People in this world can be very generous towards such an amazing profession. I reached out to local contractors and they let us take their framing scrap wood for free, another saw mill donated the cabin sides, antique shop donated the lantern, shelving came from a local supplier.

Local cabin builder donated 5lbs of screws. A lot of time, but minimal costs to put something in that will hopefully make her new class come in smiling on Monday :)

She also gives them flashlights to read with the lights off and has a star projector for her ceiling. Her previous kids LOVED reading with the flashlights, so we’re excited to give them a camping theme.

(Fire Marshal approved 👍🏻)

I’m 38 now, but this happened when I was a senior.

First period band. A few of us were early, and our director was at the front table with a pile of balloons, painter’s tape, and a bass amp pulled onto its side. We asked what he was doing and he just smiled: “You’ll see.”

When class started, he introduced a new transfer student. He was Deaf and had an interpreter with him.

Our director dimmed the lights, taped a strip of paper to the speaker grill, handed the new kid a balloon, and asked us to play a simple four-count groove. The paper fluttered with every downbeat. He told the student to rest one palm on the balloon and one on the edge of the big drum. Then he lifted his hands and counted us in.

I will never forget the look on that kid’s face when the room started to thrum. He closed his eyes, felt the rhythm through his hands and the floor, and signed to the interpreter who said out loud: “This is music for me.” 🥹

It took three minutes and a $2 bag of balloons.

I think about that day all the time.

I found 6 tests that put this as the answer.

I’m 37 years old. And this one moment has always stuck with me. This one moment that I witnessed at 17 years old and I will never forget.

My friends and I got to art class early. Our teacher was seated at one of the tables working on something. We went over to see what she was doing. She was using a glue gun to draw the outline of various fruits. Banana, apple, blueberry, grapes, watermelon, cherries. We asked her what she was doing. “Just watch” she told us. Class was starting. Students began to file in. We had a new student in class. Her name was Hailey and she was blind. Our teacher sat her down and put the paper she had been working on in front of her. Then she gave her a box of scented markers. Hailey was able to feel the shapes and color them in by smelling and finding the right marker. She was so excited about this project. She looked up and was like 🥹”art is such a joy to me”

It was a beautiful moment, thanks to an amazing teacher.

And I will never forget it.

when i need to go to the bathroom and get my two minutes of silence it’s in this. very relaxing..

I've heard legends of this happening in college, but it has never before happened to me. A student enrolled in my Intro Psych class showed up at the wrong time for the exam, took an exam labeled Social Issues off the stack, completed THE ENTIRE EXAM on material she didn't know, turned it in, and left.

Did I vaguely think at the time that I could've sworn she was in my other class? Yes. Did I only put two and two together when I started trying to grade her exam? Also yes. Anyway, now I guess I gotta go send the world's awkwardest email.

Thought it was funny

I’m not exaggerating. This year I have a child in one of my classes who has psychopathic tendencies. They are manipulative, have ODD, and are a compulsive liar. It is documented that each year, they pick a teacher and try to deceive that teacher into thinking they “love” them, while doing whatever they can to dismantle the teacher. Last year, this student “love bombed” another teacher by asking her how her day was going each day, complimenting her nails, asking her about her kids, etc. A month later, they found this student with fantasies of killing this teacher and others in the building on their computer. The student was suspended and a threat analysis was done, but alas, the child is still at our school.

This year, I am dealing with the love bombing, but also the attempts to dismantle me through power plays. This student will pick apart my words and constantly challenge my authority. For example, when I ask the class to get started on their work, they refuse. When I ask why, they say it is because I did not specially say to open their Chromebook. When I ask the students to participate in an attendance question, they will state that I have no right to know that information about them and choose not to participate. (Questions are silly like, what is your favorite potato?) Finally, I’m in the bad habit of saying “hon” or “sweetheart” occasionally. If I call this student hon, they immediately will get in my face and say “who’s hon?” And badger me until I answer. Then they’ll accusing me of bullying because I didn’t use their real name.

