A lot of times, you will be asked to do stupid things. Things that are just plain dumb or worse, contrary to your philosophy as an educator. Some times these things will be asked of you by students, or parents or colleagues. In these few occasions, you are welcome to decline to do these things as politely as you choose. Most times, these things will be asked of you by administrators. While you may still be able to get out of doing them by politely declining, profusely and apologetically explaining yourself, often you will be expected to comply. In these instances (too many to count for most of us in education), we at the pod offer the following advice: smile and nod. A simple smile and nod is all that you need to do to give the illusion of acceptance of whatever ridiculous request that may be demanded of you. My colleagues know that when they see me smiling and nodding to a superior, in reality I am thinking something along the lines of "what a batshit crazy idea you have, I had better quickly find a way to seem like I am doing what is requested of me while not altering my daily pattern at all." The smile and nod is a fantastic trick, and one that we give to you for free. Use it as often as you need to and we are sure that you will quickly find your professional life a little more care-free and enjoyable than those days when you internalized all the crazy as if it actually mattered at all.