Summer Break is Not a Luxury For Teachers, It's a NECESSITY
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- čas přidán 2. 07. 2022
- This episode gets a little heavy as we discuss all the reasons teachers truly NEED the summer break to decompress from all of the stress, trauma, and chaos we endure during the school year.
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The biggest thing I'm processing is the death of one of my seniors who was killed in a drive by shooting. As I was cleaning up my classroom for the summer I found his work from January where my seniors projected their 2022. They also reflected on their 2021 and what he wrote took me to my core. He said for 2021 he was thankful to survive because so many people didn't do the illness in covid and violence. And that is 2022 was going to be his year of success. He was killed in March 6 weeks before graduation. I had him and his twin brother and they were identical in class it was difficult to read that name at graduation and have his father accept the diploma.
That is heartbreaking 💔
Sigh. I am with you. A few of mine didn't make it over the years. So young.....
that’s horrible i’m so sorry
I could not imagine. Currently crying for you and all the other teachers in your shoes. So many of us think moments like this are out of a movie or tv show. We don't think about what it's like to know the student and be just as hopeful for their future. Keep telling their story. It is so important that you do. Sending you and the student's family and friends so much love. I'm so very sorry for your loss.
So sorry for your loss.💕
Watching y’all have given me more respect for the people in this profession. Love y’all keep it up
Same
Because of my family I know teachers work harder than any other profession
Same here!
Yes and realizing how similar the student and teachers are because summer break is a necessity for students to!
💛same💛
Hands down, the scariest situation I've ever been in was the day someone shot a couple dead in front of the local elementary school.
All the schools went on lockdown since the perpetrator fled on foot and got away before they could be detained. Nobody knew if the elementary school was next, nobody knew if the individual was going to the middle and high school up the road. Nobody knew.
I was fifteen at the time and a sophomore in high school, not that it matters. I went home sick that day and I watched my mother receive the news from my cousin that they couldn't go home because there was an active shooter in town. It was hours before someone from the school contacted us, and it was another couple of hours before the police escorted busses to take kids home.
I had no idea if I'd be going to my brother's funeral. If I'd lose a friend, one of my cousins, one of my teachers, especially since none of the teachers/staff got escorts They wanted the building evacuated asap and kids got priority, and while I know none of the teachers would've had it any different, it's not fair that it had to happen at all. The icing on the cake is that we'd had several threats already that year (it was literally November btw), and nobody knew if someone would cash in on them.
We were terrified to go back to school. Nobody knew how to react, and nobody knew how to go forward.
No fifteen year old should worry about the people they care about dying on school property. No seventeen year old should have to text their aunt to say that someone potentially could break into their school with a weapon. Nobody should have to worry about their safety at the one place it should be guaranteed. We aren't soldiers, we aren't first responders. We were in a school building.
It's fucking bullshit. One life taken is too fucking many. The bodies keep coming and the fear keeps growing, yet nothing gets done.
the scariest situation that i was in school and there was a lockdown and the person who the police were looking for was in the bathroom with a g*n and i was petrified because I thought that school was a safe place and also I didn’t feel safe at school from point on and when I went to school I always looked past my shoulder making sure that i wasn’t a target. And people said/say that I shouldn’t be scared because it was in the past but i tell them that i was so scared to the point were I was so scared to go to school
We had a gun-violemce threat in November of my sophomore year too. It was a kid who had made a list of names and posted it on Instagram and promised "some day in November". I have no idea what happened beyond that, but he never followed through
@@nysadeanbagby3519 You have every right to be afraid as does anyone else at this point. The threat is real and sadly no one is doing anything productive about it. The people who told you not to be scared probably had good intentions. They don't want you to focus on that when you have things to learn, assignments to finish, and they don't want to take away from you having a normal high school experience with friends and socializing. But know that your fear was not irrational, especially today.
I'm so sorry you went through that. No one should have to go through that.
I went to school in the 90’s-early 00’s and we had more bomb threats than we ever should (to my memory, 3-4 between middle school and senior high) but the thing I don’t understand is, if you have this knowledge before hand, why the hell do you keep the school open? I get it, gotta get those hours in, district demands it, so of course it only makes sense to force everyone to risk their lives at school. I really REALLY hope this at least has changed, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it hadn’t.
Destroying a child's sense of safety in school, which is such a huge part of their day, is horrific.
I never found school to be a safe place, all the same.
One of my teachers gave me this perspective on the teachers carrying guns idea: Teacher: "Do you feel safe in my classroom?" Us: "Kinda." T: "How does seeing a loaded gun make you feel?" Us: "Nervous." T: "I do not know how to use a gun. Would you feel safer with me carrying one?" Us: "No." T: "Would you feel safe and free in this school if every teacher had a gun on them? Even that math teacher who seems to hate his job?" Us: "No." T: "If the gun alone makes you nervous, and untrained users make you scared, how does carrying improve the problem?" That one kid: "You all could get trained to use them." T: "Even if I was trained there is a chance that it will be a student at the end of my gun. Would you ever feel safe in my room after if you saw me take the life of someone, even if they were a threat?" Us: *uncomfortable silence* T: "I refuse to carry for those reasons right there." (He was a choir teacher BTW)
@@michellealexander707 he sounds like an amazing teacher
@@michellealexander707 It comes down to this - teachers are expected to be able to teach their specific subject (or in the case of elementary school teachers, every subject,) and be able to handle troubled kids, parents who are having their own concerns, administrators that want them to fulfill the test requirements, and on and on. Expecting them all to become master marksmen and gunslingers is too much. There should be well paid security guards at every school who are trained in disarming someone, and if they have to have metal detectors at every entrance then so be it. But teachers having to be armed and trained sharp shooters is just insane.
