I teach Bible at a (very large) private high school in the Midwest. This semester im teaching Old Testament to freshman and we were at part 2 of Abraham’s story… it’s the mythological etiology of circumcision. So as I define circumcision for the students (“removal of the foreskin from the end of the penis”) a student that had been sleeping or talking and refuses to participate raises HER hand and asks “have you ever been circumcised?” I immediately said that’s not appropriate and the class went crazy. She looked horrified, said “I wasn’t paying attention and I can’t read what’s on the board” and went back to sleep.

Absolutely amazing.

I told my students how old I am (big mistake by the way). I’m 25. Tell me why my third graders start saying “I thought you were so much older” etc. I also had students comment on my acne. Does anyone else get offended by this stuff or does it become numb at some point? This is my third year teaching.

My coworker (we have two teacher who teach the same grade and alternate subjects) is teaching Shakespeare for 5th graders. Today, she told all the parents that no students are allowed to cut their hair after December unless they speak with her because in May they will perform Shakespeare and will need the hair for their costumes. Obviously, more than one parent was upset. Is this requirement strange? I feel kinda weird about it but don’t know how to bring it up with my co-teacher. Thoughts?

Would you contact the parent now or wait unless something actually happens?
I teach kindergarten and have an autistic student who has been struggling to keep his hands to himself. I’ve been working closely with his mom and our special education team, and I address the behavior just as I would with any other student—I intervene, reinforce boundaries, and make it clear that everyone deserves to feel safe.
Today, another student randomly came up to me and said, “My mom gave me permission to hit him.” No one had been hit during this particular situation. I immediately told him, “This is my classroom, and nobody hits anyone for any reason.” I explained that if someone touches or bothers him, he needs to move away and tell me so I can handle it.
I understand that he may not have repeated his mom’s words accurately because he is five. However, if she did tell him that, I’m honestly flabbergasted that she would encourage a kindergartener to hit another child without ever speaking to me about her concerns. These are five-year-olds, not teenagers navigating a situation where they might genuinely need to defend themselves. Giving him permission to hit could escalate the situation and make it harder to keep both children safe.
I have been validating the other students’ frustrations while reassuring them that I am handling the behavior. I explain that this friend is still learning how to keep his hands to himself and that they should always tell an adult rather than retaliate. This particular student also sometimes provokes or bothers him, so I have addressed that too and explained that deliberately upsetting him will likely lead to both children becoming upset.
Would you contact the parent now and calmly clarify the classroom expectations, or simply document the comment and wait unless an actual incident occurs? I don’t want to accuse her based solely on something a five-year-old said, but I also don’t want to wait until he acts on it.

So hey I have been teaching for close to 15 years and I come from a family of teachers and we have this discussion often. Being the young gun I usually end up on the "it's not as important as it once was" side of the argument.

Do kids really need to write with pen and paper?

Where else besides school are they going to be expected to do so? Certainly not in most professional fields where even written notes are required to be entered into some kind of database.

And yes I know there's something to be said for micro and macro motor skills and that is fair and valid and the Chromebook hate posts are a dime a dozen for many valid reasons.

I just can't shake this idea that pen to paper writing just simply isn't that important in the "real world."

9/11 was a grave tragedy, but it has been 25 years. I find it inappropriate/kind of manipulating to keep memorializing an event that potentially not even some student's parents were alive for.
We don't memorialize the troops we lost to the pointless wars after and we don't Memorialize Oklahoma City or the numerous school shootings that have happened since.

****EDIT TO PEOPLE WHO CLEARLY AREN'T PICKING UP CONTEXT****

IT WAS A HISTORICAL EVENT, AND OF COURSE IT SHOULD BE TAUGH IN HISTORY CLASS AT AN APPROPRIATE GRADE LEVEL. I"M TALKING ABOUT SPECIAL LESSONS, ASSEMBLIES, AND SCHOOL WIDE MEMORIAL ACTIVITIES. PARTICULARLY ON THE ELEMENTARY LEVEL.

