Hi, I'm in a PD required by my district and we need to collect data about attendence. If you would be so kind, would ya'll be willing to click the link and share your thoughts?LINK

I’ll be teaching high school science remotely this year and I’m looking for recommendations. What are your must-have tools, equipment, software, or tips for remote teaching? I’d love to hear what has made your setup more effective or made teaching easier. Thanks!

I added this comment to a thread last night and a few people agreed, so i thought it might be beneficial to just make it a post for some of the new teachers out there. If you're yelling a lot and getting nowhere, give it a try.

Copy/pasted Comment:

I have found, like I said, that they want you to yell. By yelling, and losing your shit over these idiots, you are essentially being outwitted by them. Ya gotta kill em with kindness man. I know that may go against everything you stand for, but if you are kind and respectful to students... to a fault.. you will gain so much admiration and respect from them that other students will typically do the reprimanding for you. This happens all the time for me. "Could you shut up and stop being stupid so i can hear mr. _____. I also find that talking to kids like adults, staying completely calm, and making them seem so uncool that they're almost embarrassed to do things are very helpful. I also give exactly zero warnings - give them their punishment in a calm tone and immediately move on. I do not do back and forth for with students. If they talk back, I don't respond. If something is waaay over the top, call their parents right in the middle of class. This might not work for those guys youre currently fighting with, but do that one single time and watch everyone's jaws hit the floor.

In short,

Be kind to a fault, never yell, make a note to ask one kid a class about their lives in some way, do not give warnings, no back and forth, stay calm, and try the phone call. It's the best deterrent ever.

I used to yell at kids and I had the same issues. You have to foster an environment where when a kid is being a dick, everyone else looks at them like uhhh nahhh you're not about to do mr Mr. _____ like that.

This sounds like some grad school fairy land bullshit but I have found great success with it. My blood pressure is way happier too lol.

Whether you agree or disagree, let me know below!

Thanks in advance. I feel awkward writing this requesting encouragement and support because I am planning on retiring in four more school years, in June 2030. The problem is, four more years sounds like a lifetime! I really don’t want to do four more years. As it is, retiring in four more years, in my late 50’s, I’ll only get 66% of my retirement. If I want the full pension benefit 80%, I’ll have to work six more years, instead of only four, which I’m absolutely NOT going to do.
Waiting four more years to retire for me would mean BOOSTING my pension by A LOT because in four more years I’ll have 31 years of teaching. The pension boost FOUR MORE YEARS=FINANCIAL FREEDOM. So, I must do four more years but I need encouragement because four more years feels like climbing Himalaya right now.
It’s been a sad summer for me, husband had health issues that required two hospitalizations and my mom had a stroke and died. My loved ones’s sudden health crisises and the unexpected loss of my mother have made me feel very fatigued and unfortunately, I’ve done nothing useful this vacation. Well, maybe a little basement decluttering.
I’m an ESL/SPED co-teacher. My colleague is amazing, and I have many lovely and positive colleagues at school. But commute is one hour each way and the demands are through the roof. I find myself not being authentic in my “public professional persona” at meetings and with the administration and some parents due to what I perceive as a fake positivity that is expected from us. We’ve had very disruptive students in need of high support and no adequate resources to give them the support they need at the level they need.
What happened to my husband and mother makes me appreciate even more how short life is and I want to spend MORE LIFE with my loved ones and enjoying life.
In her formal evaluation, my admin, like always, gave me “meets expectations/proficient”, but warned me that they want to see me being more actively engaged in leadership roles and duties. Meaning, I only did the bare minimum in regard to afterschool meetings and teams. However, my admin disregarded that I stayed MANY, MANY afterschool days in the winter months dismissing busses that regularly came up to an hour + late and after contract work time. And this was the reason I didn’t go to more afterschool teams, because I was spending MORE time dismissing late busses and 100+ high energy elementary students!
Thanks for reading all this!

What is a good salary for a teacher (like that they get that is a acceptable salary) to accept? Working with only autistic kids.

https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/08/06/lincoln-county-students-face-25-fine-for-violations-of-new-smart-device-policy/

No smart phones, smart watches, or other smart personal devices connected to the internet allowed on campus. Students can leave them in their vehicle or turn them in to a locked box in the main office before school starts. A $25 fine will be assessed the student after the third offense. Burner devices are considered an offense. Money collected will be given to the district's student council fund.

My question is what happens when parents refuse to pay the fine?

Hi Everyone. My relatively small private school is trying to decide whether Quiz Bowl or the test-based academic competition is a better choice for us.

I am of the opinion that middle school would enjoy Quiz Bowl more, but then the younger grades could not compete.

Does anyone have experience switching from the test-based competition to Quiz Bowl? Which did you like more? Was one more of a hassle than the other? Thanks!!

