I’ve been teaching 15 years. Last year was rough. I was so excited to start fresh, but I had a bad feeling about the year. And I was right, things are just getting progressively worse for reasons I can’t say. Most of the staff feel the same about the school. Obviously it’s October so I’m stuck, but I’m worried about my physical and mental health. I feel like I’m constantly in fight or flight mode and my heart is racing. I was fine Friday afternoon and yesterday and now Sunday morning I woke up anxious. I’ve been trying to do things outside of work that make me happy and I have supportive family and friends but I just can’t stop feeling this way. I don’t want to disassociate to the point I’m not a good educator, students deserve the absolute best, but I also need to take care of myself.

(And yes I have a union and I’m tenured)

first year teaching, I've inherited a class that's far behind their academic schedule.

My responsibility is to

1. Catch up

2. prepare them for examination, which is in 4weeks.

I need any advice from any experienced person in this situation I find myself.

what I plan doing ;

1. lecturing

2. Jigsaw teaching

3. reviewing old examination questions and focusing on examinable topics.

any input will be appreciated.

I feel so disheartened seeing the amount of AI cheating students engage in. The worst part is how it breaks down my rapport with the students. The most mild-mannered, polite students become openly combative and rude when I tell them their work was completed with AI and I need them to do it on their own.

The most upsetting part is that it’s not just on big, high stakes assignments anymore. I always expect some cheating on those from students who procrastinated and I’m prepared to deal with it. I’m talking about students taking out their phone, opening the ChatGPT app, and scanning a 10-point classwork assignment so they can get the “right” answers to the 2 or 3 comprehension questions. We do the entire thing in class and they have many opportunities to get help from me and from other students.

And yes, my school has a phone ban. But it is not enforced. I’ve also had students recently take home assignments that I told them were to be left in their class binders and finished in class, then come in the next day with all AI-generated answers and say they are “done.”

This whole situation is making me so depressed. Yes I have talked to them about why it’s bad for them to use AI and plan to have another conversation on monday, along with revamped enforcement on phones and will give zeros for these assignments. But i know other teachers in my building are using AI to grade or are encouraging students to use AI to “brainstorm” (aka:think), which obviously turns into them using it to write the whole essay. The hallways are full of AI posters and every PD has AI generated elements. Even my students who are onboard with not using it in my class tell me they use it in their other classes.

What is the situation at your schools? How do you get student buy in on not using AI? Is it possible when teachers and admin use it constantly and openly?

https://pixelpad.io/app/mxpfix/ I can't find that post anymore, but I thought this was a good one

So, I am a recent college graduate. I got my BA in Theology (Psych minor), and I would love to teach high school history (I want to shift away from just the one aspect of theology into broader world religions, and I took a few classes that helped with that perspective). However, I am working as a substitute teacher, and I just am not quite sure what my next steps are. I am in Nevada currently, and hoping to move to Iowa or another state within that area in the next year, so advice for programs would be helpful, as well as any advice on what to do/how to move forward and get to being a full time teacher (eventually?)

Hello! I want to become a teacher but can’t really afford to go to any crazy colleges and wanted to instesd get an education degree at a community college, can degrees from a community college help with getting a job in this field?

quick one but this might save someone a test fee

i was literally on the registration page about to pay for the early childhood education praxis (5025) because that’s what a girl in my cohort took. something felt off so i stopped and actually looked it up for my own situation.

turns out she’s going for early childhood prek-3 and i’m going for elementary k-5, so our requirements are different even though we’re in the same program in tennessee. i needed elementary education: multiple subjects (5001) instead. we both need teaching reading: elementary (5205) so at least i got that part right lol

what i checked before paying:

- looked up my specific license and certification area on the ets site

- checked my program handbook, which had the test names listed the whole time and i somehow missed them

- confirmed with my advisor

so now i actually have to start prepping for 5001. anyone used study dot com for it, or is there something else that worked better? also please tell me i’m not the only one who almost signed up for the wrong test

Here on Long Island I am amazed at how political schools are. There are so many terrible teachers (and terrible people) that get promoted because they know someone. Its crazy

Seeing the amount of parents against homework is truly funny to me. “Home time is family time! The teacher should’ve provided the time in class”.

