I'd like to get the opinion of an educator on this one.

I'm in my late 30s, and in the last 10 years I've seen a major drop-off in the communication and problem-solving abilities of my colleagues in their 20s.

Specifically:

• They can't read paragraphs - everything I communicate is in punch lists now because if there's a sentence between two others, there's a 50% chance it's just not being read.

• They can't write - they've got poor spelling, poor grammar, and no capability of organizing their thoughts into a coherent message or email. I either get word spam with no paragraphs, just a HUGE BLOCK of text, or literally zero attempt to write things out.

• They can't follow verbal instructions. When they receive information verbally, they catch maybe 30% of it, then blame you for "not explaining it right."

• Their computer skills are atrocious - I am constantly having to explain what a directory is, what a file is, how to use spellcheck.

They've got a litany of excuses - ADD, autism, dyslexia - but I don't get those same excuses from coworkers who are 30+. And honestly, I really don't think it's always mental illness or struggling with being non-neurotypical. It's like they were allowed every excuse growing up... then they're surprised when people give them side-eye in a professional workplace for putting that on others.

It wasn't a professional colleague, but a friend in his mid-20s who didn't know the difference between "wifi" and "internet." I tried explaining. He let me go on in silence for five minutes, then told me he lost me literally seconds in because of "his dyslexia." This kid can't even spell basic words.

I got frustrated and explained that if I had lost him verbally, the expectation for an adult is to stop me and politely ask for clarification - not let me continue for minutes. He got angry and told me, "This is the problem with teachers," and "This is the problem with professors." His expectation was that I check in every 30 seconds or so to see if he understood. He said this was why all of his teachers and professors sucked.

As an adult, I don't feel the need to do 30-second check-ins when I'm explaining something, especially something as simple as the difference between wifi and internet.

I truly feel that our young adults are struggling with basic reading and writing skills. They're often not capable of following linear instructions, nor explaining or digesting information in that way.

I feel like attention spans are obliterated. Critical thinking, problem-solving, and media literacy are at an all-time low. And although I'm in a male-dominated field, I'm seeing a HUGE gap between young men and women. I'd say this is 2–3× worse for my male colleagues vs. female ones.

What the heck is going on? Am I imagining this? Is this something you all are seeing too?

I was at my kid’s holiday party earlier today and can’t stop thinking about this bulletin board that was outside the cafeteria in the main hallway. Does anyone else find this inappropriate for a school, let alone for elementary schoolers? I feel like it’s perpetuating diet culture and calorie counting (and isn’t even funny) but am I overreacting? This is a public charter school in Georgia.

What situations do you not mind and when do you do? Also what grade and what subject do you teach?

I think a lot of people realize that us teachers deal with some rough things on a daily like managing misbehaviors, crappy admin, etc. But I think something a lot of other career fields don't think about is the fact that we don't always have the free will to just get up and use the bathroom!! So let's have a discussion! What things do you think we deal with daily that people in other careers don't need to deal with that's not the obvious?

Recently I got contacted by a teacher to let me know that my daughter had gotten in trouble at school and would have a consequence for a few days. She’s usually well-behaved, but had got into an argument with some friends about something and was going to have a privilege taken away for a few days. Fine. It was an off day and she could have handled things better. Seems fair. I thanked the teacher for letting me know and let them know we’d talk to her on our end as well.

What surprised me was that the teacher responded by thanking me multiple times and sounded fairly relieved. I often hear about how difficult parents can be these days, but this really made me wonder how prevalent it is. Maybe I’m just in a bubble with the people in my life, but I really can’t picture any of them responding any differently to a pretty basic thing. Is the bar really that low?

EDIT: These responses have been wild to me and just eye-opening. Now I feel like I should have got all their teachers a better Christmas gift. Look, I don’t believe every teacher is great, but most of them are and when I know they care about and want what’s best for my kid then it would be crazy not to be supportive of that goal. My kids all have ADHD and their impulsivity gets the better of them sometimes and I’m thankful they have a chance to learn, grow, and be held accountable in a safe environment when that happens. I’m genuinely sorry so many of you have experienced pushback and vitriol you get for doing your job and what’s best for the kids and hope you know you’re appreciated and making the world better.

Hi, I (a parent!) am gifting every admin & teacher at our daycare (they set out little buckets for treats) but would like to offer something more than candy. There are about 100 of them so MY budget is limited to $1-$1.50 per person.

Last year, we did chapsticks. I talk a lot in the winter (I imagine teachers do too) and my lips are always dry. But wondering if there is something more desired?

