r/Teachers

In a relationship, but it is complicated.

Hello all! 3rd year Oklahoma teacher here, and I moved up to 5th from 3rd. I know the profession has its doom and gloom, and I have STRUGGLED with behavior. This year, since I’ve had these kids before, I’ve been challenging myself to send home a positive message or two everyday to work through my roster. It’s been a game changer. I sent one yesterday about a student that I know was suspended multiple times a month last year. He’s been a superstar so far! His mom was so excited to receive a nice message that she printed it out and highlighted/decorated it for him to carry with him. He showed me today soooo excited. Behavior has been manageable and minimal, engagement is high, and learning feels so fun! I feel like I’ve hit my stride, and I love going to work everyday! Just a win I wanted to share <3

I’m a grad student beginning my first semester TAing for an introductory non-major biology course. I was so excited to have this opportunity since I loved peer mentoring back in undergrad. Since I’ve begun grading my students’ first exams, however, I’m growing increasingly concerned about their preparedness for college.

Hardly any of the students have written a complete sentence without egregious spelling or grammatical errors. The handwriting is barely legible. I put together a 50 question practice test with answers that encompassed nearly everything on the exam, but it appears that most did not read it.

Is this a case of underestimating the rigor of a college course (albeit a relatively relaxed one), or is this about par for the course for high schoolers nowadays? Most have received Cs and Ds so far. Mind you, the questions are things like “who is considered the father of evolution?” and “which of the following is not an insect?” Studying would have been a good idea, but much of the content was common sense.

I’m not sure how to better convey the material during my recitations, or if they even care to learn. I absolutely love to teach, but I’m feeling disheartened, and honestly a little scared for the rest of the semester.

In the daily email this morning it said make sure you wear a sports jersey to show school spirit tomorrow! Later it explained when the mandatory 9/11 video would be played. This jersey expectation was not communicated prior to this morning so it seems like a random admin decision. As an elder millennial who basically watched 9/11 on one of those rolling tv carts in high school this seems a little fucked up right?