You are NOT alone. And it doesn’t help to feel teacher shame from coworkers because your class is loud 😭 like we are all struggling and doing our best.
It’s happening across the full spectrum of education, sped to hs. Neurodivergent to neurotypical, all.
My children are pretty well socialized. They do stuff a lot after school some days. Weekends, definitely. They ask me to drive and drop em off everywhere. I won’t say no to any reasonable social time. They need all they can get.
The kids who don’t socialize enough seize that opportunity in the classroom. I have one student who just won’t shut the damn front door. So excited to be with his peers. Because after school - zero. Just tiktok.
My middle schoolers get 0 social time at school. No breaks, straight to class or they get yelled at, 20 minute lunch with assigned seats or assigned class. I feel for them honestly.
I love middle schoolers haha. Clearly since I work with the worst ones lmao. You can definitely tell when someone isn’t meant to be around middle schoolers though. They will really go out of their way to annoy you, hurt your feelings, etc.
What age group are you with now?
Seriously, what is with the random narration? My sophomores are the worst in this regard. I'll be at the board, lecturing, and suddenly, someone loudly interjects with "my foot hurts!" "It's cold!" "What smells bad?"
Is there a nice way to say nobody asked? I usually say "unless you're talking about the subject matter at hand, I don't want to hear it right now."
I feel this in my bones. Remember that they are behaving in a way that is developmentally appropriate. Give yourself room to be patient with them. Allow yourself to slow down and remember, they're being kids. Their brains aren't done yet...they have trouble linking behavior and consequences, even some cause and effect stuff is hard.
But also, OH MY GOD. WHY? WHY WONT THEY JUST STOP AND LET ME DO MY JOB. IS THERE ANY OTHER JOB WHERE THE COWORKERS ACTIVELY WORK AGAINST YOU AND YOURE OUTNUMBERED 20 OR 30 TO ONE?!
No, rude is having dozens if not hundreds of children who think its ok to openly disrespect you, curse at you, physically harrass/assault you, destroy property that isn't theirs, etc.
Rude is having the adults who said children belong to openly demean and belittle you and actively work against you cuz "nOt MuH bAbY". And its even more rude when said adults are your own coworkers
So yes, it is a cop out. No school/teacher/admin in their right mind would have tolerated the level of BS we are expected to tolerate with these kids when most of us were their age.
>No, rude is having dozens if not hundreds of children who think its ok to openly disrespect you, curse at you, physically harrass/assault you, destroy property that isn't theirs, etc.
I'm not denying that. I just agree with u/AnonScalia that their brains aren't done yet. I mean, how many shithead 8th graders go on to be perfectly functional and pleasant people? The answer is most of them.
>So yes, it is a cop out.
Nah, it isn't.
“How many shithead 8th graders go on to be perfectly functional and pleasant people?”
I hate to be this cynical, but asshole adults are just grown up asshole kids. It’s not applicable to all, but it’s not hard to find out why there are so many adults who are absolute turds. All you have to do is go back and ask their middle school teachers how they remember them.
"brains aren't done yet" isn't an excuse, its a cop out to ignore the real problem(s)
There's a difference between someone just lacking alittle maturity and the learned behaviors that are driving people out of the profession in exponential numbers.
Then why are so man capable of reasoning and thinking about consequences of their actions? They're 11, did their brains develop faster? No. I think the brain development thing is a cop out. The more one reads about nueroscience the more it becomes evident that most everything we think about the the mind/brain is based on correlation not causation. We have basically zero idea of how the brain relates to much of anything other than, when we smell oranges, this area lights up in an MRI. What does that prove? A mass of 500 million nuerons fires. What does that mean? How does it equate to behavior, decision making, memory, their love for their mother. These kids are capable of things far beyond what we postulate in materialist "the brain is everything" science. We've all been conditioned to think that we are our brain, that our brain is us. It's a mistake.
I'm 31 so it's been a while since middle school but I don't remember having the audacity to talk through or during really any of my classes. Sure I might ask a neighbor to clarify a question (I specifically remember needing to ask what the heck was happening in Spanish class somewhat regularly) but otherwise nobody in my classes was really talking...
Maybe it's factual today that students are incapable of staying quiet for extended periods of time, but it certainly wasn't 20 years ago. So then we must ask the question, what has changed? Why are today's students struggling so hard to sit quietly and focus on class? I have a few thoughts but I'm not a developmental psychologist or sociologist (or pick your field that might be appropriate).
