

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Ceremonies for different people.
I had a few when I was growing

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up.
I remember they have them for

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kids sometimes, like when you go
through certain Milestones of

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your life, so similar to like a
quinceañera or oh, I can't think

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of any other, you know, like
that for that, or trying to heal

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different issues, but I'm not a
medicine man, but my grandpa is

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so he would be much more
qualified to talk on that.

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Yeah, no, that is so
fascinating.

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So then you're growing up and
you decide.

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That you wanted to go into
education, right?

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Yeah, I always loved school.
Okay.

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I was always a very good student
and I was good at learning

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stuff, good at writing and I
liked reading.

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So in college, I actually was
really into music.

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I was playing the flute, that
was what I did.

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I was doing it pretty seriously.
And so my first year of college,

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I was actually in music
education, but I was kind of

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thinking like, you know, I want
a job, I want to give you all to

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get a job when I leave as so, I
Was thinking about, you know,

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things I'm interested in and
there's definitely always a need

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for teachers and the way I saw
the world working you know with

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all robots coming around and
doing that for us like so much

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is automated.
Yeah.

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But there's not a doubt in my
mind that teaching is always

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going to be a career path.
That is really necessary.

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Hmm.
So yeah, and you were teaching

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fifth grade, right?
Yeah.

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So I work with mostly like that
pre-teenage.

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Oh, love them the tweens.
Three teens.

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Yeah.
So, 10 11 12.

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Those are most of the ages that
I worked with but you know I've

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worked with all ages.
Wow.

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And so gosh.
There's very big experience and

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becoming an educator and then
the exposure to kids.

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What do you make of kids?
These days what surprises you

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about them?
What surprises me about kids

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these days, okay, I'll give you
one big surprise that I really

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wasn't expecting because so I'm
not very old and that's kind of

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the one of the reasons why I was
like oh my gosh, it's so So cool

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to be a teacher right now
because I was in school and not

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too long ago when it's your
first year teaching at.

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So awesome.
So what a my students at the

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beginning of this year, she
raised her hand and she asked

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me.
She said, Miss Haddad.

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Are we going to listen to
podcasts this year?

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And I was like, what you want to
listen to a podcast?

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I've never heard of such a
thing.

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Like I never heard of a kid
listening to a podcast.

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I never wanted.
Well, not that.

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I never wanted to listen to a
podcast when I was a kid but I

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just didn't know what it was.
So Because of that, one student

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I did end up looking into some
kids podcast and my students

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really enjoyed listening to
them.

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It was kind of like watching a
movie, except for you have to

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practice your listening skills
and who couldn't use some more

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of that these days.
Yeah, exactly.

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Yeah.
Teachers have had a really

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challenging couple of years.
These past years with the

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pandemic and I give teachers so
much credit for being so

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resilient.
Aunt at a time when, you know,

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there were a lot of things
swirling in the universe, for

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sure, for sure, and continue to
do so.

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I think that's, you know, the
education system has definitely

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had quite a, you know, a strong
and formidable challenge this

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year and from many different
aspects.

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If you could wave a magic wand,
like what would be your greatest

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wish for the education system in
America?

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My greatest wish would be to
have smaller class sizes.

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I I love being able to work with
students one-on-one or even in a

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small group.
There is some research that has

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been done and it led to a law in
the State of Florida.

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I believe Florida where they do
not have more than 21 or 23.

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I think it's 23 kids in the
classroom.

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So that's the student to teacher
ratio that everybody's always

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talking about.
You know, when you go to

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university, one of the big
selling points is the student to

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teacher ratio and in Cools it
just keeps getting bigger and

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bigger.
I know there is some schools in

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the district where I am where
there's up to 32 kids in a

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classroom.
I mean, it goes up from there,

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and when you have that many kids
in the classroom, you end up

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with more behavioral issues and
also it's harder to meet every

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learner where they're at which I
think is the most important

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part.
So that's one thing I love about

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being able to tutor students and
work with them.

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One-on-one is really being able
to talk to just one student and

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figure out where they are.
It can accelerate the learning

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so much more than just in a
regular classroom.

