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Teacher of the year explains why he's leaving district in unforgettable 3-minute speech

"I'm leaving in hopes that I can regain the ability to do the job that I love."

Teacher of the year explains why he's leaving district in unforgettable 3-minute speech

Lee Allen

For all of our disagreements in modern American life, there are at least a few things most of us can agree on. One of those is the need for reform in public education. We don't all agree on the solutions but many of the challenges are undeniable: retaining great teachers, reducing classroom size and updating the focus of student curriculums to reflect the ever-changing needs of a globalized workforce.

And while parents, politicians and activists debate those remedies, one voice is all-too-often ignored: that of teachers themselves. This is why a short video testimony from a teacher in the Atlanta suburb of Gwinnett County went viral. After all, it's hard to deny the points made by someone who was just named teacher of the year and used the occasion to announce why he will be leaving the very school district that just honored him with that distinction.

In a video carried by Fox5 Atlanta, 2022 Gwinnett County Public Schools Teacher of the Year Lee Allen breaks down what he sees as the overriding problems in the county's school system. While his comments are specific to that of Gwinnett County, it's virtually impossible to not see the overlap across all of America and how the problems have become exponentially more challenging as students have migrated back to in-person learning.

"At the end of this year, I will be leaving Gwinnett County Schools, leaving behind the opportunity to submit for state teacher of the year, roughly $10,000 in salary, and most importantly, the students and colleagues I've built strong relationships with," Allen, a math teacher at Lawrenceville's Archer High School, says at the beginning of his remarks. "I'm leaving in hopes that I can regain the ability to do the job that I love."

Normally, one might assume teacher pay is the overriding issue for educators like Allen. But he makes it clear that he is, in fact, leaving money on the table to avoid what he deems as unacceptable changes to the student body and how the district manages its teachers and the learning environment. Here are his main grievances, in order:

  • "First issue at hand is student apathy and disrespect for school rules and norms. … We have an alarming number of students that simply do not care about learning and refuse to even try."
  • "We are also experiencing incredible disrespect and refusal to follow basic school rules. There is little to no accountability or expectation for grades or behavior placed on students or parents. Rather than being asked what the student can do to improve their understanding, teachers are expected to somehow do more with less student effort."
  • Cell phone use. Teachers simply cannot compete with the billions of dollars tech companies pour into addicting people to their devices. Phones allow constant communication, often being the spark that fuels fights, drug use and other inappropriate meetups throughout the day. We need a comprehensive district plan with support behind it in order to combat this epidemic and protect the learning environment."
  • "Lastly, there is a huge disconnect between administrators and teachers. The classroom in 2022 is drastically different from just three years ago. Most administrators have not been in a classroom full-time in years or even decades. Many teachers do not feel understood, valued or trusted as professionals from administrators and the decisions that they make."

While Allen points fingers at administrators and student behavior, he also says that the pressures put on both students and teachers alike by COVID-19 had a catastrophic impact on learning. "The pandemic has acted as a catalyst and turned a slow negative trend into an exponential crisis," he says.

But he also offers some solutions, stating, "I won't list complaints without offering ideas for improvement."

  • All administrators should spend at least one week in a high needs classroom, "without a suit, without people knowing your title and in the same room, all day, for an entire week."
  • Prioritizing smaller class sizes.
  • Greater transparency from the district in terms of needs and expectations and goals.

"We all want the same thing and we cannot accomplish this without supporting one another," he says near the end of his remarks.

With more than 400,000 views already, it's clear his remarks resonated with people not just inside his school district.

There's almost nothing more important than how we educate our children. And while the national political debate centers on areas of far less importance generated to gin up controversy and campaign fundraising, it's families and local leaders who will need to do the heavy lifting of reprioritizing the fundamental principles of learning and leadership if we want an American educational system that can compete on the global stage in 2022 and beyond. After all, when literal award-winning educators like Allen are walking away, it's clear something more needs to be done.


This article originally appeared three years ago.

