I’ve been teaching for five years now and while I love my job, sometimes I feel like my life these past five years has been just that, work. I’ve had no significant social life or experiences outside of work and I’ve come to notice that it’s mostly because of stress. I work 7:00 to 3:00 with a half hour lunch, and as many of you know, teaching is a job where you’re always on, so I end up every day feeling mentally exhausted and it doesn’t matter if I take a nap or rest, I just can’t do anything when I get home except leave things ready for the next day. On weekends I sometimes don’t like to go out or do anything that requires me to focus on anyone else or anything, because on Monday I go to work as if I hadn’t rested at all. So I’ve noticed it’s the stress, but I can’t find a way to get it out of my body. What do y’all do?

I do know is that I am very fortunate to have had the whole week off for Thanksgiving. Nonetheless, it feels like yesterday that I went home from work with that hopeful glint of turkey in my eye.

Good luck tomorrow, everyone! May the next three weeks fly by!

I used to be of the mindset that I wanted to be solely in charge of my classroom and I absolutely didn't want anyone else "intruding." Now I think this was born of my anxiety and insecurity around having another adult in the room to observe me and see me fail at stuff in real time, which usually I can just laugh about and redo when I'm with my students. Now that I'm a bit older and wiser, I think every single classroom could benefit from having a para. I'm not just talking inclusion classrooms - every. single. classroom. With the way teaching is nowadays, and with the way students are, and with all the expectations teachers and students alike are subject to now, having another adult in the classroom would be a godsend, I think. Especially - at least for elementary, I don't have any knowledge of middle or high school classrooms - in Honors classes, or at least high-to-mid-level classes. Imagine everything you could get done if you had an extra pair of hands and an extra pair of eyes in the room!

Hi, I'm looking for advice.

I have been giving private language lessons for a while. I have been approached by a former student who wants me to organise and teach a beginner language class for a community centre. This centre works with courses that are specular to the 4 school terms, 10 weeks per term. I have a textbook that I know it's gonna work well with such a course. My only doubt is about the course structure: I'm gonna have ~10 students for the first term, and I'll start from the beginning of the book.

The problem is: the enrolment is just for 1 term. What if I have new students in term 2? It wouldn't be logic to keep going with the book with people that are just starting, unless it's all new students and all the term 1 students wouldn't continue.

The centre made clear this is the way they have been doing it with all the courses and they wouldn't be keen to create a new class with students that are starting on term 2, unless it's a big number of students.

How to structure such course? I'm in a pickle.

Thank you for reading

Cheers

Hi, new teacher here. I teach Mathematics and Chemistry at the Higher Secondary Level. Now that the year is done, I keep wondering: should I refine my teaching slides every year? I started this year with PPT slides for teaching, but I can't help but feel they can be too restrictive sometimes. Should I instead move all my notes to MSWord? As you can see, my two subjects are equation-heavy, with a lot of subscripts, superscripts, Greek-letters. May I have opinions from seasoned teachers?

I’m student teaching this semester. I have my final observation in a couple of days. One thing my supervisor will for sure be looking for is engagement. I currently teach 10th grade geometry. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on how to boost engagement? He’s looking for me to call on them or ask them to stand up and walk around or have them ask questions. I will say it’s rare for this class to ask questions, they are very quiet except for 1 table.

hi everyone! im currently a teaching assistant and just had a funny little story to share. i work with pre-k aged children and within my class i have a set of twins (two girls who i’ll call jane and sara). while at recess today, one of the little boys (who i’ll call ethan) in my class kept bothering jane. now jane is unfortunately very quiet and doesn’t like to speak up when she needs to (im trying to work with her on this fingers crossed). he would follow her around even when she asked him to stop, kept asking her questions, and just being overall annoying. she went to go play with her sister on the swings and the boy followed her there. the first time i checked on them i saw the little boy behind her trying to push her on the swings and i unfortunately missed the subtle signs that she was becoming progressively irritated. i turned my head to check on the other kids and the next thing i knew, i started to hear a kid screaming. i immediately went to check what was happening and i saw sara beating up on the boy while jane kept saying “i told you so i told you so”. i immediately got them off of each other, let them calm down, and that’s when i learned the entire story. the lead teacher did talk to ethan about respecting people when they say no and did get put in time out for a bit. i talked to sara about how it’s not okay to hit people and that she should’ve came to me, but also that i was proud of her for standing up to her sister. she was also put in time out but not as long as ethan. eventually they both apologized to each other and hugged it out and went right back to playing. i just thought that was a cute story of a sister protecting her other sister. i love working with siblings.

