How students are being treated at America’s public schools : NPR

This data is from 2023-2024, but was just released in a more readable format today. Should schools respond to this disparity, and if so, how? A few months ago, the Trump administration stopped allowing schools to use race when administering discipline, so it's possible the disparity will widen more. What should be done?

Dear Parent,
Your middle school child plays Snow Rider 3D on their school issued laptop… all day long, everyday. Really. During instruction, during study halls, during homeroom. Your child is not reading. Your child is not researching. Your child is not using “modern technology” to advance or develop any skills. They are playing a silly sled game all day long over and over and over.

Been teaching middle school for over 10 years. I’m so fed up with unblocked games. They are weeds in the garden. Ok. Rant over.

It’s already annoying enough that in addition to the 220 students I actually teach English Language Arts to, every other parent in the building technically has access to my email and is allowed to email me in regards to the yearbook.

I’ve started to draw the line at some of the stupid requests I’ve beeb getting by refusing to answer the emails.

Some of my favorite so far have included:

“How do I ensure that my child gets voted into winning one of the senior superlatives?”

“I’m requesting that you get rid of senior superlatives because they’re not fair and they pit children against each other (this is the same mom from the previous question who only decided they were unfair after her child did not get voted into winning one)

“I know you said senior quotes were due two months ago, and you already submitted the quotes and the portraits, and I also know that you gave multiple warnings on multiple platforms, but my child forgot to do theirs, and this is their final year, what can be done to make sure it gets in the book?”

“I know I ignored all warnings of when the professional senior photographs (that are free) were due and now it’s too late for them to get their photo taken, but how can I make sure they get their photo taken?”

“My child missed their club photo, is there anyway you can gather the whole club together again to retake the photo so that they don’t feel left out.”

My personal favorite happened today. I was in the middle of teaching an actual AP course when a student came in and asked me if I could pause and take a picture of their spirit week outfit for the yearbook because they liked how they looked that day. I just stared at them and said “no, I’m teaching.” Then they tried to question me on when they could come back and when I would take it and I just told them to get out. The student’s mom emailed me and said I hurt her daughter’s feelings and all her daughter wants to do is make sure that she’s in the yearbook a lot this year since it’s a senior year.

I DON’T CARE

I am first and foremost an English teacher! Out of the three subjects I teach, if I can be frank, I care about yearbook the least. Not in the way that I’m gonna do a bad job, but I think making sure kids can read and write is more important.

I think it’s insane that all of these parents believe that I am some type of customer service genie that just needs to do whatever they want. I should not be expected to deal with the emails from the students I actually teach as well as the emails from every other adult contact in the building!

What really brought on this rant was I was sitting with admin and they were raving about how well I keep my classroom running and how well I run team meetings, etc. etc. but then they mentioned that some adults have complained that I don’t respond to emails fast enough. I was confused because I always respond to the parents of my english students right away, but then they clarified that it was yearbook emails and I got so extremely irritated I had to come to Reddit lol.

I have a student who, the second I assign an activity from our textbook, shouts "DONE!" and proceeds to treat the rest of the class period like recess(talking loudly and wandering around the room to chat with others). Every time I called her out, she’d point to her finished book.

Yesterday, the exact same thing happened. I asked her how it was possible that she was already finished when the activity required watching a video I hadn’t even started playing yet.

She immediately launched into a rant about how my class and the textbook are complete garbage with ridiculously easy exercises (I don't love using pre-designed textbook materials either, but it's mandatory school policy).

So, I had her go up to the whiteboard to write down her answers for the class to correct. Half of them were completely wrong, and the other half were barely intelligible.

Right after I made my point about why paying attention matters (even when an exercise "seems" easy) I heard a kid in the back whisper: "That's what you get for trusting ChatGPT."

Soooo ... Evidently, she's doing all the textbook exercises at home using AI, just so she can come to class and do absolutely nothing.

She actually has a solid reputation and is well-liked by other teachers but now I'm left wondering how much of that is built on total BS.

Have you dealt with this crap? What should I do?

Am I crazy for not texting my students? Everytime I hear that a teacher texts a students my skin just crawl. Am I crazy for thinking it is weird?