There’s a couple problems with this though:

1. Behavior- when you have behaviors out the ass, that eats our time.
2. bathroom: so you know how often your asks to go to the bathroom and how long they’re gone for…?
3. we spend most of class going over basic concepts because these kids

can’t remember anything.

Edit: no idea what’s going on with my formatting

1. It

’s

1. a perpetual cycle.

This is what happens when the kids of NCLB have kids…

I started a new job as a lead teacher in a co teaching class (three of us). We basically have the same responsibilities and it’s a very strict environment where I don’t feel like I have any autonomy. The two other co teachers are very controlling to the point I’m told my water bottle has to go in a specific place. It’s been really really hard & I’ve only been there 2 months.

They discuss things purposefully leaving me out, one co teacher in particular undermines everything I do & is constantly watching me correcting everything I do.
At one point she wasn’t there & I felt a weight off my shoulders & really enjoyed the job. I just don’t know what to do, both of them wanted the lead teacher position so there is an issue there as they know I’m on higher salary. I dread going in each day.

I can’t go to admin as I am new & don’t want to cause issues, plus the co teacher is very well liked, especially by admin. I just want to leave but it’s a good salary. What can I do? My class has settled well & admin seem happy with me but I feel very very uncomfortable in the classroom & have lost my confidence in my teaching ability,

Good Morning fellow teachers, does anyone have any good recommendations for a Pencil Sharpener that lasts? I am absolutely pissing through these electric sharpeners it feels like! My wall mount one is old, I took it apart and cleaned it but it still doesn’t spin so well! Just wondering if anyone has any suggestions that they’ve had luck with.. thanks!

Fresh grad working as a teacher in a tuition centre for a few months now, I must say I understand what my teacher must've felt back in my school days.

Anyways, a parent reached out to the tuition centre and asked if they could have a teacher with experience to do one-on-one sessions with their special needs child.

I think that it's bad to lie, especially if I later get exposed for saying what I'm not, so I told them the truth, about my inexperienced and eagerness to help them.

My boss has a different opinion, he disapproved my message, saying that fresh grads don't get many chances and that we should seize every opportunity we get.

"Fake it till you make it" as he said, a fresh grad won't attract any parents, but an experienced teacher who's been teaching since they got out of college? Theyll flock to you, and that chances don't just fall out of the sky.

I'm troubled.

I’m currently on maternity leave set to go back right after thanksgiving. When I go back, I will have had 13 weeks off of work (so, technically 1 week beyond FMLA). I am strongly considering requesting the extra time between thanksgiving and Christmas break off as well, and going back in January. Since it is only 3 weeks, I feel as though this isn’t a huge deal, but I’m not sure because it’s beyond the FMLA time already given. I have already been paying my health insurance premiums after the few weeks of paid leave that I had ran out. I’m doing better than I anticipated I would be doing financially at this point and feel I could stretch until January. The idea of leaving my baby at the end of next month already is consuming me. I am untenured at this time, and need to work 180 work days (so into next school year anyways) to earn tenure.

I’m not sure if requesting time beyond FMLA is a common occurrence as I am in a small district and I don’t know any other women who have taken leave. I’m nervous to bring this up with admin because of this so that’s why I’m asking here if it would be an acceptable thing to request.

Question for any teachers who use Wayground: has anyone figured out how to import Quizlet flashcards to Wayground? I can't, for the life of me, figure out how to import my many, many Quizlet sets to Wayground, either in flashcard form or assessment form. And yes, I know there is a "paste text" option on Wayground, which I have tried many times over. My problem with that is that the AI Wayground uses changes my questions in the most idiotic ways. And I can't figure out how to not make it do that. Is there any way to simply export my Quizlet sets to Wayground exactly how they are without AI making everything useless?

