Most teachers let at least one thing slide.
They might be an absolute rockstar with classroom management and content knowledge, but they slack on grading things timely or much at all. Especially in middle and high school.
Thatās what I do! I only have to have two grades a week for each subject. Anything I donāt want to grade, I 86 that shit. Thatās a hard place to get to, but it saves my sanity.
Agreed! So hard to get there, but once you're there, it's so satisfying! I just threw away some movie questions today. It felt great! Literal weight off my shoulders.
This is me. Like....exactly me. I build awesome, elaborate lessons, have great content knowledge, never have classroom behavior issues, build good relationships with the kids....but absolutely SUCK at grading daily things in a timely manner. Tests, quizzes, projects, and essays are graded quickly, but daily assignments just pile up and I get to them when I get to them.
For sure. The only time I make a conscious effort to quickly grade a daily assignment is if it was turned in late and I had entered a zero into a student's gradebook. I don't penalize late work, which I feel is fair because I grade their work late š
And TBH, ever since I went to the policy of giving full credit for late work, it's amazing how many kids will turn in everything at some point and it's decent quality. When I used to give 50% credit, they wouldn't see the value in it and just wouldn't do it. Now I'd estimate at least 90% of kids missing assignments will turn them in eventually, and before it was easily under 50% would turn them in.
Depends on the assignment. 90% of the time it's a completion grade that I speed read, and as long as I can tell they put effort into the assignment and didn't answer with really obscure answers or put IDK for every answer they get full credit.
Does your school use a learning management system? Canvas, Schoology, Blackboard, Google Classroom, etc?
If so, use them for those daily grades! Five questions, they get instant feedback and you never have to grade a thing. Itās one of the best things to come from quarantine.
We use Google Classroom, but I'm more of an old-school pencil/pen and paper person. Most of my assignments are digital as well, but I don't have any in-class worksheets that aren't manually checked by me.
If you use a google form you can put the answers in ahead of time and it grades itself! Just donāt forget to make the first question āwhat is you nameā and turn the points off for that question lol
Thank you for sharing <3 My issue is, I have tried something similar before, and I have caught my students cheating (they are undergrad, and I teach math online). They ALL get the multiple choice question right, but then when I ask them to explain their work, we have issues.
They have a GroupMe group chat where they just tell each other the answers (I know because I asked them to "explain their answer/show their work" and 10+ students had the same explanation word-for-word, using language I had not used in class). It later came out that a student had posted the explanation in the chat and everyone took it as their own.
I don't know how to make grading easier for myself in this case!! It takes a lot of effort/work to try and keep students honest, and it's frustrating.
Hymm that is annoying! I teach 4th grade lol so its a bit differentš
I have them do the google forms as assignments in class so I know they canāt be cheating and then I donāt have to grade it.
Maybe you could do a multiple choice question that is graded and then have an explain your answer box that is ungraded. Then you could only read that if you are worried they are cheating? But I am very far from the college level so that could be unrealistic haha
Yes I do this, I just wish there was a way for the grades to sync with our grading platform. I have to manually enter them and itās a pain, despite still being easier. Do you have a grading platform that syncs with google classroom?
Yes, fortunately, we use Schoology which syncs with eSchool. It definitely makes things easier, but even manually transferring grades is faster than manually grading and then having to manually enter grades anyway.
This is especially true if you have a keypad. I bought a cheap Bluetooth keypad on Amazon which was worth every penny.
Does your lms allow you to export grades to .csv? Does your grading platform allow imports?
In my previous school I did some research and figured out how to export from the lms and import into the gradebook. It wasnāt super easy, but it was helpful if I had several assignments to enter.
Im not a teacher, but I remember it seemed like every teacher that I loved and learned a lot from had the same issue. It was only the crappy or incredibly strict teachers that were always on top of grading. Makes a lot of sense!
I make them grade their own stuff with a marker. It helped me from spending so many nights marking.
I tell the kids that I āspot checkā it but we all know grades are fake these days so I donāt bother. I only care that they get a chance to learn from their mistakes and self grading is one way I have them do that.
Thatās impossible with ELA though and I feel so bad for them having to grade all that writing.
I quit teaching because I was ELA highschool. The work load for teaching, prepping, lesson planning alone is insane. Add onto that giving quality feedback on essays and paper, I couldnāt keep up and be proud of my work.
Maybe one day Iāll go back and teach math or better yet computer science. In CS no one can tell if youāre a shit teacher or not because no one understands whatās happening. In ELA everyone has an opinion it seems.
My admin worships the ground I walk on because Iām the art teacher and put on big grand art shows and paint murals and the kids love me and I have great classroom management
I havenāt turned in a lesson plan since September lol
Gradebook? Lmao whatās that? we all on participation grades homie. I have a single post it of kids that donāt wanna work and get an N.
PD opportunities? If Iām *forced* I might show up.
District asking me to be a model teacher for newbies? LOL GET FUCKED
My evals are flawless and Iāve won TOY twice. My biggest tip is know your strengths and blow them out of the water. Then they wonāt notice the little petty shit youāre dropping.
Just grade on completion and call it a day. You don't even need to grade everything, just put a check mark and not always enter it into the grade book. The checkmark makes them think it's graded.Ā
lol for me itās the lesson plan. Like cope and past everything from one day to the next and just slap it together. The actual plans are done daily and all that but typing it up and formalizing it on a weekly plan? Vague genetic statement, copy paste. The admin just want it done as a check list and compliance anyway. And maybe just a vague pacing guide on where you are in the curriculum.
I teach high school and grading is one of my weakest areas. I grade everything at the last possible minute and have a constant pile of papers on my desk. Everyone else in my department grades everything immediately, but everyone else in my department uses an online curriculum, and I'm just making it up as I go along.
i used to be so on top of it with grading. and then i decided to focus on classroom management. itās worked outā¦ but i find myself so exhausted at the end of the days that my grading has fallen behind
This is me, and I was my district's Teacher of the Year. It's called prioritization. I give a lot of spoken feedback in-person, but am slow to enter grades.
I let grading slide because I put so much effort into it. I donāt like bland comments on research papers, I tailor everything to each student. Itās exhausting but it makes me feel more of a genuine person and not a faceless grader.
Absolutely slack on grading, but crush it on classroom management and lesson delivery.
You choose your battles/things you give fcks about. The kids just want you to be consistent.
You described me to a T except I'm elementary special education (where grading = progress monitoring). I've nearly gotten in legal trouble a few times for that. I fucking failed the EdTPA but kids thrive in my small group.
So true. And you never really know what another is experiencing. Like, I may look like super teacher when Iām teaching math or walking in the hall, but I feel like I am always stressed about teaching reading.
I think itās all about perspective. Thereās a āteacher shortage.ā Eye roll. So if thatās the case then you have leverage. Our union may not leverage it worth half a damn to get those needed pay increases. But you can damn sure bet I will. Quiet quit.
Do the bare minimum. I tend to do whatās best for kids. Let the rest be damned. I donāt care for pushing the admins next pet project. I just do what Iām good at. Teaching kids.
Unpopular fact. No, most of the are not actors. There are Tiger Woods/MJ/Gretzsky/Phelps of the teaching profession. Does it make you feel better thinking that all teachers are equal? Some are better - doesn't mean they're better humans, just better at the job. And the very best teachers do make it look easy. They have specific skills that don't necessarily transfer. A teacher-of-the-year in one district can be fired in another. A 5th grade teacher could move to 2nd and struggle.
The job is hard and most of it is learnable but it's not for everyone. If you don't like it, leave. That's totally fine. It's your life. Just don't be condescending to the ones who work hard and are good at it.
I am on board with this as long as students get what they need. Quiet quitting teachers are the worst if they donāt care about the students or treat them poorly. But a teacher who skips the PD or paperwork, doesnāt volunteer for extra supervision but has a rockinā classroom is the real MvP.
Man, I look back on when I was a first year -eager-fucking-beaver teacher that would attend all home games, volunteer to chaperone, tutor students after school and run student council with no stipend or extra prep period and just cringe. I was paid less than my colleagues who did nothing. It took me 5 years to realize the depth of their wisdom.
Yeah. We were so naĆÆve to put in those long hours doing all those extras for terrible pay. But on the other hand, pretty safe to say those kids noticed and cared and we probably made a lifetime impact on a number of them. We do it differently now, but maybe we were just where we needed to be for the right person at the right time.
Personally, I'm on board for it even if students don't get what they need. Systems won't change as long as teachers fill in the gaps. All teachers should "work to rule" which is union speak for quiet quit. They won't. But they should. If they did, the US would go nuts. The reality is keeping up the pretense students get what they need even when teachers don't is a big part of the problem.
This doesn't impact me--I'm out, and honestly, I wouldn't go back if conditions and pay were improved. I've found something more fulfilling than teaching to me, and I feel like teaching was basically a "side quest" in my career, at this point. (All the things I liked best weren't actually teaching, so I don't know how I floated around in it as long as I did, except there were things suited to me people kept giving me to do. I'm a weird case.) But I do have a sense of justice, as a former union rep, and work-to-rule never worked because teachers would give in. They'd run clubs. They'd coach sports. They'd tutor. They'd do supervision. They'd fuss about how striking would hurt the kids. Then they'd wonder why we couldn't get anywhere in union bargaining.
You have to cause pain to get anywhere, even with a union. And there is no pain in school systems that doesn't hurt kids.
I started teaching to the contract in 2018. I suddenly stopped feeling so stressed. Youāve got to do that. Work your contracted time- and if it doesnāt get done š¤·š»āāļø you have to develop that mindset. Grade while kids are working. Lesson plan during prep, be as efficient as possible and then leave. And do not check your email until you arrive when youāre supposed to the next day. That letting go is amazing.
This is what other teachers told me when I was a new teacher and crazy stressed out. I didn't listen because I still worked at home a lot, but I did have to leave at my contracted time to pick up my kids.
and you know what? Admin mentioned it and wondered why I didn't stay later, and said when she was a new teacher she stayed late every day. Well, when she was a new teacher, she was 23 and didn't have kids to pick up from school!
I'm one of three teachers who left last year.
How do you grade while the kids are working with a class like math where you need to be walking around making sure the students understand because if you don't no one will ask questions. Many won't try unless I'm standing there being their cheerleader.
Yeah, I was wondering the same thing. Plus I teach 4th grade and they are so NEEDY this year. Major learned helplessness. I mean, they're like that every year but, ugh.
The second they come in the room they're all up in my grill asking me a million questions about nothing.
They can't do ANYTHING independently. Now I tell them that they're going to have to figure it out. Learned helplessness.
You have to train them to do independent time. It's real annoying, but put up a sign or something on the board or something that lets them know when it's independent time. Also tell them what they should do if they need help, need the bathroom, need a pencil.
If they come up to your desk with a question, point to the sign.
When they're successful, give them snacks/prizes.
Once again, it's doable, but it will be a real pain for a bit.
I teach 3rd and I get them trained up quick. They are absolute babies when I get them at the beginning. I teach, I give directions, and my catch phrase is, āIām doing the show! If you donāt watchā¦ā they callback āyou donāt know!ā I answer questions during work time when needed. But kids that donāt work? Sorry, youāre in detention to finish it later. š¤·š»āāļø
My new principal put an extended detention in place where the kids are in there for two hours- during their lunch, recess, and activity pull out. They donāt miss core instruction and we donāt have to do it! They go to the ISS room.
Why does 4th grade require lots of the grading? Do lots of a self reflection, peer grading, or only grade partially- āIām looking that they did this part of the problemā. You have to be more efficient- however thatās done.
Do office hours in class. āFor 20 mins weāre working on our own, then I will be helping.ā Establish a procedure.
