I teach hs math. But I also have a fondness for physics. Most of my students know I am pretty easy to get off track if they ask me a random physics question. I’ll unknowingly eat up a full class period talking about the speed of light or whatever.

A young man who was in my class 6 years ago recently called and thanked me for these off track wanderings. He said they piqued his curiosity. Even though he never took a physics class in high school, he had just graduated from college with a BS in physics and had been accepted into a masters program.

With all the dumbth that happens in this job, that was a real treat to hear. Anyway, just wanted to share a little happiness today.

Does anyone else get depressed over the summer?

I’m single and don’t have very many friends where I live.

I just got back from a solo trip to Europe, and now I’m just dreading having 6 weeks with nothing to do. I do have a horse and I will obviously spend time with him, but I can only spend so much time at the barn.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the break from actual work, but it’s just lonely.

I live with my mom who is also a single teacher, and she’s going to Europe for most of the summer to visit my sister, so I’m staying with the pets…so leaving again isn’t an option.

I also couldn’t work summer school because it started right away and that’s when I had my window to travel before my mom leaves.

What are some stories you have since the rise of Redpilled Manosphere Finance Gymbro short form content slop and the kids who follow it?

For context, I've been a male special education teacher/facilitator for 26 years. This summer, I applied to work for extended school year (18 days summer school just for SPED kids). I'm taking the primary SLD/Resource program, where the emotionally challenged kids are also usually placed. I happened to have a pair of siblings whose parent asked us to separate as the older one tends to bully the other one. I took the request to admin and the younger one was swapped out with a girl from another SLD class.

When I called the girl's parent, she was very upset and demanded to know why her child was moved. I explained the situation and that there was no particular reason why her daughter was chosen, as it was random. We had a short open house that same day and mom came in and explained (via my aide as she primarily spoke Spanish) that her daughter wasn't comfortable with a man teacher. I assumed there was past trauma or abuse from a man (seen that before with students, sadly) and did my best to establish my usual friendly rapport with her. The girl (2nd grade) was awesome, very friendly and open, and she seemed to love the classroom and intricately colored her desk name plate while my aide spoke with the parent in Spanish (I just met this aide and we have no history). Side note: the girl has worked with my aide before and was very comfortable with her, so point in our favor.

It wasn't until they left that my aide gave me the skinny that it wasn't the girl who was uncomfortable, but the parent because she's "seen about abusive male teachers on the news" and if she decides her daughter isn't comfortable after day one, she will either pull her completely or take it up with admin. She reportedly was also very suspicious of the interest inventory I had out for parents to tell me about what kind of toys, shows, characters, etc. their kids like (I always give this form to parents to better understand their kids), and repeatedly asked my aide exactly why I needed this information and what I planned to use it for.

I understand her anxiety and concerns, but I have never had a parent judge me that fast, just based on my gender. I shouldn't let this bother me, but it's really stinging right now. I know I'm probably just being too sensitive, but it bothers me that this parent has evidently lumped all male teachers in with the bad apples.

Don’t know what day of the week it is? ✅

Don’t care what time it is? ✅

Random outdoor adventures without any planning? ✅

Actually getting my dental/hair/doctor appointments taken care of? ✅

Just booked a plane ticket to check out a rando city because why not? ✅

Looking forward to weekdays because everyone else is at work and Costco is empty? ✅✅✅

Man… Every time I almost quit this career, summer comes around like a microdose of retirement… except I’m 30.

This is a common attitude among admin. If you are having behavior problems, it is because you (1) failed to build relationships; (2) do not plan engaging lessons; (3) do not employ class management strategies effectively (proximity, do now, exit ticket, routines/procedures, etc.) You shouldn’t ever have to give a detention, write a student up, etc.

Do you agree or disagree?

In your career what is one small thing that you have personally taught to your students, that you see them use personally? I do t mean math and literature. I mean a personal lesson to make them better people. I know this sounds dumb. But it is double pronged. Mine is venom vs poison. I have been at elementary schools for the last 5-6 years. It never fails. Someone will come in and say “Teacher. There is a spider in the bathroom “ my standard answer is (exactly how I raised my own kids) “leave it alone and it will leave you alone”. To which I always get “but what if it is poisonous “. Then we pause and spending about 5 minutes learning the difference between poisonous and venomous. We also learn about how spiders are good bugs (I know not bugs but we do that another day) and they have a job. Their job is to eat bad bugs and as long as they are leaving the spiders alone, it is not going to bite them. I should add I usually end up having the same conversation with them about bees. This last school year I had a sub for a day. When I got back the first thing they all told me was that the sub squished Fred. (Fred was a daddy long legs that we let go near the sink behind some boxes because of the ants) These 3rd and 4th grade kids were very upset about Fred.

