I once taught drama to children... never again. As much as that was a ton of stress, there was a kid who left me laughing. He was high drama, at 6. I was like, he's gonna be a handful but funny.
Sparks
Oh My Wow GIF by TV LandGiphy"I have several but the one that set another kid on fire stands out a bit. He smuggled a lighter to school and was lighting paper on fire in his desk and accidentally dropped it on his neighbor. The other kid wasn't hurt, though it did burn a good sized hole in his shirt."
- talibob
Mr. Noah
"I used to teach ESL to pre-K through 3rd grade. I had one student who was only 4 when he first joined my class, named Noah. He was very serious. The other kids always goofed around and lost focus, like little kids do, but not this guy. I started shaking his hand every day and greeting him with a very formal "thank you for joining us, Mr. Noah," and for whatever reason it was the ONE thing that would crack that kid up. He was so adorable. Serious little guy. I'll always remember Mr. Noah."
Electric Shock
"I taught classes long ago, but can I speak for one of my high school teachers? I took electrical specialty in the last years. We had classes with special desks fitted with plugs and switches of all sorts... and power. My pal and desk mate thought it funny to short a copper cable and turn power on... imagine a thunder striking a room full of teenagers. My friend was blind for hours... I don't think the teacher ever recovered."
- portuga1
"look the other way"
"Told this before: was a student teacher. Their parents were swingers, who had a hot wife fetish. Propositioned me, since their kid was failing and i could "look the other way." Absolutely the heck not. I tried telling supervisors, other teachers as a warning. I was ignored. Them not believing me lead to me seeing other red flags to where I decided teaching was not going to be for me. Crazy part is I liked them, and they asked why I was leaving, and I didn't have the heart to tell them."
She Excelled
Tv Show America GIF by Reconnecting RootsGiphy"This 12 yo girl who took my advice on taking the British Council test to advance her English level after an intense class year. She did it and she excelled. When I heard the news It made my year happy."
- Toygr
See there, what did I say earlier? Don't be a fire starter. Be the girl who becomes a higher up in government. Who sets a fire in the middle of the day?
The Spill
who framed roger rabbit toons GIFGiphy"My old science teacher had a student in a different class who spilled high concentration hydrochloric acid all over the floor when everyone was standing in one corner of the room. Needless to say, there were a high amount of injuries that day."
"I WANNA BE A MANAGER AT HOOTERS!"
"I'm not a teacher (yet), but while I was student teaching at a middle school I had to give this 7th grade class an assignment about what they wanted to be when they grew up, how they were gonna achieve it, etc. They had to draw themselves working in this career as well. Lots of kids said they wanted to be Doctors, Lawyers, Veterinarians, and other usual stuff."
"But I'll never forget this one kid who proudly held up his drawing of himself surrounded by well endowed women in orange shorts saying very loudly "I WANNA BE A MANAGER AT HOOTERS!" I tried so hard not to burst out laughing when I had tell him it wasn't appropriate, their regular teacher didn't think it was very funny."
People Break Down The Best Purchases They've Ever Made | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
Thank you Em...
"Emily. She gave me a small stuffed bear on her last day in my classroom. She didn't speak English well and tried really hard in my class. It was very sweet. My wife was pregnant at the time.It's now one of my 2 year old daughter's favorites and makes me happy every time she's carrying it."
That Voice
"One girl. I had taught her sisters and she was the last. We both loved reading and I sent her home with bags of books weekly from my own collection to borrow (had mom's permission). Encouraged her to write as she was amazing. She also had an amazing voice. I convinced her to try out for theatre. She got the lead. She wrote her college essay about me. I was shocked. It came down to her learning not to be afraid and that I gave her back her voice."
"I still cry a bit thinking about it. All I did was talk to her and get to know her. She taught me about how important it was to form those bonds with all kids, not just the out going ones or the troubled, but the quiet, good kids need that bond as well. Just because they are doing good doesn't mean that they don't need you."