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A stray dog saves her dying puppy’s life by bringing her to the veterinarian in Istanbul

A dog's motherly instinct and trust in humans saved a puppy's life

@beylikduzu_alfa_veteriner

A stray dog brought her lifeless puppy to the doorstep of a local veterinarian clinic, saving its life.

In the Beylikdüzü district in Istanbul, security camera footage showed a stray dog holding a puppy in its mouth and bringing it to the doorstep of a local veterinary clinic. The veterinarian that answered the door found the puppy lifeless and took it in while the pup’s mother followed.

The puppy received emergency treatment, as it was dying from a slow heartbeat due to the cold outside. Throughout the treatment, the mother dog stayed at her puppy’s side. Thanks to quick action and care, the puppy survived and is being cared for at the clinic alongside its mother. This puppy turned out to be related to another puppy that was brought in by other animal lovers beforehand, with the belief that it was the sole survivor of its litter.

"We thought all of them had died. It turns out there was one sibling that survived,” said veterinarian and clinic owner, Baturalp Oğhan in an interview. “When our technician noticed the situation, he brought it inside. We realized the puppy's heart was beating. We placed it in intensive care. It is currently continuing treatment with its sibling."


A veterinarian treating a puppy on a table in a clinic as a mother dog watches nearbyThe puppy's mother stayed with her child as the veterinarian administered treatment.@beylikduzu_alfa_veteriner


While it is unfortunate that the rest of the litter had passed, this mother dog’s actions not only saved one of her pups but had reunited her with another one.

According to World Population Review, there is a pet dog in 30% of all households globally. There are 90 million pet dogs housed in the United States alone. Bear in mind, that is counting the dogs that are housed and cared for by humans. Just imagine how many dogs are still out there like that mother dog, along with the number of dogs that sadly didn’t make it like that lucky puppy.

Two puppies eating out of a bowlThe puppy is recovering nicely alongside its sibling.@beylikduzu_alfa_veteriner


While it is remarkable that this mother dog, out of memory, instinct, desperation, or a combination of those traits took her puppy to the clinic, the onus cannot be on dogs themselves to receive the help and care they need. Fortunately, there are several animal shelters and clinics that can help care for these animals, but they still need to find ways to get there. Not all of them have smart dog mothers that can get them to a helpful human vet.

Puppy sleeping against a mother dogThe puppy lives thanks to its mother's quick action and trust in local veterinarians.@beylikduzu_alfa_veteriner

If you wish to help out a stray animal, such as a dog or cat, there are some steps you can take to be prepared if the situation presents itself. The Humane Society has a bunch of quality tips, such as keeping your car with supplies like fresh water, bowls, pet food, heavy blankets,and such to keep the animal comfortable while waiting for animal control to arrive at the scene or if you choose to transport them yourself to a nearby shelter. Before you stock up, you should research to see if there are any state or local laws regarding housing lost or stray animals to make sure you’re following the legal methods.

We share a lot of space with “man’s best friend” and the least we can do is be a best friend back to them, especially when they’re in need.

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Education & Information

Professor's hilariously exasperated message to students illustrates how teachers are so done

"I will then promptly print 100 copies of the assignment out, put them in a pile, light that pile on fire, and dance around the rubble as it burns. I will then put my hand on the smoldering embers so that I may feel again. Feel what, you might ask? Anything. Literally anything."

Photo by Vanessa Garcia from Pexels

A professor's message to students has gone viral.

If you know any teachers, you probably know how utterly exhausted they all are, from preschools all the way up through college. Pandemic schooling has been rough, to say the least, and teachers have borne the brunt of the impact it's had on students.

Most teachers I've known have bent over backwards to help students succeed during this time, taking kids' mental and emotional health into consideration and extending the flexibility and grace we all could use. But teachers have their own mental and emotional needs, too, and at some point, something's gotta give.

A college student posted screenshots of a professor's message on X (formerly Twitter) with the comment "someone PLEASE check on my professor." It's simply incredible.