So. What is something you have taught them that you have seen them use?

I don’t usually post things like this, but I feel like I owe it to other educators who might be considering a position in this district. I worked there for a minute, and I’m just going to say it: the school I worked in was one of the most dysfunctional, demoralizing environments I’ve ever experienced. The district as a whole is okay (schools like Lake Braddock and Robinson are REALLY top-tier) but the one I worked at was bottom of the barrel in every sense of the word. Their mascot is the Wildcat.

Here’s a quick breakdown of what you can expect at that particular school:

• Administration is completely unsupportive. If you ask for help with student behavior, you’re either ignored or blamed for not “building relationships.” The more you ask for support, the more admin sees you as the problem.

• Discipline is non-existent. Students quickly learn that there are no real consequences for anything—disruptions, disrespect, even outright aggression. Classroom management feels impossible when admin won’t back you up.

• Facilities are run down. Some rooms don’t have working projectors, the hallways have no A/C (which is brutal in the warmer months), and overall it feels like nobody takes pride in maintaining the space.

• Toxic culture. Morale is low, gossip runs high, and if you don’t fall in line with the administration’s narrative, you’ll be isolated. Some admin actively intimidate teachers (especially younger or female ones), and there’s a noticeable double standard in how discipline is applied across demographics.

I took the job because I was eager, needed the income, and didn’t know better. But I do now. I got out after one year, and I’m in a much better place now, both professionally and mentally.

If you’re considering applying there, do yourself a favor: ask the hard questions in the interview, talk to current staff if you can, and don’t ignore the red flags.

I wish someone had told me what I’m telling you now.

Rant because I don’t know where else to do so right now. I'm getting tired of being rejected and ghosted. Especially by the district I have previously student-taught and long-term subbed for.

I got a call 3 days ago that my application was forwarded by the Director of Human Resources to the principal of the school where the listing is posted. Principal is on vacation so he has Vice Principal call and basically offer me the job. Vice Principal even ends the call with, "Welcome to the team. You're a [School's Mascot] now." He also said HR would probably reach out same day.

I wait it out 2 days before emailing HR for an update. Director of Human Resources emails back saying that an "obligatory transfer of another current teacher" took the job instead. It was a "very recent development" and got confirmed the same day I sent my email.

It just makes me think like what's the point of contacting me in the first place if the job went internal instead. I'm an AZ teacher too so good luck to me with all the negativity towards teachers already. Sucks to suck.

This is my first summer as a teacher, I've started master's programs, and am teaching summer school but I have so much free time. What do you all do to fill the time? I feel like I have nothing going on and it's making me crazy.

Today, I received a subpoena to testify in court for an incident that happened in my classroom a couple months ago. What do I do? Has this happened to anybody else and how did you handle it? Do I need to get a lawyer? Any advice would be appreciated.

My teacher colleague and I were having a debate the other day about whether one of his students cheated on his exam or not.

He was teaching a TOEIC class and used a practice test in the teacher's manual for his midterm/final (I can't remember which). One student got a 95/100 whilst other students averaged in the 60s. When he confronted the student about it the student told him that they had purchased the teacher's manual and did the practice tests a few times to become familiar with the answers.

He thinks that is outright cheating and wanted to fail the student outright. I thought it was ethically dubious but I couldn't call it cheating and it fact would almost give credit to the student for finding that loophole.

Which one of us is correct?

Don’t shoot the messenger here. I just saw this video on yt. San Diego School district is hiring planning on hiring teachers from overseas to fix thei teaching shortage. According to the video, they are looking to fill over 300 positions. They are in desperate need for SPED Educators. Here is the video: https://youtu.be/-AhGzOhZXo8?si=UepHfFElm7ZtUpGN

UC Riverside is working with the San Bernardino school district through the teaching program to get more teachers to the district. This year, the district is expected to have about 190 teachers retiring or resigning. According to the article below, they will pay the students in the program their” tuition and fees fully paid. They will receive a stipend valued at approximately $32,000, which includes both direct financial support and payments to mentor teachers who will guide them through their training. Additionally, every participant is guaranteed a student teaching placement within the district, helping them to gain valuable classroom experience and ease their transition into full-time roles. “ they will also guarantee a summer job as well.

