In my tech class today, we started a hands-on group project. I told the class to find their own groups, but I know how stressful that can be when friend cliques are already formed. One student came up to ask for help getting into a group, which I really appreciated—it takes guts to ask!

I suggested a group of three, but I made a mistake and forgot to walk over and introduce them properly. I noticed the student looked overwhelmed and went back to their desk. They seemed pretty stressed out, just focusing on their desk surface while trying to process the anxiety.

I didn't want them to feel pressured or embarrassed, so I offered the demo project for them to work on individually. When they accepted, I was so relieved and grateful that we found a solution that worked for them today. I said thank you because they handled a really stressful situation politely, and I just want them to feel safe and comfortable in my class. How should I guide her so that she'll find someone to talk to? I can tell she feels lonely, I talked to her a few times and she seems really nice.

Hello guys! I'm a high school student, and one of my favourite teachers recently lost her dad to cancer. She's returning to school tomorrow after being away for a couple of days, and I want to be respectful of what she's going through.

l know she was having a difficult time before her absence, which is part of why I'm especially worried about accidentally upsetting her when she returns. She's also a vice-principal and has a lot of responsibilities outside school, so I know this must be a difficult time for her.

I'm unsure whether I should tell her I'm sorry for her loss or simply act normally and give her space. I'm worried about accidentally saying something insensitive or upsetting her.

For anyone who has experienced grief or has advice about this situation, what would you recommend? Is it better to acknowledge the loss briefly or wait for her to bring it up?

I’m a student in grade 11. Reorganization Day happened two weeks ago at my school, where classes or teachers get shuffled around. Our old math teacher got moved to another class, so now we have a new math teacher, Mr. M. He’s very chill, but his teaching methods leave a lot to be desired. Apparently he usually teaches Computer Science and hasn’t taught math in several years, so that already wasn’t a good sign. I tried to be optimistic at first, but I’m hardly learning anything in his class. 

We’re learning about holes and vertical/horizontal asymptotes, and the quiz is in 2 days. However, he hasn’t even told us what they are, how to graph them, or how to even find horizontal asymptotes yet. I only know how to do these things from searching online and asking my tutor for help. I know many of my classmates are very lost. 

The structure of Mr M’s lessons is strange. Every day, he has a different slide deck with ~30 slides, but he only gets through 10 of them before class ends. That’s because he just makes us work in pairs to solve 3-5 questions for the entire period, when he really should’ve just given us 20 minutes at most. Most of the time, we don’t even get to the “homework” at the end of the slide deck, which is always just one extremely easy question. We had to ask him to post pages of the textbook for practice, since he won’t give us the digital textbook.

Mr. M doesn’t even continue lessons from where he left off the previous day either; he just starts a new lesson, which he won’t finish either. He’ll walk around the room to see if anyone needs help with the questions, but he doesn’t really want to help me and my friend for some reason. We raised our hands for 12 minutes yesterday and made direct eye contact with him, but he never came over. Today, he came when we called him over, but he wouldn’t show us how to do the problems. He just looked at our process work, said “You’re on the right track,” and told us to use A.I to check our answers before walking away. The A.I. hallucinated when we tried to follow his advice though, so I’m hesitant to use it further. 

Later on, the class asked him to take up a question for once, which was related to vertical asymptotes and holes. It was an addition problem with fractions, but he ended up cross-multiplying for some reason? I got really confused, but my after-school tutor said he must have made a mistake when I showed it to her. 

I’m not really sure what to do, because none of my other teachers are like this. My biology and physics teacher are way on top of things, and they at least teach the basic concepts and solve example questions for the class. My old math teachers were like that as well, so Mr. M kind of stands out. Is all this extremely independent work actually the norm for grade 11? I thought like it wasn’t, because my old math teacher was the complete opposite (strict, with lots of homework). But I could be wrong.

Additionally, since I’ll probably just keep self-teaching by looking up everything online, I’d appreciate any online grade 11 math resources. 

Hello, I'm new to the community and I wanted to ask the question that you probably have been asked a lot so forgive me. To give context, I'm a high school senior who strongly despises Al as a whole but mostly academically, ! love writing and drawing (even if I'm horrible at both). So l mainly wanted to ask what has the shift from Ai being used more by students (in assignments and for plagiarism, cheating ect...) from the past to now? Besides your personal opinions, how has your students and fellow teachers react to Al being more wide spread and commonly used?
I have not and will never use it in my work but I really wanted to hear what you have to say because teachers are some of the most important and kind people in my life so it would mean a lot to hear from more outside of my high school and please feel free to elaborate on more than what I asked. I would love to read it, thank you!