What annoys me about this is that people actually think that a break is a luxury .....all other jobs get some form of a break with like annual leave and stuff, but when teachers take their well earned breaks suddenly "such a luxury". +_+
I think it’s because of the duration being significantly longer. But I totally hear you and teachers work so hard it’s a tough job.
what annual leave are you talking about? Most jobs have 15 days PTO. Don't forget about teachers having entire weeks off for winter and spring breaks. Plus the entire damn summer it sounds incredible, part of the reason I want to get my PhD and move out of corporate
@@papa_pt but they don’t get paid for it 😂 many teachers have to work through their summer break. They don’t make enough money for their breaks to be a damn luxury. Come off it
@@linashoes yeah but they still get to keep their jobs. There are some years where I'd GLADLY take a summer break without pay but in 99% of other professions that means you'd be fired. If you look at teacher's yearly salary keeping in mind that they don't work 2-3 mos of the year it's pretty damn good in most states
@@papa_pt where I live you get paid more working fulltime at McDonald’s than being a fulltime elementary school teacher (which is why there’s a shortage) so most of my former elementary school teachers work a parttime job during the summer months in order to afford living expenses
I quit my job as a para because I was tired of being in physical danger every day. I worked with severe special needs, and administrators are so hamstrung regarding giving these kids consequences, that the kids can pretty much do whatever they want, and have no consequences.
I'm going into my 2nd year as a para. I lost count of the times I was bitten, punched, stabbed with pencils, and whatever else they wanted to do.
This makes me so sad. My son is 6 and autistic. Although he is a sweet boy he can be aggressive sometimes. He will scratch or hit when he is upset and we do our best to deter these behaviors and give consequences. I always worry that his teacher/therapists and paras will get mad or upset with him over it and it will just break my heart if anything my son did caused someone to want to leave their job.
I'm moving to a new district this summer and one of the many, many final straws for me in the district I'm leaving didn't even happen to me. There's a teacher at the middle school I'm leaving who was knocked out by a parent around February or March. A mother came in because her daughter had her face bashed in by another student. It was horrible. But the mother saw the student who beat up her daughter, went after her in the hallway, and when a teacher got in her way to keep her from attacking a student, the mother punched the teacher in the face. What I don't understand is how none of the admin or security guards could prevent this mother from gaining access to the hallways in our school, away from the main office, to do this without someone intervening ahead of that poor teacher.
I worked in Self-contained for six years as a para, and it was my first "real job" after graduating high school. Things were great the first few years, until we got new leadership and everything changed. I was regularly being left alone with entire classes of students (7-17 kids) with high medical, emotional, and academic needs, for entire school days, without help, without breaks or lunch, and without being checked on, as a para. That is not only illegal in multiple ways, but unethical, immoral, and neglectful of those students. In the class of 17, at least 5 had seizure disorders, and 2 needed bathroom support multiple times a day (one of those was the student I was assigned to as a 1-on-1). In the class of 7, 6 had seizure disorders.
I did the best I could, and spoke up about it, but I was only punished for "rocking the boat" and told to "stay in my lane" by leadership. I did not know that education didn't have to be that way, and last Spring I almost gave up on education entirely because of it. When I was placed at another school for my pre-internship, I realized that the environment was the problem, not the field as a whole, so I transferred to an elementary school this past school year and it was so much better. I am now at an amazing school with amazing leadership, where I am never taken advantage of, and I am supported fully and listened to with respect. I am due to graduate with my Bachelor's in Elementary Education in December and take over my own classroom in the Spring, and I am so happy I didn't let the school I worked at cause me to give up.
While I am very glad that you are in a state of happiness after such an unfortant situation and have a happier life, my heart aches for the kids that have to deal with that situation.
If USA Education system gets worst, I recommend moving countries to be a teachers. Australia,New Zealand,England,Wales,Scotland,Ireland, are always looking for teachers. Wales is good place for teachers as no guns are allowed by anyone except farmers,armed Police, normal police have taster’s.
@@NicholasJH96 thank you but I think I'll stay where I am
I’m not a teacher, but my mom was an assistant teacher for special Ed. You guys rock.
In my school the teachers would just say “get out of my classroom or I’m calling security” (we had a lot of security in my school cause of fights and threats)
Around 27:40 they talk about how teachers with mental health issues not having money for getting counseling, we also don’t have TIME bc we can’t take days or time off!
I am really glad I was homeschooled my entire life. But I have the utmost respect for teachers. Weither they teach from home or in a school building it is a difficult thing to teach the next generation. I love my teachers from cyber school. They went above and beyond for me and the other 15 - 20 kids that joined the online room.
