r/ElementaryTeachers

Sorry if this is the wrong subreddit!

I’m a college student, I started volunteering at a title I elementary school (fifth grade) recently.

Immediately I noticed how little food the kids were getting fed. 12 year olds are getting 200 calories worth of food and not allowed seconds. Every day they complain about how hungry they are, they beg me for food, they beg each other for food, and sometimes (often) there are fights over food.
I talked to some staff about it and they said it’s from lack of funding.

It’s so heartbreaking and I feel so helpless. I’ve been sneaking in granola bars for some of them (though I know I shouldn’t be and I could get in big trouble).

What can I even do to help? I’ve been looking for any university groups or programs that host fundraisers for public schools but there doesn’t seem to be anything. I’m just one person, but surely there’s something I can do? How do people start fundraisers lol

I’m becoming more and more convinced a majority of kids don’t actually understand jokes yet 😭
(well, at least a lot of the students in the K - 3 age range I teach!) idk if this is an obviously known fact to everyone else, but as someone with no kids of my own, I never had a reason to notice/think about this until I started teaching

The first time this realization dawned on me was in my first year of teaching. One day in my 2nd grade reading class, a student walked in carrying a joke book he was reading for fun. During break time, I asked him to pick a random page to read a few jokes out loud to the class, and they all got a grand ol giggle in before returning back to classwork.
Before the class session ended, I told em a classic "what did one ___ say to the other?" joke. You would've thought my classroom was the Apollo and I just performed the greatest comedy set of all time with the laughter I got 🤣😭 once the dust settled, some kids felt inspired and tried cracking their OWN jokes .... THIS was the exact moment it first hit me
"hey uh wait a sec, they all have NO idea how jokes work"

Every single kiddo who tried, even the one with the joke book, spewed out complete nonsense 😫 not some abstract, absurdist "nonsense" that's funny for some deeper conceptual reason, ohhhh no no no, literally just random (honestly mad-lib coded) sentences which ALL failed to make a lick of sense. Didn't matter to them tho!!!
They all laughed at each other's jokes like a pack of hyenas. I couldn't bring myself to rain on their parade and break their little hearts by telling em none of it made any sense.

THEN, last Halloween (with a completely different class of 1st graders btw), I showed them how Laffy Taffys have jokes on the back, and BOOM same situation repeats: they collectively lose it at the jokes, they try out their OWN jokes, all the joke attempts make ZERO sense, the crowd goes WILD anyway!! that's when I knew my "hypothesis" here wasn't a fluke LOL

Some of em are soooooo close to getting it too 🤏 like they understand there's some sort of structure/setup to a joke that needs to be followed and it's their job to fill in the blanks, BUT they just don't understand the concept of a punchline yet 🙂‍↔️ maybe next year lol

btw btw I'm NOT mentioning this to judge them or call them unfunny behind their backs, this is NOT a complaint! tbh, it's infinitely more endearing than anything + I wanted to share my observation ~
I'm not the comedy police writing up tickets for their lack of funny material LOL
Feels good to know I can be even MORE confident cracking jokes in class now because I as long as my delivery is good, they'll find anything I say hilarious 🙌

Any of y'all who teach in this age range noticed this as well? or does anyone have opposing testimonies LOL like maybe a student who was actually super clever/witty with their jokes??

Hey everyone, I really need to vent and maybe get some advice from anyone who has been through somethings similar.

I am currently a master's student training to become an elementary school teacher. I just finished a 5-week placement in a first grade classroom, and to be honest, it completely broke me. It went so badly that I'm now questioning my entire career choice.

Here is what happened :

My tutor from the school (V), only gave me negative feedback. Every single day. To make things worse, she would vent about me to my university placement supervisor (C). Instead of supporting me, C would send me texts saying things like "I don't understand how can you do things this way", without a single encouraging word.

C would text me constantly, even on my days off. She even sent me a final, harsh message two weeks after placement ended, just to kick me while I was down. On top of that, both V and C constantly compared me to a friend of mine who is in the same program, and they openly question my commitment and seriousness. The only time they finally said something positive was on the very last day, and that was only because I broke down in tears in front of them.