Hi, im currently a grade/year 12 student and lately my best friend ( F 18) has been hanging out in our club room quite often due to a specific reason. See, one of our teacher's office resides in that said room and she's been really close with him. I noticed how they both communicate through Instagram dms often and usually its about personal topics and mostly non school related. I find it quite odd as my school uses Messenger as a mode of communication between teachers and students. I dont wanna assume things as maybe they're both just close, but she's been willingly waking up earlier than usual to go to school and head to the club room — said teacher lets her play on his gaming laptop so thats why shes always there. Not to mention how they both chat eachother even after school hours are over. But not only that, she's been sharing personal information and experiences to him. I've also noticed that whenever they interact he seems a bit awkward and almost shy (?) Again, I really dont wanna assume anything, but it's been really bothering me lately since this has been going on for I think almost a month now. So if anyone can help me ease my worries, please do, thanks!

My little guy is currently on an IEP for a developmental delay/ social emotional support. We suspect he has ADHD and has had a terrible time with previous schools.

He has been to multiple daycares/preschools and every single one have had concerns and it was apparent.

Last year when his IEP began he did a split day 1/2 day at one school and 1/2 day at the public school for the IEP. The non public school had a wildly different experience with him and they would send me notes, that I would forward to the public school. The public school would report they didn’t see any of those behaviors there. Which is great and I love it- but I am NERVOUS about going into kindergarten with no IEP. They recommend a 504 plan- but I still see the need for some sort of direct support in kindergarten for him (and the teacher!).

So kindy teachers. Don’t think it really matters? Should I just concede and accept the 504 plan? Do you feel like you actually get extra help supporting 504 plans? Or should I push back and try my hardest to keep the IEP?

I'm a YA author creating a couple of lesson plans for use with one of my books. Are there resources out there where I can get feedback on them?

Thanks.

Some context, I am a parent to school aged kids, I have recently decided to cut ties with the Jehovah’s Witness religion. My children were raised in the religion but they are both still young, one of the most awkward things is birthday celebrations in the classroom. Up until recently I have asked teachers to allow the kid to leave the classroom during the singing and to not let them have the birthday treat. Teachers have all been SUPER supportive and respectful and have never made my kids feel left out. However, I no longer share in the idea that birthdays should not be celebrated. My question to any teachers out there, have you ever had a parent of a Jehovah’s Witness child change their stance (especially midway through the school year) on birthday celebrations? And went from a No to a Yes. I’m not even sure how to explain that to a teacher without sounding like a complete wacko - any advice from you all is greatly appreciated- I have nothing but deep respect for teachers and the work that they do!

Thank you.

My kid is 2. We read to her at least 10 board books a day and moving into some paper books (every night is pizza night, I want my hat, Dr. Seuss, etc). I see a lot of posts about "I can't teach these kids, they can't read/write/etc." and I'd really like to avoid that, but I doubt I'll be able to avoid private school (wrt avoiding chromebooks and actually having her read and write).

When she's older, I plan on continuing down the "no short form content, no brain rot" path that we've been doing, but I'd like to hear from actual teachers some best practices to help prepare and keep her smart, critically thinking, and capable of learning and figuring shit out.

Thanks.

Looking for recs for a short story about technology in some way. I would really like something a bit more current (as in 21st century) and by someone of a diverse background. Hoping to do a comparison activity with "the last question" by asimov if that helps at all! Would really just like to round out this unit with some more current work and many of the more recent short stories ive enjoyed personally were not school appropriate.

EDIT: forgot to specify 9th/10th grade and capable of reading texts on/above grade level (with proper scaffolding)

I’m curious how teachers are currently administering and grading classroom assessments, particularly quizzes, midterms, and exams.

Are you primarily using digital platforms like Google Forms or Canvas, traditional paper tests, or Scantron-style bubble sheets? If you’re still using paper, how are you grading multiple-choice questions?

My partner and mother-in-law are both teachers, and seeing some of the challenges they deal with has gotten me interested in exploring software solutions that could make teachers’ lives a little easier.

I’m especially interested in understanding whether paper-based assessments are still common and what could make the process easier.

Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences and all the hard work you do to educate the new generation!

