Nate Dunn

Was told today in class, “Mr. Dunn, you should be an Engineer!”- probably not, but lack of ability aside- I mentioned, I probably can’t at this point in my life, but my brother did leave teaching to do that- realizing he couldn’t support a family teaching. Which is a sad indictment on our society.

I often think about teaching, is it possible that the thing I do best is also the thing that’s killing me? It’s not the kids- they’re the same since my 1st group in 1994- it’s all the system & societal created issues that weigh you down. Pay- no real raise in 10yrs- is giving me my final push out.

Had the entire bundle- ESPN, Disney+, & Hulu.
Cancelled all on Thursday.
Target used to get part of our grocery money 2/3 times a month and all our big box daily life purchases.
Costco has gotten that money since April 2025.
We vote and we can also vote with our money.

The ratio of negative replies to this nothing-burger of a story is epic! There is a delete button that @politico.com can use to undo this crap post. I’d delete the article too. Garbage “reporting”…. I guess asking the media to report the actual news is a tall order these days…

I refereed 8 soccer games- all but 2 ECNL 16+ age group over the course of a weekend w/ a torn MCL & fractured tibia as well. Hurt like a sumbitch, but I was able to get up & down the field as a center ref for 4 of those games & down the lines for the other 4. Can attest it’s possible, but painful.

27 years in and working 3 side jobs.
Wife is a 25 year veteran teacher.
We have 3 kids and make “too much” to get any kind of aid, but can barely make it & live paycheck to paycheck. We spend $2,000+ each per year for our students. Just got our 1st raise since ‘19. They use our altruism against us.

94% of teachers have had to dip into their own pockets to buy school supplies. An estimated 1 in 6 have second jobs during the school year to make ends meet.

The average Wall Street employee got a record $244,700 bonus last year.

Something has gone terribly wrong.

Sadly, despite working 4 jobs & making more extra 💰 than I ever have, we didn’t have enough to travel this summer, so since I can’t visit I figured buying Lego Architectural sets used off eBay & building where I’ve been was a sad, but cheaper compromise. My latest mental health project: Big Ben

“My Friends” by Fredrik Backman

“Art is a fragile enough light as it is. It can be blown out by a single sigh. Art needs friends, with our bodies against the wind & our hands cupped around the flame, until it’s strong enough to burn brightly with its own power. Until it’s an inferno. Unstoppable.”

“The president’s memoir/coloring book…” 🤣

Can you give raises to folks to livable wage for them to not just teach, but also have families themselves, & can you take things off teachers plates that are “required” & expected? These are the 2 largest obstacles to younguns making a career of this, STILL, noble pursuit of a life of service.

Holy Hannah! What is going on with DeNiro’s fingernails in this picture?!?! They are long as all get out- stab worthy for sure. Crazy look for him.

DJed a 43rd Bday party 7-10pm tonite- left waterpark, unloaded all Battle Bots materials at school, showered at home quickly & then at the Bday house by 5:15 to unload & setup. Refereeing 3 soccer games tomorrow to end my “weekend”….love all these jobs, but also why is this what it takes to survive?

3/4 of the way through a brutal gauntlet of a weekend- my days off from my primary job teaching- left school 45 min early & paid a colleague $30 to cover my class so I could DJ a HS Band Banquet Fri nite. Created & hosted a 10 team Robotics Battle Bots Competition @ a local waterpark Sat 10-3pm.

*DJed Prom at Perot Museum from 6-11pm Sat nite
*Had to cover a class during my planning period Fri- time I needed to enter Robot Game scores to determine class winners- & ended up covering part of next period & having only 15 min lunch as other teacher forgot to relieve me.
The week is over now tho

Emailing selections & those who didn’t make it- also hosting 1st practice afterschool Mon.
*Went to see Maren get an award from mayor of Ft. Worth mid morning on Thurs. which required another sub & sub plans
*Watched Rowan & friends soccer games Thurs nite
*Refereed 2 soccer games 9 & 11am Sat

*DJed a Boys Soccer Banquet from 6-10pm Wed
*DJed Band Banquet 6-10:30 pm Fri
*Both of these required me to leave school a 2 periods early to make it in time to setup before the start times & consequently requires subs & sub plans
*Announced 15 new Robotics Team members- reading &evaluating apps &

It was touch & go but I survived my “HELL WEEK” I’d been stressed about ever since I saw the week aligning over the last 2 months:
*Mon-Fri- Robotics Tourney daily in each class with a hard deadline of Fri 4:30 pm to declare Top 3 Teams- needed to have 7 matches each period daily to stay on sched

Get you some colleagues who support, challenge, & appreciate you the way these 5-6 folks- some of whom I only know as teachers hired after I left 2 yrs ago who work w/ my former coaching colleagues- do for me. It’s little conversations like these that keep you in the trenches fighting the good fight

Every Thurs after middle school soccer games I get t/g @ a local pizza place for pies & pints w/ fellow coaches & teaching colleagues. Even tho I switched schools 2 yrs ago, I’ve maintained this tradition every Thurs in April/May. I cannot express what these experiences mean to motivate & sustain me

Just got a BUNCH of great news for my FLL Robotics Teams- donations from the State Championship we hosted, vendors that helped us making donations, AND news of matching donation from a Fortune 500 corp, but hard to get super stoked as I know I should given current education climate. Bittersweet….

Watching all that’s going down with the Dept of Ed & the teacher in ID, it’s hard not to feel under attack as a teacher. MY community has always been a BIG supporter of me & my classes, but it’s hard to feel secure in that support given everything happening now…waiting for that other shoe to drop…

This is an excellent question…

Arkansas.
I was married in its twin in Ft Worth.
It’s on the Lena Pope Homes campus- a children’s home.
Picked it because of the stunning natural architecture, light & connection to my upbringing. My parents were houseparents at a Children’s home in NC for 13 years- better part of my own childhood.

my old toaster did this :(

As a teacher w/ 3 side jobs just to keep my family of 5 afloat, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate small rural communities who go above & beyond for me when I DJ for them. Folks in the sticks sometimes get a bum rap- but in my experience they are the kindest, most generous & genuine folks around

This feels sadly timely and relevant again….

Sadly, the cruelty of what they are doing is the point. These folks don’t have a conscience at all. They find nothing wrong at all with what they are doing & in fact feel it’s justified because they have NO capacity to think of anyone other than themselves. They have sold out their own families even

This did not age well.

They say it’s the hope that kills you…..& I have a bunch of relatives that live in MN that feel & express that frustration with the Vikes every year. Although I never lived in MN, for me that hope & heartache is what made me chose to follow & cheer for them. Arif captures both sentiments well here.