Andrea: Hello, hello, and welcome to those who can't do. I am Andrea Forkham and I'm not saying that I am cursed necessarily, but for the past several weeks I fought off COVID and then I had a sinus infection and then I had pink eye and it was not once but twice because apparently I am an ignorant fetus because I did not know that after you have pink eye, even if You were not showing symptoms when you applied the makeup to your eyes.

You have to throw away all of your eye makeup. And that is, I'm so cheap. I'm like, I can't, I don't want to throw away this 9 compact that I got from Target. Like, and have, first of all, there's no Targets in Terre Haute. So if I wanted to go back to Target, that'd be a very long drive. But I, uh, realized when I got pink eye for the second time in a seven day period that maybe it actually is worth it to say farewell to my compact of target stuff and then spent entirely too much money at Ulta.

Um, and then later that same day, uh, we had quite a bit of rain. Here in the Haute and we bought a house this summer and there is like a little spot off of my back porch that kind of goes down just slightly. And that's our office area. And I think it was like, I don't know, like, I don't know if they got licensed to do it or if they were just like, this is a patio that we're going to close off, but either way floods when it rains, we discovered.

And so last night after there was a torrential downpour, we realized there was about an inch of rain on my floors. And then when I was vacuuming it up using a shop vac, I didn't realize you were supposed to take the filter out of the shop vac. So as I was sucking up the water off of the floor on the other end of the shop vac, the water was shooting out and I didn't clean the vacuum first.

So it had all the gunk in it from last time using the vacuum to clean my car. So I was just spraying dirty water out of the back of my shop vac onto my carpet. Again, not saying that I'm cursed, but I'm, there is evidence, there are signs that perhaps there's something going on and, cursed or not, I am still very excited about today's guest, who safely zoomed in far away from my diseased eyes and dirty, uh, ears.

Um, and he shares about a few curses of his own creation. So let's get this wonderful author, storyteller, and middle school teacher, Matthew Eicheldinger.

Welcome back to Those Who Can't Do, and today I have Matt Eicheldinger with me. Matt, thank you so much for taking the time and chatting with me today.

Matt: Absolutely. I'm excited to actually meet you. It's been a while.

Andrea: Yeah. And I feel like it's so perfect because you're, you have the coffee cup that you tell your stories with like all the time.

I was like, it's like a permanent fixture in your hand where you're just here to tell stories and hold your coffee.

Matt: Yeah, it's become, I didn't mean it to become something that becomes a talking point, but there's even people who follow me who like had a conspiracy that there was never coffee in there.

So I've had to like, yeah, I've had to like occasionally tilt it to be like, see, I do like, it's not a prop. Like I use it.

Andrea: So for those of you guys, um, who maybe don't recognize the name, you probably would recognize his opening phrase that he uses with a lot of his videos, which Matt, do you want to do your?

The opening phrase you usually use.

Matt: Uh, sure. It's, hello, my name is Matt and I am a teacher.

Andrea: Yeah. And

Matt: that's it.

Andrea: Which, which is so simple, but it's like, it, it's an immediate like engagement thing and then you're like, I'm going to tell you a story about, you know, and then you go in to these really great stories.

So can you tell me about how you became a teacher? How long you've been teaching, all of that?

Matt: Absolutely. So, um, I graduated from college in 2009, not to date myself too much. Um, and then I started teaching immediately in a public school and I was pretty much at that same school for about 15 years teaching the same grade and subject, which is sixth grade language arts.

Andrea: Okay. So you were an English teacher. Now, some of the middle schools I've been to, they separate literature and language arts. Is that the case for you?

Matt: Nope. They are, they are together. So I was reading and writing for about 150 kids each year.

Andrea: Nice. And what made you want to become a teacher?

Matt: Um, I don't, I don't fully know.

To be honest, like, I was actually going to go to school to become an architect. I was decent at, like, drawing, had taken some classes in high school. Um, and then, like, a couple months before I was going to, like, solidify where I was going, we did a soccer camp, which was something I did and assisted with all the time.

And it just felt very comfortable to be around kids and like help the little, we call them bumblebees that are running around the field. And uh, it just felt like that was more of a natural fit than me chasing money for architecture, which is basically what I was doing. I was like, I can draw, this makes money, I'll go do that.

Um, and then just got into teaching and fell in love.

Andrea: That's awesome. And middle school, why did you go with middle school of all of the ages?

Matt: Uh, I, that was probably just like, uh, I, this sounds bad, but I don't know any better. You don't.

Andrea: That's fair though. Yeah.

Matt: Yeah. Um, it was really, um, you know, it came down to at the time I'm live in Minneapolis and there was like no teaching jobs available at that time.

I remember going to a convention center, it was like a job fair for teachers and there would be like, One district with like four positions on their big board. And then like a line of like 200 people, no joke, all dressed in their best, all these people in college. And it's like, how am I ever going to break in?

And, uh, I was lucky enough to where I was offered a job. Um, at that school that I ended up taking and then like a charter school and, uh, believe it or not, the public school played, played, uh, substantially more at the time. So I just took that position and then, uh, really, I don't think I would teach anything other than sixth grade.

I really do, uh, enjoy that grade.

Andrea: Oh my gosh. Yeah. I, you know, it's, I do believe that public school pays substantially more cause I've taught at a private school before and it was like, oh yeah. And it was like 60 percent of the pay of the local public school. So it was. A lot of people I think kind of have the perception that because people are paying tuition to go to the schools that that money is trickling to the teachers.

But as we know from working in public education, rarely does the money trickle to the teachers when there's excess funds.

Matt: Very true. And then I remember like when I, it was a great interview. I liked the charter school, but I would, I would be wearing so many hats. at that school and getting paid substantially less.

And so it was a pretty easy decision to go with the other one.

Andrea: Yeah.

Matt: But yeah.

Andrea: Yeah. I had a similar situation. I taught five separate preps. So I taught English nine, English nine honors, English 10, English 11 and AP language. So I was like, didn't have a repeating class at all. And those of you who are listening who haven't taught before, like it is, I can't tell you how horrible that was, like doing five separate preps.

And when I first started there, they were like, you know, here's the required texts for each of those courses. So they gave me three novels. Because, you know, it's college prep school, so they want you to really teach novels. So that meant I started the year having to reread 15 novels that I had not read since I was like a junior in high school.

