Deep Teacher Thoughts

[30-minute-memes]

Kids are smart than you think

[huffpost]

‘Sit With Us’ also aims to help reduce bullying.

[princethunderflare]

Genius

[studentlifeproblems]

[vampireapologist-archive-deacti]

It's so sad I was just doing a science demonstration for some kids and the adults who brought them "warned" me that one of the kids was obnoxious and I wouldn't be able to stand him and I said "oh that was me at this age so I'll be okay."

And they said "you couldn't have been this bad, trust me." And I was just like o.k. : )

Then the kids came in and this kid talked out a lot and asked irrelevant questions and would jump around with his hand raised & make inappropriate jokes and be generally disruptive and I saw my younger self in every single thing he did

And it just breaks my heart because it's the same every time.

Someone points out a "problem child," I tell them "that was me once," and they make a face and say "no way were you this bad."

And what theyre saying is "because you're in college now. You're successful. You're smart. You seem normal."

They can't believe happiness and success are in any of these children's futures. None of these disruptive, weird, awkward, emotional kids could end up here, with the smart people, with the good kids all grown up.

And I remember the teacher in middle school who told she wished I'd transfer. Or the high school teacher who said in front of the whole class that I wasn't "smart enough" to get into college.

Wrong wrong wrong.

I just needed someone who cared, who understood. Above all, I just needed some time.

And if they don't or can't end up where I am, who cares! There are many paths to happiness.

These kids deserve more than they're ever given. More patience, love, guidance. Compassion.

[glumshoe]

any group of children between ages 7 and 14 will, if left unattended for over 40 seconds, begin to form weird cults

[glumshoe]

seriously you go into another room to get a band-aid and you come back to find a quartet of ten year-olds prostrating themselves around a dirty baby sock they found on the floor and chanting “speak to us, master” and that’s just life

[obsessionsofabooklover-deactiva]

I am a teacher and my students formed an unhealthy obsession with a can of unopened sprite I had on my shelf. They called it their god. One day I found them holding rulers in the form of a cross singing Kumbaya, so I hid the Sprite as it was becoming a distraction. So the students made a change.org petition to find it.

[lynati]

We used to smear cheese in patterns on the very last windows of the school bus and chant to them.

[alexkingstonflirt]

Teachers are a treasure!

[whattodowithalgebra2]

💁‍♀️

[ladycedar]

There are a number of students in my GCSE class that have behavioural issues and if they feel uncomfortable they can do anything from storm out of the classroom to throwing chairs and punching their tables. They’re great kids, they just dont always see the light at the end of the tunnel and when they are in stressful situations they dont know what to do other than lash out sometimes. They are 10 months away from their final exams and the pressure is being mounted on them in every aspect of their school lives.

Last week one of the students saw me making little origami stars. Its something I do when I’m feeling anxious to help me focus on something else. He asked if I could show him how to make them. He had been clenching his fists all lesson, which I’ve noticed is a tell that he is struggling to retain composure. I gave him a strip of paper and talked it through with him. Soon half of the class were asking me to show them. They all picked it up really quickly.

After about five minutes and about 8 stars later, the student sat back down and was in a much calmer and motivated mood for the rest of the lesson. Our next lesson I placed a box of paper strips on my desk and when I saw anyone getting worked up about their work I silently placed a strip in front of them and let them get on with it. The lesson after I was amazed to see that students would go up to the box of their own accord, pick up a few strips and head back to their desks to continue working after calming down.

Yesterday I brought a large jar into the classroom and placed my anxiety stars in there. The boys put their strsss stars in there too. When they fill the jar I’m going to bring sweets into the lesson to celebrate them working hard and working through their problems in a positive manner. I know I’m not the teacher they deserve just yet but I feel like I’ve made a big breakthrough with them.

[dynastylnoire]

art therapy is important.

[nothingbutamother]

You are exactly the teacher they need. It’s a brilliant idea and im so glad it works for them.

[teachinginreallife]

When I try to get a student to just follow basic instructions

[languageboutique]

Go teachers!

[thoodleoo]

one of the best things about teaching middle school is that they’re young enough to see me as an authority figure despite the fact that i’m pretty young for a teacher but they’re old enough to understand and laugh at the concept of phases, and what i’m really getting at here is that i lost control of my classroom for a couple of minutes today because i told them that i had an emo phase when i was their age

[thoodleoo]

judging by the amount of shrieking in the room you’d think i was torturing them but really it was because i told them my favorite band at the time was evanescence

[spaci1701]

Advice for the next generation. ..

One of our local schools had their kindergarteners pass on their hard earned wisdom to the next class just beginning their journeys. The depth of their hard earned knowledge is awe inspiring. ..

[lingling40hrs]

[cutefunnybabyanimals]

A little girl lost her tooth at school and it got thrown away accidentally at lunch. Teacher pens Proof of Loss letter for the tooth fairy… via /r/aww http://bit.ly/2wF9szs

[ourladybinxthings]

That’s really cute but that handwriting is gorgeous.

[teachinginreallife]

When I ask students why they are not done their work

[antifasteve]

i said this before but anthony mackie seems like the kid in the back of class who is really funny and loud and distracting and everybody likes him but the teacher needs him to shut up so they put the quiet kid sebastian stan next to him bc hes shy and says like four words every semester and it ends up with anthony making jokes under his breath that only sebastian can hear that makes him laugh out loud super hard until the teacher chastises him “i expect better of you, mr. stan” and anthony looks away w wide innocent eyes while clicking his tongue in disapproval

[timeladylaurel]

Oddly specific and absolutely spot on

[showerthoughtsofficial]

People don’t hate math. They hate being confused, intimidated, and embarrassed by math. Their problem is with how it’s taught.

[thehoneyedmoon]

Agreed.

I’ve got two kids and they are being taught math in the most over-complicated, step-heavy way imaginable.

I told them both, fuck that shit. I didn’t learn it that way and I can’t help you with your homework if they’re teaching you that way. I’m going to show you how I learned and teach you some cool shortcuts. I’m also going to teach you there is more than one way to get to the answer and if your teachers don’t like it, they can talk to me about it.

“I don’t give a crap how you get to the answer, so long as you get the correct one at the end.”

[worthlessstreetrat]

ma’am???

I had to read that last sentence three times

“the school District was ONLY desegregated in 2017.” Just 2 years ago?!

I’m so sick of this. She better win her lawsuit.

[unicorns-and-fairy-dust-deactiv]

ONLY DESEGREGATED IN 2017? Did I just read that with my own two eyes?

Jesus H Christ America.

[tolstoyevskywrites-deactivated2]

Fun fact: Mississippi only ratified the 13th Amendment banning slavery in 2013. The amendment was adopted nationwide in 1865 after a three-fourths majority of states voted to ratify it, but Mississippi never submitted the official documentation until February 7, 2013. (All other states had already done so.) This means that Mississippi didn’t officially abolish slavery until 6 years ago.

For more Mississippi madness, check out the documentary “Prom Night in Mississippi,” about a high school that integrated in 1970 but only had its first racially integrated prom in 2008.

[rosethevoid]