Poop Head
Awkward Lucille Ball GIFGiphy"The poop bandit. He used to goto the bathroom and have a friend stand watch. Then he would draw on the walls with a turd like a big gross crayon."
Fly Baby Fly...
"In my 7th grade "Career Orientation" class (basically, a full year of "what I want to be when I grow up"), one boy said he wanted to become a "bar fly". None of us 12 year-olds knew what a "bar fly" was, so he explained that he'd go to one bar, get people to buy him drinks until he's too drunk, get kicked out by the bartender, and then "fly off" to another bar, lather, rinse, repeat."
"Teacher asked, "So, how would you make a living this way?" Kid said, "I wouldn't need to make a living because those other people would pay for my drinks." He'd put more thought into his aspirations than the kids who wanted to be doctors and lawyers so they could be rich."
MG
"A girl I had this past year whom I'll refer to as MG. Extremely smart little girl. Always asking high-level questions. Read at a 3rd grade level at five years old. I'm not exaggerating. While the other kids liked to play with blocks or dolls or in the pretend play center, she would be in the class library working through a stack of books, or sitting at a table practicing writing. I was in constant fear that I was wasting her time. That I wasn't challenging her enough."
"I found more advanced books for her to read. I found a kinder-level math book for her to work through. But really she was content to make her own fun, which she was very good at. She never complained about being bored. She never acted like her classmates were "beneath" her. She was a joy to have in my class. I hope I end up voting for her someday."
"They're moles"
"I worked as a substitute teacher, an After-School Teacher, and a Group Leader for the YMCA, so I'll give three stories: At a pre-school, I was holding hand with a kid to help them keep their balance. They looked at my hand as asked what are the black dots on my arms. "They're moles." I said. The kid nods, then ask, "why are you black?" My favorite question a kid as ever asked me."
"I was substitute for a 4th grade class. One girl introduced herself as being black and white so she's a panda. I believe she will be going to 7th grade this year. I don't think she is still calling herself a panda. Last one, I was about to quit my job and move across the country. I already told the kids and they were sad. I also was only able to be with the kids a couple a times a week instead of every weekday so that upset them more."
"One of the time I was able to make it was during their Valentines Day party. I jokingly told one of my kids I didn't get a valentines. She immediately (and very seriously) went to a table with some paper and markers. A good 20 minutes later, she came back with a valentines card for me. I wish I could explain how much I care for that card."
"No Fighting"
happy season 8 GIF by Mr. DGiphy"The kid I found finger painting with another kid's nosebleed blood. Also the kid who picked the English name "No Fighting."
Demons
"Not a teacher, but my wife is. Unfortunately, it's probably gonna be the 2-3rd graders who threatened to kill our unborn baby. I only remember the "reasoning" behind one of the threats, which was that since he was misbehaving, he wasn't going to be going on the field trip, to which he responded: "If I don't get a permission slip, I'll have my step dad beat you up, and kill your baby." The other was likely for an equally stupid reason, but was a direct threat from a girl in her class, and not a plan to have someone else do it. The school did absolutely nothing about either incident, as well."
Mommy Dearest
"I'm not a teacher, but I'm speaking for my mother. She teaches adults that didn't get basic education (public school teacher) and, in her class, is the first person, in our state, to get a full education over 100 years. The guy is simply amazing and is inspiring how hard he works. She was so proud when talking about him that it was almost enough to make me forgot she is a nasty to me all the time."
"Wham, bam, thank you Ma'am."
"The kid who thought a good way to thank me for handing him is test was "Wham, bam, thank you Ma'am." 🤣 The first kid who "just didn't know who else to talk to" about her depression. The quirky kid who found his niche in my drama class. (Also the first student to successfully Rick-roll me.) The kid (at summer camp, not school) who bit me when I tried to stop her from running into traffic. She ran because I asked her to sit with the 8 year olds and she was 9. 😬"
- Zula13
I hate that woman!
