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 trainings if we actually learned something from them. Instead, they are almost always a …
Humor
I never taught an AP class, mostly because of the workload. Your average AP student is going to turn in every major assignment, and in AP English class, that would mean a ton of essays to grade. I never would have thought that kids would write funny wrong answers on their AP exams, mostly because …
Do you need to know how to write a resignation letter for teaching? You’ve had it with being a teacher. You’re done. Maybe you’ll try another school or district, or perhaps you never want to be within fifty miles of a school again. Both are understandable. However, you’ll need to write an official letter of …
One of my favorite parts of teaching is the ridiculous excuses that students and parents try to throw at me. Sometimes they are so detailed and specific that I wish they would tell me less or just lie to me altogether. During a normal school year, students try to use excuses to leave early, not …
NOTE: This story is from my first year of teaching, which was in 2006. At that time, “furries” was not a concept that was widely known. (I’m not sure that it is now, but believe it or not, I still get some comments that ridicule me for not knowing things like that.) Pansexual was also …
Recently I decided to try to transfer to a school that’s closer to where I live. I didn’t prepare much for my first interview because I had over a decade’s worth of experience. The teacher interview questions they asked me were jam-packed with the latest educational jargon, and at times I couldn’t even decipher what …
People who have never taught don’t quite understand just how stressful it can be. Teacher stress is much worse than the stress you encounter in many other careers. Not only are teachers “on” all day, but they often work extra hours outside of contract work and act as mentors, caregivers, peacemakers, social workers, and more …
After a teacher gets through their first few years of dressing the part, they tend to fall into a comfortable pattern of attire. And what they choose often reveals a lot about them! See what your teacher clothes reveal about you below! Teacher Clothes Most teachers fall into one of the following teacher clothing categories. …
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 …
As a teacher, you see every possible thing imaginable in the classroom. And the craziness only changes and morphs from preschool through college. There’s always going to be the odd kid who eats his boogers, or the kid who talks to dead people (seriously), but one of the most entertaining (and frustrating) situations is students …
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 …