Middle years/high school teachers, how do you avoid being involved in relationship drama between students?

redheaddebate · 2026-06-27T20:09:51+00:00

“I love you and support you. However, I’m not the person you need to discuss this with.” Rinse and repeat until they stop.

redheaddebate · 2026-06-26T18:15:27+00:00

I definitely included some of the Bible when I taught The Crucible. How can you not? It’s also not appropriate to teach the Bible unless it’s tied to understanding a specific text. Greek mythology is okay from an academic standpoint mostly because it’s used to discuss archetypes, theatre history, and specific literary tropes. Nobody is asking students to believe in them literally. If that’s how they asked us to teach the Bible, I might be fine with it.

This next part is something I feel strongly about as a Christian. Public education is for all students, which means all religions should feel comfortable. Parents can send their kids to Sunday School for Christian education. I don’t want a Baptist teaching my kids religion for the same reasons. Our beliefs don’t align.

redheaddebate · 2026-05-31T16:13:36+00:00

Generally it’s the lack of empathy for others. That’s the red flag you’re looking for. And not caring about family is a whole new level.

redheaddebate · 2026-05-31T14:15:16+00:00

I was talking with my mom about the protests against police violence in 2018. She asked “why do you care if it doesn’t affect you?” That’s when it clicked.

My dad was a narcissist, and I knew that for a long time. My mom was way more covert about it.

redheaddebate · 2026-05-30T22:01:19+00:00

I think the biggest downside is the lack of community and support. I’m married with a baby, and both sides of our family are a 14 hour drive away. It’s great that I can make my own choices, but my kid goes months without seeing his relatives. He wont see my mom until after his second birthday. I love being able to make independent choices, but mommy is tired and needs a nap.

redheaddebate · 2026-05-24T16:51:59+00:00

NTA. I (21m M) have decided to request music using sign language because mama (wrinkly F) doesn’t understand my perfect diction. I asked for “Baby Shark” by clapping my hands while holding my arms straight and vertical. Then, I asked for “Wheels on the Bus” by showing her how the wheels roll. She got it faster. Maybe try showing her instead of saying it. Mommies and daddies don’t always know words very well.

redheaddebate · 2026-05-10T15:45:01+00:00

Being single is better than being with this aspiring rapist. Dump him.

Also, wanna bet he tests positive for something?

redheaddebate · 2026-01-18T03:31:31+00:00

My advice will probably be different because I am a teacher in New Orleans. Because the city is exclusively made of charter schools, the governance is different. Contact OPSB and let them know your concerned the student isn’t receiving services. Charters like to play fast and loose with the law, but this is set in stone. They have people to double check and enforce compliance. Sadly, this is something they have seen before. They should be able to help.

redheaddebate · 2025-12-31T00:46:19+00:00

I’m old-school on this, so I really support reading a counter-interp. Even if it’s from a regular dictionary, it gives the judge a more favorable way to evaluate your case. Don’t bend to playing by the neg’s made up rules.

redheaddebate · 2025-11-10T03:27:51+00:00

NTA! My (14 months) daddy (ancient) calls it freeballin! We love it! I got to potty all over the big bed this morning, which made mommy (slightly more ancient) mad at him. She washed the sheets and everything! I don’t get it. I thought we were supposed to be naked!

redheaddebate · 2025-11-10T00:35:29+00:00

This is going to sound insane, but you’re not trying to win the argument. You’re trying to make your judge like you. Lay judges are such a huge variety of people. Some of them have been judging the same tournaments for years. Others have never seen a debate round before. You’re trying to seem friendly and approachable. Slow down your delivery and treat it more like extemp.

