u/Otherwise-Set-4444

Do gold pass members get early entry? If so, how soon can a gold pass member get into the park?

I got hired at a new school and the teacher before me had been in this room for 10 years. Well the teacher got an instructional coaching position and left all of their unwanted crap in every single cabinet. There’s not a single empty cabinet for me to put my things in. I’m an experienced teacher, so I already have a bunch of my own stuff, meaning I now have to completely clean out all of their stuff before I can even put my own crap away. I’m sick of teachers doing this. It’s a common thing in the education world (at least from my experience) and admin needs to start making sure teachers completely clean out rooms before leaving. I understand that there might be a lot of useful stuff, but put it in boxes in the hallway, don’t leave your mess in the classroom for the next teacher to clean up. It’s hours of added work on top of the stress of having to organize my own stuff and set up a new room with limited time and it’s not my job to clean up the mess of another teacher. Rant over.

Edit 1: if there’s one thing I’ve learned from this post, it’s that a ton of you are very ok with doing unpaid labor and cleaning up after other teachers. This checks out for why so many things are constantly added to our workload because a lot of you are just fine with it and think it’s “part of the job.” No wonder poor working conditions don’t change much for us.

Edit 2: I’m not against sharing things and helping out other educators, especially newbie teachers. What I AM against is teachers leaving the room a mess for the next teacher to clean, all because they were too lazy to clean it out themselves. A lot of you are making excuses by saying “the teacher leaving wanted to help another teacher out” or “we have to keep district purchased items.” Both of those could be true, but the teacher leaving could’ve helped EVERYONE out by putting all of their crap in boxes in the hallway for the incoming teacher to look through and the district purchased items could go into a storage closet- not be stored in my room by taking up the minimal storage space that I have.

So I’m a teacher with 6yrs of experience. I’m not sure if I have ADHD or am on the spectrum in some way, but I’ve noticed that my mind tends to go blank very often and I can’t always come up with the correct words to describe things. I’m not sure if it’s bc there’s just always so much going on in my brain during the school year that my brain is on overdrive, or what, but I really want to work on it.

I’ve noticed that this mainly happens in professional settings where I’m under pressure (IEP meetings, MTSS meetings, ect) but it also happens when I’m just casually talking to my colleagues about students and trying to describe things about the student. In my mind, I know exactly what’s going on with the student and the info is in my mind, but when it comes time to present the information, my mind goes blank or I explain it poorly. I’m not sure if this is happening bc I feel pressured and am folding, or if there’s something else going on. This also happens occasionally in regular conversations as well where I’m asked a question and my mind goes blank. As a teacher, it really messes with my confidence bc it makes it appear as if idk what’s going on or if idk what I’m talking about, but I do- it’s just not being communicated properly. Could this be some sort of processing disorder? I lots of other teachers being able to just thoroughly explain everything in great detail, and then it gets to me and it’s word vomit. This doesn’t happen in the classroom btw. I have no issues with explaining things to my students. Has anyone else experienced this or have any advice? I’m not asking for a diagnosis, but more so am wondering if this is normal.

A few days ago, I told my principal that I was going to a new district, but didn’t say where I’d be going. He was supportive, but did ask where I’d be teaching next year. I’m sure he could easily find out, but I don’t really want to say where I’m going. How do I handle this question if I’m asked again once I see him in person to get my things?

Edit: I did NOT use this principal as a reference. There was no bad blood, but there were a few shady things done to other teachers by this principal, so I decided not to tell him I was leaving until after I accepted a new position.

So I’ve never resigned after putting in my intent to return. I was offered a job the other day and am needing to send a resignation email. I have a few days to send it. I want to resign on decent terms. I’m unsure who to email other than the building principal. Should I text the principal first to thank them and explain my reason for leaving and then still send a formal email? I have no idea how to go about this. In the resignation email, do I mention what district I’ll be going to? Any tips are appreciated!

If I’m offered a job at another district, when do I get all of my materials that are still stored in my classroom at my current district? How do I contact my current principal about getting my stuff out of the room? I’m sure they’re going to call her as a reference check since she is my current supervisor, but I haven’t let her know I was looking at other positions. It could be very awkward and I’m unsure how to approach the conversation.

The area that I live in requires teachers to go through a first round interview with just admin, then a second round interview with admin and the grade level team you’d be potentially joining, as well as a few others such as the counselor, instructional coach, ect. I don’t really understand the purpose of a first round interview in this situation. I feel like there should only ever be a second round interview if there are 2 candidates who are difficult to choose from. Other than that, I don’t get why multi round interviews are a thing. Schools know what they want, so why put candidates through multiple rounds for one interview?

I have a 1st grade interview coming up for a school that I’ve worked at for the past year (I’m a long term sub and had 5yrs prior teaching experience at another school before my long term sub position at my current school). I always thought that interviewing for ppl I know would be easier bc they already know me as a teacher. I’ve been told that they want to hire me, but it makes me incredibly nervous about this interview bc of the extra pressure I feel to really make a good impression because they know me. I really don’t want to screw this up bc I love this school and the environment, but sometimes during interviews, my mind goes blank even when I know the answer to things. Any advice on how to do well in the interview? I’m already planning on practicing some interview questions, but if you have any common interview questions, drop them down below!