We had a special ed teacher get multiple bones broken from one of the students. She was in her 50’s as well so it wasn’t like she was young and it was an easy recovery. I wouldn’t be surprised if that happened because they were understaffed or didn’t have policies in place to protect her. she never came back to teach after that incident either
I had to lower the volume while watching this episode the topic was very triggering. I left the video on silent and let it play through in order to give you guys a view. I know it's not a lot but I still wanted toshow support.
SENDING LOVE AND SUPORT TO ALL TEACHERS DEALING WITH MENTAL HEALTH STRUGGLES OVER THE SUMMER BREAK 💕💕💕
People also forgot teachers can have breakdowns and lose their crap too. Even a teacher could become an active shooter. Students could try to steal it. People could target the school breaking in to obtain weapons that are put away at night.
Saw a ticktock with a very similar line of thought: Say there was a situation. A teacher takes cover, draws their g*n. Someone with a g*n drawn rounds the corner they're hiding behind. In a panic, a reasonable person would not be able to tell if that was friend of foe. So in their panic, they fire. Now they just announced that someone with a g*n is at that location. Repeat ad nauseam. It would be a blood bath at best. But hey, My 2nD rIgHtS
I’m a highschool student in south Mississippi and I love these. I feel it’s a great way to get a different perspective on my teachers. I don’t always agree with them but I always try to think about their perspective too. I will always remember my teachers who cared and helped especially after my dad passed away august my freshman year.
I have been binge watching this podcast during the summer and mentally preparing for high school, this entire podcast has given me so much more respect for teachers.
Same but I’m going into middle
Both of my mom’s parents were teachers. When Columbine and Pearl Mississippi happened my papa said very adamantly “the violence and mental health will always be there, but the weapons will always change. Until we do something about the problem it will continue to happen.” My mom had a coworker who’s teenage special needs daughter was at pearl Mississippi and her teach put everyone into cubbies throughout the classroom and the daughter had a cell phone and called her mom about what was happening. Told her exactly where she was and where her teacher was hiding. 2nd floor. So the mom told the cops where to find her and her classmates. Every time I hear of mass shootings I just start crying. Because I don’t want this to be normal. And that’s the sadist thing ever
That story about the teacher was crazy. I just finished my sixth year and I am definitely looking at leaving the profession. I started with SEL this year that included mindfulness. It was weird, but in October I had several students (about 8 HS boys) come to my door to confront me about their grades on an assignment. They started trying to push in my room (lunch time) and I really felt that I was in possible danger. I stopped SEL because of this and it go a bit better, but while every single one of my year's was crazy this year was definitely the worst.
I found SEL helped my kids come to me with problems without becoming as overwhelmed / aggressive. Why do you correlate the SEL teachings with those boys issues? Perhaps you could have modified it to help them understand what to do with it in ways that make sense to them. I wouldn’t want to take it away from kids who will benefit just because a few others aren’t capable of it yet.
@@maybelikealittlebit I correlated it to the SEL because that is when I was getting bullied by the students the most. I do get that it is beneficial, but overall, a problem in my class; especially when those few students become an entire class and try to band together and walk out of it. The material was modified/scaffolded appropriately....Honestly, I had more students coming to me before I did SEL on a regular basis. Also, I coached people through childhood trauma (adults) for four years and have been able to use those skills with my students, but not this year.
I watched a Ted talk a bit ago called "I was almost a school shooter" or something along those lines. I'm sure you'll find it if you type that in.
The guy told his story about how he was deeply neglected as a kid and moved around a bunch and thought that if everyone thought he was bad, he might as well be bad because what's the point. He had one friend that showed him kindness right after he had bought a gun to go shoot up his school. He decided not to do it because someone showed him kindness after he had been a shitty friend and he tried pushing this friend away... Moral of the story is this Country is so broken and we are all so isolated that of course people fall into these roles and mindsets if they don't have support.
And this idea of not living in a state of fear is part of that. All that means is ignore the scary stuff or the unknown. So many people walk around with their fingers in their ears and blindfolds that so much falls through the cracks and this stuff will keep happening if that keeps on. I hope we see some change for the better soon.
I was gonna watch that this morning but there was no sound
1) I work in healthcare for the federal government and I could not be a teacher. I praise you all for your work. My brother is a high school teacher and I tell him all the time that I could not do his job. 2) It gets me when they say "I know you broke your arm and was punched in the face, but what could you have done differently to prevent that?" 3) You all deserve to be protected from abuse because that's what it is. Whether it is physical, emotional, or mental. 4) Working in healthcare for the federal government, I have learned that the government is reactive instead of proactive and they wait for any situation to get extremely critical or if it cost them a large amount of money before they change anything.
I don't live in the US. But you know it's bad when they mention a mass shooting, and your first thought is "Which one is this one they're talking about?" Even with all the information they gave, I still had to Google it to find the exact event. This is happening all too often
My mom was a teacher and she went through a real code red. There was someone on the premises with a gun but no shots were fires. I went to the school at that time and I still have nightmares about being shoved in a supply closet, praying me and my mom were ok. I have really bad panic attacks and major claustrophobia ( fear of small spaces ). To anyone who has any say, please help us. We’re going to lose so many more lives.