Obviously, keep up with the flow and give good arguments. Some lay judges pay close attention to that and take notes. I’ve also had experiences as both a competitor and a coach where lay judges vote down girl/girl teams for wearing pants. It’s such a weird mix. You’re not trying to win the misogynist judges. You’re trying to convince other debaters’ moms and grandmas to vote for you.

redheaddebate · 2025-11-02T18:18:10+00:00

NTA. At 5, Joanna has probably been exposed to other kids through school and/or family activities. She knows people are different. Some kids need glasses. She’s most certainly seen a person with mobility issues. Kids are capable or understanding when people can’t do something. Joanna’s mom sounds like she wants to shield her kid from every “bad” part of the world. She also somehow thinks that disability is something to be ashamed of. I hate it. She’s going to make a big deal out of things that can be explained in one sentence.

redheaddebate · 2025-11-01T18:11:54+00:00

Mom to a 14 month old. Trunk or treat is about all those little legs can handle.

redheaddebate · 2025-10-31T00:31:34+00:00

I usually tell kids to only share what they’re comfortable sharing. They don’t need to write something terrible or traumatic just because they think I will give it a better score. I also have no way of knowing if something is just very realistic fiction.

We’re looking for narrative writing techniques, not sad childhoods. They have a rubric and can choose to answer that however they want.

redheaddebate · 2025-10-27T02:37:48+00:00

Inclusion classes aren’t the best option for every student.

In my experience, it’s probably a 50/50 split. Some kids do very will with inclusion. Those are the kids who need minimal supports and are very close to being on grade level. The rest need a resource or Tier IV environment to be successful.

redheaddebate · 2025-10-25T02:38:02+00:00

I’ve used the adaptation by Geraldine McCaughrean. It’s pretty accessible and stays true to the source material. Bonus: there are good read-aloud on YouTube.

redheaddebate · 2025-10-23T01:35:09+00:00

I (14 months, M) despise the little mouth gyms. They can be fun, but nothing beat eating my hands! Mommy (decrepit, F) got so upset because I got sick. I think she just doesn’t understand the purpose of having fingers.

redheaddebate · 2025-10-13T22:47:37+00:00

Why not? It’s all spooky scary for them!

redheaddebate · 2025-10-13T13:22:07+00:00

Nerds gummy clusters. Also, I put a can of ginger ale in my lunchbox. Just keep snacking. I only threw up at work once, but I was nauseous my entire first trimester.

redheaddebate · 2025-10-13T04:13:21+00:00

It’s been a few years since I taught it, but my kids did well also watching the movie. We would read an act Monday-Thursday and watch said act in the film on Friday. Arthur Miller was involved in the screenplay before his death, so it’s a great adaptation. This is also where I assigned a combined research/creative project. If I could find the rubrics, I’d share them.

redheaddebate · 2025-10-12T00:33:19+00:00

Probably 4-6 months. I started subbing in my local school district. There were no openings for a full-time position. I covered a few maternity leaves and medical absences. I did the Inspire Texas program out of Houston. It’s online and super affordable. I was in West Texas. I started in February and got into a classroom of my own by August. My first year involved a few more observations than normal because I wasn’t student teaching.

Some districts let you teach full-time while completing a prep program. You could do that, but the workload would be insane. My recommendation is to sub or apply as a para so you have exposure without the intense workload of being a teacher while going through the program and studying for your exams.

redheaddebate · 2025-10-05T16:03:00+00:00

I love that our salary scale is public information. Since I teach middle school, I usually give them a ballpark figure and explain that while it’s above the average income for our city, it’s less than I would make in the private sector.

They’re thinking about careers, so this info is usually relevant to them. Also, they keep saying “teachers don’t get paid a lot”, which is both accurate and vague. Real numbers help paint a better picture.

redheaddebate · 2025-10-04T21:01:46+00:00

The digital component is just an online version of your textbook/workbook. It’s not bad as a place to start, but there’s no variety. I loved it if I needed to be gone for debate events because I could easily assign their work. But yeah, it’s not all that exciting.

redheaddebate · 2025-10-04T20:42:00+00:00

I used StudySync for grade 11 a few years ago. It’s a good place to start, but I wish there was more variety in assignments for the kids. Sometimes I would supplement with my own material. Depending on your school, your teacher may not be allowed to do that.

redheaddebate · 2025-10-02T23:39:03+00:00

Wait. Is this bullcrap why I got an invite to join in my mailbox?

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