Teacher feedback needed, especially if you know politics!

I am high school teacher, and I've been wanting to get out for a few years now. I'm mainly looking at jobs that are still in the realm of education, as I can't afford to go back to school in order to switch careers. There is a job posting I'm really excited about with a company that partners with schools to help teachers implement specialized programs for their students. It pays well and I am passionate about the work they're doing. They've been in business for just over 20 years, so they're not a startup. Here's my worry-- is Trump REALLY going to dismantle the DoE?! And if so, how will that impact schools in terms of programming? I doubt schools will pay for this kind of extra educational service if they're budgets are slashed. But I wonder if it's mainly wealthy districts that are clients anyway, so maybe it wouldn't matter? I want to find something that makes me happy, but, as my dad reminds me, I have job security where I'm at. What are your thoughts?!

I teach 10th grade ELA and I am the only state tested subject in my department. Our school as an A report card and my scores make up part of that so there is IMMENSE pressure on my from admin to make sure kids are proficient or more on the EOC.

I had a lot of success last year literally teaching kids about the Common Core standards, what each standard looked like, what it was asking, how that looks on an assessment, etc. I wrote assessments for Albert.io for years and it really helped with being able to teach them how to work through a major assessment, test taking strategies, etc. I wanted to teach them how assessments work from the other side of the veil, as it were.

One part of my carefully orchestrated madness is to give them weekly EOC-style practices for homework. And before you come at me, admin requires we give homework, so I don't have a choice with this, only what I assign. I want them to be familiar with the type of questions they get not only on my own assessments but the state's as well. This is a short to medium passage (I rotate between info lit and lit) and they answer 7-8 questions. I do it through Formative so it's graded automatically. I allow them to do corrections for half credit back because I want this to be a learning opportunity.

Problem is, if I'm doing one of these a week, that's at least 8-9 in a grading period. I grade these as classwork which is 20%. Eventually, the more I put in, the less they matter grade-wise. It just disappears into the ether and pretty much ensures I can't grade anything else in that category without bloating the gradebook.

So, I want to continue assigning these practices but wondered is there a better way to grade these? Grade every other one? Average scores of several assignments? Just pick 1-2 at random to grade? What do you guys do for frequent homework?

Hello!

First, since I'm in the teaching sub I wanted to express my appreciation for all dedicated teachers, teaching assistants, professors, et al. I've had to conduct professional training in different countries throughout my career and it's always a challenge deciphering a student body's weaknesses/misunderstandings and pivoting in real-time to find That One Explanation that'll result in an aha moment (oh but it feels amazing when I see it click). I don't think I could handle it as a full-time job.

I'm here to ask about the current state of computer education in schools (particularly middle school and up).

I've seen things online about young new hires not being able to do the most basic functions in a spreadsheet or PowerPoint, which I always waved off as some anti-Gen Z workforce social commentary. However, I just started my masters program and I noticed a concerning trend amongst many of the American students who came in straight from undergrad (so I would assume early 20s).

They can't find their way around a PC.
We just started practice exercises for a mandatory academic research course and the TA had to repeatedly and slowly demo the most basic tasks:

1. Opening our statistical software and loading necessary files. I'm talking about File -> Open -> .exe.
2. Selecting multiple items at once on a spreadsheet. TA and I made eye contact and shared a look of bafflement after he had to demo this MULTIPLE TIMES.
3. Right click -> [relevant action] vs double-clicking, which had the same exact end result. The students kept asking for confirmation that it was the exact same action.
4. 'Apply' vs 'OK' - did not understand that 'Apply' was for the last singular action chosen and kept the relevant menu window open in case you wanted to do more, and that 'OK' applied whatever you chose last and closed the menu. Either way, the demo was a single action so the effect was the same.
5. Not knowing that, if nothing else, you could mess up and hit 'undo' anyway. These students were refusing to click on anything until the TA reassured them multiple times they were clicking on the exact correct thing.

I know from personal experience that switching from PC to Mac or vice versa could cause some confusion, but I've never seen a complete inability to apply basic logical reasoning to find one's way around what I thought was fairly intuitive UI. The problem wasn't just the software btw, even going into a prepped database online to download multiple files to load was giving some students issues.

Do we still have computer skills courses in the US? Is this a Windows thing? Are students even using PC in schools anymore or are most American schools using Mac? Are they using tablets instead? Any other factor that I'm missing?