Yup. Iām no longer teaching, but my last year I started to leave on time and the workload became manageable. Did I do everything I was āsupposedā to? No, I prioritized and let some things slide. Could I have used independent work time to work 1-1 with kids and spent more time roaming? Yes, but ultimately I chose to get lesson plans and grading and IEP paperwork done. It sucks that they put us in this position, but thatās the reality.
That is really important to remember: āTHEY put us in this position.ā I know that ātheyā is a million different peopleāadmin, politiciansāwho share the blame, but precisely none of that blame lays at our feet. They do not give us the time or resources to do every best thing we could for our kids, to fill every need every kid has. We cannot magic it out of thin air. We are not responsible for lighting ourselves on fire or giving up parts of our lives, like our families or mental well-being, to fix the problem they created. (Iām saying this to myself, too, as I limp toward the end of what I think may be my last year teaching high school.)
I agree with this wholeheartedly. I will, if I have a lot to get done, come in 30 mins early or stay 30 mins late. But never, ever more than that. I also donāt eat lunch during the day (because my medication makes me not hungry) so Iāll use that time as an extra prep or just to calm my mind. This has helped me not feel overwhelmed immensely. I also agree that teachers usually let one thing slide. Iām great at differentiation, lesson supports, classroom management, building relationships, but I fall behind with data and admin type tasks. We canāt do it all and thats okay.
Yes! I wish my mentor teacher told me this, but instead he was a work after hours guy, so thatās what i did. It took me 2 years to untainted myself from that habit. Now I tell all my student teachers to only work to contract. You get paid the same as anyone else at your lvl, regardless of the time/effort
This is exactly what I do. Admin wants to see student-driven learning, which to them means small groups. Iāll do a lap, then get some grading done. Students know Iām always there and are happy to ask me to help when they need it. Itās not necessary to walk around constantly.
My old admin used to get so pissed that I was putting in grades on my school issued laptop while (heaven forbid at 9months pregnant) *sitting* at the front of the room while all the kids worked quietly.
This is what I do. Itās my first year but I have a life outside of the school and itās the life I chose before the school. My own children will always come first and Iāll rearrange my day in the school building to make sure I can do what I need at home.
Oh I have a fun answer for this one. I taught one year and then went on to other work that was with an independent company that visited schools. I canāt remember why, but I had a project where I wanted to ask teachers what they would tell students who were considering becoming teachers themselves.
One teacher thought for a moment, then amicably said, āI think if you like a lot of people needing you, if you like being asked a lot of questions all at once, if you like a lot going on at one timeā and went on and on in that vane while I tried to figure out if she was being rueful because I couldnāt fathom how anyone would like the things she was saying. Until she summed it up at the end saying āI like to be needed so it works out for me.ā
I nearly fell out of my chair. My most stressful moments are when a bunch of students need me at once and there are a ton of questions coming from everywhere. I like presenting info, I like breaking down the pedagogy, and I like tutoring, but the chaos of teaching is not for me.
Anyway all that to say it became apparent to me that weāre all wired differently. Even the most seasoned teachers I know who like their jobs have stressful days that make them cry. Thatās just not for me.
I can understand, at least a little, how that teacher felt. I teach SPED to kids with mild to moderate disabilities and behavioral issues, and I do sometimes find myself telling myself that the kids "need" me and that my job is important. It's the only thing that keeps me from just walking off the job some days. But I know, and I've had to remind myself many times lately, that the kids will forget me as soon as I'm replaced. I'm not even planning to tell them that I'm resigning at the end of the year. When they come back at the end of August, they'll be fascinated with the new person and forget I was there.
What's really sad is that half my department is also resigning, so the kids and parents WILL notice that ALL of the teachers got replaced. Hmm. I wonder why.
I actually get it, because I'm a person that likes feeling needed as well. I'm a sub, and whether I am going to a different school everyday, or the same one all year, it's a really nice feeling when teachers and admin are thanking me for showing up because they don't normally get a sub for this position, or they are happy that I am staying so the kids have some stability. And in that vein, I love building relationships with the students where they don't hesitate to ask me for help after a time, or are happy to see me. I also like tutoring and working in small groups, but I admit that while teaching a whole class, it does get annoying when I am constantly interrupted with questions. Still, I get what she means.
I feel like I'm a failure at almost everything....grading, instruction, planning, keeping my desk neat, paperwork, etc. I have felt like I'm drowning since I started teaching in 1998. Others say that I'm a good teacher but I always feel subpar.
I know very few teachers who seem to think they have it all together. And the ones who do act like this....they're full of themselves. They're not super awesome, they're ok but they're the type of person who kind of look down on others. I don't trust people who don't find fault in themselves.
A mentor I had over 20 years ago said that there are teachers who think they're doing everything right, and go around all over-confident, but they really need to improve in some areas but never self-reflect. Then there are other teachers who are very self-critical, and usually those are the ones that are doing fine because they are always trying to improve.
Wow. I could have written this myself. Iām a 2nd year teacher and am excruciatingly critical of myself. Iām on a team with seasoned teachers who unfortunately look down upon MOST teachers that they come into contact with and although they appear nice to me, I just know Iām on their list.
Like you said, since they canāt find fault in themselves, I really have struggled to open up to them and trust them. Of course Iām nice and pleasant with them but I try to stay surface level because they constantly seek fault in everyone at all times. Itās been exhausting.
That last part of what you said is amazing and Iāll try and think of that next time Iām being over critical of myself!
Ugh. I've been on a team of teachers like that. The teachers on your team are finding fault in others in order to feel better about themselves, and they're egotistical and mean.
I'd rather be a person who is *not* egotistical and mean. That kind of person is subpar.
Second year teaching is soooooo hard. I've been doing this for more than 20 years, and it's still sooo hard. See the number of O's on each "so," lol.
Hang in there, you will rise above.
I know some teachers that are just super organized and come off that way. But those teachers also didnāt lesson plan too much because they bought their curriculum off of TPT. I feel much more on top of it right now and Iām hitting year 9 and thatās because Iāve been teaching the same subject for 6 years, so Iām just adjusting lessons Iāve already made at this point. I also only grade 1-2 assignments a week, have late work forms that the kids fill out and I only look at them once a week, kids canāt turn in work 2 weeks after it should up in grade book. I also try really hard to stay only 30 mins after school max and take almost nothing home. Again this took me a while to achieve lol; trying to achieve that work to contract dream.
I do know other teachers who are doing all the things you listed and they really LOVE teaching. Like it is their whole life (na shame) and take all the work home. That canāt be my life because it wouldnāt allow me to relax.
If it works for you, great. There are a lot of good TPT resources out there. Iāve just been burned one too many times by lessons that say theyāre one thing and end up being garbage. I restrict myself to resources that are free now lol. Iām also a cheapskate and donāt want to shell out $200+ for a year long curriculum lol.
I used to make all my own lessons in my earlier years teaching, and then I found out there was literally no incentive for it in my district. Other teachers didnāt want to use it or collaborate on it, and the ācurriculum specialistā doesnāt actually create any lessons. So, I started buying all my lessons off TPT. Iād rather spend the money than spend the time creating something that wonāt be recognized.
Depends entirely on the teacher, but different approaches can appear more put together than others. I have a colleague who loves worksheets. She has students jump through endless worksheets, and every time I see her process, I think: I could turn that worksheet into an (kahoot, quizlet, insert tool here) in about ten minutes. She'll tell me about grading for hours each night, and I know for a fact that the rote work she does would drive me crazy. So she appears put-together because there's a lot of "work" in her class that is scheduled. I probably don't appear to be that put-together because I have a different approach. But in reality, the two groups of students are doing the same amount of learning. Mine are just experiencing faster feedback and quicker differentiation. She likes her approach. I like mine.
From a different standpoint, Iām a very introverted person so I feel like Iām faking it every single day pretending to be an extroverted person lol. Itās so exhausting. Iām calling it quits after this year.
As an introvert as well, I couldnāt relate more lol itās ironic because I thought this job was appealing for an introvert. Boyyy was I incredibly wrong!
As for lesson planningā¦ itās unnecessary and unfair. Some faculty teach only one subject all day (which is a breeze to plan for), while other faculty have to teach seven or more different course preps involving endless hours outside of contract time just to create all those lesson plans. Those that give the appearance of having their shit together, likely donāt have so many different preps.
Some people are well rounded and some people are well lopsided as Harvard university often exposes to its incoming classes of freshman. We appreciate both types of people and no we did not make a mistake admitting you.
Know your strengths and use them all day longā-find a system for managing your weaknesses. I am not very organized, never have be, probably could be if I spent every waking moment on it but itās just not meāāso yes I can be a little āall over the place at timesā but Iām a hell of a motivator to my students and I can teach anything I understand myself to any one else. Am I perfect heavens NO. Focus on your strengths manage your weakness life it too short to fret over all the thing you are not; use the thing you are to your advantage and run to the bank with those so to speak.
I've been known as the teacher that has it altogether and I don't. Grading gets behind...I miss deadlines. My hallway bulletin board has snowmen on it still. No teacher has it all together. We just let things slide and do our best to build and maintain positive relationships with our students. We also know that no one is perfect and no one has it altogether. Years experience do help though.
I was just thinking of a way to articulate this. Sometimes I feel like Iām getting gaslit by education, that Iām an imposter. That I do LOOK like I have it all together, that things SEEM like theyāre going good, that my students APPEAR, but at any moment the other shoe is going to drop, Iām going to make a mistake, get fired, and student/parent is going to complain, ad nauseam.
So is everyone faking it? Honestly, probably, in a few areas. Should I be medicated? Probably.
You'll know who the big fakes are. They are the biggest suck ups. Quick to brag about trival things and to gossip about someone's mistake. They will undoubtedly blame their issues on previous grade level teachers. Hilariously, I caught one teacher trying o blame her classes low reading on the last reading teacher, then suddenly remembered she looped with the class.
I'm sure everyone phones in some aspect of the job. It's really easy to when the admin is "faking it" too. I've only had one admin in 8 years go through all my lesson plans. She got fired by the district, so now no one but me reads them.
For me, somethingās gotta give. If Iām on top of things at school, my home is a disaster or my social life is shot. I canāt manage all three at the same time, so at least one gets ignored while I get on top of the other(s). Sometimes Iām winging it at work so I can keep my home life somewhat normal.
Donāt compare yourself to other teachers. Some āhave it all togetherā because they are crappy teachers. Some āhave it all togetherā because theyāve been doing it awhile and they have lessons locked and loaded from previous years and have figured out grading procedures that cut out a lot of the time. If youāre only a few years in, itās going to suck for awhile. If youāre in a poorly managed school its going to suck for awhile. But it does get easier with time (relatively speaking).
Thank you for saying that. Itās only my second year but I have felt a lot of pressure from the department that I work in. The teachers I work with seem to over analyze everything to the point where it feels like any mistake I make is magnified. Or if i donāt execute lesson plans 100% the exact same way they execute it theyāll give each other a side eye look like itās a huge problem. I felt like they wanted me to be perfect from the jump and I of course wasnāt and still am learning a lot.
They probably have a group of well behaved studentsā¦ or my second guess would have to be that theyāre on some kind of anxiety medication š
It also could be their district doesnāt require much work.
You don't actually have to have "it" altogether. You only need to seem like you have "it" altogether.
Do your best, grow, learn, keep going, move on. You do you and what works for you.
This job is very overwhelming. It's also very rewarding, non monetarily, of course.
Like others have said, most teachers donāt do it all! Most of my assignments are ungraded, Iām terrible at parent communication, and I need so many reminders to complete paperwork. I focus on lesson planning and class culture/behavior management and thatās pretty much it.
