After running the Teacher Misery social media account for over ten years, I’ve become a bit of a receptacle for outrageous stories. Some of them are heartbreaking and tragic… Many are wild and hard to believe… But my favorite ones are just downright hilarious! Of course, the hilarious stories tend to have a hint of …
Jane Morris, Queen of Commiseration
Jane Morris is the pen name of an ex-teacher who would really like to tell you more about herself but is worried awful administrators will come after her for spilling their dirty little secrets. Jane has taught English for over 15 years in a major American city. She received her B.A. in English and Secondary Education from a well-known university and her M.A. in Writing and Literature from an even fancier (and more expensive) university. As a professional queen of commiseration turned published author, Jane’s foremost passion in life is to make people laugh through the tears.
She has written several highly acclaimed books unpacking the reality of teaching and life inside the school system. You can view her full library of works here.
Allow me to take you on a journey back in time to before the rise of mobile phones in classrooms. Call this a whimsical misadventure to see why phones should NOT be allowed in schools. When I first started teaching in 2007, most kids did not have a smartphone. We also did not have Smartboards …
Despite strikes being illegal in the state of Massachusetts, 98% of the Newton Public School union (2,000 members) voted to authorize a strike starting Jan. 19.
Health and sex educators around the U.S. shared some very amusing beliefs their students had at the beginning of their sexual health courses. Thank goodness they were actually enrolled in these classes because if this is the kind of thing kids believe (that Mountain Dew is effective birth control), we as a species are doomed.
Teacher dress codes exist, whether written or implied. Should there be one? Well, do you trust the adults you hired to be able to dress appropriately for work? If you said no, you need to examine your hiring practices or just sit down and be quiet.
Teacher burnout is REAL, and if you’re not careful, the symptoms are coming for YOU. The World Health Organization classifies burnout as an “occupational phenomenon” – a legitimate occupational hazard that organizations need to address. While not classified as a medical condition, it can easily lead to serious health problems, both mental and physical. Burnout …
Charlene Lynch picked up some strategies to help handle the daily onslaught of stress and nonsense in teaching. She also has some excellent advice for teachers looking to leave the profession.
I recently received a message from a bullied teacher that stuck with me. It said, “When we came back to the classroom after the pandemic, I was really struggling with suicidal ideation. I finally talked to my principal about it, and she warned me that they would post my teaching job as a vacancy before …
Students throw out all kinds of excuses for not getting their homework done! From believable excuses to the tried and true classic “my dog ate it”, teachers hear a lot of excuses every damn day. It doesn’t help that by now, the behavioral expectations for students have become so loose that students can pretty much …
Why did the teacher wear sunglasses when she came to class? Because her students were bright. Heyyyooo!!! I’ll show myself the door. Actually, no I won’t! Because today, the topic is funny teacher jokes, and I got stacks on stacks. However, I’ve mixed it up in this post. We’re not just covering jokes about school …
Ahhh, exam season. The pinnacles of crunch, stress, and an inane amount of marking! However, there is one bright spot to the standardized season: reading all the funny exam answers by students. Truly, students write some funny test answers. And a lot of whacked-out workings too! And though we can’t give any marks for the …
Welcome! I suspect that if you’ve arrived here looking for reasons to quit teaching, you already found a few of your own. Making the call on when it’s time to quit teaching is no easy feat. There’s a lot of fear that hangs over our heads about what we’ll do after quitting and to where …