I'm in my mid-30s btw. I definitely had to suffer through those basic computer skills courses in elementary and middle school, Excel and all. I even took Visual Basic in the 6th grade, which I don't think was the norm back then.

Hopefully this topic hasn't been beaten to death already.

EDIT: I'm a student as well, not the teacher.

EDIT 2: Thanks for all the insight! Seeing Chromebooks come up as a recurring theme. I actually totally forgot they existed since I've never handled one. Didn't realize they're so limited in technical function.

The rainbow graffiti is also mine. Inside joke they will understand.

Earlier this year, I was teaching my 8 year old brother with ADHD to write. I wanted to find some software that would check his handwriting and spelling skills, then have some animated 3D object appear on the paper. This way his writing would "come to life".

I searched online and in the app stores, and could not find anything related. The last year I ended up building an app that did what I envisioned. To my surprise it ended up working better than expected, and was able to teach my brother as well as my 4 year old niece to write. She was fully engaged and wanted to spell cat, dog, and all of the animals in the game.

My question to teachers is would this app be something you would use in a teaching setting? If so what would you add or change to make it more viable in a classroom setting? I am deciding to build it into a small education company and would like some feedback. Thank you

Here is link to the demo that ive been using on my family members. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ab-sees/id6541751007

Technically there should be more Tier 1 students in a school than Tier 2 and Tier 3 - or that's what I always believed. I'm recognizing, the longer I teach, that my school - and I'm sure other schools - are having the opposite problem. My school's population of Tier 2 and Tier 3 students is absolutely massive; they greatly outnumber the kids on Tier 1. Of course this makes it really hard to teach grade level skills because most of the kids I see are not even one grade level below, but multiple. How the hell do we fix this? I'm already getting passing-each other-in-the-hallway reports from grade level teachers below mine to "watch out" for the kids I'll be getting next year because they're already showing signs of being low, not to mention the behavior issues. No wonder I'm so exhausted every day after teaching.

i got the text from my principal this morning. i teach at a small private school and taught him 6-8th grade, he graduated 2 years ago and was a sophomore in highschool. his sister graduated last year and one of his younger brothers is in 7th grade. i’ve never had to deal with something like this before and don’t even know how im going to get myself through the week, let alone be there for my students. this family is pretty well-known at emmy school and he was a really good person. it just feels completely unreal.

I'm a recent college grad, who started teaching part time for this boys high school. I've never really taught or managed a classroom in my life.

To clarify, I'm teaching a remedial math class for ninth graders and a math for business class for 11th graders, roughly a dozen students in each class. I know the material, and apparently, know the material much better than any other teacher they've had previously. (several students told me outright they were glad to have a teacher who actually knew the material)

I guess, I'm so unsure of what to do. I wasn't really given goals to accomplish by the end of the year, and I don't really have a textbook to go off of.

Really, any advice is appreciated. Classroom managements, handling my own inexperience and stutter, lesson planning (what even is that), how to make a test??

HELP

I'm from England and I'm starting to apply for my teacher training.

I'm not sure if this is a silly question but is teaching a lesson standard on many PGCE interviews? I just thought it seems on the bit more on the difficult side for someone who's applying because they don't have a lot of teaching experience and want to become a teacher.

It feels a bit like I'm interviewing to do some training to be a pilot but they want me to demonstrate how to fly the plan first. I'm really working my ass off with this lesson plan/ other stuff for next week but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't extremely stressed about it because I really want to be a history teacher.

Hello, UK based here- I’ve just started applying for teacher training and although I KNEW I would have to do an enhanced DBS check, having it written down in forms is starting to worry me a little.

In the early summer of this year I was sectioned for my mental health, this is on my official record along with a warrant for them to enter my flat to section me. It’s worth noting I went calmly and was cooperative and I don’t have any criminal record.

I know they can’t deny you on grounds of health, mental or physical as it’s classed as a disability but as this is a record and not a diagnosis I was worrying that that might make a difference?

Any help would be massively appreciated, I’ve really struggled to find a cohesive answer online as to whether this will affect me getting a place at university and more so whether it will stop me teaching.

My mom is 75 and a retired teacher. She taught grades 5-8 science, social studies and language arts. Retirement is driving her mad and she’s looking to get back into teaching but passively if that makes sense. Can anyone recommend any online platforms that she could use to tutor or teach after school programs? Or really any recommendations you can offer would be GREATLY appreciated. I’m worried about her, she feels like she has no purpose anymore and it’s killing me :( thank you all!

