/r/AskHSteacher

Photograph via snooOG

We are a group of high school teachers that want to provide assistance to you outside of school. Whether you are high school students that are in need of some academic helps, middle school students that are trying to see what high school is like, or just need someone to talk to, we are here for you.

You may post pictures or links, but try not to do it for the karma.

You may ask for helps on your homework, that doesn't mean we will give you the answer.

Remember that we are human beings too. And we are doing this because we care.

check out r/StoriesFromYourSchool for, well, stories from redditors' schools.

/r/AskHSteacher

7,829 Subscribers

51

This is for any choir teachers, would you want to be told by your student that singing hurts when they wear a binder?

I'm 16 and genderfluid, I wear a binder on masculine days. I'm in choir and I sing soprano one. When I wear my binder I can't breathe correctly to maintain high notes. It starts to hurt after awhile. I trust my choir Teacher Mrs. Candy(fake name) with my life but im wondering if I need to tell her that it hurts or if it would even make a difference if I told her that it hurts. So choir teachers would you want to know if it hurt?

35 Comments
2024/10/26
14:20 UTC

35

Do I have the responsibility of reporting a teacher if he partakes in creepy behaviors?

I'm currently enrolled in a culinary class at my highschool. I'm a 16 year old female, and most of the people in my class are also 16-17. Typically, I try not to report anyone because I dislike causing issues but recently my teacher has been oddly close with male students. Recently, he's been going up to students, hugging them, and giving them a kiss on the cheek. But it was only with male students. I shrugged it off because I don't know how close they are. But it has been getting worse He's asked students to Crack his back and puts his front flush against them. He's created "inside jokes" where he'll say something weird, but when someone asks about it, he tells them it's none of their business. Recently, he yelled, "is it tight?" To a kid, and started laughing. This creeped me out. He also violated 504 plans and The ADA. I tried to shrug it off, but it just doesn't sit right with me. Then, yesterday it came to a head. He was talking with students about parties and was encouraging cocaine and drug use. He said "none of this is fun after 21. I started when I was your age." Then, we had to take a serv-safe manager test, and he had me check the boys tests and correct their answers before submitting. I did, because I didn't care, but then he started rubbing my shoulders before turning around and doing it to the guy behind me. Typically, I wouldn't care, but with everything he's done, it felt off. He was silent and was licking his lips and it all feels borderline creepy. He's in line for a promotion right now and I'm not sure if the office would even listen to me if I reported him because this has happened before since he's cussed out students, but never this physically serious. So, should I report him? I don't know what to do.

28 Comments
2024/10/25
12:39 UTC

4

What’s the most (ugghhhh) question/student you’ve had where the whole class and/or the teacher goes like ugggghhhh?

For me it was anything in science and chem class I asked about explosions, because I did that a lot.

Or History class when I asked “stupid” (interesting) questions like…. Are Hieroglyphs Ancient Emojis, or isn’t Tom Holland by definition an Ancient Greek bard since he is one who performs about great heroes.

It’s just me in general in every class every time the teacher called on me because even when I said something normal it’d be in “my” way of speaking like “so basically” “ya see there” and “yeah, ya get it right?” And I was a bit over explanatory.

So what’s y’all’s

What’s y’all’s

1 Comment
2024/10/23
23:57 UTC

16

Would you guys fail a student if a paper they wrote had something in it you strongly didn’t agree with?

I wrote an economics timed writing and in the heat of the moment I wrote something about how disbanding some unions could create more economic efficiency because some of the people protected by the union aren’t suited for the job. It was an awful response but I genuinely didn’t know what to write and the clock was ticking I was grasping for anything. My teacher hasn’t graded the paper (he has for everyone else) or any assignments after (he has for everyone else) so can teachers just fail kids because they don’t like what one wrote?

Edit: he finally graded my assignment, wasn’t a good grade but at least I know he’s not purposely failing me

23 Comments
2024/10/22
21:43 UTC

33

Do Teachers Appreciate It When Students Reach Out After Graduation?

Hi everyone!

I’m curious to know how teachers feel when former students reach out to them after taking their classes. I recently wrote an email to one of my former political science teachers, expressing how much I enjoyed the class and how it inspired me to continue studying the subject at college. I also included birthday wishes since I remembered their birthday from last year.

