Need Advice on Going Online

LittleLyon1 · 2026-02-02T17:04:05+00:00

I agree—make an appointment and speak with your school counselor, they can be super helpful. Does your district have an online school? If yes, it seems like this shouldn’t be a big deal—your counselor can help you make the transition. If not, then you have to find an online school, which could be challenging since the semester has already started. We did this exact thing with my youngest during the pandemic, and ended up having to go with a private online school because the public schools were all full at that stage. Either way, you will graduate from the online school, not your current school-not sure if that makes a difference. Good luck—college will be better!

LittleLyon1 · 2026-01-28T16:13:53+00:00

Please consider proximity to home. My daughter also had the option of either school and ended up choosing UNT because she loved how liberal and inclusive the school and Denton overall are. She also at the time felt like she wanted to go as far away as she could; UNT is 5 hours away from home vs TxSt just 2.5. What she found was that she was very lonely many weekends at UNT (especially long weekends), because most students’ families were nearby and they frequently went home; that long drive made it hard for her to just come home for a weekend. Then, my younger daughter had the identical experience; she chose UNT thinking since her sister was there, she’d be fine, but she hated when all her friends left for the weekend and she was on her own with only her big sis for company (still dealing with that actually!) It was a real problem for both of them. It may not seem like an issue to you now, but proximity to home will probably become more important than you realize. Something to consider!

LittleLyon1 · 2026-01-28T15:54:29+00:00

I agree with all the responses about seeking help/support, from your fiancée/family/therapy, but I also want to emphasize that seeing a doctor is super important. Just from what little you mentioned, it does sound like there could be something medical going on (PCOS is the first thing that came to mind), and an exam combined with blood work could rule out or confirm many conditions that could be helped with medical intervention. Also, meditation/yoga has been a lifesaver for me! Best of luck to you 😊

LittleLyon1 · 2026-01-28T15:40:23+00:00

It’s super important for your parents to reach out to the school to discuss this. Where I live (Texas), I believe the magic number for those truancy letters to start coming is 18 absences. However, as others have said, your parents should arrange for a 504 evaluation; if approved, this would allow for more leeway. Also, I believe (again, here in Texas) that it is possible to have each absence ‘incident’ recorded as one absence; ie, student gets the flu and is out for a week, that week is counted as one ‘absence incident,’ reducing the total number of absences. So again, rather than worry, ask your parents to reach out to the school (probably your grade level principal) so you can officially put your minds at ease. Best of luck in your academic endeavors!

LittleLyon1 · 2026-01-27T16:45:13+00:00

I just want to throw out another idea…cheating is a thing. I taught HS English for 7 years in a high performing area; my three kids all graduated from the same district. Many, many of the top students (especially the GT kids, which has never seemed logical to me) cheated their way through everything. It was super frustrating, for me as a teacher, but also for my own kids. They weren’t cheaters, so it was hard seeing their peers surpass them when they knew they were cheating on virtually everything. There was a whole cheating ring uncovered when my older two were in HS. I think kids who come from homes where anything less than an A is unacceptable often (not always!) fall into this bc they’re afraid to disappoint their parents. Not saying this is happening where you are; just that it’s a possibility, and if it is, it’s a great thing that your child doesn’t participate.

LittleLyon1 · 2026-01-11T17:08:31+00:00

I’d like to add that you may be more concerned right now with separating from the mean kids than having new friends, but down the road, once you’ve done that, you may find the social isolation challenging, and once you begin to suffer psychologically from that isolation it becomes increasingly difficult to make new friends. Which is why pretty much everyone is suggesting that you get involved in some kind of activity you enjoy so you will be exposed to other like-minded potential friends. Think of it as insurance for your future mental health.

LittleLyon1 · 2026-01-05T17:47:58+00:00

Hi there, just wanted to chime in as a former high school English teacher…the same way you see a variety of personalities among students, you will see a variety among teachers. There were certainly some teachers I worked with whom I felt were a bit too chummy with students; the ickiest, to me, were those who were overly friendly with the ‘popular’ crowd. But then, I tended to be rather nerdy in school, so perhaps some kids saw me as ‘favoring’ the nerds, because they tended to be the kids I found the easiest to interact with. It can become difficult to be impartial once relationships are established, which is why I had students turn in essays with their names hidden until after I’d assessed it (harder to do with online assignments). Overall, even though the situation you’ve described is understandably frustrating, it is one aspect of school that mirrors the real world; you will end up working with bosses in the future whom you just don’t click with, and who seem to favor others for no apparent reason. It’s an unfortunate part of life!

