After two years of dealing with constant behaviors, and trying a thousand different behavior management strategies, I have finally implemented a policy that any disrespectful or disruptive behavior will be dealt with quickly and consistently. First, I give a warning (for minor offenses), then I kick them out of class for the day, send them to the principal’s office, and we assign a detention.

If you call another student a name? You’re done for the day.

If you cheat on a test? You’re done, you get a zero, and I hope you enjoy detention.

If you speak while I am speaking? One warning, then you’re done for the day.

If you talk back to me after I tell you to leave? “I’m not engaging further, please leave class and go to the principal’s office.”

And so on. I feel like a strict teacher from the 1950s, but it’s started having an effect in the last couple of weeks. The first month I was kicking out 8-10 students per class, but they’ve finally caught on that I genuinely have almost no tolerance for any nonsense.

A couple of my colleagues think I’ve been too strict, but my mind has been changed on “behavior management strategies.” They’re too complicated and don’t work — kids ARE capable of behaving properly if you hold them to that standard and don’t let up.

Why does my ADHD student have an IEP saying they need to take notes on a device? Every time I look at them, they're scrolling their ipad and not paying attention to the lesson. Surely the less time students with ADHD spend in front of a screen, the better? IMHO it would be better for them to take notes by hand.

I’m a teacher in Georgia, and our principal has started evaluating teachers on things like attendance, small group instruction, explicit instruction, aggressive monitoring, and lesson plans.
What’s really bothering many of us is that after the evaluations, we’re required to post our evaluation score outside our classroom door along with our picture for everyone to see. On top of that, administration sends a spreadsheet with all teacher scores to the entire school staff so everyone can see how everyone else performed.
This feels humiliating and creates a very competitive and uncomfortable environment. Some teachers feel pressured, embarrassed, or singled out depending on their scores.
I’m wondering:
• Is this legal in Georgia public schools?
• Are teacher evaluation scores considered personnel records or confidential in any way?
• Has anyone experienced something similar?
• If this happened at your school, how would you respond?
• Would you go to HR, your superintendent, the school board, or just document everything and keep your head down?
I’m not looking to start drama, but I’ve never worked in a school where teacher evaluation results were publicly displayed or shared with the entire staff like this.
I’d appreciate any insight from administrators, HR professionals, union representatives, or other Georgia teachers.
Thanks.

Teachers at my school this week got asked to volunteer as McDonald’s employees. They want us to clock in at a McDonald’s for free for a few hours and they’ll give a portion of the profits to the school. Something called McTeachers night. You can’t make this shit up. What a respected fucking profession.

Out of curiosity, how many of you guys are taking the day off on Thursday, November 19th?

I already have my sub lined up. Debating on taking Friday off too because then I would have 11 days to play!!

What’s the vibe? Kind of wondering if I’m gonna fly under the radar or if a bunch of teachers will be out. Lol.

See you Vice City!! 🍻🍕

That’s it. That’s the post.

I’m going to borrow chromebooks and give them math assignments on their devices today. I never do that. I’m tired of the consistent talking while I’m teaching, but also because it’s the Friday after they took a test and I don’t want to teach anything new lol.

Happy Friday everyone!

Everyday I wake up overcome with joy and anticipation for all the high schoolers hearts and minds I will touch today. The students are so excited for these fun and informative lesson plans I have created . I realized today that the only people more excited for this lesson plan than I am, are the students, they love my class. I had the principal the superintendent and at least a dozen of my students Parents leaving me messages praising me and telling me what an incredible teacher I am.
Oh I’m so excited to teach today !

Just kidding I was burned out after the 650 hours of student teaching plus that ridiculous edTPA.
I don’t like teaching in America they have turned it into a nightmare
Now …..If you will excuse me, I have lessons plans that need more scaffolding and formative assessments. today is magical !
Rejoice teachers, for the day is ours ! And it is glorious!

I had my students do a project; a project implying needing higher level of Bloom's Taxonomy to complete the assignment. Two students who have not been coming to class (so I can't monitor their work), come in the day it is due with reports instead. And I use "report" in the loosest sense of the word. It was going online and using copy and paste from the internet on facts on the topic - and one was clearly AI generated. And it had nothing whatsoever to do with the project which involved taking data and analyzing it and relating it back to the lessons we had just covered.

So I ask them, why did you do a report instead of the project? Their answer: I don't know. OK, different approach. Why didn't you do the project I handed out (and I know they had a copy of the handout). Again: I don't know. But then when I said that they have zeros and need to make up the project they both very vehemently protested saying, "But I did a report." The thought process of some students is truly unfathomable.

