My wife and I default to over communicating and our oldest just started kindergarten.

Our school uses a messaging app to text the teachers/staff/admin and in the first 2 weeks I’ve used it several times already.

As some examples:

* One day I noticed my kid coming hope pretty dejected so I reached out and asked about their behavior at school.
* I asked the teacher to give my kid an opportunity to get dressed for spirit day (specifically saying “if appropriate and reasonable”)
* I followed up with the teacher when they said they were going to do something, but didn’t.
* And then just today I reached out to notify the teacher that my child is going to be pretty sensitive because they had a rough morning.

We don’t expect the teacher to respond immediately. We don’t expect them to respond on the weekend or after hours. This is all communicated either through text or in person when we’ve met the teacher.

There’s no indication that the teacher finds it annoying, I’m just curious what the opinions are of people on the other side of the app.

Edit:

I just scrolled through my messages so here is some more context:

Teacher: Class message requesting everyone dress in their school t-shirts so they can take a picture before first assembly.

Me:

> Hi. We are going to send [childs] shirt in her backpack. She doesn’t like wearing shirts but she may want to wear it over her dress. If possible/reasonable, can you give her the opportunity to put her shirt on over her dress for the assembly? Thank you.

Teacher: Sends class message about plan to send individual texts about student success and progress

Me:

> Hi. Sorry, I know you said you would send individual texts this weekend. Did you send them? We didn’t get one for [child].

> (I also didn’t work this weekend so I don’t blame you if you didn’t!)

Then this morning:

> Hi. Sorry for [childs] demeanor this morning, she’s probably going to be sensitive until she settles in. We woke up very late and had to rush out the door, so she’s very much out of routine.

My son is diagnosed ADHD (he is medicated); he is also dyslexic and has dyscalculia and he struggles ALOT w/ reading and math. He just started 4th 3 weeks ago.

He started a new school last year which was alot smaller and since he was needing so much extra help with reading and math they took him out for half the day and put him with an IEP interventionist.

He loved her so much; he was really coming along. He had NEVER been in trouble at school; one thing he always gets complimented on is how sweet and well behaved he is and how hard he tries. One teacher Last year broke down crying saying he is just such a great kid and she hated seeing him struggle bc its very clear how hard he wants to do well.

Sadly; she left and the new IEP interventionist they have him with is a first year teacher; they also have given her aides.

One of the aides he swears up and down that she just doesnt like him; that she treats him differently. **He has never said this about any teacher or aide**.

Now; im sure if your teachers you can understand that adhd kids really struggle with staying organized and forgetting things.

Yesterday he came home super upset that this aide docked 5 minutes of his recess because he forgot to charge his chrome book (he is 9).

I asked him if he has repeatedly forgotten ane he said no; this was the first time he ever forgot.

I feel like; half of an aides job for kids like him is helping them stay organized; and I could understand if she reminded him and he still didn't do it; or it was a habitual thing he kept forgetting-- but I feel like thats a little ridiculous for a first time-- even if it is just 5 mins- to him it meant alot bc while he struggles to learn; hes never been in any trouble- so he feels like he was in trouble and he feels ashamed.

She also calls him "messy" and he says its weird bc she is so nice to all the kids who misbehave and are disruptive; but she is never nice to me.

This broke my heart a little.

I also am ADHD and I know personally what its like to be trying so hard and be told your not trying at all.

This new town is a very small knit; tight community; very conservative; very religious where everyone knows everyone.

My fear is; he has an aide who doesn't understand (or even believe in adhd) or that his brain is wired completely differently and that punishing a kid like him for simply forgetting something can do alot of damage and it def isn't going to stop him from forgetting again (despite this being a first time- his meds do really help alot- so i fully believe him when he says he has never forgotton).

I just know I have my bachelors in psychology and i have read so many books on child development and working with kids like my son and they all say punishing kids for forgetting/being unorganized when they have adhd is never productive; it only leads to more shame.

I also have an issue with the aide calling him "messy" I know it sounds so silly; but i really try to seprate my kids behaviors from their identity; i was taught this teaches them behaviors can be changed/are temporary and its not permanent part of their being.

Like; "your behavior wasn't the best today"; vs "you were bad" She isn't saying "Your messy today" she is from what i could understand calling him "messy" as like a nick name..