I am in high school currently and my school had a code red drill. After which one of my friends asked about why we don’t do drills for if it happened during lunch, an assembly, in between periods, wile outside, extra. And the teacher didn’t know what to tell us. We later asked an admin about the above situations and she told us that it just wouldn’t happen, without reasons for why. When my friend pushed about what if we are outside she told us that if that happens we are supposed to go back inside so we can be where the teachers are. That was a terrifying answer to hear.
Listening to this as I sit in my couch lesson planning for next school year.
Working during summer break is so much more relaxing than during the school year
I'm listening to this as I'm getting ready to go and march in a July 4th parade with my school
Are the teacher programs telling new teachers that most of their job is now behavior management while also being short staffed?
That’s the biggest issue with behaviors.
Teachers: ma’am your daughter stabbed another kid with a pencil
parent: well why did she get angry? What did you do to get her at that level of rage?
teachers: she got in an argument with another kid and she couldn’t control her temper
parent: shouldn’t you be talking to the kid harassing my child instead?
Teachers: I told your child to calm down and step away but she refuses.
parent: I asked my child and he/she said he/she was just defending himself/herself. I trust my child as we have a close bond and she/he would never lie to me.
teachers: 🙄
Druing the last two weeks at my school i was working in this small room in between to of the math rooms just studying for my math final and i say a sigh on the door to one of the classrooms was a sigh that said "Arm the teachers." It made my feel really uncomfortable that someone who worked at the school thought this was something good and no one had taken this down. It's isn't a room students aren't in often but it's still in the school.
I really love your podcast and it has really helped me focus on my writing over the summer. Thank you all so much for spreeding awarness about these topics its something more people need to know.
i got so mad when you started talking about the school shootings, jt got me fired up. I agreed with everything yall said but i tell you when Mrs. Whooly said the thing about the 10 yr old girl and blood, i started balling.
This helped me understand that my teachers do things like making sure that the door is locked and giving us a monthly talk about the dangers there can be are for us to be safe and happy
During the special ed mention, I remembered something that i have repressed. (Like, I forgot this happened and then boom emotions.)
In fifth grade, the teachers I had seemed to be scared of me. If they THOUGHT I was going to get angry, they would evacuate the room (only about 9-10 students because contained special ed) and call the principal and stuff. Sometimes they'd lock me in the "safe room" which was a small padded room which could only be locked from the outside. I don't have many memories of fifth grade, I just remember looking out the window on my own, crying, because they thought I was an emotionally unstable bomb that could blow up at any moment. Which cause A LOT of issues when I went to middle school.
In middle school, I got so much more aggressive. No one seemed to take how I felt into consideration. Until I realized one day that they were trying. So hard. And I was making life hell for them. I got better because I started listening. My moments still happened, but it became more verbal and less physical.
In the end, I have so much respect for you teachers. I still keep in contact with a couple of the ones who managed to take me out of the dark place I was stuck in.
I never mean to hurt people, sometimes it feels like it just happens.
Our school had a full on riot led by a teacher who was fired.
I've seen you comment elsewhere and man, I want to hear your stories!!!
We have 2 therapy dogs on my site, for the students, but the school builds it into the day for the dogs to visit the teachers 🥰
As a parent it has made me reconsider sending my son to school. He is biracial and we live in a predominantly white small country town. I am so scared. My mom is a teacher and told me to just keep him home. We are a no child left behind state. So many decisions and worries.
Ms.Lauran I understand what she said about teachers and hero but I have to say teachers are really hero’s. I went through a dark time when I was in school. I hated school. & during my time there I was just miserable. I had a few teachers that was there for me during those times. Those teachers inspired me and also save my life when I was going through self harm. So yes teachers are hero’s and some don’t even know how many life’s they done changed or saved. Not all teachers tho only the ones who hearts in it for real. ♥️
So I want to be a teacher. I have since I was 8 (I’m 17 right now) and I have no plans to not follow through with that as of right now. That doesn’t mean I’m not terrified. I have generalized anxiety and have been in therapy since the fall of my freshman year (I’ll be a senior this August when school starts up again) and I would always become incredibly anxious during lockdown drills. I was lucky that the ones I had happened while I was with teachers that I was very comfortable with, classes where I had friends that knew I had this issue and would kind of keep an eye on me while the drill happened and for the remainder of the class period. COVID happened in the spring of my freshman year and when I came back to school, that anxiety lessened. Then Oxford happened. That’s literally an hour-ish away from my town. My best friend since diapers’ mum watched the ambulances drive past their house to what they would come to find was Oxford later that day. My choir director’s godchildren’s best friend died in that shooting. Then the anxiety came roaring back. I come from a hunting family, but I understand the respect that needs to be had for life because of that. Changes need to be made. I want to be able to live in a country where I can someday have kids that I can send to school and not worry every day that they’ll be shot like a white tail deer buck in October. Stuff like this makes me sick to my stomach, truly. I’m begging for change. I’m so, so tired of being scared.
Never been in the eyes of my teachers so this was a cool listen especially since i just got out of hs
I'm a new subscriber and I just have to say y'all are some of the best teachers! This world would truly be a better place if there were more teachers like y'all! I really wish y'all got the full respect and pay that y'all deserve! I truly mean that too! Y'all really do genuinely care about the children and that means so much to me personally! I just want to say thank you to each and everyone of you for being the amazing people that you are!!! Also, thanks for being honest and sticking with your beliefs no matter what people say!
