Regular students aren't volunteering.

Leadership (ASB) don't want to do them because they see it as a waste of time and effort.

Teachers aren't going to do it

All this complaing and whining and they even cry about the solution they wanted

I grew up with an older brother and sister, in a MCOL American city. I went to decent schools, went to college, and became a high school teacher. I am married to a wonderful spouse, make good money, and - if I do say so myself - am a pretty smart and driven person.

Here is the thing: this happened despite everything that we often preach about on here.

I grew up in a one-parent household. My mom never read to me. She never told me to turn off the TV or stop playing video games (and I did a lot of these things). She never went to back to school night or PT conferences. She didn't know what classes I was taking or who my teachers were in high school. She never checked my grades. She never reminded me to do my homework. She never grounded me, even when I got in trouble. She pretty much never said "no" to me - though I also wouldn't say I asked for a lot. She never talked about current events or politics with me (to this day I don't even know if she knows who the VP is or who our rep is). She never traveled with me. She never took me to the library.

To be fair, I seemed to do very well on my own (homework, grades, etc.). It was just never pushed on me. And this is not to say I had a bad mom - I certainly didn't. But I look at all the advice from this sub, and my mom did like none of it.

And so I don't know how I got here. I don't know how I became intelligent or driven. I don't know how I became a reader or a writer. I don't know how I came to value education.

I am thinking about these things as I find out that I am going to have a baby next year.

I'm 23 years old, I'm turning 24 in 2 weeks. I've only been teaching for over a year now and I never imagined I'd be a teacher when I was a kid.

My dream was to be a professional cheerleader, but that dream disappeared when I was 15 8 years and 2 days ago on October 12th, 2018 after I had an accident doing a cheerleading stunt because one of my fellow cheerleaders lost her balance when I was at the top of a cheerleading pyramid. That resulted on me falling and breaking my spine on my T4 vertebrae. I lost all feeling below my waist and I've had to use a wheelchair ever since.

The first 2 years after my injury were the most depressing years of my life. I felt like giving up on life, but my parents supported me and after 2 years of therapy I started to accept my disability little by little. It wasn't easy, but I received the support I needed. I also have a personal connection with God, and I thank him for having given me strength to overcome this.

Since I could no longer continue my dream on sports, I decided to find other hobbies and activities that required me to use my mind and intellectual abilities. I started liking Math after my accident, and even improved my grades on that subject since I was mediocre in Math before my accident. I decided to study Mathematics as my career in college and I graduated 2 years ago with honors.

I then looked for a job with the degrees I had gotten, and I was hired to be Math teacher in a Middle School, and after 1 year and a half of being a teacher, I can only say that I enjoy this job. I love teaching children, and I've been treated well by both my students and co-workers. I couldn't be more thankful for this job.

I don't know what I'd be doing today if I had never had this accident. It was painful, but it was because of that accident, I decided to focus on other activities having my passion for Math, and I'm now a teacher.

I know sellers are having trouble with TPT, but I just bought a resource and went to add it to my drive. The only way I can add it is to give TPT access to all my Google Dive files and to view everyone I’ve shared files with. How are they even allowed to do that?! Regretting this purchase that I can’t open now.

This may be long and I mostly want to rant because other teachers are the only ones who get it.