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Mmm, absolutely people thrive on
that personal attention,

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especially these days.
There's so much Divergence in

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the way that children are
learning and the way that

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they're absorbing information.
And so we've all recognized that

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the cookie cutter,
one-size-fits-all, route of

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education is not really, you
know, suiting the needs for a

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lot of them, is it?
Yeah, I believe the inventor of

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Education.
One of my students asked me this

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one time.
So this is why I know a little

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bit about it.
I think the modern education, we

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know it is invented by a man.
His name is Horace Mann, I'm

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pretty sure.
I'm 90% sure.

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Maybe, you could fact check me
on that one and it's been around

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since.
I mean, for hundreds of years,

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this guy Horace Mann, he created
basically like a curriculum of

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saying, hey this is what, all
kids need to learn.

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And sure it's evolved as time
has gone on, which I think is

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really cool.
The state that I'm in actually

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just introduce computer science,
learning standards for

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kindergarten through 12th grade.
I don't know about every state.

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I'm just kind of detail where I
am, but I think every state

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should do it.
And when I read through them, I

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was actually pleasantly
surprised to see how applicable

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they are today's world.
And what I actually agree with

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what I think kids should be
learning because I grew up on

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the computer.
Like I was playing computer

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games when I was like 2 years
old because my dad was a big

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technology person.
So I just happen to grow up

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around that type of stuff.
So yeah, I think the computer

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science standards are awesome.
So, I actually am really amazed

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at some of the things that you
can find online.

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And on YouTube, for example, I
have a son who loves to watch

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the.
I think it's like, Ted for kids

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and like it's almost like tedx
kids and it's brilliant, and it

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really makes learning fun.
And there's a lot of really

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great creators that are doing,
wonderful, you know, Wonderful

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videos that show, you know,
different fun ways of learning

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science, or physics or things
that would otherwise be really

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worried.
The item, that's the, I feel the

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exact same way where I'm like,
you know, kids have this Natural

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Curiosity, they want to learn.
I would even say, not just kids,

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all people naturally, kind of
want to learn.

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Now, if you're being stuck in a
room with fluorescent lighting

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or you're being glued your buds
glued to a computer, see and you

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have to sit in front of a camera
for eight hours while you're on

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Zoom school.
That's not fun.

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I don't think that's fun.
If my greatest dream were to

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come true and you were in a
classroom where you had Oh, I

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don't know what like eight
students.

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If you're just working with
eight of your friends and a

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teacher who you love and Trust,
I'm sure amazing things would

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happen.
Yeah.

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You know, and I can even recall
by me, I'm not quite a bit

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older, but I remembered the
professors, and the teachers

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that made learning fun.
We're the ones that were

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absolute the standout everybody
loved them.

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They were our favorites and it
was because they really related

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and understood what was going to
keep our attention and, you

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know, help us to process.
Information.

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So that like, I still remember
like, you know, different things

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that people would put music to
even learning by music.

227
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I remember that amino acids are
the substances that are the

228
00:12:09,300 --> 00:12:11,800
building blocks of protein, you
know, it's like just really

229
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something like that.
Stick with you because you were

230
00:12:14,700 --> 00:12:17,200
able to engage and learn in a
different way.

231
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Yeah, I have the same thing.
I think, you know, everybody has

232
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their favorite teacher story and
I'm sure every person who

233
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attended school in America,
probably has at least one song

234
00:12:26,200 --> 00:12:29,400
that they will just know forever
because they are teacher made

235
00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:30,300
them.
Sing it or whatever.

236
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And I definitely had a couple
songs like that in this last

237
00:12:32,700 --> 00:12:35,900
year with my classroom.
So really what I think you're

238
00:12:35,900 --> 00:12:40,500
getting to is the power of
listening is so important and we

239
00:12:40,500 --> 00:12:42,900
do we all need to practice that
a little bit more listening to

240
00:12:42,900 --> 00:12:46,000
your teachers.
Listen to parents or Guardians,

241
00:12:46,100 --> 00:12:48,400
it's true.
I know a lot of times people are

242
00:12:48,400 --> 00:12:52,400
just to like longing and waiting
for their next opportunity to

243
00:12:52,400 --> 00:12:55,400
speak and they're too focused
on, you know, what's going to

244
00:12:55,408 --> 00:12:58,500
come out of their mouths, rather
than, like seeking to understand

245
00:12:58,500 --> 00:13:00,800
first and say, You're exactly
right.

