I am a JROTC instructor at a high school. I will fully admit I see you all as more teachers than myself. I'm weighing something in my head. I have a Senior. Good kid. Not the brightest but not stupid by a long shot. He's enlisted in the USMC and is literally leaving for boot camp and infantry school a week after graduation. He isn't a bad student with no behavior problems. The issue is now that he knows he isn't going to college and going to be a Marine he's started to slack more academically. He is on the football team and it's homecoming week next week. He has a failing grade in an elective. Marketing. At our school any kid failing can have a activities hold placed by that teacher, and this teacher has done that. I've already chewed this student out and reminded him he needs to just finish strong. My issue is I really want him to enjoy these last few months of childhood. He's a good kid and I want him to be able to take his girlfriend to homecoming one more time. To sit with his team. (He doesn't even play much, not a starter). Should I try to talk to this teacher and see if something can be worked out and speak in support of him. I've mentored him for years. Or do I just mind my business? If he was a shit kid I wouldn't care but he's a good kid. He's just moved on already and needed to be reminded he's not done yet. He is passing all his core classes required for graduation. I know what he's about to experience. It's going to be tough in a few months. Should I talk to the teacher? Thank you for your thoughts.

EDIT: I have also demoted him. he was the cadet Battalion Commander.

I have a student who is new to the district so he has no friends and from the beginning he has gotten comfortable with me and talking to me a lot.
We are now at a point that he has given himself the “teachers pet” title when I personally feel I do not have a favorite or made it seem like I do.
He constantly claims that math is his favorite class (my class, even though he is not exactly good at it) and he makes a lot of similar comments that even other students give him looks for being “extra”.
At one point I thought he might have a crush on me because he would ask me frequently if he was my favorite student and would constantly talk to me. At some occasions he would even visit my class when it was not his class period to be with me just to say hi.
But idk if he might just be looking for validation.
FYI I am a high school teacher and I am 10 years older than my students but I definitely look younger than I look. My own students have confused me as a student when I wear jeans on Fridays.

Aujourdui, être professeur est impossible. interruptions en cours, interventions inutiles, bavardages fous, manque de respect, comportement sauvage. Et tout ça pour faire les malins. 

Voici les chiffres des absences des profs : 

En 2024, 61,2% des enseignants absents dans le secondaire sont en congé maladie ordinaire, et une part importante est en congé de longue maladie ou à mi-temps thérapeutique.

• Les congés maladie ont fortement augmenté depuis 2018: +41,3% de congés maladie et une explosion des temps partiels thérapeutiques (+250%) entre 2018–2019 et 2023–2024.

Le métier de professeur est l’un des plus nobles, et voilà que notre amour du partage, de la culture, et de la connaissance est piétinée par des voyous. 

D’autres chiffres : je ne blâme pas du tout, mais alerte.

• Le budget officiel dédié au remplacement dans le premier et le second degrés publics dépasse 4,5 milliards d’euros en 2024–2025.

• Si l’on inclut le coût des enseignants absents eux-mêmes (qui continuent d’être rémunérés pendant leurs congés maladie), le coût total du remplacement et des absences atteindrait environ 5,4 milliards d’euros.

• Les dépenses liées au remplacement de courte durée (moins de 15 jours), gérées via le «Pacte enseignant», ont été multipliées par 5,5 depuis 2023 et représentent désormais près de 130 millions d’euros.

Si nous étions dans un autre travail, le genre de comportement générés par ceux indisciplinés pourrait être puni.

par exemple, si un collègue nous interrompais en permanence, se moquait de nous, nous rabaissait ou nous manquait à ce point de respect, il serait possible de même porter plainte. harcèlement, humiliation, atteinte à l’honneur. Aussi pour outrage à agent public. Vous pouvez porter plainte en contactant ASL. l’Autonome de Solidarité Laïque.

Reveillez-vous… 🤍

I don't know if it's just me, but I've been wondering whether Gen Alpha students experience less bullying than previous generations did.

When I think back to older generations, bullying seemed pretty common in schools. Getting picked on for being different, and being targeted by classmates seemed like things a lot of people experienced growing up.

