Community Discussions
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Teacher resigns after being ordered to remove “Everyone is Welcome Here” poster—let’s stand up for inclusion
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A sixth‐grade teacher was told to take down an inclusive poster featuring diverse skin‐toned hands—even though it simply said “Everyone is Welcome Here.” She eventually put it back up and later resigned over the dispute. As educators, where do we draw the line between “content‐neutral policy” and promoting a positive training environment? Would you have done the same?
https://www.nea.org/nea-today/all-news-articles/idaho-teacher-who-refused-back-down
Top Comment: I might ask for an explanation as to which children are not welcome there.
First year teacher, and we’re behind. What do I do?
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I feel like I’m screwing up my first year teaching because we are incredibly behind in math and history. Math is because my kids could not grasp fractions, to save their life. Keep in mind, I teach sixth grade and they learned the fraction basics in fifth but they act like they had never seen fractions before. Of course, me being the new teacher that believes in students grasping a concept instead of throwing a bunch of stuff at them for standardized testing, I took as much time as I could. Do I just do quick lessons and skip to the next concept even if the kids aren’t fully grasping it? I just feel like I’m setting them up for failure for next year if they don’t grasp something.
For history, I’m behind because of all of the people that intervene to do stuff like “teen safety” and the health department coming and taking up a ton of my class periods, so I lose that precious time.
My kids also cannot stay on task to save their life. I set time constraints to try to get them to understand the concept of time management but it seems like it just doesn’t matter. How do I solve this because it takes us ages to do an assignment and I have this insane guilt about assigning a ton of homework. I’ve been giving them one homework assignment a week and even give them moments during our free time to work on it, yet I have like 50% of them missing.
In general, I just need help. What do I do when my kids don’t want to do work so it sets us behind even more when I feel like I need to carve out class time so they actually get it done and don’t get a zero?
The apathy in my classroom is real and I feel like no matter what I do, I can’t fix it.
I just need help. I feel like I’m failing as a teacher.
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What's the difference between r/teaching and r/teachers?
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Were they intentionally created separately for a reason?
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Thinking of teaching - is it as bad as people say?
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Me and my friend are both considering becoming teachers (she wants to teach art and I either want to teach German or some other foreign language - I’m from the UK). But the majority of things I hear about the job are negative - the hours are too long, the pay is too low, it’s too time consuming etc. I know that teaching isn’t an easy job and most teachers don’t get the pay or respect they should do, but is it still an enjoyable job? My other option is going into law, which pays well but I feel like it would have more stress, especially with the paperwork a lawyer has to deal with.
Second question - to those who do teach MFL, how long did it take to get the qualifications you needed? My German teacher was 24 when she started at my school and she taught in Germany beforehand (she’s also from the UK), but when I ask people how long it took them to get to C2, they say they were well into their 30s or 40s, are they just taking the mick?? 😭
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Seasoned teachers, be honest—is it only going to get worse?
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I’m a first year teacher who committed to English education in 2019; only a few months before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. This year has rocked my world. I could go on and on about these students, but I won’t. We all know that it’s bad. But my question is, is it only going to get worse?
As the school year comes to a close, I’m weighing the options of staying or leaving. I just need to know if I will be saving myself or stabbing myself in the side if I decide to go.
To seasoned teachers who have been in the game for a long time: What are your thoughts?
Edit: Thank you for providing your input and experiences. The reason why I ask this question is because I am unsure if I am just adjusting to my first year of teaching and am experiencing a bit of a shock, or if my experience (and seemingly the experience of many other teachers in this thread) is indeed abnormal. I figured it could go without saying, but I will make it clear: I love my students and care for them and their learning deeply! Thank you again!
Top Comment: Absolutely, yes. Administrators are doubling down in every possible way, and kids are caring less and less (which I can't blame them for).
People of Reddit what is your worst teacher ever story
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Please tell me about your worst teachers and what they did to make them SO horrible
Top Comment: okay i actually had 2-3. when i was in 3rd grade i had this one teacher who HATED me for some reason. i wasn’t really a bad kid, i just did what normal 3rd graders did. i broke my wrist in the middle of the school year, and i couldn’t do my work because it took me too long to write with my other hand. it got so bad to the point where my stepdad had to go up there, and cuss her out. because she was being disrespectful to me AND my parents. 5-6 grade i just moved to NY with my mom and stepdad. and there was these two teachers. (for some reason they had two teachers who just taught you the whole school year). the first one hated me so bad. she indirectly called me a whore because i sat around boys instead of the girls (they were aggressive and mean). they had this little thing at school for black history month, basically where me and this other kid would sing a song together. i practiced and practiced, but everytime i went to go practice with these teachers, they would always find a way to tell me to go away. so the day of the event comes, (i was in band and in choir, so i had to run between the two) and i go to find the teachers. they tell me that i’m not allowed to sing because i ‘never came to practice’. my stepdad and his dad showed up for me, and obviously my stepdad was pissed because it was the same teacher who was giving me a hard time before. so he went to find her, (which she quite literally hid from him) and just took me home in the middle of the school day. those two teachers were my teachers up until 6th grade.
As a teacher do you really have less off hours and down time compared to other jobs?
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I don't really know how a teacher's schedule works but with all the grading, curriculum, tight schedule, and responsibility of kids it seems like you're never really off work. I'd hate to get off work or be on the weekend only to grade papers or plan the next curriculum. Having all the same breaks as kids do seems like a perk though. I don't really know though, its just a guess. Just want some insight.
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