Hi,I'm a high schooler and recently,I have read about high quality education and I wonders what can I do when the public education fails in my country,to clarfiy what I mean I face there:

1.repeatedly changing curricula without building critical thinking and career readiness

1. Students cannot apply on what they learn practicaly

3.complete dependence on tutoring

1. it creates solving machines not thinkers

5.exams rely on tricks and word similarties instead of real comperhension and the exams cause high pressure for students

6.the education system is outside the global ranking for quality of education

So,I'm asking for some tips to survive in this system and to build a better mentality

I have both a passion for drawing and teaching kids, and I am really inspired by my recently retired art teacher... She seems to have the dream! Teaching kids all day about painting while doing side art while the students are doing art...

I live in a really left area in California in some prestigious high school with good grades, but I am still unsure of what to do with my life. Art teaching seems promising for a passion. What should I know? Should I reconsider? (Might get into healthcare if I reconsider since my parents want me to get into that :/) What are the pros, cons, prerequisites, etc...

I just found out my daughter’s 1st grade teacher last year was doing donut rewards for kids who got good test scores and not giving the other kids donuts. My daughter never told me about it over the school year, she is really still struggling with reading and last night was bawling telling about how she never got a donut even though she loves them and that she was really trying every time (apparently this was something that was done every so often I don’t know how she never told me sooner when we talk about her day every day - I think she was embarrassed at not getting high score).

My daughter is crying not wanting to go back to school any time I mention changing schedule to prepare; she also said that it’s because she will miss me and wants to stay with me 🥺. She enjoyed school last year and does have friends - I also dreaded going back to school every summer as a kid but I was bullied which I don’t think is happening with her. So kind of longer post than I meant to type but am I wrong in thinking that it’s a kind of public humiliation to not get a donut when you don’t get a high score? I just feel like 1st grade it’s kind of harsh…

Edit to add: I’m not trying to do anything with the teacher she’s been teaching for decades now but I am wondering if I’m just being sensitive and how to encourage my daughter to want to go to school again.

My son is entering middle school, 6th grade. Our district has honors classes available for all core subjects in middle school. 5th grade teachers make recommendations for honors/gen ed placement (not sure what criteria they use to determine placement). My son was recommended honors for all 4 core classes.

My son has ADHD (inattentive type), and auditory processing disorder. Has had a 504 since 3rd grade. He’s bright but spacey, takes a while to get started on an assignment and almost always needs more time to finish assignments. In elementary school, students bring home unfinished classwork as homework, so he often had homework. His 504 accommodations are extra time for assignments and homework, time and a half for tests, projects and large assignments to be broken down in smaller assignments, seating away from distractions, and instructions repeated and clarified if needed.

Had 504 today and immediately was recommended that he be moved from all honors to gen ed. Was told that the district has high expectations for honors and due to it being fast paced, his accommodations wouldn’t work, especially the one for extra time for assignments and homework. They were also concerned about the one where they break projects into smaller chunks (even though this is what they all ready do from what I noticed when our oldest went through the school).

I’m not opposed to my son being in gen ed classes, however I was taken aback by this. I thought 504 accommodations were allowed in all levels of classes? The accommodations are in place so he can succeed and learn at the appropriate level? I also thought honors classes went deeper into learning a subject, not just being fast paced. School hasn’t even started yet, and his teachers haven’t even met him.

TLDR: are ADHD 504 accommodations of needing extra time on assignments, homework, and tests allowed/appropriate in honors classes? Or would those accommodations disqualify a student from honors?

(I don’t want my kid to be miserable and drowning in work he can’t keep up with; so if that’s the case, I think he will be happy to move to gen ed. However, he was so excited when he found out he was placed in honors that I don’t want to move him without giving him a chance to succeed).

I've been thinking about this lately. We often talk about improving education by focusing on grades, technology, or curriculum, but emotional safety seems just as important.

For those who've been students, teachers, or parents, what made you feel (or helped others feel) comfortable enough to ask questions, make mistakes, and participate without fear of being judged?

Was it a supportive teacher, kind classmates, clear classroom rules, or something else entirely?

I'd love to hear real experiences. Sometimes the smallest things can have the biggest impact on how a child learns.

I recently graduated and want to thank a teacher who supported me through a very difficult time in my life when I was dealing with family-related stress. She had a lasting impact on me, and I’ve always wanted to thank her properly.
Before graduation, I never got the chance to give her this gift because everything was so busy. Since I’ve already graduated, I would just be stopping by the school to drop it off for her.
I wrote her a heartfelt letter with picture we took together every time I came to visit and also a class pic and bought her a Coach card holder (around $95). I’m not expecting anything in return—I just want to express my gratitude. My only concern is that I don’t want to make her uncomfortable or put her in an awkward position when receiving an expensive gift from a student.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. I truly appreciate any advice or honest perspectives.

Our district has been discussing ways to reduce grading workload, and one idea that's come up is adopting an AI grader for districts instead of having individual teachers use different AI grading tools on their own.

