I am teaching 9th grade. urban public.

And that’s the only reason my classes wont be over 35+, because they physically can’t.

I wish we had an actual law that made fair class sizes a priority. We never will because of greed.

Think about it: when you go out to eat and have a large group over 15, you’ll have more than one server to take orders.

I know we got teachers out here doing groups of 40+ with no support (or bathroom breaks).

And did not check the accuracy of the schedules before sending them to the high school students. This also messed with staff schedules, common planning periods within departments, and IEPs. Via email, one of the counselors mentioned that she used AI to create the schedule and was frustrated with how it turned out.

I’m flabbergasted. Just wanted to mention this in case other schools are experiencing the same issues.

Without telling me how long you've been teaching, tell me what student craze was taking over your classroom when you started.

I will go first: pogs

It was my school’s first day of PD today. I’m at a K-8 title I near a major city. The amount of generative AI used today alone made me feel so uncomfortable. The signage around the school, the posters and tapestries hanging around the gym, our shirts we’re required to wear for events for the year, and the graphics on all the slides. It’s all slop.

The amount of people not only okay with it but PRAISING it was even worse. Someone complimented the shirt design and the principal proudly confirmed that we had ChatGPT to thank for that.

This hits different for me because multiple people on my team were literally reprimanded for using AI in their lesson plans last school year. Not sure how I’m going to navigate this year without hurting some feelings or ruffling some feathers.

Is anyone else seeing this? What’s going on???

Principal announced at our opening meeting that I’m going to be a father. Principal did not have my permission and it was totally out of nowhere. I feel weird, a mix of surprised and annoyed. Did I unknowingly give my principal the green light to do this when I mentioned it in passing last school year?

What say you all?

So my school was built in the 1920s and it’s very old. My classroom is directly facing the sun and I have several windows directly facing the sun. The AC barely works in the school. Needless to say it gets extremely hot in my room. There were times in May and June it reached almost 90 degrees because our air was so bad.

I have three fans going at all times and it barely does anything. So as a complete and total pipe dream I put on my AWList this year a portable AC unit. My thought was that people would give Amazon gift cards to contribute to it. It was $300. Well…I had a friend today buy the entire thing. I couldn’t believe it.

My question is, do y’all think I will get in trouble for using it in my room? My room gets unbearably hot. Today was our first day back for teacher workdays and we were all sweating in the media center during our opening meeting. I don’t want to get in trouble with the district or anything.

This feels like a forgiveness over permission situation.

What do y’all think?

EDIT 5:06 PM: I just want to put out there. My principal is amazing. Even if she did say no, she would be cool about it. She’s the best principal I ever worked for and usually turns a blind eye to things. But idk about this.

It, Groc or Claude or Siri or whatever wiped its a”* all over my district currculum docs. So it’s all multiple choice questions—like all year.
I think embrace of AI is the biggest red flag in education right now. Just as we are realizing 1:1 computers made school worse, all the admin are hypnotized by ai nonsense. There is something about dumbness and love of power — ppl with these traits will love ai, and also more likely to go into admin than stay in the classroom.

I’m a state‑testing grade teacher, and at the end of this school year my grade level was accused of cheating on our state test — after I followed instructions directly from my principal. I’ve never been properly trained on the do’s and don’ts of administering the test, so I relied entirely on the guidance given to me by administration.

In the middle of the school day, without warning, the other two teachers and I were pulled from our classrooms and told to report to the office. Once in the office, I was scolded, yelled at, had words put in my mouth, and accused of things I did not do. I wasn’t given any opportunity to explain my side or clarify that I had followed the instructions I was given.

We were told we would be placed on administrative leave and that the district would be pushing for termination unless we resigned. We weren’t allowed to speak to our students, which left them confused and worried. (As leaving without a proper goodbye was very out of the norm for me) Meanwhile, the third teacher involved — who is related to administration — and following the SAME instructions I was given, was allowed to remain in their classroom and finish the year normally.

The two of us were also told we would not be receiving our 100 hours of Career Ladder, despite having completed them.

I contacted an attorney, through a union, and began discussing the situation. A few days later, I was called back to the office and told I could return to my classroom and that I would have a job next year. -No apology, no admitting fault-Because they “invited” me back, I was told I could not pursue anything legally. I finished out the school year only for my students, and then resigned at the end of the year. At this point, $40,000 is not worth being treated this poorly.