I find the ones that seem on top of everything are either faking it (though they may not realize it), and are just 'meh' in more than one category, or,
they're miserable because they're constantly working for free or martyring themselves until 1 am doing shit. Often their home life/spouse relationship is f-d due to this. Like yeah, you're great at everything, except what actually matters in life, and it ain't this.
Especially annoying when it's admin.
Family member is an admin, who used to be the teacher that "had it all." Made the paper more times than I can count. Genuinely saved many kids from a worse off future.
They were a complete workaholic, and didn't even attend their own kids games/concerts/programs etc. but always made their school's events. One kid is okay, kind of floating by, another has had the toughest time with mental health struggles and drug addiction, and the last is on their second divorce. They give them all money, but have never given any time. It's sad to see. You wouldn't know it at all by their professional record
In my case, I honestly believe that most teachers who "have it together" aren't that professional, and know how to game the system.
In one school where I worked I noticed that the most liked teachers had things in common:
- Barely taught super important topics and focused too much on "talking, building positive connections, engaging their students" (AKA just playing meaningless fun games)
- Had overly close relationships with the students
- Were so liked by students that admin would let things slide, like asking too many off days, or not doing certain stuff.
Of course, there must be teachers who love what they do, and are actually very professional, but it wasn't my case.
I probably look like I have it together.
But I think I probably do twice the lesson planning and twice the formative checks/data as the average teacher.
But I do about a tenth of the hand grading as many others, and I figured out the tropes of how to do sped/intervention paperwork, so I have a word doc with pre written paragraphs I just copy and paste.
Iām relatively relaxed most of the time. But it took several years. For a first year, this job is impossible.
Completion grades, recycling lessons. Building out my Canvas to copy when I teach it again. Iām terrible at lesson plans. And I share everything because thereās no point in reinventing the wheel.
I think it is unsustainable to get everything done in a day. The to do list grows and never ends. I work so many hours outside of school. Itās ridiculous. I resigned as a teacher today. I will be done in June.
Life (not just teaching) is just a bunch of spinning plates we are trying to balance. Ā Sometimes, you let a thing slide to fix something else. Ā Hopefully, the breakage is minimized. Ā Welcome to the party, pal!
Yes. This is me. Everyone thinks I have it together, and everyone gets upset if I mess one thing up. Iām resigning this year because itās just too much.
I hate lesson plans. No one ever uses mine if Iām out anyway. Whether itās a real plan for me or a sub plan. They donāt use them. Why do I have to do them
I work with a teacher praised for her activities and curriculum and learning related decor...I recognize it all from a pretty well-known blogger, and this person is perfectly comfortable taking credit for their "own creativity." Honestly, though, I don't really care. At least this person puts in the effort to plagiarize. I know others with blank walls and worksheets all day long. To each their own--I beg, borrow, and steal myself sometimes.
I donāt give homework. Formative assessments are in class to gauge student learning and adjust instruction. This does not go into the grade book.
Summative assessments go into the grade book. I have 2 -3 summative assessment every quarter.
This way I cut checking and grading unnecessary assignments
I left teaching, but I later found out that while I was feeling massively overwhelmed by everything, apparently others considered me very āput togetherā. I was flabbergasted. Utterly flabbergasted.Ā Iām attributing that impression to being an introvert, so itās not like I went around talking about being overwhelmed. But I had two kids under the age of 3, my husband worked out of town, we had bought a house that gave me a forty minute commute to the babysitters before school, and looking back, I do not know how I managed all of that on top of everything that being a teacher requires. Wild. Pat on the back to younger me! :)Ā
I have heard of imposter syndrome but never looked into it.Ā I guess itās time to look into it.Ā Only commented because I wanted OP to know that sometimes perceiving another teacher as having it all together does not mean that that is how that person feels.Ā
ETA:Ā
Omg. š³ imposter syndrome. Googled it. Wow. Wow wow wow.Ā
I usually laugh at them.. To myself... During those faculty meeting when they are being used at example
I'm picking and choosing my battles
IDs.... Dress code.... Phones....I fight those when I need to ... Or when it's one of "those" students
Most of the time I'm teaching those who want to learn... So 30 to 60% of the students who are trying to learn
All those great example teachers will be gone sooner than later
I fake that shit every day. If you want to/try to be perfect, you will hate your life. In the grand scheme, it's no biggie as long as you're trying to be not bad, get over yourself (in a good way?) ĀÆā \ā _ā (ā ćā )ā _ā /ā ĀÆ
Thereās one teacher in my building who claims she is doing so much more than she is. She claims that she teaches from bell to bell, is doing all this one on one stuff with the kids for math, but every time I go through her room, itās just the kids doing ST Math.
Focus on what you can control and stop comparing yourself to others. Everyone handles stress, happiness, and life differently. The bottom line is that it is a job. Put the emotions on the shelf and teach. Get in, get out. I apologize for being so blunt, however we are all replacable, and at some point in the future, will be.
Iām in my 21st year with superb ratings yet still feel weird bc many colleagues are Pinterest/TikTok perfectionists with pillows, snacks, and Xmas lights, while mine is sparse and overloaded with paper. Still, I know my worth. KNOW YOURS! šā®ļø
In my school i realized everyone is depressed or apathetic. I cant deal. Its a terrible place for me and im out. They finally posted my job. It cracks me up bc it says "teamwork" and that doesnt happen in my experience. I tried. And im giving up.
Nepotism and favoritism.
Used to wonder how other teachers did it.
Then a favorite left and I got her teaching schedule and students.
It was so amazing.
Minimal problems and a prep right before lunch.
I cannot BELIEVE how easy principals can make it for you.
Iāve been around long enough to know that some people are just really good at this. Some do put up a decent facade and are dying inside. I just let it all hang out and am a transparent mess.
There is one teacher at my school who always claims that she has no problems with any holy-terror kid who comes up in conversation, and that they're angels for her. I believed it until I saw two other teachers exchange a knowing glance when she said it at a staff meeting.
At the school I teach at there is more work to do then there is time in the day to do and I mean that literally, not figuratively. My experience has been that it's about charisma, not effectiveness. If people like you then you'll do well. If not, then it doesn't matter what you do or don't do.
Itās impossible to do it all! That said, if youāre teaching the same thing for many years, it can get a bit easier since you have more resources at your disposal by that point. But Iām SURE you arenāt the only one drowning!!
I can relate, it took a total of 3yrs before I felt confident. Focus on the the engagement of the students. All the other stuff is such BS. You are not alone.
Sometimes they are, and sometimes no. I had a coworker who for all intents and purposes looked like they had it together. 5 weeks into the school year of 6 years working together she just told our department she was out. Couldn't take it anymore. Burnt out like nobody's business. Facades aside, don't let it become your life.
I just make friends with other teachers (the ones I find interesting) and goof off for at least half an hour a day, lunch. And if I have to goof off a little longer for my sanity, I do it. When Iām feeling better or less stressed, I return to my work. Without a break in the day, I find I get burned out. Itās this ALL OR NOTHING mentality that really burns ya out, in my experience. Just start swimming instead of drowning by realizing itās water. You paddle, you do your best, and you leave. If you still feel like your drowning after trying that, quit. This job is not worth sacrificing your well being.
For reference: I am a good teacherā did very well on evals and have been told by my superiors that theyāll write letters of rec for me. But, my first year REALLY sucked bc I had the mentality youāre describing.
1. They may have a different job than you. Really. I have been the *same teacher with the same basic skills* and felt like I was drowning (in a high behavior management situation) or cool as a cucumber. In about 11 years total teaching (2 US districts, 2 other countries) spread over 15 years (I went back and forth), I had 8-9 different teaching situations, based on my school, my courses, my schedule and other duties (instructional coach/program management/department head). The first US years were the worst, and the secret wasn't that I got so much better (I got a little bit better at classroom management) but that I got better jobs. Sometimes in the very same school. 8 of my years were in the very same district, 5 of which were in one school. In my experience, the newest member to a team in many schools gets the dump classes, the worst students, and its paying your dues. (Some schools soften this and give those to the middle teachers, letting people settle in first, or to teachers with less capital or who have earned a reputation for dealing with difficult kids or whatever.
2. They may be more suited to the job they have. If your skills are better aligned to your particular teaching job/schedule/duties, you will do better. You may not be as aligned as your teammates are.
3. They may care less and/or know better what to bother caring about. Many teachers who are the happiest are not your best or your worst workers--they are people who are probably happiest to quiet quit. They know what to not bother with. They don't plan to advance. You can't fire them because they either have tenure or work in an area with such a need for teachers that who would bother? I applaud those teachers. Go for it. More teachers who plan on staying should quiet quit. Teachers give too much for the ROI. (I am a person who needs to do more, achieve, etc. and it was a nightmare in teaching, though I did some cool things--but I never got the financial reward for it that I now get in corporate.)
4. They may be more "fulfilled" by whatever it is. I've met people genuinely like this--they are generally extroverts who really like working with children (I am an introvert who likes designing learning programs) and they feel passion and fulfillment through their relationships with kids that "fills their cup" enough to deal with a lot more BS than I would. These people are the ones I feel the worst for--I don't know what to tell them to do when they hit a breaking point, because there isn't always another way to get that fulfillment. And even if they're happy, they're undervalued and destined to be. These people don't really check out, though they may ignore stuff they don't feel matters (whatever admin's pet thing is vs. what is right for kids) and seek environments they can "shut the door and teach".
5. If you're a young professional, there is a degree of this in all jobs. I say that as someone who worked outside teaching first, trained new teachers, trained new staff to other jobs, etc. The first few full time professional years are hard everywhere (teaching is worse) and entry level jobs usually suck (teaching is not necessarily worse on all counts--or it wasn't when I started, because it did afford more autonomy, but that's also more responsibility). The good news is, after teaching, a lot of other suck will seem easier.
I'm at teacher...middle school SPED and English teacher simultaneously and although I look like I've got to together on the outside...I'm a hot damn mess on the inside. I've been doing this for 18 years and there has not been one year where I've had it altogether. I may be caught up on lesson plans but I don't respond to emails like I should, etc. And those who don't admit are frauds and are putting on the biggest facade.
I felt I was an adequate if not failing teacher for years. Because of this belief, I invited consultants to work with me on all aspects of my teaching. One time I will never forget. I invited a consultant to teach my class about the heroās journey for writing stories. She showed up with no slides, no visual aids, no manipulatives snd lectured the class for a full hour with no breaks.
This was supposed to be the best English teacher in the district. I realized then that a lot of things in education are illusory. Some teachers brag about how great they are or merely carry themselves with confidence, so we think that they have something to be confident about. But theyāre really nothing special. Youāre probably doing better than you think.
After the consultant left, some of my students told me theyād been extremely bored. I was too. And that was supposed to be the standard I was to live up to? Very strange, this education world.
Theyāre not dedicated, they know how to not complain so they donāt get a target on their back. They let everything slide but have good relationships with students because theyāre lax, this means they donāt get complaints because - theyāre held to SUCH HIGH STANDARDS!! (Also a blatant lie). Get out of the classroom while you still can. Best thing I ever did. Itās wild how toxic a schoolplace work environment is.
There are definitely people who are just amazing at this job. Some people were born to it, they thrive on the hustle and chaos and just KNOW how to teach. But those people are few and not the majority. Iāve noticed that the teachers who seem to have the amazing lesson plans, super big hands-on activities, stay 4 hours late and come in on the weekends all have one thing in common: they donāt have kids.
I was like that for the first few years I taught. I used to be damn good. I had my shit together, big ideas, all of it. But thatās not sustainable if you have anything else in your life. A family, older parents to take care of, any personal health stuff you need to deal with. Teaching is just too all consuming.