The stress absolutely destroy my health. By the end, I was crying every single morning before going to school. I was constantly nauseous, couldn't eat, and had to run to the bathroom all the time. It got so bad that I am now on medical treatment because the shock and anxiety triggered severe irritable bowel syndrome.

Thinking about next year is giving me panic attacks. I have to go back for a 7-week placement, and just the thought of it literally makes me want to throw up.

Has anyone else dealt with toxic mentors during their teacher training ? I love the kids, but I don't know if I can survive another round of this.

Thanks for reading.

I keep seeing all the posts with people saying how terrible teaching is and not to do it. I know everyone has their own personal experience but I would love to hear some things from those who genuinely love teaching! I recently started my accelerated BA in Elementary Education, I’ve worked with students K-12 as a school bus driver for 3 years now and the passion I have for teaching hasn’t changed regardless of the countless bad experiences I’ve had with students. Someone give me some joy in the comments! 🤣💕

I got hired at a school and recently found out they do not allow teachers to have microwaves, mini fridges, coffee makers, or any other kids of appliances in their rooms. I’ve heard stories of teachers trying to sneak them and getting in trouble. Anyone else experienced this or know why this may be a rule? I just find it pretty inconvenient.

needing some advice on this, whether i should pursue an alternative certification.

i have a bachelors in english!

I’m looking for some honest feedback from others around 8 to 9 year olds.

I’m coaching my daughters sports team and really struggling with them and I can’t work out if:

1. this is just normal for this age
2. it’s this particular group
3. I’m useless

I’ve coached successful high school and adult teams before, so I’m not new to coaching generally, but this age group feels like a completely different world.

I’m not trying to teach complex tactics or skills, I’m talking really simple activities where the main goal is basically “catch the ball” and I still lose half of them during short explanations, I get Constant interruptions, arguing rules, debating every point, asking hypothetical questions before they’ve even tried the activity, walking off during instructions etc. I try to keep the activities super fun, and want to engage with them all, but it’s absolutely derailing any activity we try.

On top of that, at least half the team are really hard on each other. Every mistake becomes a huge deal, even though they’ll often make the exact same mistake themselves 30 seconds later. There are constant comments towards each other and some genuinely mean behaviour at times. I don’t feel cut out to manage that sort of behaviour beyond having group talks about team work and being kind ect.

I leave every training feeling completely drained and honestly questioning whether I should just quit

Administration did major grade level changes this year. I’m getting moved up a few grade levels.
How do you handle changing grade levels?
Many of us getting moved have consistent high scores and didn’t see this coming. I’m trying to be positive but the stress of starting over and spending more money is daunting.

My building has been departmentalized from 3-6 for 2 years now. Generally, all the teachers enjoy it and we have seen positive outcomes academically and in regard to SEL.

Our new principal wanted to stop departmentalization altogether. Realizing that staff would basically walk out of the job after having experienced such a better work load the passed 2 years, they have changed their mind.

The principal is now suggesting however, that students stay in their classrooms and teachers switch rooms for departmentalization. All in the effort to lower transition times.

We all have many thoughts on this-- primarily having to do with management. Who will supervise each classroom when the teachers switch rooms? Sharing a classroom with another teacher will pose new organization problems- would that also impact the transition times? Transitioning the students also provide a movement break for them. Would we then have to incorporate movement breaks in addition to the teacher transition?

The teachers in my building are not receptive to this- nor am I.

Has anyone else had a model like this? We are struggling to wrap our head around it.

Hi! so I’m in an ACP and recently got an interview with a top school in my area. I have intended to work k-2 since I first considered the career switch for a long list of reasons. It’s where my heart is and what I have planned on, particularly after working with middle schoolers in à volunteer capacity this year.

The initial interview went well, I spent a day on campus observing and meeting other admin, was invited to do a mock lesson of my choice (I prepped a first grade reading lesson). I showed up for my appointment and was told “Change of plans! How do you feel about fifth grade ELAR and SS?”

The answer anytime other than in a room of admin in an interview situation would be hell no. In that situation, I said it was surprising but I’m open to it. They did lay out all the reasons they feel this would be a great fit for both sides. I’m feeling incredibly down because grade aside, you could not for a more dream situation as a brand new teacher in terms of school, support, strong teams, everything. But I have no knowledge of the standards and no desire to work in this age group. I also don’t have any other offers or interviews right now though it‘s absolutely certain there will be more openings by month’s end. No guarantees for equally good school situation or for desired grade level.