I start my freshman year of college for Special Education in August and I’m already preparing myself for the lack of pay and the scary reality of one of my future students hurting me or the event of a school shooting.
Whenever people ask me why I want to be a teacher I have the running joke of “well it’s obviously not for the pay”. I’ve had so many of my own teachers tell me not to go into education and it should NOT be that way. Teachers are so disrespected and it sucks that they aren’t trusted to teach the subject that they studied for 4+ years for. If they obtained their degree and passed all of their licensing exams they are a fully qualified teacher. They don’t pick and choose what they want to take. Each state has strict standards that are followed and if you have a problem with it don’t take it out on the teachers bc it is not their fault.
I have always cared for each and every one of my teachers and it brings me joy to think about the thousands of children that they helped to raise. It hurts me though, that there are dumb people in this world who hold no respect for a profession that is so vital and increasingly so in our current world. Seeing you all tear up I knew you were remembering your own classrooms full of kids and maybe even a few specific ones who have impacted you as you impacted them. When people around me for whatever reason choose aggression I have shouted, "You have no idea what a person has gone through and is experiencing. So before you pass your judgement on their actions, check yourself. You can be wrong."
My dad subbed once for high school and the and this is when this was allowed but he said if you don’t sit down and shut up I’ll throw you out the window. I was laughing bc he only had two rules be quiet and do what you were supposed to do
Thank you for thinking of those of us that are staying. I’ve discovered recently a lot of why I left teaching content. I’m over 20yrs in with a family and quitting at this time is not realistic for me. I need some REAL how to survive and get through teaching until I retire.
Whew…. Teaching self contained is no joke…. I had to get restraint training for my classroom and it was crazy especially in my first year…. I didn’t get anything broken but I’ve had some physical and mental bruises. Luckily my school supported me but it’s still crazy. This whole summer break I have been sleeping and I don’t want to go anywhere…. We need our summers cause whew!!!!
Almost every kid in my middle school owned a gun, we had over 20 shooting and bomb threats, at least 2 real threats a quarter. The high school I graduated from was an open/outdoor campus had a policy where in the event of a code red, get as many kids into your classroom as possible BUT the moment you hear an explosion or gunfire you HAVE TO lock your doors even if there are still students outside your door. You could get blacklisted for opening your door to a student during a code red for "putting (a) student(s) in danger". I was lucky that my mom let my siblings and I stay home when there were threats at school (staying home for a threat was an unexcused absence)
I grew up in the mid 1970s- mid 1980s and I must say these things that are happening currently would have never happened. Respect to the teachers was expected period. The parents sided with the teachers and if the child was acting inappropriately lord help them.
I was a nurses aid for years and worked with so many aggressive patients I absolutely can see how teachers have ptsd. Though I will say many of the issues with 'admin' are sadly no different to managers in other professions. I work in Healthcare in the business office making sure that the insurance pays what they should. I can tell you that we are absolutely invisible until until someone wants to dump work on or complain about and we are always downhill from the rolling pile of 💩.
Teachers deserve better from society and the fact that it's not given is mind boggling.
Ive said that sentence before, " oh thats not going to happen to us." I graduated from Oxford in 2020. In 2018 after Stoneman Douglas happened I remember standing in a circle outside of my HS praying that it would never happen to us. 4 years later, it happened to us. I'll never forget 11/30, I knew so many people who were there. My students, campers, and my MOTHER where there. I am so sick of hearing "Thoughts and Prayers". Look Im a christian but I KNOW that when you say to a stranger "Oh you are in my thoughts and Prayers" But I know that when you get where ever your going, that you won't remember to pray.
THINGS NEED TO CHANGE, thank you for talking about this. CHANGE IS NEEDED!!
I love this episode. Thank you 🙏🏻 for bringing this topic to life. I was a high school teacher in an alternative school, and I agree that not all students can learn in a traditional setting. Some need smaller group or individual school settings in order to learn and be academically successful.
Teacher mental health and crisis training is a must. I can appreciate the encouragement to take mental health days; however, we are not taught what that means. 🤷🏼♀️
I recently graduated and after watching this video i really wish i could have told my teachers how thankful i am for them and tell them how much i appreciated everything they did for me
I was sat in my car listening to this episode on my way home from work. Hearing you all on the verge of tears made me weep. I can't imagine the trauma and fear you deal with on a day to day basis. I cannot imagine going to work every day wondering if I am going to come home at the end of the day. Stay safe beautiful people.
I love the issues you guys bring to light- a lot of this happens in early childhood too. It was a shock to me that I had to watch a fellow preschool teacher just has to deal with this 3-4 year old kicking and biting in order to bring him to the next room so he can bring himself under control.
he had an IEP and only certain teachers could interact with them and it places so much burden on those teachers because the other teachers are literally legally not allowed to assist or touch the student.
i remember the day after the Oxford shooting, my dad told me what happened on my way to school. People all over school started spreading rumors and crap and by my last class i got my phone out and texted my dad to come pick me up early (I had a club i was going to go to after school) The friday after that they cancelled school and it stuck with me. Both times after the recent shootings i felt super sick to my stomach with everyone talking about it!