Do teachers generally appreciate hearing from students like this? Does it make a difference for you? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Thanks!

20 Comments
2024/10/22
19:28 UTC

11

So like, who’s your favorite type of student. No particular individual, just favorite type, (Quiet, Fun, Obedient?)

18 Comments
2024/10/20
03:38 UTC

15

tell me you teach high school whitout telling me(alt title:what do you do that "non-hs teachers do?)

the wilder the better

26 Comments
2024/10/19
01:13 UTC

29

teacher mandated reporting

so, i want to tell my old(last year) teacher something that happened

the thing is, it was with me and another teacher, and sexual in nactor (sexual harassment/sexual grooming of a minor) but i dont go to that school anymore,so i need to know^(1)

does he HAVE to report that, even if i dont go there anymore, or can i trust him to keep it in confidence

my bf is telling me that this is a bad idea, ^(2)

i need to know what im putting myself through before i do it

  1. it happened in the 9th grade, and it was bad, like this teacher could go to jail bad
  2. becase i have ptsd and if im forsed to report, it might make it worse(at the moment)
  3. As a teacher, what do you think? As a principal of a school, what would you do?
  4. note: the teacher i want to tell is now a asst. principal at the same school
11 Comments
2024/10/17
05:01 UTC

67

My friend is dating a staff member from my school.

Hey guys I am wanting advice whether this is okay or not (I think it’s disgusting but she thinks otherwise) My friend turned 18 literally last week. (She doesn’t go to my school) She has been talking romantically with a staff member from my school for about a month now. Therefor, she was a minor when they started talking. I get she is the legal age now, but is it still illegal for a teacher to date a student, even tho they aren’t from the same school? It makes me sick to the stomach knowing a teacher from my school is seeing someone who is still in highschool. What are your thoughts? Should I report this?

16 Comments
2024/10/12
08:30 UTC

0

Problematic Math Teacher (Cheater, Liar, Scammer)

Since the school year started, I have been in a math class with a particularly annoying math teacher. He can't teach, thinks he's the most important person ever, and has problems with several students. However, that's not what's important.

I turned in several pieces of homework at different times and on about four different occasions, he gave me a 0/10 on the assignment online. I talked to him four times, and on the fifth time, I turned the same homework in twice, and still got the homework back without anything changed. I finally decided to email, him, explaining that my homework are not getting graded multiple times and this is outrageous. Although I wrote exactly 3 words in CAPS, the teacher tried to personally attack me verbally.

Today in class, he announced to everyone that last night, a student in this period emailed him and was 'aggressively attacking him.' He further told people that he and his teacher's assistants grade 'hundreds' of papers and can not be expected to keep track of them all. In another statement, he explained how being in his 'class was a great privilege.'

However, is it really acceptable for a teacher to miss it five different times, especially when one homework assignment has been turned in twice? Boosting that his class is a privilege is a complete lie, as all the other teachers are just as good, if not better, and this is getting views from several different students.

As a teacher, what do you think? As a principal of a school, what would you do? As a student, how would you react?

I plan to get a few more cases, record them, and bring them to school administrators.

5 Comments
2024/09/19
23:56 UTC

0

Poor Highschool GPA

Im a senior in high school currently and the combination of covid and having been manipulated from my freshman to junior year really tanked my gpa. Im sitting at 1.6ish from the last 3 years. My grades are all much better now but am i screwed? I really wanna study a science major in China but am i gonna be screwed and forced to work a trade?

31 Comments
2024/09/17
18:58 UTC

1

Sig Fig Calculators in science (cheating?)

Is it cheating to use a program that came on my calculator (ti84 plus ce) straight from the factory? My calculator has a program for sig figs and scientific notation. This means it can automatically do it for me l, I personally know how to do this stuff it's just easier to double check sowmtimes. So I'm wondering if this would be considered cheating. I assume if calcs are allowed as long as you don't have a program that does some crazy stuff that does the entire questions for you without you thinking at all. I never thought this would be cheating just checking.