I am a 3rd year teacher science and math teacher for MS in a new school/district this year. I have one class (my homeroom of course) who I am struggling with. The school policies are strict, and it’s obviously successful (minimum 90% passing rates in every subject). Kids turn their phones into a lockbox every morning and most assignments are on paper. I like these policies. I was told that new people to this community are often “hazed” by students and parents. I follow all school policies, and even am slightly more lenient. For example, the school flow chart says that after a warning they get lunch detention. For me, after a warning they get a 1-1 conversation then if they continue they get lunch detention. I came from a small school for exclusively neurodiverse kids, and that experience majorly increased my patience and grace in teaching. For example, I don’t care if you misspell something on a science test I am not testing your spelling ability I won’t take points off. I do not yell at kids, I do not raise my voice, I do not publicly call kids out, I do not shame kids, I ask about their weekends, I sit side by side with them while they work at their desks, I cancel an occasional advisory to play a game as a class for relationship building. I also, stick to the rules. There’s a flowchart in my classroom that explicitly tells students what the consequences are. I am 100% objective with consequences, every student who breaks the rules gets the published consequences which are “warning, conversation, lunch detention”. Telling a student they are at the warning stage usually stops the behavior. Today, it did not. I gave a lunch detention to a group of 4 after they each had a warning and conversation. They were talking/playing during an independent assignment, after having the first half of class for group work. Kids went to specials right after and came back for intervention time. They walked in doing a hunger games type pose. A student who was particularly upset organized a protest. Yes a literal protest. Yes all of the class. They repeatedly tried to get me to acknowledge it. I didn’t. I ignored them and taught the math intervention group I have to simultaneously teach while my homeroom is in my classroom. For 30 minutes, the screamed my name, wrote “justice” on all the whiteboards, held their hand signal, etc. I just calmly taught my small group. During this time homerooms are supposed to silent read, and content teachers teach an intervention group. Once I asked them to quiet down because I had 3 kids retaking a test. They did not. I emailed the parents of students who got lunch detention as per school policy. Then next class starts. I have the younger sister of this kid who organized said protest. Same thing. Kids are ignoring me. Holding up their protest pose. Saluting me like i’m a dictator. Again, I do not engage. I teach my math class like it’s not happening. The younger sibling interrupted class six times to get out of her seat to draw the protest symbol on other kids hands.

Parent responded immediately and said she’d be there at 3:00 to talk. I gave the benefit of the doubt. Said okay that’s fine I will see you then! I asked if she wanted to schedule a check in with the team to check on their kids progress. “Nope. Just wanna talk to you.” Clearly a mistake I won’t make again.

I ask our amazing instructional coach to be there because I am getting bad vibes. Meeting happens. For the next 30 minutes I am aggressively verbally assaulted. “You’re a dictator.” “You cannot demand respect from children.” (I don’t) “Have you ever been a teacher before this year.” “I have a group chat with 15 other parents and we are talking about what we are going to do about you.” “You are one of the worst teachers my kid has ever had.” “It is ridiculous my kid had to fill out a lunch detention reflection, why don’t you try getting to know them.”

I calmly and I mean truly calmly addressed all of her claims. “Your student came to the classroom during lunch, filled out a reflection, I talked to them. They left five minutes later. Here is what she wrote where she states she got lunch detention for, in her words, stopping work halfway through class and chose talking to her friends, which is accurate.” “I have sent 16 positive emails home this year and 5 emails, 2 of which were from today, about negative things or behavior.” “I canceled class the other day and took your kids outside to play sharks and minnows and I ran around on the field with them because that is the game they wanted to play” “My philosophy of teaching is that there should be a net balance of accountability and grace.”

“How come I’ve never gotten a positive email home?” “Both of your students have received multiple class rewards, when they redeemed those, they chose candy over a positive email. Your kids are great students and usually excel in my class” “They’re not great students THEYRE GREAT PEOPLE” (I also email home positive notes when they don’t earn a reward just because.)

“Why is this class so chaotic, they are acting out because you disrespect them.” “No, they act out because I do not yell at them, I do not scold them into compliance. I do not talk over them. I do not engage in power struggles. It takes time but I want them to feel comfortable in class, not scared”

Every other teacher at this school YELLS at kids. I mean I was SHOCKED. I’ve never raised my voice and it is just not in my nature. The way they talk to kids is kind of crazy in my opinion. But, whatever they’re from what I’ve seen amazing teachers and they are amazing coworkers. So to hear that there’s a group chat plotting what they’re going to do about my iron first and dictator style classroom while I’m being YELLED at is just……disappointing. This is the only time I’ve wanted to quit teaching. I’ve been cussed at, had chairs thrown, all of it. None of that wanted to make me quit. AP and coach had my back. They said they’d handle it. No one stepped in, in the moment though. Just watched it happen. AP will pull the kid who organized. Whole class is getting a lecture from AP.

