Teachers Overwhelmed, Unsupported by Admin
Educators across different grade levels and experience levels are struggling with overwhelming student needs, inconsistent administrative support, and a lack of resources. This leads to burnout, feelings of inadequacy, and a constant pressure to achieve unrealistic academic outcomes despite challenging classroom environments. The complaints highlight a systemic issue impacting teacher well-being and student success.
SOURCES (60)
“Exactly. And I feel like it’s a bad analogy because the “real world” can enforce more serious consequences, more promptly.”
“Same! I don’t have children, but I’ve been teaching for 20 years. I think I might have meaningful experience and expertise here!”
“I hold them accountable in my classroom and give up on anything happening at home. What else can you do? You can't force parents to parents and you can't force a kid to grow up. All you can do is control what happens in your classroom. If the parents don't let you hold students accountable (Ive had parents get 504/iep about students having their phones in class or getting to use the bathroom whenever they want) I document it, make the parent, counselor, case manager, etc aware that t”
“I like to pass that on to admin. Nothing happens, but it if you have a good principal or VP, it helps lay a foundation that they can work from in case you have to deal with parental blowback for some reason.”
“That sounds awful. Extending the day looks good on paper, but in reality it is counterproductive. Even on a normal schedule, students AND teachers are tired by the last block. We push through but it's rough. I can't imagine having to go for an extra 30-60 minutes.”
“We’ve done this exact thing for thirty five years except we didn’t have a special name for it. We called it “Day Before the Kids Arrive”.”
“This seems to be the prevailing pattern. Completely unsurprising as yet another pointless attempt to solve problems without actually addressing the problems.”
“Don’t pray for me pay for me. Is what I tell people. I also let people know the only reason I teach now is because I have supplemental income that pays me more than my teaching salary. That is the only way I can make ends meet. Teaching in this country is often seen as babysitting at best. Like I have a masters in education and have years experience with behavioral disabilities and behavioral management, besides the curriculum. And for all that i get around 3k a month? I honestly don’t know how”
“Yeah, I can see that. In the 90's/00's it was still pretty mixed. And I'm sure the parents were influencing things too.”
“The mind-blowing ones are the parents who parent like this, but who are teachers themselves! I watched my neighbor, a middle school teacher, give her son two ice cream truck treats after he cried about not liking the first one she bought. Then a week later she said "I can't believe he would do that unprovoked" when he whipped chalk at my son so hard it left welts on his skin. This lady is such an enabler and it pains me to see because as a teacher she should know better.”
“That’s not the point I’m making, as should be obvious. But to pick up on your point, all ideas work in some environnements/contexts.”
“Are they though? Putting kids in groups will lead to behaviour problems. Rewards systems dilute the value of the education itself. Gamifying everything is an exhausting waste of time. These are not signs of a well run classroom.”
“I get that. My district did this whole speech at the beginning of the year, which was actually given by our union president who said “you should never be reusing assignments, you need to be changing and updating every year” and I’ve really been taking it to heart”
“When I was in similar circumstances last year, I put the desks into a U shape to encourage engagement, with flexible seating on each wall (e.g., larger desk, different chair, small group tables, & teacher proximity seating).”
“Twice in two different schools I stopped students from literally punching their laptop screen.”
“This first time I ever stepped foot into a classroom as a mentor teacher I was in high school. I had dressed up really nice and put makeup on for the first time in ages. A kid looked me dead in the eyes and said “you look like a clown” The other week I was playing never have I ever with my summer group kids and a kid once again looked me dead in the eyes and said “never have I ever had a parent die”…. My mom died of cancer 10 years ago. It’s hard, but I truly take that time as a teaching moment”
“The student may need phonemic awareness training. Students need to be able to identify sounds within words ( not the letter, just the sound) before they can blend sounds and recall words. Marilyn Jager Adams explains it excellently in her book, “Phonemic Awareness in Young Children: A Classroom Curriculum.” Included in the book are forms to use for evaluation and directions for complete training. I have used this book extensively in tutoring students struggling with blending sounds and recall of”
“I…am learning. I came in knowing the basic structure, but I have a lot more knowledge after reading all of these comments.”
