Entertainment
Six Teachers on What Their Jobs Are Really Like
“I would love to see more coverage of teaching,” commented a Virginia-based reader named Meghan. “I’m a high school social studies teacher with more than 130 students, and I often feel like I’m performing a standup comedy show for an audience that isn’t there by choice. The profession has a lot of nuance that most people don’t know about.”
Curious to learn more, we asked six teachers to share some of the highs, lows and funny moments of their careers…
On teaching the different ages:
“Kindergartners go bananas over anything if you say it in a really enthusiastic way. You could tell the class, ‘You’re going to get a piece of paper!’ and they’ll start screaming like the audience members on Oprah.” — Jen, elementary school reading intervention
“I love middle schoolers, but they smell terrible, so I keep an air purifier running all the time. The other day I put a note in the homework section of the board to make sure to wash their hoodies. It’s a lovable funk, though! They also love when I listen to songs or read books that they suggest.” — Lexie, middle school language arts
“High school kids feel so deeply. I love the teenage drama about everything from lipgloss and the Edgar haircut to their relationships and the chisme. They remind me of what it was like to be young and think that every moment is life-changing.” — Christina, high school English
“Most of my students are early 20-somethings experiencing the first tastes of adulthood while shedding their childhood selves. The mismatch of goofy lightheartedness with their desire to be earnest and professional is refreshing. Also, the exhaustion on the faces of students who have to show up for an 8:30 a.m. class is so painful it’s funny.” — Kait, college literature
On meaningful moments:
“I once taught a lesson on depression and anxiety, and the 12- to 14-year-old girls taught me what a ‘crying session’ was, and how it helped them get out of a funk. To this day, I can’t get over how in tune they were with their emotions, and how open and honest they were.” — Julian, seventh and ninth grade health and P.E.
“When teaching second grade, I end each day with story time. We read a lot of The Magic Treehouse and The American Girl series, and the kids get excited to see what happens. I loved those books as a kid, and seeing the students’ curiosity reminds me that when teachers authentically love something, students often grow to love it, too.” — Jen, elementary school reading intervention
On hard parts of the job:
“Maintaining work-life balance with a young child at home. Also, the threat of gun violence. I have monthly nightmares about gun violence in my school.” — Lexie, middle school language arts
On career surprises:
“Back in high school, whenever I took a career quiz, the answer was always ‘a performer.’ I’d use this as proof to my parents that I should be rockstar. But my dad, who is a teacher, would always say, ‘Well, as a teacher, you’re always performing.’ Now I know that sentiment is 100% true. Standing in the front of the classroom feels like you’re on a stage, and I’m micro-dosing performer skills every day.” — Pablo, eighth grade U.S. history and ninth grade world geography
“I work with a lot of multilingual learners, and one of my main goals is to help them pass the ELPAC, a language assessment exam that affects the track of their education. Kids don’t always understand why this test is a big deal, so one of my goals is to help them understand what happens if they pass. In general, as adults, it’s easy to not take the time to really explain to kids, ‘This is what X is, this is why we are doing it; this is what happens if you don’t learn it, this is what happens if you do learn it.’ In this class, I’m always blown away by how motivated and engaged students become when they understand how it relates to them personally. This past year we printed so many certificates, and I was so proud.” — Jen, elementary school reading intervention
On advice for newer teachers:
“Don’t take things personally. A lot of teachers, including myself, have empathy as one of their core values. So, when a kid acts up in class, it’s hard not to see their behavior as a personal attack. But the book The Four Agreements completely shifted my outlook on this. Other people’s actions usually have nothing to do with us and also don’t reflect who they are as a person.” — Pablo, eighth grade U.S. history and ninth grade world geography
“Children don’t get to choose the adults in their lives, so you should strive to be someone they would choose. Also, it’s important to be nice to yourself. Teaching is not for the faint of heart.” — Kait, college literature
On what we wish parents knew:
“Parents often think that their influence wanes during the teenage years, but that’s not true. Make space for your teen to talk to you, even if they reject most opportunities. I’ve read so many essays about how much my students love their parents. They’re just testing boundaries.” — Lexie, middle school language arts
“Thank you for entrusting us with your child, it is the greatest honor. Know that when they are in my classroom, they will be cared for and seen.” — Christina, high school English
Thank you so much to everyone who shared, and a HUGE thank you to all the teachers out there. Please share your thoughts below, if you’d like…
P.S. A teacher’s week of outfits, and the way to actually ease kids’ separation anxiety.
(Photo from Abbott Elementary.)
Entertainment
NYT Strands hints, answers for July 23, 2026
Today’s NYT Strands hints are easy if you’re a veteran.
