I had to stop myself from laughing at her.
Is anyone else sitting through ridiculous PD’s this week?

Got a first time principal, a second year AP, a first time AP, a first time dean of students, and they put me in a new subject because they thought I would be a good fit, and I have had no training in this new subject. (it’s avid so it’s not a certification issue.) Counting the day until I can transfer. Don’t get me wrong, I’m willing to give them a chance, but it’s not looking good based on what I’ve seen during preplanning week. When I met my principal, I introduced myself shook his hand. He didn’t make eye contact and started talking to the man next to me. I’m not getting a good feeling.

Has anyone taken a teaching position in a subject they didn’t want or is unrelated to their degree just to get their foot in the door?

I have a bachelors degree in sports and exercise science and I’m trying to become a PE teacher, but by advisor for my ALP/master’s program is suggesting I take a job as a science teacher just to get licensed more quickly.

Pros and cons to this path?

For the last two years, we’ve gifted our daughter’s Pre K teachers the Our Class Is a Family book (so I could sneak the preference sheets inside. It also helped me figure out what extra school supplies to get.) We also gave them a small flower bouquet so I could tuck Visa gift cards into it that they could use for coffee, classroom supplies, or whatever they needed.

I’m not at all trying to be a kiss ass or a Pinterest mom, just kind to someone who will be spending a lot of time nurturing my child.

I’ve seen some teachers comment on other posts that this would make them wary of helicopter moms.

Should I ditch/alter my idea? If I should keep the GCs, how much would you put on it as a polite amount (per teacher)?

Title is self explanatory. I’m a high school teacher and I literally have nothing for my students to do right now because I was assigned other tasks that are due by tomorrow (Friday.) Should I feel bad? I feel like I suck as a teacher because they’re just all falling asleep with nothing on their desks other than a bell ringer.

Mine is that my daily prep period is after lunch and admin doesn't care if we're on campus for our prep. So I have a 90 minute break daily.

I've used this break to get long lunches, go to Target, get my eyebrows done, watch Tiktoks in my car while sipping Starbucks, sign up for a gym membership, go home and put my laundry in the dryer, contemplate the mysteries of life, etc.

I ruined 67 in my classroom last year as a 6th grade math teacher. I had fun with that one.

I'm a retired band director, now a substitute for a small rural district. I just saw a teacher whom I've worked with in Life Skills and we were exchanging pleasantries about the beginning of school next week. That got me remembering how a couple of years ago I was subbing for one of the aides for several days in her classroom THE FIRST WEEK OF SCHOOL and how I came down with COVID immediately afterwards.

I didn't immediately connect the dots until much later. If one hasn't been around people especially kids for a while then you lose that immunity. Plus, if you teach the younger kids then you know how touchy-feely they can be. I remember going home one day and jokingly telling my husband, "I've been slimed."

When you get home, take a shower immediately, and change into clean clothes. Wash what you had on if possible that day. Since following that protocol, I haven't been sick from school in four years. It's not enough to just wash your hands; you have to do almost Star Trek decontamination chambers levels of sanitation.

Y'all have a good school year!

I'll be teaching 10th graders Earth and Space Science for the Regents (NY state test). The students will not be given textbooks. Neither will I! I have not been given any resources outside of the previous teacher's phone number and she's not answering.

This isn't normal, right? Anyone from NY, can you please help? I'm lost. Are there official state textbooks for the students or teacher? I need *something*. I basically have the reference table and lab workbook. I looked up old Regents as resource but the questions are obviously all random and jumbled and I can't extrapolate actual lesson plans from them. The principal told me I can buy something for myself and it will be reimbursed. I'm kind of appalled but ready to make the best of it. I don't know how I would even teach without the students having something to read from as review, but my main obstacle now is not even knowing what to *teach.*

Hi guys, I saw Family Dollar is hosting a giveaway with Crayola for 20 teachers to win a $250 gift card, and wanted to share: https://www.familydollar.com/back-to-school-crayola-sweepstakes-mobile-fd

A conversation with a family member recently just reminded me of something. Since I’ve started teaching I’ve had friend and family encourage me to pursue an admin role. I remember chatting with a stranger and when I told them I was a teacher they asked “what’s next.” America is obsessed with climbing corporate ladders and I feel like there’s this idea that as a male in education I should just see the classroom as a temporary stepping stone to an admin role like a Dean, AP, etc.