So I’ve conquered all the rides except Sirens, Millie and TT2. Im going next week and want to conquer these eventually. I’m really excited about riding Sirens, I just haven’t had the chance yet and plan on riding it when I go next week.

Millie looks fun, but that first hill looks really daunting. After that it looks easy. I’ve heard you don’t get much air time, but that you get a lot of speed, so bc of this I think I’d like it, it’s just the height that scares me. I’m a fan of speed, but not the biggest fan of butterflies from airtime.

Now of course TT2. Most ppl are intimidated by this one, understandably so. For me, I think I’d LOVE the speed on it, but the height and going backwards is what’s keeping me away.

Out of these 3 rides, which one was scariest to you? For context, my all time favorite ride is Maverick. I love that ride so much!

What’s the best way to positively stand out in an interview? I’m determined to get out of my toxic district/school and get into a good one. I have 6yrs of experience and teach lower/mid elementary. I’m not the best at small talk or showing my personality during interviews. I answer the questions thoroughly and try to go above and beyond (I ask questions, I bring student work samples, ect). In my experience, it usually comes down to me and one candidate and they usually go with the other one. I need to get into a better school. How can I positively stand out?

Also, I always email my resume/cover letter to principals after applying for a position. That’s how I’ve gotten most of my interviews. Should I attach more items when emailing?

Any advice is welcome!

My district is big on using the curriculum and all its resources. Some of our curriculum is good and I don’t mind it. The rest of it is garbage and I’m constantly having to buy things from TPT to supplement. Districts spend thousands of dollars on curriculum just for teachers to secretly not use it and are forced to supplement with things that actually cover the standards well. I really don’t get it. Just buy decent curriculum!

I teach lower elementary and I’m tired of parents expecting pictures of their child participating in every single event. They want pictures from Halloween parties, valentines parties, 100th day of school, field day, bookfair, birthday celebrations, ect. I’m not a photographer. Yes, I have a phone with a camera, but I’m busy enjoying the moment and monitoring kids. Plus, most of these moments can be stressful and I don’t always have time to take pictures. Luckily, I’ve not set the expectation that parents will get pictures of every event, so my parents don’t expect it. It’s a treat for them when they get a picture and they appreciate it more. Before society was glued to their phones, teachers didn’t always need to send pictures of every event. Stop expecting teachers to do it now.

Also, I’m tired of teachers being expected to basically run a Facebook account for their classroom. I’m expected to post pictures/videos of every cool thing we do in class, send pictures to parents, post educational videos for parents to help kids at home (I don’t mind this one), respond to parents messages right away….. what happened to letting parents know important information and all the extra stuff being a fun treat? Now the things that used to be a fun treat are the expectation. Personally, I blame TikTok and reels. Parents see that stuff and think all teachers should be that way. Sorry, I’m actually TEACHING. I don’t have time for that shit.

If so, what’s it like teaching there? Do you enjoy it? I’m an elementary school teacher (with experience) and I’ve been applying for jobs, but I’ve noticed lots more positions opening up there VS other districts like Hilliard, Dublin, Worthington, New Albany, ect. Were there budget cuts or something recently? Why so many openings in Westerville compared to surrounding districts?

I’ve never really been in this situation, but I’m looking to leave my current district and am unsure of whether I should mention it to my current principal, or quietly quit. I haven’t been offered a contract yet for next year (I teach lower elementary and my job is based on how many students are enrolled),and it’s starting to make me nervous. It’s my first year in the district, but not my first year teaching. My principal is usually supportive and communicative, but I’m unsure of how to respectfully tell him that I’m looking to leave, but also make sure that my current position isn’t going to be jeopardized bc of me attempting to leave. I just don’t want him to be blindsided and then give me a bad recommendation. I also don’t want to burn any bridges.

The biggest reason I’m wanting to quietly quit is bc the gossip at my school is AWFUL and I do not want ppl constantly coming up to me asking me about my plans for next year, where I’m applying to, asking for interview updates, ect. It’s stressful and I don’t like the extra pressure I feel. I don’t really have anyone that I trust at this school to talk for advice and trust that they won’t spread rumors. Any advice?

I have an interview for a 2nd grade position next week. I have a few years of experience, but would love any advice! I plan on taking student work samples and talking about my students testing scores. Any other advice on helping me get the job?

I see teachers who have lots of energy after work. They go to the gym, take care of their family, have a social life, eat healthy….. I’m in year 7 and I still haven’t figured it out. Im a lower elementary teacher, for context. I’m always tired (I mostly rot/do chores on the weekends unless I force myself to be social). My vitamin D/Iron levels are low, which could be a factor, but even when I first started and my levels weren’t low, I was still exhausted most days. I want to take care of myself by eating better and exercising, but I have difficulty doing it bc of me being burnt out. I think the fact that I’m single, live on my own in a city with not much family, and don’t make a ton of money all contributes to my tiredness (don’t have a spouse to help out, broke most of the time so I’m working extra hard to make ends meet, ect). I guess I’m just wondering how ppl are successfully taking care of themselves (both mentally and physically) while being a teacher.