The message reads:

"There is no class tomorrow. I've got some things to take care of regarding this and my other class, and my full time job. I have received countless emails about zeroes on assignments either through errors I've made, you've made, or simply people not realizing or knowing they were supposed to turn it in and then realizing in panic they received a zero on it for (surprise), not turning it in. It seems that giving you a free assignment so long as you turn SOMETHING in created far more chaos than good will. Apologies. That's on me. And you. But also me. But also you."

Then it went on…

The professor gave a bulleted list of instructions for what clearly sounds like a very simple, easy assignment designed to give students an opportunity to boost their grades:

  • Submit it. I've extended the deadline until tomorrow before Midnight.
  • If you do NOT turn it in before then. I'm sorry. It's a zero. No excuses at this point and frankly, I regret ever trying to make this assignment easier because it's created more problems at this point.
  • I will look at these, do not do something stupid like type 'b' or 'i did it'. I will become enraged and bitch about you for exactly 15 seconds to anyone within my proximity who will listen. I will not hold back.
  • After I receive these, I will give you full credit (pending the above prerequisites). I will then promptly print 100 copies of the assignment out, put them in a pile, light that pile on fire, and dance around the rubble as it burns. I will then put my hand on the smoldering embers so that I may feel again. Feel what, you might ask? Anything. Literally anything.
  • I will then sleep like a baby, having put this nightmare behind me.

Absolutely classic.

The professor saw the tweet his students shared after it went viral and chimed in with a response.

And he added an update on how things were going on the assignment front.

Other teachers responded to his woes, commiserating over students being handed a chance to improve their scores and simply … not doing it.

It's been a challenge during the pandemic to figure out how much to expect of any of us, hasn't it? Some leeway is definitely warranted, but are we enabling bad habits when we give too much? There are no right answers to that question. We're all winging it, trying to navigate uncharted waters and having to constantly readjust as things change.

It's exhausting. We're all exhausted. But teachers are at a level of "done" that few of us can fathom. Healthcare workers can fathom it. Anyone working with the public during the pandemic might get close. But until you've actually taught, you don't know. Teaching is hard under normal circumstances. Pandemic teaching is a whole other ballgame.

We feel you, teachers. Hang in there, and enjoy this bit that will undoubtedly feel familiar:

This article originally appeared four years ago.

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Pop Culture

Cool video shows why everyone used to wear hats and then suddenly stopped

The change started around 1960.

via Warmbru Curiosity/YouTube

When did everyone stop wearing hats?

If you see old newsreel footage of men in the office or on commuter trains from the advent of the motion picture camera to the early ‘60s, nearly everyone is wearing a hat. Hats were just as common for women in that era. For a woman to go out without a hat in the first half of the 20th century was akin to going out without clothes.

The funny thing is that everyone’s headgear is so similar in the old-timey footage that it makes previous generations look like big-time conformists. Then, in the early ‘60s, everything changed, and men and women started to go out in public with their hair exposed. Why did such a big aspect of fashion seem to change overnight?

Warmbru Curiosity investigated the question recently in a popular YouTube video. Warmbru’s channel is a lighthearted look at some of the more unusual people and events from our history and how they have influenced the world in which we live.

Why did people stop wearing hats?

Warmbru says fashion changed dramatically after World War II, when people in developed countries began to care less about expressing their social status. “This was especially true among the younger generation the rise of youth culture in the 1950s and 1960s emphasized rebellion against traditional norms, including formal dress codes,” the YouTuber says.

- YouTubeyoutu.be

Another big reason for the change in fashion was technology. Cars became the preferred mode of transportation for many after World War II and indoor environments became more hospitable. “People spent far less time exposed to the elements as people increasingly moved to urban areas and started using cars,” Warmbru says. “The practicality of wearing hats diminishes. Hats can be cumbersome in cars and on public transport, improvements in heating and air conditioning reduce the need for hats to provide warmth.”

Warmbru adds that President John F. Kennedy, elected in 1960, rarely wore a hat and his decision to go bareheaded became associated with modernity. Further, in 1963, the mop-topped Beatles proudly flaunted their hatless heads as they shook them while singing, “Wooooo.” Hat-wearing among women began to decline around the same time as the restrictive and complex headgear clashed with the burgeoning women’s liberation movement.