I have been trying to become calmer in the class, I have been losing it easier lately and I only work with ages 3-6. So I do this thing where I close my eyes and take a deep breath, and start my sentence again in a more mild manner. I just saw one of my kids start to yell at another student and stop and close her eyes and take a few breaths and start her sentence again.
I WAS SO PROUD.
My goodness I have so much respect for all of y’all you bust your butts to satisfy students parents and others you have so much stress and worry to carry to work with you ✊✌🏼Teachers are awesome
Chills. You guys are awesome. Thank you so much for giving a voice for teachers and giving perspectives from the teacher’s point of view.
Love you guys keep spreading awareness and doing what you do
I love hearing the open honesty about what you're going through. Also, I would love if you addressed John Oliver's most recent video about school resources officers.
I'm at a high school with over 2000 students. Many could overpower me easily of I had a gun.
My heart is shattered! I love y’all and I have so much respect for you guys!
i love you guys. i am currently about to start college to be a teacher.
I wish you luck 🍀 with your future career
I wish you all the best for college & your future career xxx
I wish you luck and hope you mentally and physically ready for verbal and physical abuse from the kids. I am speaking from experience.
I didn't expect this episode to be so serious but it all needed to be said and is 110% on point. Taking care of our mental health is so so important because if you don't talk to someone or find a way to cope with everything that's going on you can't even really do your job effectively. Thank you for being a voice for us teachers and saying everything that NEEDS to be said!
You all inspire people and you have made me have more respect for this profession keep doing what what your doing
⚠TW⚠
so after the texas school shooting ,the school counselor came by and ask us if we had any questions and mentioned that her door was always open. i didn't have any but constantly thought of the fact that we had a open campus, like we had to cross two streets to get to our classes and the doors were constantly being opened by teachers and students. anyone can get in easily. our school was also by a highway that crossed a bridge where a girl from another school was found dead after going missing. our school wasn't the safest and i constantly think of what could happen if anyone dangerous got in and all tha. i honestly get scared to go to the bathroom.
Out in California our schools are not contained inside a building. Classes open to outside. There is no way we can keep people from coming onto campus if they are determined to do so. All they have to do is jump the fence.
I'm 17, and I started as church preschool teacher at 14, the things I deal with are so so much smaller, my class is only about 6 kids from the ages of 1-6 years of age. I want to help teachers, and I listen to get a real teachers opinion because I don't believe I have had experience with children to understand how hard you guys bust your butt for your students. Along with the gun policies, the policies are for the rule followers, and we cant ban guns because of that. I am also not saying to arm teachers because a student might steal it and become a threat or teacher might be the threat. You guys are literal heros and you need summer break to calm yourselves and protect yourself for that three months
Thank you so much for bringing big heavy topics on your platform. I love hearing the teachers perspective of the mass shootings and the general issues that are happening in the United States right now. I really think we all need to go back to government class
As a museum professional we saw lots of school groups come through. I watched one young teacher trying to wrangle a class of 30+ kids while one severely autistic student ran wild throughout the museum and she had no other adults with her to help. The entire class was running through the museum chasing after this one kid as he clapped his hands and screamed, and all I could think was that not only did she not get paid enough for that, but that her school wasn’t giving her the support that she needed to do this impossible task. I have heard people call into am radio shows complaining about teachers wanting a fair wage and complaining that they get a summer break - my sister is a teacher and she spent the entire summer doing continuing ed to keep up her credential. In no other job do you have to have a masters degree for such little money and respect, while also having to constantly get re-educated to keep your job, and people still complain that people get a well earned break that isn’t even a whole break.
Kids respond so much better to respect and positive accountable encouragement, it’s honestly so inspiring to hear them say they want to be more like Josh and Ms Rogers… honestly kids need love and support (firm but kind) not strict aggressive militants-depending on the kid of course some kids are so badly abused at home they will always take it out at school… start with respect and firm kindness, especially for kids who haven’t had it or have it at home… I respect us teachers and daycare workers, anyone who works with kids is amazing and matter so much. We ARE making a difference. Continue learning and loving as much as you can! Trauma informed everything is amazing. 🥰💕💗
I remember when there was a mall shooting out in Boise, it felt like my whole world shattered. I wasn't even there, but I was still 30 minutes away. it felt like nothing like that happened in Idaho and that safe little bubble was just. smashed. I was terrified of something like that happening in my town for weeks after that
I'm so blessed and thankful to have such amazing teachers now realizing how we forget to thank our teachers after we've left highschool
After downsizing at our local university and no longer being a professor, my mom took a para position at an elementary in our area, the job was not how the description portrayed it. (Instead of working with kids who may not understand things as well the first time around or need other school help she was helping with special needs students and others whom she wasn't trained to work with) daily I would hear about kids who would bite themselves, threaten to bomb the school if their laptop games were taken away and more. All while my mom would also step in teaching for her teacher who was suffering from cancer. There were no consequences, some parents would call teachers racist for disciplining students and others would work with teachers to know what they need to do or how the school can help. My mom became an advocate for the paras at the school and brought up these issues to the principal who wasn't very organized to deal with everything happening (they were sharing junior high space due to the school catching fire earlier in the year) when the JH principal sent out an email about students littering and being disrespectful he said the teachers need to help solve this issue with the students. My mom mentioned to him that it can't be on all the teachers when parents should teach their kids respect too, the school is already expecting so much. He then held a meeting personally where he yelled at her for her response. At my school (the high school) there was threats against students of different races written in a kill list. If it wasn't for parents and those in the town community pushing for a major investigation the case would most likely not have gone this far (its been about 2 months and they are still working on it). Not to mention after half the class reporting him multiple times still not being allowed to drop a class where the teacher spoke of religion, and was out for a month after allegedly s/a a student. We were told, lets find a way to compromise we would hate to see him go he's a hard worker. My school used to be a top one in the area and it is going down hill. As a 16 y/o going into senior year i have had a nightmare about a school shooting, it is scary to go to school knowing that these things aren't being dealt with and that not everyone agrees with how these things need to be fixed. I thank you all for advocating for this and educating people on how it is from the perspective of teachers inside the schools today! You all truly make my day with these podcasts as well!