246
00:13:00,800 --> 00:13:03,800
That's a really powerful lesson.
Wow.

247
00:13:04,200 --> 00:13:07,200
So then again, I know that we
were talking about, you know,

248
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school and whatnot.
And with your upbringing you had

249
00:13:11,100 --> 00:13:14,300
mentioned that you're a member
of the lgbtq community.

250
00:13:14,500 --> 00:13:16,700
And I just wanted to see, you
know, what was that?

251
00:13:16,700 --> 00:13:20,200
Like kind of intersecting with
your Navajo upbringing or being

252
00:13:20,200 --> 00:13:23,100
an educator?
It seems like it had come quite

253
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naturally.
Your experience was largely

254
00:13:25,200 --> 00:13:26,500
positive.
Is that right?

255
00:13:26,500 --> 00:13:31,000
Oh, yeah, I have or had had and
have a great time, being a

256
00:13:31,008 --> 00:13:35,900
member of the LGBT community.
I came out when I was 16.

257
00:13:36,200 --> 00:13:40,100
And a lot of people think, you
know, about kids being gay or

258
00:13:40,108 --> 00:13:42,300
whatever some people say, like,
it started to become more

259
00:13:42,300 --> 00:13:44,200
mainstream and mainstream media,
right?

260
00:13:44,200 --> 00:13:46,900
Like I believe was the Buzz
Lightyear movie, there was a gay

261
00:13:46,900 --> 00:13:50,900
kiss or something and you know,
there's lots of people talking

262
00:13:50,900 --> 00:13:52,900
about it and saying, I don't
want my kids to turn gay,

263
00:13:52,900 --> 00:13:56,500
whatever, blah blah blah and of
course, that's not true.

264
00:13:56,500 --> 00:13:59,900
That's not going to happen.
I knew that I was gay by the And

265
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I was probably like 13.
So I think that now it's a lot

266
00:14:04,300 --> 00:14:08,500
easier for kids to kind of come
to terms with who they are,

267
00:14:08,500 --> 00:14:12,200
whether that's their gender, or
you know, who they romantically,

268
00:14:12,500 --> 00:14:15,700
might be interested in because
of the exposure that's in the

269
00:14:15,700 --> 00:14:21,000
media and just queer people or
trans people, whatever kind of

270
00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:23,500
people you know can be kind of
like in this podcast, what

271
00:14:23,500 --> 00:14:26,500
you're doing where you put
different types of people out on

272
00:14:26,500 --> 00:14:30,000
screen on the internet where
anybody can kind of see Be like,

273
00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:31,400
hey, you know, all people look
different.

274
00:14:31,400 --> 00:14:33,800
It's not always the same type of
person.

275
00:14:33,800 --> 00:14:36,900
So, everybody has different
experiences, but I had a very

276
00:14:36,900 --> 00:14:40,500
fun and safe time.
I came out when I was 16, and my

277
00:14:40,500 --> 00:14:43,300
parents were like cool, and I
was like cool.

278
00:14:43,300 --> 00:14:46,600
And then I went to college and
continued on about my life, but

279
00:14:46,600 --> 00:14:50,800
I do feel proud of myself in a
classroom in educational

280
00:14:50,800 --> 00:14:53,500
contexts.
Because so quote, the name of

281
00:14:53,500 --> 00:14:57,000
your podcast, I feel like a role
model when I'm able to stand up

282
00:14:57,000 --> 00:15:01,000
in front of a bunch of kids and,
you know, Not have a professor

283
00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:04,800
or a teacher who was Native
American ever until I was in

284
00:15:04,800 --> 00:15:08,900
college and it was one class and
she taught Multicultural

285
00:15:08,900 --> 00:15:11,700
education and my jaw was on the
floor.

286
00:15:11,700 --> 00:15:13,700
When I realized that she was
Navajo.