Idk what to do. I’m exhausted. My other classes are blissful, enjoyable even.

I don’t know how to move forward and how to fix this. Supposed to take that class on a fucking field trip tomorrow.

Edit: Coach said that he was shaking from how aggressive this interaction was. I know this is not okay, but I do not know what to do tomorrow with the kids.

During instruction one of my (HS math) students is always looking just over my right shoulder in a remedial class. I know he's copying off of another student (it's not helping his grade) and today I was grading and realized the extent of his copying. It looks like he's copying at the same level that kids in an art class would copy a picture, ie: If the answer were 1/2 he would his steps would be -- the first bit is an up and down line, then I draw a line cross ways under it, then a thing like a backwards S with a flat bottom....

I've often thought, listening to a supposed expert speak, "this is an example of AI." but this student, I think, is almost literally, developing human AI.

This is new to me, because last year it was a challenge to get kids to participate at all. This year I'm at a new school, and for the first time in my career, the majority of my kids are at or above grade level. Many of them love to participate, and they can construct really thoughtful answers. But I have one kid who just enjoys hearing himself talk.

Like, we're reading The Outsiders, and when we were talking about how Ponyboy got jumped and the rest of the events in Chapter 1, he raised his hand and started talking about how the Socs were the good guys because they were trying to give free haircuts. At first, I was like, "ok, he's just being silly."

But I'm noticing it's becoming more of a problem because the other day he raised his hand and started talking about the Socs being the protagonists and just talking and talking and talking. And I'm trying to figure out if I should nip it in the bud and if so, how? His behavior in general is nowhere near what I was dealing with last year, but I can already begin to see the attitude and willingness to break rules from brief interactions over the last few weeks.

I didn’t know what flair to add… but any teachers work in a district with no union or a union that is basically does so little that you hear NOTHING about them?

I’m just curious because my district has a “union” but they do nothing. Many teachers stopped paying their dues because the union doesn’t show up for us at all.

considering all the ways to communicate, and the ease of keeping parents informed, why are conferences still a thing? .... tradition?

I had to do all the annual online training modules because they’re due tomorrow and was mentally bracing myself when I saw that this was one of them. I have personal/social experiences from the past about this along with the current political climate in my province which makes it a really difficult subject for me, and having to do this while dragging myself through a work week with a major cold made it even tougher. I’m welcome to any small wins or funny anecdotes to distract my brain from this.

i’m in my early 20s student teaching high school right now. just started. my classes are not that terrible and know i will be fine, but i am just incredibly uncomfortable right now. i’m not teaching right now so i haven’t been interacting with the students that much, just sitting and observing, working on my laptop, occasionally walking around and chatting with them when i feel brave.

in elementary, the kids have less self control but there is so much more you can do to get their attention. call and response, clapping, praising, etc.

in the high school classrooms the kids are not in check and i don’t know what i’ll do to check them when i do start teaching. the kids are loud, cussing and talking about inappropriate topics openly. it’s super awkward for me because i haven’t really been introduced properly so i don’t feel comfortable correcting their behavior or even speaking to them, really.

in most classes, but especially the ones i know are rougher behavior wise, i can get pretty anxious because i’m just mentally afraid of the students already and i worry about what they might say or do when i eventually start teaching. and i know i’m not doing what i need to be doing to get them more comfortable around me, but my CT isn’t much help so i’m kind of left on my own.

and on the “looking young” note, i know all the obvious things, like dressing extra formal and wearing a lanyard. mentally is where i am really struggling. i have a hard time with self confidence already, i know kids can be absolutely vile and i am just so afraid of possible harassment or objectification as a young woman. any advice or kind words are welcomed, ty <3

I found an AI app that helps teachers with written production corrections. I know not everyone likes AI so I want to get real teacher input.

Basically you enter the student’s text without their name or identifiers, and it gives you a suggested grade based off the evaluation grid you selected. Then it gives general advice such as strengths and weaknesses, and of course it highlights grammar and syntax mistakes. Based off this information, you choose a final grade for the student.