It was so bad. I remember vividly, like, I was working crazy hours. I would come in on the weekends to make copies of everything, and they were not like a one to one school. So that meant I needed to have actual physical copies. It was, it was disastrous, but like, I survived it. And it was Great experience because then when I went to a public school and I only had two preps and a team of people I was working with, I was like, what is this?

You

Matt: must have felt like you were on vacation. I did. Oh my gosh. Yeah. And for people who, who don't teach as well, like you need to understand that, you know, five preps, that means that's five moments where if you don't plan something for the next day, your day will be miserable. Yes. And so like, like I only had to plan one thing.

And it was always in the back of my mind. I think we called it Sunday scaries, right? Like if, if you don't have your stuff ducks in a row by Monday, um, but having anything more than just a couple of preps, I can't even imagine trying to keep all that straight.

Andrea: Yeah. Wow. It was, it was a lot. I, I remember somebody was talking to me about like what a, what a pastor like at a church does on a week to week basis.

And, you know, they do all this ministry stuff. And then somebody was like, well, they need most of the week to prepare their sermon. And I'm like, They're up there for one hour, all right? One hour. Like, one hour a week. You're telling me they need those four Nah. Nah. I don't Yeah. It's hard for me to have empathy with that one, when I was like, coming up with what ended up being 25 hours of like, being in front of live with students that don't want to be there, you know, and trying to make it fun and exciting and engaging and, and all of that.

It's, oh my gosh. Yeah. Did you have any moments like that early on in your career where like you were a hundred percent unprepared and had to like kind of figure it out as you went?

Matt: Yeah. And, you know, for me, I think the ones that I think about the most are like, we ended up going one to one with devices.

And so the district really wanted us to just go all in, like, you know, read on the iPad, draw on the app, everything on the iPad. And it's like, great, let's do that. And then we realized like, Oh, the district isn't really ready for that. So I would plan all these lessons on the iPad and then you get in and you get ready and then everything crashes and you're like, I have zero backup plan.

So like, what are, what are we doing today? And you know, this, like there's, you start sweating, like kids start, kids start realizing that you have no backup plan and then you're really in trouble. And then eventually you're just like, I don't know how it works at like a high school level, but I could always, default to be like, you know what?

Let's go outside and let's, let's get the journal a little bit today. And that could only last for so long, but I'm trying to think of like other days where I was not prepared. I think the classic too is you have kids, right? Kids of your own would be like, I was up all night with the baby. And then you just are in like dream state of like, Oh yeah, I'm ready for the day.

I'm prepped. And then you get to school and then you're like, Oh, actually I have nothing. Yeah. Absolutely nothing for today. Oh my goodness. Yeah. I don't miss those days. I know.

Andrea: Like waking up in like a cold sweat and you're just like, wait, I know you just start searching like lookits or gimkits for like reviewing whatever it is you're doing, just hoping it's going to last.

Yeah. There was a lot of times when. Uh, what was Nearpod first came out?

Matt: Oh my gosh. I remember Nearpod. Yeah.

Andrea: Those of you guys who are unfamiliar, it's basically like PowerPoints, except for kids can respond in live time and you can see their responses. So potentially if you have a one to one school, it could be really great for engagement, but.

I, especially at first, it was like that where everyone was like, we're one to one now. This is great. Like, do everything on the computer. And it shut down, like, all of our Wi Fi immediately, because everyone was trying to do stuff online. And then we just kind of sat there like, okay, like, I guess, um, take out some notebooks, you know, as an English teacher, we can be like, let's, let's, let's think about this moment.

And we'll just use figurative language to describe how we're feeling. Today and just kind of go for it like lots of open ended writing prompts and like encouragement. I feel like is That's generally where I went with it.

Matt: Okay. Yeah, because with writing prompts and writing stuff, you can always kind of finagle some stuff, right?

It's like, I feel like if you do have nothing planned, whether it's because of what happened the night before or something crashes, as a reading and writing teacher, there's some easy defaults you can do too, whereas like math, I don't know what you would do. Social studies, I don't know what you would do.

No. I can't. No.

Andrea: Yeah. No way.

Matt: I will say it did. It did remind me when we were one to one, the, when they were planning it, the district decided we had iPads and they were like, we're just going to let them have the app store open. And we're like, that doesn't sound like a great plan. Yeah. We're just going to download games.

Right. And they're like, well, they're new. We want to give kids responsibilities. Like, we understand. But it was like the second week is so many kids were playing, I think it was called Battle Royale.

Andrea: Oh yeah.

Matt: That it clogged up the district filter and all their iPads just crashed. And then we couldn't do anything that day.

And so we were like, We're like, Hey, how about that app store? We maybe like shut that down.

Andrea: Yeah. How about we don't let that. Yeah. I feel like that was the mistake that so many of us made when phones really started to like show up in the classroom and there started to be cool apps that you could use in the classroom.

Yes. And so we're like, okay, let, like, let's hold hands with technology and make it a part of the classroom and really just like use it to engage the students. And. It was hit or miss for me where like some days it would kind of work, but there would always be somebody who couldn't figure it out. So I'd spend the entire time like fixing tech and trying to figure out why their phones weren't downloading it or something like that, as opposed to actually just if I had given them a piece of paper and told them to do the thing, we'd be done, you know?

Matt: Yes. Oh my gosh. Yeah. Those moments are frustrating. And don't you feel like There's a lot of hats that teachers wear, but technology hat became like the primary hat for a long time. It's like, I need to learn so much to handle this.

Andrea: Yeah. Especially during the pandemic, like then it became a whole different level of trying to solve tech and learning how to use zoom or whatever your district mandated that you use.

Were you guys on zoom or were you like on?

Matt: We were on zoom. Yeah.

Andrea: Yeah. Did you ever get a Zoom bomber?

Matt: Um, okay. So a pretty good story because it didn't happen to me is, um, for those of you who don't know what Zoom bombing is, it's just like people would show up and you're just admitting people into your Zoom room.

And sometimes you were admitting so fast, you maybe admitted someone who wasn't supposed to be there, which happened to my colleague and he admitted someone and he had screen sharing available for everyone. And this person screen shared like. explicit pornography to a bunch of 11 and 12 year olds. And, and the kid and the person who had came in had actually, that person's name was the same as a student we had.