“Ive had kids throw desks and kick over chairs. It happens when they are dysregulated. Nothing is going to bring them down after a certain point other than time, so its best to get them out of the classroom and isolated where they can calm down. Last time it happened to me was because a 6th grader who was misbehaving constantly. I went and talked to the soccer coach and got him put on probation, this after warning him I would do it. Because I was a threat to his soccer fun, he completely lost it.”
“Are you genuinely taking a time to teach students how to use the supplies? Are you buying quality supplies or are you picking the cheapest garbage on the shelf? No judgment if that’s all you can afford, but the cheap stuff breaks. That’s why it’s cheap. Sometimes teachers get mad at their students because their school isn’t giving them a proper budget. Not the kids fault.”
“i do a little of milk crating for handouts and bins for each class for turn in work. i don't pick up turn in work i don't plan to grade and enter that day.”
We started yesterday, students don’t start until July 27th. 😩
“I was just in Five Below yesterday and a girl, maybe about 10ish was shopping with her mom for school supplies. She asked her mom for something and her mom said, "I'm not about to get you all of that! You just need one." And the little girl goes, "Oh yeah because the school's just gonna take it." Pissed me off instantly. 😒 Be this passionate about the child's behavior the school has to take.”
“Optional PD August 10-11, August 12 is teacher workday, and first day with the students is august 13. I’m not ready yet.”
“How can we not blame parents for the actions of their children? If you want society to improve that’s where it has to start. We are doing what we can at school to teach cooperation with others but how can we have any effect when the parent is the most influential figure in a child’s life?”
“Just watched this: https://youtube.com/shorts/mZ-cfamDkPg?si=ae\_kNZINsvawiNst And feel the same way. Help me understand WHY the students of this generation are so DESTRUCTIVE. I removed everything from my class for the upcoming year because the 8ths destroyed rocking chairs, scissors, markers, card games, fidgets. IT WAS MIND BLOWING the amount of vandalism and blatant destruction. I've noticed an uptick in this since COVID. And, I don't understand this shift. For 20 years, if a student”
“I’m not trying to. I just want what’s best for them and I’m trying to give them that. I’ve already researched many of the suggestions given to me. I want to help them because if I don’t, there aren’t any other options.”
“Those are both red flags for me. An expectation to do something above and beyond my contracted hours is a big no.”
“A new young kid on site was sitting at the lunch tables while everyone else is eating. I struck up a conversation with him as he was at the end of the same table..."hey kid you not hungry?" He then told me he is hungry...but he's new and broke so he will get by with a bottle of water... For some reason the way he said it, his demeanor and my soft heart deep down saw myself in him when I was young and new. I offered to buy his lunch from the onsite food truck and chatted with him ab”
“When will you be referring both of them to a neuropsych for dyslexia and dyscalculia evaluations?”
“Title is kind of clickbaity, so I’m sorry, but I didn’t know what else to title this without potentially triggering some folks. TRIGGER WARNING: Self injury mentioned. • • • • • So I’m a new art teacher, and I struggled with my mental health all throughout childhood and early adulthood. I have some noticeable self-inflicted scars on my forearms and upper arms. They’re already as faded and flat as they’re gonna get, so I think I have to figure out my day-to-day. I’ll be working with middle school”
“So this question is for my special education teachers. I’m a current paraprofessional in a school for kids with autism and mental disabilities, I’m also in school right now to get my degree in special education…I just wanted to know how much paperwork you actually take home and will I constantly be working after hours and on the weekends? The answers I’ve gotten from my colleagues have varied so want to get a broader perspective submitted by /u/piscesdreamer00 [link] [comments]”
“I will be teaching geometry submitted by /u/Warm-Information7237 [link] [comments]”
I hope you are nicer to your students than you are your fellow teachers.
“Wow, you’re actually completely right about my current situation. 5 of the 6 20-somethings who’ve worked there with me during my time there have left, and I’m the only one. I am extremely fortunate that my team is made up of kind, friendly vets (both 20 years in) so I felt supported the whole way through. Most of the rest of the staff is 15+ years in, older transfers, or a few early 20-somethings fresh out of college. I have lots of friends and people who I love, but I don’t really have same-age”
“We have students attend, scheduled during a lunch/recess block. It just reached our school last year. Not many students participate and I don’t think they had to navigate any IEP services that I’m aware of, but that is a very good point I’ll be interested to pay more attention to. I had none of my students participate, but did see some kids from other classes when they returned….always with a bit more of entitled attitude and their religious swag.”