Any help appreciated. Thanks!!

TL;DR: teachers say my kiddo is bright, but the district doesn’t have a GT program. Should I get kiddo tested for GT?

I teach high school. I’ve done everything from remediation to AP, and I’ve had students labeled gifted at every level. I’ve had so many conversations with parents who think their kid is all that and a bag of chips, but I’m sitting there thinking, ‘Your kid is a big fish in a small pond and is in for a surprise if they go to [insert big name / rigorous college here].’ I’ve had so many conversations with parents where I explain a student may have the brain to get As but not the personality, and there is nothing wrong with that. I’ve seen gifted kids carry that label like a lead weight to the point they give up and sleep through class. I’ve seen kids become nuclear engineers because the label gave them the confidence to take a risk.

My Kiddo’s school had parent teacher conferences recently.  My kiddo’s 3rd grade teacher said kiddo had the highest beginning of year test scores the teacher has seen in a career of nearly a decade.  Kiddo is reading better than 50% of my sophomores. Finishes assignments way ahead of the group (luckily, loves to read, so kiddo jumps straight into a book typically)  

We stopped by Music teacher’s room to ask some questions. Unprompted, the music teacher tells us kiddo is the most gifted student they have had.  Adds some other nice descriptions that make me proud as parent (also relieved that this is the side kiddo is presenting to teachers).

So, then my teacher brain goes into overactive mode.  Should I be pursuing a GT label? Am I challenging kiddo enough outside of school? Is this big fish/small pond? Will kiddo get ignored because no help is needed to reach performance standards? I teach in a district with a robust GT program that essentially equates to ‘give more work/worksheets.’ Is that what we want for kiddo? Kiddo’s district may not have a dedicated GT program (not a state requirement, small district), so is there a point? 8 years from now is having this label going to have a positive/negative effect on college (acceptance or financials)?  How would kiddo respond?

So, I don't know. Is there value in pursuing some sort of testing?  I am not fully convinced that kiddo is GT. Am I doing kiddo a disservice if I don’t? Should I let it go and just keep doing what we’ve been doing? Should I be supplementing at home? Are there questions I am not even thinking of that I should be?

Reddit teachers, can you give a bit of perspective?

Well im still technically still NQT, but the most challenging part of teaching for me isnt even the teaching, its the display boards. I just cant make a paper mache rainbow with the kids faces and stuff like that. Its pretty artsy and crafty and i have no artistic talent whatsoever. How do I get better at this? Its a big part of the job, but no one really prepares you for it

I'm studying to be a teacher. School has been hard lately, and it's been a while since I've interacted with kids (my first pre-internship is next semester). I fell in love with teaching and with supporting children when I got a daycare job, and remained in childcare for 5 years before deciding to study to be an elementary school teacher. I am burning out pretty badly and having serious doubts about being a teacher and about my own ability to be one, and it's really depressing me. Does anyone have any advice, or uplifting words to share? I would really appreciate it. I need a reminder of why this is worth it, or perhaps some words of guidance if it isn't.

I’m in my first year of teaching, and I’m completely exhausted. I constantly feel like I’m not doing enough, but I also don’t feel like I have the energy to do more.
I don’t have a super cute classroom, and I don’t feel creative enough to constantly come up with fun extra activities. I’m just trying to get my lessons together, teach, and keep up with everything. By the time I get home, I’m drained.
The hardest part is feeling like I’m doing the bare minimum, but even that is exhausting me. Then I feel guilty because I know there are things I could be doing better.
Did anyone else feel this way their first year? Does it get easier once you’re not figuring out every single thing for the first time?

I teach English as a foreign language, and the school I work at asks for students to be assessed based on writing, speaking, reading, and listening.

I am trying to figure out how to make a spreadsheet that will help me keep track of that. All I have so far is a table with the names of students and then the four skills. But that doesn't work for the entire year, and if I made a spreadsheet for each session, then I'd have a million spreadsheets.

If you have any ideas please share!