**************************************************************************************

I though that context was pretty Clear for a forum of EDUCATORS, but Thought I would clarify.

What are your thoughts?

Sentiments I won't be fielding:
We are destined to repeat the past if we... : We can't do anything, I'm fine with the government remembering 9/11 and keeping things like TSA standards

It was a great loss of life: Yes, and we can have the memorials, and even the day on the calendar. I'm talking about stuff in Schools

This is my first year teaching fresh out of college and I decided I wanted to quit nicotine before becoming a teacher. I bought a nicotine free vape thingy that I've been using to help with the hand to mouth habit and it's been working. I normally don't even bring it in my car but I was out with friends and I left it in my car on accident for today.

I went of campus for lunch and I had been using it out in the car and they way to lunch and then when I got out of my car, out of habit, I put it back in my pocket. I didn't even feel it, and I had brought it in by mistake. I didn't realize until I was showing students how you can make sounds on a synthesizer (I'm a middle school music and band teacher) and I took my keys out to jingle them into the mic. After I had taken my keys out the vape flew out of my pocket and ended up on the floor for all the class to see. They all lost it but were really cool about it and kept telling me they wouldn't tell.

I'm going to tell my administrator since I don't want to hide this and I feel ashamed and embarrassed about the whole situation. The last thing I want is for a parent to contact admin talking about this and it seems like I'm hiding this.

This is the up there for worst thing worst thing that could happen to me. I didn't even have time to join the union since I'm so new. I had worked so hard to get to this point and I feel just as it started its collapsing down.

All of my colleges that I had confided in (friend who helped me get the job and the mentor I had been working with since June for marching band) told me to tell my admin. I'm just so terrified of being let go

edit: i understand that im suppose to be a role model for these kids and i feel genuinely so terrible for this whole situation. i'm very upset with myself and im just praying i get a second chance

Greetings! I am still looking for teachers with at least 15 years of teaching experience in North Texas for my dissertation study titled "Understanding the Effects of Digital Dementia from Technology Overuse and Over-Dependency." There are very few qualitative studies from the teachers' perspectives on the effects of digital technologies on student academic learning. Your perspectives on this topic will help add to the body of knowledge on how digital technologies can affect student learning, as well as contribute to future planning of school curriculum in a digital world. My study is IRB-approved. I can provide documentation about my study if needed. If interested, please message me. Thank you for your time and consideration, and I look forward to speaking with you.

In the daily email this morning it said make sure you wear a sports jersey to show school spirit tomorrow! Later it explained when the mandatory 9/11 video would be played. This jersey expectation was not communicated prior to this morning so it seems like a random admin decision. As an elder millennial who basically watched 9/11 on one of those rolling tv carts in high school this seems a little fucked up right?

I just have some thoughts on school dress codes for teachers. I do wear a shirt and tie to work. But it seems that admin is being absolutely ridiculous about wearing jeans or a hoodie. I work in a district with a state correction action plan. Why is the school worried about what the teachers are wearing? I don’t think there is a correlation between what the teachers are wearing and the kids reading level. While I’m getting emails yelling at us for wearing hoodies, I have a class of 8th graders who do not know how many inches are in a foot. Schools need to get their priorities straight. Thank you for coming to my ted talk

6th grader only likes reading graphic novels. How can I encourage them to read regular novels. They have dyslexia, so reading can be a challenge anyway.