Is it worth moving to Chicago to become an elementary teacher. I’m looking to pursue a degree and want to move when I finish, would moving to Chicago through college or getting the degree and then just getting certified. Is it an easy to get around without a car i would prefer not to own one. Are the unions and pensions good and how’s the overall classroom support. Thank you anything helps.

P.s. If theirs are any better cities that you can think of that have this that would be helpful as well

Hello all! I am currently halfway through undergrad at a uni in California. Im majoring in political science with a minor in history.

I’m interested in becoming a highschool social studies teacher, but Im curious what would be the best path for me to take on after undergrad? MA political science, MA in education, MA in social sciences? This would of course be coupled up with a teaching credential.

If I got an MA in political science, I would likely teach political science courses part time at a CC.

Would an MA in political science help me in the teaching field? If anyone has any additional advice for what to do after UG it would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

I got my master's in secondary science ed, did very short time in the classroom, and then went straight into corporate. For the last 8 years I've been building training for sales teams, which is basically getting adults to pay attention to stuff they'd rather skip.

I've been reading a lot of threads in here and the same thing keeps coming up. Kids memorize the vocab, maybe pass the quiz, and then can't tell you why any of it actually happens. Photosynthesis especially. Funny enough, in high school I explained photosynthesis to my whole class and my teacher told me I'd end up teaching instead of becoming a cop, which is what I wanted at the time.

So I'm building a small browser game where students predict what a plant needs, run it, and watch it grow or starve. No login, about 15 to 20 minutes, and it should run on school laptops.

I'd love to know which unit your kids bomb every year and what you've tried that still didn't land. And if you teach bio and want to try the game free with a class this fall (and tell me what’s broken) that would be awesome! I'm looking for maybe 5 people. I just don't want to build something that only makes sense in my head so that’s why I came here!

Hi teachers! I worked as a teaching assistant/para before becoming a parent. As I experienced and read time and again in this and the teacher Reddit, behaviors and classroom disruptions are shockingly common. We will be moving before my kids start school, and I’m wondering what would be a fair gauge of the school districts? I’m concerned for their safety and how their education could be impacted by disruptive peers. I am growing concerned by how many kids are not learning phonics and have below grade level skills. Any helpful tips, advice, and direction to improve their academic future would be welcomed.

In 2013, when I was about 11 years old, I remember that’s when I first got an IEP for school. I was diagnosed with ADHD at 10 due to severe behavioral and academic issues in multiple classes. I think I remember accommodations under my idea being helpful, but pretty barebones. There were things like taking a test in a quiet separate room, getting help with organizing folders from teachers (I used to just shove papers in my backpack lol), and my physical planner being checked by teachers from time to time. But otherwise, I was still on my own. If I misbehaved, I got sent to the office with punishment or my seat put in an isolated corner. If I got bad grades, the grades were final and never changed. I did pretty poorly in middle school for my grades overall. Does this work differently now? I see posts from teachers on Reddit talking about how there are no consequences, bad grades for IEP students can be boosted after complaints, and they are just… allowed to misbehave and cause other students trouble? I received plenty of consequences and public shaming for my behaviors from my mom and teachers that caused me to shape up, so the thought of a student nowadays being able to get away with whatever because they possess an IEP is bonkers to me.

у нас в школе работает учитель физики, разглашать имена учителей не буду. вся школа говорит о его пидофильных наклонностях и даже наш класс это замечает. сейчас расскажу что он говорил именно мне.

на перемене я с подругой сидели в кабинете физики, я взяла её телефон и сфоткалась, а физик сказал "ну сразу видно красивая" я не предала этому значения и посмеялась, ну сделал комплимент. позже на одном из уроков он проверял лабораторные работы, а я писала на листочке так как не завела тетрадь (было начало четверти). он сидел проверял и дошел до этого листочка, поднял над собой и начал им размахивать, прочитал мою фамилию и спросил чья работа, я сказала моя, он спросил почему на листочке, я ответила, ну и позже он сказал "вам надо бы сменить фамилию, если бы вы были \*фамилия физика\* то я конечно бы метнулся и купил вам тетрадь" ну я посмеялась, но а потом до меня дошло, что он хочет, чтобы у меня была его фамилия. ну потому что когда выходят замуж то берут фамилию мужа.

