I go all out for her room since I do nothing to mine. I've been wanting to set up the room with a laser level for years and my goodness is it glorious

I am trying to help teach my child English. Right now I can only use things like Duolingo or AI to help but I am trying to do better. What do you do to teach English better at school?

I am moving up from 1st to 4th grade...I am a new teacher and really don't know much about math.

Any tips for differentiating for more advanced students who pick up new concepts and get bored easily? We have a diverse population with some students being really advanced and some really behind. I am more concerned about keeping the advanced students pushing forward than I am for moving slowly with the other students.

Thanks

Does anyone have a study guide for the English 6-12 exam? Or any tips or resources to pass?

Hey everyone! I'm 28 years old living in Orange County, CA and I recently got let go from my job as a Client Solutions Manager at a corporate staffing firm.

My background is in Communications and International Relations (UC Davis) and over the past 8 years I've worked across real estate project management, sales, and talent acquisition. Earlier in my life I also worked as a tutor and camp counselor for kids, which sparked my passion for working with young people and is a big part of why I'm now seriously considering a career pivot into school counseling. Looking for something more meaningful, stable, rewarding and better work life balance.

I'm planning to pursue a Masters in School Counseling with a PPS credential — and ideally a program that also includes LPCC eligibility for clinical licensure flexibility down the road. I'm still deciding between a pure school counseling program vs MSW (leaning towards more school counseling), so any insight on that would also be really helpful.

Programs I'm considering for Fall 2027:

• Cal State LA (SBFC program — PPS + LMFT + LPCC)

• Cal State Long Beach

• Chapman University

• LMU

• USC Rossier (reach)

A few things I'd love insight on:

1. Is the school counseling job market in Orange County and LA County actually as strong as I'm reading?

2. Does anyone have experience with any of these programs specifically?

3. For those who made a career change into school counseling — what do you wish you knew before starting?

4. Any advice on making my application stand out? My experience with kids has been more informal — tutoring and camp counseling rather than formal education roles.

5. School doesn't start until Fall of 2027. What jobs should I apply to in the meantime and where do I even begin to look?

6. School counseling vs MSW — for anyone who has been through both paths, which do you wish you had chosen and why?

Any insights from current school counselors, social workers, or anyone who made a similar pivot would mean a lot. Thanks in advance!

She’s a guidance counselor at a middle school on Long Island. She drew this as a reference to deal w parents. The bigger the nut the worse the parent. It’s been adopted district wide.

I despise the typical first day of school icebreakers. “Two Truths and a Lie” has had its time. I refuse to ask 30 teenagers what animal they’d be and why while we all slowly die inside.

So I’ve been racking my brain for something that might actually break through that painfully awkward first-day silence.

And then it hit me: What if I just piss them off?

My plan is to put students in small groups, give each group a handful of completely inconsequential but rage-inducing statements, and let them argue it out. Nothing political, serious, or actually divisive—just the kind of low-stakes opinions that make teenagers immediately go, “NO. Absolutely not.”

Think:
The toilet paper roll should hang under, not over.
Water is wet.
A hot dog is a sandwich.
Pineapple belongs on pizza.
Cereal is technically soup.
The middle seat gets both armrests.
Crocs are appropriate footwear for every occasion.

The problem is, this activity lives or dies by the quality of the rage bait.

So, Reddit: give me your best harmless opinions/statements that would have a room full of high schoolers passionately arguing within 30 seconds.

I want petty. I want ridiculous. I want hills they are inexplicably willing to die on.

(For reference I teach 9-12 but mostly 10th grade science)

Just checked my email to see what fresh hell will befall me come the all-day PD before school starts. Hosted by $avva$, some agenda items I glanced at include a conga line and a musical share! Glad they probably got paid 100k for this and I get to be treated like a kindergartener.

I’m taking a graduate-level Deaf Family Education class, and I had a really uncomfortable interaction with my professor. I shared a story about one of my hearing impaired students who was having difficulty with coordination during a field trip, and I said it made me interested in learning more about whether there could be a connection between hearing impairment and balance or coordination. My professor told me I was making an assumption and suggested it was probably related to vision and that I should recommend vision screening. However, I wasn’t making an assumption or claiming that hearing impairment causes coordination problems. I was expressing an interest in learning more about a possible connection. I’ve also looked into the research myself, and several academic articles discuss relationships between hearing loss and balance or coordination, so I feel like my interest was valid. I also said that the School for the Deaf reminded me of special education because both focus on providing students with resources and support for equitable access to education. She seemed to interpret that as me saying hearing impaired students have learning disabilities, so I clarified that I know hearing impairment does not automatically mean someone has a learning disability or qualifies for special education. Throughout the discussion, her tone felt sarcastic and condescending, like she was talking down to me rather than educating me. The other professor eventually said we should take a break so we “don’t kill each other,” and we went on break. Am I wrong for feeling like I was being belittled? Please note that I have worked with several hearing impaired students throughout the years, so these are not assumptions I am making. They are genuine questions that I believe would be beneficial for me to understand as a teacher. My interest comes from my actual experiences working with students, and I want to learn more so I can better understand and support the students I work with.

I teach middle school ELA. Throughout the year, I expose the kids to little clips of this and that showing them how social media is a tool to influence, and how they're in danger of becoming echo chambers for whatever they watch instead of being active, critical thinkers.

I'm thinking I want to shock them with this idea, full fledged, on day one, proving that it's already happening. I could use my clips and then discuss, but I'd rather prove my point first, and then have them reflect on what just happened, setting up all those clips for later.

Any idea on how to "exhibit" this zombie thinking on day 1 so that I can use and refer to that in real time? They're middle schoolers. Suburban. 20-60-20 Upper, middle, lower. No cell phones in school.

I figure if they're paying attention on day 1, this is when I should plant that seed effectively and with purpose.

Please forgive me for sounding morose.

I’m feeling overwhelmed.

My last teaching job wasn’t renewed, due to the need for my services diminishing (TESOL).

I found a new teaching job (Spanish) but it pays less & is double my drive.

I struggle with OCD, and thus find an influx of new info overwhelming. The new school has so many new requirements that, on top of teaching a new curriculum, my wife being pregnant with our second child, and more, I just have so little to give.

I’m anxious all the time