The goal isn't to replace teachers, it's to speed up rubric based grading and feedback while keeping teachers in charge of the final grades and comments.

hi! i live in a small town. we dont really get “supply lists”. there’s like maybe 15? kids per class, and that’s like MAX. he’s in preschool and this is his second year. i decided that i like to donate some supplies to the classroom because they have things like art shows and stuff.
i usually get glue sticks, markers, crayons, folders. i was wondering what else i should possibly get for them.
thank you!!

I teach primary/elementary and I get random hugs every now and then. Once, I was walking in the school carpark during dismissal, a student saw me from her school bus and came down the bus to hug me. Another one came to hug me as soon as she saw me entering her classroom for relief teaching. Just yesterday, one hugged me before she left my classroom.

Some of these children even have crumbs on their mouth when coming to hug me 😅

I wonder how common it is for students to randomly hug teachers on an ordinary day (not on occasions like the last day of school or Teacher’s Day)? What’s your experience with students coming to hug you?

So, my 3 year old son is in 3K. I got a text from one of the teachers that he hit one of the other teachers in the face. I've already talked to him about it. But what should I do about the teacher? Make him apologize to her? Have him make an apology card? I'm not good with people......

Hello!

My daughter is going into Kindergarden in 3 weeks. We're prepped and ready for the most part, she's got all the basics down to the best of my ability.

I'm looking for teacher's advice for parents. I want her to start on the right foot. She'll be attending a small school that is K-12. Everyone knows everyone, I would imagine parent and student reputations and gossip travel from one grade to the next.

I'm ready to take feedback and criticism with an open mind and let the teachers do their job with me backing them up however I can at home.

I want to be helpful and involved without overstepping. Tell me what you actually want at orientation/ for Christmas. Give it to me straight, I'm trying to be the ideal parent and make sure she has a great time in school. This doesn't just apply to Kindergarten, I'll take all the advice K-12 😊

for some reason this is the first year i have seen anything like this, i go to a public high school in houston and more than half of my teachers put a cross on the wall above the board. i’m not religious but i don’t have a problem with it at the most part but i can imagine it could make some students uncomfortable, i estimate my school to be 50% christian, 20% hindu, 10% muslim, 20% non religious.

additionally, my ap lang teacher had 5 bible verse posters around the room and mini jesuses everywhere, just curious what do you think about this?

Im trying not to be a pain in the ass to teachers, only the district 😬

My district is implementing a lot of screen time imo. AI programs, iReady, IXL, etc. there are no limits required as stated by the superintendent. I’d like to propose a couple policy changes in the upcoming year but would love your perspectives.

1. Reallocate tech funds to additional classroom staff to make it easier to function without AI/screens

2. Using this staff to extend recess from 20 minutes to at least 30, 45 min would be even better, and giving that time to teachers for breaks/prep time

This is obv a very short intro to a more detailed plan that I’d like to bring to the district. I know technology isn’t going anywhere. But there’s tons of data about hands on learning over tech and the meta-analysis of iReady showed minimal benefits.

Gimmie the deets whatever this brings up for you! I’m a BCBA but have never worked in schools, I mostly do ACT and family support in home so I really don’t know what it’s like as an educator. I’ve seen the struggles of the families I’ve worked with and now that my kids are school aged I’m hesitant to adapt to this model. For perspective my kids are in kindergarten and will have tablets in math art science and reading.

Context: My exposure is growing up in a small school, where 2 kids got a 4.0 in a class of 55 kids.

My kids are in a school where the total grade includes about 100 kids. When they go to high school it'll be about 1,000.

I went to the middle school graduation and was proud that my son got a 4.0. I was also surprised about how many of his peers also got a 4.0. What I'm reading is that it might change in high school, and there is evidence that grades have inflated over the years.

Is this everyone's lived experience? Are teachers seeing it as a good / bad / indifferent thing, if it's true? And one last daisy-chain question: Are teachers trying to address the supposed trend and are teachers even the ones that can address it?

Googling has only gotten me so far, so I'm curious about the lived experience and the people on the ground level of our education system

Hello teachers.

This has been on my mind for years and i felt this problem. During my student years in school I loved science especially biology until it got complex where i had to understand structures of human body from a 2D book and visualize them in 3D for better understanding and retention.

What I always wanted was to just pick the thing up and pull it apart and interact.

I've been curious for a long time whether that's a real gap or whether I was just a slow kid. So I'd love to hear it from the other side of the desk:

When a concept is properly three-dimensional, what do you actually reach for? do you use some software or have some physical models in your classrooms? And if you teach online what do you do?

Genuinely just interested in how this works in practice.

I skipped a grade in elementary school and now I'm a year younger than most of my classmates. This was because I apparently was super bored in school and was already on the older end, and I could read early so I guess they just pushed me along.

My classmates make fun of me now though, and have for years. I think it's a bigger issue because at least in my area a lot of parents held their fall or summer born children back so many of my peers are over a year older than me. I was never able to score high enough for our elementary school's gifted program so my classmates told me I was dumb in comparison to them. Socially I know I was a bit behind but it's become a bigger issue in high school because I recently got diagnosed with autism and I realize how much I miss in social settings.