And so the technology department thought this innocent little 11 year old had gone into class and showed this. And it was just like this sweet little girl, like rarely spoke. And they like called her and her parents. They're like, we need to take a look at all

Andrea: technology.

Matt: Um, that was the only zoom bombing I was aware of.

The only other thing I saw, um, more frequently than you would think would be, like, boys running around shirtless in the background, like There was a kid having a full out Nerf gun war with his brother one time, and he's like ripping, ripping the things off his bare chest as we're trying to read a book.

And I'm just like, I, I'm not built for this moment. Right.

Andrea: Right. No one prepared us to do this. Yeah. I, I had a couple of Zoom bombers and it was the same thing where it was a very sweet girl. They, they used that girl's screen name, which I don't know how they've done it. found the names or, and you know, it could be one of those where like, they got the link from a kid in my class and the kid who zoom bombed us, like is unfamiliar with me or whatever.

But, um, the person came in and just like swore at me and called me a lot of profane names and I was like, what is, what is happening? Like it's, it's crazy. It's 9. 30 in the morning. Why are we doing this?

Matt: It's too early, too early to be cussing. Yeah. Did you ever have a parent show up?

Andrea: Yes. Yes, I did. And it, it, generally, I would not ever be concerned about that.

Because I really try, you know, I think all, most teachers try to make sure whatever they're doing in the classroom, they would welcome the parents. Being aware of it, right? Like,

Theme: yeah. Yep.

Andrea: And I, I didn't really have much of an issue except that we were reading Just Mercy, um, which fantastic book. And I'm teaching high schoolers.

Um, these were sophomores and I had told them ahead of time and it's part of the rubric, like, Hey, this is the book we're reading, but there are some, some chapters in there that detail some sexual assault that occurred of one of the people that was in jail. Um, and the mom kind of overheard the discussion of that.

And so she ended up having her daughter read something else, which again, I have no problem with, you know, like if I had alternate assignments and all of that kind of stuff. Um, but that was the closest I got to like any kind of negative pushback from, from doing it on zoom. Yeah. What about you? Did you ever have that?

Matt: We hit, uh, yeah, it was, it was more just like bizarre, um, this parent just showed up one day and like, you're looking at all the faces and you're like, that face looks a lot older. Who are you? And you're like, Maddie looks like 30 years older today. Right. And Maddie's mom, uh, was taking notes and you could like, it almost seemed like an SNL skit cause you could see the pad of paper and the, and the hand moving.

And at one point, you know, I was like, Hey, or. You know, is Maddie sick today? And she's like, no, I'm just taking notes. And I was like, okay, like, again, I'm fine with a parent being there. But for some reason, the notepad and pencil, like was super intimidating to me.

Andrea: Yeah. Yeah. To be watched that closely to with the note taking, was she just trying to like support?

The kid? Or?

Matt: I'm, I'm guessing so. It was just a one time thing. That's so funny. But, you know, like, as a teacher, you're so used to dealing with little new things that pop up. That one was just too big of a curveball for me. And I was like spiraling on like, Are these notes going to admin? Am I doing something wrong?

You know, like, It was fine.

Andrea: You didn't get fired? There was nothing that ended up in, like, the office?

Matt: Nope. Nope. Nothing in the, in the local newspaper either. It was, everything was good.

Andrea: Perfect. Perfect. So now you, you weren't language arts teacher, but you said that why you wanted to be a architect was because you loved drawing.

So how come you didn't go into teaching art?

Matt: Um, I wasn't that artistic. So when I say I wanted to draw, it was like, I doodle and I passed my architecture classes in high school. Gotcha. So it's like, you know what I mean? So it was like, I enjoy doodling. Um, and so much so that, like, those doodles became part of the books that I'm publishing.

Um, but I'm not, like, if you're like, could you draw this vase with these flowers? It's like, well, it's gonna look like a cartoon. Like, I'm not a great realist artist. It's just from not paying attention in class when I was younger. and drawing. So.

Andrea: Gotcha. That makes sense. Yeah. So let's, let's talk a little bit about the books that you've been working on.

So what, what made you sit down? Cause it's a middle grade book, correct?

Matt: Yep. Yeah, it's a middle grade novel.

Andrea: So what made you get started on all that?

Matt: Um, it actually happened when I started teaching when I was 21. So like, Um, as you probably know, when you start teaching, like all these veteran teachers have like these cool things that they do with kids to motivate them.

And at the time, most of the motivation was my colleagues handing out candy and it was just like candy for questions, candy for running to get copies. And I was like, I'm 21, I'm not making a ton of money. I can't afford to feed you middle schoolers candy every day.

Andrea: So

Matt: what, what do I have that I can give you?

And one day I just told a super embarrassing story to my class about. Um, I want to give, it was my first ever kiss and this is so embarrassing. I'm going to give my girlfriend my first ever kiss. I'm not going to tell you what age because it's embarrassing too. I'm leaning in and I actually trip and I headbutt her and she starts bleeding

Andrea: from

Matt: her nose.

And of course, I tell it in a much more exaggerated way. I build up the suspense. Mr. Ike's first smooch. And I, and the kids just ate it up. They just absolutely loved it. And I'm, I have a really, really good memory for experiences. So I was like, I can do this all day and I messed up a lot when I was younger.

And so these little mini stories just became like the incentive. We finish a task or whatever. Here's a five, 10 minute story. And so before I got wrinkly and old and forgot all these things, I decided to like write them down. and just put them in my classroom. And as I was writing them, I'd never written a book or any writing really.

I just wove them all together with like a general plot line, put it in my classroom and kids just like loved it. Um, and that kind of began the next like 10 to 12 year journey of trying to get published of like, Oh, I, I would be cool to see my book on a shelf and I'm naive and don't know any better. Um, so then spent the next 10 years trying to get the darn thing published while I watched reluctant readers pick it up and just eat it up in class.

So. Um, it was a long journey, but happy to finally be to the point where I am, which is pretty insane to think about for me.

Andrea: So this is, this is your debut novel that's getting published right now?