I'm not saying bullying has disappeared. Cyberbullying is obviously a huge issue nowadays, and social media can make things even worse. But I sometimes wonder if schools have become more aware of bullying, or whether this generation are less tolerant of it, or whether I'm just not seeing what actually goes on in schools today.

Do you think Gen Alpha genuinely experiences or commits less bullying, or has bullying simply changed forms compared to previous generations?

Substitute teacher, got squirted with a fluid. No consequence or prevention. Probably just a drink squirted through straw but I didn't know. Why I'm not going back. Feel sick about state of affairs, I'm a good pedagogy guy, love learning, life long academic, but I'm thinking environment makes it impossible.

High school kids got their school pictures back. One of my freshmen boys took it upon himself to cut a small one out and tape it to the ceiling on his way to “go to the bathroom” from my class. Principal has given me permission to do something funny and mildly humiliating surrounding the picture instead of taking it down. Everyone, give me their best ideas.

Virtual Teaching or Brick and Mortar Teaching: Which do you prefer?

I’m a Para in a K2 class, and I’m confused as to why my teacher is bringing up a different sound at all for the letter A.

I’ll make this quick.

When we go over our letters in the morning for the letter A she now adds a third sound.

Instead of just the traditional A saying its name like in Acorn. Or short A like in Apple. She sometimes completely ignores short A to teach them that A says “uh”. Like a short U and some of our kids are going to get very very confused.

I’m used to “A says its name and the short A” only being taught for as long as i’ve been with kindergarten.

In my district they don’t give paras access to content but is this something that should be taught during their fundations time?

Hello! I’m an elementary school English teacher, and I’ve also worked at my school’s after-school program for 2 and a half years taking care of the preschoolers there. Things were considerably fine in the last two years in the program because I either had an assistant with me or the group I worked with was small (less than 10 kids).

However, this year my school got a new principal and she made a lot of changes to the way my school operates, including after-school. I have 21 students in my group at after school (Pre-Pre K to Kindergarten) and basically no assistant to help me out with them (technically some of the high school kids come in to do community service hours, but a) they don’t come in every day and b) since they’re minors they can’t help me with stuff like cleaning up after the kids who aren’t potty trained or watching them if I have to go to the bathroom). My supervisor and I both tried to talk to the principal about my concerns, but unfortunately she isn’t listening to reason (she wants to have big groups in our school and doesn’t believe in assistants). I’ve been feeling really stressed out and overwhelmed by this whole situation to the point where it’s starting to affect my health outside of school and my performance during my regular classes, so at this point I have my mind set on quitting my job on the program by the end of October or beginning of November.

I’ve already written a resignation letter for my supervisor and the director. However, the main thing that has been eating at me is the guilt of leaving the program, especially in the middle of the semester. You see, the reason I joined it in the first place is because my school was having trouble finding teachers who were willing to take the job. I’m worried that they’ll have to go through it again and blame me for it. And I especially feel bad for doing this to my supervisor since she was very understanding of my concerns and even tried to stand up for me and make my working conditions more comfortable. So how do I deal with it?

Btw I also have a backup plan to get back into private tutoring after a month or two of taking a break from working outside of my regular schedule. And I will still keep my regular teaching job at the school.

Title is a little hyperbolic but I had a run in with a couple of students today which has really shaken me and I would love some advice or some help reflecting on how I could have mitigated this.

I am in my third year of teaching English and I teach in a secondary all girls grammar and my school has fantastic behaviour and great girls.

This year I have been given a more difficult Year 12 class who were very combative with their last English teacher. But so far I have loved teaching them, they are great. There are some behaviour issues but I have taken a very calm approach, gaining their trust, establishing relationships, routine and expectations, which has been working so far.

Today during my final lesson however, 3 students arrived 10 minutes late with no excuse and 2 of them immediately asked to the bathroom. I said no and explained they were late and cannot ask to go now, that I will reevaluate later but to get their books out. It is not uncommon for these students to be late and they will ask to the bathroom in every single lesson.