I think this could save me ~10 minutes per copy and I have ~180 students so it would save me time and I could do more written evaluations. Would you use this app, and if not why or what could change your mind ?

I need to fidget most of the time and for now I find myself spinning my ID badge almost all the time. I need a more professional way to fidget that doesn’t annoy anyone and isn’t that noticeable. Any ideas?

When it is a private Polytechnic and I decide on performance of the syllabus?

These are adults.

I cover a lot of material and am happy to elaborate.

But the syllabus is mine. I decide what it is and how well it has been performed.

I have moderators and they have seconded my decisions with a few small critiques.

She keeps saying that she is getting more out of youtube videos.

Thats fine. She can watch youtube videos. But she would not know about these topics if she hadn't been instructed in class.

So why does she critique me?

Another, low achieving student cries in class a lot and I think that it makes tge course look less prestigious.

I mean teaching and learning happens, and most teachers are angels---but I'm not sure education is the actual mission anymore.

So, apparently there is a new game going on on campus. The students try to spit on eachother when the other student isn't looking. Some spit water and some spit just saliva.

Gross! I've already had to talk to 3 different students about this dumb game.

District in the Midwest adopting new ELA materials pre-K through 12. Does not have to be the same program. We have a high percentage of sped students and EL students. We want something that will be good for them, absolute musta are that it have good foundational phonics and we would love for it to have a writing component that is actually good.

We have started the process and I feel like we are only considering the ones that are well-known like CKLA and HMH into reading and my view. What else deserves our serious consideration or which of these would you never pick for your district?

For more context, our teachers are going through LETRS training and have had lots of other training in explicit phonics instruction, but our reading scores are still quite a bit lower than what we would be happy with.

I am 39 years old and switching careers from stay at home mom and then small business owner to teaching. I have been taking courses to get my elementary school (and possibly SPED) teaching degree. I'm worried I'm making a mistake though. I see posts and videos every day of happy teachers absolutely loving their jobs and doing great at it. Obviously they are showing the best of the best. I see posts and videos of teachers absolutely HATING their jobs. And obviously there will be people who love and hate their jobs in every profession, but these teachers don't just hate their jobs, they're having mental breakdowns over it. I've never felt more uncertain about what to do in my life.

I have worked at daycares and in preschool classrooms as an assistant teacher and I have worked at the local elementary school as a monitor and one on one aide for a special education student. I love working with kids so much. I love the sense of community I felt when I was working at the elementary school. I love the teacher hours.

I worry about being bad at teaching because I have ADHD and can't stick to a system to save my life. I worry about finishing school because I'm perimenopausal and struggling with focus and brain fog. I worry about needing to get my graduate degree while working as a new teacher. I'm also still raising my own kids (5 year old and 8 years old), so it's not easy. I'm worried about putting a bunch of time and money into getting a degree for a job that I might hate in 5 years and doesn't pay much.

I know nobody can tell me what to do here. There is no right or wrong answer. Any thoughts or experiences you can share?

I’m having a hard time right now because I have had several observations within the last two weeks by different people, and recently found out that I will have another person observing me semi frequently to focus on the implementation of restorative practices in the classroom. I don’t know maybe I’m just tired of everything and need a break. Everything Just feels so hard everyday, and I feel like the accumulation of the workload and the constant observations is slowly crushing me as time goes on.

I have been an active certificate holder for elementary education in the state of washington since 2021. I apply to every new position for 7+ districts in my area. I do not have a preference to grade level and have been applying at every position in elementary I can apply for.

This has been ongoing for 3 years. One year ago, I worked as a part-time preschool teacher for a school district that promised me a full time position but funding was not cleared and the position they were going to put me into dropped.

I worked as a preschool teacher, substitute teacher, and behavior coach to specific students for that district and the best they could do for me was Para positions and I currently make more than that as a Nanny.

I apply to every new position, use time when I wake up to search for jobs basically every day. What is holding schools back from hiring me?

