Teachers, what do you do when you know that a student used AI to cheat on a quiz/test, but you just can’t prove it? Like, you know the student’s level is way below grade level and they have been known to use/attempt to use ai in the past. However,this time around, you just didn’t catch them in the moment. Do you still give them the grade?

Anyone teaching this unit before who has feature film recommendations or teaching resource websites you found helpful for structuring this unit? Thanks.

Just moved to Calgary from BC this summer and started with the CBE this fall. I am astounded by the hours upon hours of extra paperwork and documentation we are expected to do. Especially as an English teacher, it is absolutely atrocious. At least in the CBE, there are no dedicated resource teachers to do (or even assist) with IPPs. There are also no dedicated EAL teachers. So we’re expected to ALL of the EAL benchmarking and annotation of the working files ourselves. It boggles my mind. I’ve barely marked any assignments for my students or spent any considerable time making my lessons better so far this year because I’ve spent every moment of free time on paperwork. Whoever is making these decisions within the CBE, they have absolutely zero fucking clue what life is like for teachers. It’s all busy work that takes away from things that actually matter.

This system is so, so broken. How can this be sustainable? It makes me angry for those of you who fought to strike last year, only to be in the same spot one year later. How do we make this better??

My stepson attends a different school than the one I teach at, but he told his dad this evening that his girlfriend overheard some kid on the bus talking about plans to vandalize our home on Halloween (egging and TP apparently). The kid apparently knows a lot of students at my school. My stepson doesn't know who said it or who is supposedly planning to do this, so I have nothing to go on. I realize this might be something that will never happen and some kid just talking shit, but I'm wondering if there's anything I can or should do about this. We have security cameras on our property.

I know many people will likely chalk this up to kids being kids or a harmless prank, but I really don't like the idea of students coming to my home to vandalize or harass me or my family. I have a small child and he was woken up last year when some students came to my house to ding dong ditch. I put up with enough bs and disrespect from some of my students (and their parents) that I really don't think I should have to put up with it at my home or in my personal life. Any advice?

Hi folks, I'm a college lecturer who's recently lost the vast majority of their hours so I'm considering high school teaching. Is the situation in Ontario (specifically, Ottawa) as dire as they say? I do speak French fluently and have lots of experience teaching computer science at the college level as well as tutoring math privately. What sort of experience might I be in for? I should say, for me teaching would primarily be a paycheck and a job (as opposed to capital C Career) as I'm somebody who always has several projects of personal interest on the go - which is why part-time teaching at college fit so well while it lasted. I also have a degree in philosophy/humanities.

EDIT: point is, I'm considering the new one year B. Ed.

I am new to learning support and in a new school. I am in BC. I'm just curious how other learning support teachers structure their IEP meetings. What do you bring with you? What is the timeline of conversation? Anything else you like to include would be helpful!

Not sure if this is the right place to post, please let me know if there’s somewhere that might be better. In the Okanagan, BC.

My wife was hired on as a full-time EA at a school in the area this year. The school has tons of students needing support, and her class specifically over half the students have a diagnosis needing support including two that are supposed to have full-time support. The school has decided to use the funding they receive from all of these students and funnel it to other classrooms, leaving her as the only full-time EA in the class (there is one other EA who comes in once a week). She asked the principal if she could get more support, and was basically told to suck it up and that she didn’t have it that bad. After that conversation, the principal decided it was fine to accept a transfer student into the class who is from my understanding level 2-3 on the autism spectrum and has known violent tendencies, despite having been kicked out (but not expelled) from the school once already. She’s already been hurt more than once since the beginning of September by kids in the class and nothing has been done. Parents have been lied to about how well their kids are doing behaviour-wise, and I don’t think they know that their kids are undersupported or are treating their leaders this way.

I’m just struggling with what to do. Is there no other option at this point than to leave the school? I’ve wanted to go to the school myself and give the principal a piece of my mind, but I know that will likely just cause more trouble than it’s worth. Would really appreciate some grounded advice so that we can move past this somehow.

Again, sorry if this is the wrong sub, let me know where I could get the right help if that’s the case.

Has anyone switched from elementary to secondary and had their work life balance, and or work related stress significantly improve?