287
00:15:13,700 --> 00:15:16,600
Like I think she said something
in Navajo and I was like, oh my

288
00:15:16,600 --> 00:15:20,300
goodness, I have never met
anybody from My Tribe before who

289
00:15:20,300 --> 00:15:23,800
wasn't my family member so that
is so cool.

290
00:15:24,100 --> 00:15:28,300
And so for me to think that I am
not person in the classroom or,

291
00:15:28,700 --> 00:15:30,800
you know, it could be Even with
being gay.

292
00:15:30,800 --> 00:15:33,300
I mean I don't announce that to
my students or anything, right?

293
00:15:33,300 --> 00:15:35,800
But it's not something I try to
hide, you know, I try to pick

294
00:15:35,800 --> 00:15:38,600
out diverse books with different
types of main characters.

295
00:15:38,600 --> 00:15:42,000
For that reason, I've had
students who came out to me and

296
00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:46,600
it means so much to me that my
students have been able to share

297
00:15:46,600 --> 00:15:51,100
that with me that I'm not coming
off as like a threatening person

298
00:15:51,100 --> 00:15:54,300
or that they know that they can
come to me and just truthful

299
00:15:54,300 --> 00:15:57,800
about who they are and kind of,
like, test out the waters to

300
00:15:57,800 --> 00:16:00,000
write.
Because I think now, That

301
00:16:00,000 --> 00:16:03,600
pre-teenage.
They tend to be experimenting.

302
00:16:03,600 --> 00:16:06,000
I guess maybe with whether
identity is.

303
00:16:06,200 --> 00:16:09,200
Yeah, but they come out to you
before their parents, see them.

304
00:16:09,400 --> 00:16:13,900
Yeah, so I had it when I was
teaching a sixth grade and then

305
00:16:13,900 --> 00:16:17,100
fifth grade and I had a couple
students and fifth grade who had

306
00:16:17,100 --> 00:16:18,700
told me something along those
lines.

307
00:16:18,700 --> 00:16:21,400
But I know my sixth graders.
That was the year that we were

308
00:16:21,400 --> 00:16:25,300
online on Zoom.
So it was definitely hard.

309
00:16:25,300 --> 00:16:28,100
You're right.
Because everybody says the most

310
00:16:28,100 --> 00:16:30,100
important part of teaching is
making and shipped with your

311
00:16:30,100 --> 00:16:33,700
student now making a
relationship with a kid over a

312
00:16:33,700 --> 00:16:36,800
webcam.
I mean, that was a challenge in

313
00:16:36,800 --> 00:16:39,300
and of itself.
I couldn't believe, I still had

314
00:16:39,300 --> 00:16:43,000
students who chose to come out
to me, and, you know, and then

315
00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:44,800
there's whole other things you
have to do with that, right?

316
00:16:44,800 --> 00:16:47,700
Like to the kid, you know, I'm
kind of like, well, do you want

317
00:16:47,700 --> 00:16:50,000
me to tell your parents about
your pronouns?

318
00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:52,300
Do you want me to tell the other
teachers about your pronouns?

319
00:16:52,300 --> 00:16:53,900
Like how do you want me to
address?

320
00:16:53,900 --> 00:16:55,800
You know?
And so just navigating it like

321
00:16:55,800 --> 00:16:58,800
that and being careful.
But yeah, it's definitely an

322
00:16:58,800 --> 00:17:01,400
honor and it's Cool to be the
cool teacher.

323
00:17:02,100 --> 00:17:05,200
Oh my gosh.
That is one thing to celebrate,

324
00:17:05,200 --> 00:17:09,200
what a wonderful time that we do
live in where there are

325
00:17:09,300 --> 00:17:11,000
communities.
There are schools.

326
00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:14,099
There are places where people
can feel comfortable being

327
00:17:14,099 --> 00:17:19,800
themselves and more now so than
ever before, I really feel that

328
00:17:19,900 --> 00:17:23,599
the fact that we've been able to
all come out of the closet, so

329
00:17:23,599 --> 00:17:26,000
to speak is like, it's very
refreshing.

