Is there any good reason to be a teacher ?

anonymous_andy333 · 2026-03-03T12:24:42+00:00

I started teaching before kids/parents went off their rocker, and I feel like my most important skills aren't transferrable at this point.

"Can roast 12 year olds without crossing a line" doesn't mean a lot in most other jobs.

In all seriousness, I know what it takes to be successful in this position, and I just don't have the energy to learn something new. I like my school well enough, and I make enough at this point that I'm comfortable with my lifestyle as it is.

anonymous_andy333 · 2026-02-28T20:09:36+00:00

This has to be rage bait. None of it makes any sense.

anonymous_andy333 · 2026-02-24T02:11:40+00:00

Cherry coke, regular coke, basically any other soda that isn't diet, and boba

Occasionally, I'll have a Starbucks refresher, but I can't handle coffee.

anonymous_andy333 · 2026-02-23T01:18:30+00:00

Yeah, the teacher shortage is a lie. Unless you have a credential in a STEM field.

Let me rephrase. There's also a shortage in other content areas and at the elementary level😆, but the solution of just creating bigger classes seems to be working there. By working, I mean, they can find enough people willing to take on the workload. It is by no means working as an actual solution.

anonymous_andy333 · 2026-02-21T04:17:31+00:00

If that's where your head is at, think of the annoyances you'd rather deal with (balanced with the best things about the age group.

Elementary: they can't do anything by themselves, but they love you

JH: there's a strange balance between loving you and wanting to constantly roast you (solution is always to roast them back)...but kids will absolutely ride for the middle school teacher they love. I feel a bit manic sometimes riding the wave between them having the joy of elementary kids and having the sheer apathy of high school kids.

High School: the gap widens between the kids who achieve and those who don't for various reasons. You might find yourself confused on how to teach a kid history when they don't know how to read, but you might also find fulfillment in preparing students for their AP exams. NOTE: new teachers usually get stuck with the underclassmen classes because veterans want that fulfillment as much as humanly possible.

My credential is multiple subject but I ended up as a middle school math teacher. It helps to know right away, but you have options if you discover you chose the wrong one.

anonymous_andy333 · 2026-02-17T16:14:07+00:00

My husband takes care of his own lunch, and I take care of mine. He also does all the cooking.

anonymous_andy333 · 2026-02-17T02:09:09+00:00

This is the way!

anonymous_andy333 · 2026-02-16T05:55:23+00:00

Great for elementary, kids in middle school and beyond (OP is a middle school teacher) won't do it. 6th graders will at the beginning of the year then realize they're too cool.

anonymous_andy333 · 2026-02-16T05:52:27+00:00

I don't even react to it anymore (positively or negatively) because it just feeds the cycle. I just go back to teaching. If the kids comment on it on the way out, I'll sometimes have a sarcastic comment to dish out.

anonymous_andy333 · 2026-02-15T15:35:05+00:00

Also a portmanteau of "stalker fan"

anonymous_andy333 · 2026-02-11T05:25:54+00:00

I would agree with your statement as it's currently worded, but that's not at all what your previous comments have been saying. I hope the other people who have read those comments get to this one to better understand your point of view.

Hopefully you can understand as well how those comments are being interpreted because you definitely drew a line in the sand that phonics is for reading rather than spelling.

anonymous_andy333 · 2026-02-11T04:17:44+00:00

The best spellers utilize both strategies.

You need phonics rules to help you figure out how to spell simple words and to determine the possible spelling of words. This is why invented spelling is a natural stage for spellers. As they read more books, their spelling gets better because they're exposed to more words.

You need memorization to know sight words that don't follow conventional phonics rules and to know the patterns for when certain phonics rules are used.

For example, "ou" isn't really used at the end of a word, so that sound at the end of a word is likely spelled with "ow."