3 Comments
2024/09/17
00:59 UTC

5

I’d like to reach out to my former teacher more often but I don’t know how

Once in a while I message my former teacher from high school to wish her happy holidays or to share something with her that reminds me of her class back when I was her student or any other kind of memory, she was my favorite teacher in high school. I only message her twice a year and only see her in person to say hi once a year but I would like to message her more often by updating her in my life and simply have conversations with her if I need someone to talk to and stay in touch with her more. I have also thought about how can I ask her if I can visit her in my old high school when I can to say hi and catch up with her. She would probably be happy to hear from me more often but I still don’t know where to start, I don’t know if she would be too busy to have a conversation with me more often whether it’s through messages or in person or if it would simply be awkward that I want to reach out to her more often. Any advice would be appreciated.

9 Comments
2024/09/11
19:34 UTC

1

TX610 - TExES Languages Other Than English (LOTE) French -

Looking for a study guide or study tips.

2 Comments
2024/09/10
03:26 UTC

207

I sent my teacher an e-mail and it feels embarrassing

A few minutes ago, i sent my teacher an email about how i liked her lesson (the first lesson of senior year) because it had a bit to do with what i'm planning on studying. I'm just so embarrassed about it. Who am i to 'just mail a teacher because i liked one lesson'???

I told myself that this year i would try to open up more in class (i'm a really quiet kid), so now i am afraid that when i have this teacher's class, i'll always feel embarrassed and shy.

Do you have any advice? I can't delete this email.

Edit: She liked it! Thank you for being reassuring. I got her mail a few hours ago, and if i hadn't read all your replies, i would have spiraled, even though there was nothing to worry or to be embarrassed about! Now, i'm going to try to say more in class. :)

64 Comments
2024/09/09
14:08 UTC

4

Worth finishing my PhD?

I am a bit more than a year into my PhD in biochemistry. I was planning on going into college level teaching, which is why I pursued this degree. I had a talk recently with my friend who is a middle school teacher in a well off school district. She told me about her decent benefits and pay, but what really caught my attention was how much more involved she was with her students and how much more of a direct impact she made.

After looking up teacher salaries in her district, I realized that with my PhD I would make the same teaching at the college or pre-college level. Additionally, I would get much better health care (this is important to me) and benefits teaching high school.

Am I crazy to get a whole chemistry PhD just to go teach high school after this? Does having a PhD decrease my chances of getting hired? Would I even be hired with no formal education degree? I will graduate with 5 years of teaching at the college level + a certificate in teaching, but I am not sure what weight this carries outside of the university sphere.

My conversation with my friend made me realize the only reason I pursued teaching at the college level was because my parents think teaching as a high school teacher is not a 'good enough job'. I just want to teach and really engage with students, but I think I could be more involved with my students if I did not teach in university.

5 Comments
2024/09/09
11:44 UTC

0

Texas certification

Teacher certification for world language

I was enrolled in the Teachers of Tomorrow program in Indiana, where I received a 3-year Transition to Teaching license. With that license, I taught for two years. I also passed the French content exam in both Florida and Indiana before moving to Texas. Last year, I relocated to Texas and secured a teaching job under an emergency permit, which unfortunately expired last month. Due to the expired license, my contract was terminated, and I now have to work as a substitute until I obtain a Texas teaching license.

I enrolled in the Texas Teachers of Tomorrow program last year but wasn’t aware that I needed to pass the content exam again. I took the French content test in May but didn’t pass. The exam is only offered about four times a year, so I will retake it in October. This entire process has been incredibly stressful, and I’m looking for any advice or support from those who have gone through something similar.

1 Comment
2024/09/09
03:17 UTC

0

Want to become a Econ Teacher- what should I do?

Not sure where to post this, so I thought I’d try here.

I’m currently a senior at my college getting my degree in economics and public policy BSB with a double minor in sustainability and data analytics. I want to become a professor, but I know Econ Phds and tenure tracks are very competitive. Over the internet, I’m hearing that competition is TERRIBLE for Econ professors at research universities. This is making me rethink obtaining my PhD. I want to work towards my masters as well and maybe try applying to community colleges, but I’ve heard that’s competitive too. Working in business and a regular 9-5 does not sound fulfilling to me and I would love to be in charge of a classroom. My professors have made me fall in love with economics and being able to inspire the upcoming generations or teach them something I’m passionate about sounds fulfilling. I’m not sure if becoming a high school Econ teacher is as competitive as becoming a professor. Could I possibly get a job as a teacher post grad with my BSB? What licenses or extra certifications should I look into to become a high school teacher with a business degree? Does this vary by state? Is the pay for Economics high school teachers decent? Thank you to anyone that responds to this with advice and knowledge!