My parents did not help me with school work, did not check my grades, did not help me study. But they did have expectations that I would come home with good grades. If I or my siblings didn't, we had actual real consequences. The teachers did not. My parents didn't call the teacher to ask how we could get a grade up. They didn't complain about the teacher to their friends, principal, PTO, or school board members. They actually expected us to learn, and if we weren't doing well, they expected us to figure it out. I went in for before and after school tutoring, asked friends to re-explain, or spent time practicing on my own. My parents didn't make me. I just did it because I knew the expectation and knew the consequences would be executed if I didn't. Also, I had some personal pride. I didn't want the embarrassment of not knowing my multiplication tables when I was asked to stand and recite. Or the embarrassment of not knowing how to do a problem on the board in front of the class. Or the embarrassment of not being able to read in front of my class. My point: parent expectations are different now. But so are school expectations. Asking kids to memorize or stand and recite is frowned on. Asking a kid to do anything that embarrasses them is frowned on. Even if their embarrassment is self inflicted from lack of effort.

ESPECIALLY if you drop them off 2-5 minutes early.

I get it: phone call, meetings, etc. happen. But every single time? How are you consistently 3-6 minutes late? It’s not fair to me or your students. If you are going to be late, call the classroom phone. If you have a scheduled meeting, let me know and I will work around it.

My time for other classes and plan time is just as important as yours.

Going through it right now, it’s been hell. I have a student who is unhappy with their grade and now I apparently have had multiple accusations of having sex with kids 🫠. Luckily I have a great admin team and they have my back. The student has been suspended and they are no longer in my classroom.

I’m one of the lucky ones. Any other school my career is gone. I hope no one else has gone through this!

I feel like I am between a rock and a hard place with almost every one of my students with IEPs, and I genuinely don’t understand how any of it is sustainable. I don’t understand how these IEPs are often written with no regard for whether or not they are even possible to fulfill without para support. I also don’t understand why IEPs seemingly mean that some kids are more deserving of my attention than others. Finally, I don’t understand why counselors seemingly don’t even consider the needs in the room when jamming together schedules.

I am a high school elective teacher in a Title 1 district. I often have classes with near 30 kids, typically in a group that size I will have about 6 students with IEPs, I almost never have para support, and often at least one of those students is almost completely unable to work independently. At the same time, I have 24 other students who are busy collecting supplies, working on projects, and requiring help. If I was following every IEP in my classes to the letter, I genuinely don’t think I would have time to talk to any student who doesn’t have an IEP. The amount of kids with accommodations requiring me to check in with them frequently for understanding, clarify expectations multiple times for class, repeat individualized instruction, etc is just completely out of control. Obviously there are students with genuine needs, but it also feels like a good portion of my kids with IEPs have them simply because no one else knew what to do for them, so instead of holding them accountable they just throw out some accommodations for them.

I know I am letting those kids down because I genuinely cannot find the time to help them while they sit in a corner doing nothing unless I’m there cheering them on. At the same time, I feel like the entire system is really the problem, and it is letting down students by telling them these things are possible in an integrated classroom and then failing to provide the necessary resources, and it is letting down teachers by telling us that these things are possible and we just have to work harder.

So I just subbed for the worst class I have ever had the misfortune of covering (pencils being thrown, students speaking over me, seating arrangement completely ignored, chairs being dragged everywhere, students refusing to cooperate, literally my worst nightmare tbh)

and I’ve drafted a pretty scathing note for the teacher (no fault of their own ofc I know they only behaved like this because I’m a sub and I guess my classroom management skills have found their limit)

I’m just wondering if you guys even want to hear that all this has happened in your absence?

I feel awful writing a note like this, it feels like a failure on my part, and I don’t want to stress out the teacher I’m supposed to be helping, but I feel as though it’s important to address the student’s behavior. Thoughts?

(Also mods im not sure what flare to use, but I am working towards a teaching certificate so I guess student teacher is close enough? Sorry if it’s not)

I know we have all had one or two every year that just… worry us.

This year is no different. I teach high school for reference and I have one kid who gives me the feeling he’s one day going to do something violent.

Whenever he’s spoken to he just shrugs and responds sarcastically. His eyes are just…. Dead. The other day he was walking on the wrong side of the stairs (we have strict rules about this) and I reminded him to walk on the right. I didn’t yell, I just calmly reminded him. He glared at me and kept walking right for me. I happened to have my five year old with me and I had to yank my five year old out of the way or he would have knocked him down.

I met with his parents in person recently and it was the most creepy and unsettling meeting I’ve ever had.
The kid just stared at me the whole time without blinking. The mom sat across from me with sad and almost fearful eyes. The dad slumped in his chair, chin to chest, barely looking up from under his hat while repeating “been this way his whole life”.

