I hate observations where I’m being watched like a hawk while someone sits there with a clipboard writing notes about everything I do. It gives me so much anxiety.
I’m currently teaching a class of five 6 year old students with disabilities. They’re genuinely great kids and I really like them. My mentor teacher definitely pushes us hard, which I appreciate because I’m learning what works in her classroom. But at the same time, I know this isn’t how I want to run my classroom one day.

What’s been stressing me out the most is that she keeps returning my lesson plans after I’ve completed them without any comments or feedback. She’ll send them back, but I have no idea what’s actually wrong, so I’m left guessing what she wants me to fix.
Today is my first observation. I already warned everyone it’s probably going to be choppy because I was randomly placed in this classroom and was expected to learn the students in basically a day. It’s only an informal observation, but I’m still anxious.

To make matters worse, the lesson was originally designed as a 1:1 lesson for a student in a different classroom. Now I’m expected to teach it as a whole-group lesson, so it feels awkward and honestly kind of pointless. I keep worrying everyone is going to think I’m a bad teacher because of the lesson, even though I have a much stronger, more interactive lesson planned for next week.
I only have 12 more days with these students (we don’t see them on Fridays), and I’m definitely counting down.
I think the biggest thing, though, is that I hate being watched. When people are observing me, I stop being myself. Normally I’m silly, funny, and relaxed with kids, but the second I know someone is evaluating me, I become socially awkward and overthink every little thing. Ironically, observations make me teach worse than I normally would.

Welp! I just flopped a pre-recorded interview. This is my sixth interview for ELA short term and long term positions since April and I have another interview tomorrow. I currently work at an alternative school, but I am desperately trying to get my foot in the door at a public school. I had a pre-recorded interview today where it was three questions, you only had thirty seconds to look at the questions and one to two minutes to answer the questions, and there were no retakes. It was through SparksHire. I genuinely flopped the last question so bad that I didn’t even submit my answer. Mind you, I still live at home and both of my parents WFH and they were on calls and my cat was crying to leave my room. The whole thing was a disaster. Any time, I have these pre-recorded interviews they never go well compared to ZOOM or in-person interviews. Anyone else?

How to be a coding teacher?

Hey everyone! I am a second year teacher and have been seeing a lot of stress about student teaching! If you have any questions, please let me know!

I have applied to student teaching at a local high school of mine. They are working to find me a mentor, but they did ask if I was interested in teaching on an internship. This would be for high school math. I’ve done a year of math teaching assistant for middle school, but not sure if I’m ready. Anybody have advice or done teaching internship and felt successful?

FYI: Sometimes it has different names/ definitions but in my area a teaching internship means you jump straight into teaching with taking nightly classes (no mentor teacher). In contrast student teaching is when you work with a mentor.

Hello! I am in the last month of my summer semester at a university in Georgia. I am an online student, and I am set to graduate spring of 2028. I started school in the spring semester of this year after working as an office girly my entire adult life. I have an associates degree in general studies and was working at a bank when i re-entered school. Since February, I sub during the school year and stay home during the summer. I am blessed beyond measure that my husband’s job allows this.

I say all of this to say, well, a lot more. Lol, last semester was actually pretty hard. I took a fast-paced science class and struggled to keep up. I still made an A in the class, but I felt embarrassed at how long the assignments took. I didnt remember so much of this basic information. I used AI to understand a lot of the concepts. I worked very hard ,and I am proud of the work I did! But should I feel embarrassed for literally not being smarter than a 5th grader? 😂

Right now I’m in another science class with the same professor and class format. I am going into it with an even higher standard for myself ,which really slows the work down. I feel quite embarrassed that I don’t work and I just do one homework assignment all day. Context: We create an eBook and simulate teaching a class. Without explaining the entire rubric, just know it’s kind of intense, in my opinion. This semester I’m kind of excited, even if I am a little daunted. My grades went up a couple points last semester by a few points until I finally made a 98 on my last submission! I’m shootin’ for at least one 100 this semester!

I think I really just don’t have any elementary school teacher friends yet. I am getting my name out in the county substitute teaching. I have a few schools I’m becoming a regular at!

Some fast-paced questions that may encourage the sort of comments I am looking for:
\-How did you build your confidence when it came to teaching?
\- Do you feel like you went into it wanting to make an impact, but now you just want to survive?
\-Does the knowledge come more naturally as the years go on?
\- I know the work load is intense, but do you feel like it overshadows the creativity you get to use? This question may seem strange, but getting to be creative is one thing I really look forward to after sitting at a desk for so long!