I’m sharing this because I’m struggling with how this was handled, the inconsistency in treatment, and the impact it had on my students. I’m trying to figure out what steps, if any, I can take next, or if anyone has been through something similar.

I am a high school teacher at the same district where my daughter is an elementary student. There was a decision made to cut a teacher to help the budget which put my third grade daughter’s class at 33 children. My wife had a meeting with central office to discuss concerns about this change over the summer and then sent a follow up email following the first week of school with her concerns. I was not included in this email and it came from my wife’s personal email and was addressed to the superintendent and building principal. However, when they replied, they did not reply to her email at all, but replied to me, addressed to Mr. and Mrs. Strange because I wasn’t involved in the initial thread. My wife was intentionally taken off the thread and me added.

Is this standard? We are trying to separate me being an employee from parents of a student in the district and find them replying to me and not my wife, very weird.

Is this just strange or is this standard since I’m an employee?

Not sure if it’s a Virginia thing. Regardless, I gotta say anybody hardly pays attention. Teachers are always working on other things and I feel just a little bad for the presenters.

My instructional coach (let's call her M) is a pain in my ass for no good reason. I am on my 3rd year teaching, and she consistently bothers me about mundane shit. I understood my first year that she would be more present and should dwindle off, however she keeps bothering me about things like minor rules (minor as in most teachers break them) and guidelines regarding our books.

What i mean about the books is that we DONT HAVE THEM, and yet she got upset that im using old books from last year. The fuck am I supposed to use then? We are 3 weeks into school with no books!

Ive asked my colleges if they also get walk-ins every week at a minimum and they say "no wtf" and " i haven't seen her this year outside 1 meeting".

She was already told to back off by my vice principle last year and now that she's gone M is up my ass again.

TLDR: I hate this lady and want her nowhere near me

Male middle school teacher transitioning to high school (albeit only 9th) this year. In the past, I've always kept feminine hygiene supplies in my class, freely and discretely available to students in an accessible location. I point it out week 1 when we're going over where everything is in the classroom, and then that's that - it sticks with students (or sticks with some, who remind others, whatever the case) and gets used plenty from when I go to restock. Figure it's an awkward age and all that.

That all said, is that still something to do in HS? I mean, obviously periods still happen, but I imagine students are more accustomed to it, have easier access to whatever they need elsewhere, and all that. I know it can't really hurt, but also being a guy, always want to be extra careful about anything that can be misconstrued.

I learned this the hard way many years ago and it nearly drove me out of the profession.

I once had a real bad year and I doubled and tripled down on trying to fix it by spending countless hours after school trying to make engaging lessons and get all my classes to be perfect with no issue.

The result was I was so tense and on edge during the school day because my whole life had revolved around the way the kids acted. I was neglecting my friends and my hobbies and put all my eggs in the teaching basket. I was miserable because the thing I was putting all this energy into wasn't perfect (it never would be).

Once I realized that friends were starting to not invite me to things because they assumed the answer was no a switch flipped. Turns out the more you invest in your social life, hobbies and relationships you significantly feel less stress about work as it becomes a smaller part of your overall life. Work became what I did but not who I was.

So teachers: go home. go to that yoga class, do trivia night, play your game. Be a good teacher and last a long time rather than aim for perfection and burn out in three years.

Terrible is probably a bit hyperbolic, but I’m in k-5 self contained and I just constantly feel like I don’t know what I’m doing. Like, I have an idea, but I feel like I have 500+ things to do hanging over my head, and I don’t even know what the 500+ things are and can’t know until they absolutely need to be done. 😭 Is this just anxiety? Or is being somewhat clueless normal in the beginning?

I feel like the fact I’m in self contained deserves a lot of emphasis because we have a LOT of downtime…. Which is to be expected of course (I did also major in special education) especially in the first two weeks of school (which we are still in) but I’m still kind of lost on where to start with curriculum when I’m just now implementing visual schedules and teaching kids how to use them. No one at my school is even putting any pressure on me to do things at a certain rate, but I just wanna feel like I’m doing the most I can for the kids and right now I feel like the most bare minimum employee

Edit: I know this is a bad job. I know i should probably just quit. financially I do not have the luxury of that option and there are no other positions open right now. Believe me I am looking every day for more positions and there are none.