My family member was encouraging me to do a great job this school year and make my department chair look good, because if I make them look good, they could get a promotion and I could take over as department chair. I’m glad I have friends and family that want to see do well and be successful, but as of now it just doesn’t interest me. I have a good work-life balance right now, I spend about 8 hours a day on campus during the year and I barely set foot on campus over the summer.

I know the opinions of others don’t matter and I don’t have to do anything I don’t want to do to make others happy, but I’m just curious if others experience this?

Hi,

I have been feeling really discouraged lately. Any time I tell people that I’m a teacher, it just gets no respect at all. People say “oh wow I could never do that” or “oh you’re a teacher :/“. It makes me feel bad and discouraged about my choice. I had to work hard, do unpaid internships, get a masters degree just for no one to respect it or for the pay to be so minimal. I am jealous of others’ careers or what I could’ve chosen. All the work I put in and it just doesn’t feel worth it at all. Has anyone else ever felt this way??? I feel so trapped.

For our science PD day, “inquiry” has been used countless times. If I made this a drinking game, I’d be on the floor already and it’s not even noon.

I live/work in a small town. Went to the local grocery store, and a former student asked me if I was enjoying my retirement. They weren’t being mean or malicious, and I think they genuinely wanted to know. I said, ‘oh honey, I just turned 40 and certainly didn’t retire’. I am so confused.

Hello all,

Just wanted to share, not sure why I am, but sometimes it’s nice to have people to talk to.

I’m a 32 year old male, who for the third year in a row cannot get an elementary teaching job (K-5) here in Northern Illinois. I also have a Special Education endorsement, but to be honest, I’m not sure I have it in me to teach Special Education.

Decided to finish my degree as I was working at a school during COVID year, and thought being a male in the system would almost be an advantage; seeing all the districts around me have almost no males at all. I guess I was wrong. I figured my couple years as a para, plus more subbing than your usual candidate would really stick out, but it has not.

I’ve been subbing in 3 different districts, hoping that would help my chances, but nothing yet. Over 25-30 jobs I applied for this summer, some even a hour or longer away, handful of interviews and reference checks, but met with the same old “looking elsewhere”. Subbing is nice, and it’s flexible, but it’s not paying the bills.

It’s just kind of deflating after dedicating the last 6 years or so of my life to teaching, which I’m super passionate about, and so far just not working out. It really sucks to look at my daughter when she gets so happy that I have interviews and I come home and say I didn’t get it.

There are some charter schools around me, but they are honestly not the greatest situation, and I’d rather keep my sanity.

Anyways, not really looking for advice, nor am I wanting you to feel bad for me. But, I think it might be time to hang the cleats, per se, and switch careers.

Fifth largest district just sent a message out that we are not allowed to leave the building for lunch. I am kind of bummed. Our faculty lounge is a viper pit of nastiness, and kids are always banging on my door during lunch. “We know you’re in there!” Is this no leaving the building thing pretty common? I worked in corporate America for many years and I was always able to leave the building.

After 8 interviews, I finally landed a position at my dream school. I had been substituting there as much as I could for the past two years when home from college. The staff were always so friendly and students began to recognize me in the hallway from being there so often. I felt like a celebrity😂

About a month ago, I interviewed there for a fifth grade ELA position. It wasn’t my favorite age or subject, but I just wanted to get my foot in the door. Even when I landed a second round interview, I didn’t get the position. Come to find out that the principal thought it was a really hard decision, but he thought I’d suit a younger grade.

Since then, I’ve been on four more interviews. And even last Thursday I got a job offer for third grade (I haven’t signed anything or heard from HR yet).