330
00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:30,600
It's very liberating, I can
imagine how much so So many men

331
00:17:30,600 --> 00:17:34,500
and women, what they had gone
through in order to feel

332
00:17:34,600 --> 00:17:37,200
comfortable enough to come out
of the closet to some of their

333
00:17:37,200 --> 00:17:39,200
parents.
And so their family and friends,

334
00:17:39,200 --> 00:17:42,400
that would not have been so
accepting if it hadn't become so

335
00:17:42,400 --> 00:17:45,400
mainstream.
You know, or I remember the

336
00:17:45,400 --> 00:17:48,500
legalization of gay marriage.
I don't know if this is one of

337
00:17:48,508 --> 00:17:50,600
those things where like
everybody says, they remember

338
00:17:50,600 --> 00:17:53,600
where they were, I was in high
school and I was having a

339
00:17:53,608 --> 00:17:55,400
sleepover with some of my
friends, and I remember, like,

340
00:17:55,400 --> 00:17:57,500
waking up in the morning, and my
friend was like, hey, they

341
00:17:57,500 --> 00:18:01,100
legalize gay marriage.
I was like, oh, And how

342
00:18:01,100 --> 00:18:04,000
privileged of me that I mean I
wasn't really thinking about

343
00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:07,300
getting married or anything like
that in high school, but I never

344
00:18:07,300 --> 00:18:09,900
worried like, oh my God, I'm not
going to be able to get married

345
00:18:09,900 --> 00:18:12,700
if I wanted to marry somebody of
the same gender is me.

346
00:18:12,800 --> 00:18:16,000
No, I never had that worry.
Good for me and good for us as a

347
00:18:16,008 --> 00:18:17,500
society.
Yeah.

348
00:18:17,500 --> 00:18:18,400
Yeah.
Let's end.

349
00:18:18,400 --> 00:18:21,900
We're all keeping, you know, the
hope alive that it stays that

350
00:18:21,900 --> 00:18:24,300
way.
Yeah, for sure.

351
00:18:24,300 --> 00:18:26,700
For sure.
Now, I'm really excited because

352
00:18:26,700 --> 00:18:29,300
I was just asked to do a gay
wedding.

353
00:18:29,300 --> 00:18:32,000
I Actually I became an ordained
minister so that I could

354
00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:36,700
actually marry a beautiful gay
couple who are very near and

355
00:18:36,700 --> 00:18:39,600
dear to my heart and so that's
going to be next year and I am

356
00:18:39,600 --> 00:18:41,600
so excited.
I just can't wait.

357
00:18:42,900 --> 00:18:46,600
Yeah, I don't know.
I would be so happy.

358
00:18:46,900 --> 00:18:51,300
Yeah, it's absolutely thrilling.
So moving on to some of your

359
00:18:51,300 --> 00:18:54,200
other things that you love.
I know that you said that you're

360
00:18:54,200 --> 00:18:58,000
into gaming and I know nothing
about gaming.

361
00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:03,900
I mean, I every once in a while
Might do like Eye Candy Crush is

362
00:19:03,900 --> 00:19:07,300
a game and see everyone.
That's the extent of it, but

363
00:19:07,300 --> 00:19:10,000
tell me what you're into, what
are the kids into these days?

364
00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:11,600
What are the kids into these
days?

365
00:19:11,600 --> 00:19:13,800
Well, I have a little sister
who's in high school and she's

366
00:19:13,800 --> 00:19:16,200
obsessed with this game called
Valor ants.

367
00:19:16,500 --> 00:19:21,300
I just got a gaming PC, which is
what everybody is buying now.

368
00:19:21,300 --> 00:19:23,700
You know, there's a big shortage
of computer parts.

369
00:19:23,700 --> 00:19:26,600
Yes, for some reason, I don't
really know that much about it.

370
00:19:26,600 --> 00:19:29,400
My little brother, I grew up in
a family this is really what it

371
00:19:29,400 --> 00:19:31,400
is.
Is my family is really into

372
00:19:31,400 --> 00:19:35,000
technology, so my dad owned like
a video editing business.