What would you do? What would you consider? There is such a vast difference between first and fifth graders and so many things come with fifth graders I have no desire to deal with (social strata, puberty - the smell after recess, gag, state testing, transition to middle school) but maybe I‘m making too much out of grade level when the school support should be more important.

This was my third year teaching, and overall, I truly feel like it was my best year yet. All of my students performed at or above grade level, but unfortunately my observations did not go well because I get extremely nervous being watched. As a result, I received a very poor final evaluation and will most likely be placed on an action plan next year.

On top of that, I’m being moved from kindergarten to teaching 4th and 5th grade ELA. I’ve only ever taught kindergarten, and working with little ones has always been my passion. I honestly can’t picture what life looks like in upper elementary, especially since if I had to move up in grades, I’d much rather teach math or science.

I’ve already started applying for other positions, but I know my evaluation has already cost me at least one opportunity. Right now, I feel completely stuck and unsure of what to do. Is there actually hope for me moving forward? How do I get principals to look beyond one evaluation? Should I even be considering careers outside of education?
If I stay where I am, I’ll be teaching two grade levels I’m not passionate about while also likely taking on additional requirements from an action plan. At the moment, it honestly feels like my teaching career has been handed a death sentence.

What should I do?

Hey everyone 🙂

I’m 23 years old and currently working as a teaching assistant at a school. Lately I’ve been thinking about studying education and becoming a full-time teacher.

For those of you who are teachers (or studied education), would you recommend this career path?

I’d love to hear your honest thoughts and experiences.

Thank you and have a wonderful day! 🙏🏻

Hi! I love teaching middle school special education but am interested in going to elementary school general ed. How difficult is the transition? How hard is it to pick up teaching all the subjects to one call all day? Any tips, recommendations, or experiences?

Hello,

I’m a teacher moving to a new district. Traditionally I have taught multi grade in very small districts. I have only had a few years where I teach 1 grade level. This upcoming year my teaching partner is interested in departmentalizing the education so we each teach fewer subjects and the students move between. Does anyone have any experience doing this? I know my immediate reaction but would like to hear some viewpoints. It’s a middle level elementary grade class.

Thanks!

Edit: Thank you for all your thoughts. I have been trying to decide if it would be a good fit for me and now I know.

AHHH I’m so excited I had to share a post on here. I’m graduating tomorrow with an ECE degree and license, and I have been interviewing for months and been discouraged with all the rejections. I didn’t think I’d get hired as a new teacher, BUT a principal that I previously interviewed with (he rejected me but recommended me to another principal at a different school) reached out to me weeks later and said a new 2nd grade position just opened and asked if I wanted it!!! He said they wanted to hire me last time, but it was for a higher grade level and I’m only licensed to teach up to 3rd.

IM SO EXCITED, I just finished my student teaching in 2nd grade so I feel the most comfortable with that grade, AND the district I’ll be working at is the highest paying district in my state 🥹🥹🥹 everything works out!!! I cannot wait to finally be a teacher and have my own classroom ♥️

My son is in fifth grade, he's a strong student, reads two grade levels ahead, genuinely loves writing and he bombed the written portion of his state assessment last spring.

His teacher was confused, I was confused, he was confused, and it took three conversations before someone finally mentioned that the test is fully computer based now and timed and my son types slowly enough that he consistently runs out of time before he can get down everything he knows.

He wasn't failing to understand the material. He was failing to physically produce his understanding fast enough on a keyboard.

I didn't know this was a thing. Nobody told me this was a thing. The school sends home practice packets for reading comprehension and math fluency, there is no packet that says "your child also needs to be able to type at a functional speed or the test format itself will penalize him regardless of what he knows" and I genuinely feel like that information should have been surfaced earlier than the spring of fifth grade.

We spent all summer working on it. He tested faster this year. But I'm still angry that the variable nobody mentioned turned out to be the one that mattered most.

I noticed the same drop. Honestly, I’m so glad you replied — I thought I was the only one. It's super frustrating after all the effort we put in. Have you found anything that works for you?

Does anyone else use the term “lavatory” as part of their academic language?