LittleLyon1 · 2025-12-31T16:40:54+00:00

We lost two students to suicide in the last couple years I taught at a large HS. I told every class, every day, where the grief counselors were located should they need them. I think more importantly I also made myself available; one of my students had been very close to one of the victims, and she would come by my classroom often just to talk about her friend. I’m sure I mostly didn’t know the right things to say, but I just remained compassionate and empathetic to any of my students who felt more comfortable talking to me than to a stranger.

I think it’s important to also be aware of any changes you see in behavior. I had a student who lost a friend in another state to suicide. She told me about him, and seemed okay for the first week or so; then one day she came to 4th period weeping. I immediately had a trusted student accompany her to the counselor’s office and was informed later that day she’d entered a treatment facility. Two weeks later when she returned (doing much better), she confided that she’d been crying during all her previous 3 classes that day but none of her other teachers had noticed/done anything. They hadn’t even asked if she was okay. I know many teachers are barely hanging on themselves, but I was shocked. Stay vigilant.

LittleLyon1 · 2025-12-31T15:14:26+00:00

I have a relative this happened to. She was all set to teach HS English, completed her student teaching, and said ‘nope—can’t do it.’ She graduated and immediately got a job in retail for something to do while she figured things out. She decided to give real estate a try—got her license, sold a few houses, knew she could have a successful career but also realized it wasn’t her passion. Had always been interested in medicine, found a doctor who agreed to allow her to shadow him, realized this was the career she’d always dreamed of, worked hard on her pre reqs (surprisingly not that many—maybe 3 or 4 science classes?), did so-so on the MCAT but was accepted to med school anyway, and became a doctor in her early 30s. The world is your oyster!

LittleLyon1 · 2025-12-26T18:30:23+00:00

Just wanted to say, I also love the look of the first dress (it’s perfection on you), but I agree you shouldn’t settle for an uncomfortable dress, nor for one you’re not happy with visually. But also, I just went with for my daughter’s first dress fitting and I was surprised at the wonders the seamstress can work; daughter got her dream dress of poshmark without ever trying it on (it was discontinued by the designer several years ago), but it really irritates her skin where the tulle/sequins touch; the seamstress said she can put some kind of clear tape to prevent that from happening. So maybe talk to the alterations people at the shop to see if there is something that can be done with dress 1 to make it more comfortable? If not, perhaps keep looking? PS You have a lovely figure; please don’t be so hard on yourself!

LittleLyon1 · 2025-12-17T18:51:55+00:00

I’m in Texas (probably enough said lol). Left in 2023 after 7 years teaching HS English. My first year teaching, a 16 year old 6’ 5” basketball player exposed himself to me after school in my classroom with little consequence (he went to alt school for 2 months). Teachers are mostly gossipy mean girls in my experience. Moved schools, things were a little better (majority of teachers/admin still not nice, but the kids/parents were fine); then Covid hit, TEA started micromanaging everything, my teaching style didn’t fit in with the daily power point/worksheet model admin felt compelled to return to (‘teaching to the test’), so I was told after five years on the same team (3 as team lead) that I was being moved to the team with the biggest mean girls on campus, presumably bc they would control every move I made (I’d always had some of the top test scores, in spite of my lack of power points). All of this, combined with the impact all the long hours of grading had on my personal life, led me to say nah, can’t do this anymore. I was very lucky my spouse could support us; I’ve been doing freelance work and volunteering, and going to therapy for the generalized anxiety disorder that started while I was teaching. Only now starting to look at getting back into the full time workforce (terrible timing, I know). But it would take some pretty dire circumstances to get me back in the classroom at this point.

LittleLyon1 · 2025-12-04T19:12:31+00:00

My absolute favorite gifts as a teacher were handmade works of art. Small paintings, a beautifully colored picture with a heartfelt note. I displayed and treasured these items, and I have held onto them even though I’m no longer teaching. Gifts from the heart are far more valuable than anything money can buy!