Emma Stone Fashion GIF by Walt Disney StudiosGiphy"My wife was a teacher for 6 years. She had 3/5 kids from one family. Single mom, drove luxury vehicle, everything she wore/had was designer… except her kids had maybe 3 outfits and no coats. Each year fall/winter would come around and the Allen kids needed coats. We always bought them coats. I hate that woman."
General McAllister
"I'm actually a student. 7th period. Beginning clarinet. 6th Grade. We named our teacher "General McAllister." Because someone (forget you Luis) said it when answering "what's the first thing you do putting a clarinet together?" Wetting our reed was "sucky sucky". <3 you, McAllister. I know you couldn't stand us a bit."
Even into adulthood...
"Is it okay to reverse the topic into, "Students of Reddit, who is a teacher that you will never forget?" There were quite a few that made an impact throughout all of my years... Even into adulthood. Thank you to every teacher that had the patience, the charisma and the heart to stand by all of us. You are all rockstars! You are all loved greatly. Thank you for the knowledge. Everything you do is remembered."
- Philrawk
Yeah, that's why I'll never teach. Kids are crazy. And I'm not cleaning poop. Also, nowadays, you have to worry about the impressions left by parents. Now there is an article.
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Children have a very—unique— sense of humor and a range of interests. Show and tell is a time for these traits to shine. You never know what a kid is going to bring in to proudly show the class.
Heck, if my three-year-old could make a “toot storm" for show and tell she sure would. I don't know why they love toilet humor but man, oh man, they think it's hilarious.
A curious Redditor Salmonerd_ wanted to know educator's firsthand experiences with the little ones.
They asked:
“Teachers, what's the worst thing a kid has brought for show and tell?"
The answers were as unpredictable as the children's choices.
Just a little creepy…
“I taught for a few years and a kid brought in a ‘Death Note’ he had made, full of names and the way they would die. If you are not familiar with the series, check out the manga/ anime synopsis.”
“The student had my name in the Death Note, too...Death by bees… I'm allergic.” Lightmoonstone
Not a fidget toy…
“I'm a preschool teacher in a state with legal weed. One of my students brought in a plastic tube the local dispensary uses for prerolled joints. He said he found it in his parents room and he brought it because he liked the popping sound it made when he opened it.” dumposaurusrex
For the show and tell that lingers…
Awkward Lucille Ball GIF
Giphy
“A lamb's tail. Apparently they went to a farm which let visitors keep them as souvenirs (who knew that removing tails was a thing?). Turns out it was a mistake to postpone Show and Tell for a couple of days while, hidden in a locker, the tail marinated in the July heat.” charlie1701
How to call the police without calling the police…
“My wife is a teacher in a major US city. One of her grade 4 students brought in a packet of his mom's drugs to show the class during drug awareness week. He got some visits from the principals and school counselor, maybe the men in blue." DiggingUpKnowledge
Maybe she wanted to be a doctor? Yuck…
“In the third grade, a girl brought her mom's kidney stones in a pill bottle.” mrflyonthewall
At least it worked out well.
“I taught 5th grade in a school with really rich kids and really low income kids bussed in. One of the low-income kids brought a coconut for her show and tell about Trinidad, where her dad was from. She cracked it open -- it was completely rotten inside and smelled awful.”