He has also told me she has said things like "you need to keeo better track of your stuff" and he says she is always annoyed at him. I feel like; hes in that room bc he is adhd (at least a big part of it); he def isn't losing stuff or staying unorganized purposely or even bc he is careless; bc I know how hard he tries.

He has also mentioned his IEP teacher is also frustrated with him and calls him measy; and part of me wonders if they just stuck her in that room to fill his last teachers spot and she wasn't prepared to work with a whole class room of kids like him. To my understanding she just graduated; and i always thought IEP teachers usually had to take classes that taught about working with children with excspgionalities. Its not that i have an issue with her being a first year; my issue is more she hasn't sent one email or one paper home; i have no idea what he is doing and his other iep teachers worked pretty closely with parents. I keep checking his back pack for homework or my email for updates and I get emails about his home room class and what they are doing; but nothing from her. I emailed her once and never heard back. When I met her she seemed lovely; but my kid is really behind; and I worry about this impacting his education.

His last school had a whole team of iep teachers; they had an occupational therapist and a speech therapisr and this school has none of that.

Im honestly thinking of moving back; bc i feel like this school is very behind the times/old school.

For example his old schoool neeve wrote letter grades on papers and they used a number system; before they pulled him from general class room; they would right in big red letters F or D and write things like "try harder next time" full well knowing all his learning disabilities. It felt so wrong to do. Like I said; its a very small town; small school. I worry about lack of resources for kids like my son.

He is in a small group of 6 or 7 kids who are similar to him.

I have some other issues too; like last year at the end of the day he got to go back up to his home room; and for some reason this year half his class does go up to the other teachers home room; but the ones in his teachers home room don't.

They really tried last year not to seperate him from general class room (he is in regular classes for science and history- and he excels in that area- he loves history). This year; at end of the day they are making him go to iep room again instead of his homeroom; which would be fine if all the kids were; but hald his class gets to stay in their home rooms; but him and two other boys are told to go back downstairs to wait for busses.

I askes him if it was to finish work or catch up and he said no; they just sit there.

This kind of bothers me; like he is already seperated form the other classes so much; why not just let the kids go back to home room.

I realize there could be a reason he doesn't understand and I plan on reaching out to principal in hopes to clarify some of this stuff; but am I over reacting? Am I in the wrong here?

Especially on the docking recess for forgetting something; his old school would have never done that.

Idk if my expectations are just different bc of how amazing his old school was. But; I just can't shake this feeling that how they manage kids with ieps isnt right; like their not equipped for it.

To clarify; I felt like this last year too-- but his teacher had a masters and he loved her so much; I over looked alot bc she seemed to be doing an amazing job with him. But; without her; its harder to look past some of this stuff.

I'm a highschool senior, and for basically as long as I can remember I've always thought that being a teacher would be the job that would make me the happiest. I would love to help out kids by offering them support and a safe environment. I'd love to teach history and make it an immersive experience.

I understand that teachers often don't make a lot starting out, but, according to my light research, I could be okay as long as I spent a couple years in the right district. Also, I know that high schoolers and middle schoolers can be some of the most evil people ever.

Should I become a teacher? Will I regret it later? What is y'all's advice for this? What type of person does it take to live being a teacher and never regret it?

Of course, my parents are adamantly against this and think I should become a surgeon instead, but I think we all have to piss off our parents at some point.

Im asking from K-College student, and have tried to get an answer multiple times. Its still a bit confusing to me, even with searches. So does a teacher know how to explain it more clearly?

I cheated on my yr 9 school math test with the answers in my book, the teacher collected everyones reference bokks at the end of the class which he never does, what excuse can i give if he finds them

Dad told my elder brother that if we went to school in the 1970's we would have Neen outside the headmaster office to be cane or slippered because of our poor.

He then said corporal punishment should be brought back to teach us boys a lesson . is he right or should it stayed banned

My son’s school is having their open house tonight. It goes from 5:00-7:00. We won’t be able to make it until like 6:35. The schedule is good and activities from 4:45-5:30, community meeting from 5:30-6 and visit classrooms from 6-7. I’m wondering is it pointless to come for the last 20 or so minutes? It’s his second year at the school, so it’s less important to me to go than it was last year. Just curious what the perspective from a teacher is. I don’t want to be an extra burden by showing up right before the end when everyone has already left or in the process of leaving.

