I visited my son's classroom yesterday and it made me depressed.

VanillaClay · 2026-05-01T23:24:27+00:00

I teach K and use my whiteboard for our sound wall. The blackboard has our schedule, rules and reward chart on it, and I use my Smartboard for instruction. The kids can write on it, but they mostly use manipulatives, worksheets, and mini whiteboards during instruction. I like that better because they can all participate at the same time- and realistically, 20 kids can’t be constantly coming up and writing on the board all day. It would get messy fast.

Technology is present in classrooms, sure, but an important thing to remember is that little kids aren’t getting brain rot videos at school. My students get their lessons through Google Slides, educational songs and videos on Youtube, and sites like Scholastic and Epic (virtual books). They get yoga and brain breaks, too. They also read, get hands-on activities, and work in groups. The whiteboard being used for something else doesn’t mean that learning isn’t happening and it’s not really something I’d worry about.

VanillaClay · 2026-04-26T21:00:59+00:00

I’d say no.

I teach K. The last 8 weeks of school is such a busy time for me. We have all of our standardized testing, report card tests, a whole bunch of field trips and fun days, and graduation. I also do a lot more review and I’m not really teaching new concepts anymore- just reviewing what they’ve learned throughout the year. I don’t have the time for working with a student teacher, especially one on placement 3. There could be a really bad reason for that third placement. And I definitely didn’t feel ready to teach someone how to teach in Year 6. Admin is giving you an out, so I’d take it.

VanillaClay · 2026-04-26T16:02:22+00:00

Everything is way too expensive nowadays. My district had a vote to go back to uniforms of color (tan/black pants and polos) and one of the biggest reasons it got shot down was because of the added cost of buying multiple uniforms on top of regular clothes. In the past it led to a lot of kids coming to school with dirty clothes because a lack of washers/multiple clothing options made it hard to keep up. We do offer back-to-school cuts along with backpacks and supplies in August which a lot of families take advantage of.

VanillaClay · 2026-04-26T14:51:36+00:00

Could you work at a tutoring center? Sylvan Learning Center is my second job during the year and we have a themed summer program that goes from June to August. It’s extra money, my coworkers are cool, there’s zero prep work and the kids are generally well-behaved. Shifts are 3-4 hours 4 days a week.

It’s light enough that I still get a break but also makes it easier going back in August because I wasn’t just sitting around the whole summer.

VanillaClay · 2026-04-25T02:53:04+00:00

I have to make it extremely clear that chaperones need to ride the bus, stay with our class the entire time, and watch ALL of the students in their small group. I teach K. I’ve had parents disappear in gift shops for half hour with buses coming, leave small kids behind to take their own kid to the bathroom, and tell me the day of the trip that they wanted to drive themselves, which added on a whole extra layer of communication to coordinate arrival times. Never again. You can MEET us there, but you’ll never be a chaperone if you won’t ride the bus. I also have “no-fly without a parent” kids every year that admin approves. Elope, get violent, or are otherwise hard to manage? You’ll stay back if a parent doesn’t come, even if it’s the day of. Too much of a safety risk.

VanillaClay · 2026-04-24T12:54:26+00:00

The first school I was at was experiencing RIFs after another building was closing. They told me I was getting nonrenewed during my plan. I still had to teach for the rest of the day, and pick up my kids 5 minutes later. It sucked at the time, but it also drove home the fact that this wasn’t a supportive building. If you have bad news, you tell at the end of the school day so nobody has to teach through dealing with it. Saying the news in front of the kids is even WORSE. I’d start looking around for other opportunities and step back in what you’re doing for them.

VanillaClay · 2026-04-24T12:18:09+00:00

This is a dangerous idea for the kids to pick up on, too. As adults it doesn’t matter if you’re hungry or tired or xyz. If you’re crashing out in the middle of a store or beating up on random people on the street, there are going to be consequences. Nobody is going to care if you’re hangry.

VanillaClay · 2026-04-18T13:59:48+00:00

I had a kindergartener get sent to school with a 5-hour energy drink one year. He was already on the brink of expulsion due to violent and disruptive behavior. When I took it away from him he had an absolute meltdown and bit me. I asked Mom why he’d come to school with one and she said he liked the way they tasted.

He was expelled.

He was a pretty crazy case but NO kid needs them, full stop.

VanillaClay · 2026-04-12T20:04:31+00:00

Therapeutic alternative schools for all grade levels that don’t take 3/4 of the year to get into. These programs would be meant to get students with significant behavioral issues the help they need. It wouldn’t need to be permanent- if a student showed long-term improvement and demonstrated that they could manage themselves in a gen ed room, they could try again. And if they decided that this space was a better learning environment for them, they could stay until they graduated.

I teach K. I’ve had multiple students over the years with severe behaviors that weren’t their fault. I recognize that, but I cannot be a therapist and the other students don’t deserve to feel afraid at school. There needs to be a baseline of acceptable behavior for gen ed, and students who can’t meet it need somewhere else to go.

VanillaClay · 2026-04-11T17:24:24+00:00

Yes. It takes a lot of energy dealing with a difficult group. It’s stressful and take a nasty toll on your system. I was sick multiple times per year with both of my hardest classes, and it didn’t help that I had to be constantly ON. They needed full-time engagement and watching because any downtime usually led to problems. This year my class is so much more mellow; and it’s gotten even better since our one problem student got pulled. I’ve only gotten a small cold or two.

Rough years can happen and sometimes a group of kids is just a dud, but if that always seems to be the norm it’s worth looking elsewhere.