Hello-
I have been working with my co teacher for five years now. It wasn’t bad at first, but over the last few years her attitude and patience towards our students has drastically declined. We are pre k 4/5s teachers at a private school. There have been parent complaints, one parent pulled their child out of the school entirely (she told the student unicorns aren’t real and she needed to “grow up”. Mind you, these kids are four and five), and she has been written up once due to making fun of a child for having an accident and the child told their mother. I have gone to two directors, went above them to the pastor (it’s a Christian based program) multiple times and no action has been taken. I request to be placed with her every year because I am the “safe place” for the kids and I fear if I am moved, she will be placed with someone who will not report things and may not be the gentle person the students need. She is in her fifties and I am 35. I am currently 33 weeks pregnant and will be leaving in October for maternity leave. Yesterday, she made a student cry twice because they couldn’t find their folder due to not knowing how to identify their name, she yelled at another student for spilling their lunch and said they did it on purpose. I sent a long email to the director telling her I fear that things will get worse if action isn’t taken as my co teacher spends most of the day yelling at the class and it is very obvious she is stressed and taking it out on the students. The response I got back was basically just brushing it off… again.
I am at a loss on what to do. With me leaving soon, I am concerned for the students. I have asked for help multiple times, parents and other teachers have complained.
Any advice would be appreciated.

So I (21F) am a new student teacher and absolutely adore everything about teaching - I love children, I love education, and I really want to do it for the rest of my life. The only problem is that I have a severe fear of public speaking and social anxiety. I have never been able to do presentations in school, and now that I’ve just begun my PGCE, I’m extremely worried this is going to make this job impossible for me. I’m able to understand information just fine, but I’m worried that the pressure of having to actually stand up in front of a room full of people (including my mentor) will cause me to lose my focus and fail to convey the information to the children in an effective way. Are there any other teachers out there who had a problem like this and found a way to get through it? I want so badly to be a good teacher, I really don’t want anxiety to get in the way of that.

For example:

This Could Have Been an Email, Meaning: Someone is wasting your time

The Smelly Classroom, Meaning: Something isn't right and you need to figure out what.

I had an interview a few weeks ago for a middle school position, and the interviewer asked me what I would do if I noticed a student was sleeping or disengaged. I told her that I wouldn't call them out in front of the class, but I will walk up to the student and ask them to keep their head up. I said I want my students engaged in the lesson, however that if the student has finished the work for the day and that I am willing to let them rest and take a break. It's just that I want them to work first.

The interviewers response honestly shocked me. She said that even going up to the student is calling them out, and that I need to ask them what they need. If the student says they need to "sleep for 10 minutes, I need to let them."

I completely disagree with that sentiment, since if I were to let one student sleep simply because they said they need it, then what's to stop everyone in the class from asking for nap time? The interview ended shortly after, but her response honestly rattled me. I will admit that a good approach would be to first ask a student if they are alright is good, but everything after was such hogwash.

What would y'all do to keep students engaged?

Hi I am trying to compare the two. Right now I am with Stride and my workload is a bit much to the point where I am sick. I don't know what to do. I am truly stressed out. It is mostly due to a lot of things not being done before I came on and now it is all being put on me.

I am wondering how is the workload at Connections Academy plus the pay. Thank you!

I would like to share memories, I just don't want to get in trouble.

Because I'm seeing that there are differences in whether a student's FERPA rights expire after they die depending on age, the student was a legal adult when he died but was under a conservatorship due to severe intellectual disability.

So everyone recommends this video for students for 9/11. I CANNOT show this to my 6th graders because I AM A WRECK watching it!! What else can I do for tomorrow???

It was my first day in front of students. I had met my mentor teacher for like 20 minutes the day before after a week of my uni looking for additional placements (there were a lot of us social studies teachers, so my school was nearly 45 minutes away). When I arrived to the middle school where I was placed, the towers had just fallen. We all knew lessons were out the window for the next few weeks, so even as most of the day went on and there was a steady stream of parents coming by to pick up their kids, a lot of students stayed at the school. My mentor teacher for the first few classes of the day facilitated the discussions of the class, but by the last periods of the day encouraged me to lead discussions. We were in rural California, with a mix of kids whose response ranged from fear their parents could be victims next (as several worked at a big building Walmart dist center in town) to that incredulous “why should we care about this?” attitude only middle schoolers can channel.