The decline in hat purchases meant that manufacturers closed and the headgear became harder to come by. This reduced availability further contributed to the decline in hat-wearing. As fewer people wore hats, there became a greater demand for high-quality hair products and services. “Why spend a fortune at the hairdressers or the barbers just to cover the end result with a hat?” Warmbru asks.

Ultimately, there were many reasons why people stopped wearing hats. It appears that it was a combination of technology, influential people such as Kennedy and The Beatles, and the overwhelming mood of change that swept most of the Western world in the 1960s. But if one thing is true about fashion, it goes in cycles. So, it seems that hats may be ready for their big comeback.

This article originally appeared last year.

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George Harrison's elaborate prank on Phil Collins may be the funniest joke in rock history

George Harrison wasn't just a great musician, he was hilarious.

via Philippe Roos / Flickr and Wikimedia Commons

Phil Collins and George Harrison

Beatle George Harrison was pigeon-holed as the "Quiet Beatle," but the youngest member of the Fab Four had an acerbic, dry sense of humor that was as sharp as the rest of his bandmates.

He gave great performances in the musical comedy classics, "A Hard Days Night" and "Help!" while holding his own during The Beatles' notoriously anarchic press conferences. After he left the band in 1970, in addition to his musical career, he would produce the 1979 Monty Python classic, The Life of Brian.

Harrison clearly didn't lose his sense of humor for the rest of his life. Shortly before his death in 2001, he played an elaborate prank on Phil Collins that shows how the "Here Comes the Sun" singer would go the extra mile for a laugh.

gif of George Harrison making facesThe Beatles Love GIF - Find & Share on GIPHYGiphy

In 1970, Harrison was recording his first solo record (and arguably the best by a Beatle), All things Must Pass. The session for the song, "The Art of Dying," featured former Beatle Ringo Starr on drums, keyboard legend Billy Preston on keys, the famed Eric Clapton on guitar, and was produced by the notorious Phil Spector.

Harrison wanted a conga player for the session, so Ringo's chauffeur reached out to Phil Collins' manager. At the time, Collins was a relative unknown who was about to join Genesis, a band that would bring him worldwide stardom.

The 18-year-old Collins was starstruck playing on a session with two former Beatles, so he played extra hard in rehearsals, resulting in blood blisters on both hands.

gif of Phil CollinsPhil Collins 80S GIF - Find & Share on GIPHYGiphy

"Anyway, after about two hours of this, Phil Spector says, 'Okay congas, you play this time.' And I'd had my mic off, so everybody laughed, but my hands were shot," Collins told Express.

"And just after that they all disappeared—someone said they were watching TV or something—and I was told I could go." After that, Collins was relieved of his duties and told to go home. A few months later, Collins bought the massive triple album in the record shop and was devastated to learn he'd been edited out of the song.

"There must be some mistake! Collins thought. "But it's a different version of the song, and I'm not on it."

Some thirty years later, Collins bought the home of Formula One driver Jackie Stewart, a close friend of Harrison. Stewart mentioned to Collins that Harrison was remixing "All Things Must Pass" for a rerelease.

"And he said, 'You were on it, weren't you?' And I said, 'Well I was there,"' Collins recalled.

gif of George Harrison album coverGeorge Harrison Animated Album Cover GIF by uDiscoverMusic - Find & Share on GIPHYGiphy

Two days later, a tape was delivered from Harrison to Collins with a note that read: "Could this be you?" Collins continued: "I rush off and listen to it, and straight away I recognize it." It was a recording of "The Art of Dying."

"Suddenly the congas come in— too loud and just awful," said Collins. Then at the end of the take, Harrison can be heard saying, "Hey, Phil, can we try another without the conga player?" Collins was devastated, to say the least.

A while later, Stewart calls Collins and puts Harrison on the line. "'Did you get the tape?' Harrison asked. "I now realize I was fired by a Beatle," Collins sighed. The two changed the subject, but a few minutes later, Harrison couldn't stop laughing.