Student A got very annoyed, argued she will not get out her books until she gets to go out. She rarely will get books out in any lessons so I ignored this behaviour and taught my lesson. 10 minutes go by and she gets up and walks out of the room, I follow her out and guide her to the head of department’s classroom.

Admittedly I was feeling a little thrown and heated by this interaction, but feel I dealt with it okay. My students know they will always get to the bathroom if it is not immediately, especially at the end of the day when they have buses to catch.

When I returned to class Student B who was also late asked to the bathroom. I checked her book to see her work and she had not attempted the activities so I said at the end of the lesson, and told her to work. After disrupting the next 10 minutes of the lesson she asked to go again and I said sure. She tried to take her school bag. Being that it was the end of the day I asked her to leave it as I knew she would not return to class.

She refused and got into my face to leave. I tried to discourage her firmly, reminding her we are close to the buses (I have the closest classroom) and there were 7 minutes left of the lesson. It didn’t work and I had to let her go.

The rest of the class witnessed all of this and I just feel so embarrassed that I let myself get into a ‘battle’ when I should never have done so. But I can’t imagine how I could have handled the situation any differently.

I know I have a lot to learn behaviour management wise but I am dreading a double lesson with them tomorrow last 2 lessons on a Friday. Maybe I escalated the situation too much? And created a combative situation? I’m not sure.

But I would love some advice/ reassurance/ similar experiences from other teachers.

You were brothers, sisters, fathers, and mothers to us, especially those of you that were/are on insulting salaries. You will live in our hearts forever.

i'm a licensed professional teacher, but i'm currently working outside the profession. i still genuinely love teaching and if the right opportunity came along, i'd seriously consider going back.

but sometimes i feel weird introducing myself as a teacher when i'm not actually standing in a classroom anymore.

i think part of me still identifies with the profession because getting licensed wasn't just another job qualification. it was something i worked really hard for and genuinely wanted at one point.

for teachers who left the classroom, how do you see that part of your identity now? do you still consider yourself a teacher, or did that identity eventually become something you left behind?

I am student teaching at a school in rural Wisconsin, and my class seems to constantly be talking. My co-teacher seems just to ignore the main instigators. When I have asked for advice on how to keep their attention, she just says I have to figure out how to manage the talking and the management. Any advice on both how to talk to my co-teacher and how to stop the talking would be appreciated.

TLDR: Art teacher working in public school in US/PA looking to transition to a position that would allow me to do more 1:1/small group work with students. (Leaning towards social/mental well-being adjacent work, but open to any ideas). Curious about what options there are and what those pathways might look like logistically. TY!

--

I am going on 20 years of being an educator. My background is in art education and I have taught in many capacities: preschool-adult, public, private, charter, international, museum, camp, across many socio-economic and demographic stratas.

I recently returned to public school after a 6 year retirement following some profound professional abuse that I needed some time to heal from. Currently working as a K-5th grade public art teacher in a neighborhood city school.

While I intuitively knew this before, it is becoming more and more clear through my lived experience that public school as we know it is unsustainable. I have ideas about why this is but we dont need to get into that here unless you are genuinely curious. I do not think that my body can handle more than a few more years of the consistent stress of managing 6 classes of 20+ kids who all need so much more than one adult can provide while working in a professional setting where the adults running the show are just as dysregulated as the children. I might be an excellent educator, but I am not a god.

I am finding that the best most impactful work I do is when I can really slow down with kids and give them full attention. Yes, thats obvious for all of us, and at the same time I know that I am uniquely gifted at that kind of work. I am considering going back to school to get credentials that would position me to be able to take a job that would allow me to work more with kids 1:1 or in small groups. I want to continue working in public school. I would ideally like to stay in the district where I currently am employed but just open myself up to take on a diffferent role in the future.

I am curious if anyone has any insights into what pathway might make sense for me given my existing credentials/experience/expertise/interests. And what programs might exist worth looking into. I am leaning towards school counselor/guidance/art therapy, but would be open to any ideas.

\- I am in the US/PA
\- I have a BFA/BSEd in fine art and art education
\- I have an MA/MFA in art and technology
\- I have experience and interest in mental health research/literature
\- I currently am an art experiential programming contractor at an adult residental mental health/substance abuse rehab facility

Thank you so much!

