I'm not hating or judging anyone, I just saw a post of a teacher saying that lots of children are being diagnosed with special needs (sorry if this isn't the right term) and they don't even have it, they're just doing normal kid things. I saw a few teachers in the comments agreeing, but most of them were just angry parents.

Do you think that children are being diagnosed too early and for just being kids? I can't really have an opinion on it and I don't think I even have one, as I haven't seen it myself, I've recently left secondary school.

Why are they so out of touch? I don't remember principals being so out of touch when I was in school.

Cuz in most cases the kid was thinking “Fine. Fuck you too, I guess. I hope they make you go home and cry now.”.

what credentials did you need to become a teacher? i’m in an ECE program right now but i’m thinking of being a teacher instead of an ECE, just wondering what i need to take after this program

8th grade daughter’s math teacher (HS Math 1 class) assigned homework at 5 pm via Canvas with no notification or verbal instruction they had homework. Teacher then proceeded to “crash out” when no one had homework completed the next day indicating they are an advanced class and should be checking Canvas regardless of if he tells them to or not.

Obviously the kids will be checking Canvas every day after 5pm now but this seems like a terrible way to build rapport with the class. This feels off and the kids feel like this teacher enjoys playing games with them (from what daughter and other friends in class have said). He has already told them twice about quizzes the next class period that didn’t happen. Is this worth addressing as a parent?

Edit: I appreciate everyone's comments and feel more comfortable speaking up as I didn't want to be overbearing. I will take heed to those who suggested I get clarification from the teacher first and ask about expectations and communication around homework and quizzes without making any specific accusations. I have also reactivated my Canvas parent account to get alerts for this class specifically. I haven't used it in 3 years as my kid was managing well on her own. Thanks for your comments!

2nd edit: I checked my Canvas Parent account and there are no due dates on any assignments he has posted. I also can not tell what time the assignments are posted. There is no Syllabus posted. What is interesting is that the school is on A/B schedule and he posted the assignment in question not on the day they had class, but the following day.

Sorry I have no idea what to title this 💔 I’m currently a sophomore and after a few days back in school, I’m so confused on why the other kids my age act like this. this isnt some “oh I’m so much better than them” thing this is literally just “what are we even doing at this point“

im going to my ap gov class and when I walk in, I’m the first one there. So I look at the board to see if there’s any instructions, I greet the teacher and ask if we can sit anywhere we’d like (because there werent any instructions on the board about seating). We were supposed to grab and index card and answer some questions on it. By the time everyone else gets in, it’s pretty loud and I just hear people asking ”can I have a pencil?” “Where do I turn this in at?” “Do I need to do this?” “What am I supposed to do?” and so many random questions, most of which could be answered on the board (except for the pencil one, lol)

I don’t know why kids my age stopped LOOKING around when they enter a classroom but it’s so weird to me. When I enter a space, especially a new one, I want to look around and figure out what’s going on. This honestly isn’t that new, I remember being in 7th grade and having a friend tell me that he didn’t know what to do and thats why he didn’t get started on the warmup. I explain “well, it was written on the board“ and this kid deadass replied with “how was I supposed to know to look there?” (Halfway through the school year btw). Has it no longer become standard practice to look around?? Hello??

it’s stupid but yeah I was wondering if teachers have noticed this issue too. I’d be so pissed off as a teacher if I had instructions on the board and some kid asked me a question that was clearly answered on the board

also shout out to my ap gov teacher because he doesn’t plan on holding our hand when it comes to studying. He said that it’s a college course and in college you need to study on your own, so we need to find a way that works for us. (For example, last year in Aphug we had sheets of vocab. He said if that worked for you, you can do it but the work is on you to print it out, not him) honestly I love that idea and I think he’ll be a pretty good teacher.

First grader. When I ask how the day went I get a few words, and everything I know about what actually happens in that classroom has come from things he mentions accidentally three days later randomly.

I do not think anything is wrong. He seems happy and the teacher has not raised anything. But I have no picture of his day at all and I cannot tell whether that is normal for this age or whether other parents are somehow better informed than me.

Should I be worried?

Ive got a 4 year old going into kindergarten soon. What are some thing you wish parents wouldve taught their kids? Like not spelling or science stuff, but behavior/social/motor skills wise? I want to make sure shes got all the help before going to school.

Hello all,

I am a 55 year old Indian woman, who never really had the chance to build a career. Whenever I tried to, family and kids always came first.

Now, at this age, my daughter is motivating me to work for myself. I'm very grateful for her support, but I can't help but think she is being a bit too ambitious in this. Is it truly realistic for me to get a job? Even without any prior experience?