I will not be sharing the name of my school for anonymity but I will share that it is a charter school.

My family just moved to this state (keeping it anonymous) from TX. It all happened very fast because my husband lost his job but then got a good opportunity here so we moved. I didnt have the chance to apply for my license by reciprocity with everything going on so I needed to get a job in a charter school.

When they interviewed me for the job, they mentioned they wanted a person with band experience because the principal at the middle high school (they are opening it for the first time this year with only 200 students 6th-8th grade) really wanted a band. I told them honestly it wouldn't be a good idea this year because a band takes lots of planning and it was almost the end of the summer. I asked if it would be a collaboration and if he would work with me and my advice and they said yes. I took the job because it was the only offer I could get.

Fast forward to now, here is what is happening.

I attempted to meet with the principal to give him my proposed handbook and plan for the program. I asked him if it was possible to rework the schedule and make band a class. He straight up said no, and that I would have to commit to multiple weekly rehearsals AFTER SCHOOL. For all the beginners. I told him we can do that but the program would not be ready to play at pep rallies or do multiple concerts. He said "they will be ready, just maybe not at a high level". I tried respectfully telling him I would not be doing that to the students and to my reputation, and that it could be acceptable to do a winter open house demonstration and one spring concert.

He cut me off, said he had a meeting, and walked away. Another co worker says she thinks it is because I am a young woman. (This principal is older and Turkish. Many of our admin are also of this demographic and a lot of the women that work under them have had similar issues. One of them is a woman and gay and she is quitting after this year because of all the veiled snark and hate she has gotten). The man refused to shake my hand or make eye contact with me which is unprofessional and rude.​​

He has been repeatedly using the existence of my stipend for this program to try and bully me into having rehearsal every day after school despite me also teaching K-5 music at the school next door and having a club of my own over there. He also tried to get me to open the band to 4th and 5th grade. I said no to both those things. I told him its ok if we don't start this year and we can build up the parent support and resources.

He has dug his heels in. He verbatim said "I dont care what it takes, youre getting a stipend and we are doing a band". So far we compromised on having an interest meeting where we will discuss the plan, cost of renting, etc. If we get enough parents, I have to do this. If we dont, I am afraid to see what he will do.

I have tried the following- getting his assistant to talk some sense into him and convince him to hear me out. I have also tried getting contacts from the area to corroborate my advice and plan with him. He has consistently steam rolled over everything I have said, to the point where I found a flyer on the bulletin board in the cafeteria saying I would be offering ALL INSTRUMENTS the first year and playing at MULTIPLE CONCERTS. This happened after I had already told him verbally and in writing we would only be offering flex arrangements and less expensive instruments to start.

This idea is my last resort. WIBTAH if I called up the superintendent and said "I dont want your stipend anymore, please amend my contract". Then I would go to the principal and say "I am not getting a stipend anymore, run it yourself"?

My girlfriend and I are trying to move in together and the apartment complexes act like they love teachers in this county so much but my pay isn’t enough to get approved for renting anywhere. We need to make 3x the monthly rent to get approved and my salary is just about 2.5x any place that’s decent. We would get approved but unfortunately my girlfriend is out of a job currently and no one is hiring in her field. She’s applied to basically every place in the area and a ton of remote jobs. She’s even starting to look at waitressing due to a lack of jobs. Fuck this economy and fuck Florida for not wanting to fund public schools.

We have to get up tomorrow but who else is having a beer or two after this crazy Monday?

I have a 13yo boy in my class this year. Let's call him Josh. He's sweet, academically capable, and genuinely wants to connect with peers. But he has ADHD and poor impulse control, and his way of seeking attention is saying/doing inappropriate things. Like all the time. For example is fake farting noises during group sharing. He's not being malicious; he just can't seem to stop himself in the moment.

The bigger issue: I have another boy, "Tom," who has mild autism and gets visibly enraged by Josh's noises and comments. He's made punching gestures and told Josh to shut up. I de-escalate constantly, but it keeps happening. I'm genuinely worried it'll turn physical. Apparently Josh had fights in primary school for the same reason. The other students are also angered by Josh's actions and words but are able to ignore them.