"Don't worry, it was a piss-take. I got Ray Cooper to play really badly and we dubbed it on," Harrison admitted. "Thought you'd like it!" So, Harrison had an entire recording session with a conga player who he asked to play poorly, just to pull one over on Collins.

gif of George Harrison smilingThe Beatles Smile GIF - Find & Share on GIPHYGiphy

If you're in the mood for another of rock's greatest pranks. The story of "The Ring" told by Beastie Boys' Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz shared in Beastie Boys Story is another great example of someone going to incredible lengths just for a laugh.

The story revolves around the late Beasties' rapper Adam "MCA" Yach, his bandmate Horovitz, and a very creepy ring given to him by a fan backstage at a concert. Check it out below:

Ahh, rock stars.


This article originally appeared four years ago.

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3 reasons why my mom swears the 1993 Super Mario movie is actually an all-time classic

Even the stars of the movie hated it. But not my mom. Please allow her to explain.

Rotten Tomatoes Classic Trailers/Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo as Mario and Luigi in one of the worst films ever made.

The Super Mario Bros. movie (the original 1993 one, not the 2023 Chris Pratt version that gave us the now-classic “Peaches” singing meme) is nearly universally reviled as one of the worst movies of all time. Rotten Tomatoes currently has it at a 29% approval rating among critics and 30% approval among regular viewers. It also bombed at the box office. Per Box Office Mojo, it made slightly over $8.5 million dollars against the production budget of $48 million. That was in 1993 money!

Yet somehow, in spite of all of the reasons why it's terrible from a creative and financial perspective, in spite of all logic, it's my 70-something-year-old mother's favorite movie.

- YouTubeyoutu.be

In an interview with The Guardian, the late Bob Hoskins, a BAFTA and Golden Globe winner, who starred in the movie answered the following speed round questions:

“What is the worst job you've done?”

“Super Mario Brothers.”

“What has been your biggest disappointment?”

“Super Mario Brothers.”

“If you could edit your past, what would you change?”

“I wouldn't do Super Mario Brothers.”

The lead star of the movie hated it, too, but he at least got paid to slog through it. So why is it that the 1993 Super Mario Bros. film is my boomer mother’s favorite movie? Maybe it was some of the lessons it taught in the movie’s plot along with the lessons learned during the making of it.

Lesson #1 - Focus is important, especially in relationships and creative pursuits

This isn't about focus in the cinematography-sense, but in terms of pursuits. In the movie, Mario and Luigi shift their focus from their plumbing business to something more important: their relationships. Both of their love interests, Daniella and Princess Daisy, are kidnapped by Koopa’s henchmen, leading them to drop focus on their plumbing jobs and follow their kidnappers into an alternate dank Blade Runner dimension with dinosaur people. One of the downfalls in Koopa’s plan to merge Dinohattan’s dimension with Earth’s was shifting his focus away from his girlfriend, Lena, who became jealous and tried to overthrow him. In the end, by focusing on the mantra “trust the fungus” our heroes are able to defeat Koopa and keep our dimensions from merging together into something off-putting, goopy, and with decent but poorly utilized practical effects.

If you’re reading this thinking that “focus” as a motif for the film is weak at best, you’d be correct. However, focus is still a lesson learned from the making of this movie.

An in-depth article in Inverse shed light on the vast number of script rewrites, random changes, and split-decisions made on a whim that made production of the movie a complete mess. An early script was co-written by Dick Clement, a person who never played a Super Mario Bros. video game. The story was then altered to be a “love story between two brothers” that was grounded in reality according to the film’s co-director Rocky Morton. Keep in mind that this is a movie intended for children inspired by a game that featured two plumbers jumping on floating platforms and anthropomorphic bipedal turtles. Then the producer had notes to make the movie more magical. Then Nintendo intervened, nearly scrapping the whole thing. Then the script was rewritten again by another set of writers. Then those writers were asked to come to set to rewrite scenes as the movie was shooting.

