Gretchen Keisner

Ya betch, Gretch 🐢🌸🏐

I didn't choose the thug life, my mom picked it out for me

[Gretchen Keisner @betchwithgretch]

Drowning looks nothing like it does in the movies. Most often, there is no flailing or screaming for help.

Look for heads tilted up, mouths open, arms paddling underwater to keep their face above surface.

If this is you, stay calm, try to float on your back & call for help

[Gretchen Keisner @betchwithgretch]

@ahvore @nonbinaryfenris I teach at a middle school. I work with hundreds of tweens a year. You are grossly over-exaggerating how many students have phones. So many students don't have phones and have thriving social lives (and it is so obvious with their mental health & ability to concentrate in class)

[Gretchen Keisner @betchwithgretch]

@meowingabyss Yes... however I think the why OP cited Dads doing this as opposed to "parents" is that often times moms will be actively playing with their children, but then when it's dad's turn they'll just passively watch. Both is good: active and independent, but both parents should do both

[Gretchen Keisner @betchwithgretch]

@wife2sirhusband @ColinBambury @marlo_safi It's both rude to habitually be anti-social AND it's rude to only talk about your personal interests without showing interest in other's. There's a middle ground there, that's just the way it is

[Gretchen Keisner @betchwithgretch]

@wife2sirhusband @ColinBambury @marlo_safi If I have a lot on my mind and am not in the headspace to talk, I'd just respond with "yep" or "sure is." It can also be seen as presumptuous to assume that the other person wants to talk about your specific topic (gardening) but they would be open to other topics (see above)

[Gretchen Keisner @betchwithgretch]

@wife2sirhusband @ColinBambury @marlo_safi You want to start more general because you want to first find common ground with the other person (because they might not care about gardening, but you both might enjoy going to the park/farmers market). Also you it gages how open they are to conversation

[Gretchen Keisner @betchwithgretch]

@KatFloofy @crab_rangoonss @Sabrina45X As a teacher, this is a nonsense reason. Phones make shootings *more* dangerous. Phones going off alerts intruders to where kids are located. Kids distracted by their phones don't pay attention to safety instructions by teachers. First responders get overwhelmed by misinformation

[Gretchen Keisner @betchwithgretch]

@wife2sirhusband @ColinBambury @marlo_safi The reason why the weather is the go-to conversation starter is because everyone is impacted by it and the weather impacts just about every part of our day. You could even talk aspirationally about where you'd love to move to or travel to based on the climate of different places

[Gretchen Keisner @betchwithgretch]

@wife2sirhusband @ColinBambury @marlo_safi The weather is super easy to branch off into other topics.

I could tie the weather to hobbies like gardening, sports, bird-watching, serious topics like climate change, pollution, infrastructure, or occupational stuff (I teach & coach so the outside impacts students & lessons)

[Gretchen Keisner @betchwithgretch]

@txsalth2o "This is why I have no friends."

I mean, you kinda said it there. I wouldn't want to be friends with someone judgemental enough to write me off because I was chatting with other moms either.

If you try talking to people with an open mind you will find commonality.

[Gretchen Keisner @betchwithgretch]

@ColinBambury @marlo_safi That is my biggest pet peeve. I'm commenting on the weather and asking about your weekend because I don't know enough about you to talk about other stuff that interests us both. Small talk is just the bridge to deeper conversations. Choosing not to engage doesn't make you smarter

[Gretchen Keisner @betchwithgretch]

@MetaReflexive If you're a teacher, you can have 20 year old paras

[Gretchen Keisner @betchwithgretch]

@sarahhinde I remember on the reddit page, like fewer than 20% predicted that the Lynx would pick Miles. It is amusing how much change a month makes

[Gretchen Keisner @betchwithgretch]

@Hawk8710 @MassJumbo But again, cars really are just super convenient and more affordable to many people. Saying "well walkable cities are just better" is like someone coming to you with a problem and saying "well this actually isn't a problem. Go convince those people their problem doesn't exist"

[Gretchen Keisner @betchwithgretch]

@Hawk8710 @MassJumbo I literally just said invest more in bike infrastructure as opposed to just walking infrastructure. A lot of people wouldn't be comfortable/willing to walk a mile but would bike the same distance

[Gretchen Keisner @betchwithgretch]

@mcdanielsfc I ask this from genuinely a very progressive point of view: but how aware are you guys with Minnesota's history in the fur trade?

Like, it was very obvious growing up in the northern metro that the name is tied to the raccoons that were hunted and traded in the area

[Gretchen Keisner @betchwithgretch]

@Hawk8710 @MassJumbo Again, I want more walkable towns. I think putting more emphasis on bike infrastructure helps with a lot of these issues because people can bike further than walk. I just don't think it's as simple as it's often portrayed on Twitter

[Gretchen Keisner @betchwithgretch]

@Hawk8710 @MassJumbo That's lovely, but it's still not that simple. We can have a small corner store in any neighborhood, but you can't have a Costco within walking distance of everyone's apartment. There simply are going to be folks who have to drive their car to get groceries in bulk

[Gretchen Keisner @betchwithgretch]

@Hawk8710 @MassJumbo 1. Awesome that Vancouver does, but most major cities don't have one in walking distance.

2. Urban walkable areas are almost always more expensive to live in than suburbs (which, for the record, I WANT to be more walkable). Again, it goes back to cost.

[Gretchen Keisner @betchwithgretch]

@Ian_Gay_briel And "school choice" policies make it more difficult for schools to enforce rules & hold kids accountable.

If an upset parent doesn't like that their kid got suspended, they'll threaten to enroll the kid in the nearby charter. As a result, the local public schools lose funding

[Gretchen Keisner @betchwithgretch]

@Ian_Gay_briel The pendulum swung in the opposite direction when parents, politicians, and the media started portraying schools as prisons that take away students' rights and joy.

I can email a parent informing them a child threw a chair at me and they'll yell at me for upsetting their kid