I spoken to admin, the counselors, and my other teammates. They all know this students behavior well, but sometimes I get at a loss for words as how to respond. I’m doing my best to see firm boundaries and expectations in class. I tell them as little information about myself. I don’t engage in conversation unless it’s about class work, and give one word answers about my personal life. I do not allow myself to be alone with them. But how do I go about the whole year with this child? I need a mindset shift and I need your advice. Please help!

Update: Thank you for all of your feedback! I started to gray rock with the student and have held firm boundaries in class. I don’t engage in conversation unless it’s about school, I don’t make eye contact, and I do not give the student attention when they act out. So far so good. Although, the scary thing is, we had an IEP eval last week and mom even admitted that the student will target specific teachers and apologized to me. Our team decided to go through with an IEP for autism and a behavioral disorder. Sadly the IEP won’t be in effect until January. I am documenting everything and let admin know about mom’s confession.

So this was my first time making a classroom. I based it on the cafes and Starbucks that I used to study at when I was in college. I'm a minimalist, so not a lot of signage (minus my bins for homework, certain supplies, etc.). I felt like too much would take focus away from where it mattered...my board in the front or wherever I'm pacing around the room during demonstrations.

There's extra spaces for team studies and small groups, and I arranged my desks for mini Socratic seminars for teams, with the tables able to be pushed together for group projects and labs.

Overall, I was pretty proud of it since I basically had to design and construct it myself over 3 days. Back to School Night apparently made my classroom the most "goated" place in the school (direct quote from my students). Some teachers even asked if we could have coffee there during breaks and Professional Development Sessions 😅

Thoughts?

Seeing the amount of parents against homework is truly funny to me. “Home time is family time! The teacher should’ve provided the time in class”.

There’s a couple problems with this though:

1. Behavior- when you have behaviors out the ass, that eats our time.

2. bathroom: so you know how often your asks to go to the bathroom and how long they’re gone for…?

3. we spend most of class going over basic concepts because these kids

can’t remember anything.

Edit: no idea what’s going on with my formatting

1. It

’s

1. a perpetual cycle.

This is what happens when the kids of NCLB have kids…

A nurse comes in straight from a double shift, drops her bag, and asks if we can record the role-play so she can rewatch on her break tomorrow. No grades on the line, only purpose.

In a leadership workshop, a quiet guy runs a feedback exercise and halfway through switches to a real script he needs for Monday’s meeting. The room leans in; suddenly it isn’t "practice", it’s work.

On Zoom, someone realizes a 12-week certificate is enough leverage to ask for new responsibilities. The chat lights up with drafts of how to phrase the email.

I’ve been taking courses myself through the UK College of Personal Development, and what’s striking is how different the energy feels compared to traditional education. Adults don’t waste time: they apply fast, cut filler, and hold the room accountable.

If you teach K-12 or higher ed, what’s one habit from adult education you’d import into your class tomorrow?

Okay, folks. I’ve been teaching for 23 years and this is a new one for me. I teach a sharp, sweet, hardworking girl who is almost 17 and smells absolutely awful. Other kids have started to complain about the general body odor scent in that part of the room.

Parents have been contacted in the past and they don’t believe in deodorant or pretty much any preventative/counteractive measures. It’s not neglect - it’s a choice. These parents are college educated folks who just for some reason think this is the best route to go.

Have any of you faced this? What did you do? What can I do? I’ve already got her in a back corner of the class near a friend who has apparently learned to deal with it, but other people in that part of the room are less tolerant.

I’d appreciate any thoughts, advice, or commiseration you can offer.

My state passed a law last summer that students cannot be failed due to absences. My admin told us that our grading and procedures should be structured in a way that a student who misses more than 10 classes should naturally fail. I was pulled into an admin office today to explain why my first period has such a high rate of failure this semester. I created this scatterplot as a response.

Our principal is resigning. Our superintendent is gone. We have no admin. Today, in an all-staff meeting, the soon-to-be former principal told us not to worry about focusing on academics if we can't get to it, just try to survive the year.

I straight up told a parent I would not be calling them back in three weeks to talk to them about their child’s grade. I already did that. This is your child and I have 100+ to worry about. You have my contact information if you have any concerns :).