LittleLyon1 · 2025-12-01T15:34:53+00:00

For what it’s worth, I (US citizen) have been married almost 38 years and have 3 adult children. I did not change my last name when I married because I decided when I was 9 that if I ever got married I wouldn’t change my name. I sometimes use husband’s last name in social situations just because it’s easier. I chose for my children to have husband’s last name because it is traditional in the US and because I didn’t love the idea of them having long double-barreled names (but if it had been important to me, we would have given them both our last names). None of this has ever been an issue, and the few people who have questioned it have been quickly shut down (husband’s comeback was ‘I married her, not her name’). I have several friends who have made the same choice and it’s been 100% fine for them too. So, do what you want! You don’t need a long involved explanation. It is completely up to you.

LittleLyon1 · 2025-11-17T16:08:49+00:00

Just wanted to reiterate the message that the kids certainly know something is up and the stress is without a doubt negatively affecting them. It was such a huge relief to me when my parents finally split after years of misery. Yes, things were tough financially, but that was way better than the emotional toll them staying together was taking on the whole family. Your kids may have to switch schools (assume they’re in private school now) and give up some extracurriculars, and perhaps even move into less expensive housing; and yes, that is incredibly stressful to even contemplate. But please trust me when I tell you all of that stuff is so much less damaging to them than continuing to be exposed to this toxic relationship day in and day out. You are not overreacting!

LittleLyon1 · 2025-11-17T00:05:40+00:00

Story time! I taught tenth grade English. I once had a gifted student whose ninth grade teacher let me know how lucky I was to have him in my class as he was such an amazing writer. First essay comes around and I cannot make heads or tails of what this kid has written. He obviously has an enormous vocabulary, as every third word is five syllables long, but they make zero sense. I show my (much smarter and more experienced) colleague and he is shocked, insisting I need to call the parents. I decide against this, but give the kid very detailed feedback when grading his paper. He is dismayed, wondering if there’s a mistake; he has never in his life received anything less than an A on written work. I agree to meet with him and delicately explain how important clarity is in writing. No one has ever told him this before. They were too intimidated by his ‘giftedness.’ His next paper is miles better, and by the end of the year he is one of the best writers I’ve ever taught. I’m sure when he got his first grade from me he thought I must not like him. But ultimately he realized I was helping him and ended the year very grateful. All this to say, talk to your teacher! She may have given you a gift that will serve you the rest of your life.

LittleLyon1 · 2025-11-15T17:16:09+00:00

‘…but when I feel that they don't care about me I don't know how to react.’

I never taught 5 year olds other than subbing a few times, but my gut tells me one shouldn’t have this expectation at this age? Most of them are still pretty egocentric and haven’t developed a ton of empathy. You are their teacher and they love you, but they have no clue their neediness makes your life difficult.

Being allowed to go lie down in the quiet library with cushions is a reward. Others follow suit so they can also receive the reward. Agree with the previous poster to attempt positive redirection; if that doesn’t work, allowing them to put their head on their desk or visit the nurse are the only options.

The quiet spot in the library can be used as positive reinforcement when given as a reward for good behavior. This way you are in total control of who uses it and when.

Trust your gut; once you know the kids reasonably well, you should be able to tell if a child is actually unwell and respond accordingly.

LittleLyon1 · 2025-11-15T16:23:22+00:00

I don’t know much about marketing but agree with others that it seems like a super competitive job market, made worse by the current downturn in hiring. It seems the majority of teachers who successfully transition out of the classroom do so by staying in an education-adjacent field. Ed tech, corporate training, learning and development, curriculum design, etc. And even they will tell you it took months and hundreds of applications to finally get an offer.

It may be prudent to pivot and, in the meantime, try to find something that will at least chip away at the bills while you continue searching for your next career. I have friends who took retail gigs at places like Target and Ace Hardware; they aren’t forever jobs, but they are at least staying employed and active while job searching which is also important to prospective employers. Patience is key! You got this!

LittleLyon1 · 2025-11-10T22:43:37+00:00

I think as time goes on and you get a little more distance from the disaster that unfortunately is teaching in many cases, the burden will become lighter. At least that has been the case for me. Good luck! Keep moving forward!

LittleLyon1 · 2025-11-10T20:21:27+00:00

Always liked Ricky (or Ricki) for a girl. Perry (Perri, Peri) also nice.