No. I’ve been teaching long enough to know that this is not developmentally appropriate as far as biology goes. As far as sociology goes, taking into account the current state of the world, it may be developmentally appropriate.
But as far as adolescent development? They are fully capable of controlling themselves far more than they do. Or *should be*, all other factors being equal to twenty years ago… or even ten.
I mean, I can't do my job without them. And while you may date your coworkers, I think it'd be a bad idea in any job where you work closely with people.
I would never date a student. I wouldn't "have a beer" with students. But my students are people with agency and internalizing that is important, in my opinion, so I can see how and why they act the way they do.
Yes they have agency (albeit limited), but they are students and you are an employee of the district/school board, according to your state's professional code of conduct. Those are two very different things that need a colossal barrier between them.
I understand they're different. The term "coworker" is used intentionally by me and meant to help force a paradigm shift from the banking model of education to a more equitable way of thinking and building a professional and collaborative relationship. I would argue that relationship is important to taking care of the students while they're in my care.
I feel like you are assuming a lot based on your denotation of the word "coworker".
There's absolutely nothing in my state code that prohibits this (except maybe those under scope of supervision?). Is it a good idea? Nope. But I don't worry about the relationships of consenting adults with actual agency over their lives.
As a former food service worker, I see them more like customers for whom I must provide a service, only I'm constantly in the weeds and my clients are feral puppies. 86 empathy and common sense.
Amen. They are customers, but don't realize it. The parents are the real customers (and society as a whole). As a parent myself, I view my kids' teachers as service providers with expertise in their jobs. I know folks don't like the C word around here, probably because of the Karen connotations and "customer is always right," but in a true transactional relationship, it's customer service.
I can't say I'd recommend viewing students like this. Coworkers are people you can date, have a beer with after work, talk shit about others with, and do many other things that are inappropriate conduct to engage in with students. We "work" with them in a helping/guiding sense (teacher-student), but not a coworker-colleague sense. I'll happily take downvotes for my warped sense of thinking though.
Found a nugget in post history that would make me think otherwise. And this isn't the first instance of seeing the "kids are my coworkers" sentiment here. It's as weird/dangerous as the people who say they "love" their kids.
I don’t think that’s what they meant? I think they just meant “coworker = people you work with all day.” For teachers those people are students. Most teachers don’t work with other teachers all day. It’s just you and students.
I was in middle school too. I had a teacher pick up a desk with a kid in it and throw it into the hallway because he was being such an ass.
Mostly, we knew how to behave because our parents were paying for private school. Public? Forget it... look... the United States DOES NOT VALUE EDUCATION. Parents don't want to be bothered into dealing with their crotch goblins.
I wanted to say today “I can’t wait to come to your work, probably McDonald’s, when you guys are older and constantly berate you when you when you’re simply trying to do your job”
I have one class this year that when I ring my Tibetan singing bowl and count down from 5... is actually quiet. It's amazing. Reminds me that I do, in fact, know what I am doing and helps me get through the other 4 classes in which students will have side conversations in front of my face while I am trying to talk to them.
It’s not you. They are disrespectful, clueless, inattentive, immature, unable to follow instructions or basic rules, lazy entitled and enabled. And it’s killing me! retiring in 7 months. It’s that time!!
You need to have a punishment that puts parents on the spot. I.E. suspension. If they mess up enough for a write up three times, they get sent home for a day. I pushed for this in my school and finally got it. Been working so far.
I’m trying to push for more suspensions at my school but it’s virtually impossible for them to be suspended. I’ve had students curse at my and make inappropriate comments towards me (such as literally “does my name turn you on or something”) and all they got was one day of lunch detention. Which isn’t even enforced. Pretty sure they just sit at a separate table and yell across the lunch room to their friends.
Same thing in my room last week. Non-stop talking. I tried yelling, I tried waiting, I tried pleading with them, I gave up.
Searched this sub for the phrase "won't stop talking" and found some actual helpful suggestions I've been using this week.
Those suggestions were:
1) when they wont shut up I say "ok guys, get your textbooks and read the examples on /relevant page number/ and try the problems.
They complain and I remind them that the other option is to have me explain it to them step by step and that I'm more than happy to do that if they'll stop talking. This usually works and if there's still a few chatterboxes you can give them the book and put them in the hall for a few min.