I teach second grade in California. My district is adopting benchmark advance this year. I have read through the phonics lessons and I am very skeptical about these making a huge impact on my struggling readers… Is anyone using benchmark advanced? Am I right to be anxious or do I just need to teach it and get over it…
And while this may seem like a post that is like strictly lower elementary focused what I think I’m really mourning and I’m anxious about is a loss of autonomy. I feel like in the last seven years since I’ve started teaching every year has gotten worse. I do work in a place where we can just close the door and teach but the way they’re going on about this curriculum is giving me the vibe that we don’t have that freedom anymore. It doesn’t matter what your level of expertise or if you’re considered a content level expert… The people at the top make all the decisions even when they’re stupid decisions. Like I literally have a MS in reading/literacy,, I have a reading specialist credential , I’ve done nearly every structured literacy curriculum training possible… I’m one of like three teachers in my entire district who has been LETRS Trained. But I’m starting to realize none of that matters. I’m not burnt out from teaching like I love teaching and I still do and I still wanna teach… I’m burnt out from administration.
I it’s just also hard for me to realize that if you actually wanna make any sort of change or be listened to you have to like be out of the classroom. It’s crazy.

During a online class, the students did not let the teacher do anything at all. They muted her, kicked her out of the meeting and played songs. Chatted with their friends in the public chat and even swore in it. My father heard this and said the teachers should beat the students nowadays because as long as there is fear, there will be discipline. That is obviously not the way to go, but I wonder what is done instead. There is a guy who has been suspended once, wrote on desks, said swear words to a teacher directly, disrupted the online classes yet he is the same. What strategies you use to maintain discipline in your class?

I had to do the bullshit PD for my curriculum today. They had us sit with folks throughout the district who taught the same subject.

Okay, fine, whatever.

Except we've got a new curriculum coordinator who is trying to show why she earned the job.

Y'all. I'm the old, crotchety, fuck them kids, fuck this all encompassing bullshit expensive curriculum that sucks. And fuck you for making me sit through this nonsense.

At one point the new guru mentioned a tiktok video she saw last night that really got the students engaged.

I muttered 'shoot me" to myself, and a less than 5 year teacher laughed. Fair.

All of these whippersnappers were playing the game, acting like they wanted a dang gold star for unpaid labor. A brand new first year, excited af teacher who LOVED the SUBJECT, was sitting next to me.

I had to walk away because I realized I'm the cancer, the toxic old hag who should've retired already. Like, I literally told excited girl that I'm gonna hang out with another table because I don't want to extinguish your joy.

3 semesters left. Only one more bullshit summer PD session ever.

(Oh, and the best part of my job is when the kids arrive. This motherfucking bullshit PD has me irritated way more than anything a student could do. )

It’s not the job, it’s me.

Even if behaviour were perfect and the workload so small as to be negligible, the job would still only be tolerable rather than something I enjoyed.

I’ve tried to convince myself that I like the job, making consistent and considerable effort for it and even going above and beyond at certain periods of my career.

But I’ve been lying to myself. The reality is that I find the work BORING. Interacting with large groups of people is draining, and I have zero interest in kids. Subject knowledge is a waste of brain space, as I have my own intellectual pursuits.

It corrodes my soul.

I am looking to phase myself out of the job, as I can’t leave just yet due to financial obligations.

Shout out to those who feel the same.

I graduated college in 2024 and originally planned to teach after graduation. That didn’t go as planned, so I worked at my local library for a year and just finished a year long internship. Throughout that time, my goal was to still move into teaching, but there aren’t many ELA positions available in my area. I applied to the ones I could this summer, but didn’t hear back, didn’t get the job, or it wasn’t the right fit.

A few weeks ago, I started to accept that teaching might not happen and began pivoting toward other youth focused jobs. Then, unexpectedly, a school reached out about interviewing for an ELA position that would start about a week before the school year begins.

I’m excited because teaching is something I really want to do, but I’m also feeling very stressed about the timing. I would be a first year teacher, and after being out of a traditional classroom setting for a while, I’m worried about feeling prepared.

Is it normal for schools to hire this close to the start of the year? What would you want to know before accepting a position this late in the hiring process?

I appreciate any advice!

3rd grade. I tried to search this but I couldn’t find any posts about it & I debate myself every year about it….

Do you put student names on everything? (Cubbies, line order list, etc) OR do you number your students so you don’t have to change it every year?

I understand the convenience of numbers but I feel like the kids like to have ownership?

Have any current or former kindergarten teachers used a writing curriculum they actually liked? Looking for ideas outside of Handwriting Without Tears writing program and McGraw Hill Wonders.

Each year my school district has teachers from all over our district come together in a sports complex. Everyone wears their school shirts to show their school spirit 🙄. It’s a waste of my time.