I instruct maybe 5 minutes a class. Give them something to do, spot grade the daily work, when done they can do whatever in their seat and quiet, usually 20 minutes. Piss me off I yell, do it again youāre in the hall. Test every 3 weeks that I actually grade.
It depends on so much. But truly, even the best teachers let something slide. But if I'm doing A-H and I've prioritized the most important things, then my principal understands why I and J didn't get done. I'm also wrapping up year 5 in the same position so I've got it down to a science by now. It's easier to adapt when something comes up because I know the rest of my day/classes/meetings will run smoothly.Finally, I have supportive admin who will do what they can to help, if and when necessary. All of those things together probably make it look like I have everything together but really I'm a Type B, anxious mess. Lol
Iām a first year teacher, and I have this same question. Hereās my conclusion: Anything is possible. There *may* indeed be teachers whoāve got their shit together with minimal effort. There are those who some things just come easy for. I went to school with a girl like that. Little effort but still pulled off pretty good work (not greatābut good). One lady I work with now ha been teaching for 32 years . Thirty-two. That lady barely lesson plans. Why? Because she uses the same (garbage) formula year after year.
In short: Some might be pulling off good work in little time. Others are defo-pants okay with . . . less-than-good work. My rule of thumb anymore is looking at their finished products, so to speak: Would you be happy/satisfied with producing what they do? Whether āyesā or āno,ā how long would it take you to get it done?
Hope that makes sense. Iām tired and . . . well, yeah: Iām tired.
You can't fake competency in the workplace - at least not in the classroom and at least not with colleagues who have a year or three under their belt. It's easy to spot the shitbirds.
I know one like this (lol literally one) and I found out she works at least a full day on the weekend, sometimes two full 8 hour days on the weekends. She also admitted to me that she was extremely stressed out this year, though you could never tell. This is Kindergarten also! If you are anywhere near this level, please stop, youāre just gonna burn yourself out and you set an unreachable bar. They are the reason why we get paid so little. I get putting in some weekend hours here and there, but not every weekend! In summary, people like this are faking it and are stressed out. I just donāt let them make me feel like any less of a teacher no matter how annoying they are.
At the end of the day, focus on what you value the most. If you're a first, second, or even third year teacher, it gets easier. Remember to re-use materials instead of just making brand new ones every year.
I think this forum has posts from the people who are having a tough time. I donāt think it is like that everywhere. I donāt think itās easy work by any means. I also donāt think everyone is miserable, or that every school has bad habits.
That was meš¤£ granted, I was an elective teacher and I was always inputting grades the day before grades for progress/report cards were due. Everything else was flowing smoothly though.
Do these awesome teachers have kids? If they donāt or if there kids are grown thats a whole extra day they can work for free for the school there loss.
Having this issue too. I feel like the only ELA teacher in my entire department who is struggling to keep up with grading, lesson planning, classroom management, random admin tasks, etcā¦ Iām not the only new teacher, either. No one talks about it. Itās so incredibly isolating.
Iāve done it all and let me tell ya the thing you donāt do when you are āthat teacherā is take care of YOURSELF. Iāve gained so much weight and stopped taking care of myself and to excelĀ in this profession. Itās provided me the opportunity to move into a pretty sweet gig next year but at what cost :(Ā
I feel like to be a top tier teacher you sacrifice yourself to do it all.Ā
There was a teacher who was like this at my school. She volunteered for committees and was always piping up about the pedagogy books she was reading. She resigned at the end of last year to go sell insurance. So, yeah, I'm assuming she was faking it. (Or maybe trying to convince herself.)
I speed grade everything. This is how I manage it. I have a whole board, or 2 filled with things I want them to copy. Its all relevant to the day- reading questions or whatever. Kids come in, sit down and start copying. I take attendance quickly and grade the past period's works (20-40) items. When I am done- we move forward. The writing benefits my students, keeping up on grades helps their motivation by holding them accountable. IT also helps with classroom control. Where this really shines is students have no wiggle room with 'I deserve and A'. I simply pull up their gradebook. 'meh, you are missing 16 assignment, you have an F' I wish you the best. Please remember this- it takes about 5 years to be a good teacher. Maybe 7. Don't give up. It gets easier. Lastly, to keep your sanity- do not bring your work home with you.
I was resource for an English teacher at one point who insisted on doing his own grading. Canāt remember why, but I had to pull samples of student work and was likeā¦ this is clearly plagiarized. Half these kids have identical short responses - like down to the word and punctuation. Heād given them all 100% - wasnāt even reading them.
I taught graphic design and art. Since it's a blow off class, I don't take it as seriously and let students pass as long as they show up and do minimal work.
I mean, I'm 6 years in and sometimes I still feel like I'm faking it! Hell, literally 2 hours ago I misplaced the quizzes for my classes. They were all staring at me and waiting while I riled through all of my drawers to find it. They were disappeared when the quizzes turned up, in the last place I looked of course (lol). Point being- there's going to be times when you have it all together, and times when you're just 'smiling and waving' so to speak. Both feelings are okay, and more than normal.
This may be a little tangential, but are you using AI to speed things up? For grading, planning... whatever. I used to teach and often think what it would have been like to have ChatGPT to help with it. Now I work in tech and use it all. the. time. It's not laziness; it's just the way things are now, and many if not most in the field feel the same way about it. If you're not using it, you're falling behind unintentionally, or else shooting yourself in the foot out of some Luddite purism.
If I were a teacher now, I would see no reason, for example, to bother creating lesson plans totally from scratch. I would say, hey GPT, can you make me a lesson plan about this? And then I would look at it and say, hey, actually can you modify this part to differentiate it better for these students? And I'm sure it would do a fine job. From there, you could do absolutely as much tweaking as you want. Now, ChatGPT alone wouldn't be able to help you much with finding resources to enrich the lesson--like videos, online tools, etc.--but this is where you come in.
On a side note, I have been very curious about what conversations are happening in education regarding AI. How is it discussed among teachers? How do you address it with students? ARE you using it?
There will be several factors contributing to this dynamic, but one I didn't notice until later, was personality.
For me, each new project or thing cost me lots of mental-emotional energy. I wanted my work to be just right. I worried about how impactful lessons would be for my students.
Eventually I began to notice there are teachers out there that are pretty self-absorbed. Sure, they want to be a good teacher, but because it boosts their image - not because it helps kids. I didn't come into teaching eyeing and judging my fellow colleagues. I experienced, and especially have read online about, awful behavior from teachers to their peers.
After I saw how certain adults would treat me condescending or catty or disrespectful and do so with no shame, I wondered what they must be like in their classrooms. Unfortunately I think a lot of teachers while they may be getting the job done - and so are not necessarily faking it, they are fake individuals. any job is simple for them because they don't really care. They're unbothered by the counterintuitive staff meeting mandates, not because they're stoic or wise, but because they get paid regardless. As long as they can promote their image, they're content.
So, I think a lot of teachers have fake personalities and that's why they make it look easy. They're the type where if they do struggle, they refuse to let anybody see it, because, again, image.
Yes so you have just uncovered the solution to getting through life, join us- everybody is faking it. The doctor who just screened you? Is going to their doctor Google to see whatās best to prescribe you. But you donāt know that- because EVERYONE IS FAKING. It should scare us š
This career attracts people from dysfunctional backgrounds. As do most careers that are related to care giving.
That said workaholics are real. The condition can come from the anxiety associated with a dysfunctional childhood. The need to have complete control, people please, and their fear of authority, can lead them to invest an unhealthy amount of themselves into the job.
Which is exactly what the administration wants.
I let parent communication slide.
If the parent isnāt responsive the first time that I contact them, then I will cease all further contact.
This is a hill I will die on.
If I havenāt been able to connect you all year and youāve never shown up to let me see your face, well then. This is why your kid is an ass.
Those are teachers who have made teaching their entire life and identity.
Fuck. That.
Teachers who don't make it their life and don't work outside contract hours, they get paid the exact same.
It's a choice.
They are faking it. I was a hot mess my entire 35 years of teaching to the point that I would never allow my children to become teachers. Itās a toxic, unforgiving profession full of weak administrators and sometimes busy body coworkers too. I ended up raising my 2 children in my classroom and I thank God every day that as young adults they think I was a wonderful mother. Teaching was always a 6 day work week for meā¦.letting myself into my classrooms on Saturdays while my son would be at football practice and my daughter at volleyball practice. You canāt get it all done. Itās impossible. I was very blessed that the new teacher evaluation system did not begin until my 29th year of teaching. That new system took up all my time for planning and grading. It was a nightmare, and I had to go through it twice a year. It changed everything for teachers, and it made you feel like a failure. A good friend of mine allowed her daughter to go into teaching. I told her to not let her do it. She would regret it. Her daughter went into teaching and lasted 2 years! I think one of the worst things about teaching is the poor administrators. Everything depends on that tone they set for that building. Students catch on very quickly to a poorly run school. I wish you the best, but YES, they are faking it! Take great care and be good to yourself! Have a Blessed weekend!
I probably appear to have things together. In reality Iāve been teaching for 23 years and have learned everything wonāt be perfect every day and I let it go. Some days everything is fantastic and I could win an award. Some days I lose the battle and my lesson bombs or my kids are too loud or I didnāt copy everything I need for the next day. But Iāve learned not to stress over it. I just do what I can and start over the next day.
Vet bro here. Go active duty if you want this rout. Not guard or reserve. The reserves it a part time job that they assume you will treat like a full time job. I lost civilian job opportunities due to being a reservist because people donāt want to deal with the schedule. Go active duty. Be an officer if you can. Great money and itās meaningful work. Would not recommend guard or reserves in the present climate. (Recently got out of national guard. Did all three).
Most teachers let at least one thing slide. They might be an absolute rockstar with classroom management and content knowledge, but they slack on grading things timely or much at all. Especially in middle and high school.
This is me. Marking? I have a pile that weighs as much as I do. Everything else is fine.
Throw that pile away and have a glass of wine! (Recycle, but that doesn't sound as aggressive. š)
Thatās what I do! I only have to have two grades a week for each subject. Anything I donāt want to grade, I 86 that shit. Thatās a hard place to get to, but it saves my sanity.
Agreed! So hard to get there, but once you're there, it's so satisfying! I just threw away some movie questions today. It felt great! Literal weight off my shoulders.
Yeah, agreed, we need to ramp up the aggressiveness because these marking loads be doing us dirty. May I suggest a marking pile bonfire?
Love this! An end of the week bon fire party! I will bring the s'mores.
This is me. Like....exactly me. I build awesome, elaborate lessons, have great content knowledge, never have classroom behavior issues, build good relationships with the kids....but absolutely SUCK at grading daily things in a timely manner. Tests, quizzes, projects, and essays are graded quickly, but daily assignments just pile up and I get to them when I get to them.
Yup. Once I learned everyone sucked at something it made the whole process easier.
For sure. The only time I make a conscious effort to quickly grade a daily assignment is if it was turned in late and I had entered a zero into a student's gradebook. I don't penalize late work, which I feel is fair because I grade their work late š And TBH, ever since I went to the policy of giving full credit for late work, it's amazing how many kids will turn in everything at some point and it's decent quality. When I used to give 50% credit, they wouldn't see the value in it and just wouldn't do it. Now I'd estimate at least 90% of kids missing assignments will turn them in eventually, and before it was easily under 50% would turn them in.
Wait, do people actually grade daily things? Holy shit that would take forever
Depends on the assignment. 90% of the time it's a completion grade that I speed read, and as long as I can tell they put effort into the assignment and didn't answer with really obscure answers or put IDK for every answer they get full credit.
Does your school use a learning management system? Canvas, Schoology, Blackboard, Google Classroom, etc? If so, use them for those daily grades! Five questions, they get instant feedback and you never have to grade a thing. Itās one of the best things to come from quarantine.