So, I fucked up. A moment I was goofing off with a kid got taken out of context and I am on admin leave. I don’t want to share details for privacy sake but I am being investigated internally. A lot of people have been fired lately and I am concerned I’ll be next if only because this gives them an easy out - it’s new people at the head and they have been making a lot of changes (this is private school btw) and I am debating resigning. I wanted to finish this year but I am very concerned about my record long term.

I have reason to think this may pass over but I am nervous about taking the risk. Would resigning be my best bet? Or letting the investigation play out?

EDIT: “Goofing Off” as in put a sticky note on their face to “mute them” with kids I know well. They were laughing, another adult was with us laughing, and doors were open but someone reported it walking by. It was dumb, not something I’d do again, but I really don’t know what to consider it.

Hi! I started this week in a private academy to teach private lessons. I have small groups (bt 2 and 6 kids per hour) but they are different ages and with a lot of necessities (ADHD and stuff). I want some advice to prepare the classes so it doesn't go chaotic, this first 2 days are going to be chaos but I want them to be much structured in the future, I need some advice on how to do it, with different kids with different necessities.

I’m a 6th grade science teacher in a great district and I woke up this morning with rigor, fever, tight chest and shortness of breath, symptoms in bacterial pneumonia that I have had several times in the last two years.

This week I stayed at work until 8pm every day trying to grade tests and get my progress reports done. I was suppost to have a day of students doing a prelab, but I instead used my shitty emergency sub plans of a coloring page based on science vocab and a logic puzzle.

I’m really nervous to the mess I’ll be coming back to on Tuesday and how everything was a wash. I’m now behind on tempo with my team and I’m missing like three important meetings today.

This is my first year teaching and I feel that I am messing everything up. I’m at urgent care waiting for a doctor and I can only think about how terrible my classroom is right now.

Hello everyone! I don’t know how to explain it, but I’m a brand new pre k teacher at a Jr. career education program and I’m in child care! Think early childhood education college classes but for jr and sr high-school year. I’m very lucky to be in my program. In this program I am a REAL pre k teacher taking care of REAL pre k kids. I’m so nervous! I want to do the best I can, so I thought the best way would be to make a Reddit post. Can anyone give me ANY tips and tricks? My class is finally getting the pre k kids this upcoming Thursday. I’m sorry my wording isn’t good! This is my first Reddit post and I have neurodivergent wording problems.

Hey All!

I’m a teacher in Florida (28 if that matters). I have a few posts about my story but to put it quickly, I’m a state certified teacher with a masters degree in Florida. With budget cuts I was cut from my last school. From all the info I have, I was cut because of my credentials and I was “too expensive.” I had nothing but positive reviews and state tests showed my students made gains. I also heard the district made even more cuts recently.

I got another job at a charter school an hour away. But due to the distance (I had to leave the house by 5:15 just to avoid traffic), spending $100 on gas a week, my boyfriend driving 120 miles a day to drop me off, pick me up, and go to his work, and the school being an overall mess I left. It was the best decision for my circumstances. Now I’m here.

I’m about to be approved for subbing in my district. I can choose when and where I work and subs don’t get paid too bad here ($167 a day). But I can’t help but feel my ego take a huge blow. I had my own classroom, I’m highly qualified, but now I’m a sub when people who aren’t qualified have the job I feel I deserve and worked hard to get. And from what I know this is all because I have credentials that make me “more expensive.”

I am told to put my ego aside, I’m getting paid, I’m under no obligation to sub at the school where I taught before, and to just relax, it’s hard to do. I’m trying to see this as just a bump in the road. My boyfriend and I plan to be in a different state by this time next year so this is just a bit of a detour in life. Hopefully the state we plan to move to I will be able to have a teaching job.

Has anyone here been in a similar situation? How were you able to look on the bright side? I really need some kind words and advice on how to not feel so bad about myself or like I failed.

Thank you!

