#Teaching rant

[invincible-selfxmade-punk]

Big fat teaching rant under the cut

Unlike last year where the kids were just jerks, kids this year are really really low as far as achievement and grade level.

I have no idea what they were taught in elementary school but they're just so far behind in everything. And it's not just intellectually they are emotionally like second graders.

I am honestly thinking about maybe next year studying to get certified in early childhood development because I don't feel like I'm equipped to teach kids at such a low level.

Being certified to teach 4th grade through 8th grade I assumed I will reach a happy medium of teaching maybe 6th grade.

But for the last 2 years the kids that are coming in are not at grade level. And it seems like each year they are lower and lower. I would really have to know how to teach and manage a class of first and second graders in order to be able to teach fourth grade.

Physically they are 4th graders but mentally, emotionally and behaviorally they're in first and second grade. I have one that can't count past 15. In another class, one couldn't tell me which number was bigger between 22 and 27.

It's to the point where the kids that are on the gifted and talented list are just regular 4th graders. There is nothing exceptional about them, the other kids are just that low.

As far as behavior, some days are good and some days are bad. I have spent so much time and just trying to get my 10th period(last class of the day) kids to stop talking long enough for me to even give them instructions, they are almost a week behind everyone else.

The other classes have good and bad days and one day I think I've got them corraled, they're quiet and they're listening and then the next day is chaos again.

I can't even get them to put their notebooks back in the same place every day. I can tell them where to put it. I can stand there and show them where to put it and the minute I move away they are putting it on a different shelf.

Today I gave the following instructions:

" get out your composition books. Turn to page 7.

Then you are going to copy down the I can statement from the board."

The I can statement said I can review this chapter by answering questions on page 79.

In EVERY SINGLE CLASS;

"Miss!!! We don't have a page 79 in our composition books"

"No. You are WRITING this on pg 7 of your composition book. The questions are on pg 79 of your TEXTBOOK."

(10 seconds later)

"Miss! I can't find page 79 in my composition book cuz you didn't tell us to number the pages that far!"

"No. I JUST SAID, you write on PAGE 7 of your composition book. The questions are on pg 79 of your TEXTBOOK."

"Miss!! I don't see any questions on page 7."

I am not kidding and I am not embellishing. I had to answer that question about 75 times in one day.

I'm guessing these kids were in preschool and kindergarten when covid hit and they never made it up. They are at such a deficit that I worry about them even being able to go through school and complete it. I see them getting frustrated around freshman year and just dropping out and never coming back.

[circular-bircular]

I hope it's alright to ask a question like this! As a system who hopes to work with children in the future, I'd like to ask if you've found that having childhood trauma affects how you work with kids or how it feels to work with them. We get scared a lot that working with kids might somehow trigger us or make us feel unhappy just because we had a bad childhood, and while I know you and I do not have the same childhood and probably won't have the exact same experiences I think asking someone about this could give us some good insight :) However I know that this could be maybe an uncomfy question? so please don't feel like you're under any obligation to answer!!! I hope you have an amazing day!!!! - Sleepy of @endless-hourglass

I'm so sorry it took me so long to get back to you! I joined a group blog recently and my inbox got absolutely buried!

Childhood trauma has absolutely impacted my ability to teach kids. It's been... so terrifying and so interesting and so useful, being the way I am. I'm actually going to plug this under the cut, because it can be intense, looking into all this, and I'm also about to RAMBLE. Teaching and how trauma impacts people are the two biggest passions of mine to discuss.

Trauma has impacted how I teach massively. I will say, teaching is absolutely my passion, and I adore my job. I'm so happy I get to be there for these kids, that I get to take care of them and help them grow and become better people.

Note: TW for trigger talk, trauma mentions, and mentions of depression, sui, and sh.

It is also hard as shit and I amaze myself each day for being able to handle this garbage.

Teaching in a school is absolutely triggering. You have to deal with ableism constantly, reminders of your past that you'd rather forget about, and kids being kids. Sometimes, it's not even shit you can help. I've had students who share the name of one of my abusers, many times, and just seeing that name was enough to make me dissociate horribly.

... However.

That does not make it inaccessible. It just means you have to adapt.

At work, the majority of staff (and by that I mean, those who speak with me and the relevant administration) know that I have "memory problems" and need "additional reminders." If ever asked, or if I felt the need to share, I've mentioned that I have a "mental disorder that impacts memory acquisition." I've been incredibly upfront about having autism, and I've shared with a handful of teachers that I have "an incredibly severe/what is considered one of the most severe trauma disorders." One teacher knows I have dissociative identity disorder -- she's a bestie of mine.