373
00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:37,100
So he always had these computers
around and stuff.

374
00:19:37,100 --> 00:19:40,500
So then he had me and he got me
this typing game when I was like

375
00:19:40,500 --> 00:19:43,500
one or two years old.
So I'm like, really fast at

376
00:19:43,500 --> 00:19:47,400
typing because I've been doing
it since I was a baby and then

377
00:19:47,400 --> 00:19:49,600
he had my other brother.
And then I have side two

378
00:19:49,600 --> 00:19:52,000
brothers, and one of them, he
likes to build PCS and my

379
00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:54,300
sister, she's really into gaming
and stuff like that.

380
00:19:54,300 --> 00:19:58,300
And she's studying architecture,
so games that kids are into, I

381
00:19:58,300 --> 00:20:01,100
like to play for it now.
Have you had a family?

382
00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:04,100
I've heard a fortnight.
Yes, I am not afraid what I had,

383
00:20:04,100 --> 00:20:07,000
but I know that it's probably
one of the most popular ones.

384
00:20:07,200 --> 00:20:09,200
Yeah, I think it is, too.
So that's one of the big ones

385
00:20:09,200 --> 00:20:11,200
that I play right now,
especially like when I think of

386
00:20:11,200 --> 00:20:13,800
kid friendly games, like, the
games that kids are playing, I

387
00:20:13,800 --> 00:20:16,900
just had a parent, asked me if
his student.

388
00:20:16,900 --> 00:20:19,100
I mean, his son, he's my
student.

389
00:20:19,200 --> 00:20:23,200
The parent asked me, if his son
should play Fortnight, this is

390
00:20:23,200 --> 00:20:25,500
like an 11 year old.
I think he was basically asking

391
00:20:25,500 --> 00:20:28,700
me like if it's safe for kids
because he was like, oh yeah, he

392
00:20:28,700 --> 00:20:32,000
said that, you play I was like,
oh yeah I play Fortnight and I

393
00:20:32,008 --> 00:20:34,500
think it's a better shooting
game for kids.

394
00:20:34,500 --> 00:20:36,900
I mean as much as you know, if
you don't want your kids to see

395
00:20:36,900 --> 00:20:39,600
guns and don't let them play
video games ever, I guess, or

396
00:20:39,600 --> 00:20:41,600
stick with, like Nintendo games,
right?

397
00:20:41,800 --> 00:20:44,100
Because Nintendo games are the
ones that don't have guns.

398
00:20:44,100 --> 00:20:46,500
But Fortnight.
Yeah, it has guns but it's more

399
00:20:46,500 --> 00:20:48,800
of like a cartoon and there's no
blood.

400
00:20:48,800 --> 00:20:51,300
So okay.
Yeah, I'm excited.

401
00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:54,700
I mean I know that he was gifted
a PS2 at the, you know, the

402
00:20:54,700 --> 00:20:58,200
animal crossing was a big craze
for a while and she doesn't like

403
00:20:58,200 --> 00:21:01,000
the whole Mario Kart and Those
sorts of things.

404
00:21:01,500 --> 00:21:04,200
Definitely, I do Mario Kart, I
don't play it too much.

405
00:21:04,200 --> 00:21:05,700
That's more of like a party
game.

406
00:21:06,500 --> 00:21:10,300
Definitely love Animal Crossing
and especially with gaming,

407
00:21:10,300 --> 00:21:13,400
sigh, try to think of what kids
are interested in, and I'd

408
00:21:13,400 --> 00:21:16,300
listen the power of listening.
I listen to what my students

409
00:21:16,300 --> 00:21:17,800
say.
So, for example, that girl who

410
00:21:17,800 --> 00:21:20,900
asked me about podcasts or a lot
of my students play Fortnight

411
00:21:20,900 --> 00:21:22,100
and stuff.
So I was like, you know, I'll

412
00:21:22,100 --> 00:21:25,000
give this a try so I can be hip
with the cool kids and

413
00:21:25,000 --> 00:21:26,400
understand what they're talking
about.