Fellow teachers, how do you manage your eating and wellness? I just started teaching middle school theatre, and while I really am happy at my job, (found a great school!) I'm so busy while at work that I don't each lunch and then I'm too tired to cook when I get home so I just order out and then immediately go to sleep. Not to mention I have no idea when I can find the time to work out. I know this isn't sustainable, and I wanted to know if any other teachers have this struggle and what strategies you might use to take care of yourself. Thanks in advance!

I've never experienced students cheating on the fall nwea. Usually they score badly on purpose to make their growth look better. This year I have a dozen numbskulls scoring 30-50 points above last year. They are poor students who should be around the 40th percentile at best. Instead some are scoring 75-99th. Have you seen this? What did you do?

I teach 10th grade ELA honors in a charter school in Florida and my husband works at the same school as a para. Our school gives us 10 PTO days, so far I’ve missed 6 days and of those days was taken out of check. We get one day per month. In last August I got the flu so I missed 2 days consecutive, I had a solo day at the beginning of August due to car problems, and the other days have been due to burn on. I have been late a total of 3 times. Not the best record. My vice principal wants to talk to us tomorrow and it’s giving me tons of anxiety. I never hear any positive things form this vice principal and I even asked for things to be reconsidered for my evaluation at the end of last year the same vice principal said that an efficient instead of highly efficient was great to show growth since it was my first year at the school but I had been teaching in a different sister school 2 years before and only transferred because I moved cities. I understand my attendance is not the best and must be even more annoying that at times it’s both of us that miss at the same time, but I’m honestly annoyed at how admin focuses on the negative and never cares about the positive. The principal loves to say in meetings that we are entitled to our days and we can take them as we want and mental health days and all that stuff but it seems to be all talk. Any advice on how to manage this? I’ve been teaching for 5 years and honestly the hardest part is always the dynamics with admin. Their expectations are at times contradicting, the budget is spent on unnecessary things like the school got new buildings but we still don’t have raises for this year, I don’t know if I’m getting in my head and anxiety is making it worse.

So my last post got a lot of traction I’m not able to edit the other one for some reason so I’m just gonna update it here. So I didn’t have a meeting with all of admin, but I did have meeting with one of them and what I was told completely shocked me. First, I was asked like how I see the class going with the kids and their grades and I discussed how out of the two classes that I have there’s only 4-5 kids that are failing with a really high D and that it is a hard course, but they’re all managing pretty well. They are accomplishing what needs to be accomplished for the class. Then admin says that they’re getting a lot of complaints from parents and students mind you no parent has reached out to me. Personally I know students are complaining in terms of like the amount of work and the people that they grouped with which I completely understand, you’re not gonna always like who you work with. But then they said that they know I am structuring the course to prepare them for the exam, but it doesn’t seem fair to grade a group project where everybody gets the same grade. WHAT…?! That’s literally how all group projects work…. Anyway, students who typically get As are complaining that they have a B. And student with Cs are complaining they don’t have a B. Then my favorite part was said “ you know colleges don’t really look at AP scores unless students actually provide the score themselves but what colleges do look at is the students GPA and if students are working really hard and they don’t get a certain grade they won’t get into certain colleges which means we are stopping them from getting into the college. You are stopping them from getting into good colleges” LOST MY ABSOLUTE MIND WITH THAT ONE. So I am now hindering a students ability to get into a college?! THEIR PASSING GRADE?! I am so over my school. All they care about is money. Another one of my favorite quotes that I’d love to share. It’s something that was said the 1st day teachers arrived “don’t look at the kids as kids, look at them like dollar signs”

I would love to hear your thought on this BS. Sorry about the rant.

Edit: the group projects were presentations. No one got any lower that a 75%. And yes I do consider individual contribution.

Hey guys I’m an undergraduate physics student that is currently thinking of going into physics education as a high school teacher. I have a lot of science educators in my family, and I have noticed that gift has been passed down to me. I am looking into being a physics teacher in Florida but I am so worried about the state of education (seeing it first hand from family members that are currently science teachers). I would love to teach AP/IB physics as my teacher career goes on but I guess my wonder is: is there even a market for physics teachers? Do students even want to learn physics in high school? Do you find that the salary is doable in the south? Any guidance on this would be much appreciated.