This haphazard focus not only moved whatever story there was into different directions and visions, but also tainted the relationships between the writers, directors, producers, Nintendo, and the actors. Had they been on the same page from the beginning, or fully compromised to one shared vision, they might not have made a masterpiece but it would have made a more focused film. Or at least a film that didn’t threaten the careers of so many people involved. The film was so unfocused that even Bob Hoskins didn’t know it was based on a video game until his kid showed him.

Lesson #2 - Know which instincts to follow (and which ones to ignore)

A throughline in the movie is Luigi following his instinct when making decisions. It starts with taking a shortcut in the plumbing truck to beat a competitor to a pipe job, continues to him pursuing Daisy both romantically and through a dimensional portal, all the way to the bittersweet ending. Following his instincts got him into trouble, but also got him into a wild— poorly written, but wild— adventure and a great love in his life.

The filmmakers, on the other hand, should’ve followed less of their instincts and more reason. Like maybe play the video game and base the film more on that while taking their ideas for a brotherly love drama or dino-dystopian sci-fi film for a separate project. Or, in the actors’ case, not get drunk between scenes.

In fact, maybe I should follow my instinct like Luigi did and abandon this entire premise to just share an actual lesson I learned that truly matters.

Final Lesson - Every movie is someone’s favorite movie.

In 1993, my mother didn’t care about how accurate or inaccurate the Mario Bros movie would be the “lore” of the games. She didn’t care about rocky storytelling, weird special effects, or the behind-the-scenes troubles. She’s not a film buff at all. She was a public school teacher that wanted to give her 10-year-old son and his kid sister a fun afternoon at the movies during summer break .

She loved how we all shared the bag of Reese's Pieces she snuck into the theater in her purse. We liked having a nice break from the heat inside a dark, air-conditioned room. She enjoyed the weird-looking Goomba creatures and how we reacted to them. She liked the slapstick moments that her kids found funny. I’m sure she probably remembered the joy in my face after the movie and asking her for quarters to play The Simpsons arcade cabinet afterward. Because she loved all of that, I love this movie, too.

The movie is great for reasons that have nothing to do with it. It’s a memory, a moment in time for her. It’s a time she remembers when her little boy was excited at the start of the summer, and when his little sister was at an age when she would just be excited because everyone around her was excited. Growing up, we didn’t make a lot of money left for vacations, trips to amusement parks, and such. But we had the movies.

From that point on, she’d bring up the Mario Bros. movie whenever a movie trailer that was similar in tone popped up on TV, Or when talking about my childhood during dinners when I flew back home to visit. The film is objectively bad by every measure, yet I can’t help but smile like a goof looking back on it.

There are several films that reach people’s hearts, regardless of their quality. There’s probably a movie you watched whenever you were sick as a kid. Or a film your grandpa liked and showed you after you promised not to tell your parents. It could be that terrible movie that was the first date you had with your now-spouse. It could even be a movie that no one has ever seen except for you and your friends because you made it. Every film is someone’s favorite.

Specifically for the 1993 Super Mario Bros. movie, I’m not alone in being a fan. While the movie isn’t available anywhere to stream (legally) as of this writing, it has enough of a cult following that a special edition 4K blu-ray was made for super fans to celebrate its 30th anniversary.

- YouTubeyoutu.be

Did I buy one of those super-expensive special edition copies of the film? No. Did I go on eBay to find a used DVD copy of the movie to give to my mom for Christmas? Definitely. And the hug and kiss I got from her after she unwrapped it was worth every $15 plus shipping.

Will she actually sit down and rewatch it? I don’t know. It frankly doesn’t matter. I don’t even know if she saw it again after we watched it together at the AMC in Southwyck Mall back in 1993. But she has the memory of that, along with the memory of me giving it to her decades later. Now, so do I. The lesson this movie taught me is that the activity usually isn't what makes a memory great, but it's the people around it that does.

Review Rating: ****

Family enjoying a movie at a movie theaterMemories of the the movies can be better than memories of the movie itself.Photo credit: Canva

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