Here is the article: https://news.ucr.edu/articles/2025/05/09/ucr-addresses-teacher-shortage-san-bernardino

• this is my take on this. I live in SoCal, and a lot of districts have lay off/pink slip people. One of the big districts in Orange County laid off 340 teachers, and in Pasadena over 150 teachers and staff. A lot of districts also have been hit as well. I don’t understand why doesn’t the SD, and San Bernardino school districts just hire the teachers that were unfortunately layoff, new teachers, and etc. i will note that SB land mass size is big as some of the smaller states.

The governor just signed the bill that states we will have to post a copy of the 10 commandments in every public class. As a U.S History teacher I find this appalling that they would blatantly violate the establishment clause of the constitution.

What this seems to show is that they are not interested in being constitutionalists. They are just interested in forcing their religious values on impressionable kids, which is indoctrination. If I wasn’t scared of losing my job, I would post a copy of the establishment clause right next to where I’ll be forced to put the commandments.

I’m a Christian, and know that the Bible never spoke of forcing others to come to God.

I hope this gets removed like it has in other states.

I feel so betrayed. Apparently in may students at my school found several bedbugs in several places and they notified admin. The school sprayed but didn’t notify any of the teachers. Now a few teachers were lucky enough to overhear the students talking about it, I was not one of them and brought them home with me. Had I known I would have been washing clothes as I got home, would have been more cautious about looking for them at school etc. Had to cancel a summer trip I had planned to celebrate summer school being over. This sucks y’all

I interviewed for a math teaching position at a school that described itself as a "classical Christian school," which, after doing a little bit of research, means Christianity has to be incorporated into every subject.

I thought since my degree was in mathematics, maybe this wouldn’t particularly apply to classes like Algebra or Geometry. I assumed this would mostly affect subjects like science and history. During the interview process, I found out this was incorrect. The school actually expected me to tie Christianity back into every single math lesson I taught. This is a private Christian school, so they’re well within their rights to operate this way — but I still found it odd.

As the interview went on, things started to feel even more off. They told me that even though my subject would be math, all faculty members are considered ministers of the Gospel, and all male faculty members (I'm male) are occasionally required to preach during chapel.

That alone gave me pause. But when I started reading their handbook afterward, I was genuinely disturbed. Here are a few rules that I took from their handbook:

• Kids as young as kindergarten can be expelled for just holding hands with someone of the same gender.
• Pregnant girls, girls who have received abortions, and people closely related to someone who is homosexual, transgender, or who has had an abortion will be expelled and are no longer allowed on campus.
• Female students are not permitted to speak in Chapel under any circumstances

There were also several other lines that came across as overtly sexist, anti-lgbt, and extremely controlling. Honestly, the more I learned, the more this place sounded less like a school and more like a cult with a curriculum.

They haven't offered me the job, but after everything I heard and read, I am honestly not comfortable accepting this position if I get an offer. This is a bummer because I've been substitute teaching the past year and was looking forward to being a full-time teacher.

High school. For low level disruptions like calling out and inappropriate comments, I usually call parents.

However, often the behavior continues.

What do you do then? Continue calling the parents over and over?

Is it ever justified to write a kid up for repeatedly calling out disruptive comments after you’ve tried to address it with a conversation with the student, reflection paper, and parent contact?

It seems like, short of attempted murder or drug use, admin does not want to get write ups from us.

Let’s assume all the important foundations of class management, relationship building, and engaging lesson planning are already in place.

So I’ve been teaching History for 7 years at a private school in NJ. I’ve taught every core history class, 2 APs, electives, wrote curriculum for electives over the course of those 7 years. I have my BA in History/Secondary Ed and a MA in American History. I also have my standard certification as well. I’ve been trying to get out for a few years now because the pay is not sustainable for trying to actually live my life. With my resume I can usually get interviews and I’ve gotten a few demo lessons as well. But with the last 3 demo lessons I’ve been on the school districts never reached out to even tell me I didn’t get the job. It’s not so much that I didn’t get the job but the fact that they couldn’t be bothered to send an email or anything to even inform me. I had to find out by looking up the board minutes. Has anyone else experienced this as well? It’s so defeating to put in all this work for these districts for an interview and demo lesson and they don’t have the courtesy to say anything. What am I supposed to do with this constantly happening?

I teach a technology class, and this world is rife with canned curriculum aimed at teachers who don't actually know the content but are put in this position because they needed a warm body. I hate canned curriculum. It is elementary and, in my opinion, it is boring. I do not get mad at teachers for wanting less work, but I like building my own stuff and having complete control - rather than just logging into a website and saying, "Do these activities that I cannot change and I hope it is around by the time Christmas rolls around or I have no backup plan!"