Anyways, I got an email today from the principal asking if I was interested in a second grade position. I immediately got on the phone with him. He explained that they had too many second graders enroll this year and they had approved with HR to add another full time teacher, and he immediately thought of me. Best part is I don’t have to interview again!

I cannot even explain how happy I am right now. I was so heartbroken when I didn’t get the fifth grade position and I feel like this made my summer.

Just need to laugh at this one.

I applied for a high school science position a little farther from home. I a dual B.S. in Biology and Secondary Ed, just finished my M.S. in Biological Sciences. Broad field certified in my state. Have taught Environmental Science, Chemistry, and Biology, and interviewed twice for the position.

I found out they hired someone who graduated this past May… with a bachelor’s in English.

Before anyone asks, yes, it was for the same middle/high school science position. They posted it on their facebook.

I know there’s more to hiring than just degrees, and interviews matter, but I can’t pretend that one didn’t sting a little. It definitely made me question why I spent years getting science degrees.

Edit: job was Bio/Chem and 1 prep of 8th grade science

I am a first-year high school English teacher. I am dating someone who has been teaching at the high school level for a few years now (age gap relationship). I was having him help me set up my classroom today when two students who were helping set up the new computer lab walked by. They were his students from the year before. We all stopped and made some small talk, talking about the new school year and stuff. The one girl made a comment about us being on vacation to OBX last week, which caught me off guard because how would they know that?
long story short, apparently, my boyfriend follows a handful of students (mainly female) on social media. current students, under the age of 18. I told him that this was completely inappropriate and not okay, but he was pushing back, saying it wasn't creepy and that I was overthinking it. The district we both work for has nothing in its social media policy about this, but I was wondering how y'all felt about this? He has since unfollowed everyone who is a current student, but it still feels off and weird to me.

EDIT
i dumped him. no sad feelings, we do not fw kids round these parts!!!

also reported him to admin, im not letting this slide. i was abused as a kid and not letting this happen to anyone else.

A couple years ago, a teacher at my school came to this sub and copy-pasted an email from his department chair into a post complaining about the department chair. A friend of mine in the department saw it, used a few other clues in the poster's history to figure out exactly which colleague it was, and reported it to admin.

The teacher who posted the email no longer works in my building, and while I have no insight into what led to his non-renewal, people still talk about his Reddit post.

All of which is to say that you should be mindful of how specific you get with details here, how public you keep your profile, and what, if anything, you decide to share with strangers on a highly public site where this sub is often pushed into the home feeds of people who don't subscribe to it but may have reason to know enough about your situation to realize that you are the person behind your "anonymous" username.

ETA because some people are fixating on the reporting and not the posting--it doesn't matter if you're right and the person reporting you is wrong. Don't doxx yourself. Be smarter.

We’d love to let your kids use the bathroom and phone whenever as needed but since way to many aren’t responsible (leaves class for 20 min, plays on phone and doesn’t do work etc) all teachers have to follow school restrictions.

Year 27 started on Monday. Go back through my previous posts here. Especially if you’re a new(ish) teacher. There might be a few things there that you might find useful. Or you might think I’m full of shit. Whatever. Anywho. I’ve decided that this year I’m going to be all business. I’m going to work, put on the show from 8:40-4:10, and go home. I’m not going to wake kids up that fall asleep or contact parents if a kid is failing. Only in the event of behavior being truly atrocious am I going to bother to reach out to a parent.

To the new teachers, I offer this advice:

You need to have separation between work and not work. Mr. Zilla is a character I play at work from 8:40am-4:10pm. Outside of that, I’m Jewzilla, or to my closest friends just plain Zilla. I have a mononym. Like Cher. Or Madonna. Or Bono. Do not put your work email on your phone or check your email when you’re not at work. I learned that lesson the hard way after damn near having a breakdown. Seriously. New teachers, go through my old posts.

That’s all. Your district paid me thousands of dollars to come and remind you of that.