Strands, the New York Times‘ elevated word-search game, requires the player to perform a twist on the classic word search. Words can be made from linked letters — up, down, left, right, or diagonal, but words can also change direction, resulting in quirky shapes and patterns. Every single letter in the grid will be part of an answer. There’s always a theme linking every solution, along with the “spangram,” a special, word or phrase that sums up that day’s theme, and spans the entire grid horizontally or vertically.
By providing an opaque hint and not providing the word list, Strands creates a brain-teasing game that takes a little longer to play than its other games, like Wordle and Connections.
If you’re feeling stuck or just don’t have 10 or more minutes to figure out today’s puzzle, we’ve got all the NYT Strands hints for today’s puzzle you need to progress at your preferred pace.
NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: Hail to the chief petty officer
The words are related to the military.
Mashable Top Stories
Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained
These words describe military titles.
NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?
Today’s NYT Strands spangram is vertical.
Meet The Mashable 101: Our list of the content creators shaping the internet today
NYT Strands spangram answer today
Today’s spangram is Navy Ranks.
NYT Strands word list for July 23
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Recruit
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Admiral
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Ensign
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Navy Ranks
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Lieutenant
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Commander
Looking for other daily online games? Mashable’s Games page has more hints, and if you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now!
Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Strands.
Entertainment
The World’s Richest Man Just Promised An AI Version Of The Odyssey, But It’s Never Going To Happen
By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
Every day, we get another reminder that the internet isn’t real life. For example, right-wing voices have been hating on Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey for months, backlash that mysteriously began when the director cast a Black woman and a trans man in prominent roles. The haters spent plenty of time, energy, and endless social media posts trashing the film and predicting it would fail because it’s woke garbage. Of course, when the movie actually premiered, it was a critical darling that made over a quarter of a billion dollars in its first weekend.
In a sane world, that would have ended the discussion. The movie thousands of people thought would fail succeeded; end of story, right? Well, you’re not in a sane world, bucko, you’re in Hellworld. Case in point? Spurred on by comments from his loyal army of sycophantic followers, Elon Musk has now pledged to use his pet AI Grok to create a more “historically accurate” version of The Odyssey. His fans are excited, but I’ve got some bad news: not only would such a film be a critical and commercial flop, but there’s no way in hell this movie ever comes out.
The Odyssey: Video Game Cutscene Edition
Why am I so confident that Elon Musk’s Grok-powered version of The Odyssey will never come out? Simple: while Musk has achieved massive financial success (he was, for a moment there, the world’s first trillionaire), he has spent much of the last decade promising things that just never happened. Like, he previously promised SpaceX would be landing humans on Mars by 2025 at the latest; not only did that never happen, but SpaceX’s stock value is currently tumbling following several engine failures and an aborted flight.
The list goes on. Fully self-driving cars straight out of a sci-fi movie? He made the promise, but that never happened. The Hyperloop, announced in 2013? The project shut down in 2023. The pledge to have a million robotaxis on the streets by 2020? Yeah, that project died quietly amid the global COVID-19 pandemic. For all of his successes, this is who Elon Musk is: a relentless hypeman who promises more than he can deliver and tries to cover up his failures with more breathless announcements that he thinks his biggest fans will respond well to.
This AI Movie Is Its Own Trojan Horse
That’s what this AI Odyssey announcement is about. After years of being lauded by liberal fans as a real-life Tony Stark, Musk went fully right-wing, complete with pivotal endorsements of Donald Trump and a temporary role in Trump’s government. As such, Musk has become one of the most popular figures in conservative circles. While his political allegiances shifted, one thing never changed: Musk’s absolutely palpable desire for people to like him. Accordingly, he spends plenty of time on X, engaging with conservative fans and platforming both conservative thoughts and movies (like Citizen Vigilante). By and large, his fans hate Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, so he has pledged to give them an alternative.
Once again, Musk is telling his fans what they want to hear. Hate that “woke” movie everyone’s talking about? Well, he’ll make his own, and he’ll do it without help from Hollywood! That’s the promise, at least, and Musk’s fans are eating this up with a fork and spoon. None of them seem to think that this project, like so many others, will quietly disappear. Or that the man who has spent years running a social media platform into the ground might not actually be the best guy to deliver an actual film and not sloppy shorts that look like a PS4 cutscene.
Elon Musk’s Movie Is Already History
But let’s say, for the sake of argument, that Musk actually makes his more “historically accurate” version of The Odyssey. Why does anyone think this thing will be watchable, much less better than Christopher Nolan’s version? Not only does the proof of concept suck, but Musk’s rejection of Hollywood has seriously reduced his talent pool for things like voice acting, art design, and so on. Plus, the very announcement brings up an obvious question: why has Musk given himself until the end of the year to make this film? Nolan shot a real movie with real people in only three months, so why will it take Grok’s prompt engineers almost twice as long to make their own?