414
00:21:26,400 --> 00:21:29,600
And then because I knew about
Fortnight, I would write A

415
00:21:29,600 --> 00:21:32,700
fortnight themed math problems
because there's math and

416
00:21:32,700 --> 00:21:35,300
everything.
Yeah, you just have to make it a

417
00:21:35,300 --> 00:21:38,300
little bit more interesting for
kids to be like oh my God for

418
00:21:38,300 --> 00:21:40,500
night math.
So yeah and same thing with

419
00:21:40,500 --> 00:21:43,800
Animal Crossing and that's kind
of like what we do on the

420
00:21:43,800 --> 00:21:45,900
podcast.
Raised talk about on my cozy.

421
00:21:45,900 --> 00:21:49,600
Weibo podcast we talk about just
random fun stuff and kind of

422
00:21:49,800 --> 00:21:55,600
secretly integrating it into an
academic subject, but it's very

423
00:21:55,600 --> 00:21:58,400
natural because, you know,
academic subjects are just

424
00:21:58,400 --> 00:22:00,200
integrated in life.
That's We learn them.

425
00:22:00,400 --> 00:22:03,800
Yeah, absolutely.
What are some of the biggest

426
00:22:03,800 --> 00:22:06,400
life lessons that you think that
you've learned along the way?

427
00:22:06,600 --> 00:22:08,400
Well, hmm.
Okay.

428
00:22:08,400 --> 00:22:10,000
Take your time.
Yeah.

429
00:22:10,300 --> 00:22:13,200
Were you ever in Girl Scouts?
I was a brownie.

430
00:22:13,600 --> 00:22:14,800
You're a brownie.
Okay.

431
00:22:14,800 --> 00:22:17,200
Did you ever hear that song?
That Girl Scout song where they

432
00:22:17,200 --> 00:22:20,100
say, make new friends, but keep
the old one is silver and the

433
00:22:20,100 --> 00:22:21,900
others gold.
Okay.

434
00:22:21,900 --> 00:22:24,500
Yes, I remember singing that all
the time.

435
00:22:24,500 --> 00:22:26,500
Well, okay.
Not all the time, but when I was

436
00:22:26,500 --> 00:22:29,400
in Girl Scouts and I actually
was in Girl Scouts very long.

437
00:22:29,500 --> 00:22:32,500
I ended up quitting but it was
just, I mean it had more to do

438
00:22:32,500 --> 00:22:34,900
with I wasn't into camping at
the time and they were going on

439
00:22:34,900 --> 00:22:38,200
a camping trip, but regardless
the Girl Scouts songs, make new

440
00:22:38,200 --> 00:22:41,100
friends but keep the old that
line has always kind of been

441
00:22:41,300 --> 00:22:43,800
stuck in my head and I never
understood what it meant, but

442
00:22:43,900 --> 00:22:47,100
now, as I've kind of gotten
older, you know, I think who

443
00:22:47,100 --> 00:22:48,900
doesn't love having friends,
okay.

444
00:22:48,900 --> 00:22:50,900
And I've had a lot of friends in
my life and I've been really

445
00:22:50,900 --> 00:22:52,800
lucky to meet a lot of the
people that I have.

446
00:22:52,900 --> 00:22:56,700
But unfortunately, you know,
life will take us away from our

447
00:22:56,700 --> 00:22:59,400
friends sometimes for a variety
of different reasons.

448
00:22:59,600 --> 00:23:02,400
You know, it doesn't even have
to be something as Extreme as

449
00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:05,200
death.
It could just be moving to a

450
00:23:05,208 --> 00:23:09,700
different state or a different
country or even if you just get

451
00:23:09,700 --> 00:23:13,100
into a little debacle, a little
fight with your friend.

452
00:23:13,100 --> 00:23:16,500
I like to just remember make new
friends but keep the old.

453
00:23:17,300 --> 00:23:20,800
So I always stay friendly with
people that I've been try to

454
00:23:20,800 --> 00:23:23,800
keep in touch with people from
my past, but it's always

455
00:23:23,800 --> 00:23:25,700
important to keep making new
friends as well.