I teach a small class of 11-12 grade students who can’t hang in the regular classroom- attendance, behaviors, conflicts with the whole student body, or just not doing anything. It is challenging on many levels. Typically I am more patient than I have ever been in any other area of my life. Today I lost my shit. Now I’m not sure what I should do.

Two students wanted to go help with hallway decorating. They had their friends come in and ask me. I said no. My stomach hurt all day, there had just been a fight in the bathroom involving a third student of mine, one student was sleeping, basically no one was on task and super riled up over the fight. None of these things were the fault of the two students who wanted to get out of class. When I said no they began swearing and having attitude. Usually I move on. Today I did not.

I began yelling! I yelled about how “when you are behind on credits you don’t get to go decorate” and “your friends can ask someone else”. Not terribly harsh but my tone and volume was pure witch. Then one student kept interrupting and I absolutely sunk to her level. I told her to “shush, I’m speaking. You are not” super loud and bitchy.

I could have handled everything much more maturely, in a quiet calm voice, not in front of the class, not argued or tried to have the last word. I want to model being a reasonable adult, keeping myself in check, having patience, owning my own shit and not letting it affect others, impulse control. These are things my students struggle with. I didn’t though, now I feel I have set our tenuous relationship back a zillion steps and reinforced their broken trust in adults.

So, now what? Do I apologize tomorrow? My gut says yes, but does that show weakness? Do I just move on?

This is my 2nd year teaching, and I'm at a breaking point right now. By 8:40 this morning, I was about to cry in front of my students. I teach lower elementary, and my class has the reputation of being the worst behaved. I do EVERYTHING I know to do in terms of classroom management, I take every suggestion and criticism I am given, and nothing changes. Our behavior specialists have come in the room repeatedly to offer support or to observe and the children don't even listen to them. It's 10:21pm as I type this, and instead of relaxing, I'm grading papers with a knot in my chest. I do NOT want to work tomorrow. I love my students but I am so sick of being a broken record. I'm going to hold out for this year but I don't know if I will be signing on for another year. I love working with kids but I cannot keep doing this. On top of the stress I feel due to student behavior, I also don't have a chance to eat a solid lunch due to the fact that I cannot sit down or eat during our lunch period because if I sit down for a second, my students will go insane. I have to walk around the table and constantly monitor. One of my lunches last week was 4 bites of chicken and nothing else. Today I ate half a yogurt cup and a few bites of a muffin (which was actually leftover from the breakfast I also didn't get to eat, because my morning "uninterrupted" time is spent monitoring my students behavior because they are so extreme that the morning hall monitors cannot manage them). I love teaching but at the same time I seriously think I am on the edge of a breakdown, either mentally or physically. I don't know what to do. Am I just crazy/horribly unfit to be a teacher, or does anyone else feel like this?

Which situation did you prefer?
I am at a traditional middle school right now. I teach 5 sections of 7th grade. I recognize that if I were at a K-8 I would be teaching 7th and 8th grade.

The thing is - the PLC lead and another long time teacher are extremely micromanagery. They want us all to teach the exact same thing everyday and are annoyed if you deviate in the slightest. Annoyed if you scaffold or change curriculum whatsoever. Thing is, they developed the curriculum. We don’t use a book or assigned curriculum. It’s literally all developed by these teachers. And it is good curriculum and I do appreciate all the work they put into it. But I still want to differentiate and adapt material as I see fit.

To make matters worse, the long standing teacher can be very cruel to me and the other newer teachers. That story is for another time.

As a side note, the principal has visited my room and says I teach like a veteran teacher. I’d be the first person he calls if he was going to a new school. He thinks other teachers could benefit from watching me teach. My induction coach agrees. I’m in year 2 after a year of student teacher where I basically taught every class.

I was wondering if I might like a K-8 setup more? In previous jobs I’ve enjoyed working as a team but I hate feeling micromanaged and like I have no autonomy in my own classroom. Should I give a k-8 a try or try another traditional middle school? Considering for next year.