Matt: Pretty much. So, um, for whatever reason in the middle of the pandemic, I was like, I'm going to self publish my book because I had gotten rejected hundreds of times.

And for those of you who don't know much about publishing is you send in traditional publishing a, a letter to an agent in New York. And then hopefully that agent is like, I like your book. I'll sign you. Let's try and sell it. I couldn't even get Pat. I couldn't even get an agent. Um, so in the middle of pandemic in 2021, I did a Kickstarter campaign, was, uh, uh, was able to raise the money, thankfully, and then, uh, put that book out into the world.

And it did pretty well. I sold a couple thousand copies, won some awards, and that's ultimately what got me picked up by an agent. And so now that same book is being re released. It looks different. There's more illustrations. Um, and then there's a bunch of sequels that are coming. So that's kind of the book journey in a nutshell.

Andrea: Congratulations. That's super exciting. Thank you. Yeah. Yeah.

Matt: It's, it's bonkers. I mean, and I don't say Things like this to brag. It's just kind of giving you the reality of how quickly this happens. So like sign my book deal. And then the, I, the next day was the last day you could put in to go on leave from teaching.

And so my wife and I had to make the decision of like, Hey, do we cut my salary, our salary in half today? Um, and to pursue this book dream. And we decided to take a shot. And then the first day I stopped teaching to be on leave, okay. Um, was the, the first viral video I had on Instagram.

Andrea: That's incredible.

Matt: Yeah. And so I went from, as you have experienced with sudden growth, I went from like 50 followers and my grandma to like 200, 000 in like a month. And um, you know, I have these stories for middle grade literature, but I've also written down stories every single day as a teacher, just little snippets. And so that's what I share on Instagram.

But. Um, these, these books for middle schoolers, um, that, that seems to be something that I'll be able to continue for a little while. Um, the books current was currently at one point, the number one selling book pre order for Simon and Schuster. Like it, I knew it was something special when it was beating Britney Spears, his new autobiography.

Andrea: Oh my gosh, that's wild.

Matt: And that's one in like, and just so you know, in publishing, like pre orders are huge. for, to getting your book into a store. So Barnes and Noble reps contacted Simon and Schuston. They're like, who's Matt Eicheldinger? Why is this like weird title of a book beating this book that's supposed to be number one?

And my publisher was like, I wonder what else Matt writes? Because at the time I only, I only had a two book deal.

Andrea: Um,

Matt: and so now I've got more coming down the line. So it's just been a crazy last six months for me.

Andrea: That's amazing. And especially after trying so hard for 10 years. Like, that is, that is a long time.

Matt: It is a very long time, but what was cool about it too is I would share rejection letters with my students because they knew the whole time that I'm trying to get published. So I'd be like, here's a rejection letter and it'd be just very general, like your book's not for us. Keep going. You'll find someone.

And then there were some that are just like mean. Yeah. Cause you send only like some agents at require like 25, the first 25 pages of a book. And some people were like, this book is not good, like stop. And I would show those to my students too. Um, and it was, it was kind of fun for them to see the process of like an adult trying to chase their dream.

Yeah. That's not a sport.

Andrea: Yeah. You know?

Matt: Um, so it was, it was fun to share it, but also very hard for 10 years. Yeah. It was not always enjoyable.

Andrea: Did the kids ever get like offended on your behalf and want to like write the people who rejected you and correct them and like defend you?

Matt: Uh, yeah, there was a lot of Googling of names of like who that agent was and like trying to like find, you know, where they live and stuff.

But, you know, it was for the most part, they were just very encouraging, um, and when I self published my independent one, uh, that's when they were really involved, like they got to see covers, they actually helped choose the final cover, like I did a vote, I'm like, you guys know what you like best, so vote on the cover, and I just went with that one.

Andrea: That's awesome. Now, how long ago was that, that you self published? Is that during the pandemic? So

Matt: 2021. Okay. It was about two years before then I got picked up.

Andrea: Okay. But, but by taking that step, that's kind of what ended up getting you the attention of, you said you're with Simon Schuster now?

Matt: Um, so I'm with Andrews McNeil Publishing, which, uh, you all actually know, you just didn't know the name behind it.

So they do everything basically syndicated. So anything that's printed in a newspaper, that's a comic. They were probably behind at one point, so like Garfield, Peanuts, Calvin and Hobbes, Big Nate, like these are the things that they do, and they also are very good with calendars and poetry. Um, outside of that, that's kind of like what they're known for.

And their, their distributor is Simon Schuster. So it's like a smaller publishing, I shouldn't even say small, it's smaller than the Big Four, but they have, you know, worldwide distribution. So um, what's really cool about me landing with this publisher is the only thing I grew up reading was Calvin and Hobbes.

So to like be under the same publisher as that is like a really cool full circle moment for me.

Andrea: Yeah, I bet. Oh my gosh. All right. Well, that feels like a good place for us to take a quick break. So we will be right back

and welcome back. So Matt, I love hearing about your journey with publishing and all of that. And what, one of the things that made you really popular online has been your stories about teaching. So are there any stories that stand out to you? Maybe your first viral one or another one that stands out that you would share with us?

You don't have to do the whole, but you could do it like a, like a shorter version if you wanted.

Matt: Well, the great thing about me telling stories on Instagram is it confines me in a 90 seconds, so I could tell the story. It's not going to take up a ton of time. Um, so the first story I told, and I couldn't even tell you why I decided to tell it that day, um, was one of my favorite stories.

And it was from, I think my fourth or fifth year teaching. And we had a student who just wouldn't speak. She showed up the first day, it was very quiet. I thought it was just, you know, first day nerves, but then throughout the rest of the week. She didn't speak at all. Would participate, like do all the work, but never talk to anybody.

And so my colleagues and I would ask questions about how she was doing in each other's classes, and we're always like, she's not talking, so. Contacted the family. She, um, never, she just like stopped speaking that summer. So it was very new to the family. And, uh, we spent the next like, you know, months at a time, like meeting with social workers and psychologists, therapists, meeting with the family.

And during that time, I just felt so bad that she was coming into class and like not communicating. And so every day I would take a sticky note, do one of my little doodles or like Hey, hope you have a great day. Or I'd draw like a spider who ate too much cake and just like slap it on her desk. And she would sometimes smile, but for the most part, I would just say, I'm glad you're here.