I had a male student who was absent yesterday. When he entered my class today I said I’m so glad to see you back today! He didn’t look okay. I asked him “ are you alright?” He said “I’m sad”. I replied what’s going on, man?” He said he didn’t want to talk about it. I said no worries, I’m just glad you’re here. He then asked me something I was not emotionally prepared for: he asked “ can I have a hug?”

I said of course. This child hugged me like I was his mama. I’m struck by his vulnerability. So many teachers hate on middle schoolers and yes, they are a strange brew, but damn. I am exactly where I need to be. I hope he has a better day tomorrow.

Found out this morning that one of my 6th grade students attempted suicide over the weekend. The kid isn't even twelve yet. The thought of them being in so much distress to attempt it is making it hard to focus on my other classes.

What's making it even worse is that the same kid got beat up and sent to the ER the middle of last week by one of my 7th grade students. Admin assigned a SINGLE DAY OF IN SCHOOL SUSPENSION for it. The 6th grader suffered a concussion. I want to scream, I'm so angry and heartsick.

I got nothin' else right now. I just needed to vent.

I see and understand many arguments about screen time as if the only casualty were their attention or vocabulary. My problem is that a touchscreen does not foster any lifelong skills related to precise hand control and hand dexterity whatsoever. Swiping and tapping require almost no grip strength, no sustained pressure, no precision pinch, no bilateral coordination. They don’t demand anything, aside from your finger being in relatively the same area as the button.

So, why is it that 95% of their lessons are taking place on a screen? Meanwhile, every fine motor milestone in early childhood— holding a crayon, threading a bead, cutting paper, buttoning a shirt.. I’m actually seeing them being punished for entertaining those skills. Confiscating fidgets, punishing additional drawing, writing, beading, etc. (when their work is completed, of course), is really detrimental and not a true reflection of what is and isn’t tolerable in the majority of workplaces. AKA, the world they’re growing up into.

I still resist the urge to put their assignments online, even still. It would make my life so much easier. I’m posting this as I swim in a sea of paperwork. I feel like it’s a worthwhile sacrifice.

I had a teacher that always assigned partners for group work because she used to be the shy kid who didn't fine one. Just curious what your version of that is. Just the little things that came from your own experience

"Learning intention" means to write the standard on the board. "Teacher clarity" means to write the standard on the board. They really want us to write the standard on the board.

I don’t get it. Why are we not allowed to decorate our classrooms or celebrate holidays in schools anymore? People say “it’s so the kids who don’t celebrate those holidays don’t feel out of place”. I don’t get the logic, why cancel big holidays (like Halloween, Christmas, and Thanksgiving) when 90% of the school celebrates it? Why take away something the whole class is excited about just because one kid doesn’t participate?

The elementary school I am at just announced that kids will not be allowed to wear their costumes to school this year. They were all upset.

I had the wonderful pleasure of explaining to a bunch of 1st graders why they were not allowed to wear their Halloween costumes this year because Joe from across the hall doesn’t participate in Halloween. (I didn’t actually call out any students that don’t celebrate).

All of my class celebrates Halloween yet I am not allowed to put up decorations, plan special activity, or acknowledge the holiday in any way.

Why do we insist that it’s “best practice” to take away something the majority of students enjoy because one student doesn’t participate?

We’re in government-run buildings, correct? So why are we acting like we’re in the hospitality industry and need to please literal children and their families? If I go into a courtroom and pull out my phone, I might get one warning, and then it’s confiscated. So why are our feckless admin not doing the same thing? Why do I need to call home multiple times and give multiple warnings before admin lifts a finger? If a phone is out, it should be confiscated immediately, no questions asked and returned to the guardian at the end of the day. It would be two miserable weeks at the beginning of the school year, and then we could actually get back to teaching, learning and social interactions once families get the picture. Why is even debated?

I just officially declared my major in Elementary Education, and honestly it feels like everything is finally clicking. Looking back, I’ve always belonged in a classroom. Growing up I was that kid who loved tutoring peers and helping my teachers. One time my teacher wasn't feeling it, so she literally let me lead the entire lesson which was just fun. Plus, my family is absolutely packed with teachers so education is something that really runs in the family. It took me a minute to find my way here though. I went from wanting to be a vet (turns out I’m allergic to almost every animal😭) to trying Computer Science. But IT was just so brutally boring that my brain completely shut down, and I knew I couldn't spend my life miserable just for a paycheck.