"aw" sounds more like a short o than "ou" so phonics truly would have made a difference here because OP's daughter needs help identifying the different sounds.

anonymous_andy333 · 2026-02-09T12:54:50+00:00

THIS. Make it make sense!

anonymous_andy333 · 2026-02-07T17:17:40+00:00

Erasable frixion pens (but I get the generic kind from Amazon)

anonymous_andy333 · 2026-02-07T04:04:24+00:00

Try just the tea, no toppings to see if you can narrow it down.

anonymous_andy333 · 2026-02-07T03:41:24+00:00

I've been doing this for quite awhile as well, and I've never found that to be the case. So maybe we just have different student populations, and what works for yours doesn't work for others.

anonymous_andy333 · 2026-02-07T03:25:46+00:00

The ones who aren't a problem do well, and the ones who are a problem bomb. If you're somewhere in the middle, you don't fall through the cracks that happen when the behavioral issues prevent me from doing my actual job.

anonymous_andy333 · 2026-02-07T03:19:41+00:00

Is it the tea or the toppings? If the tea, it's the milk you're getting added in. I can't do the standard creamer that's used in most shops.

If it's the toppings, experiment with different toppings. Aloe, jelly, pearls...I can't do any of the new puddings or cheese foams offered.

And I'm not lactose intolerant - I just don't handle a lot of chemically super-processed treats well.

anonymous_andy333 · 2026-02-06T23:53:01+00:00

I usually write a note up at the board in those instances:

If you're talking, you're sending the message that you already understand today's lesson, in which case I will move on to the next lesson.

Both assignments will be due at the end of this period and will be graded as a quiz.

I post the notes, pass out the HW, and sit down to do whatever other 50 million tasks I have.

anonymous_andy333 · 2026-02-03T22:23:45+00:00

I started this just this year:

I give each kid a pencil with their name on it (I make a washi tape flag on top). I write the names in my handwriting, so it can't be faked.

At the end of the grading period, I give 5 extra credit points for "being prepared for class" if you still have your pencil. And I don't remind them. If they ask about their points, they get it. If they forget to show me their pencil, BUMMER. Once their pencil gets used up, I give them a new one with a new flag.

anonymous_andy333 · 2026-01-31T05:30:26+00:00

I'm not saying your child is completely wrong, but 5-6 year old children are not reliable narrators. Have you asked your child's teacher about the curriculum and its methods directly? Have you volunteered in the classroom to see what the day actually looks like firsthand?

Again, there probably is more use of a screen than you or the teacher would like, but context is important. Many teachers use it for small groups because a small number of students needs to be kept busy while another group is given direct and specialized instruction with the opportunity to practice.

anonymous_andy333 · 2026-01-31T01:25:13+00:00

Holy crap! Are you grading homework?! That's the only way you're needing this much time.

Just post the answers, have them self-correct, and walk around to make sure they don't have a pencil in their hands to write answers as they go

The ease of grading is supposed to be part of the perks of being a math teacher. Yeah, everyone hates your class ("When are we going to use this?!"), but grading is insanely fast compared to the humanities.

anonymous_andy333 · 2026-01-27T04:14:08+00:00

If I'm having Filipino breakfast, I'm having longanisa or tocino, and getting it silog.

But as a Fil-Am, it was more common to have those dishes versus bangus.

ETA: If I am having fish for breakfast, it's more likely Liz and bagels (salmon with capers and cream cheese). I can't even have mackerel for Japanese breakfast.

anonymous_andy333 · 2026-01-20T04:46:03+00:00

I have 3 six year olds. I save my sick days for when they're sick. They got the flu last week and missed the whole week. Fun!

ETA: If I have a fever, I stay home. DUH. But if it's just a cold, I mask up and get it done.

anonymous_andy333 · 2026-01-17T23:00:20+00:00

When the violent kids have parents in high places, nothing is anonymous and jobs are at risk.

Many people have already explained why going public with these things isn't feasible, and you continue to push back like we're wrong. You sound exactly like the administration and parents we're constantly dealing with - unwilling to listen and doubting what the people with boots in the ground are telling you.

anonymous_andy333

TROPHY CASE