And then walk away. And she didn't talk all year. It was, it's one of the most unique situations I've ever been a part of. Did not, I didn't hear a single word. And then, uh, two years later. Um, I go into my mailbox and just to see what other junk mail comes in, and for those of you who don't teach, it's just like

Andrea: magazines

Matt: upon magazines.

No it's not. And uh, there's a, there's an envelope in there and it just has my name on it, Mr. Reich, and I open it up and on the inside is a single sticky note and it says, I saved all your sticky notes. Thank you so much. You mean more to me than you know. And that's the first story I told, which I just deemed sticky notes.

Thanks. And that went viral real fast. Um, but for me, it's just like a very personal story of like, what, what is teaching? Is it all academics? Um, and I've, you know, as you've experienced too, there are, there are very defined moments where you're like, this is what I'm here to do. And for me, that was definitely one of them.

For

Andrea: sure, because I know that there are definitely teachers, especially without the context of having already known the situation from the parents or something, that would probably have seen that as like defiance or have like picked a fight and gotten into a power struggle with this kid that's clearly going through something super major and instead you kind of found your own way to communicate with her.

So that's incredible. Have you, like, heard from her since then, or?

Matt: No, I do know that she graduated, so that's, that's good to hear. Um, but most of my students, um, that have reached out to me are not students that were from stories I've told, which is good because I really try and protect the identity of that person since I'm not necessarily getting permission to tell these stories.

Andrea: Yeah.

Matt: Um, I also don't know that I'd be telling these stories if I was still in the classroom. Because I don't want to be perceived by parents that I'm like talking about your child from this year. Yeah. Like that would be a little dicey. Yeah. Um, but it's been cool to share. I try and share uplifting things to show what teachers do.

That's what it has become. And as you know, as you post on social media, your your content can kind of go through stages. And so the stage that I'm in currently is I try and post things, insights that I've found just in stories that I've captured in and outside the classroom. Um, but also funny moments too, cause we all need some of those.

Andrea: Yeah. So what are some of the funnier moments that you had during your time in the classroom?

Matt: Oh my gosh. Um, as the buckets, right? It's so hard. And I think we probably all as teachers, we have our go to stories, right? Yeah. Where you're like, This is still the shock value of this one's really good. Um, one that I think of often, um, is a story I've told it's called the lizard and I got a phone call.

It's like five minutes before students arrive and it's this mom and I answer it and I can just hear shrill screaming in the background, just like blood curdling screams, not from the mom, but just from like a kid and the mom's yelling in the phone. She's like, Dylan, He got his brother's lizard in his backpack, and he's gonna be to school any minute.

You need to stop him. I'm gonna come get the lizard. His brother is freaking out, and then the phone hung up. And I was like, what is happening? So I'm like, all right, it's 730 in the morning. I gotta find a kid who's kidnapped his brother's lizard. And like, as I'm thinking about what to happen, the kid walks the doorway.

I'm like, Dylan, I know you have your brother's lizard in your backpack. And then he just takes off running. And I'm just like, good Lord, like what is happening? And so I chase him. I'm like, rarely do you chase kids. I'm chasing this child. He runs in the bathroom and he's up against the wall, hugging his backpack.

And I'm like, Dylan, I just want to walk you to the front of the building. That's all I want to do. I know you've got your brother's lizard. I think you and I can both agree that we can't have a lizard running through the school. And he, he's like, he goes, well, look, and he unzips the backpack and I'm like ready.

And like most athletic stance to capture his lizard, pulls out this lizard. He goes, it has my name on it. And it's a stuffed animal.

Andrea: Oh my gosh. You

Matt: know, my day was ruined. Like I, my adrenaline had spiked. I'm like sweaty.

Andrea: You're like, I gotta

Matt: go back. Yeah. I mean, gosh, so many things. Like fully ready to get like

Andrea: a net and catch this live lizard and, oh

Matt: my gosh.

Fully ready. Fully ready. Did it

Andrea: have his name on it?

Matt: It did. He was, he was correct. Um, don't know how it played out at home, um, but that's the word I think of. And then there was another one and this might be, this is going to sound weird, but all teachers understand this. Um, there was a smell in my classroom and it was just like a, it's a bad smell.

And what you don't want is for that smell to be attached to a kid because then as soon as other kids find out, then they're like, what's that smell? Oh, it's you. And then it's out of your control. Yeah. That situation is gone. And so there was a horrible smell and I'm trying, this is the part that sounds weird.

I'm trying to like discreetly smell 30 kids, you know, as you walk around and pass out papers. Right. Like wafting as you go through. Right. And I can't identify it. And then a kid picks up on the smell and they're like, Oh. Mr. Wright, do you smell? God, it's horrible. Kids are like moving chairs, trying to get away from where they think the smell is and finally class ends, they go off to lunch and I'm left in my room like, all right, I think that, ah, it still smells.

What is it? And then I like finally pick up my shoe and I've got a huge pile of dog poo on the bottom of my shoe. So it was me the whole time. Yeah. And I'd spent so much energy and I was so cautious trying to like save a kid from embarrassment when in fact.

Andrea: It was you. It was

Matt: on me.

Andrea: Yeah, you were the problem the whole time.

It was the

Matt: problem. You got some good ones. I know you have good ones.

Andrea: Well, just a couple weeks ago, I was touring my future teachers around one of the middle schools because they're going into their early field experience. So their very first time. dipping their toes in the pool kind of a, a thing. So they're all terrified.

They all, they're all like dressed fancy, like bankers, you know, first year teacher stuff. Like you're trying to be like, so adults and trying to differentiate yourself from the students. Cause some of those eighth graders look like adults already. Um, yes,

Matt: mustaches and all.

Andrea: Yeah, exactly. So we're walking around the school and the AP, the assistant principal who was walking us around was like, yeah, we've had a good morning and interesting morning.

There was a bat in here and he's like pointing up to the ceiling and he said he spent. the entire morning with the athletic director and the principal with giant sheets of cardboard trying to herd the bat out of the building. He's like, I'm still actually a little sweaty from it. It was like seven o'clock in the morning and they were having to herd a bat out of the building because

Matt: Of course.

Put that on your resume. Right. It's a good resume builder.

Andrea: Exactly.