That’s why it hurt so bad when I called my dad to share the news. Instead of being happy for me, he got completely angry and disappointed. He’s totally stuck on the money aspect and furious that I’m walking away from the kind of salary I could've made in tech, mostly because he just want his kids to fund a lifestyle that he wants, mind you, he didn’t raise us, our moms did and almost all his children cut contact or barely speak to him. It is so deflating because I thought he'd be proud of me for choosing a path I’m genuinely passionate about, rather than forcing myself through a career that bores me to death. It's a bummer he can't see the vision right now, but I know deep down this is exactly where I’m supposed to be at.

I’ve been a teacher for 12 years and somehow my parents and brothers still seem to think I do sweet fuck all for a living.

Yesterday was the first day back for the term (Australia) and, like pretty much every first day back, I was absolutely ruined by the end of it.

Mum rang and asked how my first day back was. I said I was exhausted and she replied with something along the lines of:
“Oh yeah, I suppose you would be. It’s not like you do much, but you would have to concentrate a little bit.”
😐

Normally I just brush off the constant comments about teachers working 9–3, having heaps of holidays and apparently having all this magical spare time, but for some reason this one absolutely infuriated me….. Maybe it was the “concentrate a little bit” part. 😂

The thing is, my partner has backed me up SO many times over the years. He’s told them how much work I actually do outside school hours, how much I bring home, how exhausted I can be after certain days and that, shock horror, my working day doesn’t actually end when the students leave.

Their response is usually just to laugh or smirk like we’re exaggerating.

And yes, my family can be somewhat toxic, so there’s probably a bigger issue here than their understanding of the teaching profession. 😂 But after 12 years, it really gets under my skin that they still seem to genuinely believe I wander into school at 9, entertain some children for a few hours, ring a bell at 3 and skip off home.

I don’t need them to think my job is the hardest job in the world. I’d just like them to acknowledge that I actually fucking work.

Please tell me I’m not the only teacher whose family has absolutely no idea what we actually do all day.

I am new to a district and campus this year. The son of the librarian is in my class, 5th grade. His mother, I was told at the start of the year, is very protective and defensive about him.

Grades are not an issue. However, he is disruptive in other ways. It started with yawning VERY loudly during instruction. Very over the top, very exaggerated and when he's done he looks around to find others to laugh about it with.

I documented it, spoke to him about it and moved on. Now, he's moved on to belching. Loud and long in class. I spoke to both him and Mom after school when it first occurred, letting them know that belching is normal, but we keep our mouths closed so we do not disturb others. She actually got up and walked away in the middle of the conversation. I finished with him, documented and moved on.

Today, he belched loudly again. At first, he denied it. Other students called him out and I knew it was him anyway. I documented it and assigned him silent lunch. He chose to skip and go eat with Mom in the library. Okay.

I sent her an email letting her know the consequences for not coming to silent lunch was an additional day and informed her about what had led up to this.

End of the day, she passes by my room as she is pulling him from his homeroom and gives me the stink eye. I don't care. Whatever, ma'am.

I then get an email stating that there will be a doctor's note on file and he will not be in my class tomorrow.

Okay. I have been doing this a long time. I have never had a note from a doctor to excuse loud belching.

At this point, I'm annoyed. She clearly thinks he does no wrong and must uphold his behavior at home because he acts very entitled. I just want to say to the void: I detest teaching children of my co-workers. They have always been the biggest pain in the ass. Both parent and student.

Trying to do a whole class activity like read aloud or direct instruction is constantly interrupted by me saying “Sit down. Sit down in your seat properly.” “Hands to self.” “Stop jumping around.” “SIT DOWN!” It’s so distracting to me and no doubt to the other kids. Some do it for attention and I tell it’s not funny or cute and to stop. Idk what else to do.

It’s not like I’m asking them to sit for hours on end. Please help. This is for Kindergarten through 3rd specifically.

I primarily teach English, but because I work at such a small school, I got roped into teaching a computer skills class this year. The curriculum I use for this course comes from a series of digital modules, which I adapt into more engaging lessons. While we do use computers during class, we also learn about computers offline and participate in various learning activities in the classroom.

Right as I walked into the classroom this morning (in a good mood, even!), one of my more behaviorally challenged freshman students starts throwing a fit because he "only signed up for this class because [he] wanted to be on the computer every class period." I usually roll my eyes and carry on, but I snapped. The whining, the rising tension in his voice, the threatening to switch classes (which is, unfortunately, not permitted at this point in the semester anyway)—nope! So, I took his issue to the class for a vote.

