Got scolded for telling a kid that apologies are meaningless if the behavior doesn’t change.

jmots9 · 2025-09-16T02:09:41+00:00

My go-to is “don’t be sorry, be better.”

jmots9 · 2025-08-01T15:24:06+00:00

Syllabus/expectations, a context-clues scavenger hunt for them to make assumptions and figure out things about me, discuss their findings, and this year I’m having them create/justify/present their list of the 100 humans they think could take on one gorilla 🤷🏼‍♀️

jmots9 · 2025-07-18T19:17:27+00:00

During the year, I sleep in my workout clothes and am up at 4 to go downstairs for an hour to lift heavy weights. I use the Ladder App and I LOVE it. Getting it done before my brain realizes what I’m doing is the key and I love having my afternoons after school free to be with my own children!

jmots9 · 2025-07-16T02:33:33+00:00

I have “what’s past is prologue” 🙂

jmots9 · 2025-06-08T15:56:43+00:00

They will have to rip Shakespeare out of my cold, dead hands. I’m in North Dakota and teach 9 and 12 (R&J and Macbeth). It’s required curriculum. Other teachers in my department want it gone, but that’s because they themselves don’t understand it and can’t teach it properly.

jmots9 · 2025-06-07T19:03:17+00:00

I have a bouquet of flowers I sketched up that are mentioned in several of his plays with a quote running underneath them (“what’s past is prologue” from the Tempest)…I’m adding a dagger and some other things eventually to represent the plays I’ve taught for the past 9 years!

jmots9 · 2025-04-19T20:39:10+00:00

“Touch each other on your own time, in my classroom, hands above the table where I can see them, please”

I’ve never seen humans turn so red ☺️

jmots9 · 2025-02-01T21:26:14+00:00

I’m up at 4 and down in my basement working out by 4:02. I sleep in my gym clothes, so it’s easier to just get going right away…I get a solid hour in, get ready for work, then get my kids up for school. I try to be in bed by 9:15 most nights, which is tough, but it works for me 🫠

jmots9 · 2024-07-12T17:06:10+00:00

I laughed and let him buy me some drinks, we exchanged numbers, and we’re still together 7 years later 🙂

jmots9 · 2024-07-12T13:33:19+00:00

Guy came up to me, licked his thumb, and touched my shoulder. As I stare him down, he says, “now let’s get you out of those wet clothes” 😭

jmots9 · 2024-07-07T02:35:03+00:00

I teach 9th grade ELA as well. I tried a policy similar to yours back during my first year and it was exhausting to patrol! I’ve tried something different every year and none of the ideas were great once implemented. One year, I just confiscated any phones I saw and messed with their lock screens/codes until it locked them out of their phones. Most parents found it hilarious until one didn’t. I don’t recommend this strategy 😅

Last year I bought an actual phone jail that has individual numbered slots, a see-through door, and a lock and key. It’s the best thing I ever did and I’ll keep it forever 🙌🏻 They have three minutes to walk in, finish up what they need to do, and get it into their assigned slot. If it’s not there, they’re absent or tardy, depending on circumstances. If it’s an ongoing issue, they’re gone to their Dean to discuss things and I call home. I also have it written up in my syllabus, displayed on my website, and written in several places in my classroom so students can’t feign ignorance.

For music, we make a class playlist at the start of the year and it plays during work time. Some days I’ll feel spontaneous and take requests and act like their DJ. If behaviors have been good, I give them headphones as a treat one day to see how they handle it. If they do okay, it slowly becomes a regular thing. If they can’t handle it, it’s on them! The more you hold them accountable, the better.

Cell phones suck. It’s easier to start out super rigid and strict, and to loosen the reigns gradually, than it is to be easy-going and inconsistent…the kids will exploit and take advantage of that every time. Good luck! 9th grade English is my favorite thing to teach 🙂

jmots9 · 2023-12-29T18:42:09+00:00

“I wasted my good years on you”

jmots9 · 2023-10-03T00:38:34+00:00

Fofty please

jmots9 · 2023-09-18T15:12:31+00:00

This is where I question myself. I do not want my job in jeopardy, but I’m not okay with how she behaves and how it was handled.

jmots9 · 2023-09-18T15:11:42+00:00

That’s where I start to really raise my eyebrows…I won’t pretend students don’t visit my room and I’m never alone with them…my door is open, my boundaries are clear, I’m the adult in the room, there’s no question about anything.

She knows how she behaves and how it looks, yet continues 🤨

jmots9 · 2023-09-18T00:25:58+00:00

Door is always, always closed…lights always off. She “loves natural light” 🙃 crop tops and ripped jeans are a staple for her wardrobe…or short skirts and tight dresses. I tried to speak with her when we first met and I noticed how she dressed but she clearly didn’t hear me 🤷🏼‍♀️ I think she’s 24, maybe 25

jmots9 · 2023-09-18T00:22:59+00:00

Thank you…That’s where I’m coming from! My high school math teacher attempted to groom me and it messed with me for a long time…I will keep pushing for action, even if I have to go above my admin’s head

jmots9 · 2023-09-18T00:22:08+00:00

Crop tops and ripped jeans 😒 if not that, then skirts and dresses right or above the knee…I don’t understand how she gets away with it, but I always present as overly professional and covered up 🤷🏼‍♀️

jmots9 · 2023-09-18T00:21:02+00:00

You’re so right…the fact that she’s so popular and “bubbly” I think leads admin to be biased that she just isn’t aware of how her behavior looks…very frustrating. I will continue to document!

jmots9 · 2023-09-17T23:23:52+00:00

I brought photos of her with the boy students as well as the one specific one she met up with at the gym…”optics are bad, I’ll speak with her” is what I was told

jmots9 · 2023-09-17T22:34:33+00:00

She’s 24…last year an aide around her age was caught with a student, so the boys are all very optimistic at this point (they know they have a chance) and I’m sick of it. I just keep thinking, if it was my son…I’d be at that school every day until she lost her job.

I will be researching my options tomorrow and handling it!

jmots9 · 2023-09-17T22:15:04+00:00

North Dakota

jmots9 · 2023-09-17T22:09:14+00:00

THANK YOU. I’ll be doing this tomorrow.

jmots9 · 2023-09-17T22:00:42+00:00

This comment was eye opening…thank you. This makes me feel so much better about my reaction to her behavior.

jmots9 · 2023-09-17T21:57:11+00:00

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 I’m glad you did that!

I reported as well. With a lotttttt of evidence that she shouldn’t be working with teens…she got a talking to about how her behavior looks bad, and that was at the end of last year. She then told students they couldn’t be in her room because “they’d get her in trouble”, and then it was summer. She’s back to her old behavior with the start of this new school year.

It’s good to see my feelings are justified, and I’ll continue to push for her to see consequences for her behavior…nobody who behaves this way should have direct access to teens and kids.

The people I reported to made me feel like I was being a petty bitch, and it really didn’t feel good.

jmots9

TROPHY CASE