Matt: Um, were you, by chance, were you, cause I know you've transitioned to higher ed, but were you still teaching when like the one chip challenge was going around?

Andrea: Yeah, last year.

Matt: Oh, oh my gosh. So I will start by saying I do not like watching kids suffer.

Andrea: Right.

Matt: However, uh, these middle schoolers were so, like motivated to be the kid who could handle the entire chip. And so we would have kit and we were like, we had had, if you don't know what the one chip challenge is, it's a super spicy chip. I've never had it. It's literally one chip.

Andrea: It like comes in

Matt: literally one

Andrea: package

Matt: with single package

Andrea: and just says like one chip.

Does it say one chip challenge on it or does it just have the chip?

Matt: It might just be the chip. I remember the hashtag one chip challenge. That's why I'm saying it.

Andrea: Yeah.

Matt: Um, but like We'd seen it on social media. So we try to like prep our kids, like don't do this at school. It's not going to end well for you, right?

You're not that tough as a lunch monitor. Our, our school is huge. There's 600 sixth graders in the cafeteria and there's only five of us. There's only five of us. And so most of the time you're just happy if like, if like kids leave without like having things shoved up their nose like salad or whatnot.

Right. And it became this like literally putting out fires of like kids who would take a bite of the chip, but then they wouldn't their eyes start to water and then they rub their eyes and they go from like thinking they're going to be really cool to like thinking they're about to die. And, and it was fun seeing some really tough individuals who are, you know, You know, you hear him brag all week and you're like, I know I'm not going to be able to stop you.

I'm still going to try and prevent you from suffering, but then watching them learn through a mistake.

Andrea: Yeah.

Matt: It was pretty, it was pretty funny.

Andrea: Yeah. It's one of those natural consequence type things sometimes where, you know, when we watch it, it's like, oh, that's too bad, but we, we did warn you. So now we

Matt: did, we tried our best

Andrea: since you, um, have been a lunchroom monitor.

Some of the most insane and chaotic things I feel like I have observed or overheard well. Oh my gosh. Especially because you're exposed to all of the kids, not just yours, right? And so you sometimes end up having interactions that you wouldn't normally have because the kids don't know you. Um, so do you have any stories from watching during lunchtime?

Matt: Yes. Um, so many. And unfortunately, in the lunchroom, that's when a lot of gross things happen. And also, do you find it like In the lunchroom, it's like kids suddenly forget they're at school. They're just like, I'm in the lunchroom now. So I'm just going to like drop the act. And this is who I really am, which is fun for teachers to like, you get to do some bantering and stuff.

But there's two moments that I think of. The first is from my first year teaching and all these kids are leaving, but they're stepping over something. So I'm like, Oh, it's a mess. I'll grab the mop. And so I grabbed the mop. I'm walking over there and like the sea of kid parts. And there's just like this Brown goo.

On the ground. And I'm like, we didn't have brown goo today. I don't know what that is. I'll clean it up. And as I'm about to get it, this kid is just like, walking faster than everyone else. And without breaking stride, he steps over the brown goo, two fingers, scoops it, puts it right in his mouth and keeps walking.

And I remember just like freezing. Cause I didn't think what I saw was real. It's just like, this can't be what teaching is. So that's the first one. And that's one of my go to stories.

Andrea: I

Matt: have no, I have zero idea. There was no committee of teachers to investigate what was on the floor. No. Um, but no, I just like the level of, oh man, so many gross stories.

Uh, the second one I think about going to your fact of like kids you don't know, cause you walk around and you just hear snippets, right? Of things. And you don't want to like invade their privacy, but you also are kind of curious, like what's going on. I walked past a table where these boys were having a very academic conversation about when they thought they hit puberty based on the hair growth on their body in all the areas you can imagine.

And they're like, well, I started getting hair here when I was nine years old. So I'm pretty sure that's when puberty started. And they're just like, yeah. But they're, they're not goofing around. They're like having like an adult conversation about using their bodies as timelines of when they were there.

And it was like a bragging right? Well, like, I think I hit it when I was eight because then this happened. Oh

Andrea: no.

Matt: I'm going to keep walking, but this is, uh, adorably hilarious.

Andrea: Yeah. And also something that you really don't want to know when any of those things happen for any of them.

Matt: No, I was waiting for like, Mr.

Wright, could you come help settle an argument? Like, no, I'm not. Absolutely

Andrea: not.

Matt: Yes, I'm going to go help the kid who's eating brown goo. Sounds way easier.

Andrea: Oh my gosh. Yeah. I do always feel like when you get a bunch of middle schoolers or high schoolers into like an entrapped area, like there's always like challenges of what to eat.

I, have vivid memories. I think at every school I've taught at where if, especially if they have like pitchers of drinks, like if they have the pitcher of water, then it becomes like a melting pot of not water. And I, there was one year, this was before I became a teacher, There was one year where I decided I was going to help with a youth camp and I was going to be one of the youth camp leaders.

And so I was, yeah, bold. Um, and I was assigned middle schoolers because I think I was like one year out of high school. So they didn't want to put me with the high schoolers, obviously. So I was with the middle schoolers. And but I really, Wanted them to think I was cool, right? I was like 19. And I remember thinking all the leaders were cool back in the day.

And so like the boys are like deciding everything they didn't eat in their lunch was going to go in like the giant mug thing, right? And they're mixing it up. And they're like, they were like, someone has to drink this. And they're like, no, no. And then one of the other youth leaders, they're like, you got to drink this man.

Like one of the guys, right? Cause I was like one of the only female youth leaders that was there. And the guy said, no. And they're like, well, Andrea, what about you? Yes. And I was like, I'm going to do it. I, when I tell you, I chugged that whole thing to the cheers and like raucous joy of like 200 campers and then like at the end like pulled out like some questionable vegetable out of my mouth.

Theme: Oh my gosh. It

Andrea: was. equally the most shameful moment and the most proud moment of my life. I mean, well,

Matt: I'm sure late

Andrea: on. Well,

Matt: you earned some serious cool points. I mean, forever and ever. Oh my gosh. And if, and if you are not a teacher and listening, like if you can up your status and cool points as a teacher, In a legitimate way, like it goes up, it goes, it will travel over graduation periods.

