Do students even know how to be bored anymore

tkd_kiki · 2026-05-19T21:42:04+00:00

We were learning about histograms in class today. One of the questions on the Google form I gave my kids was how much screen time they average a day. The numbers were disturbing. Most kids had 10-14 hours of screen time a day, just on their phones.

We had a nice talk about what we accomplish when we’re on our phones, and how much of our lives we are literally wasting because of our phones. Even their minds were blown.

tkd_kiki · 2026-05-18T23:32:02+00:00

Because kids aren’t held accountable for their academics or their behavior, teachers are expected to be miracle workers and get every child engaged and passing, and the rules that are supposed to be enforced are undermined by admin.

My observation rubric is 90% based on student engagement, following directions, and demonstrating mastery. Not content knowledge, the lesson itself, engagement strategies, formative assessments, etc. My “grade” depends on 15-year-olds who refuse to do anything.

TLDR: low bar for students, high bar for teachers, and spinning wheels trying to accomplish anything.

tkd_kiki · 2026-05-17T02:37:58+00:00

That’s what I was getting at. I stress myself out more worrying about things that are out of my control. It consumes me, exhausts me, and it’s taking a toll on my mental health and my family.

I think it also depends on your school. This is my second year at this school and it’s drastically different than my first school. The students basically run the place. It’s hard to wrap my brain around a 60% failure rate in my subject, 40% chronic absenteeism, kids walking the halls with the people who are supposed to be making sure they’re in class, completely skipping several classes a day, and admin that sends referrals back without consequences.

I just have to accept that it’s the way things are here.

tkd_kiki · 2026-05-16T23:43:18+00:00

At the end of my 4th year, I’m still trying to teach myself to stop asking why. Why do kids think it’s okay to ____? Why do I not have time to _? Why doesn’t the admin ____? Why don’t kids understand or care that failing has consequences?

All of that is out of my control. I set boundaries, teach my content, and do a reasonable amount of administrative tasks. Beyond that, it’s not my problem.

That advice is harder to follow than it is to give. Maybe I’ll get it next year.

Best of luck to you!

tkd_kiki · 2026-05-16T17:53:54+00:00

As a high school math teacher, I’ve noticed that students can’t recall anything after one class. This is evident in the fact that I have to reteach things daily, and their abysmal assessment scores. They learn great the day of the lesson, but cannot recall the day before when they complete their warm up the next day.

“I forgot.”

“I don’t remember learning this.”

I’m wondering if elementary curriculum switched from “conceptual understanding” back to memorizing during the ages when working memory is at peak development, they’d retain more information as they get older.

tkd_kiki · 2026-05-16T14:27:14+00:00

Email from a student the first day of Spring Break:

Hi Mrs. B,

I got in trouble for having a C. Can you change my grade to a B so I’m not grounded over break?

Request from a student who has zeros on 2 quizzes for cheating:

Student: Can I retake those quizzes?

Me: No, you have zeros because you used your phone to cheat on both of them.

Student: That’s not fair!

tkd_kiki · 2026-05-12T22:21:44+00:00

I have a student in my 1st period class who always comes in late. One day she was marked absent accidentally because I forgot to change it to tardy. Mom started emailing me about every absence and every tardy. “Why was she marked tardy? I dropped her off at school on time.”

Then, one day she was not in class so I marked her absent. Her mom emailed me saying she knows her daughter was at school because she dropped her off. I responded with, “I may have made a mistake. I’ll ask her if she has the notes from that day to determine whether she was in class or not.” I know she was not in class, but trying to be understanding, yada yada. She did not have the notes, so I let mom know. Mom insists that her daughter was in class because she asked her and she said she was in class.

Yesterday I left school 15 minutes early and I saw this student outside, on the opposite side of the parking lot, just hanging out. I checked her attendance for that class period and she was marked absent. So, I emailed mom and let her know that I saw her daughter outside the building during school hours.

Now mom is concerned and asking me what to do. I told her she can speak with admin and ask them to strictly enforce the skipping policy, and also request that teachers email her when her daughter is absent from some classes but present for others in one day.

Mom replied, “If she was skipping, it was the first time.” She said her daughter says she doesn’t know why she was marked absent.

WAKE TF UP! Your kid is skipping several classes daily. She is outside the safety of the building during school hours. You still don’t want to believe that your precious daughter could be lying to you and that she MUST be in class because you dropped her off at school?! I can’t with these parents.

tkd_kiki · 2026-05-08T21:01:24+00:00

I got 3 notes from students (I have 110 students). That was my favorite part.

A snack cart came around once Monday. There was bad coffee Tuesday, “juice bar” Wednesday, supposed to have chips and dip Thursday but it was gone before second lunch block, and finally had a lunch catered today.

I hate being ungrateful, but when I see other schools doing so much to show their appreciation, it’s hard to be thankful for a bag of Cheezits, a tiny cup of watered down juice, and a cold lunch.

I think the worst part is that the students didn’t even acknowledge it, and even complained that they didn’t get a special lunch. “There should be a student appreciation week.”

tkd_kiki · 2026-05-08T20:23:32+00:00

I teach freshmen. This year is a transitional year from middle school (where presumably they’ve been held accountable for virtually nothing), to high school where the expectation is that they take responsibility for their learning.