3 Comments
2024/09/04
03:57 UTC

0

Survey about generative AI in education. Please help!

Teachers of Reddit. I am a student of the international baccalaureate program in Sweden, and I desperately require your assistance. I am conducting a survey on how students and teachers use AI in school, but I am severely lacking responses from teachers. Please help me by answering this very short questionnaire!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe3DE1szCaR74lZ6t6jRrax4787ntl0GSWfCISC563ij5oRKw/viewform?usp=sf_link

0 Comments
2024/09/01
11:56 UTC

25

High school graduate wanting to email teachers!

Hello! I just wanted to contact a former AP teacher of mine. I graduated this year and I have been trying to find his email, but the school I formerly went to doesn’t seem to have a staff contact page or a directory. I tried emailing the school itself months ago but I never got a response from them. I genuinely feel terrible because I had told him I was going to send him photos of me and boyfriend’s graduation photos, since we both had the same class. He was genuinely an amazing teacher and I just wanna keep in contact with him. Any help on where to start would be appreciated <3

18 Comments
2024/09/01
00:10 UTC

4

International student-becoming a teacher

Hey y’all ! So I had a couple of questions related to becoming a teacher as an international citizen (French). My background:

I am really passionate with American politics and history and was thinking about teaching one or both of these subjects in the US. I currently study political science and American history at McGill university in Canada and have 1.5 year to go before finishing my bachelor. From what I understand, it is important that I get a master in education and that I also get a certification. Those things would be a no brainer if it was not for the cost of tuition in the US for international students (even domestics…)

After a little bit of research, I happened to understand that the teacher shortage forced the federal government and state governments to fund education for aspiring teachers. Arizona for example proposed to fund completely your master of education at NAU or ASU if you are accepted in either of these schools. More generally, I believe I could reach out to different state department of education (in states where there is a huge teacher shortage like Arizona, Oregon, California, etc) to see if they would help fund my master in exchange of an agreement of 5-10 years of teaching in the state for example.

I wanted to know if you had any leads on how to become a history/AP gov teacher in the US as an international? if a partly funded master is possible? What should I focus on?

I also understand that the US gives job to a US citizen first, but considering the teacher shortage, because nobody wants to be one, they might require some "external help"

Keep in mind that I absolutely adore what I study and would love to share it/teach it so it is really important for me to be able to continue my career in a related field.

Any help is greatly appreciated !!!

Merci !

5 Comments
2024/08/26
22:38 UTC

0

Senior Sunrise / Chainsmoking

Hey I was wondering if my teachers could bust me if I chainsmoke cigs before school whilst watching the sunrise cuz we do that as seniors and then watch the sunset. It’s off school property, across the street, we get in trouble if we go there during lunch because it’s “off school grounds” could they really do anything?

9 Comments
2024/08/25
21:20 UTC

27

Are there different birth years in the same grade in the US?

I've tried researching this but can only find contradictary answers.

Where I'm from, people in the same grade are born in the same calendar year (January-December).

Is it like this in the US too? Or are people born in different years in the same grade?

15 Comments
2024/08/25
14:00 UTC

13

Reaching out to an old HS teacher

Hey everyone! I'm a recent high school grad and I just wanted to reach out to my old lit teacher and keep in touch. We talked about me sending her updates previously so this wouldn't be out of the blue but she was my favorite teacher and I just want to tell her about some of the exciting things that are going on right now.

What would be an appropriate way to format this email? I'm trying to write this organically but I'm struggling with how to start the email. Any input would be appreciated!!

2 Comments
2024/08/23
15:50 UTC

5

Question for school

Since you guys are teacher, is it okay for teacher to make kids pay everytime they curse, cause here in my room even though it’s not that deep of a curse even though it’s just an expression they still made us pay 10 pesos (PHP) everytime and the average students here in my school only have a 50 pesos (PHP) allowance per day. Is it okay? Cause it’s kinda making me mad that they’re taking advantage of the pupils cause average people in Philippines does say curse word as an expression..

