one thing I love about my job #teaching #ELA to #MiddleSchool students is telling them the truth about certain things they've been taught.

like, how there are fewer clear distinctions between "fiction" and "nonfiction" than they are taught, and how "metaphors" and "similes" are not exactly different things.

if I'm anything, it's precise about language :) it's sorta my #SpecialInterest you could say.

#ActuallyAutistic
#TeacherLife

I am completely on track with grading all student work! This is really important to me, especially early in the year, because I want kids to know how I grade, and I want them to make meaningful connections between the work we do in class and the grades they receive

I'm also maintaining loose lesson plans one week out, and my day-to-day prep is manageable

my personal emotions are a fucking mess rn, but at least work isn't making things worse

#ActuallyAutistic
#TeacherLife

@seanwithwords Sometimes forgiveness is easier to obtain than permission. I sometimes juggle units (and even objectives) to better meet students needs. I teach at a private school which affords me a little more breathing room, but still.

#TeacherLife #TeachersKnowBest

so what's about to happen is that I'm going to begin a Unit Plan this week that isn't supposed to be taught until the end of the year. but this way fits better with my approach to writing and I can use more material from last year if I just roll the same way (our curriculum dept made an arbitrary change to the pacing guide).

hopefully I won't have to ask for forgiveness until I'm too far in to turn around, because I sure as shit aint asking for permission

#TeacherLife #ELA

Hot take:

All students should be referred to using they/them pronouns in official school documents like IEPs and communication home.

We need to normalize non gendered singular pronouns.

#TeacherLife

My #teaching "Why" has been with me since I was a teenager, even though I didnt even think of becoming a teacher until I was pretty old

#MyWhy is to make kids feel seen & like they belong. To feel like their opinions matter. My #ELA approach is to teach kids how to understand others & how to be understood in creative & effective ways

but it's always been about connection. I felt disconnected as a kid, unseen, & like I didnt matter. I want to be who I didnt have

#ActuallyAutistic #TeacherLife

Our first week of #teaching #ELA went remarkably well.

This batch of 8th graders seems to lean more toward reading/writing than math/science, which is 1. unusual & 2. wonderful!

as usual, the year is beginning with many frustrations about the way our district admin is operating. I'm focused on doing my best and not letting other things throw me off

I've streamlined planning & prep, & this week I'll start looking at potential accommodations via askjan.org

#ActuallyAutistic
#TeacherLife

When a student in our district was murdered by pigs 2 weeks ago, we got tons of emails w/ updates & opportunities to talk and reflect on the loss #ACAB

When a student in our district drowned in a swimming accident 2 days before school began, there was no district communication, and there still isn’t. Our building admin spoke to us, but that was it

I can’t help but conclude that the emails RE our first loss were not about empathy and grief, but rather about controlling the message
#TeacherLife

We’re also, obviously, the school that installed brand new lockers without locks when we built a new building, so now we have to keep track of separated locks every year. And that’s why we need zip ties on unused lockers.

Yes, an easier way around this would be to just attach locks to all the lockers. But to explain why we aren’t doing that would require a deep dive into the dysfunction of our system and personnel in admin.

#TeacherLife

(background: our school is using zip ties so kids don’t stash things in unassigned lockers)

A teacher tried to use the zip ties and told the office they weren’t working. So the office told this to our admin, who said, “order more now!”

Hours later, my colleague asks for more zip ties, and is told they don’t work. So she tries one and of course it works. One person inserted the tie the wrong way and a whole wrong process began

This is the dumbing down of America

#TeacherLife

I need to have music playing in my classroom, and I'm deliberate about my playlists. I want to create a vibe where students can work freely both on their own or in groups, but without being too distracting

I've decided to make playlists today for each class based on the band t-shirts kids are wearing. I've got 2 such shirts in my first class, and we are listening to a curated set of music from Nirvana and Def Leppard

most of these kids dont know these bands lol

#TeacherLife

I think I’ll ask my therapist to help explore ways I can get work accommodations based on my #ADHD & #cptsd , to help keep me healthier and (it will follow) become a more effective educator

Like many (most, probly, based on the fact that I have good insurance) in the US who are late-identified or even just wondering seriously if they are #ActuallyAutistic , a dx is v $$$ & can be inaccurate. And, there’s a LOT of overlap bt my ‘conditions’…
…I am one person, after all 🤷‍♂️

#TeacherLife

New books for my classroom library! #teacherlife

a district colleague of mine, who teaches math at the high school, posted a poem about algebra to welcome his students and he shared it to social media.

it was CLEARLY written by AI. I'm used to seeing poems from ChatGPT and the like, and this is one of them.

I think it's fun in some contexts, but I really hope he's being clear with his students that he didnt write that poem, and that using a robot for assessed OR CREDITED work is inappropriate.

#TeacherLife

We just found out that one of the rising 7th graders at our school drowned at a nearby park this weekend.

School starts tomorrow.

I complain a lot about admin but they are doing a good job shepherding us thru this.

Hug your loved ones.

#TeacherLife

my grade always used bathroom passes, & now our building has ruined it. we can't create them anymore, but we must use them. we've been told the building will create & distribute the passes. we've been told to give unlimited free passes to kids who lose them

so today admin handed me 13 passes for my 14 homeroom kids for this week. not enough, zero extras, & when I asked what would happen if a kid is in the hall without a pass, we were told "they are sent back to class" 😶

#TeacherLife

All the teachers in So Cal be like “The Hurricane isn’t working! Send in the earthquakes!”
#HurricaneHilary #TeacherLife #Teaching

After spending my entire summer telling people how to do their jobs, in everything from roofing repair to computer coding, stock trading, landscaping, surgery, chemical biology, and sustainable agriculture, I really look forward to going back to school as a #teacher , when an entire nation of other-employed experts can continue to comment on how I do my job

Only half of that is sarcastic

Free the teachers, free the children

#TeacherLife

My weekend began early bc our IT dept isn’t quite ready to start the school year yet.

#TeacherLife

my principal let me know that I could sneak out around noon, seeing as printers aren't working, which reduces my productive time here in the building quite a bit.

now I'm going to spend the next 90 minutes hoping an email from IT doesnt arrive saying the printers are back online

#TeacherLife