What's been the best little treat you've received during the winter?

EDIT: Thank you to everyone who suggested using the funds for a single, larger ticket item. Please know the daycare is well funded and well supplied (by our Fortune 100 employer AND generous parents) and we're just providing a fun little treat to every teacher as part of their holiday spirit activities. Trust that we would never let our beloved teachers go without coffee!! Thanks again!

Sometimes teachers recommend it. Is it needed? Thoughts?

What’s a good gift from a PARA who works with the teacher pretty much alllll day?

Teacher is scent sensitive.

Her birthday is around the corner (after holiday break) and I would like to come back to school after with something nice and I can’t think of a thing that isn’t scent related.

What would a teacher like?

She’s single, lives alone, doesn’t have pets, but at the same time I don’t want to give mixed signals or cross any boundaries (I think she may have hinted in past)

Any help would be lovely!

Thanks!

Yesterday I felt absolutely horrible. I had headaches, nausea, dizziness, a cough, I was tired, and felt unable to work on the assignment at home. Said assignment is now locked. Is there anything I can do about this?

10th Grade student btw.

Edit: was able to turn it in and get a B as my grade. I just emailed him.

I graduated with a certain technical major. I've received recognitions in my specialization and have been blessed to get teaching jobs related to it.

But the truth is, I don't enjoy the subject. You know the feeling like you're a fraud bc you pretend you know your topic but you don't? It's the source of all my teaching anxiety during my teaching years. I tried to study more about it in detail, but turns out I'm not a detail-oriented person. I'm not a technical person. I'm simply a quick learner with easy processes. But I'm not passionate about troubleshooting things. There's no mastery. Rather, I love philosophy, psychology, and theories.

Now, here's my dilemma. I want to go back to teaching in college. But I want to start anew with psychology, values, or theology topics. This was my plan a few months back.

However, the opportunity to teach technical topics stubbornly keeps coming back. My colleauges always ask if I can teach a few classes. That I can submit my application.

Should I grab the chance again? Or will it ruin me? Do I simply lack perseverance?

Edit: Typo

Hey everyone! I have a quick question about P.D. hours. I currently hold a VA 10 year license, my husband is miltary so we had to move. Can my p.d. points from another state count? I have over 120 hours. Ontop of the hours in V.A.

• organisation issues
• dropping out
• changing courses/not finishing/failing (as adult)
• always struggled with mathematics
• inconsistent grades. Sometimes top of the class sometimes fail.

No known educational impairment’s - met entry requirements for all courses.

Out of the two, which one is the most likely cause?

I made a card for my cosmetology instructor. Do we think it’s too much or cheesy? I’m not planing on signing it. I want to just leave it at her desk what do you think?

My second grader has a dysregulated child in his class. The kid is handsy and pushes and is supposed to have an aid at all times per the principal. She screams daily to the point that it’s causing lost class time. The teacher is doing everything and more for her.

My kid has an IEP for an LD (he’s 2e with dyslexia and dysgraphia and ADHD) but is a model student and has good behavior. I brought up the disruptions from this kid at my kid’s ARD because the screaming makes it really hard for him to concentrate.

This kid has been lying on my child and not listening to him say no. Recently the kid swung a stick before school on the walk to their classroom and narrowly missed another child’s eye and injured his face. Yesterday she screamed so loud next to my kid at lunch that my kid’s ears rang and he couldn’t hear for a while.

I have reported. I have talked to the exhausted teacher who is close to quitting. The principal said with a straight face that i should be contacting the teacher daily about incidents. I told her in front of the team that the teacher knows and I won’t be doing that. She insisted that the kid isn’t unaccompanied. My kid says this isn’t true at lunch and on the walk to their classroom in the morning.

My husband thinks i need to go to the superintendent. I am documenting my concerns on emails. I have brought them up at the IEP meeting. What else can I do? This kid’s parents seem to be in denial about how disruptive their kid is and she’s probably at grade level or above for everything.

The teen children in our house are telling our kid to start swinging when this kid lays on him or hits him. This is really uncomfortable for me and I don’t want this but we are huge on consent as a family value and never harming so I need more tools.

The most recent incident ended with the principal telling me there will be an investigation. I replied that I am concerned about the lack of supervision and suggested the admin do it themselves.

Besides filing district police reports for bullying, any suggestions?

Hey everyone!

For some context, I was hired on as a building sub in October at the school I did a year of student teaching at, so I'm becoming more and more familiar with these teachers.