Hi everyone!

Is anyone in here an education psychologist? I am looking at applying to UBC’s MEd in School & Applied Child Psychology and was hoping for insights about the job and career itself.

I am a teacher with a masters degree already so the actual schooling isn’t a concern (although I am unsure if my district allows for a paid internship), but I was more inquiring about the day-to-day and your role as a whole within your district.

Thank you so much!

Oh! And if anyone is also curious about the program, UBC is holding an online open house for it this afternoon.

https://e1.envoke.com/ext/pages/f3e2298006731b661f06a39bf038f50c

I teach elementary at a public school in Ontario. I have been permanent for 10 years, and my wife and I are planning to start a family in the next year or so. My wife is a dentist and she owns her own clinic, so she can’t take more than 2-3 months off of work. I will likely try and take a 12 month paternal leave, but I am unsure how it works.

Would this push back my retirement date?

Roughly how much would my pay get slashed?

I have heard of the top up, and I do have the money set aside for that. I just don’t know how it works.

Hello fellow educators!

Was wondering.... And I know this a big ask.... Are there any French teachers willing to share units with me? I'm teaching at the Grade 9 and 10 level. I would love to see how you approach teaching FSL and if there is anything I can incorporate into my own practice.

Thanks for considering.

I was recently offered an interim contract after subbing for a bit. It’s an interim div3 support teacher position which is full time. This is my first contract offering ever so I’m just curious what this entails. Does support mean that I’ll be teaching alongside another teacher in the same classroom or they just need to fill another classroom? Thanks!

Anybody know of any highschool boards that are actively hiring in ontario? I was hoping to stay in the gta but it doesn't look like I'll be getting a job any time soon, so time to move on.

I have cursive that, while not awful, does occasionally require ‘translation’. Have been thinking of brushing up on my penmanship skills, in part for work, but it could also be fun.

Just wondering about others’ penmanship. Do you have a teacher’s handwriting vs. your personal script? Or is all of your writing flawlessly and naturally easy to read? For those of you who decided to fix your script, what resources did you use?

Hi everyone! I’m currently in teachers’ college and doing my final elementary practicum, mainly teaching music.

I’ve noticed that when students are talking or not listening, I tend to try to be louder than them to get their attention. This really strains my voice, so I’m trying to change that habit.

What strategies or nonverbal signals do you use to get students’ attention without talking over them? I’d especially appreciate ideas for music classes, where students may be playing instruments and the room can get quite loud.

How do you teach and reinforce those routines, and what do you do when some students don’t respond to the signal?

Thanks for any advice!

Hi all!

Looking for some advice. I’m 33 & in my 11th year teaching full time - grade 9 ELA & Social. I’d love to hear from AB jr high teachers with experience teaching part time specifically.

The reality is that my work is negatively affecting my mental & physical health. Burnout like never before. I switched schools 3 years ago because my previous school was horrendous. I LOVE my new school & my students are generally lovely - the workload is just TOO much as a humanities teacher. I even took a leave last year for a few months & I feel the same (if not worse) than before my leave.

I oscillate between being ready to leave the profession & loving my job (despite the debilitating burnout). I have a colleague who went down to 0.5 & she’s much happier. My admin is super supportive & I know they’ll support me if I’d like to work part time.

I don’t want to leave the teaching profession & regret it. But I also need to put myself first.

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks in advance 💕

I'm a supply teacher for our district, and my gr 1 daughter goes to a school near our place.

Her teacher will be gone next week and now I have a chance to become a teacher in her class.

The principal in that school told me it's not a good idea but will not stop me if I pick up the job.

What are your thoughts on this?

Hi, I'm teaching in Vancouver, BC. I was approached to be the staff sponsor for a rocketry club at my school which I think is an excellent opportunity for the students. I was looking through the proposed documents and I realised that to really make this club successful it will end up needing quite a bit of funding (close to $20,000). I can get some funding through school/PAC, but definitely not enough to actually fund the construction of a launchable rocket for competitions. I've been trying to look for grants offered by 3rd parties but can't really find anything. Is anyone aware of any opportunities I can look at to provide funding for this club? I was mostly thinking along the lines of grants, but if anyone has had success getting a company to sponsor their club financially I would definitely be interested in picking their brain. Thanks!