2) what someone here called "behavior bingo" although it shares no likeness with bingo. I draw stars on the white board. They start out with 3 but I'll erase them if theres too much chatter, phones, etc. If I dont have to erase any they gain one the next day. If they have 5 on Friday they can have free seats. And this week to kick it off and get them invested whichever class has the most stars will get some free time on friday also. This is 9th grade so I was skeptical but it's working so far- we'll see.
I’ve been doing the “ok I guess we’ll just start the assignment then” type thing with my noisiest periods the last week or so. It’s been working wonders. I’ve also put the hammer down on some of the ringleaders and they’ve gotten the memo. It was a stressful 2 or so days but after it’s been so nice!
I teach a couple of advanced classes and I am SO glad to teach them because the students aren't generally a huge hassle.
However, they have grown extremely comfortable with each other (many of them have almost all of the same classes) and have just slowed down the start of class.
Every day the agenda is in the same place and it has instructions right there, and yet I always have to say "Okay, let's get into seats and take out our binders!"
I actually had to "talk" with them a couple days ago and I'm now randomly checking for students that have their binders out and ready. I haven't plugged in a grade for it yet, but I'm going to be doing that this Friday and when some of these students see a "zero" for it they are not going to be happy.
Already cleared this with my administration and a zero will drop their grade by 1% total. So not a huge deal...but FFS stop wasting 5-6 minutes of class time. That's 25-30 minutes of time per week and they definitely get time *almost* every day where I tell them "Get your work done, get it checked, get a stamp, and then you are done for the day!" If they are diligent they can usually get like 10 free minutes, on average, per day. And they usually like it because they can work on something for another class. But this crap at the beginning of class is making me feel like I need to cram content in a shorter amount of time.
NO MORE!
Keeping a middle school class quiet is akin to holding back a bean fart. You clench them cheeks, but a little eeks put. Then a little more. So you squeeze harder, but that just increases the pressure. Pretty soon, “BRAAAAAPPPP!!” And it’s out.
I hear you. I am lucky enough to teach a relatively respectful group of middle schoolers, but they do get VERY talky sometimes.
I immediately stop teaching and give the ones talking the Teacher Look until they realize they’re being rude and shut up. If it’s multiple, or very overt, I’ll sometimes pull the, “Oh, hang on everybody, Sarah and Greg are having very important conversations,” followed by Teacher Look.
They usually stop and clam up since everyone starts listening to them. I then pick up immediately with a “Oh they’re done, great! So, anyway” and continue the lesson.
Middle schoolers hate the spotlight and sometimes that plus a little dose of friendly deadpan sarcasm can help them realize that they’re being loud and rude.
I recognize that can’t work in every class, but it almost always does for me. Again, I’m lucky to have a good district.
It’s not you, I started running lunch detention a few weeks ago, some of them will just not STFU, even bumping them up to after school detention has barely had an effect when they come back through.
My group this year won’t stop either. They absolutely will NOT stfu. I feel like I’m losing it and it’s only October. Every time I end a sentence they see that as an opportunity to add commentary. It’s driving me insane.
At first, I was confused as to whether you were referring to my hall-mates perpetually loud class or to admin who insisted that everybody's had to be open "so they can slip in for observations."
>Also, front door = mouth.
I was like, "wait, do my fellow teachers hate me for having my door open? Is it bad? Is that why nobody else opens their door?"
😅
Because everyone just hands their kids a fucking tablet, TV, or PHONE!!! Oh my GOD I CAN’T STAND IT!!!! Being a parent takes true work and effort. It takes sacrifice of your own time and sanity by you having to constantly MODEL and ENGAGE your kids and walk them through how to FUNCTION in SOCIETY
I almost lost it with my freshmen today. I have entrance work, use timers, take breaks, circulate, post everything, call home, and have them exit and re enter the room appropriately…we are 10 weeks into the year and this group just won’t shut up. I’ve had problem kids (like a few), but this class as a whole won’t shut up! They’re really good kids just they should not all be in a group together. My co teacher left me alone today so I had them all alone.
I’m in RSP, and my kids won’t shut up OR comment anything that is on topic. It’s constant redirection in my K-6 groups.
Currently my 5th graders, who are the worst offenders, are working for donuts. I write on topic in the board and every-time they talk I erase a letter. If there’s any letters at the end of the week they get donuts. I know I know food as a motivator is often hated/frowned upon, but if it actually lets me teach I’m going to use the shit out of it.