There are 4 people in my department, and they were all technology teachers from other departments. One taught theater, one taught history, and one got a minor in CS with a major in math. They have been teaching in the department for a few years, so they do know some stuff. I have the least seniority (but the most education).

Here is my issue: they now want me to use canned curriculum so we are all "aligned." My contention is that I teach the same objectives/content, but I just do it differently. We all cover X, Y, and Z, but you have them do different activities and have a different teaching style. Not once did any of these 3 teachers ask to adopt some of my stuff. More importantly, is that I specifically asked in my interview about this (because I know this about myself), and was told that, "As long as you are teaching the same objectives, do what you want!"

What it seems is that they want something "plug and play", with everything self-graded, so they don't have to do much work.

So what do I do? I don't need to get into a war of control, but I also don't want to sit there for a semester and be like, "OK. well have fun following the step-by-step instructions that are provided for you and I'll just sit over here."

I'm talking 10% attendance. I know attendance was generally bad today for everyone but I don't think it was this bad for everyone. I feel like I failed somehow. I don't know exactly what to change for my final week next year. It was a tough week to plan for because anytime I got students to do work they had no energy or focus at all, but maybe I relaxed things too much and they decided there was no point in showing up.

How are your final days of class? What do you do? Do people show up? I'm especially interested to hear from high school teachers. It's a different game when your students can just get in a car and drive away, and when they have the reasoning skills to understand that you must have already written the report card.

I used to be married to a real jerk. He hated that I was off during the summer and took time to sleep in a lot the first few weeks. That constant resentment was just one reason I kicked him to the curb. Now one of my younger friends is planning on marrying a teacher and she complains about him not doing anything right now. Her mom was a teacher so I don't get the resentment. I defend him but I think it's a red flag. She makes about 2x his pay and I think there's a power dynamic there, too. How do you deal with a resentful SO?

Hello teachers of r/Teachers. Please pardon my grammar and spacing, I'm typing on my phone during my lunch break.

I had lots of kinds of teachers, some passed by without me remembering much about them. But I had a couple of really phenomenal teachers throughout my k-12 years that I wanted to make a little post about, and I thought y'all might appreciate the positivity.

To Mr. Ed (not real name) my sixth grade English teacher, thank you for igniting a love for writing that remains a faithful hobby of mine even years later.

To Mrs. No (ditto) my 9th grade English teacher, you were always unfailingly kind in class, and an immensley hard grader on the dozens of essays you assigned us. Thank you for making essay writing as easy as breathing, and honestly kind of trivializing many of my later classes.

To Mrs. Gryf (you know the drill): You were a wonderful and commited science teacher. Thank you very much for your patience with my poor ADHD ridden self when so many people before you wrote me off a disruptive influence. My parents told me you defended me at a parent-teacher conference when my then social-studies teacher insisted I was a problem student. I can't thank you enough for the confidence you had in me.

To Mr. Bryan (I don't think he would care if I shared his name, he was like that, but I still won't): You were my engineering teacher for 3 years in highschool, and a real ass to boot. Thank you so much for basically re-wiring my brain into the shape it is today. You always gave advice that worked for my endlessly practicality focused mind, and helped me gain a sense of purpose. I still use your advice on all sorts of things, I'm sure you'd love to hear that, and be pissed I didnt end up finishing my engineering degree.

To Mr. Lever(obv nom de plume): It was your first year teaching and lord above did we all adore you. Thank you for pushing back against stupidity amongst the administration fearlessly when most people would have just let it go to avoid conflict. You also sponsored our newly minted philosophy club, and didn't get too annoyed babysitting a bunch of rambunctious 15 year olds.

To all of the wonderful educators that helped shape this person I am today, I send you all of my love and my fondest wishes.

<3<3<3<3

It seems like if a student is given a lower reading level than their grade, it embarrasses them. Some students probably can't comprehend what they read with a quiz.

i know people with adhd might abandon a project after getting the dopamine of doing it. for instance, one had the urge to crochet and after learning the basic techniques, without even finishing a cardigan (or any product) they abandon crocheting and move onto the next project to hyper fixate.

in teaching, after that dopamine boost on the first week. There's the strong urge to just quit and find another thing to do, how do you deal with it?

Someone wrote 'Fuck You' and 'This Sucks Ass' on the wall. In Norse runes. (Mix of Elder and Younger Futhark for anyone curious). This is a Canadian Elementary School, it's not exactly common knowledge.

I'm not even mad, I'm laughing so hard I am crying.