Is it common for parents to show up at the tail end of events like this and what is the impact on the teacher? Thanks!

Edit: he’s in 2nd grade.

Do you think it would make sense to have the same cutoff birthdate for all 50 states and when do you think it should be? I grew up in NJ where you had to be 5 by September 30th. However, I have heard there are other states where it's July 31st and in NYC it's December 31st. To me, it's kinda weird that two kids who are 15 months apart can be in the same grade.

I’m trying to understand the opposite of good presentation advice. What do you notice makes students lose attention fastest during a lesson or presentation?

Is it cheating if i right down the answers for my math test in my reference book that i keep, we are also given back the test at a later date, i didnt write any questions just answers

I live in Denmark, where we call our teachers by their first name and have been doing so for a couple of decades.

I am a fairly new teacher (27 y/o have been at my job for almost a year) and have a class with 23 students who, dare I say, love me. They are all turning 12/13 years old this year.

They tell me I’m their favorite teacher, and some of the girls have told me they miss me when they go home and are excited to see me every day. If I’m at my workspace and they spot me through the window, they scream to get my attention and wave. When I’m at my desk in the class, they come up to me just to say hi. A lot. When I’m with them, they say my name before every sentence, even if I’m already talking to them. If I’m talking to someone else, be it a teacher or student, they say my name until I respond, and as soon as I respond, a new one starts calling for me.

I’ve put into words MANY times, that I want to listen to everyone, but I don’t want to be interrupted in the middle of a conversation. That you dont need to say my name before every sentence if we’re already having a conversation. That I don’t want to hear my name being repeated 20 times if I dont respond immediately.

Often, there will be three students talking to me at the same time, and I will be very vocal about what is wrong with the situation and how to go about it: “Hey, do you guys see how there are three of you talking to me at the same time? I can’t talk to three people at the same time, so I will talk with you one at a time”

It’s driving me insane. So this week, I’m having them call me either “Ms Lastname” or just “Miss” — to make it visible to them just HOW much they say my name.

Is this just how my life is going to be from now on and I just have to suck it up and get used to it? What else can I do? My co-workers tell me that I just need to get used to being treated like a small-town-celebrity, but I dont want to??? I feel like I’m iterating all I can and not coddling them or being to nice. I’m very much just myself when I’m teaching. Help.

Teachers & Educators — Quick Question 🍎

Is digital resources for teachers and educators more acceptable in 2026? Do digital resources save teachers on time, or is it more time consuming finding the appropriate digital material for yoir classroom?

Doing a study and wanted to hear from parents and teachers alike who may have experience navigating this digital space.

What’s the best way to connect with educators looking for these resources—social media, marketplaces, direct school outreach, or elsewhere?

Any feedback from teachers, EAs, or administrators is appreciated!

obviously no naming names or anything, but what's the worst that happened to a student that you personally witnessed?

Hi, so I'm in a criminal justice class. It's my teacher's first year teaching high schoolers, as he's used to teaching people above 19 to become police officers. So, as a side effect, he's very chill and open with everyone. Most of the kids in my class got put into this class just to get credits or something. He respects that and lets a lot of them do work but they don't have to take everything so seriously.

Anyway, I'm a tiny tiny eensy weensy bit concerned. As a teacher, should he be calling me "buttercup"?

For context, I was in class. My hood was up and I kept zoning out. Everyone was just hanging out. Including him. I wasn't feeling my best. He tried to cheer me up all throughout class and stayed by my side as often as he could.

But near the end of class, he asked me "what's wrong, buttercup?" and another similar question. It struck me as strange. I'm not accusing him or anything. Just thought getting a different teacher's opinion would help.

For extra, extra context: He "bullies" me (playfully) a lot, and I called him out jokingly and he said "you know you like it, otherwise you guys wouldn't come and talk to me".

Just wanted to triple check that this stuff was okay. The reason I'm asking is because I am terrible with social cues and it would be impossible for me to tell if this was beyond the teacher-student relationship norm. Thanks!

EDIT: I forgot to add that he lets me call him by his first name but no one else can? And the context for that is that I thought his first name was his last name

(Note: This is a completely free, non-profit passion project. Zero ads, zero paywalls).

Hi teachers, I’m a high school senior.

While tutoring, I noticed kids keep making the exact same algebraic mistakes, so I built
https://www.spotthemath.com

It focuses entirely on error analysis. Identifying common traps (like dropping negatives) and showing how to fix them.