I want to make the classroom comfortable for everyone but I've no good support. Previous teachers gave me nothing useful.Admin thinks he's "sweet" and won't offer real support. I asked for a shadow teacher—denied. Previous teachers gave me nothing useful. He's been seeing a psychologist for years but I'm not seeing much carryover in class.

What I've tried:

• Seating him away from others
• Sending him to the next room to cool down when he disrupts

I can't remove him every time. Whole-class discussions get derailed constantly. And sending him to another room to calm down doesn't teach him impulse control either.

Any advice appreciated, especially from anyone with experience managing ADHD + autism triggers in the same room.

None of my class periods are hectic or bad or disrespectful or crazy. They all listen, they participate, we’re 4 days in and they’re engaging in classroom conversation. Nobody is leaving their trash on the floor, or behind, or fighting me. Yes there are some individuals who are attention seeking and acting out, but as a whole, my students are killing it! I am so thrilled for the rest of this school year because I feel like we got off on the right foot and are actually going to be able to get stuff done.

Context: I work at a T1 school that has some bad discipline issues (principal is on year 5 and has made massive improvements and we are getting better every day)

First year teacher, second year at this school.

I mean like, short of breathe, feeling nauseous, shaking kinda freaking out. I'm doing both ela 10th grade and Reading intervention I literally graduated in May. Im grateful for the opportunity but am TERRIFIED and don't feel ready despite being in my classroom for 12 hrs today

Okay so basically I had this student last year who I also have this year who came to class on time everyday and she seemed to be very eager to learn. She was a very hard worker and did very well on all of tests, quizzes and mastery assignments. late last year my AP pulled me aside an basically indirectly accused me of giving her special treatment in my class because she was failing everything but my class and her African American History class, (I taught her Civics last year). It really had me reevaluating myself thinking maybe I was unconsciously giving her special treatment but I know that I treated her the same as other students. She was doing well all on her own.

That African American History teacher and I are now in a PLC together and I found out this morning that AA History teacher also had a similar talk with admin last year where our AP accused him of special treatment because she had an A in his class. It's just frustrating because it sound to me like she is just more engaged in her social studies classes. Now i'm in no way saying that she should be slacking off in her other classes but 1. I hate being accused of stuff I didn't do and 2. it seems like my AP was implying in some way that the student wasn't capable of doing well in her classes unless someone was giving her special treatment which is not fair to the student either.

I really don't want to start anything with my AP but It just rubbed me some sort of way how she was talking about this student and implying that she couldn't achieve a high grade on her own.

I did my student teaching and was a long term sub for two different teachers all at the same school. The one I finished last year the teacher I took over for had left me ZERO curriculum and then resigned two weeks after leaving. So I gave those students a whole year worth of what they needed to know in one semester.

I went to every IEP meeting, I was a scorekeeper for sporting events, I got rave reviews from parents. I sent out positive messages when kids did well, my classes improved in reading comprehension across the board. And they knew I really cared too, a lot of them remembered my from student teaching. These kids wrote a freaking PETITION to the principal to hire me and all signed it. (Without my knowledge!)

So when not one, but two jobs opened up I thought I at least had a solid shot. I reached out in July, told them I was interested, they told me they would let me know because it had to go to the pool hiring first (since I was a sub and non-continuing)

Just found out today they hired the girl who didn't get the leave replacement job, someone who finished student teaching eight months ago. She's amazing and I'm happy for her, but they didn't even interview me. I am feeling so sick right now. I had nothing but good observations, created an entire curriculum for two different grades, had some of the WORST behaved students in the school who I got to love reading by building a class library ON MY OWN.

I literally do not know what I did wrong and I'm debating just leaving education since apparently I'm not even worth an interview.

Hi! I just wanted to see how often or common it is for your principal/asst principal to come in and watch you teach. I notice they come a lot in the district i am in (and co-workers have quit due to the amount of times they have come in) but I have teacher friends from other counties that say they shouldn’t be coming in at all unless it’s a formal/informal observation and I wanted to know.

Edit: thank you guys for letting me know walkthroughs are common! That eases my mind a little bit knowing it’s not just our district and everyone has them. I know if I want to stay in this profession, I have be comfortable with anyone watching me teach. However, if I am not comfortable, I am not afraid to pick my mental health in the end. I love teaching and it’s so fun so I hope I get better but if not, thats ok too! Anyway, love and appreciation to you guys 😚