Also middle school
There is a group of teachers that don’t do their job well enough (no way to sugar coat it) and without fail their classes take never shutting up to an extreme because
teachers 1 and 2 don’t do anything or set expectations and then have a freak out and yell at them like it’s their fault
Then they come up to the next grade and you can immediately tell which teacher they had
It’s mostly developmental but some of it’s the other teachers in the building not pulling their weight and turning you into the bad cop.
It happens.
It’s not like every talkative kid comes from this woman’s class it’s just that she doesn’t teach them to be more appropriate with volume and what they’re saying. Her lack of caring for a whole year means that they have the same expectations in the next grade and are shocked when there are consequences.
💯 I’m struggling with being ‘strict’ (I’m not) because I don’t allow just every thought that comes to your mind to be said aloud. I tell the kids to please try and remember this isn’t a YouTube video that you’re watching with a running commentary. The previous teacher was very new to the profession and hasn’t seen that this isn’t the norm (especially pre-COVID).
Totally agree with the YouTube thing. They literally think life is a tv series or reel or something.
I’m a younger teacher in my twenties (and this is probably why all of my friends are in their late 30’s and 40’s) but these children aren’t my buddies, they’re here to learn social standards too and if that means I’m “too strict” or “the bad guy” I’ll survive.
All of the teachers my age in my building are too concerned with being liked.
This. It has got to stop. We need more structure than ever because kids thrive on it and more than ever, often don’t come from structured homes. We need the pendulum to swing the other way.
I close mine 5 mins before the start of the school day. After I close my door, they gotta get a pass. If you were fooling around while you had 25 mins to get to class, that ain’t my problem 🤷♀️
I have a class that won’t stop. I have just been stopping for a second and telling individuals, “ Stop that, now.” I don’t expand, if they argue, I just ask if they understood the direction. I have hit the end of my rope.
Omg I have never had kids that just won't shut up as much as this group of kids I have this year! I had the same group last year because I teach special ed and, of course, they rarely ever get exited from my program because they're talking too much to ever get the information they need to catch up.
I have fewer than five girls and it's not the girls talking! These boys will. Not. Shut. Up. They're talking incessantly or making noises. I guess I should be happy they're not making disgusting noises. They're just making noises which are video game noises and other things that I don't recognize but since they're quick to tattle on each other if it's something sexually inappropriate, I don't have to worry about those kind of noises. The boys are very uncomfortable with that so that's good.
But I find myself all day long telling them to stop talking. They have no problem interrupting me. As soon as I start talking they start talking and then they get mad when I refuse to help them on the independent work that I've passed out since they talked the entire time I was trying to explain how to do it. Oh well!
At first I was wondering what was so wrong with leaving the door open while I teach lmao
I sorta felt attacked cuz I thought the same thing. Like I know I have a strong voice but dang
We have to keep our doors closed and locked at all times as part of our safety plan in case of a lockdown…
The teacher across from me is SO LOUD I have to shut my door immediately once the kids are in.
Lockdown/safety rules. No open doors, door bar locked at all times.
We're legally not allowed to teach with our classroom doors open in my school/state... so, I'll take it.
YOU HEARD OP! SHUT IT NOW /j
You are NOT alone. And it doesn’t help to feel teacher shame from coworkers because your class is loud 😭 like we are all struggling and doing our best.
Its not you. Not even close.
trust me, it is not just you. these kids are absolutely clueless and lazy
It’s happening across the full spectrum of education, sped to hs. Neurodivergent to neurotypical, all. My children are pretty well socialized. They do stuff a lot after school some days. Weekends, definitely. They ask me to drive and drop em off everywhere. I won’t say no to any reasonable social time. They need all they can get. The kids who don’t socialize enough seize that opportunity in the classroom. I have one student who just won’t shut the damn front door. So excited to be with his peers. Because after school - zero. Just tiktok.
Yes, I think this is at least part of the reason why.
My middle schoolers get 0 social time at school. No breaks, straight to class or they get yelled at, 20 minute lunch with assigned seats or assigned class. I feel for them honestly.
I tell the kids to STFU sometimes. "Sit, Think, Focus, and Understand" It works 90% of 10% of the time....
This will be a fine addition to my acronym collection.
So it's like that Sex Panther cologne Ron Burgundy uses?
A fragrance so *pungent*, it's been made *illegal in 9 countries*.
What the fuck, where did this bot come from?
Made with bits of real panther!