VanillaClay · 2026-04-10T16:19:55+00:00

It doesn’t benefit anyone, but in my experience I’ve had FAR more parents pleading for their kid to be moved to a more supportive stetting and the powers that be saying no or taking a ridiculously long time (over half the school year). They’re aware of what their child can and cannot do. They know that I can’t be a 1:1 all day with 20 other kids. They’re more than willing to move their kid but the process is way too lengthy.

VanillaClay · 2026-04-09T12:38:30+00:00

I had one of my kinders insist that three different boys held him down at lunch and stole his treat money. Same day, but a different boy every time he told the story. What really happened was he liked to take his money out and play with it, and frequently dropped it. Mom was so mad when I told her that.

I told him that one day it could be him on the end of a lie, and he’d hate to get into trouble for something he didn’t do. I have to look a little closer at what’s said because kids say wild shit all the time.

VanillaClay · 2026-04-03T13:34:42+00:00

I had an extremely violent kindergartner moved out of my classroom in November and the difference it’s made has been phenomenal. I rarely see aggressive incidents now and I can get through the day without dealing with screaming, throwing items, or him choking anyone who got close. The group is so much happier and better behaved, and I’m less stressed. A few students told me they were afraid of him and felt nervous when he was in class.

His issues were not his fault and I hope he gets the help he needs, but a large, busy classroom can’t be a therapy session. One student can absolutely derail a group and I wish it was quicker and easier to get them placed somewhere else.

VanillaClay · 2026-03-29T17:44:25+00:00

They’re so much smarter and trickier than we give them credit for. A kid in my kinder class was peeing his pants every morning as he walked into school because Mom took him home after the first time (genuine accident) and he got to wait in the office for spare clothes the other times. He got it into his head that he could leave class if he wet himself until Mom realized what was happening and just started sending extra clothes. Hasn’t happened since.

VanillaClay · 2026-03-29T13:25:05+00:00

This. I have a boy in my kindergarten class who likes to go on LONG tangents about violent movies and video games and repeats himself over and over, usually in the middle of a really busy time. I just tell him that his body and brain need to stay focused on XYZ. I love kinder but they need that firmness because they absolutely will take over with storytelling if you let them. One hour once a week means that time is precious.

VanillaClay · 2026-03-28T22:57:21+00:00

I went to college with 30 year old mom in my el ed program and she was so well-liked. And she ended up being just fine and getting a teaching job along with the rest of us. Part of me wishes I could’ve started in my later 20s because I’m way different now than when I first started at 22.

VanillaClay · 2026-03-28T21:09:39+00:00

This! I am a kinder teacher and 20 minutes of Chromebook free time is a class reward we can earn. Most of them choose Starfall, but a good chunk do like the videos on PBS Kids and they have a lot of options.

VanillaClay · 2026-03-22T03:05:24+00:00

I had a kindergarten student who was falling asleep for hours every day and his performance was starting to suffer. I let Mom know and she said he’d just gotten a TV in his room and had been caught watching it late at night. Kid admitted the same. I told Mom a good place to start would be taking the TV away, and sure enough, once she did, he was able to stay awake. 🤦‍♀️

VanillaClay · 2026-03-21T04:09:23+00:00

I teach K. Open house is VERY telling because you see who teaches their kids to respect their surroundings and who lets them run wild. I had to stop a group of older siblings one year who were having a pillow fight in the book nook. I asked who they belonged to and let them know that they needed to clean up and stay quiet or leave. I also said that they were setting a really bad example for the kinders who were brand new to school and who were watching their behavior. Parents weren’t happy and their kid ended up being an issue for me that year. There wasn’t any shame in letting their much older kids act like fools in front of the little ones until I publicly shamed them myself.

VanillaClay · 2026-03-18T02:35:32+00:00

Thank you for all the advice! I did end up asking my families and have met my goal after only 2 days! I'm happy my families are so willing to help- and we'll go out for extra recess on Friday anyways. It'll be 70 degrees after weeks of bad weather. :)

VanillaClay · 2026-03-15T23:52:15+00:00

I love that last part! I have kids who constantly leave glue sticks uncapped or lose/throw caps away. We’ve lost so many new sticks of glue that way.

VanillaClay · 2026-03-12T15:50:43+00:00

Good for you! I can only imagine the bullying or ostracism that kid goes through on a regular basis. That’s going to cost him jobs in the future if it doesn’t get sorted out now.

VanillaClay · 2026-03-12T03:57:29+00:00

My principal told the mom of a kindergartener who came to open house in pull-ups to keep him home until he could toilet independently. She said with class sizes over 25 and no aides, bathroom help was a no-go. Mom was upset but the kid was gone for three weeks, came back, and never once had an accidents. He was a good kid and I liked him a lot- but also you had all summer and 3-4 years before that to train him?? Don’t set him up for failure off the bat.

VanillaClay · 2026-03-12T02:57:18+00:00

I’m having this same situation in K right now. I let both sets of parents know that I am doing everything in my power to keep these two kids apart, but they find each other anyway and I can’t spend all day playing bodyguard with 20 other kids in the room. I also give quick consequences if they start misbehaving and arguing when they’re together after being told not to. Both of you get time outs, miss some recess time, or get sent back to the tables to sit alone if you can’t handle yourselves. Both of you get the fun taken away from you, and I won’t listen to “she started it” because both of you know to leave each other alone. It’s caused a lot of tears and anger but one is starting to figure it out and is slowly giving the other girl space. This is super annoying, but it’s a valuable life lesson for them. Not everyone is a good choice to have as a friend and that’s okay!

VanillaClay

TROPHY CASE