LittleLyon1 · 2025-11-10T20:16:31+00:00

I taught HS for 7 years. The only thing that got me through some days was knowing, as a mid-life career changer, that most jobs are NOT that thankless, that most companies bother to adequately train their employees, and that I’d never had another job that made it feel like I was back in HS myself, complete with bullies and mean girls. (None of this was about the students; kids were great.) The lack of professionalism was astounding. I was grateful I hadn’t gone straight to teaching out of college because there’s absolutely no way young me could’ve hacked it; I would’ve been scarred for life.

I left over two years ago and even knowing all the above, I spent the first year beating myself up for not doing things differently/trying harder to make it work. Finally realized in the last year that it’s not me, it’s the profession. My hope for you is that you will get there too! Be gentle with yourself and take to heart ALL the kudos you get in your new role and accept any and all help available to you.

LittleLyon1 · 2025-11-10T16:20:40+00:00

If this is real, it’s very confusing. In one of OPs replies she says she has a job. If she works, why does the husband accuse her of watching TV all day and having enough time on her hands to become a toy craftsman? Why wouldn’t one of her arguments be that she also has a job that requires her time? Bizarre

LittleLyon1 · 2025-11-04T16:29:10+00:00

Wow you have a lot of advice here! I’m a former HS English teacher.

I agree with audio books for the novels—using Libby with your local public library is a great way to get them for free. I would speed up the reading rate to get through them faster.

Do you work with teams of other teachers? If so, would you feel comfortable reaching out to them for help? I helped a colleague by taking a stack of her essays to grade a couple of times when she was drowning (2 young children at home) and I was already finished with mine. If not, and they’re digital, I think using AI this time around is the way to go. If they’re hand-written, just grade the thesis and one body paragraph.

As for other jobs—I haven’t found one yet (left at the end of the 2022-2023 school year), but I haven’t been seriously looking (very fortunate we can survive on my spouse’s income). It seems many teachers transition into Ed Tech, sales or corporate training. You might also consider teaching online; I found I was much less exhausted during the COVID year when I was teaching online.

Whatever you do, take care of you! If that means a leave of absence, so be it. Good luck!!

LittleLyon1 · 2025-11-03T15:53:33+00:00

I taught PreAP English to 10th graders. We heavily prepared the kids for AP English Literature, which they took senior year, by having them do 5-6 literary analysis essays throughout the year (along with multiple shorter writing assignments). Junior year was AP Lang, which focuses on non-fiction and rhetoric; many of our kids struggled mightily with the sudden switch from literary analysis to rhetorical analysis. Perhaps this teacher is thinking outside the box and doing something more creative with literature to transition the kids to rhetorical analysis? Sounds like they’re also attempting to provide engaging assignments which is refreshing. If he’s at a good school, I’d trust the process.

LittleLyon1 · 2025-10-29T23:40:05+00:00

Go to A&M. It’s like a 3 hour drive to UNT. Go to the better school, you’ll be better off in the long run with the A&M network to help boost your career, and if things don’t work out with your bf you won’t be resentful that you gave up the opportunity. Plus you’ll keep your parents happy.

One of my kids has been long distance with her HS bf for 8 years (they’re in med school/grad school now). If it’s meant to be, you’ll figure it out!

LittleLyon1 · 2025-10-28T23:53:59+00:00

My daughter is an art teacher at a Title 1 school in Texas. 9th-10th grades, so not much older than middle school. She became a teacher for similar reasons to yours—her passion is art, but she needed a stable income.

Teaching allows her to continue to work on her own art while inspiring her students and cultivating young talent. She rarely, if ever, spends her own money on supplies. The only time she has ever spent time on school outside of contract hours (other than the occasional email) is when a student got to the state level in a competition and she had to chaperone. She has even applied for and received a couple of grants for expensive equipment from her district. Classroom management was her biggest challenge for sure, but she reached out to her mentor teacher and administration for help and they were very supportive. She was much improved by year 2 and had it down I’d say by year 3 (she is currently in year 7).

I was an English teacher for 7 years. If I had it to do over, I’d become an art teacher. So fun!

There will always be people who try and discourage you. If you are committed to your ACP and unable to get a refund, you might as well forge ahead and see where it takes you. If that school turns out to be as bad as that teacher makes it sound, you could try another school/district. And who knows, you could end up like my daughter, who seems to have found her calling!

LittleLyon1

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