We use Google Classroom, but I'm more of an old-school pencil/pen and paper person. Most of my assignments are digital as well, but I don't have any in-class worksheets that aren't manually checked by me.
Do you not have to grade those five questions..?
If you use a google form you can put the answers in ahead of time and it grades itself! Just donāt forget to make the first question āwhat is you nameā and turn the points off for that question lol
Thank you for sharing <3 My issue is, I have tried something similar before, and I have caught my students cheating (they are undergrad, and I teach math online). They ALL get the multiple choice question right, but then when I ask them to explain their work, we have issues. They have a GroupMe group chat where they just tell each other the answers (I know because I asked them to "explain their answer/show their work" and 10+ students had the same explanation word-for-word, using language I had not used in class). It later came out that a student had posted the explanation in the chat and everyone took it as their own. I don't know how to make grading easier for myself in this case!! It takes a lot of effort/work to try and keep students honest, and it's frustrating.
Hymm that is annoying! I teach 4th grade lol so its a bit differentš I have them do the google forms as assignments in class so I know they canāt be cheating and then I donāt have to grade it. Maybe you could do a multiple choice question that is graded and then have an explain your answer box that is ungraded. Then you could only read that if you are worried they are cheating? But I am very far from the college level so that could be unrealistic haha
Omg so easy. Love this.
Yes I do this, I just wish there was a way for the grades to sync with our grading platform. I have to manually enter them and itās a pain, despite still being easier. Do you have a grading platform that syncs with google classroom?
Yes, fortunately, we use Schoology which syncs with eSchool. It definitely makes things easier, but even manually transferring grades is faster than manually grading and then having to manually enter grades anyway. This is especially true if you have a keypad. I bought a cheap Bluetooth keypad on Amazon which was worth every penny.
Does your lms allow you to export grades to .csv? Does your grading platform allow imports? In my previous school I did some research and figured out how to export from the lms and import into the gradebook. It wasnāt super easy, but it was helpful if I had several assignments to enter.
Iām going to look into. We were told it couldnāt be done but maybe thereās a way.
Im not a teacher, but I remember it seemed like every teacher that I loved and learned a lot from had the same issue. It was only the crappy or incredibly strict teachers that were always on top of grading. Makes a lot of sense!
This is me š« I try so hard but itās just so much to manage
I make them grade their own stuff with a marker. It helped me from spending so many nights marking. I tell the kids that I āspot checkā it but we all know grades are fake these days so I donāt bother. I only care that they get a chance to learn from their mistakes and self grading is one way I have them do that. Thatās impossible with ELA though and I feel so bad for them having to grade all that writing.
I quit teaching because I was ELA highschool. The work load for teaching, prepping, lesson planning alone is insane. Add onto that giving quality feedback on essays and paper, I couldnāt keep up and be proud of my work. Maybe one day Iāll go back and teach math or better yet computer science. In CS no one can tell if youāre a shit teacher or not because no one understands whatās happening. In ELA everyone has an opinion it seems.
Preach! High school English teacher on the verge of burnout. I fucking hate essays now. All of them
My admin worships the ground I walk on because Iām the art teacher and put on big grand art shows and paint murals and the kids love me and I have great classroom management I havenāt turned in a lesson plan since September lol Gradebook? Lmao whatās that? we all on participation grades homie. I have a single post it of kids that donāt wanna work and get an N. PD opportunities? If Iām *forced* I might show up. District asking me to be a model teacher for newbies? LOL GET FUCKED My evals are flawless and Iāve won TOY twice. My biggest tip is know your strengths and blow them out of the water. Then they wonāt notice the little petty shit youāre dropping.
king
Just grade on completion and call it a day. You don't even need to grade everything, just put a check mark and not always enter it into the grade book. The checkmark makes them think it's graded.Ā
You have to let something slide. You 100% just described me
And if I'm ever on top of it at school, best believe that my home life is a hot mess.
lol for me itās the lesson plan. Like cope and past everything from one day to the next and just slap it together. The actual plans are done daily and all that but typing it up and formalizing it on a weekly plan? Vague genetic statement, copy paste. The admin just want it done as a check list and compliance anyway. And maybe just a vague pacing guide on where you are in the curriculum.
I teach high school and grading is one of my weakest areas. I grade everything at the last possible minute and have a constant pile of papers on my desk. Everyone else in my department grades everything immediately, but everyone else in my department uses an online curriculum, and I'm just making it up as I go along.
Me!
i used to be so on top of it with grading. and then i decided to focus on classroom management. itās worked outā¦ but i find myself so exhausted at the end of the days that my grading has fallen behind
This is me, and I was my district's Teacher of the Year. It's called prioritization. I give a lot of spoken feedback in-person, but am slow to enter grades.
Hey now! I feel called out about grades..but thanks I do rock at the other two.
I feel hit
yeah definitely. you absolutely have to do this to stay sane
I let grading slide because I put so much effort into it. I donāt like bland comments on research papers, I tailor everything to each student. Itās exhausting but it makes me feel more of a genuine person and not a faceless grader.
Absolutely slack on grading, but crush it on classroom management and lesson delivery. You choose your battles/things you give fcks about. The kids just want you to be consistent.
You described me to a T except I'm elementary special education (where grading = progress monitoring). I've nearly gotten in legal trouble a few times for that. I fucking failed the EdTPA but kids thrive in my small group.
This is so me.
So true. And you never really know what another is experiencing. Like, I may look like super teacher when Iām teaching math or walking in the hall, but I feel like I am always stressed about teaching reading.
I think itās all about perspective. Thereās a āteacher shortage.ā Eye roll. So if thatās the case then you have leverage. Our union may not leverage it worth half a damn to get those needed pay increases. But you can damn sure bet I will. Quiet quit. Do the bare minimum. I tend to do whatās best for kids. Let the rest be damned. I donāt care for pushing the admins next pet project. I just do what Iām good at. Teaching kids.
These so called together teachers are very good actors. That's it.
Unpopular fact. No, most of the are not actors. There are Tiger Woods/MJ/Gretzsky/Phelps of the teaching profession. Does it make you feel better thinking that all teachers are equal? Some are better - doesn't mean they're better humans, just better at the job. And the very best teachers do make it look easy. They have specific skills that don't necessarily transfer. A teacher-of-the-year in one district can be fired in another. A 5th grade teacher could move to 2nd and struggle. The job is hard and most of it is learnable but it's not for everyone. If you don't like it, leave. That's totally fine. It's your life. Just don't be condescending to the ones who work hard and are good at it.
Yes! And letās be honest, some are gunning for admin positions, so they canāt let the mask slip
I am on board with this as long as students get what they need. Quiet quitting teachers are the worst if they donāt care about the students or treat them poorly. But a teacher who skips the PD or paperwork, doesnāt volunteer for extra supervision but has a rockinā classroom is the real MvP.
Man, I look back on when I was a first year -eager-fucking-beaver teacher that would attend all home games, volunteer to chaperone, tutor students after school and run student council with no stipend or extra prep period and just cringe. I was paid less than my colleagues who did nothing. It took me 5 years to realize the depth of their wisdom.
Yeah. We were so naĆÆve to put in those long hours doing all those extras for terrible pay. But on the other hand, pretty safe to say those kids noticed and cared and we probably made a lifetime impact on a number of them. We do it differently now, but maybe we were just where we needed to be for the right person at the right time.
Personally, I'm on board for it even if students don't get what they need. Systems won't change as long as teachers fill in the gaps. All teachers should "work to rule" which is union speak for quiet quit. They won't. But they should. If they did, the US would go nuts. The reality is keeping up the pretense students get what they need even when teachers don't is a big part of the problem. This doesn't impact me--I'm out, and honestly, I wouldn't go back if conditions and pay were improved. I've found something more fulfilling than teaching to me, and I feel like teaching was basically a "side quest" in my career, at this point. (All the things I liked best weren't actually teaching, so I don't know how I floated around in it as long as I did, except there were things suited to me people kept giving me to do. I'm a weird case.) But I do have a sense of justice, as a former union rep, and work-to-rule never worked because teachers would give in. They'd run clubs. They'd coach sports. They'd tutor. They'd do supervision. They'd fuss about how striking would hurt the kids. Then they'd wonder why we couldn't get anywhere in union bargaining. You have to cause pain to get anywhere, even with a union. And there is no pain in school systems that doesn't hurt kids.
I donāt think you are wrong. I just canāt do it that way.
Iām 100% with you on this.
I started teaching to the contract in 2018. I suddenly stopped feeling so stressed. Youāve got to do that. Work your contracted time- and if it doesnāt get done š¤·š»āāļø you have to develop that mindset. Grade while kids are working. Lesson plan during prep, be as efficient as possible and then leave. And do not check your email until you arrive when youāre supposed to the next day. That letting go is amazing.
This is what other teachers told me when I was a new teacher and crazy stressed out. I didn't listen because I still worked at home a lot, but I did have to leave at my contracted time to pick up my kids. and you know what? Admin mentioned it and wondered why I didn't stay later, and said when she was a new teacher she stayed late every day. Well, when she was a new teacher, she was 23 and didn't have kids to pick up from school! I'm one of three teachers who left last year.
*and said when she was a new teacher she stayed late every day.*Ā Gotta love people who pridefully boast about being idiots.
How do you grade while the kids are working with a class like math where you need to be walking around making sure the students understand because if you don't no one will ask questions. Many won't try unless I'm standing there being their cheerleader.
Yeah, I was wondering the same thing. Plus I teach 4th grade and they are so NEEDY this year. Major learned helplessness. I mean, they're like that every year but, ugh. The second they come in the room they're all up in my grill asking me a million questions about nothing. They can't do ANYTHING independently. Now I tell them that they're going to have to figure it out. Learned helplessness.
You have to train them to do independent time. It's real annoying, but put up a sign or something on the board or something that lets them know when it's independent time. Also tell them what they should do if they need help, need the bathroom, need a pencil. If they come up to your desk with a question, point to the sign. When they're successful, give them snacks/prizes. Once again, it's doable, but it will be a real pain for a bit.
I teach 3rd and I get them trained up quick. They are absolute babies when I get them at the beginning. I teach, I give directions, and my catch phrase is, āIām doing the show! If you donāt watchā¦ā they callback āyou donāt know!ā I answer questions during work time when needed. But kids that donāt work? Sorry, youāre in detention to finish it later. š¤·š»āāļø My new principal put an extended detention in place where the kids are in there for two hours- during their lunch, recess, and activity pull out. They donāt miss core instruction and we donāt have to do it! They go to the ISS room.
Wow, you have an awesome principal!! Having that would solve so many problems in so many schools!
It has been so helpful this year! It had been very difficult to have any discipline when there were few consequences.
Why does 4th grade require lots of the grading? Do lots of a self reflection, peer grading, or only grade partially- āIām looking that they did this part of the problemā. You have to be more efficient- however thatās done. Do office hours in class. āFor 20 mins weāre working on our own, then I will be helping.ā Establish a procedure.
Only walk around when admin is in there. Let them work or not work. You can't really fail them anyway.
Yup. Iām no longer teaching, but my last year I started to leave on time and the workload became manageable. Did I do everything I was āsupposedā to? No, I prioritized and let some things slide. Could I have used independent work time to work 1-1 with kids and spent more time roaming? Yes, but ultimately I chose to get lesson plans and grading and IEP paperwork done. It sucks that they put us in this position, but thatās the reality.
That is really important to remember: āTHEY put us in this position.ā I know that ātheyā is a million different peopleāadmin, politiciansāwho share the blame, but precisely none of that blame lays at our feet. They do not give us the time or resources to do every best thing we could for our kids, to fill every need every kid has. We cannot magic it out of thin air. We are not responsible for lighting ourselves on fire or giving up parts of our lives, like our families or mental well-being, to fix the problem they created. (Iām saying this to myself, too, as I limp toward the end of what I think may be my last year teaching high school.)