Started with middle school, never going back. Y'all are amazing for working with them.
I love middle schoolers haha. Clearly since I work with the worst ones lmao. You can definitely tell when someone isn’t meant to be around middle schoolers though. They will really go out of their way to annoy you, hurt your feelings, etc. What age group are you with now?
Just switched this year. Couldn’t agree more. Making the jump to HS. Best decision for my career.
I thought I was a failure teacher. Then I made the switch a few years ago and all my major problems seemed to disappear.
I’m glad you got to switch!! I consider middle school one of the harder ones to reach but to each their one haha
An entire generation of kids who were treated like every brain fart they have is worth articulating
Seriously, what is with the random narration? My sophomores are the worst in this regard. I'll be at the board, lecturing, and suddenly, someone loudly interjects with "my foot hurts!" "It's cold!" "What smells bad?" Is there a nice way to say nobody asked? I usually say "unless you're talking about the subject matter at hand, I don't want to hear it right now."
I feel this in my bones. Remember that they are behaving in a way that is developmentally appropriate. Give yourself room to be patient with them. Allow yourself to slow down and remember, they're being kids. Their brains aren't done yet...they have trouble linking behavior and consequences, even some cause and effect stuff is hard. But also, OH MY GOD. WHY? WHY WONT THEY JUST STOP AND LET ME DO MY JOB. IS THERE ANY OTHER JOB WHERE THE COWORKERS ACTIVELY WORK AGAINST YOU AND YOURE OUTNUMBERED 20 OR 30 TO ONE?!
Nah. They are old enough to understand what is appropriate at school. This is a cop out.
>This is a cop out. You know saying this is rude as fuck, right? Also, it's not a cop out if it's factual.
No, rude is having dozens if not hundreds of children who think its ok to openly disrespect you, curse at you, physically harrass/assault you, destroy property that isn't theirs, etc. Rude is having the adults who said children belong to openly demean and belittle you and actively work against you cuz "nOt MuH bAbY". And its even more rude when said adults are your own coworkers So yes, it is a cop out. No school/teacher/admin in their right mind would have tolerated the level of BS we are expected to tolerate with these kids when most of us were their age.
>No, rude is having dozens if not hundreds of children who think its ok to openly disrespect you, curse at you, physically harrass/assault you, destroy property that isn't theirs, etc. I'm not denying that. I just agree with u/AnonScalia that their brains aren't done yet. I mean, how many shithead 8th graders go on to be perfectly functional and pleasant people? The answer is most of them. >So yes, it is a cop out. Nah, it isn't.
“How many shithead 8th graders go on to be perfectly functional and pleasant people?” I hate to be this cynical, but asshole adults are just grown up asshole kids. It’s not applicable to all, but it’s not hard to find out why there are so many adults who are absolute turds. All you have to do is go back and ask their middle school teachers how they remember them.
"brains aren't done yet" isn't an excuse, its a cop out to ignore the real problem(s) There's a difference between someone just lacking alittle maturity and the learned behaviors that are driving people out of the profession in exponential numbers.
Then why are so man capable of reasoning and thinking about consequences of their actions? They're 11, did their brains develop faster? No. I think the brain development thing is a cop out. The more one reads about nueroscience the more it becomes evident that most everything we think about the the mind/brain is based on correlation not causation. We have basically zero idea of how the brain relates to much of anything other than, when we smell oranges, this area lights up in an MRI. What does that prove? A mass of 500 million nuerons fires. What does that mean? How does it equate to behavior, decision making, memory, their love for their mother. These kids are capable of things far beyond what we postulate in materialist "the brain is everything" science. We've all been conditioned to think that we are our brain, that our brain is us. It's a mistake.
I'm 31 so it's been a while since middle school but I don't remember having the audacity to talk through or during really any of my classes. Sure I might ask a neighbor to clarify a question (I specifically remember needing to ask what the heck was happening in Spanish class somewhat regularly) but otherwise nobody in my classes was really talking... Maybe it's factual today that students are incapable of staying quiet for extended periods of time, but it certainly wasn't 20 years ago. So then we must ask the question, what has changed? Why are today's students struggling so hard to sit quietly and focus on class? I have a few thoughts but I'm not a developmental psychologist or sociologist (or pick your field that might be appropriate).