I would not be able to apply for a rental apartment if I chose to do substituting full time since they need a salaried position to apply for apartments.

Does the market just suck now, or are there certain things I did wrong that got me on a denied list?

Asking from an administrator standpoint...

What do you guys do with kids who have a last period/block sports period and they quit the sport in the middle of the semester? It's too late to throw them into a class, the coaches can't properly supervise them. How do you guys handle it at your school and do you think it is effective?

tl/dr; i’m an english ed student teaching my very first lesson next week, and i’m looking for solid strategies to get the students attention back and redirect in the moment (aka pls give me ur classroom management life hacks 🤲)

Hi! I’m a female 19 y/o English Education student! I’m in my most intensive clinical semester, and next week I teach my very first lesson, which will be for a senior creative writing elective & the lesson is writing a script.

This will be my first full lesson, but not the first time I’ve been in front of the class. I’ve taught a full bell ringer before, and it went very well! I’m at a lab school, so the vibe from the students is very much that if they like you, they’ll listen and do their best to make things work for you since they’re so used to it. Luckily I can tell that they like me, but I am still worried. There’s one other clinical student in the class with me, and they like him about the same as me from what I can see, and he definitely had more difficulties managing the class than i anticipated, even though they like him.

My ask for anyone willing to give me some advice is simply what works nowadays?? In the moment, what are some strategies that are effective with quickly reining them in? For a bit of context, I’m a very friendly and nice person and it can tend to be a weakness sometimes. I find it difficult to assert myself, especially in this context because I am not much older than my students. So how can I quickly ask for respect without yelling, but while still remaining assertive?

A lot of the strategies my peer used were ones that we had both seen a lot in high school, but it seems that they don’t work as well anymore. Think the clapping stuff, clap once if you can hear me, 123 eyes on me stuff. I also want to make sure that whatever I use isn’t too juvenile, because since they’re seniors they really seem to hate that kind of stuff.

Any and all suggestions or ideas will be GREATLY appreciated!!! I am a person with the philosophy that I will always have more to learn, especially with something as complex as classroom management. Of course, this is quite literally the starting line, and my only goal is to not trip over it.

Good whatever time it is for you when you read this. I'm a college professor at a small liberal arts college in the Midwest, and I'm teaching a first-year seminar class about critical thinking and problem solving. I remember when I was in middle school, we did an activity called the "humdinger," where a contraption was hidden under a paper bag. This contraption had a string that, when pulled, created a buzzing sound, and when released, rang a bell. Students were then given the supplies for the contraption and tasked with building one themselves.

I found the instructions for this activity online and want to include it in my course, but I don't want to repeat anything that students have done before. Are people still using the "humdinger" activity in your curriculum? And those who have done it before, any tips on how to do it effectively?

ETA: clarifying the instructions of the activity.

Hey guys,

I’m a first year teacher here who has been looking everywhere for a second gig because I love to shop and my student loans are kicking in soon. I recently got a job offer for a smoothie place, which has been the only employer to have no problem with my limited availability and refusal to work Friday/saturday (my boyfriend and I are semi long distance and this is our only time together right now). She mentioned to me that there are high schoolers from a town nearby that work there but it dawned on me today that the high school I work at isn’t too far and could potentially have students working there, which would be super weird. I feel like that would be a conflict of interest, but I can’t find anything about it in my contract. But I’m not even sure I would want to do that anyway lol. Part of the reason I’m looking to work in food service / retail is to have a second job that doesn’t revolve around kids. I need a break sometimes.

Is this something I could ask the employer about? If I accepted the offer and ended up having a student as a coworker, would I be fired or something? I know that sounds dramatic maybe but I overthink. I don’t need to loose the job I have.

Labeled as rant because nothing else seemed to fit. I was going over some ACT stuff with seniors this morning and started thinking about how different ACT is from when I was in high school.

Back then, we registered, showed up on Saturday, took a test, and got a score back.

Now, there's online vs. paper,writing options, science options, breaking down and analyzing the score from each section, super scoring, etc. In my state/district, it's tied in with class scheduling and graduation requirements.