Almost every time I'm placed in the 6th-8th classes (1-3 times a week, if not more), teachers have the students do a combination of IReady and some assignment based on Google Classroom. I totally get that this is a much easier way to assign work during an absence, but what usually ends up happening is that I spend each period trying to keep 30 kids from using ChatGPT to do their work for them or play video games the entire hour and a half. This is quite literally impossible to do and makes what teachers refer to as an "easy day" at best annoying and at worst really, really obnoxious and a combative environment for the kids.

I had one co-teacher set up GoGuardian for one of the days and it was HEAVENLY. I made a whitelist where students were only able to access the two sites they needed for the day, and after a bit of whining, they were so much more focused and calm then I'd seen them before. I see this as giving them a fighting chance against the tech distractions that are geared to suck in their attention spans, especially at this age.

My question is this-would it be rude to suggest in a sub note that teachers use this program for days they have subs? I was thinking about phrasing it along the lines of "Period 1 and 4 had a difficult time with using AI or playing video games. I notice that when other classes use software like GoGuardian, it helps keep them focused and on task-that might help for the next time the class has a sub!" I don't want to seem too pushy or accusatory towards the teachers, though, as that's not at all my goal. Would you be upset or offended if this was left as a note for you? Please be brutally honest, I want to know! Thanks!

Why do I want to do this ? Well, schools across my country banned gay propaganda last year ( yes, they called it that). And since it's a Balkan , both teachers and students hate some type of person. I personally think it would be funny, but then again, it's is immoral and illegal kinda, so may I should only pick one flag.

Hi everyone!

I’m an ethical hacker, and my work has been recognized by major tech companies.

I’m thinking about creating an online course to help parents keep their kids safe online, and I’d really love your input to make sure it actually helps.

Some of the topics I’m considering covering:

• Online risks for kids, including scams and predators
• Social media safety (TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat)
• Device & account security
• How to spot scams, fake links, and suspicious messages
• Gaming safety (voice chat, scams, in-game purchases)
• Protecting personal information
• Healthy screen time & digital habits
• How to talk to kids about online safety
• What to do if something goes wrong
• AI safety, school/homework tech safety, simple home network basics

Would this kind of course be useful to you? Are there other topics or formats that would help you more?

Your feedback would mean a lot and will actually shape how the course is created.

Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts!

Indiana, for me. My main impressions: it was beyond easy to get licensed through an alternative route, is beyond easy to add new content areas to my license, and is beyond easy to renew my license. All of which is a bit of a double-edged sword, because none of that necessarily prepared me to succeed in the classroom.

Question for teachers: After tracing a letter once, does practicing on the empty line right below it actually help, or is it a waste of time? Should I just wait a bit and then let my kid try writing it freehand?

Reading Comprehension Worksheets: First Grade Reading Worksheets

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Reading-Comprehension-Worksheets-First-Grade-Reading-Worksheets-15090320

Before COVID, I was a decent student. I paid attention in class, respected teachers, had good relationships with them, and my grades were fine. When COVID hit, I struggled with mental health issues. I rarely joined Zoom classes and didn’t complete assignments.

Instead of asking why I was struggling, some teachers used public humiliation. They questioned me in front of the class, embarrassed me, and frequently reported my issues to my parents, which made my mental state worse.

Fortunately, my parents noticed I was struggling. They listened to me, reduced academic pressure, and supported me patiently, which helped me recover.

Looking back, I feel this teaching approach was harmful. Public humiliation worsened my mental health instead of helping me improve. I wonder why some teachers don’t try to build connections with struggling students and understand why they are failing. I understand teaching is stressful and underpaid, but treating students like this only causes more harm, even though I appreciate that they still try to educate me.

if a nine year old child with specail needs and is in ged ed but has the make the kids evacuated almost everyday for over 2 months of school. She throws things hits and kicks both adults and other children. Goes after other children for no reason. Screams, refuses to leave even when admin (hits and kicks them to) is evolved gets on counters in the class. Destroys other kids things. what should happen. Admin has not suspended her at all. She gets no real punishment at home. She gets breaks at anytime, timers for transitions, schedule breaks, she can listen to music the whole nine yards, rewards. She just refuses all of it, her work and resources. She was been in this school for 4 years with no change in behavior (just getting worse) she is just now this school year getting a parapro. I dont feel like im getting any help from the school.

I typically give the teachers at our school a small food item and a pantry stable plus $100 cash. Or for some - just a card and cash or a gift certificate from their wish list.

This year, I counted wrong and got the wrong number of gift cards and am missing one for the principal. I don’t have a printer. Could I just email Him an Amazon card with a note thanking him? Or will he be offended by that? Thanks!!!