I’m a PhD student in cancer biology and we make over 35k with the school paying our full tuition, health insurance premium, gym membership, and also a free student and post doctoral health clinic that covers all primary care and includes free mental health services (both psychiatry and therapy or couples therapy). Where we live this still isn’t a great wage for grown adults to survive without a second income, but my god. I find it absolutely bonkers that starting wages for teachers who aren’t receiving an education is lower than my wage as a graduate researcher. 😢😡
Whew what an important conversation. I’m spending time healing this summer before I head into my 10th year of teaching. Thanks for the reminder to breathe and heal (and call EAP).
Thank you guys for making sense on the gun issues talked about in this episode! Also just for all you do in general. As a new teacher I find y’all incredibly inspiring 😁
literally crying watching this thinking about my teachers and what they have to go through every day. i hope i was a good student
Ms. Rogers : Represents and tells stories
I just found this podcast and LOVE IT!! Teachers are superheroes in our house!!
My Senior year of high school, one of my teachers also had service dog named Sammi who helped all of us in our time of need
16:57 at this time they talked about the entering and exiting of the school building, and my school lay out, is very small but we have outside buildings which even the students have to buzz in to the secretary but they even admitted that the camera quality is so bad that they really just have to trust that it’s a student so this current year they started making us hold up our IDs to the camera and stating our first and last name..personally i still think it’s a huge safety issue having those outside classes because anything could happen within those 3 minute changing periods, we have a huge open field that leads to the woods behind our school, and no precautions are ever really taken, like the teachers don’t watch the students outside and there’s only 1 camera maybe 2 and it’s just by the doors to the main building and there’s so many blind spots that the cameras can’t see, there’s just so much that teachers and the school administrators can take into consideration but they really don’t, even hearing a practice lockdown makes my heart drop to my stomach, we’ve had a couple school threats but still it’s just so scary going to a place where i’m supposed to feel safe but i am not, if we’re being honest everyday i’ve gone to school since 6th grade i think i’ve been scared that i may not ever come back alive.
Thanks for everything you do keep it up
Lauren: *interrupts everyone constantly*
Also Lauren’s when someone says something while she’s talking: “HOLD ON”
Thank you Bri for saying what all us strapped with mental illness have been thinking and feeling
Thank you for your service
Im in junior high and my school had a bomb threat and had police staging to clear the school we had to stand outside for 2 hours for them to clear the building it was 84° F out
I love all of these heavier videos, please keep on making them
I'm a high school student I love a lot of my classmates. Upstanding kids, hard working, funny, compassionate people.
Some of them though, they can be really bad. And I feel sorry for everyone who has to deal with them, teachers, students, and their victims.
We had students try to bring guns into DAEP and thankfully they were caught, but one kids had one in his backpack and we did not have a drill. They called the cops and took care of it on a small scale. It scared the crap out of me. I carry on a regular (not at school obviously) and I hated that I didn't have anything to help my students with. I don't think the answer is let teachers have guns, I would do it if given the option, but I don't think it should be a federal solution because as we all know schools are VERY different from one another. At my school,, with the groups of kids I have it would work. I honestly think it would really help if we start teaching these people how dangerous these guns can be. Having grown up around them, I know what kind of damage they can cause. I am not scared of them, but I have a healthy respect for them. I think maybe a combination of this and mental health could help. As far as changing the laws, no. Do not change the constitution. Like y'all said evil people will do evil things and I want to have the same kind of fire power they could be coming at me with. With Uvalde it was 100000% the fault of the police chief. The officers were put in the hall and didn't do anything. At that point none of the kids had been killed. Those procedures didn't work because the leaders failed. It makes me SO mad. They had the chance to do SOMETHING! And they didn't. I am legit trying to change my room so my students have better escape routes and hiding spots, it's insane that we have to consider this. I think the lack of respect for teachers, for students, for life, is just insane. I truly think it is a social issue not a gun issue. As for solutions in that regard, I don't know. But banning something where it is already banned and thinking that will change it, it won't work. Sorry I needed to get my feelings out. Y'all have a great summer!