The answer is simple: this movie is never going to see the light of day. Elon Musk’s biggest fans are frothing at the mouth about Nolan’s The Odyssey right now, but soon enough, they’ll have something new to obsess over, like Spider-Man saying something too woke in Brand New Day. As they move on, the once and future (?) trillionaire will move on as well, making even more promises he never plans to keep. With any luck, all of the people demanding an AI version of The Odyssey will start clamoring for an AI adaptation of another ancient text. May I suggest The Bible, complete with a historically accurate, very brown Jesus Christ?
Entertainment
R-Rated Supernatural Thriller Hides Its Dark Truth In The Tapes
By Robert Scucci
| Published
2024’s Shelby Oaks is a unique watch because it effortlessly integrates found-footage filmmaking into a more traditional storytelling framework. Much of the first act plays out like a true crime documentary, establishing the mystery and the characters navigating it. Then the perspective shifts to the footage the documentary is about, and suddenly we’re in a straight-up supernatural thriller. While I’m a huge fan of found footage and analog horror, I can’t recall another film that switches filming styles depending on the scene, which makes Shelby Oaks, as far as I can tell (but please correct me if I’m wrong), a sample size of one.
Granted, I haven’t seen every found-footage film ever released, and I have my blind spots like everybody else, but my main takeaway was that Shelby Oaks earns serious points for its camera work and the layered storytelling built around it. While the ending was a bit predictable for my tastes, everything leading up to it was solid, and I’m glad I sat down with this one because it’s incredibly fluid in its delivery, allowing its mystery to unravel naturally.
From YouTubing To Doom Snooping
Shelby Oaks starts out like a documentary, introducing us to Mia Brennan-Walker (Camille Sullivan). Mia’s younger sister, Riley (Sara Durn), disappeared 12 years earlier while working on a project for her YouTube series, The Paranormal Paranoids. While investigating a prison, three of Riley’s collaborators, Laura (Caisey Cole), David (Eric Francis Melaragni), and Peter (Anthony Baldasara), also disappear. Their bodies are eventually recovered, horrifically mutilated. The only lead police have is one of the group’s two recovered video cameras, which contains footage of Riley during what many assume were her final moments.
This entire opening sequence blends documentary and found-footage filmmaking while establishing Shelby Oaks’ central conflict: Mia believes Riley is still alive, everybody else thinks the YouTube channel was an elaborate hoax, and her husband Robert (Brendan Sexton III) is ready to leave her because her obsession with the case has consumed her life after years without answers.
That all changes when a man later identified as Wilson Miles arrives at Mia’s doorstep carrying a tape labeled “Shelby Oaks,” the town where Riley was last investigating. After handing over the tape, Wilson tells Mia, “She finally let me go,” before blowing his head off on her front porch. It’s a horrific sequence that comes completely out of nowhere, but it’s enough to convince Mia that whoever “she” is may have imprisoned Riley as well.
While examining the tape and some of Riley’s personal effects, Mia comes to the horrifying conclusion that Riley had been stalked by a demon ever since suffering night terrors as a child, and that those experiences likely fueled her fascination with the paranormal in the first place. Her amateur sleuthing sends her down a twisted path involving demonic hellhounds, incubi, and the revelation that Riley, and possibly Wilson, were caught up in something much larger involving forces she doesn’t begin to understand until she discovers what, who, and where Wilson escaped from.
This Could Totally Become A Franchise
Everything about Shelby Oaks is expertly crafted, but I’m most impressed by how effortlessly it shifts between filming styles. It almost feels like the camera zooms out from the initial source of terror, giving us a more conventional supernatural mystery centered on Mia and her investigation. She repeatedly combs through the recovered footage for clues, but those investigation scenes aren’t presented as found footage themselves. That approach lets you experience Riley’s terror firsthand before stepping back to piece everything together alongside Mia.
Once I got to the big third-act reveal, I was a little underwhelmed because my immediate reaction was, “Oh yeah, that makes sense,” and then… that was it. Sometimes that’s just how movies go, and I’m not too upset about it because Shelby Oaks takes enough creative swings to make the entire experience worthwhile.
What I’m more interested in seeing, though, is a prequel that unpacks what else is on those tapes. Shelby Oaks ends in a way that hints at a sequel, though it works perfectly well as a standalone film. A prequel, however, would be next level. My thinking is that the tape Mia receives from Wilson is just one of many recorded during the 12 years Riley was missing. A found-footage compilation built around those tapes could make for some incredible worldbuilding that pushes Shelby Oaks into franchise territory, and that’s something I’d absolutely like to see.
I’m just spitballing here, however, and right now all we have is Shelby Oaks. Overall, I was impressed with the filmmaking and the buildup leading into the third act. I’ll admit I was a little underwhelmed by the conclusion, but I’ve also seen a ton of movies like this, so maybe I’m just being a tad cynical. I’d definitely recommend it to my horror-loving friends.
As of this writing, you can stream Shelby Oaks on Hulu.
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