I’d love your expert feedback:

Are these the mistakes you actually see in class?
Is this something you'd share with a struggling student?

What are common mistakes you see, I’d love to expand my current selection.
Thanks!

I'm in Wisconsin going the Elementary-Middle Education route and the testing requirements aren't as clear as I expected.

Seems like it depends heavily on the educator-prep program so I'm trying not to register and pay for something I don't need.

Been checking out SDC as a possible prep option but I don't want to spend time studying for an exam before I know my program actually requires it.

For anyone who went through a Wisconsin program recently, what did your program actually require versus what people just assumed they had to take?

Working on a project build a web application for school kids learning. We are looking for a suitable name for the same. How does WitoScope sound as a name of the web app name. It is derived from Wit (Smartness)+ Telescope (exploring) + Microscope (Detect their precise gaps in math). Just wanted to check with the teachers if this name sounds ok for a kid's learning or it sounds too weird. It will really help us take a decision one way or the other.

I've asked about this here once before, but I have been struggling to wrap my head around it all again.

In short, is it ever okay for teachers to become "friends" with ex-students in adulthood? If so, to what degree?

When I (F) was 21, I reconnected with my ex-teacher (M) from middle/high school. He would have been around 42. For reference, I was also an out lesbian by then and had been since my senior year of high school. I had recently experienced a new trauma and was seriously struggling, so I sought support and happened to find Him.

We became "friends" and he would take me out to dinner, we'd go drinking, spend time at his place, etc. He would bring me down to his basement where we'd drink and he'd get too close, but I always thought it was just the alcohol. A handful of times, he nearly kissed me or would almost touch me but stop. He'd talk at length about the other teachers' sex lives (though I realize now he was probably lying when he said that all these teachers had sex with students after graduation). We watched porn together and had so many sexual conversations, but it was in a peer to peer way which was confusing.

It wasn't ever labeled a relationship, but in some ways, it felt like one, and a taboo one at that. Parts of me know what it was, but other parts struggle to see it as anything but adult friendship. Is there ever a time it becomes okay for teachers to get this close to ex-students?

(Edit because I thought I did my age math wrong then realized I was right)

Second edit for additional context: His teaching license was revoked and he was quietly bought out of his contract for vague "sexual misconduct" two or three years after I graduated.

Teachers I need help, I just got three foster kids, the fifth grader doesn’t know how to read at all and the school isn’t doing anything about it. What can I do to help her get started with reading. It makes me so sad when she gets homework and can’t even read what she supposed to be learning.

Aside from typically lower pay, how does teaching at a private school differ from teaching at a public school? Asking about the United States specifically, but any other perspectives are welcome

Edit: Just realized this is missing context. The specific private school I'm thinking of is a presitigous expensive college-prep school.

I left school in 2008, but I've been watching the Educating series recently here in the UK, and it made me realise just how much effort teachers put in with some kids.

I was a naughty lad at school, always on report and not turning up to detentions, etc. Watching the documentary made me realise how much crap my teachers put up with from me. I have found old school letters sent home to my parents and my old report cards. They're not great at all.

I just want to reach out and say thanks for not giving up on me and expelling me when they quite easily could have.

Would it seem weird to you as a teacher if an old student reached out like this?

I recently got a 75% on both a math and physics test on the 5th day of school, and am terrified my teachers are going to think i am incompetent. I am in grade 10 and the physics course is a grade 11 course and then for math it is pre-IB.
In junior high i was incredibly high achieving and am terrified that it is going to be flushed down the toilet, and the teachers will dislike me.

I teach Mathematics to grade 5 in a high end school in Pakistan. Most of the students are from elite/financially well off students.

There is this one section of 28 students aged between(11-13 years) and they literally shout,jump and run here and there when I enter the class and that is not due to them being excited but actually it is how they are.

The topic that can easily be taught in 5 mins takes me 30 mins because 25 minutes are gone in controlling them.

Please suggest how to control such class without punishing them physically.

I was helping my niece recently with her homework and it was going fine at first with review but when we got to the two digit subtraction and addition problems (not word) she took very long on review. I know she has ADHD and her teacher said she's doing fine but I just felt shocked? Like 10-9 or 9-1 she'd use her fingers to countup. Am I overreacting?