“I got my start teaching in the “bad area” of the city and it was challenging but extremely rewarding for me. I learned a lot FAST, but I also had to beg and borrow to get things I needed for my classroom. Lots of highs snd lows but I wouldn’t trade it for the world! I feel like young teachers are primed to take those difficult jobs as they are extra motivated and excited to get their own classroom and teach that they can give it their all! I stayed 5 years and can honestly say those kids and par”
“No, there's nothing wrong or illogical about labeling your kid's stuff. I THINK OP's bigger argument is with the sentiment that the teacher should ensure that no other child uses the labelled supplies. Sure, we will always try to make sure students use their own supplies, don't take things from other kids, all that stuff. But there's some things we can't control and with a class of 20-30 kids we cant park ourselves with one child. But I could be wrong”
“It was something like "ignite" or whatever last year...but due to uninspiring admin all it did was ignite people to transfer or just feel burnt out”
“Since there are SPED kids in every class in our school, that would be everyone. If I was forced to take this kind of training and had to sign the document, if a kid ever got violent I'd runaway and call Admin to come and deal with it.”
“It’s getting worse as the years go on. Too many kids are like this now. 2 years ago my colleague failed a 5th grade girl in PE because she simply refused to do anything and was really disruptive. The Mom’s email was hilarious. “ You can give my daughter whatever grade you want but she’s gonna live her best life” WTF!”
“I’m pushing back on this one. It was very frustrating to buy my kids supplies, including extras for the class, and have them tell me that all the markers for their table where dried up from the other kids not capping them and the teacher said no new markers until next week. Or any of the other examples I heard about. I and many other parents would rather donate extras for kids who need them and let our children have access to the supplies we bought for them.”
“Yes I have asked in the Facebook pages and people are really lovely and do moderate for me. It’s just that I want to have conversations about what to look for and how to identify vs just checking what I’ve done. I really need to u derstand thwy why and I worry if I keep asking someone who is already helping me that it will make them frustrated or something. I have heard that there are workshops but this is the first time I’ve heard of them feels like they should be a given or at least one person”
“Also: Teachers: “please, for the love of all that is good & holy, label your child’s belongings”. Parents: “🤬no!””
“Hahaha. Leftover supplies? I used over 1000 glue sticks last year. There were no leftovers. I started with 3000 pencils. I had 170 students in 6 classes but we used a lot of supplies.”
“Hello All, How do you view having summer off and yet grade appeals are happening. The grade appeals at my public institution is getting absurd. It's a free school and kids treat it like a flexible grade 13. Admin helps students file appeals for every reason under the sun. Our syllabus didn't mention submitting work after the semester was over. Student claims all work was submitted online but it didn't go through and lms was down. Of course I didn't help . I'm responding but t”
“I can not help here. As I approach them in the hall, I redirect the ones pushing each other and ask them to make way as I unlock the door. Have them take a seat and half try to tell a dad joke or just let them talk as I turn on the board and computer. I give a verbal indication of what the goals are and then make them wait as I finish the set up. …. I close each class and rush them out the door and then at least once every few weeks a student wasn’t comfortable accepting help in class gets mad b”
“I had a kid call me fat. I pretended that it just happened that day and that I had never been fat before in my life. Then I asked him if he thought it was a secret. He was a little surprised that I wasn't insulted. The he called me pig teacher and I had my director talk to his parents. He didn't say stuff like that after that.”
“Don’t ever feel embarrassed as a new first year teacher for being financially strapped before your first pay. Anyone who’s been teaching long enough knows how it feels before that first paycheck arrives. A $30 t shirt is frankly kinda criminal. Like even as a veteran teacher who makes good money, I don’t want to pay that much bc it’s a dang tee shirt!”
“Question! I'm assuming you are a special ed teacher, what would be the best way for a new gen ed teacher to welcome you? Just curious since I coteach often and have new coteachers this year and want to try and onboard them/the partnership as best I can.”
“I with have all cotaught math this year. My coteachers for the last two years have sat at their desk and done paperwork around the clock minus the bare minimum to keep admin off their backs. I want this year to be different, but I can’t say “Yeah, you’re not just gonna sit on your ass this year, I need you up helping.” Anyone found success with this? Does a simple conversation do it? submitted by /u/yonicsymbol [link] [comments]”