The reason I shared these things? Accommodations. My work has been incredibly happy to work with me, particularly because it's obvious I'm willing to do what needs to get done to not only appease the standards, but do my best for the students. I take this shit seriously, I get good results, and so they need me to stay. If that means sending a few more reminder emails than is usually expected, all the better.

This, obviously, doesn't cover for everything. I can call my administrator to get 5 minutes out of class because, "I'm triggered right now and need a breather," but that doesn't negate the effects of the trigger on me, and I still need to handle it. So I do. That's the beautiful thing about teaching for me: I can not only learn to handle my shit, but I can teach the kids how to handle theirs.

For instance: The student I had with my abusers name. I saw it and I immediately dissociated pretty harshly. I couldn't handle seeing her name. It hurt too badly and brought out our protector (who, funny enough, hates teaching. He deals with it since we all enjoy it, though).

So, here's what I did: I got good. No, literally. I mean, it would've been horrific for that poor child if I asked her to use a nickname in my class, or if I avoided her name entirely. People deserve to be called by their names. So I worked on overcoming that trigger. I meditated, I spoke with my parts, I spoke with my therapist, and I internalized, processed, and compartmentalized the shit I'd been through.

This doesn't mean the trigger doesn't affect me anymore. It sometimes still does. But I got good enough at taking a breath and saying, "She isn't her, and she will never be here, and it'll be okay" that I can now handle seeing the name on my roster.

This goes for all of my school based triggers. They still affect me -- I'm still healing, after all, and that'll be a lifelong process -- but I don't let them impact my value.

The thing is, even when I was dissociative, I could manage that. I might not be the Best Teacher Ever, I might not do everything correctly, but I do know one thing well: emotional regulation and how to display that.

I have a lot of stress toys in my room, and I let my students use them. I let them know I use them myself. I show the kids how many grades I have at any given moment, to remind them that I am only human and can only do so many at a time. I have a flip-plush octopus that goes from sleepy to angry, and I use that to show the students MY mood -- "No, this doesn't necessarily mean I'm angry, but it does mean I'm having a ROUGH day, and so I want you to know that if I'm snappy or mean, it's because my octopus is flipped and I need to calm down." The kids can see instantly that I"m not at my best, *I* can see I'm not at my best, and by the end of one class period, it usually ends up being flipped back, because (and never let yourself forget this fact)... the kids care.

They care so damn much about you. A lot of them try not to show it, or will actively rail against it, but when you treat them like the people -- not children -- that they are? They will give that back to you. And the thing is, as much as it sucks to admit, these kids are absolutely going through trauma. These are students who have come to me about self harm. About depression. About being a DID system due to child abuse. They are eleven and they write me poetry about death. I've had to mandatory report numerous times, helping a child escape horrific domestic violence because of it.

It's triggering, yes. But I also know what to do. I've studied trauma and I've learned how to regulate myself, because I'm an adult and I can do that. These kids can't. Nobody is there to teach them, because the ones hurting them are the ones who are supposed to be teaching them those regulation skills. it sucks, the world sucks, their parents suck--

But you have the opportunity to make it better.

My trauma is a burden. It hurts and is heavy and I'm tired of carrying it. But I will always value the lessons and the teaching I have wrung from it. I am grateful that I can help traumatized students. I am grateful that my trauma-based learning sessions are boring for me, because I know all of it already. I am grateful that I can provide standard practice suggestions for troubled students, that I can say, "Actually, I've noticed that so and so seems to be triggered by being seated with their back to the door," and see the neurotypical eyes light up in shock at that revelation.

You have the power to be someone so special for these kids: you could be the person who understands them.

That's why I wanted to be a teacher in the first place.

HOOOOOO Boy sorry for the ramble!! I just... I have spent so long hating being disabled. Recently, I've found joy in what I"ve learned, at least. I hope things go well for you, anon. <3

[ricejustdidthings]

Just saw a post about ODD and how it’s overdiagnosed, fantastic post, Will reblog shortly — but I didn’t wanna derail and I have a story.

My second student teaching practicum was with an 11th grade English class. Practicums are where teachers-in-training go to schools and watch other teachers do their stuff. Over time, the one in training starts doing the lessons. This was an observational practicum, with a One Lesson a Unit practical session.

After I saw one day’s worth of classes, my mentor teacher sat me down and walked me through the IEP/504 binder she had. I was very lucky to have an organized mentor that year, and one who had a lot of diversity in her roster. She had a student with incredibly high-support autism, a large amount of students with incontinence, plenty of other things — and most notably, a student with ODD.