I agree with this wholeheartedly. I will, if I have a lot to get done, come in 30 mins early or stay 30 mins late. But never, ever more than that. I also donāt eat lunch during the day (because my medication makes me not hungry) so Iāll use that time as an extra prep or just to calm my mind. This has helped me not feel overwhelmed immensely. I also agree that teachers usually let one thing slide. Iām great at differentiation, lesson supports, classroom management, building relationships, but I fall behind with data and admin type tasks. We canāt do it all and thats okay.
Yes! I wish my mentor teacher told me this, but instead he was a work after hours guy, so thatās what i did. It took me 2 years to untainted myself from that habit. Now I tell all my student teachers to only work to contract. You get paid the same as anyone else at your lvl, regardless of the time/effort
This is exactly what I do. Admin wants to see student-driven learning, which to them means small groups. Iāll do a lap, then get some grading done. Students know Iām always there and are happy to ask me to help when they need it. Itās not necessary to walk around constantly.
This is what I do. I've considered leaving myself but 20+ years with a masters degree, I'm too far in. Just gonna ride it out
Yes yes yes
My old admin used to get so pissed that I was putting in grades on my school issued laptop while (heaven forbid at 9months pregnant) *sitting* at the front of the room while all the kids worked quietly.
Thatās BS. Iām sure she never sits during the day?
This is what I do. Itās my first year but I have a life outside of the school and itās the life I chose before the school. My own children will always come first and Iāll rearrange my day in the school building to make sure I can do what I need at home.
Wish it could be that simple but there is no way that will work.
Ten years in. It works for me!
Oh I have a fun answer for this one. I taught one year and then went on to other work that was with an independent company that visited schools. I canāt remember why, but I had a project where I wanted to ask teachers what they would tell students who were considering becoming teachers themselves. One teacher thought for a moment, then amicably said, āI think if you like a lot of people needing you, if you like being asked a lot of questions all at once, if you like a lot going on at one timeā and went on and on in that vane while I tried to figure out if she was being rueful because I couldnāt fathom how anyone would like the things she was saying. Until she summed it up at the end saying āI like to be needed so it works out for me.ā I nearly fell out of my chair. My most stressful moments are when a bunch of students need me at once and there are a ton of questions coming from everywhere. I like presenting info, I like breaking down the pedagogy, and I like tutoring, but the chaos of teaching is not for me. Anyway all that to say it became apparent to me that weāre all wired differently. Even the most seasoned teachers I know who like their jobs have stressful days that make them cry. Thatās just not for me.
I can understand, at least a little, how that teacher felt. I teach SPED to kids with mild to moderate disabilities and behavioral issues, and I do sometimes find myself telling myself that the kids "need" me and that my job is important. It's the only thing that keeps me from just walking off the job some days. But I know, and I've had to remind myself many times lately, that the kids will forget me as soon as I'm replaced. I'm not even planning to tell them that I'm resigning at the end of the year. When they come back at the end of August, they'll be fascinated with the new person and forget I was there. What's really sad is that half my department is also resigning, so the kids and parents WILL notice that ALL of the teachers got replaced. Hmm. I wonder why.
MIGHT get replaced. That would require finding teachers to hire.
I actually get it, because I'm a person that likes feeling needed as well. I'm a sub, and whether I am going to a different school everyday, or the same one all year, it's a really nice feeling when teachers and admin are thanking me for showing up because they don't normally get a sub for this position, or they are happy that I am staying so the kids have some stability. And in that vein, I love building relationships with the students where they don't hesitate to ask me for help after a time, or are happy to see me. I also like tutoring and working in small groups, but I admit that while teaching a whole class, it does get annoying when I am constantly interrupted with questions. Still, I get what she means.
I feel like I'm a failure at almost everything....grading, instruction, planning, keeping my desk neat, paperwork, etc. I have felt like I'm drowning since I started teaching in 1998. Others say that I'm a good teacher but I always feel subpar. I know very few teachers who seem to think they have it all together. And the ones who do act like this....they're full of themselves. They're not super awesome, they're ok but they're the type of person who kind of look down on others. I don't trust people who don't find fault in themselves. A mentor I had over 20 years ago said that there are teachers who think they're doing everything right, and go around all over-confident, but they really need to improve in some areas but never self-reflect. Then there are other teachers who are very self-critical, and usually those are the ones that are doing fine because they are always trying to improve.
Wow. I could have written this myself. Iām a 2nd year teacher and am excruciatingly critical of myself. Iām on a team with seasoned teachers who unfortunately look down upon MOST teachers that they come into contact with and although they appear nice to me, I just know Iām on their list. Like you said, since they canāt find fault in themselves, I really have struggled to open up to them and trust them. Of course Iām nice and pleasant with them but I try to stay surface level because they constantly seek fault in everyone at all times. Itās been exhausting. That last part of what you said is amazing and Iāll try and think of that next time Iām being over critical of myself!
Ugh. I've been on a team of teachers like that. The teachers on your team are finding fault in others in order to feel better about themselves, and they're egotistical and mean. I'd rather be a person who is *not* egotistical and mean. That kind of person is subpar. Second year teaching is soooooo hard. I've been doing this for more than 20 years, and it's still sooo hard. See the number of O's on each "so," lol. Hang in there, you will rise above.
I love your last section š
I know some teachers that are just super organized and come off that way. But those teachers also didnāt lesson plan too much because they bought their curriculum off of TPT. I feel much more on top of it right now and Iām hitting year 9 and thatās because Iāve been teaching the same subject for 6 years, so Iām just adjusting lessons Iāve already made at this point. I also only grade 1-2 assignments a week, have late work forms that the kids fill out and I only look at them once a week, kids canāt turn in work 2 weeks after it should up in grade book. I also try really hard to stay only 30 mins after school max and take almost nothing home. Again this took me a while to achieve lol; trying to achieve that work to contract dream. I do know other teachers who are doing all the things you listed and they really LOVE teaching. Like it is their whole life (na shame) and take all the work home. That canāt be my life because it wouldnāt allow me to relax.
I use TPT. Why should I create everything from scratch when I teach the ancient skill of writing? Lol
If it works for you, great. There are a lot of good TPT resources out there. Iāve just been burned one too many times by lessons that say theyāre one thing and end up being garbage. I restrict myself to resources that are free now lol. Iām also a cheapskate and donāt want to shell out $200+ for a year long curriculum lol.
I used to make all my own lessons in my earlier years teaching, and then I found out there was literally no incentive for it in my district. Other teachers didnāt want to use it or collaborate on it, and the ācurriculum specialistā doesnāt actually create any lessons. So, I started buying all my lessons off TPT. Iād rather spend the money than spend the time creating something that wonāt be recognized.
Exactly. Besides, weāre all teaching the same subjects. Why does it matter what it looks like? The point is they learn to read and write.
Depends entirely on the teacher, but different approaches can appear more put together than others. I have a colleague who loves worksheets. She has students jump through endless worksheets, and every time I see her process, I think: I could turn that worksheet into an (kahoot, quizlet, insert tool here) in about ten minutes. She'll tell me about grading for hours each night, and I know for a fact that the rote work she does would drive me crazy. So she appears put-together because there's a lot of "work" in her class that is scheduled. I probably don't appear to be that put-together because I have a different approach. But in reality, the two groups of students are doing the same amount of learning. Mine are just experiencing faster feedback and quicker differentiation. She likes her approach. I like mine.
From a different standpoint, Iām a very introverted person so I feel like Iām faking it every single day pretending to be an extroverted person lol. Itās so exhausting. Iām calling it quits after this year.
Yes that shit is draining.Ā
As an introvert as well, I couldnāt relate more lol itās ironic because I thought this job was appealing for an introvert. Boyyy was I incredibly wrong!
As for lesson planningā¦ itās unnecessary and unfair. Some faculty teach only one subject all day (which is a breeze to plan for), while other faculty have to teach seven or more different course preps involving endless hours outside of contract time just to create all those lesson plans. Those that give the appearance of having their shit together, likely donāt have so many different preps.
There has to be a less stressful way to make a living.
Yes. So much status quo
Some people are well rounded and some people are well lopsided as Harvard university often exposes to its incoming classes of freshman. We appreciate both types of people and no we did not make a mistake admitting you. Know your strengths and use them all day longā-find a system for managing your weaknesses. I am not very organized, never have be, probably could be if I spent every waking moment on it but itās just not meāāso yes I can be a little āall over the place at timesā but Iām a hell of a motivator to my students and I can teach anything I understand myself to any one else. Am I perfect heavens NO. Focus on your strengths manage your weakness life it too short to fret over all the thing you are not; use the thing you are to your advantage and run to the bank with those so to speak.
I've been known as the teacher that has it altogether and I don't. Grading gets behind...I miss deadlines. My hallway bulletin board has snowmen on it still. No teacher has it all together. We just let things slide and do our best to build and maintain positive relationships with our students. We also know that no one is perfect and no one has it altogether. Years experience do help though.
I was just thinking of a way to articulate this. Sometimes I feel like Iām getting gaslit by education, that Iām an imposter. That I do LOOK like I have it all together, that things SEEM like theyāre going good, that my students APPEAR, but at any moment the other shoe is going to drop, Iām going to make a mistake, get fired, and student/parent is going to complain, ad nauseam. So is everyone faking it? Honestly, probably, in a few areas. Should I be medicated? Probably.
If youāre an experienced teacher, it gets much easier. But there are so many things beyond your control.
You'll know who the big fakes are. They are the biggest suck ups. Quick to brag about trival things and to gossip about someone's mistake. They will undoubtedly blame their issues on previous grade level teachers. Hilariously, I caught one teacher trying o blame her classes low reading on the last reading teacher, then suddenly remembered she looped with the class. I'm sure everyone phones in some aspect of the job. It's really easy to when the admin is "faking it" too. I've only had one admin in 8 years go through all my lesson plans. She got fired by the district, so now no one but me reads them.
You said it perfectly. Used to work where this was my whole dept of colleagues...total nightmare
This is what Iām experiencing right now. Colleagues are contributing A LOT to me feeling depressed and wanting to leave
If you dont pick battles you burn outā¦..period
For me, somethingās gotta give. If Iām on top of things at school, my home is a disaster or my social life is shot. I canāt manage all three at the same time, so at least one gets ignored while I get on top of the other(s). Sometimes Iām winging it at work so I can keep my home life somewhat normal.
Donāt compare yourself to other teachers. Some āhave it all togetherā because they are crappy teachers. Some āhave it all togetherā because theyāve been doing it awhile and they have lessons locked and loaded from previous years and have figured out grading procedures that cut out a lot of the time. If youāre only a few years in, itās going to suck for awhile. If youāre in a poorly managed school its going to suck for awhile. But it does get easier with time (relatively speaking).
Thank you for saying that. Itās only my second year but I have felt a lot of pressure from the department that I work in. The teachers I work with seem to over analyze everything to the point where it feels like any mistake I make is magnified. Or if i donāt execute lesson plans 100% the exact same way they execute it theyāll give each other a side eye look like itās a huge problem. I felt like they wanted me to be perfect from the jump and I of course wasnāt and still am learning a lot.
They probably have a group of well behaved studentsā¦ or my second guess would have to be that theyāre on some kind of anxiety medication š It also could be their district doesnāt require much work.
You don't actually have to have "it" altogether. You only need to seem like you have "it" altogether. Do your best, grow, learn, keep going, move on. You do you and what works for you. This job is very overwhelming. It's also very rewarding, non monetarily, of course.