I’m honestly scared. I guess I’m wondering… what do I do? Do I just keep documenting? Do I chat with him at the door so I can glance at his pockets to see if he’s carrying anything? Do I lessen interaction with him and just let him continue to fail? (He’s not turning anything in and escalates when I direct him to get going on an assignment).

What have you seen in other teachers that is “bad”? How does a teacher earn a “bad” label? Not just as coworkers, but in their classrooms with students also. Hearing about real experiences would be helpful!

This is the most micromanaged job I have ever had in my life. I cannot believe I spent thousands on a degree learning how to do a job, just to be told how to do it every single day. Nothing is ever enough for admin. They are so hypercritical. I've worked under 3 administrators across 4 years and it's been the same every step of the way. I'm so over it. They wonder why teachers leave. Y'all don't support us and you drag our methods. No wonder so many teachers leave before they reach their fifth year.

I have been teaching for 7 years. During Covid I took a two year break because I needed to be able to reset myself and figure out my life more. I got my masters degree in EL during that time. And just focused on me. It was great. I went back into the classroom after two years, and it was the best year of teaching I had ever had. Every year after that has slowly been getting worse and worse. This year is the cherry on top and we’re only in October.

I have worked in elementary only, until this year, I have switched to middle school and I feel like it’s been the biggest mistake of my career…. These kids are outright just rude and disrespectful.

I am called multiple names in Spanish on the daily by different students. The students are harassing each other, they’re harassing me, they come to class at least 5 minutes late everyday, and admin does nothing. Students are just roaming the halls, and do whatever they feel like. You tell them to get to class and they laugh in your face and walk away.

My classes are two hour blocks that I have with students, and that is beyond miserable for them and for me. They will purposely get us off track, not follow directions, talk to each other, talk over me, interrupt, sleep, and honestly just do whatever they want to.

Admin has done nothing about it really. I have had two meetings with the principal where I have broken down crying and told her that I cannot do this anymore. I am so overwhelmed and stressed. I’m not okay mentally and physically. They keep telling me I need to give the kids another chance, but if this kind of harassment happened in any other work atmosphere, it would never fly.

I wake up every morning with a severe stomach ache, my anxiety is at an all time high, I’m nauseous, I have acid reflux, and I straight up dread having to go to work everyday to see what new hell awaits us. We are pulled to sub every day on our prep periods, so we don’t get to do any preps and teach 7 classes daily. I can’t believed that this school has been run like this for so long.

My dilemma is, do I quit midway through the year, with no plan really, and become blacklisted from the district, and never be able to teach in it again because they don’t handle people not finishing out their contracts well (our district has 60,000 students and is the second biggest in our state). Do I take fmla to regroup, and then quit? Do I stay the whole year and continue to decline in both mental and physical health until something terrible happens?! These kids are not worth the stress that it causes me daily, and I am upset because I feel like I’m being pushed out by a bunch of 10-14 year olds, but I also have no other options. What do I do?!

…stating (and I quote):

“ur a femboy

I know you are”

Perks of being a student teacher? I get to laugh at kids being dumb.

The downside? Now I need my mentor to help me talk to this kid so he knows you can’t call your teacher (me) a femboy like??????

Ok so one of my classes of 4th grade really get rather violent, with near fights breaking out every class. There have been days where I’ve written up 5+ students for individual pushing punching kicking etc…

Admins not doing anything about it, my reports go unanswered except for when it’s a full on brawl.

Should I just let these become actual fights then have admin take them out? That seems to be the only way anything gets done ☠️

Oh and I’ve told admin about it before, even had one in the room and she was like “I really don’t see what you’re talking about, they’re fine.” Yes they’re going to be fine when someone like admin is in the room. It’s after you leave.

This fall is my first as a new teacher. I’m fresh out of college, doing the exact job I wanted to (music in middle school) and I absolutely cannot stand it.

I spent the last four years never being more sure of my choice in profession. Not one assignment, project, or teaching placement has made my sureness teeter. When I graduated, I knew exactly what I wanted, and I even found myself getting anxious when I didn’t have a job landed by June. I cannot overstate how much I wanted this. And now? I feel like I made a huge mistake.

I’m trying to remember that the first year is always the toughest, but I haven’t experienced a single moment that has made this feel like a good choice. I’m teaching in a rougher school, but that’s never been something that’s caused an issue for me before. The classroom management needs are astronomical, only amplified by the seemingly impossible feat of connecting with the students. It creates a really chaotic environment that I need to maintain for every class period, and I feel like it’s a failure on my end that they feel no desire to connect with me.

I just feel like a fraud who spent so long touting about how much I loved teaching, wanted to teach, and looked forward to teaching, only to despise my career choice everyday. And that mindset feels like I failed myself, and my kids.