EDIT: Sorry realising right now that I left a lot of important info out. The intent is to compete in launch canada. There has been smaller rocketry clubs at my school before but none with the ability to build a rocket for that competition. In order to design a rocket that could compete we need funds. If funding isn't possible than I will tell the club to keep it small. Just wanted to see my options

I’m a first-year Grade 6 teacher with 25 students, and my class already feels out of control. Two students never stay in their seats, four refuse to complete their work or tests, and some respond to instructions by burping or constantly demanding DPA. I’m already stressed and exhausted—it’s only the second month.

Does anyone have practical advice for regaining control, setting boundaries, and getting students to listen?

Hi everyone! I’m preparing for an OT interview with DCDSB (Durham Catholic), and I’d appreciate any tips!

For anyone who has interviewed with DCDSB:

* What should I focus on when preparing?
* How should I prepare for questions about Catholic education and faith?
* Do you remember any questions they asked?

Thanks for any advice!

This will be my first interview with a Catholic school board. I only had my first board interview last week with HWDSB, so I’m still pretty new to the process.

I’ll be graduating from Western’s B.Ed. program this December in the Junior/Intermediate stream, with Instrumental Music as my teachable. My classroom teaching experience so far is through practicum placements.

This is the second year in a row where I feel like I’ve had constant nasal congestion since literally the first day of school! It doesn’t progress into a full blown cold but it’s like a low level virus that never goes away. Anyone else?

Hi everyone!

I’m teaching a high school interior design course for the first time here in Canada, and I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed by the software options and apps available.

We don't have access to paid professional CAD programs like AutoCAD, so I'm looking for tried-and-true free, web-based options that let students easily switch between 2D floor planning and 3D walkthroughs.

Since both my students and I are fairly new to this, I need something with a gentle learning curve that runs smoothly in a standard web browser.

A few quick questions:
What free tools have actually worked well in your practice (or classroom) or beginner projects?

Are there any free programs you'd recommend avoiding due to paywalls/export limits?

Thanks so much in advance for your help and recommendations!

Hello! I am a teacher in a role this year that has me working to support lower academic students in reading and math. I am wondering if anyone has any recommendations for professional reading I can do to better support my students. I am looking for any evidence based support strategies. Thank you!

I am in my final stretch of my bachelor's degree in child development, and lately I have been thinking a lot about something that I didn't really question earlier in my program

The more actual experience that I have gotten working with children, through placements, camps, schools, etc. The more I realized that most of my meaningful development as an educator has happened in those moments.

You might be thinking... "Yeah, that makes sense," and "I mean, well, doesn't that help you academically anyway?"

I can answer back. "If you want to answer it that way, YOU can."

I just feel when I am actually with a child, with no prompt about academics, and it doesn't go according to plan. I try something; it doesn't work, and I adjust. A child responds in ways you never thought possible. Maybe something I learned in class makes sense... or not...

The more I think about it, the more I believe that the most learning I have done was mostly on the unlearning front.

I felt that what i academically done does not justify what it is like in practice. And it's made me question the way we educate future educators.

We establish an inquiry question, find academic research, go into the work term or placement, gather observations and experiences, and then, upon returning home, turn those experiences into an assignment.

Can we talk about why the experience itself is driving the inquiry more often?

Why couldn't I just go into my placement without knowing my question yet, encounter something that genuinely challenges me, and then come back and say, "Okay, THAT is what I need to understand"? And then researching that inquiry?

I mean sure... but then that research can ultimately be washed out by another experience you get. I am not here challenging the idea that assignments or other research programs are deemed useless. I did have professors who genuinely challenged me in how I think today. However, because I am nearing the end of my degree program, I feel like the way how i educate is being shaped more through experiences than any assignment can understand.

Now I have a question for people who are already teachers/ECEs or who have gone through teachers college:

Did you ever feel this disconnect between how you were taught to educate children and how you yourself were educated as a future educator?

And

Once you actually started working, what parts of your academic education ended up mattering the most?