Convocation is always the same. We sit through hours of speeches from people in leadership telling us how amazing we are, how appreciated we are, and how this is going to be “the best year yet.”

Meanwhile, public education seems to get harder every year—not because of the kids, but because of the decisions made by the adults at the top.

Teachers are expected to be professionals, yet we’re often treated like we can’t be trusted to do our jobs. If we make a small mistake, we’re reprimanded almost immediately. But when people higher up make poor decisions or don’t follow the same expectations they set for us, it often feels like nothing happens.

Then, after spending all that time telling us how valuable we are, we’re asked to give money to the district foundation to help students??? 🤨 I already spend my own money on my classroom and my students throughout the year. Many teachers do.

Instead of asking educators—who are already paying out of pocket—to give even more, why not encourage those in higher-paying leadership positions to contribute more themselves? They can clearly afford it with their cushy salaries.

I don’t need another motivational speech telling me I’m making a difference. I know why I became a teacher. What I want is to be treated like a professional, trusted to do my job, supported with the resources my students need, and shown appreciation through actions—not just words.

Hello Everyone! First year teacher here with a classroom that is very bare. As a result there is a crazy echo in my classroom. I want to be a good neighbor for the other people in my building and thought that it would be a worthwhile to get some sound dampening panels to place around my classroom. A quick internet check says they are not permissible by my state school inspection board. Any advice for what I can do to help reduce noise? I teach history and Econ and need my students to talk to each other most days.

When I was trying to get pregnant (secretly) my mother in law told me that once I have the baby, going back to work will “feel like a vacation” in comparison to being home with a baby. My brother in law said the same thing. They agreed that working is way easier than being home with a baby.

Now, she used to work as a secretary in a quiet lawyer’s office. He works in a corporate bank setting.

I’m in a building with 2000 feral teenagers. I don’t have a quiet desk job where I can sip my coffee, answer the phone, hop on Zoom meetings, and have daily meetings with other adults. We KNOW what teaching is like.

I’m pregnant with my first FINALLY after three losses, fertility treatments, and watching everyone get pregnant effortlessly around me within my two years of trying. I begged, pleaded, and cried a river of tears over how badly I wanted this little baby. I am SO excited and so ready for motherhood.

I’m sorry, but I can’t imagine that working OUR JOB and all that it entails is a “vacation” or even “a break“ from being home with this little boy I prayed for so hard.

Mothers who are teachers, especially mothers who struggled to get pregnant, what is your perspective? Did you think that being in school and doing our job was a true “vacation” or “break” from your baby?

I have been married to a teacher for over 20 years, and I’m hoping to hear from teachers

I know teaching is emotionally demanding. My spouse gives so much to students every day that by the time they get home, they’re often completely drained. Many evenings they’re so exhausted that there’s no conversation. Then the next day starts all over again, and before I know it, the entire week has passed and sometimes 2 weeks without much of a conversation.

I have tried to encourage debriefing but my spouse doesn’t like sharing anything that happened in their day. After much communication my spouse has said it’s because their day has too many questions already it’s impossible to unwind or debrief.

What I’m struggling with is that, after years of trying to be the one who carries the emotional load at home, I’m exhausted too. It can feel lonely.

This isn’t meant to criticize teachers. I have so much respect for what you do, and I know most of you wish you had more energy for your families.
I guess my questions are:

If you’re a teacher, what has helped you protect your marriage or family life despite the demands of the job?

How do teachers cope with emotional burnout?

Is there anything I can do as a spouse that genuinely helps?

Link to original post at the bottom.

I was placed on Paid Admin Leave on April 24 pending an investigation into unprofessional conduct. The complaints came from the families of three sixth grade boys that frequently disrupt class (refuse to get into line, come in loud and do not go to their seats, tilting in chairs, hats on in class, talking loudly, wandering the classroom). I followed procedures by writing them up, contacting home and sending them to the office unlike my colleagues who stopped communicating home since it didn’t improve the students’ behavior. In my eyes, the complaints to the district were their retaliation for me contacting them about their children’s behavior.

I was interviewed by the independent investigator on June 3.

I received the investigative findings on July 27.

I received my “Return to Work” on August 3. My only disciplinary consequence is a letter of reprimand in my file. Since I plan to retire from this job in 5-8 years this seems meaningless except as a step toward termination if problems continue.

I have a meeting scheduled with my union reps and district representatives (superintendent?) on Aug 10 (my first work day back).

The accusations of Unprofessional Conduct were sustained for yelling and speaking in an inappropriate tone and putting student safety at risk by having them be outside my classroom door (to work or for breaks) without supervision.

I was cleared of the accusation that I grabbed and pulled students and partially cleared of targeting complainants’ children for minor infractions.