Like it'll, it'll live in infamy. A hundred percent.

Andrea: Yeah. Yeah. It's, I still think about it and wonder like what kind of bacteria I introduced into my system that's probably still floating around from that.

Matt: It's probably what kept, it probably kept you in the profession though. It's like you built up such an immunity that, uh, you know, getting sick was a new thing.

I, one time, uh, I never did a picture of unknown things. However, I did agree. Because I thought they wouldn't, I didn't think it would happen, but we were doing a school fundraiser, which are every single year. And we try and set incentives for kids. And so one incentive I did was, uh, the kids were like, let's have a pizza party.

I'm like, I don't want to buy you pizza. Let's do something outside of the box. And the kid's like, Mr. Reich should do a blind taste test. And I was like, that, that sounds weird. And then all the kids jumped on board, like all agreed on one thing, which is pretty rare. They're like, Mr. Wright, blind taste test.

I'm like, here's the deal. I'll do a blind taste test if you reach, and I just shoved out an insane amount. We would never reach it ever. They got it in like two days, reached it in two days. And what I had agreed upon was not just one blind taste test, but everyone could bring something in. And so I had to set some parameters real quick.

I'm like, uh, biggest mistake in my life. But here's the new parameters. Uh, it can't be alive. It needs to fit on the end of a spoon. And then I chose like the most trustworthy kid on our team. I'm like, you are the, you're the approval kid. So that spoon before it comes to my mouth, you have to deem it worthy or not worthy.

And thankfully, The kids were way nicer than I think my friends would have been like the early 90s, um, but I, the, so I'll give you some highlights. Uh, the first worst thing that I had, cause you're not expecting it, was, uh, Uh, basically pickled watermelon rinds, so like the outside of a watermelon, pickled, which I guess is a thing because I told this story on Instagram and there's a bunch of like ultra marathon runners who were like, Oh, I eat that on the run.

It's good. And I'm like, that wasn't good when I, well, you

Andrea: got to be prepared for pickled if you're going to eat something pickled. Otherwise it's a very jarring experience.

Matt: Yes, you're like this is squishy in a way that I didn't expect. Um, and then, um, the thing that actually destroyed my taste buds and mouth for the remainder of the day is this kid had three warheads on the end of a spoon, which I couldn't even tell you the last time I had a warhead, but it was three warheads dunked in hot sauce.

And all my students know that I have zero tolerance for hot sauce. I cannot do it. I sweat immediately. And my brain just went to a whole nother planet when this entered my mouth, and like, it burned, but it was also puckering, and like, I didn't finish it, I did not finish it, um, but like the rest of the day I was like, I think this is my new tongue now, like, I just won't taste things forever.

Andrea: That sounds so foul though, like, imagining like the hot sauce with like the fizzing burning sensation of a warhead.

Matt: Yeah, we gave, uh, one of my kids a warhead the other day. She lasted one second. It got spit right out. So I would encourage all listeners, if you want to give yourself a nice little challenge that you can recover from, go just have a warhead.

Go have a warhead.

Andrea: I, I highly doubt they're, they've gotten any better in the, since like the 20 years since I've had one. Cause I remember like when I was in middle school, I remember thinking they were great like, and they would like leave like sores on the inside of your mouth.

Matt: It's probably some like level of acidity that is no longer allowed, just like burning holes in kids mouths.

Andrea: It's so bad. Oh my gosh. Um, okay. So one of the things that we do is we take questions from the listeners and get advice from my guest and myself. Um, so this first question is from Chris from Germany and he asked, um, There are so many hard topics in the world, wars and conflicts between countries, refugees, kidnapping, ethical and religious issues.

How do you face the challenge to talk about all of what is happening in the world, um, in or during your lessons? I know, right? I was like, this is a really hard one. Do we get another hour? I know. I know.

Matt: Let's say whatever event it is, we don't want to talk about. I don't want to talk about it because it's maybe a heavy topic.

It's traumatic. I don't want to Um, let's just say we don't want to talk about it. It's going to come into our classroom no matter what. So let's start there for, for people who are like, well, you shouldn't be. It's like, we will, because there'll be a kid that comes in that says it all in front of 29 other kids.

And now you are responsible for facilitating a conversation that has to be respectful. That has to be appropriate and that has to, um, I guess realize the, the heaviness of the moment.

Andrea: Yeah.

Matt: And so that's the first thing I want to make really clear is we don't always want to, but it comes in any ways. And it really just depends on the situation.

There are some things where I'm sure you were just like, you try and default it to home. You're like, that's something I hear you, but that's a conversation that I think would be better with your family. But there are some things where all of a sudden 10 other voices come in and they're like, I want to know.

And then SPAC, like facts keep getting Spewed by kids and you don't, you haven't researched it yourself. So you're like, I just, I don't know where to start. I don't know. What do you think?

Andrea: Yeah, I, I, exactly what you said. I think that our job is a lot of times to create a safe place for them to process and facilitate their discussion.

Um, it's So incredibly challenging when they come in and they're like, visibly upset, you know, especially with all of the things that have happened in the past few years. And kids are a lot of times just parroting what they're hearing at home and sometimes what they're hearing at home is said in a way that They even the parents wouldn't say it outside of their home quite that way to people they knew didn't agree, but the kids come in and say it in that same way.

And then it ends up becoming a huge, huge issue. Um, because I want all of my kids to feel really welcome and safe and able to share their beliefs and their opinions. Um, but it just like, yeah. The world, you know, there are those conflicting opinions. So a lot of times what I'll do is I will say, okay guys, you know what?

I know that a lot of us are processing X, Y, Z right now. We're going to do a quick journal, right? Go ahead and just tell me everything that you want to say about it. Um, put a note in there. If you want me to let the counselor know that you need to talk to somebody and add another note, if you want me to like call home and let your parents know that you're struggling and that allows them to process in a private way that does not.

Become something that can kind of spin out of control. I,

Matt: that's some truth. There's truth there too, is you don't in those moments, even if you're, you have the best of intentions, you are not really in control.

Andrea: Yeah.

Matt: And kids can say things that could take a topic that maybe wasn't so heavy and now becomes even heavier for the moment.

Andrea: Yeah.