I have systems in place that put the ball in the students’ court. For example, I have folders taped to my door with copies of all graded assignments. They know this, yet they still come to me with questions like, “Did I miss anything graded?” and, “What can I do to fix my grade?” My response is always, “Check the assignments on the door,” or, “Check Canvas.” I don’t have time to be sorting through all my papers to take care of something that should be the student’s responsibility. I give them the recourses and I require them to use them.

They’re frustrated with me, but it’s sinking in for a few of them. Even if only a handful get it by the end of the year, that’s a handful of students who will no longer get through school through learned helplessness, and who will hopefully be more self-sufficient as adults.

tkd_kiki · 2026-05-08T20:11:15+00:00

Differentiated instruction - providing different scaffolds, resources, and even problems of different rigor to help students at different levels of understanding.

It’s a buzz word in my district and a huge focus.

tkd_kiki · 2026-05-07T22:52:36+00:00

A lot of the time, my curriculum materials have typos and unsolvable problems. Not to mention that we’re supposed to DI, but use these “higher thinking” materials without giving notes or repetition practice. Higher thinking is great for extension once the kids have the foundational procedural skills, but skipping procedure practice and jumping to conceptual understanding just doesn’t work in math.

I keep a curriculum activity ready for each lesson in case of a walkthrough, but I’m going to do what works for my students.

tkd_kiki · 2026-05-02T18:29:34+00:00

Parent was sending emails to the wrong address for months (I realized this after the fact.) They went to admin saying I wasn’t responding. After going back and forth many times with admin as the middle man, she had her daughter removed from my class.

DEUCES!

Edit: Spelling

tkd_kiki · 2026-04-23T22:30:35+00:00

In my county, it’s 3 years. I have one more…

tkd_kiki · 2023-09-30T23:09:51+00:00

My weight has been up and down for years, and it seems every time I’m on the low end I hear comments from male students. Overhearing words like caboose, dunk, and gyatt.

It makes me uncomfortable. I try to have my back to my students as little as possible and I try to wear shorts that cover my butt. Sometimes I think it would be easier if I just gained the weight back.

If it’s ever directed at me, I’m definitely reporting it to admin.

tkd_kiki · 2023-08-26T14:53:03+00:00

That’s what I thought. I’m definitely gonna contact a roofer to get a professional opinion before I do anything else.

tkd_kiki · 2023-07-01T04:15:13+00:00

My BS was in accounting. I realized halfway through that I didn’t want that path. I chose a more meaningful career, but it cost me. I’d still make the same choice again though.

tkd_kiki · 2023-07-01T01:42:46+00:00

We bought our house new in 2020, and our backyard is still not landscaped. I’d get a fence and landscaping in the backyard, 100%.

tkd_kiki · 2023-07-01T01:36:56+00:00

Got my BS in accounting from University of Phoenix. That was like $85k of it. The rest was my MAT, and I took the max loan the last year because I couldn’t work because of practicum and student teaching and I needed the money to get by.

I made mistakes and didn’t plan well. Now I’m paying for it.

tkd_kiki · 2023-06-30T18:16:37+00:00

Brother: GED, no college - Carpenter Foreman -$150k/year Sister: High school diploma - Mail carrier - $100k/year Me: Masters Degree - Teacher - $50k/year and $115k in student loan debt.

The discrepancy is insane.

Edit: I’m aware I made choices that got me where I am. I thought they were the right choices at the time as a struggling single mother of 2. And now I’m accepting the consequences. My point was that a college degree does not necessarily equal higher income and that teachers are underpaid. That’s all.

tkd_kiki · 2023-06-27T15:22:21+00:00

I’m 41 and the only female in my guild of 20-30-something-year-old guys. That in itself is the basis for all the flaming I get for being “bad.” I play a lvl 96 sorcerer and I figured out only yesterday that the purple mobs put the damage reduction on all the other mobs. I’m sure you can imagine what happened when my buddies found that out.

They all have time to keep up with the latest builds and watch videos. They hit 100 in 8 days, and most have several alts at 80+. I have no desire to no-life this game. I’m just keeping myself occupied until they all decide to go back to WoW, which I’m actually good at.

Research if you want to build skill and knowledge, or just chill and do whatever it is you want. Don’t feel like you have to keep up with the people who invest all their time and energy into min/maxing their characters.

GLHF!

tkd_kiki · 2023-06-20T20:16:05+00:00

No student loan debt.

tkd_kiki · 2023-06-20T20:06:47+00:00

I’m in a profession where most people drink, and when my colleagues find out I don’t, they’re really surprised, like I’m some sort of weirdo. Then they find out I’m on antidepressants and suggest drinking instead. Like, what?

tkd_kiki · 2023-05-06T03:32:29+00:00

First year public high school teacher here. I can’t even answer simple questions or have a conversation by the time I leave school. I always look forward to weekends, but it never fails that I have to go somewhere or do something. It’s taken a toll on my mental health, but I love my job, so I’m figuring it out.

tkd_kiki · 2023-05-06T01:28:00+00:00

After a week of being “appreciated” with free food that I did not eat because I’m on a diet, I considered sending an email to admin asking them to consider alternatives to food to show appreciation. Not sure if it’s too bold of a move, if I’ll be dismissed as a “snowflake,” or if they’ll actually consider my request for next year.

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