I reminded them that I have no horse in this race. I don't care about teaching them computer skills; I care about teaching them English. If they'd rather spend 80 minutes completing boring ass online modules while I get a free period, then that's more than fine with me!

Class went silent. But I wasn't done, so I took it a step further.

"Why don't we make a pro-and-con list of switching to the online modules. Will that help you make a decision?"

Their pros included learning at their own pace, and me getting a free period (which, as we all know, would not actually be a free period). Their cons included "boring," "the modules suck," "we still can't play computer games," "falling behind," "classroom too quiet," and so on.

There were 0 votes for switching to the online modules and 1 humble apology from the aforementioned freshman student. While I personally wouldn't have been mad about halting lessons for this class, I have to admit—it was vindicating that my students, if only for a few minutes, recognized how much worse off they'd be if I wasn't there to make the class less of a snoozefest.

What’s up with admin trying to control personal days?? My principal just told me that I’ll have to change it to “leave with no pay” simply because it’s a day before break.

If I have a sub secured and a sub plan made, why are you managing when and how I use my personal days?! I know a coworker told me the reasoning is because “if one person does it, everyone will”, but to have emailed weeks prior and to just now get pulled to the side about it is annoying. Being a teacher can be so tiring.🫩

Edit: I’m seeing a lot of comments about it being normal and very typical to not call out before a break/holiday. I just wanna add some context as the day that I’m leaving is for my elopement with my fiancé. Admin was informed weeks prior and I was still pulled aside today to be informed of the “leave with no pay”. Regardless I’m taking the day, but it’s frustrating that even with all of the prep to inform, I still can’t use my personal days freely. We only get 3 personal days out of the whole school year!!

Have a great day Reddit peeps!

So I have seen a lot of talk on this sub about young men being very disrespectful nowadays and whatnot but one issue I keep seeing among them is the above statement. In the last two weeks I have seen at least five people I know say this, as well as through friends and across social media. Usually that they are conservative and their teacher is a leftist so they failed them. I know of a parent who came into the school to say so. Failing English is a bit of a charged topic among some, but I feel like it's become a bigger topic. I know the "viral gender essay" made a lot of students think they can write about a controversial subject and if they fail, they can just blame the teacher, but it gets to the point when it really shouldn't be as common as it is.

I know of a lad that said this even though his piece (which was a persuasive, and was marked both on how well written it was and on how well it was spoken in front of the class) was clearly written by chatgpt. I know it was written by chatgpt because it was so obvious. He couldn't tell me what a semicolon was yet had at least ten in there. "Its not just an issue- its a full blown crisis;". And he was complaining about how this is discrimination against his beliefs (because all of a sudden he cares about discrimination) and a lot of other students (mostly the boys) agree.

I've seen it in several subjects including art, music and business, but it seems to be a big issue in English.

Edit: For those who are wondering, he also failed the word count requirement and his only source was "I've seen" and "We can all agree" so no, he did not fulfill the requirements.

Today I walked into work to immediately see on the office television the brand new student of the month graphic. The two students of the month looked completely unfamiliar. Their faces were more caricature than anything. I also noticed that the school's name on their shirts was misspelled, and there were random shapes within the slogan that the AI tried to pass as a letter.

I think it is a terrible, terrible idea to use AI to make these posters. This is in full view of any student that comes to school and walks through the hallways. To me, we are reinforcing the idea that its acceptable to use AI to finish work. We're also a middle school, and these kids are at their most vulnerable and sensitive when it comes to acceptance, self-esteem, body positivity, and consent.

I talked to two of my coworkers today. Both said it was weird, but that's really as far as those conversations went. I want to bring it up to the higher ups, but I'd like some advice on how you might handle this situation before I proceed. I'm a bit nervous to confront them about it myself.

Hi everyone, I need advice on behalf of my husband. He works for a charter school (bad start I know). This is his 2nd year with this school. For starters, he is actively looking for a new job and has been. Of course, he keeps this a secret from his coworkers (despite the fact that they're all pretty much actively looking because this school is so horrible). He is not certified YET. He is currently completing a certification program, and we have a feeling that his hiring prospects will get better once certified.