Matt: Um, we tried creating, um, spaces where kids could go ask those questions. Kind of like you said, like the counselors available today in this space, if you need to ask questions. Um, but those moments in the classroom are really tough and, and you have to make a decision now. You have to make, there's no prep, there's, you know, you know, not a sixth prep.

There's no like, give me, give me 15 minutes kids. It's happening now and I have to make a decision now. Um, and that's tough too.

Andrea: It is. Yeah. And I, there was one year, my, it was my first year teaching, I believe is when it happened. And there had been a police shooting of a young black man. And I was, I was teaching in a class that was very, um, is about 50, 50 black and white.

Right. And so me having the best of intentions was like, you know, if, if you can't talk about it here, how do we expect you to go and talk about it anywhere else? And so I tried to facilitate a discussion. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. It was so fresh for those kids and it was so damaging to my relationship with them.

Not because I was trying to do anything wrong, but just because I was like, well, let's like, let's talk about this. And then I had like a black student whose parent was a police officer who was then having to defend their parent. And then I had, you know, white student, it was, it was just, it became something.

So

Matt: it was a mistake. It was, it was a

Andrea: massive mistake. And I sat with my assistant principal and he's like, you gotta understand that like, I, he's like, I know your heart was in the right place and you were trying to do a good thing here, but sometimes like the best thing is to just kind of give them a chance to process silently if you want to, and then get, get on with the structure and the curriculum.

That allows them to feel safe because they're getting some normalcy. Um, cause it, man, I, and I had the best of intentions and I was so upset after that because I was like, I just, I screwed up. Like I was trying and I did not do it right. You know, this was like back in 2013 and I was just like, man, all right, note taken.

And I'm going to be way more cautious from here on out when I have kids that are struggling.

Matt: Yeah. And I think what's, what's hard too, is we don't always receive training for that sort of thing, right? Like in college, like I didn't have a class of how to handle a moment like this. And unfortunately, just like every profession, we sometimes learn through mistakes.

What's different is we are learning our mistakes in front of children and that, and that can be pretty hard to digest personally, like knowing that you approach something that you probably shouldn't have. And then you have to go make amends for that sometimes, like you might have to email a parent and be like, Hey, I messed up.

I'm really sorry. What can I do to help restore your faith in me as your child's teacher? And definitely I've had some of those moments in my career as well. And they are, they're hard, but they are, they are important too.

Andrea: Yeah, I agree. So before you go today, Matt, I would love for you to share. I don't think we've actually said the title of your book, which is a shame because it's, Such a creative title.

So could you share the title of your book and where people can find you and what you've got coming up?

Matt: Oh, sure. Uh, I have a lot coming up, but the, the name of the book that is currently out March 19th is called Matt Sprouts and the Curse of the Ten Broken Toes. It is for, um, it could be young to middle grade readers.

Um, it's, uh, probably third grade readability, but I've had, you know, students as old as eighth grade read it. So that's the first book in the series. And it's not a graphic novel, but it is illustrated. And then the sequel, which is called Matt Sprouts and the Day Nora Hate the Sun comes out in September.

And then, uh, the one that I'm really looking forward to is in October, I have a compilation of stories coming out from my teaching career called Sticky Notes, Memorable Lessons from Ordinary Moments. Um, and actually all of those are available for pre order, I'm just not really promoting it that much yet.

Um, but that one, I am hopeful that that Sticky Note book also gives an insight into teaching Um, and not just into teaching, but helps people reflect on what they, they see every day as well in their own profession.

Andrea: That's awesome. And then do you have a website and your handle for social media?

Matt: Sure. So, um, my website is matteicheldinger.

com and then my socials are at matteicheldinger. com. And the great thing about my last name is you don't need to even spell the whole thing to find me. If you type in Matt E I C H, there's only a handful of Eicheldingers in the world. And since my book is kind of everywhere right now, I pop up real quick on Google.

So I'm pretty easy, easy guy to find.

Andrea: That's awesome. All right. Well, thank you so much, Matt. I appreciate you coming.

Matt: Yeah, thank you. This is wonderful.

Andrea: And welcome back. I hope you guys enjoyed my conversation with Matt. It's so fun talking to someone who has lived through the chaos of a middle school classroom. And the story about. Just the sticky notes, like, I can see why that went viral first for him, because it's just such a meaningful way of communicating with a student and reaching them where they're at, and it just, like, that is why teachers do what they do, is to be able to be that person for a kid in their class that really needs somebody to see them.

where they're at. Um, and this week I asked you guys what your students were up to so that you could see them where they were at. And one of you submitted that your students were snorting Smarties, like it was lines of cocaine, like crushing up Smarties. And for Canadian listeners, it's like, For you guys, Smarties are like a chocolate thing, but in America, it's like a little, I don't even know, like condensed disc of straight sugar that can, becomes very powdery very easily.

So it kind of lends itself to that kind of a thing. So that apparently is what students are doing. And I have to tell you, there has not been a single school that I have taught at that they have not snorted Smarties, like cocaine, every single school. And including, by the way. the very small private Christian school I taught at.

I also saw kids doing lines of sugary, uh, Smarties there as well. So it's just, apparently it's cross cultures, cross generations, all of that. We're all just trying to keep our kids from doing Smartie dust. Um, if you have something that your students did that was absolutely outrageous this week, I want to hear about it.

You can catch me on Instagram and YouTube and tick talk at educator Andrea, or you can email me at Andrea at human dash content. com or you can reach out to the whole team at human content pod. This is a brand new podcast and I so appreciate those of you guys who are tuning in early and leaving reviews.

I appreciate it so much. I'm going to keep an eye on those reviews and we might just give you a shout out on one of our next episodes. Full episodes are up every week on YouTube at Educator Andrea. Thank you guys so much for listening. I'm your host, Andrea Forkham. A very special thank you to our guest, Matthew Eicheldinger.

Our executive producers are Andrea Forkham, Aron Korney, Rob Goldman, and Shahnti Brooke. Our editor is Andrew Sims. Our engineer is Jason Portizzo. Our music is by Omer Ben Zvi. Our recording location is the Indiana State Bi College of Education. To learn more about those who can't do, visit us Program disclaimer and ethics policy and submission verification and licensing terms.

You can go to podcasterandrea. com. Those who can't do is a human content production.

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