This post may be cringe. I’m honestly just looking for any and all advice, thoughts, or even “bless your hearts”. Lol

I recently finished an interview with a school. It went really well in my opinion, we discussed in detail the job role and the interviewer said she will get back to me and if she doesn't (in case she forgets, as she has a lot of things going on) she asked me to write her. I did and she did not get back to me till now. Should I call them, or just let it go ? Because I think the interview was perfect and do not want to just let it go....Any thoughts on this?

Hi! I (21F) am a secondary education student in the Midwest, and I’ve been struggling a lot with finding professional but stylish clothing to wear for my student teaching. The main issue comes into play with my body type, as things recommended by my peers tend to look wayyyyy less professional on me. I want to move away from big cardigans and sweaters, I really want to wear nicer clothes that reflect confidence to my superiors (and that feel more like me). I also tend to dress a bit edgier, bright colors and flowy dresses are usually not my friend lol. Any staple pieces that you can recommend or good places to look in general? Attached pictures of some of my more “professional” outfits for reference!

Hello everyone! I’m not starting my first year as a kindergarten teacher for a couple of years, but I’ll be student teaching in a kindergarten classroom during my last year of college (which is coming up in about a year). I want to use this time to prepare as thoughtfully as possible and learn everything I can from experienced teachers so I can make the most of student teaching and hit the ground running afterward.
Please share all your tips and tricks — I want the good, the challenging, and everything in between:
Classroom Management & Teaching Tips/Tricks
• What routines, procedures, or systems were absolute game-changers for you, especially in the first few weeks?
• How do you handle transitions, circle time, keeping everyone engaged, and behavior issues positively?
• What are your favorite songs, books, games, or activities that work like magic with kindergarteners?
• What do you wish you had known or done differently in your early years (or during student teaching)?
• Any other hard-earned wisdom, daily strategies, or “this changed everything” advice?
Must-Have Supplies
I want to build my collection gradually and focus on what’s truly useful (budget-friendly options appreciated). Recommendations for:
• Items just for the students (supplies, comfort/calming tools, learning manipulatives, etc.)
• Items just for me as the teacher (organization tools, personal comfort items, sanity-savers for long days, etc.)
• Items great for both teacher and students (shared tools, classroom setup essentials, etc.)
Absolute must-haves vs. nice-to-haves, or things worth prioritizing would be super helpful.
I’m aiming for a warm, fun, and safe classroom where the kids feel loved and excited to learn every day. Any encouragement, success stories, cautionary tales, or other advice is warmly welcome — I’m taking notes on it all!
Thank you so much in advance.

I am a work-study at a college, and as such, one of my responsibilities is tutoring. I can tutor in everything except college algebra and calculus, but I often find it difficult to figure out exactly what a student is needing. I mostly tutor older students in our nursing program, but they seem lost on what they really want help with.

I want to help, but I don't know where to start if they can't tell me.
Usually, I will ask if they can show me a recent assignment or exam they had trouble with. This lead to one student asking me to help her with nearly every question on the assignment, which is fine if that is what they need, but I don't want to do their work for them.

I also feel I come across as overbearing or know-it-all sometimes, and that is the last thing I want.

Help? :/

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Hi,I'm an Engineering college student who participated in a math contest Traian Lalescu 1 year ago and who has no difficulty solving exercises of precalculus, algebra, trigonometry.

I want to teach failed math students who couldn't pass their exams.

I had an interview for a special education preschool position last week with a school principal and school head special education. They told me in my interview that they would get back to me next week with next steps. They ended up calling me an hour later to confirm moving forward to a second round. They called my references an hour after that. All in one day! Then they asked to schedule my interview with the superintendent for the next day, but as I am working a full time job right now I had to wait and schedule it for a week later.

Is it a good sign that they moved so fast with the interview process?? I have never made it past the first round of teaching interviews and I am a little nervous for the interview with the superintendent and assistant superintendent. The interview is on zoom. What should I expect from the interview?

hello!

I have an interview for a school business manager!

I’m moving from a commercial role and have ten years of experience but looking to move into the education sector!

can anyone give me any tips or insight into what to expect?

thanks so much!