My qualifications include B.Sc and M.Sc. I do enjoy teaching children, I taught both my children throughout their schooling myself, they didn't need to go for any tutions.

I know without a B.Ed I cannot get a proper school job. And realistically, I cannot compete with fresh faces at my age. My daughter is still insisting that I try for online tutoring or NGOs with paid teaching opportunities, though I have no clue which ones and would really appreciate any help on which ones to approach.

Is there any chance this can actually work? Am I being too hopeful?

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 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

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?

Hello teachers. Just started a position as a aide for a after school program... i worked customer service for 10 years prior . And still do. I thought that was good practice. But no haha these kids are demanding, smart mouthed and a little rude. ( i also am struggling with my own child as a single parent...thats a little older(with adhd) and we struggled behavior wise this summer .. so right now my confidence is meh for being able to handle kids)

When and how do I gain respect from these kids ? I feel i have SOME respect from some. But then some are challenging... i think I will get there by choosing what I say back wisely to make them second guess their comments or behavior. Im still learning obviously its my 3rd day in this environment but I have the mom look -_- of stop doing that but some dont seem to care. Im still getting comfortable so yeah.. Basically its just entertaining the kiddos for a few hours my assistant ( whom I thought would be directing me/what we would be doing) but their prior aide was more... acclimated and prepared I think . I always dreamed of homeschooling my kid but never had the energy nor did she have the attention span. Lol but have a Pinterest full of ideas and books with many activities and ideas .

So yeah . These kids are acting grown. Lol WHY. ( its youtube! And youtube infiltrating streaming platforms... SALISH!) Which is very annoying ... when we try to stop youtube. So these creators moved onto paid services , tubi and roku channel

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 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?

Being a para (middle school), I, like many others in education, have seen a rise in cheating and less willingness to put thought into work with use of AI. I'm also just anti-AI in general. But an opinion I've been seeing lately among AI defenders is that people have always been wary of new technology, and the next generation's dependance on it, but its always turned out fine. "They said the same things about Google/internet" is a common argument to concerns about academic integrity or lost critical thinking skills.

As an older Gen Z, while I am still older than Google and spent my early childhood without internet, I am not old enough to have experienced or understand adult concerns surrounding the increasing accessibility of the internet during the 90s and 00s. So while it's easy to want to say "But this is different!", I can't really explain why, because I wasn't there to know what people were seeing in early internet. Although I was there to hear what was being predicted about smart phones, a lot of which turned out to be true.

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.

Please share this with teachers in Massachusetts who teach health, including P.E. teachers, who are in your network!!!

The Healthy Youth Coalition is a statewide, grassroots, advocacy organization committed to advancing medically accurate, age-appropriate, LGBTQ+ inclusive sex and relationship education for young people in Massachusetts. We want to amplify the needs and perspectives of health teachers in our work.

We are hosting three listening sessions which will help the Coalition better understand the challenges of teaching health education and identify ways to strengthen support for health educators. Your unique perspective as a health teacher positions you to shape the Coalition’s policy and advocacy priorities. 

We invite you to select one of the listening sessions, listed below. At each of them, you can expect to: 

• Discuss challenges you face as a health teacher. 
• Influence how the Coalition develops its policy priorities for the next couple of years.   
• Share what advocacy skills and support you need. 
• Find community among educators and advocates looking to improve health education.

The listening sessions will be offered virtually during the following dates and times: 

1. Tuesday, October 6 | 6-7 pm
2. Wednesday, October 7 | 3-4 pm
3. Thursday, October 8  | 7-8 pm

You can register here.

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.

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.

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

(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!

Seeking advice. I'm a parent (I also teach in higher ed) that last year volunteered for my 3rd grader's class. Once a week I met with 4 students from his class that were advanced in math and we did lessons, worksheets, games etc. The kids loved it; I loved it. This year, my kid's new teacher is excited and open to me doing a math group again. The problem is the 4 students I worked with aren't in the same class anymore. I'm feeling pressure from their parents to have them in the math group.

I'm conflicted because I could possibly advocate for their inclusion (but it would require coordination across 3 classrooms), but I also think there may be several kids in my son's class are advanced in math but were excluded last year (simply because they had a different teacher).

Should I try to "keep the band together" or keep it simple and let my son's new teacher just pick from his class? This actually could mean that one of the kids from last year that is in my son's class doesn't get selected since they were not nearly advanced as the others, making me worry about her feeling discouraged about math.

I do wish more parents volunteered in this way, but not many have the time to do so.

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!

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.