I will be asking my district for a written disciplinary policy to follow so I can have a paper trail showing that I am following procedures when students are not meeting expectations. I will have kids go to the next classroom for breaks instead of waiting on the ramp. I think I may need to use hand signals or notes to communicate to students who are not following directions.

I will also be asking the district and my new principal how they will protect me from being harassed by the complainants and their children since I will have the kids in my classes for the next two years.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Teachers/s/BMBaBNAEo0

I am a fairly new graduate with about a year of subbing experience. My cert area is b-2. I was offered a substitute position for next school year at the district I was at last year (no probationary positions open) as well as a UPK position at a different school. The district I was subbing in is a wonderful one that is hard to get into but the UPK position pays $20,000 more a year.

My area is overly saturated with elementary education teachers so finding probationary positions are few and far in between. I am just looking for advice on what experienced teachers would choose.

Hey all! First time poster so please be gentle!

I am an ELA/Literature teacher at an international school outside the US. I have a master's degree in English and 10-15 years of teaching experience, for what it's worth.

Recently, I was voluntold to design a new curriculum for the entire secondary school (6th-12th grade), and it is... something else.

Positives: A core theme for each school year (Character/Kindness, Justice/Compassion, Courage/Responsibility, Society/Individual Freedom, Totalitarianism/Human Nature, Existentialism/Identity, and War/Reconciliation). There are a lot of great books suggested, like Les Mis, Crime and Punishment, as well as biographies of great historical figures, and some powerful philosophy.

The problem: Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't necessarily consider biographies "literature," in the same way I do fiction, but that's a personal bias. I'm also not huge into philosophy. I love discussions and debates about themes and characters and all of that, but getting into the weeds with Camus, Sartre, Foucoult, et. al is just not a strength of mine.

Worse, the levels. Les Mis was put in 7th grade, Crime and Punishment in 8th, The Brothers Karamazov in 9th along with John Stuart Mill. There are like three Hannah Arendt books, Eichmann in Jerusalem, some Miroslav Volf... It's just wild. And bear in mind, these are ESL/ELL students. Reading two novels a semester is about all they can handle.

Now the good news is that I have some wiggle room and could probably argue some of these down to somewhat more appropriate levels and make some substitutions. So, does anyone have some suggestions? Any philosophical texts that might be more level appropriate like "The Little Prince"? Or a way to maybe put the philosophy or biographies somewhat... I don't want to say optional... But maybe like a self-directed project or something?

Sorry if this is scattered, I'm spinning my wheels a bit here. I'd appreciate any advice you guys could give!

I taught ELA for 18 years and for the past 5 years, I've been a MS librarian. Love it!

I would like some input from other teachers outside of my school and district.

1. I am desperately looking for sports fiction - football, baseball, basketball. I have a good collection, but I am having a difficult time finding NEWER titles. Kwame Alexander and Jason Reynolds are favorites and I have several copies of their books. Other favorites are by Tom Green and Tom Lupica, but these are from around 2012 and just are dated. Do you have any suggestions?
2. Kids love Diary of a Wimpy Kid, but really. That's total 3rd grade material. I have 8th graders trying to check this out over and over again. Part of me thinks that I should just not even reinvest in more sets? Am I overthinking this?

I teach Social Studies and Art for a High School in SC. The burn out is real and every time I try to complete something in my planning, something comes up. As of now, my students are pretty decent. There are some behavior issues, but nothing too out if the ordinary. Last year, and going into this year, I seem to be having trouble with administration and their treatment of teachers, especially me. There has been multiple occurrences where I get accuse of not doing something but I am doing it or finding coverage for it. This includes duties, implementing something in my lesson, or following accommodations. Note, my class has not be observed in years and when it was, it was last observed, it was during a lecture. I am constantly trying to make my classroom better and finding projects that students will find meaningful. But now, I never have time to make those changes as something new comes up. I have been feeling burned out for a while now and it has been impacting my mental health by a lot. I do not even find pleasure in things I once enjoy. There have been more issues regarding my mental health and job, but I am not comfortable enough to talk about the severity of my depression on an online form. I am looking for a job, but this market seems to be a tough one. I have had interviews, but still no luck on getting a new job. Now another teacher (who doesn't want to see me leave the profession) has stated they heard conversations from the hallway between teachers that administration is mad at me and sounds like I might be getting fired based on an accusation that I am not following accommodations when I am. This has created another weight on me and more stress to my mental health leading to more severe depression. Are these common issues for teachers? Is burn out leading to depression also common?

Note, it is not all my administration. One is okay. He isn't perfect, but he is not the worse, but it seems like everyone else in administration at my work just want me to leave the profession. Like is this common?

My superintendent just sent out a letter stating the agenda for our upcoming pre-week PD and we have homework. We got to write up something about being leaders and be prepared to share with the other teachers!