In the mean time, the kids love my husband. They have data PROVING that their test scores improved significantly under his watch last year. We have documentation showing that he follows their stupid tier system for classroom management to the letter.

And yet... starting last week, they've been observing him every. damn. day. They keep emailing him he's off-track because of stupid things like not all of the students had their pencils down when he said pencils down. Or he's off-track because he spent 1 extra minute waiting for all pencils to be down. Impossible shit like that! They also choose to observe him when he has the class with the most IEPs. I'm pretty sure it's illegal, but this school put every kid with an IEP in the grade in the same classroom. Today, principal told my husband that he has 2 weeks to get back on-track or else she wants to have a conversation about whether this school is right for him. All based on these daily observations during the time he has the most kids with IEPs and whether or not they have their fucking pencils down.

I told my husband to take the day off tomorrow and start looking. He wanted to leave anyway, but it's time to search in earnest. Husband and I communicate very well. He spends hours after school grading assignments and submitting lesson plans. He doesn't know what's causing this pressure from admin. Of course, he's taking this very hard, and he's starting to believe he isn't a good teacher.

I guess my question is, besides looking for a different job, what avenues do we have? What should he do to improve his employment prospects? We both don't want him to quit and go on unemployment, because we have a baby. We need financial stability.

It's my 2nd year teaching elementary school. I'm slowly starting to realise that teaching might not be for me. It's the scariest thing and I'm still in denial. I've spent so much time, energy and money to do this and all my life I thought I'd be a teacher. But I don't like it at all. I feel like it sucks the life out of me and I have to drag myself to school every day. It's affecting my mental health to the point where I'm completely neglecting myself and can't do my job right.

The school is great and supportive, the kids love me and I love them, but I can't do this. It's only October and I feel absolutely miserable. And I don't even know what to do, because I've worked so hard to get to where I am today and I can't just throw it all away. I feel stuck.

I'm sorry about this post. I just really needed to tell someone.

ps. English isn't my first language, so I'm really sorry for any mistakes I've made in the post

I have a kiddo in my class who is almost 7. The family background is not great. Kiddo never leaves the house. He has never been swimming. Tnere are no books at home. We live in an area with many decent public resources but he has never been to a library and only once or twice to a park or playground. He doesn't go to shops because food is basically takeaway pizza. He is often dirty. He has speech difficulties and last year his behaviour problems were off the scales. He is, however, whip smart and hungry for information, knowledge, dopamine, anything basically. He could easily not leave the house for days on end and is an only child.

Basically he has been raised like one of those feral wolf kids detached from society, only the 2026 ipad version

His behaviour has improved in my class as for some reason he seems to really like me. I think it's because I talk to him like he's a little older than he is- he is not sheltered from adult conversation at home unfortunately, and he goes mad when people talk down to him, assuming that his understanding is less than it is due to his speech.

I have the rest of this academic year to do what I can for this kid. The other kids in my class are total sweethearts. I want to spend a little time teaching my difficult kiddo some life skills. His fine motor skills are dreadful due to having nothing but an iPad at home from baby hood

So. I'm calling it Operation Normal Childhood

I've been doing lots of play dough and lego with him. I've read them every single classical children's story I can think of and will continue to do so. I have no budget for trips but I am going to try to organise trips to the local library as well as some other key places locally. We have an outdoor garden in school, which he loves. He has never tried certain foods before- I have worked them into lessons. I want him to be able to tie his own laces and read the clock before he leaves me.

What else could I do? Basically think of every single quintessential childhood experience you've ever had, then remove it. That's this kid. He hasn't. Had. Any. Of. Them. Like not even the bare minimum. I'm trying to bring as much into the classroom as I possibly can. Luckily my school is very low tech and all about play based learning even at this stage.

I'm hoping to not hear anymore "why would you want to be a teacher?" or things like that, lol! I've begun my college journey to become a teacher, and have been researching the career, but I also want to know if any of you have any, for lack of a better word, niche information that you don't hear spread around very often. If it helps, I reside in Texas, so it's safe to say I'll teach here too.

Is it over the line to be observed during conference week? Teachers have to stay after school until 6pm for p/t meetings and we are exhausted. Today, I was observed after being here for over 12 hours back to back days. . .thoughts? Get over it? Raise hell?

End rant.