Hello! This post might be a bit messy because I just finished my first lesson ever as an English teacher and I don't think it was good. My student was an 8 years old boy and I have almost 0 experience dealing with kids in general. I work online in a language school and I'll have classes with all the age groups, but kids seem the most difficult for me to handle. Do you have any tips on how to make it easier for me to keep a positive and energetic atmosphere during the lesson? How not to be so nervous? Does it all become easier in time?

Hello, everyone.

I am a Spanish and ESOL teacher at a middle and high school. I was hired here as a recent graduate five years ago, and as bittersweet as this is for me, I am leaving the school after five years.

In a way, since I started out so young, I feel that my students and I have grown and evolved together, and to many, I’ve taught their siblings. This has allowed me to create a special bond not only with them, but also with their families.

Currently, I am still employed here and have only given my cellphone number to parents for field trips or sporting events. However, I would love to keep in touch once I leave, for I will also be moving states.

Is it unethical to share your personal contact information with your students the last day of the school year after announcing that I will not be coming back to the school?

Thank you for your feedback ❤️

Ominous music and all: https://youtube.com/watch?v=0jk9UIN9GC0&t=74

Hi all, to keep it short I graduated with a BSc in Zoology in 2023 and I'm curious about getting a teaching qualification as I'm planning on returning to university next year and I wanted to assess all my options well in advance.

I've been reading into getting a QTS and what it's like to teach KS3 science; But I'm not sure if it would be worth getting vs trying again with biosciences and animal sciences.

Would any UK teachers consider getting into teaching worth it with the current state of UK schools? If so would you suggest primary or secondary schools? In all honesty I'm sick of retail and I'm gauging my options to get out of that cycle of being stuck in minimum wage jobs.

Hi I'm interested in becoming a teacher either elementary or wood shop tech teacher. I know those are 2 separate things but I'm looking at my options First how is it being elementary or shop. Do you like it. How long have you been doing it for. How is it for new teachers. How is it in Connecticut as I will hope to work in one of those schools I'm from south Windsor ct so schools around there. Anyone in the guard or reserves and is a teacher. How is that? I will be going to boot camp this June and will be doing carpentry in the guard. How is the pay in Connecticut and how is the schooling to get the degree. What does it take and how long I hope to use the. Military to help pa for it and go to school in one of the ct colleges.

I'm a tech teacher building a tool to grade handwritten short answers. My history colleague and I are currently testing it. Looking for 5-10 more beta testers. If interested, check out the link: https://gradepaper.ink Hit me with any questions! #edtech #handwriting #grading #teachers

https://preview.redd.it/j9g44cs5tb3e1.jpg?width=1934&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=16c977dfc45f34328fb6749bc43fdd735ccb52d8

These are my two favourite playlists on Spotify that I use to help aid mindfulness and meditation and relax before a restful sleep. Feel free to listen to them yourselves and have a lovely day! Enjoy!

Mindfulness & Meditation (Ambient/ drone/ piano) 35,000+ other listeners practicing Mindfulness at the same time

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/43j9sAZenNQcQ5A4ITyJ82?si=d32902a0268740ce

Calm Sleep Instrumentals (Sleepy, Piano, Ambient, Calm) with 15,000+ other listeners having a calming a and tranquil sleep

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5ZEQJAi8ILoLT9OlSxjtE7?si=d00b0af4c5da464f 

There are many benefits to listening to calming and relaxing music Listening calming instrumental music can Improve Cognitive Performance, reduce stress and improve motivation, help you sleep better and improve mood, calm the nervous system, slow your breathing, lower your heart rate, and reduce your blood pressure amongst many more benefits. 

Feel free to have a listen to these ones and follow and share if you enjoy them! 

I graduated with a degree in engineering, also passed the licensure exam in my home country. But lately I am having thoughts of becoming a teacher because I do not think engineering is for me. I am currently taking teaching units, and after that I am going to take the licensure exam for teachers, aside from the teaching experience required for me to become a teacher in the US and taking a masters degree in education majoring in mathematics. Is there a chance for me to become a teacher in the US without having an education degree? I also am not a US citizen, nor do I live in the US.

Hello, I will be teaching a hands-on course part time at a local college. I have never taught before but I have taken the course previously.

I'm wondering if there are any resources online I can take advantage of to prepare? Any online lectures for teaching techniques, public speaking, podcasts, books, anything at all that could be of benefit to study alongside the course material.

Thank you!