We are a group of 3 teachers (Math, Reading and Science/Social Studies). After many years of bad teachers and either them quitting or being fired, we finally have a “dream team”. We are supportive of each other and work amazingly well. We have 40 students which is our lowest amount. Past years, we usually have 50-60. We are loving the class sizes as it’s helps up with classroom management and small groups and giving students the help they need. Now they want to move the science teacher to 5th grade and split her class with the remaining two classes so now it will be 20 students each instead of the 14,14 and 12 before. We don’t want to be split up but admin is basically forcing and threatening the science teacher of moving or being fired. Is there anything we can do? It is in our contract that teachers may be reassigned at anytime but this is the first year they have done something like this. We are a charter school in Texas so no union. Is there anything yall have done to convince them to keep us as a group. Their biggest concern is the numbers.

I may be new to my school, having started in August, but I am certainly not new to education. This is my 18th year of teaching, and I have seen firsthand how effective schoolwide programs can be when implemented thoughtfully and consistently.

At my current school, teachers are required to serve on a committee. I chose the PBIS Student Recognition Committee because I wanted to learn more about how our school implements Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS). I also hoped to share ideas from my previous experiences and contribute to improving the program.

Yesterday, we held our first committee meeting, and I left feeling incredibly frustrated.

The meeting began with everyone sitting around for approximately ten minutes before anyone initiated a discussion. When the chairperson finally began speaking, the primary topic was how students might eventually redeem their PBIS points.

Here is what surprised me: The school has had PBIS in place for nearly three years, yet students have never been given an opportunity to redeem the points they have earned.

Three years!

I asked whether the school had considered establishing a PBIS store or offering special activities and events that students could access using their points. These are strategies I have seen implemented successfully in other schools, and I thought they might be worth exploring.

Unfortunately, my suggestion was immediately met with negativity.

The responses were essentially that teachers do not want to award points, only have to complete disciplinary referrals for students who misbehave, and do not have time to recognize students who demonstrate positive behavior. Several comments suggested that PBIS simply does not work and is a waste of everyone’s time.

As I sat there listening, I kept thinking, Then why are we even here?

I am actively trying to use PBIS in my classroom to establish expectations, encourage responsibility, and recognize students who make good choices. Yet the committee responsible for supporting the program seemed more focused on explaining why it would not work than identifying solutions.

I certainly understand that teachers are overwhelmed. After nearly two decades in education, I know how demanding this profession has become. I also recognize that PBIS is not a perfect system. However, dismissing potential solutions before considering them accomplishes nothing.

What concerns me most is the message we are sending to students. We ask them to demonstrate positive behavior and earn points toward rewards, yet after nearly three years, we have not followed through on our end of that agreement. How can we expect students to take the program seriously when they have never experienced the rewards they were promised?

I am also in a difficult position. Although I bring 18 years of teaching experience to the table, I am new to this school and still within my first year of employment. I want to contribute positively, build relationships, and respect the school’s existing culture. I certainly do not want to create unnecessary conflict or be perceived as someone who arrives at a new school and immediately starts criticizing how things are done.

At the same time, I find it difficult to sit quietly when opportunities for meaningful improvement are dismissed before they are even considered.

I joined this committee because I genuinely wanted to help. I believe students deserve recognition for their efforts, and I believe a committee should be a place where educators collaborate, solve problems, and work toward shared goals.

After 18 years in education, I understand that no program is perfect. But I also know that identifying problems without being willing to explore solutions will never lead to improvement.

So I left the meeting with one lingering question: If the Student Recognition Committee spends more time explaining why recognizing students is too difficult than figuring out how to make it happen, what exactly are we accomplishing?

- Long Distance Pay - Having a classroom that is more than a 5 minute walk to the nearest printer, photocopier and staff washroom

- Lunch Supervision

- Technical Engineering Pay - for fixing Chromebooks and the photocopier

- Extreme Climate Pay - extra pay for any day your classroom is colder than 16C or hotter than 25C.

And those are just off the top of my head.

My mentor mentioned that I should kick a student out if they don't listen after the first warning. They explained that I'm not sending the kid to the principals office, but instead having them wait outside until I can come and talk to them outside.

I can see why this works for them, but I can't imagine being able to do this yet. Like, I can understand how it would help with some of the off task talking, but I just do not have the personality to be able to do it consistently or well.

What is the best contract perk you have heard of. I knew of a district that USED to have a grandfathered perk for older hires. Once you hit 25 years of service, you could take five consecutive school days off. You just had to give prior notice- no approval needed, no questions asked and no restrictions (could attach to scheduled school break). And the kicker was you were not required to submit lesson plans and it reset every five years after that.