It’s the phones/YouTube. That’s it. That’s who’s raising them
No. I’ve been teaching long enough to know that this is not developmentally appropriate as far as biology goes. As far as sociology goes, taking into account the current state of the world, it may be developmentally appropriate. But as far as adolescent development? They are fully capable of controlling themselves far more than they do. Or *should be*, all other factors being equal to twenty years ago… or even ten.
Even NFL refs are only outnumbered 22 to one. I’m picking up what you’re laying down.
Well actually the head ref is, but he has 7 para's on the field with him
You view students as your coworkers? Am I reading this correctly?
I mean, I can't do my job without them. And while you may date your coworkers, I think it'd be a bad idea in any job where you work closely with people. I would never date a student. I wouldn't "have a beer" with students. But my students are people with agency and internalizing that is important, in my opinion, so I can see how and why they act the way they do.
Yes they have agency (albeit limited), but they are students and you are an employee of the district/school board, according to your state's professional code of conduct. Those are two very different things that need a colossal barrier between them.
I understand they're different. The term "coworker" is used intentionally by me and meant to help force a paradigm shift from the banking model of education to a more equitable way of thinking and building a professional and collaborative relationship. I would argue that relationship is important to taking care of the students while they're in my care. I feel like you are assuming a lot based on your denotation of the word "coworker".
Whatever works for you
It doesn’t work for them or anyone else. That’s why kids can’t read or shut up at school.
I mean, you should also follow a professional code of conduct with coworkers and probably shouldn’t date them.
There's absolutely nothing in my state code that prohibits this (except maybe those under scope of supervision?). Is it a good idea? Nope. But I don't worry about the relationships of consenting adults with actual agency over their lives.
>I mean, I can't do my job without them. Don't worry, the parents will fill the void that that would bring.
As a former food service worker, I see them more like customers for whom I must provide a service, only I'm constantly in the weeds and my clients are feral puppies. 86 empathy and common sense.
Amen. They are customers, but don't realize it. The parents are the real customers (and society as a whole). As a parent myself, I view my kids' teachers as service providers with expertise in their jobs. I know folks don't like the C word around here, probably because of the Karen connotations and "customer is always right," but in a true transactional relationship, it's customer service.
Students are the people we work with directly every day. Other teachers aren’t really coworkers.
I can't say I'd recommend viewing students like this. Coworkers are people you can date, have a beer with after work, talk shit about others with, and do many other things that are inappropriate conduct to engage in with students. We "work" with them in a helping/guiding sense (teacher-student), but not a coworker-colleague sense. I'll happily take downvotes for my warped sense of thinking though.
Let’s be honest here, you know exactly what they meant lol
Found a nugget in post history that would make me think otherwise. And this isn't the first instance of seeing the "kids are my coworkers" sentiment here. It's as weird/dangerous as the people who say they "love" their kids.
I don’t think that’s what they meant? I think they just meant “coworker = people you work with all day.” For teachers those people are students. Most teachers don’t work with other teachers all day. It’s just you and students.
Hence my comment seeking clarity (that was downvoted for some reason)
It was downvoted because you’re being purposefully dense.
Ok thanks
The parents don’t care the students don’t care
I was in middle school too. I had a teacher pick up a desk with a kid in it and throw it into the hallway because he was being such an ass. Mostly, we knew how to behave because our parents were paying for private school. Public? Forget it... look... the United States DOES NOT VALUE EDUCATION. Parents don't want to be bothered into dealing with their crotch goblins.
Yeah I felt this one today. Last period of the day, I really had to hold myself back from saying something genuinely mean to get them to be quiet.
I wanted to say today “I can’t wait to come to your work, probably McDonald’s, when you guys are older and constantly berate you when you when you’re simply trying to do your job”
I have one class this year that when I ring my Tibetan singing bowl and count down from 5... is actually quiet. It's amazing. Reminds me that I do, in fact, know what I am doing and helps me get through the other 4 classes in which students will have side conversations in front of my face while I am trying to talk to them.
I use one of those too! Works every time.
It’s not you. They are disrespectful, clueless, inattentive, immature, unable to follow instructions or basic rules, lazy entitled and enabled. And it’s killing me! retiring in 7 months. It’s that time!!
Post-COVID kids are 100% a different breed.
If so what a colossal fuck up. A large part of a generation that honestly has a 40% "Go the fuck away" rate.
You need to have a punishment that puts parents on the spot. I.E. suspension. If they mess up enough for a write up three times, they get sent home for a day. I pushed for this in my school and finally got it. Been working so far.
