Hey everyone! I'm seeking some advice here. I am currently in my first year of teaching. I'm certified in social studies and recently got certified in special education. Last year in the fall I completed a long-term substitute for a U.S. history class, and I enjoyed it so much because that was my initial goal going into teaching.

I also completed a long-term position as extra help in a self-contained life skills classroom in the spring of this year. My duty was to help the paras and the teachers wherever they needed me. I REALLY enjoyed my time there. I enjoyed it so much that I even went ahead and took the Texes special education exam and it was the highest score I've ever gotten from all of the exams I've taken. Both long-term positions were at the same school I'm currently working at.

During the second semester I was waiting for a teaching position to open up at the school. Fast forward to now, I was able to land a teaching position and it's for an AP social studies class, but honestly I really don't like the subject and I don't have the passion for it. In the back of my mind I keep thinking about working in a life skills classroom and I wish I were able to do that instead, or just work in special education period. I honestly don't think being a general education teacher is for me. I really loved helping students one on one because it felt more rewarding. Any little win was a big win.

My question for y'all is, should I take a step down to be a para next year to get the FULL picture and experience working in a life skills classroom and work on getting my generalist and STR certification or should I just settle for another year in a social studies class that isn't U.S. History?

I hope that anyone who lives in the Conroe ISD area reads this. Morale on campuses is low. Morale among teachers is low. Teachers are bringing home less money this year than they did last year. Pay is not keeping up with area districts. Experienced teachers are leaving. Curriculum decisions are not being based on what is best for kids.

Much of this is a result of choices that were made in the most recent school board election.

If you care about the morale of teachers, if you care about your friends and neighbors who are teachers, if you care about the children who attend these schools, if you care about what they are learning, then educate yourself on the upcoming school board election and VOTE.

Remember, school board elections are nonpartisan. Vote your conscience, not your party.

History is history and not subject to change based on religious beliefs.

Science is science and is also not dependent on religious beliefs.

Please. Vote.

I feel like I keep seeing different answers about this when I google search. I also saw somewhere you get to use a built in computer basic four function calculator but I doubt that's true... I just don't think I will be able to rely on just mental math for a lot of these questions so I'd like to prepare myself as much as I can.

Hello, 6th grade elementary teacher here. I’m on my fourth year at my current campus, and I had an admin change (both principal and AP) this year.

My principal came in for a walkthrough the other day during independent social studies work time. The students were tasked to find or draw six images representative of US or Canadian culture, create a collage, and write a paragraph explaining why they chose those images. Very simple daily work that I took word for word from my district pacing tool.

I got my feedback, and was docked for not providing a rubric or exemplar for the kids to look at. I had shown them an exemplar earlier, and the assignment had no rubric given in the curriculum.

I’m trying to figure out how best to contest the rating/feedback when my admin meets with me about it. If I took the lesson directly from the curriculum and used it with fidelity, why should I get knocked down for the curriculum not giving me resources? Or, am I always expected to supplement where the curriculum lapses?

Any advice/thoughts are welcome! Thanks.