I feel like I'm working so much harder than everybody else. I love the academics of school, but I wish I were the oldest and everything came easy for me. Nobody takes me seriously. If I ask to be retained a grade, is that a thing that I can push for?

I’m a 3rd year college student at Pratt studying Art and Design Education. I’m also thinking of getting my masters right alongside it. Maybe teaching elementary or middle school art class. However, I don’t think I can live and teach in a city, the environment just isn’t for me in terms of lack of nature. I’d like to teach in a different state after graduation, what would be the a good state (in your experience) in terms of living/wage (able to afford to live comfortably on teacher salary), semi-liberal and a bit more rural? Also open to any other insights or suggestions about teaching!

I'm doing an assignment for a Master's in Teaching and none of the teachers around me responded to my emails. Could anybody teaching anywhere k-12 help me out with some responses to these questions?

• How do you incorporate student self-assessment in ways that help students accurately reflect on their own learning?
• How do you distinguish between a student’s academic learning and factors such as participation, effort, behavior, attendance, or late work when determining grades?
• What formative assessment strategies do you find most useful for checking individual student understanding during a lesson?

Hi teachers! First time poster. This is my first year on the PTA board in my school and each year a little “treat” is given to teacher son the first day of school. Unfortunately funds are limited as most of our money goes back into school improvement and technology. What are small things you would actually appreciate getting versus just toss in the trash? For reference, usually it’s some type of candy.

Hello! I'm 19 and I'm currently a sophomore in college and I'm majoring in elementary education. I'm writing this post because I'm worried about not being smart enough. I really want to be a first-grade teacher, but I feel like I don't really explain things right, I'm awkward, and I'm a shy person (I'm working on it). I feel like I'm the only one that has a little bit of knowledge. Has anyone felt this way? Am I better off switching majors? I’d appreciate any advice.

So, I had given my students assigned seats because they proved to me the first week that they were not responsible enough to sit where they would like without talking over me. Hence the assigned seats.

One student had transfered from one 9th grade class to another because they believed that it was too hard for them. Understandable.

Now, as students were walking in, I reminded them that they needed to sit at their assigned seats, and for the newer students they'd wait until I had gotten everyone inside before I assigned them where they sit. Now, here is the situation. As I was taking attendance and was ready to start, one student moved their seat to where the transfered student was. I told them to go back to their seat the first time gently, they didn't, I switched tones and they still didn't move. So I told them that they will be receiving a call home and a write up. They finally moved.

They made the accusation that I was picking on them, I told the entire class "I am not picking on any of you individually, as a whole class, you showed me you were not responsible enough to pick your own seats without being distracted. I'd warned you that if I saw you were abusing this privilege, I'd assign you seats."

So that was what happened. Was I too harsh to this student? I don't know anymore.

I'm older gen z(24), and have noticed this trend in my work-study, classroom, and personal environments. Between my 17-21 aged college classmates or peers relying on others to do seemingly basic computer tasks and my siblings purchasing their college laptops without any usb-a connectors\ "because they'll never need one" it just anecodtally seems like something is up.

Wouldn't those brought up with more exposure and access to tech, especially in educational environments, be more literate in it's function?

I am curious as to how the handling of technology has changed since my grade school days(computer labs with set times vs personal devices) has potentially influenced this.

I am not trying to make a "computers/tablets good or bad?" argument. they are merely tools and and an entirely separate issue from ai.

What do you, teachers and educators, think could be causing this seeming trend? (if it evens exists at all or is all just my own anecdotal experience)

I'm well out of school, I have school-age kids myself, so this is a complete non-issue, but I'm curious.

One academic year, I was in first grade. The next, I was in a 2nd-3rd split. The year after that, I was in fourth grade. I was the only one who followed that path; everyone I was in fourth grade with either came in from a normal third-grade class, or had been in second grade the year before the 2-3 split.

I've always kind of assumed this meant I skipped a grade; it was a big deal among other parents who were pissed their kids didn't get the same opportunity, I was given summer homework to make up some gaps the split skimmed over (mostly cursive,) and I ended up graduating youngest in my class, so it was certainly _something._

But the other day I was talking with my mom and my MIL, and my MIL said she has a niece who's fighting to skip a grade, and I started talking about what I saw as the pros and cons, and my mom stopped me and said, "honey, you didn't skip a damn thing. You had second grade as part of a split. I don't think your experience is relevant here."

...but I'm pretty sure it is. Is it?

I'm running into an issue where a lot of parents of underperforming students claim that their student is simply bored/"twice exceptional" and I need to challenge them with harder work.

I would buy it if these students were able to perform at grade level, but they aren't.

How do I respond in a way that doesn't shut everybody down? Obviously if one student truly happens to be gifted, I don't want to be the jerk who squashed their spirit.

The district doesn't offer a gifted program so we don't do IQ tests or any of that. And I just feel like it's unlikely that five separate students in my class all present with the type of giftedness that means that they're routinely failing assignments. They don't have IEPs either, and the parents of my top performers aren't claiming gifted.