5 Comments
2024/08/13
03:13 UTC

25

Not allowed to utilize library during off/free periods

I’m making this post on behalf of my younger sister, who is going into her senior year of high school. This year she has two off periods, one during first period and the other during last period. Last year, she had off first period and would spend it studying in the library. However, this year her new school principal has instated a rule stating that students cannot stay in the school, including in the library during free periods. His exact words were “you need to get out of the building.” My sister can just get dropped off later in the morning but unfortunately we are unable to pick her up early as we will all still be at work when she gets out of her last class and she does not have a car. Her plan was to just wait in the library until school ends so she can take the bus home but the new policies now don’t allow her to stay in the library. Is it worth emailing her counselor and principal and asking them to make an exception? Not sure what the best course of action is in this case. It’s unbelievable to me that her school won’t allow students to use the library during free periods.

12 Comments
2024/08/11
04:50 UTC

34

What’s the protocol for inviting former teacher out to lunch?

Hey guys, I graduated this june and my friends and i wanted to invite our (former) art teacher out for maybe a last visit before we all go off to college. Is it better to invite him to lunch? coffee? especially bc it will be like 4-5 of us total and then adding him as well. and it might be super dumb to ask but i genuinely need to know: are we paying for him? is he paying for us? bc paying for 5 people i'd feel bad if he did that but i have a feeling he might insist. at the same time, i feel like we should pay for him tho if we're the ones who invited him out.

i'm not sure if this is the right thread to post this on but i figured i'd ask anyway. thanks!

10 Comments
2024/08/06
01:54 UTC

0

would this be useful for High school students?

Hey teachers,

Me and my mate are trying to make maths a bit more engaging by using 'battle bots'. We originally thought it would be best for primary students.

Do you think high school students would enjoy this if the questions were a bit more difficult?

https://i.redd.it/2yf5uswpahgd1.gif

https://i.redd.it/2x13dm2rahgd1.gif

Here is a sub stack post if you want more info;

https://haynejnewell.substack.com/p/july-update-engaging-students-working?r=184ox1

0 Comments
2024/08/03
16:50 UTC

9

The best teacher I've ever had...

Hi all, I graduated in 2019 from an all girls catholic hs in new york city. At my 4 years at that school although a lot of it was rough given personal and family problems I had going on at home, the dean of our school at the time, who was also my Spanish Teacher at one point, was always there for me. she was seriously one of the best she always watched and looked out for me. After I graduated in 2019 she decided to leave teaching there and relocate i believe she teaches in NJ now but I dont blame her for leaving. Everyone would talk back at her and drive her up the wall a lot of the time it was people from my graduating class or my friend group which usually resulted in me arguing and getting mad at them because she was only trying to do her job and help us instead a lot of students didnt like her since they got sent to her whenever they were caught doing something against the rules. But this teacher left an ever lasting impact on me... when my grandpa passed during our junior formal/prom she let me come to her office to calm down and just talk to her for the next week or two. she was seriously the one teacher who always believed in me and had an everlasting impact on me and ill never ever forget her which is why im desperate to get back into contact with her.

After I graduated we were friends on FB until she removed her facebook in 2020 during the pandemic and I tried to get back into contact with her but wasnt able to. but now i am trying again however it is a bit harder as I moved from NYC to Europe for a better life and I found the website of the school she works at now but due to me being in the EU I am unable to access the website to get her email and I am debating if i should just give up. She was the best and favorite teacher I have ever had and nobody will ever top her in my book. she is so caring and given that she had her own life problems and still took time to be there for me, I want to reach out to her again I dont want anything from her except just to tell her how much of a great person she is. She really is an angel sent from heaven. If i never am able to get into contact with her again, I hope God Blesses her and gives her all the great things life has to offer. But do any of you think I should continue to try and get into contact with her again? or just leave it be?

1 Comment
2024/07/20
10:52 UTC

1

Sig Figs

Hi! Always been bad at sig figs so would appreciate some help! Just wondering why 120+ 24.5 gives you 140 when rounding and not 145 since it also has 0 decimal places

2 Comments
2024/07/19
07:20 UTC

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