456
00:23:25,900 --> 00:23:28,100
I absolutely agree.
You know it's funny because I

457
00:23:28,108 --> 00:23:34,000
was just Recently messaged from
woman that I was roommates with

458
00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:37,500
her in college, I was in the
same sorority as her and she

459
00:23:37,500 --> 00:23:41,000
said that she was coming into
town and was going to be with

460
00:23:41,000 --> 00:23:43,600
another sorority sister because
they were going to Authority

461
00:23:43,600 --> 00:23:46,500
alumni convention.
And could we all have lunch

462
00:23:46,500 --> 00:23:48,200
together?
And I was like, oh my goodness,

463
00:23:48,600 --> 00:23:52,900
I graduated in 1992.
I haven't seen them since 30

464
00:23:52,900 --> 00:23:56,500
years ago, and we get together
for lunch and it was like

465
00:23:56,500 --> 00:23:58,900
nothing changed.
It was just like, of course, we

466
00:23:58,900 --> 00:24:01,200
had to catch.
On 30 years, but it was just

467
00:24:01,200 --> 00:24:04,300
absolutely amazing that like
some of the connections that

468
00:24:04,300 --> 00:24:06,900
you're making when you're young,
when you're in elementary

469
00:24:06,900 --> 00:24:09,900
school, high school college, you
name it.

470
00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:13,800
I mean you're gonna have those
friendships for a life if you

471
00:24:13,800 --> 00:24:17,300
wish for them to be independent.
And it doesn't have to be as

472
00:24:17,300 --> 00:24:19,100
simple as like.
Oh my God, this person is my

473
00:24:19,100 --> 00:24:23,100
best friend forever.
When I we say, make new friends,

474
00:24:23,200 --> 00:24:26,200
and yeah, the old.
So yeah, yeah.

475
00:24:26,200 --> 00:24:28,500
Now it's absolutely fabulous.
I love that.

476
00:24:28,500 --> 00:24:31,300
I remember that song.
Song to and are from, when I was

477
00:24:31,300 --> 00:24:34,000
a brownie I never made it to
Girl Scouts.

478
00:24:35,800 --> 00:24:39,300
I will you go up in the ranks?
That's right now.

479
00:24:39,300 --> 00:24:41,700
I don't know if I ever made it
to Girl Scout material.

480
00:24:41,700 --> 00:24:44,800
I've got involved in other
things but I also remember,

481
00:24:44,800 --> 00:24:47,900
gosh, this was probably the
first grade we learned this song

482
00:24:47,900 --> 00:24:51,800
by Barry Manilow called I can't
smile without you and we learned

483
00:24:51,800 --> 00:24:54,800
it with sign language.
And I still remember how to sign

484
00:24:55,100 --> 00:24:58,200
the song Because of putting it
all together.

485
00:24:58,200 --> 00:25:01,100
Just kinetically and Zach and
it's just so funny.

486
00:25:01,100 --> 00:25:03,300
I actually did a tick tock.
Recently it today.

487
00:25:03,800 --> 00:25:06,400
The product back.
Oh good.

488
00:25:06,800 --> 00:25:10,200
I'm sure you're a first.
Grade teacher with love would be

489
00:25:10,200 --> 00:25:11,900
exciting wonder.
You know, what is good at like

490
00:25:11,900 --> 00:25:14,600
if any of my students will come
back and be like Oh yeah, I

491
00:25:14,600 --> 00:25:17,900
remember my old teacher what I?
It's hard to imagine now but it

492
00:25:17,900 --> 00:25:20,000
I mean that's what happens.
Yeah.

493
00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:22,400
When those old photos
resurfaced, you know, when

494
00:25:22,400 --> 00:25:25,200
you're with, like, back from
first grade or kindergarten,

495
00:25:25,200 --> 00:25:27,600
it's a very amusing and you will
be in them.

496
00:25:30,100 --> 00:25:32,600
Well Tammy, it was an absolute
pleasure to speak with you

497
00:25:32,600 --> 00:25:34,700
today.
I'll make sure that everybody

498
00:25:34,700 --> 00:25:37,600
can find you in the show notes,
and I really wish you a

499
00:25:37,600 --> 00:25:40,400
wonderful day.
Thank you so much, you too.