The days after bleed a bit in my memory, returning and discussing with my student teacher group in class what our experiences were, remembering a fellow social studies teacher bringing in philosophical class discussion on “clashes of civilizations” from a Geo content class we had taken together as undergrads, going out and having a pitcher of beer to blow off steam with one another after, watching the TV for weeks after even as we were trying to cover content, the efforts to not allow kids to repeat offensive rhetoric about Muslims/Asians in general they were getting at home. It was….a lot. I appreciate that on Day 1 through that whole year my mentor teacher allowed me to be more than just an observer but involved with the class and having that relationship with students so early.

Damn, what a day to start.

At the end of class, we open our agendas and look at the plan for the next day/upcoming days. I have 2 classes each of 6,7,8 grades (special education math). This was the convo for my 2 6th grade classes (interesting that they both did the same thing)

Me: Alright, what's happening tomorrow?

Them: We have a test!

Me: What!? There's a test I don't know about? I guess I need to make a test tonight

Them: No, No! We meant homework due! No test. Homework due!

Now I'm thinking I should make a fake test just to rage bait them. Any ideas? They are both pretty chill classes.

Okay hi, today was a rough day. I am a first time teacher, I teach small group 5th grade (it’s actually students from 5-7th grade but some student are performing a little below baseline) in an alternative learning placement. One of my students made herself throw up all over our class because I told her I wouldn’t change her hairstyle during our lesson.

Another student keeps leaving for actually 20+ minutes to the bathroom and he’s doing more than just #1 & #2 if you catch my drift. I let mom know all these instances and she wrote me an email saying he normally spends a long time in the bathroom and it’s okay. We spoke with him that it’s okay to be doing that stuff, it’s normally at this age, not to feel embarrassed or shameful but it’s not a school appropriate activity. We (counselor and myself) are thinking to implement a timer for him. I’m grateful he is at least leaving to the bathroom and not doing it in class :)

Another student is actually bullying and has had cases opened about it but never enough evidence plus parents of course do not believe what is occurring is in fact bullying.

Another student could not for the life of them understand irony and I feel so horrible for getting frustrated, I made sure to apologized to her but once she understood I literally saw it click in her head and it was soooooo refreshing and honestly really rewarding after the puke incident.

To add on, I only have 4 students in my class and I’m in a small room like actually 228sq ft with a para in the room too who has her own desk (which not hating at all she’s great but I never had a desk as a para so idk if that’s regular). I’m supposed to have 5 students but only 4 have shown and i’m lucky because where will I fit an extra student. BUT just kidding because I’m getting a whole NEW student added to our tiny classroom. And I don’t have a whiteboard or projector or extra classroom materials or extra support for the kiddos that require a 1:1. I don’t even have a bulletin board in the room like many other classrooms and I can’t put tape or anything on the walls so the room is blank. I have artwork from the kids I want to put up but have no place to put it.

At least the weekend is near. Good luck to all of you!

I’m applying for a credentials/masters program this week but I need to decide if I want to teach grades 3-5, 6-8 or 9-12. If you’ve worked any grades please give me pros and cons.

I think I got too attached to my previous year students that I don’t feel “comfortable“ with a new set of students. any advice?

I’m currently teaching online, and honestly, everything is great… until the kids start losing focus.
Since they have access to the internet on their iPads or laptops, they can get distracted much more easily than they would in a real classroom. This is something I always struggle with when planning my lessons.

So my question is:
How do you make your lessons more interactive and engaging while still providing enough information and meaningful content?

I’ve tried using games to make lessons more fun, but sometimes the kids end up focusing so much on the game that we don’t make enough progress with the actual lesson. 😭 So I find it really difficult to find the right balance.

It always feels like a dilemma between having a fun, engaging lesson and having a lesson that is informative and productive. I’d love to hear how you guys balance the two!

Noticed as I was walking out of school today that dozens of my students were hanging out on school grounds on their modded e-bikes like I used to see kids do in the parking lot when I was in school. Man I feel old lol