I say most notably because this kid, the teacher stopped on and said “I’m sure you noticed him in class today,” in an exasperated tone. She explained she was at her wits end and wished he could be moved to a different class. She told me to just “do my best” with him, and to not expect much.

The thing is, I didn’t notice him in class that day. He had seemed just like every other kid. After that conversation, I had to actively work hard to ignore the prejudice she had set me up with, where I caught myself over analyzing his actions to see what he was doing to oppose me. How fucked is that?

The day of my first practical lesson comes around, and this kid plays it up massively. He’s honestly hilarious — he laughs it up a lot, pretends to be the perfect student. He raises his hand to answer a question, I call on him (I can see his classmates waiting in anticipation, thinking I’ve made a mistake), and he shouts “hold on, let me get a drink of water real fast.”

He then proceeds to take his water bottle and waterfall the entire thing into his mouth.

Now, keep in mind, I was being observed by my supervisor and the teacher mentor. I was sweating bullets the entire day. I was terrified. But the thing is…. He’s just a normal fucking kid.

So I treated him that way. I crossed my arms, smiled, and didn’t stop him. The class laughed a bunch, and he swallowed, and laughed.

And I stared him down, and said “you good? Looked refreshing.”

“Yes ma’am. What was the question again?”

I repeated it. And he answered it. And the class (a little more giggly than before) moved on.

After the class was done, both the teacher and my supervisor sang my praises. Apparently, I had handled his “opposition” perfectly by “not showing him it affected me.” And I’m just… he was just joking around. He was being a teenage boy while he still could. It was completely harmless, and honestly, I’m just happy he’s drinking water.

All this is to say: ODD as a diagnosis is fucking hell for kids in school. Teachers allow themselves to be prejudiced against kids who are labeled with “problematic” disorders, and it leads to so much drama. I wish it weren’t like this. The system needs to be better for kids like him.

[sniffanimal]

god I could be so wealthy if I had no ethics. that's so fucking frustrating. I'm living paycheck to paycheck because I'm not grifting vulnerable idiots on TikTok. I feel like I have the ability to very easily scam people. I could make a killing with AI. but god. I have morals and ethics and so I get to be poor as shit. I hate this fucking world

this post got too much attention so I sniffered it

[abubblingcandle]

Um so as an actual English History teacher ... This may be the case in some schools. It absolutely was the case 10 years ago but tarring every school in the modern day with the same brush just makes it so much harder for teachers to actually do their job and teach people so here you go:

"It's not compulsory" - no it isn't. But how the National Curriculum for History works is that there are categories and you have to cover something in that category. The only thing that is compulsory for History teachers to teach is the Holocaust. So making the statement that something is "not compulsory" shows a complete lack of understanding of how teacher's design a history curriculum. Indian and Australian colonies are recommended teaching in two different categories, British Empire with a depth study is recommended in one category, Ireland and the Home Rule movement recommended in another category, end of Empire in another category. It is also compulsory to do at least one in depth study of a major world period from a different part of the world (my curriculum does Mughal India).

"It's not taught" - So Year 8 in my curriculum we teach a whole topic on slavery running through the transatlantic slave trade, abolition, emancipation and even a short lesson series on the civil rights movement all the way to modern day. And in Year 8 we also teach the British Empire with special focus on South Africa, India and Australia. In year 9 we teach the Home Rule Movement and the Troubles.

I get really defensive over this because yes the school system is not perfect, yes there is so much I want to cover and teach these kids but I only get two hours with them a week.

But when you start getting kids coming into school with things they have read online and fighting against teachers or parents coming in and slating teachers for not teaching things right without considering that maybe, just maybe things aren't staying the same as they were ten years ago. Kids coming up to me at school and refusing to listen in my lessons because "teachers don't teach the important stuff anyway and I learn what is important from the internet". That is when it becomes dangerous.

Absolutely keep fighting for things to change country wide, I know there will still be racist teachers out there who do teach these topics wrong. And there is a massive push in the UK Humanities Teacher's community at the moment to decolonise curriculums.

But please do it with an understanding about what designing a curriculum is actually like (answer: fucking hard) and what teachers are doing to make it better.

