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One year I had to re-evaluate my prejudices when I learned my favorite family of kids was undocumented. 3 kids who grew up in fairly hostile environment, but made it through the worst to get a better life here. These students also demonstrate better social awareness and compassion for those in difficult situations. Can't say the same for all kids born and raised here.
As a big fan of Dungeons and Dragons myself, I was sad to learn that Kevin's plans for a DnD campaign with his students didn't come to fruition. Kevin told me that those particular students didn't get a chance to play DnD in middle school. However, "Once they went to high school, the students created and joined several DnD themed groups," Kevin told Bored Panda that there was a happy ending to that particular story.
Kevin noted that the shift from live to online teaching during the Covid lockdowns had been "very taxing" for various educators. "The older teachers who are not technologically literate simply couldn't keep up," he pointed out the reality that some teachers struggled and were left behind by the changes.
"Although I can use tech well, building and maintaining open lines of communication with students is surprisingly difficult," Kevin shared with Bored Panda. "Students are less comfortable writing an e-mail for help than asking in person. Covid will dramatically change how we teach, which will include more online options moving forward."
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Students successfully argued that pizza was the best junk food, out of a fairly large group including burgers, ice cream, candy, soda, donuts and chicken tenders. Pizza was settled upon as it could 1) be a full meal and 2) make good leftovers.
The button pressing one was quite intense. The choice was a single button, you push it and you can read everyone's mind. The downside is that everyone can read your mind. Got into really good debate regarding privacy, individual rights, and if pressing the button would turn humanity into a hive-mind (like the Zerg!)
#6
I have had to write my share of CPS reports over the years. Rather not go into too much detail, but the worst actions I perpetrated against children I know of come from parents.
Kevin told me that music can be a wonderful tool to help students focus and get in the right mood for learning. "Music is a highly undervalued tool. Plan to attempt some data collection on whether music can help certain students during specific tasks. Playing remixes of the same song during the entirety of a week's lesson, then allowing students to listen to that soundtrack during test-taking has potential."
"New educators need empathy and emotional intelligence over topic mastery. I truly believe the best teachers are the ones who can empathize best with their students, as they can understand how a student made a mistake, and how to fix it. Students are extremely stressed, and making the work more difficult does not equal a better education. Collaborate to make reasonable goals," Kevin said that teachers should aim to relate to their students as best they can.
Kevin’s post on Imgur was wildly successful. In less than a day, at the time of writing, it had 104k views and over 2.8k upvotes. With a bunch of stories this good, I expect these numbers to keep on rising. I’d also absolutely love to get another update from the Imgurian about his other experiences within the school system.
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This info came to light due to school gossip, and was later confirmed by local sheriffs who would train us for school-shooting protocols. They mentioned that often the police send their most problematic to the schools, as they feel they can't cause as much trouble there. Haven't looked at any school cops same since.
#9
Being a teacher really isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s an incredibly tough job, though I’d argue that the rewards—helping guide your students into becoming the best they can be—more than make up for the sweat and tears.
One of the biggest challenges that any educator will face will be organizing and going on a school trip. It might sound simple enough on paper, but when you factor in how many kids you need to look after while also following a strict schedule that’s also supposed to be teaching them something new… things can start to unravel. Fast.
Earlier, I spoke to British primary school teachers Tom Rose and Jack Parnnett. They told Bored Panda that school trips are a huge challenge, especially for new teachers. Constantly having to transition from one location to the next can cause a lot of issues.
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When I worked afterschool as a counselor, talking with students allowed us to see a bleak view. Students primarily felt anxiety, fear, and hopelessness. A lot of this revolved around the environments their teachers cultivated. Many students felt that if they did not understand a lesson, asking the teacher would result in scolding. Even if the teacher attempted to help, the student would shut down after hearing 'Why weren't you paying attention.' or something similar. This were the mediocre teachers. The worst would revel in their power i.e. 'There is nothing you can do at this point to pass this class.' Teachers who say this are lying, it is entirely within their power to accept late work or make accommodations for struggling students.
As a teacher, most of the time I interact with teachers I hear a constant stream of complaints. I understand this is a coping mechanism for stressful environments, but being surrounded by people who hate their jobs and their lives really kills me. I try to focus on providing the best learning experience for my students. I don't have time to hear you complain how the computer program doesn't automatically give detentions to late students anymore so you have to do it manually now.
"Many teachers fear PE for the same basic reason, which is: not having a safe confined space to teach (as they are used to when they are in a classroom). The extra pressure of trying to impress the parent/carer helpers is another thing that gets in the way of many teachers doing their job too, which is again much more obvious with less experienced teachers," teachers Tom and Jack told me.
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Realize now that he probably thought me asking about his cousin was retaliatory for asking about my job. He didn't have good memories of me prior, and I don't think he ever will. Still feel bad and although I am generally a callous asshole, I will try my damnedest to be more sensitive going forward.
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"Beyond the transitions and dealing with the other adult help, you then have to deal with the many unexpected things that crop up along the way, such as the transport issues, sudden changes of weather, stumbling across a bee's nest (that was Tom in Bushy Park) amongst many other potentials," the duo noted that a lot of surprises can pop up and derail the trip. However, the antidote to this is preparation and repetition. Just like with many things in life.
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