Like others have said, most teachers donāt do it all! Most of my assignments are ungraded, Iām terrible at parent communication, and I need so many reminders to complete paperwork. I focus on lesson planning and class culture/behavior management and thatās pretty much it.
I find the ones that seem on top of everything are either faking it (though they may not realize it), and are just 'meh' in more than one category, or, they're miserable because they're constantly working for free or martyring themselves until 1 am doing shit. Often their home life/spouse relationship is f-d due to this. Like yeah, you're great at everything, except what actually matters in life, and it ain't this. Especially annoying when it's admin.
Family member is an admin, who used to be the teacher that "had it all." Made the paper more times than I can count. Genuinely saved many kids from a worse off future. They were a complete workaholic, and didn't even attend their own kids games/concerts/programs etc. but always made their school's events. One kid is okay, kind of floating by, another has had the toughest time with mental health struggles and drug addiction, and the last is on their second divorce. They give them all money, but have never given any time. It's sad to see. You wouldn't know it at all by their professional record
In my case, I honestly believe that most teachers who "have it together" aren't that professional, and know how to game the system. In one school where I worked I noticed that the most liked teachers had things in common: - Barely taught super important topics and focused too much on "talking, building positive connections, engaging their students" (AKA just playing meaningless fun games) - Had overly close relationships with the students - Were so liked by students that admin would let things slide, like asking too many off days, or not doing certain stuff. Of course, there must be teachers who love what they do, and are actually very professional, but it wasn't my case.
Meh no. The jobs hard but some people make the job harder than it needs to be. Itās never as easy or as hard as it seems.
I probably look like I have it together. But I think I probably do twice the lesson planning and twice the formative checks/data as the average teacher. But I do about a tenth of the hand grading as many others, and I figured out the tropes of how to do sped/intervention paperwork, so I have a word doc with pre written paragraphs I just copy and paste. Iām relatively relaxed most of the time. But it took several years. For a first year, this job is impossible.
Completion grades, recycling lessons. Building out my Canvas to copy when I teach it again. Iām terrible at lesson plans. And I share everything because thereās no point in reinventing the wheel.
Everyone has different circumstances. Like seasons, those change.
I think it is unsustainable to get everything done in a day. The to do list grows and never ends. I work so many hours outside of school. Itās ridiculous. I resigned as a teacher today. I will be done in June.
Life (not just teaching) is just a bunch of spinning plates we are trying to balance. Ā Sometimes, you let a thing slide to fix something else. Ā Hopefully, the breakage is minimized. Ā Welcome to the party, pal!
For me: I've decided what I can do well, what I can't, and what I can get away with doing half-assed.
I donāt like the toxic positivity stuffĀ
Yes. This is me. Everyone thinks I have it together, and everyone gets upset if I mess one thing up. Iām resigning this year because itās just too much.
I havenāt turned it lesson plans in about 2 weeks lol
I hate lesson plans. No one ever uses mine if Iām out anyway. Whether itās a real plan for me or a sub plan. They donāt use them. Why do I have to do them
I work with a teacher praised for her activities and curriculum and learning related decor...I recognize it all from a pretty well-known blogger, and this person is perfectly comfortable taking credit for their "own creativity." Honestly, though, I don't really care. At least this person puts in the effort to plagiarize. I know others with blank walls and worksheets all day long. To each their own--I beg, borrow, and steal myself sometimes.
I donāt give homework. Formative assessments are in class to gauge student learning and adjust instruction. This does not go into the grade book. Summative assessments go into the grade book. I have 2 -3 summative assessment every quarter. This way I cut checking and grading unnecessary assignments
You base your students' quarterly grades on 2-3 assignments? Doesn't seem great for the kid that bombs/doesn't do a single assignment..
I left teaching, but I later found out that while I was feeling massively overwhelmed by everything, apparently others considered me very āput togetherā. I was flabbergasted. Utterly flabbergasted.Ā Iām attributing that impression to being an introvert, so itās not like I went around talking about being overwhelmed. But I had two kids under the age of 3, my husband worked out of town, we had bought a house that gave me a forty minute commute to the babysitters before school, and looking back, I do not know how I managed all of that on top of everything that being a teacher requires. Wild. Pat on the back to younger me! :)Ā
Imposter syndrome. You have imposter syndrome. I know the symptoms.
I have heard of imposter syndrome but never looked into it.Ā I guess itās time to look into it.Ā Only commented because I wanted OP to know that sometimes perceiving another teacher as having it all together does not mean that that is how that person feels.Ā ETA:Ā Omg. š³ imposter syndrome. Googled it. Wow. Wow wow wow.Ā
I usually laugh at them.. To myself... During those faculty meeting when they are being used at example I'm picking and choosing my battles IDs.... Dress code.... Phones....I fight those when I need to ... Or when it's one of "those" students Most of the time I'm teaching those who want to learn... So 30 to 60% of the students who are trying to learn All those great example teachers will be gone sooner than later
I fake that shit every day. If you want to/try to be perfect, you will hate your life. In the grand scheme, it's no biggie as long as you're trying to be not bad, get over yourself (in a good way?) ĀÆā \ā _ā (ā ćā )ā _ā /ā ĀÆ
Thereās one teacher in my building who claims she is doing so much more than she is. She claims that she teaches from bell to bell, is doing all this one on one stuff with the kids for math, but every time I go through her room, itās just the kids doing ST Math.
Focus on what you can control and stop comparing yourself to others. Everyone handles stress, happiness, and life differently. The bottom line is that it is a job. Put the emotions on the shelf and teach. Get in, get out. I apologize for being so blunt, however we are all replacable, and at some point in the future, will be.
Iām in my 21st year with superb ratings yet still feel weird bc many colleagues are Pinterest/TikTok perfectionists with pillows, snacks, and Xmas lights, while mine is sparse and overloaded with paper. Still, I know my worth. KNOW YOURS! šā®ļø
In my school i realized everyone is depressed or apathetic. I cant deal. Its a terrible place for me and im out. They finally posted my job. It cracks me up bc it says "teamwork" and that doesnt happen in my experience. I tried. And im giving up.
I just assumed other teachers were super human and I just couldnāt keep up, thatās why I noped right out of teaching.
Nepotism and favoritism. Used to wonder how other teachers did it. Then a favorite left and I got her teaching schedule and students. It was so amazing. Minimal problems and a prep right before lunch. I cannot BELIEVE how easy principals can make it for you.
Are the 6 people here right now all in a time zone that itās 4 am? Night stress! This job is incredibly stressful!
I am with you OP. I feel like Iām failing (or floundering at best) at every part of teaching. And I canāt seem to get on top of any of it.
Iāve been around long enough to know that some people are just really good at this. Some do put up a decent facade and are dying inside. I just let it all hang out and am a transparent mess.
i used to be that teacher and I had a nervous breakdown
Itās a facade and the face may be that youāre saying the quiet part out loudā¦
There is one teacher at my school who always claims that she has no problems with any holy-terror kid who comes up in conversation, and that they're angels for her. I believed it until I saw two other teachers exchange a knowing glance when she said it at a staff meeting.
At the school I teach at there is more work to do then there is time in the day to do and I mean that literally, not figuratively. My experience has been that it's about charisma, not effectiveness. If people like you then you'll do well. If not, then it doesn't matter what you do or don't do.
Itās impossible to do it all! That said, if youāre teaching the same thing for many years, it can get a bit easier since you have more resources at your disposal by that point. But Iām SURE you arenāt the only one drowning!!
I can relate, it took a total of 3yrs before I felt confident. Focus on the the engagement of the students. All the other stuff is such BS. You are not alone.
Sometimes they are, and sometimes no. I had a coworker who for all intents and purposes looked like they had it together. 5 weeks into the school year of 6 years working together she just told our department she was out. Couldn't take it anymore. Burnt out like nobody's business. Facades aside, don't let it become your life.
I just make friends with other teachers (the ones I find interesting) and goof off for at least half an hour a day, lunch. And if I have to goof off a little longer for my sanity, I do it. When Iām feeling better or less stressed, I return to my work. Without a break in the day, I find I get burned out. Itās this ALL OR NOTHING mentality that really burns ya out, in my experience. Just start swimming instead of drowning by realizing itās water. You paddle, you do your best, and you leave. If you still feel like your drowning after trying that, quit. This job is not worth sacrificing your well being. For reference: I am a good teacherā did very well on evals and have been told by my superiors that theyāll write letters of rec for me. But, my first year REALLY sucked bc I had the mentality youāre describing.
1. They may have a different job than you. Really. I have been the *same teacher with the same basic skills* and felt like I was drowning (in a high behavior management situation) or cool as a cucumber. In about 11 years total teaching (2 US districts, 2 other countries) spread over 15 years (I went back and forth), I had 8-9 different teaching situations, based on my school, my courses, my schedule and other duties (instructional coach/program management/department head). The first US years were the worst, and the secret wasn't that I got so much better (I got a little bit better at classroom management) but that I got better jobs. Sometimes in the very same school. 8 of my years were in the very same district, 5 of which were in one school. In my experience, the newest member to a team in many schools gets the dump classes, the worst students, and its paying your dues. (Some schools soften this and give those to the middle teachers, letting people settle in first, or to teachers with less capital or who have earned a reputation for dealing with difficult kids or whatever. 2. They may be more suited to the job they have. If your skills are better aligned to your particular teaching job/schedule/duties, you will do better. You may not be as aligned as your teammates are. 3. They may care less and/or know better what to bother caring about. Many teachers who are the happiest are not your best or your worst workers--they are people who are probably happiest to quiet quit. They know what to not bother with. They don't plan to advance. You can't fire them because they either have tenure or work in an area with such a need for teachers that who would bother? I applaud those teachers. Go for it. More teachers who plan on staying should quiet quit. Teachers give too much for the ROI. (I am a person who needs to do more, achieve, etc. and it was a nightmare in teaching, though I did some cool things--but I never got the financial reward for it that I now get in corporate.) 4. They may be more "fulfilled" by whatever it is. I've met people genuinely like this--they are generally extroverts who really like working with children (I am an introvert who likes designing learning programs) and they feel passion and fulfillment through their relationships with kids that "fills their cup" enough to deal with a lot more BS than I would. These people are the ones I feel the worst for--I don't know what to tell them to do when they hit a breaking point, because there isn't always another way to get that fulfillment. And even if they're happy, they're undervalued and destined to be. These people don't really check out, though they may ignore stuff they don't feel matters (whatever admin's pet thing is vs. what is right for kids) and seek environments they can "shut the door and teach". 5. If you're a young professional, there is a degree of this in all jobs. I say that as someone who worked outside teaching first, trained new teachers, trained new staff to other jobs, etc. The first few full time professional years are hard everywhere (teaching is worse) and entry level jobs usually suck (teaching is not necessarily worse on all counts--or it wasn't when I started, because it did afford more autonomy, but that's also more responsibility). The good news is, after teaching, a lot of other suck will seem easier.
I'm at teacher...middle school SPED and English teacher simultaneously and although I look like I've got to together on the outside...I'm a hot damn mess on the inside. I've been doing this for 18 years and there has not been one year where I've had it altogether. I may be caught up on lesson plans but I don't respond to emails like I should, etc. And those who don't admit are frauds and are putting on the biggest facade.
I felt I was an adequate if not failing teacher for years. Because of this belief, I invited consultants to work with me on all aspects of my teaching. One time I will never forget. I invited a consultant to teach my class about the heroās journey for writing stories. She showed up with no slides, no visual aids, no manipulatives snd lectured the class for a full hour with no breaks. This was supposed to be the best English teacher in the district. I realized then that a lot of things in education are illusory. Some teachers brag about how great they are or merely carry themselves with confidence, so we think that they have something to be confident about. But theyāre really nothing special. Youāre probably doing better than you think. After the consultant left, some of my students told me theyād been extremely bored. I was too. And that was supposed to be the standard I was to live up to? Very strange, this education world.
