Excuses for Being Absent Family members impede kids from attending school in some very strange ways. Excuses include a mom who refused to drive her kid to school because she had her period (I relate to this but I’d rather endure the car ride and get rid of my kid for the day), a grandma …
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.
The school nurse shortage in America and elsewhere continues to get worse with no good (or appropriate) solutions in sight. Despite teachers and school nurses all reaching high levels of burnout, one government’s solution to address the school nurse shortage is potentially downright dangerous. School Nurse Shortage The amount of things that teachers are expected …
While there is a primary focus on students who bully in schools right now, there are few published studies on parents and students who bully teachers. Research shows that a fifth of teachers have been abused online by students or their parents. In most of these cases, absolutely nothing was done, even the incidents that …
It’s always a gamble come the holidays or the end of the year when it comes to what (if any) gifts admin will give the teachers. While many schools are generous during Teacher Appreciation Week with massages, delicious lunches, and more, some admin opt for crappy puns and useless junk. After polling other teachers on …
Student aggression in the classroom happens all too often despite a teacher’s warnings about a violent student. Later when a student attacks a teacher, the teacher is often blamed for the incident. The following is about a teacher who suffered severe injury from one such violent student assault. Early Concerns with a Violent Student Kim …
As a veteran teacher, I’ve come to find that becoming a new teacher is a lot like becoming a new parent. In fact, a lot of the new teacher advice I received after graduation also doubles as great advice for new parents. New Teacher Advice I’ve received my fair share of new teacher advice from …
If you’re one of the lucky schools that has a school nurse on staff, you’ve likely sent plenty of students there for various reasons. Whether they’re getting hurt at recess or start running a fever after lunch, kids constantly seem like they’re suffering some ailment. Not surprisingly, many students don’t have legitimate reasons to visit …
Look, we all know what it’s like to be really tired. But do you know what it’s like to be teacher tired? Most of us pulled a few “all-nighters” in college (whether to study, get wasted, or just a consequence of experimenting with coffee, energy drinks and/or stimulants.) But that’s something we probably did on …
In my book More Teacher Misery, I focused a lot on the lack of consequences for deplorable behavior in schools across the country. However, there is a serious crisis that requires immediate attention. The sexual harassment of teachers by students. This atrocious and often dangerous behavior is mostly ignored by the administration because they are …
Teacher professional development is defined as “a variety of specialized training, formal education, or advanced professional learning intended to help teachers improve their professional knowledge, competence, skill, and effectiveness.” I honestly don’t think most teachers would have a problem going to these training sessions if we actually learned something from them. Rather, these awful professional …
According to multiple studies on the prevention of school shootings, these tragedies can be prevented by identifying warning signs of violent intentions beforehand. Students’ intentions are typically “leaked” through talking with peers, school assignments, online behavior, and/or interactions with parents. Oftentimes, teachers are the first to see concerning behavior from at-risk students in the classroom. …
Sex education is that wonderfully awful class filled with weird and wild questions with that we love to hate. It’s awkward and uncomfortable for everyone involved, but boy does it lead to some hilarious comments! To commiserate in our collective misery, I asked a handful of sex ed teachers to share the funniest or most …