I thot Oliver Cromwell died

[ghostember]

heres some gouache sardines

[frownyalfred]

may I suggest the “Everyone breaks” / “But not you.” / “Everyone breaks. Even me” conversation for an angsty Batfamily fic? Bruce calmly explaining to each subsequent Robin that there will be a point where everyone — even him — will break under torture. because to break is to be human, ultimately. their job, just like Bruce’s, is to hold out long enough that breaking isn’t yet a possibility. long enough to be found, to be rescued, to be safe. your job is to banter, to deflect, to drag things out and speed them up where applicable. to keep away from your breaking point at all costs. because you will break. it’s not a question of if, but when. and knowing exactly where that breaking point is for yourself will always be an asset, not a liability. the people who go into interrogation assuming they will never break - those are the liabilities. they will break hard and fast because it is so unexpected.

or, the one where Bruce trains Robins to outlast torture methods that have put JL members on the floor, but it’s not because he trains them physically. it’s a mental game, and his birds play it like masters.

[grimalkinmessor]

Nah that shit deserves a ban from AO3 forfuckingEVER. nyuuzyou scrapping over 63 MILLION fics from AO3 and uploading them to AI is a fucking bannable offense. Yeet their IP address into the ether

[andsewingishalfthebattle]

Novice sewing pattern: Cut out shapes. Line up the little triangles on the edges. Stitch edges together. We've also included step-by-step assembly instructions with illustrations.

Novice knitting pattern: yOU MUSt uNDerstANd thE SECret cOdE CO67 (73, 87, 93) BO44 (63, 76, 90) 28 (32, 34) slip first pw repeat 7x K to end *kl (pl) 42 * until 13" (13, 13, 15) join new at 30 pl for 17 rows ssk 27 k2tog mattress lengthwise BO and sacrifice a goat to the knitting gods. WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU WANT "INSTRUCTIONS," I JUST GAVE THEM TO YOU

[margindoodles2407]

Alright, everyone, say it with me: The Catholic Church Has No Power Or Authority To Change Her Doctrines Or The Moral Law

[ihateswansmorethananything]

What the hell did I just make

[invincible-selfxmade-punk]

Teaching rent

because it's been awhile since I posted the last one

If the fourth graders next year are as low as the fourth graders this year, I don't know what I'm going to do.

And when I say paragraph I really mean two sentences. Three maximum.

We have been in school for 6 months. Today I tried a new tactic.

They are given pre-printed notes. They only have to fill in one word her paragraph. ONE WORD.

I read the notes to them because most of them cannot read for themselves. So yesterday I read this line:

The purpose of the Texas Rangers when they were formed was to protect the frontier from native americans.

I then asked them to underline that sentence in their notes. I then asked them to repeat after me. I read the sentence allowed and had them repeat it.

Now I did ask them to underline two or three other things in their notes none of which had anything to do with Native Americans or the Texas Rangers.

20 minutes later, I asked,

Who what was the original purpose of the Texas Rangers?

Look back at your notes period Look At what I ask you to underline And tell me what the original purpose of the Texas Rangers was.

18 BLANK STARES!!!!

[tacitusk1llwhore]

I think one of the most unrealistic parts of RDR2 is how good all of the gang’s seats on horseback are with how high their hands are, no heels down, and how slouched a lot of them are.

For the non horsey people, your balance comes from a good base—sitting straight, hands down so as not to balance on the reins and therefore the horse’s mouth and heels down to distribute weight evenly, keep your feet from slipping in the stirrups, and so on and so forth. There is NO way Arthur’s sitting trot is that beautiful and motionless as he’s hunched over and his heels are neutral, meaning he’s either gripping tight elsewhere in his body or feels like he’s on a rollercoaster. Probably both.

I still sometimes struggle to sit the trot comfortably with everything done right. Not meaning to go on a horse girl rant, but I was just watching their forms because I was teaching today, and proper form was on my mind. And my god, do they ride like “cowboys” (derogatory) (by “cowboys”, I mean the older guys you get that insist they do everything right and don’t listen to studies like the 20% rule or…not mounting from the ground to protect the horse’s spine.) But honestly, it makes sense now why when your horse so much as trips, he goes flying off. Man is so unbalanced and forward in the saddle, it’s insane. Anyway, horse girl rant over. I will go on more semi-drunk horse girl RDR2 rants if y’all want me to.

[emloafs]

we may watch the same show but i watch it gayer

[ozzgin]

Since we’re having AI do art and literature, can we also replace the podcast bros with robots? Let ChatGPT talk about the problem with the world today while they slave away in some warehouse. Someone has to do the actual labour.

[study-diaries]

Things I do instead of studying...

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Watch study motivation

Read study motivation quotes

Think about studying

Worry about not studying

Lay in bed doing nothing

Daydream

Chat with friends

Have slight mental breakdowns because of studying

Wondering why i don't have time to study