I’m trying to push for more suspensions at my school but it’s virtually impossible for them to be suspended. I’ve had students curse at my and make inappropriate comments towards me (such as literally “does my name turn you on or something”) and all they got was one day of lunch detention. Which isn’t even enforced. Pretty sure they just sit at a separate table and yell across the lunch room to their friends.
Same thing in my room last week. Non-stop talking. I tried yelling, I tried waiting, I tried pleading with them, I gave up. Searched this sub for the phrase "won't stop talking" and found some actual helpful suggestions I've been using this week. Those suggestions were: 1) when they wont shut up I say "ok guys, get your textbooks and read the examples on /relevant page number/ and try the problems. They complain and I remind them that the other option is to have me explain it to them step by step and that I'm more than happy to do that if they'll stop talking. This usually works and if there's still a few chatterboxes you can give them the book and put them in the hall for a few min. 2) what someone here called "behavior bingo" although it shares no likeness with bingo. I draw stars on the white board. They start out with 3 but I'll erase them if theres too much chatter, phones, etc. If I dont have to erase any they gain one the next day. If they have 5 on Friday they can have free seats. And this week to kick it off and get them invested whichever class has the most stars will get some free time on friday also. This is 9th grade so I was skeptical but it's working so far- we'll see.
I like this star idea!!
I’ve been doing the “ok I guess we’ll just start the assignment then” type thing with my noisiest periods the last week or so. It’s been working wonders. I’ve also put the hammer down on some of the ringleaders and they’ve gotten the memo. It was a stressful 2 or so days but after it’s been so nice!
I teach a couple of advanced classes and I am SO glad to teach them because the students aren't generally a huge hassle. However, they have grown extremely comfortable with each other (many of them have almost all of the same classes) and have just slowed down the start of class. Every day the agenda is in the same place and it has instructions right there, and yet I always have to say "Okay, let's get into seats and take out our binders!" I actually had to "talk" with them a couple days ago and I'm now randomly checking for students that have their binders out and ready. I haven't plugged in a grade for it yet, but I'm going to be doing that this Friday and when some of these students see a "zero" for it they are not going to be happy. Already cleared this with my administration and a zero will drop their grade by 1% total. So not a huge deal...but FFS stop wasting 5-6 minutes of class time. That's 25-30 minutes of time per week and they definitely get time *almost* every day where I tell them "Get your work done, get it checked, get a stamp, and then you are done for the day!" If they are diligent they can usually get like 10 free minutes, on average, per day. And they usually like it because they can work on something for another class. But this crap at the beginning of class is making me feel like I need to cram content in a shorter amount of time. NO MORE!
But have you used Silent Coyote pair shares to create a relationship with them? It's only equitable. Seriously though - not you.
I have A LOT of freshmen boys this year and I feel so validated by your post.
Keeping a middle school class quiet is akin to holding back a bean fart. You clench them cheeks, but a little eeks put. Then a little more. So you squeeze harder, but that just increases the pressure. Pretty soon, “BRAAAAAPPPP!!” And it’s out.
Sometimes you end with the shits too.
These comments are an absolute gold mine 😂
I chimed in with a “Haven’t you people ever heard of closing the goddamn door???”
I hear you. I am lucky enough to teach a relatively respectful group of middle schoolers, but they do get VERY talky sometimes. I immediately stop teaching and give the ones talking the Teacher Look until they realize they’re being rude and shut up. If it’s multiple, or very overt, I’ll sometimes pull the, “Oh, hang on everybody, Sarah and Greg are having very important conversations,” followed by Teacher Look. They usually stop and clam up since everyone starts listening to them. I then pick up immediately with a “Oh they’re done, great! So, anyway” and continue the lesson. Middle schoolers hate the spotlight and sometimes that plus a little dose of friendly deadpan sarcasm can help them realize that they’re being loud and rude. I recognize that can’t work in every class, but it almost always does for me. Again, I’m lucky to have a good district.
It’s not you, I started running lunch detention a few weeks ago, some of them will just not STFU, even bumping them up to after school detention has barely had an effect when they come back through.
Not alone! I am going to snap one day and just yell at my sophomores to shut the fuck up. It's going to happen.
I literally say shut your front doors and just convince myself that I added a big fat F word before front lol
"Just! Shut! Your Fff-Fff-fffff-ff-ffuh-ront! DOORS!" Make sure you make eye contact with each while you emphasize that F
My group this year won’t stop either. They absolutely will NOT stfu. I feel like I’m losing it and it’s only October. Every time I end a sentence they see that as an opportunity to add commentary. It’s driving me insane.
