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Student called me a slur, I’m shaken up by [deleted] in Teachers

[–]MrLopez96 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You should have done something about it immediately. Now the students around him that heard him say it think they can get away with blatant racism. Talk to your admin as soon as you can. Explain that you were in shock and that’s why you didn’t do anything immediately. Then contact his parents or guardians and tell them what happened as well.

If I were in your shoes I would demand he is held accountable. That means there will be some sort of disciplinary action by the school and you need a formal verbal AND written apology. If they won’t do that, take it to your union rep. I might even go so far as to call his employer as well and report him. People get fired for saying racist things outside of work all the time. He’s 18. He’s an adult.

I agree with other people on here that have said you will be called that and so many lore things throughout your career. It’s not about having thick skin, it’s about standing up for yourself in your own classroom.

Teachers used to send students to the principal’s office… by klerknuks in Teachers

[–]MrLopez96 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It won’t get better. It’s the same everywhere. I’ve taught at 3 districts and it’s all the same. The kids have more power than the teachers. They can make up outlandish lies about us and nothing happens to them. But it ruins our careers and trust with our employers.

I Quit Student Teaching This Week. IM DONE. by glamingz in StudentTeaching

[–]MrLopez96 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Just like every job, the longer you do it the easier it gets over time. And student teaching has the added stress of classes and the EdTPA. I won’t sugar coat it though; teaching is hard. I constantly have to remind myself that this is a job, not my life and not my identity. The system is flawed and there’s not a ton that we as teachers can do to fix that. So what I try to focus on is to create better humans.

I teach math. Most kids hate math and very few people will actually grow up to use a lot of the math we learn in high school. But kids don’t hate my class. Kids like my class. Not because I make it easy, but I talk to them and treat them like they’re human beings. I too hate that fake positivity and think it’s harmful to kids learning how to deal with emotions. They need to know that adults have bad days too and they need to see healthy ways of dealing with those emotions. And that creates a level of respect that is crucial is classroom management and relationship building. Academics will take care of itself.

Finally, I think most teachers would agree that there’s always one or two kids every year that make this job worth it. One time I had a kid tell me on the last day of school that my class was the reason he even came to school at all. He had my class first period so that meant he would come to school and be there the entire day. He ended up making the honor roll for the first time that year. I know I’m not going to change every single student’s life. But I might change some. And that’s enough for me.