100% taking away citizens guns won't change the problem because of all the illegal gun son the states already. most of the guns used were parents guns/ scraped illegal guns. I don't think taking away legal guns and letting criminals are the only people who are going to be able to have a weapon the government doesn't even know is there. It's not the guns fault it's the persons fault
My mom was a teacher and she was assaulted and berated and mistreated so much she was su!c!dal while also taking care of me and my sister as a single mother. I loved her until the end and I still have so much respect for people in this line of work even after she is gone ❤😢
The sitting ducks comment got me. As a teacher, it scares me to think that the possible assailants during these drills are young adults who were raised on active assailant drills. So, they know what we do during these situations. They know how and where we hide. So we are, quite literally, sitting ducks just waiting for them to come in the room. And that is terrifying.
One thing. There are 10 doors at my school unlocked at all times and the front office is next to the front entrance... but never "buzzes" people in
The other hospital shooting you all mentioned was the St Francis Hospital shooting of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
A man was trying to get a refill of his prescription due to back pain following a surgery. When he was denied, he targeted his doctor and anyone who got in his way. 4 people were killed in the shooting, as well as the shooter himself.
I just googled to double check. Scottish school shootings, last 1 was Dunblane in 1996! I was 11yr old at the time & my heart still breaks for those children. Cant imagine what it must feel like when there's so many in the US every year
Scotland doesn’t matter
I might be a student but I have horror stories from other students and having to watch one of my teachers break down crying in her coleges room it was super sad
I couldn't tell you how many times my high school had been on lockdown or evacuated for bomb threats. 50% of the time the student did have a gun. One time we had a bomb threat during a tornado warning. It's chaos. My elementary school was down the road from a prison. Everytime someone escaped We'd go into lockdown for that as well.
It is really interesting to hear a teacher’s perspective on this stuff. It is also rare to hear adults talking about how traumatic this being the reality of going to school is. Watching this made me think of some stories from growing up, so tw.
Lauren’s story about the last day of school being canceled reminded me of the day we had school canceled because of an active shooter threat. So there was a girl who was reportedly obsessed with Columbine who had acquired a gun and a one way plane ticket to Denver. I am not sure how authorities flagged this person but I am glad they did. I think at least three or four entire school districts shut down for the day and there was a massive man hunt to find her. I couldn’t even enjoy the unexpected day off on a beautiful sunny day because I was too preoccupied thinking about the shooting threat and manhunt. I am so grateful that school shut down that day and every once in a while I think about how bad it could have been if they hadn’t taken the threat seriously.
I also remember two code reds that were real. The first is from when I was in fifth grade. I went to school in a not nice area of downtown and one day we had a lockdown. My recollection from enhanced I learned after the fact is that there was an active hostage situation across the street that involved a gun. I don’t remember much about the lockdown just that we were there for a long time and I was very glad that I grabbed my book when we went to go hide. I was too young to understand what was happening so I wasn’t scared, but now I think about it and ruminate about what could have happened if it had been an active shooter in the school. I could have lost my baby brother that day (second grade at the time) instead of having him live to annoy me as a high school senior. Sometimes I can’t stop thinking about it.
The second code red I remember I’m pretty sure was junior year of high school. It happened during lunch, so we knew right away it was real. My theatre teacher runs out of the classroom and basically throws everyone that was in the hallway into his room. I don’t really remember feeling scared, I think it was just all too much so I was dissociating. I didn’t even think to text my parents, I just sat there continuing to eat my food. I remember one of my really good friends rocking back and forth clutching another person’s hand. The lockdown wasn’t long but when we were released someone looked outside and there were at least ten police cars lined up outside the building. Through the social media gossip line we were able to figure out that it was a brawl involving kids from another school and that the principal got punched. I know that it ended up not being super serious but it felt so real for the twenty or so minutes between being put on lockdown and finding out what had happened. I know everyone in that room thought that some of our classmates could be dead or about to die and wondering if we would hear gunshots or if it was too far away (the school was very big).
I also remember thinking back to one of several conversations I had had with my friends about school shootings, where one of them explained how the new safety bars that had been installed were much better than the previous door handles because it took a lot longer to shoot out the lock. (Another of these conversations was about what room would be the best place to be if there was a shooting)
None of this should be normal. But it is. And that is so messed up.
We all have some kind of trauma, but my trauma does not give me the right or give anybody the right to try and put hands on people. Administration and parents need to be more honest and realistic about what it is these kids are going through. Teachers don’t come to school to dodge staplers. I’m pretty sure that was taught in “teacher school.”
Thanks for still advocating for progress when things feel incredibly dark.
A lot of stuff went wrong in Uvalde, and the whole police department recently got suspended. So tragic. Makes me scared to come to work. I agree that we donor need to make some changes, such as SROs (we done have one at my school sadly), preventing the news from plastering shooter's names and faces everywhere (a lot of them want the notoriety), working on mental health, etc. Banning guns isn't going to do anything. I like the idea of allowing guns in schools simply because the knowledge that people will be able to stop you deters a lot of people. Those guns don't necessarily need to be carried by teachers, but fun free zones are prime targets for mass shooters.
Omg I'm from Omaha Nebraska! I got super excited when i heard you say that!!!
i have a 17 year old westie at home, & seeing nala makes me so emotional! what wonderful dogs
Had a professor who worked at the American School for the Deaf at the high school level. Her kids came from difficult backgrounds and at one point she was stabbed in the hand with a pencil by a student and had to keep coming to work.
She eventually had to leave when she became pregnant just for her personal safety and the baby’s. Teachers put it all on the line for youth.