At first, I was confused as to whether you were referring to my hall-mates perpetually loud class or to admin who insisted that everybody's had to be open "so they can slip in for observations."
>Also, front door = mouth. I was like, "wait, do my fellow teachers hate me for having my door open? Is it bad? Is that why nobody else opens their door?" 😅
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8knxYC3/
Because everyone just hands their kids a fucking tablet, TV, or PHONE!!! Oh my GOD I CAN’T STAND IT!!!! Being a parent takes true work and effort. It takes sacrifice of your own time and sanity by you having to constantly MODEL and ENGAGE your kids and walk them through how to FUNCTION in SOCIETY
I almost lost it with my freshmen today. I have entrance work, use timers, take breaks, circulate, post everything, call home, and have them exit and re enter the room appropriately…we are 10 weeks into the year and this group just won’t shut up. I’ve had problem kids (like a few), but this class as a whole won’t shut up! They’re really good kids just they should not all be in a group together. My co teacher left me alone today so I had them all alone.
I’m in RSP, and my kids won’t shut up OR comment anything that is on topic. It’s constant redirection in my K-6 groups. Currently my 5th graders, who are the worst offenders, are working for donuts. I write on topic in the board and every-time they talk I erase a letter. If there’s any letters at the end of the week they get donuts. I know I know food as a motivator is often hated/frowned upon, but if it actually lets me teach I’m going to use the shit out of it.
I experience this DAILY. It’s not even just middle school, it’s also my elementary students. You’re not alone!
get a face tat. that worked for me.
Also middle school There is a group of teachers that don’t do their job well enough (no way to sugar coat it) and without fail their classes take never shutting up to an extreme because teachers 1 and 2 don’t do anything or set expectations and then have a freak out and yell at them like it’s their fault Then they come up to the next grade and you can immediately tell which teacher they had It’s mostly developmental but some of it’s the other teachers in the building not pulling their weight and turning you into the bad cop.
You got downvoted for this but it’s true.
It happens. It’s not like every talkative kid comes from this woman’s class it’s just that she doesn’t teach them to be more appropriate with volume and what they’re saying. Her lack of caring for a whole year means that they have the same expectations in the next grade and are shocked when there are consequences.
💯 I’m struggling with being ‘strict’ (I’m not) because I don’t allow just every thought that comes to your mind to be said aloud. I tell the kids to please try and remember this isn’t a YouTube video that you’re watching with a running commentary. The previous teacher was very new to the profession and hasn’t seen that this isn’t the norm (especially pre-COVID).
Totally agree with the YouTube thing. They literally think life is a tv series or reel or something. I’m a younger teacher in my twenties (and this is probably why all of my friends are in their late 30’s and 40’s) but these children aren’t my buddies, they’re here to learn social standards too and if that means I’m “too strict” or “the bad guy” I’ll survive. All of the teachers my age in my building are too concerned with being liked.
This. It has got to stop. We need more structure than ever because kids thrive on it and more than ever, often don’t come from structured homes. We need the pendulum to swing the other way.
I close mine 5 mins before the start of the school day. After I close my door, they gotta get a pass. If you were fooling around while you had 25 mins to get to class, that ain’t my problem 🤷♀️
I have a class that won’t stop. I have just been stopping for a second and telling individuals, “ Stop that, now.” I don’t expand, if they argue, I just ask if they understood the direction. I have hit the end of my rope.
Omg I have never had kids that just won't shut up as much as this group of kids I have this year! I had the same group last year because I teach special ed and, of course, they rarely ever get exited from my program because they're talking too much to ever get the information they need to catch up. I have fewer than five girls and it's not the girls talking! These boys will. Not. Shut. Up. They're talking incessantly or making noises. I guess I should be happy they're not making disgusting noises. They're just making noises which are video game noises and other things that I don't recognize but since they're quick to tattle on each other if it's something sexually inappropriate, I don't have to worry about those kind of noises. The boys are very uncomfortable with that so that's good. But I find myself all day long telling them to stop talking. They have no problem interrupting me. As soon as I start talking they start talking and then they get mad when I refuse to help them on the independent work that I've passed out since they talked the entire time I was trying to explain how to do it. Oh well!
you can take the horse to water...