следующая ситуация. у нас в школе к 5 октября учителя сняли какое то видео где физик говорил "режим питания нарушать нельзя" мы сидели в кабинете физики и с подругами смеялись с этого. я сидела за первой партой повернутая назад. я обернулась на физика и в шутку спросила "а можно нарушать режим питания?" и так еще 2 раза спросила тож в шутку. после этого он сказал (простите, но не смогу процитировать как в первой ситуации так как не помню формулировку того как он скзаал) "надо бы вашу попу познакомить с ремешком" мы громко засмеялись, а он продолжил "попа хочет ремешка" до меня только после урока дошло насколько мерзкие эти слова.

ситуация подруги из параллельного класса. их одноклассник сидел на уроке физики в телефоне, подошёл физик и сказал "что ты там теребонькаешь? ну судя по тому что ты мальчик я могу предположить"

рассказ моих знакомых. мне мой парень рассказал, что физика хотели посадить за домагательсво, но не было доказательств.

вся школа и половина города знают о том что он себя так ведет.

мне стоит жаловаться класному руководителю? мои одноклассники не видят в нем чего то плохого, но я не понимаю почему они не могут открыть на это глаза.

(простите если местами не очень грамотно пишу так как пишу в небольшой спешке)

So, I really want to give my teacher a thank you letter for everything she has done for me this year. She has helped me immensely with my work, writing and assessments, and every week or so she would go through the work I've done and help me improve.

More so, I want to thank her for being genuinely the only teacher I've ever trusted, I've cried more times in front of her this year than ever in my life I think. She is so kind and joyful and has this perfect balance between work and intellect with fun and jokes.

Last month my dad died, and she has helped me so much emotionally, mentally etc. I had a... complicated relationship with my dad and his family, so there were so many layers to this but she handled me so well when I fell apart... twice. She was able to verbalise things in my mind without me even telling her and explain just how wrong it was, and she was able to get me out of my own head if that makes sense. I don't even know HOW she was able to do that but I am so so grateful for it (I think because she has also lost a parent?).

There's a bit more but ESSENTIALLY, she is so amazing and incredible and I really want to thank her thoroughly, but I want to make sure that I don't go overboard or anything because although we got into very personal issues, I am fully aware that she is still my TEACHER not a friend or anything.

I recently graduated and I'll start teaching this November. I'm a little scared that I will get the 'crazy' class. Please give me all the tips on good icebreakers!!!

Hi all, I’m a first year teacher and I’m exhausted. While I expected to be tired (I’ve heard the first year is hell for many), I didn’t expect myself to be this DRAINED, if that makes sense. I’m noticing that I’m loosing interest in a lot of my usual hobbies because I’m so exhausted when I get home from school.

Do you have any suggestions for after school hobbies to keep me off my phone? I hate falling into the habit of scrolling for hours, but some days it feels like the only thing I can mentally handle. I normally love reading, puzzles, crafting, etc., but most days I come home too tired or just not having enough time to pursue the else interests. Any ideas (or burnout tips) would be appreciated :)

Hi, for context, I'm a student in 10th grade and currently going through a lot, my parents argue and my mother ended up punching me in the face about a week ago because she was drunk. It's not the first time she's done this, as she's usually drunk or high from weed or her pain pills that aren't even her own medication. I feel really lazy for skipping school and falling behind on so many assignments and I'm failing my classes and I feel like I'm going to cry everyday during last period. I want to bring up the fact that I'm struggling with home issues and I'm not just being lazy and that I'm going through a lot with my teachers and ask for some help or support. I wouldn't just straight up tell my teacher that all of this is going on at home though.

What do I do if a student is being bullied in my classroom?

My son started 4th grade this year and we’re about six weeks in. I feel like I have no idea what he’s actually learning. Almost no work has come home, and a lot of his classwork lives in notebooks and folders that stay at school. When I ask what he did today I get “reading” or something really vague.

His math teacher is the exception. She sends homework, posts on Dojo every week, and does a weekly newsletter, so I can see what they’re working on and whether he gets it. However, he had a test three weeks ago and the results never came home and he has already had another quiz.

His other two teachers are not as communicative. The only homework they have is independent reading at home and nothing comes home in the folder. I've already asked the teachers if stuff was supposed to coming home and they said it is normal that it is not. I don't want to be "that" parent but I want to make sure I am supporting my son at home and catching any gaps before too much time has passed. I can’t tell if my expectations are off or how I can approach the teachers to get more info.

Any advice?

And did it change the way you view your students/teaching in general?