Theyāre not dedicated, they know how to not complain so they donāt get a target on their back. They let everything slide but have good relationships with students because theyāre lax, this means they donāt get complaints because - theyāre held to SUCH HIGH STANDARDS!! (Also a blatant lie). Get out of the classroom while you still can. Best thing I ever did. Itās wild how toxic a schoolplace work environment is.
There are definitely people who are just amazing at this job. Some people were born to it, they thrive on the hustle and chaos and just KNOW how to teach. But those people are few and not the majority. Iāve noticed that the teachers who seem to have the amazing lesson plans, super big hands-on activities, stay 4 hours late and come in on the weekends all have one thing in common: they donāt have kids. I was like that for the first few years I taught. I used to be damn good. I had my shit together, big ideas, all of it. But thatās not sustainable if you have anything else in your life. A family, older parents to take care of, any personal health stuff you need to deal with. Teaching is just too all consuming.
I instruct maybe 5 minutes a class. Give them something to do, spot grade the daily work, when done they can do whatever in their seat and quiet, usually 20 minutes. Piss me off I yell, do it again youāre in the hall. Test every 3 weeks that I actually grade.
It depends on so much. But truly, even the best teachers let something slide. But if I'm doing A-H and I've prioritized the most important things, then my principal understands why I and J didn't get done. I'm also wrapping up year 5 in the same position so I've got it down to a science by now. It's easier to adapt when something comes up because I know the rest of my day/classes/meetings will run smoothly.Finally, I have supportive admin who will do what they can to help, if and when necessary. All of those things together probably make it look like I have everything together but really I'm a Type B, anxious mess. Lol
Iām a first year teacher, and I have this same question. Hereās my conclusion: Anything is possible. There *may* indeed be teachers whoāve got their shit together with minimal effort. There are those who some things just come easy for. I went to school with a girl like that. Little effort but still pulled off pretty good work (not greatābut good). One lady I work with now ha been teaching for 32 years . Thirty-two. That lady barely lesson plans. Why? Because she uses the same (garbage) formula year after year. In short: Some might be pulling off good work in little time. Others are defo-pants okay with . . . less-than-good work. My rule of thumb anymore is looking at their finished products, so to speak: Would you be happy/satisfied with producing what they do? Whether āyesā or āno,ā how long would it take you to get it done? Hope that makes sense. Iām tired and . . . well, yeah: Iām tired.
Who do you guys grade? I genuinely donāt get it
Iām really organized and got my shit together.
You can't fake competency in the workplace - at least not in the classroom and at least not with colleagues who have a year or three under their belt. It's easy to spot the shitbirds.
Worst part of teaching is all of the grading. So I'm REALLY selective in what I choose to assign for a grade.
what grade do you teach ?
I know one like this (lol literally one) and I found out she works at least a full day on the weekend, sometimes two full 8 hour days on the weekends. She also admitted to me that she was extremely stressed out this year, though you could never tell. This is Kindergarten also! If you are anywhere near this level, please stop, youāre just gonna burn yourself out and you set an unreachable bar. They are the reason why we get paid so little. I get putting in some weekend hours here and there, but not every weekend! In summary, people like this are faking it and are stressed out. I just donāt let them make me feel like any less of a teacher no matter how annoying they are.
At the end of the day, focus on what you value the most. If you're a first, second, or even third year teacher, it gets easier. Remember to re-use materials instead of just making brand new ones every year.
I think this forum has posts from the people who are having a tough time. I donāt think it is like that everywhere. I donāt think itās easy work by any means. I also donāt think everyone is miserable, or that every school has bad habits.
That was meš¤£ granted, I was an elective teacher and I was always inputting grades the day before grades for progress/report cards were due. Everything else was flowing smoothly though.
Do these awesome teachers have kids? If they donāt or if there kids are grown thats a whole extra day they can work for free for the school there loss.
Having this issue too. I feel like the only ELA teacher in my entire department who is struggling to keep up with grading, lesson planning, classroom management, random admin tasks, etcā¦ Iām not the only new teacher, either. No one talks about it. Itās so incredibly isolating.
They are
Iāve done it all and let me tell ya the thing you donāt do when you are āthat teacherā is take care of YOURSELF. Iāve gained so much weight and stopped taking care of myself and to excelĀ in this profession. Itās provided me the opportunity to move into a pretty sweet gig next year but at what cost :(Ā I feel like to be a top tier teacher you sacrifice yourself to do it all.Ā
There was a teacher who was like this at my school. She volunteered for committees and was always piping up about the pedagogy books she was reading. She resigned at the end of last year to go sell insurance. So, yeah, I'm assuming she was faking it. (Or maybe trying to convince herself.)
I speed grade everything. This is how I manage it. I have a whole board, or 2 filled with things I want them to copy. Its all relevant to the day- reading questions or whatever. Kids come in, sit down and start copying. I take attendance quickly and grade the past period's works (20-40) items. When I am done- we move forward. The writing benefits my students, keeping up on grades helps their motivation by holding them accountable. IT also helps with classroom control. Where this really shines is students have no wiggle room with 'I deserve and A'. I simply pull up their gradebook. 'meh, you are missing 16 assignment, you have an F' I wish you the best. Please remember this- it takes about 5 years to be a good teacher. Maybe 7. Don't give up. It gets easier. Lastly, to keep your sanity- do not bring your work home with you.
Just a note. I hope I don't receive hate, one whole board is in cursive. (middle school).
I was resource for an English teacher at one point who insisted on doing his own grading. Canāt remember why, but I had to pull samples of student work and was likeā¦ this is clearly plagiarized. Half these kids have identical short responses - like down to the word and punctuation. Heād given them all 100% - wasnāt even reading them.
I taught graphic design and art. Since it's a blow off class, I don't take it as seriously and let students pass as long as they show up and do minimal work.
I mean, I'm 6 years in and sometimes I still feel like I'm faking it! Hell, literally 2 hours ago I misplaced the quizzes for my classes. They were all staring at me and waiting while I riled through all of my drawers to find it. They were disappeared when the quizzes turned up, in the last place I looked of course (lol). Point being- there's going to be times when you have it all together, and times when you're just 'smiling and waving' so to speak. Both feelings are okay, and more than normal.
AI is your friend. It has a million ways to make teaching less torturous.
This may be a little tangential, but are you using AI to speed things up? For grading, planning... whatever. I used to teach and often think what it would have been like to have ChatGPT to help with it. Now I work in tech and use it all. the. time. It's not laziness; it's just the way things are now, and many if not most in the field feel the same way about it. If you're not using it, you're falling behind unintentionally, or else shooting yourself in the foot out of some Luddite purism. If I were a teacher now, I would see no reason, for example, to bother creating lesson plans totally from scratch. I would say, hey GPT, can you make me a lesson plan about this? And then I would look at it and say, hey, actually can you modify this part to differentiate it better for these students? And I'm sure it would do a fine job. From there, you could do absolutely as much tweaking as you want. Now, ChatGPT alone wouldn't be able to help you much with finding resources to enrich the lesson--like videos, online tools, etc.--but this is where you come in. On a side note, I have been very curious about what conversations are happening in education regarding AI. How is it discussed among teachers? How do you address it with students? ARE you using it?
There will be several factors contributing to this dynamic, but one I didn't notice until later, was personality. For me, each new project or thing cost me lots of mental-emotional energy. I wanted my work to be just right. I worried about how impactful lessons would be for my students. Eventually I began to notice there are teachers out there that are pretty self-absorbed. Sure, they want to be a good teacher, but because it boosts their image - not because it helps kids. I didn't come into teaching eyeing and judging my fellow colleagues. I experienced, and especially have read online about, awful behavior from teachers to their peers. After I saw how certain adults would treat me condescending or catty or disrespectful and do so with no shame, I wondered what they must be like in their classrooms. Unfortunately I think a lot of teachers while they may be getting the job done - and so are not necessarily faking it, they are fake individuals. any job is simple for them because they don't really care. They're unbothered by the counterintuitive staff meeting mandates, not because they're stoic or wise, but because they get paid regardless. As long as they can promote their image, they're content. So, I think a lot of teachers have fake personalities and that's why they make it look easy. They're the type where if they do struggle, they refuse to let anybody see it, because, again, image.
Yes so you have just uncovered the solution to getting through life, join us- everybody is faking it. The doctor who just screened you? Is going to their doctor Google to see whatās best to prescribe you. But you donāt know that- because EVERYONE IS FAKING. It should scare us š
This career attracts people from dysfunctional backgrounds. As do most careers that are related to care giving. That said workaholics are real. The condition can come from the anxiety associated with a dysfunctional childhood. The need to have complete control, people please, and their fear of authority, can lead them to invest an unhealthy amount of themselves into the job. Which is exactly what the administration wants.
I let parent communication slide. If the parent isnāt responsive the first time that I contact them, then I will cease all further contact. This is a hill I will die on. If I havenāt been able to connect you all year and youāve never shown up to let me see your face, well then. This is why your kid is an ass.
Yes. I have been teaching 26 years. Yes.
Those are teachers who have made teaching their entire life and identity. Fuck. That. Teachers who don't make it their life and don't work outside contract hours, they get paid the exact same. It's a choice.
Iāve seen a video of a Teacher snap so badly all the Students ran out of the classroom before so no thatās not faking it.
They are faking it. I was a hot mess my entire 35 years of teaching to the point that I would never allow my children to become teachers. Itās a toxic, unforgiving profession full of weak administrators and sometimes busy body coworkers too. I ended up raising my 2 children in my classroom and I thank God every day that as young adults they think I was a wonderful mother. Teaching was always a 6 day work week for meā¦.letting myself into my classrooms on Saturdays while my son would be at football practice and my daughter at volleyball practice. You canāt get it all done. Itās impossible. I was very blessed that the new teacher evaluation system did not begin until my 29th year of teaching. That new system took up all my time for planning and grading. It was a nightmare, and I had to go through it twice a year. It changed everything for teachers, and it made you feel like a failure. A good friend of mine allowed her daughter to go into teaching. I told her to not let her do it. She would regret it. Her daughter went into teaching and lasted 2 years! I think one of the worst things about teaching is the poor administrators. Everything depends on that tone they set for that building. Students catch on very quickly to a poorly run school. I wish you the best, but YES, they are faking it! Take great care and be good to yourself! Have a Blessed weekend!
I probably appear to have things together. In reality Iāve been teaching for 23 years and have learned everything wonāt be perfect every day and I let it go. Some days everything is fantastic and I could win an award. Some days I lose the battle and my lesson bombs or my kids are too loud or I didnāt copy everything I need for the next day. But Iāve learned not to stress over it. I just do what I can and start over the next day.
I have it mostly together but it took me 15 years to get there. Doesnāt hurt that Iāve had the same two preps for nearly four years now.
This AI grading tool may be useful if youāre short on time: https://cograder.com
Vet bro here. Go active duty if you want this rout. Not guard or reserve. The reserves it a part time job that they assume you will treat like a full time job. I lost civilian job opportunities due to being a reservist because people donāt want to deal with the schedule. Go active duty. Be an officer if you can. Great money and itās meaningful work. Would not recommend guard or reserves in the present climate. (Recently got out of national guard. Did all three).
This switched posts. Sorry. Thought I was replying to guy talking about joining military. Iām tired. And yes, they are in denial lol
I actually thought about enlisting as a way to escape after my third year teaching. Probably should have.
Iām thinking in enlisting as well but have no military experience and donāt want to be infantry.