“I was so worried about the kid being embarrassed, but then one of the rich kids (who was also of a pretty low intellect) looked at it with wide eyes and said "It's like the earth: the core, the mantle and the crust!" which is something I think he had never really understood before. So it actually turned out pretty well.” sanmateomary
We it wasn’t in an urn…
falls modern family GIF by ABC Network
Giphy
“Asked my students to bring an object they loved, one kid brought his grandmother.” Syheriat
Ah the 90’s…
“1993, grade 3 primary school in Australia. My show and tell was rotten egg gas, I had a classmate hold a test tube that contained sulfur power while I added hydrochloric acid, no protective gear was used. None of the adults saw any issue with this." Unshavensmoe
“Laundry rocks”
“In my school some kid brought in his collection of "laundry rocks" which were crumpled up pieces of paper that he put in his pockets and when his mom did the laundry they would turn hard like rocks. He said he did it by accident once, liked it, and started deliberately putting crumpled paper in his pockets to make more.” Pro_Gamer_Queen21
That wasn't a rabbit foot…
Period Tampon GIF by America's Funniest Home Videos
Giphy
“The teacher across the hall from me had a student who brought what he thought was a lucky rabbit foot to show to the class and excitedly announced he had enough for everyone in the class. The rabbit foot was a tampon.” Saerica22
We wish we could have been a fly on the wall to see some of these. Hilarious as they are it’s a good idea to keep non-child friendly items locked up or put up high.
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Over the course of my life I have been blessed with many a great teacher. And I've seen several give up and walk away because they were stressed, overworked and underpaid. And that is an enormous loss to the children. Shout out to Ms. Allspaw...
Parents Suck
amy poehler pictures GIFGiphy"The actual teaching and working with young adults is very cool. The parents ruin everything. This year I have been forced to send screenshots of blank assignments from Google Classroom to parents because they believe their child over me."
"I had a lady insist that Google Classroom deleted her son's assignments. A global corporation had something against her 14 year old. She could not believe that maybe he did not do his work. Summer cannot start soon enough."
Lockdown
"Probably the active shooter training when we were told we would need to equip our classrooms with a "toilet bucket" in case we had to put our classrooms under an extended lockdown. We were also told that our district would not purchase the toilet buckets, so we would have to supply our own."
50 Minutes Late
"A student punched out another student. I called the Dean for assistance (as is protocol). No one showed up. The period ended. The injured party and the puncher were kept apart, but no one showed up from security, the Dean's office, administration or the nurse... and we had campus police too... no one showed up. 50 minutes."
- unhip1
She couldn't do 8 minutes...
"Being stabbed with scissors by a 4 year old. We had told the head teacher for a long time that this kid had issues and needed serious psych help (he had a horrific background which should have put him on the radar anyway). Head teacher said he simply needed breathing exercises and mindful techniques (I kid you not).We ended up having to photograph each other's injuries everyday. Blame was put on us - we weren't dealing with him appropriately etc etc."
"Eventually, during one of his moments (which happened daily), we called the head teacher. When she got there, we emptied all the other kids outside and left her to it (she insisted she could deal by herself). That afternoon, the child psychologists were called by the head! We took 8 months worth of daily assaults. She couldn't do 8 minutes."
The Take Home
New Girl Facepalm GIF by HULUGiphy"I had a father yell at me because his daughter failed a take-home test and his stance was that it was perfect because he even had the mother double check the answers he wrote. It was a 3rd grade math test."
Oh see, no. I can't with kids today. Or even, young adults, or just students in general; so entitled and messy. And don't get me started on parents.
Nut Jobs
Season 2 Queen GIF by ShowtimeGiphy"Lol, the wife is a teacher. She got told by one mom not to congratulate other kids on a job well done in the presence of her kid, as it made her kid feel bad not to be the best student. My wife put in notice because nut job mothers are ruining her mental health."
Just Stand
"I got paid 11$ an hour to teach piano (This was in 2007. This is unbearably low for the random hours you're given, impossibility of full-time, and having to do tons of lesson prep outside of teaching). I had a mother who would put her ear up against the door of the room, for the whole lesson."
"The SECOND I would show an example (if I say "try positioning your hand like this" and I'd play the line from the piece) the mom would open the door and say "This is my daughter's lesson, I want to hear less of you playing, thanks." And she would just freaking stand there!!! There was a secretary in the waiting room who I mentioned this to, and she says "she's paying for the lesson" and sided with the mom."
"Also... this daughter was on the 3rd book from a beginner/primer series. The mom signed her up for the Grade 3 conservatory exam, and only told me after the refund period was up. She says "well, my daughter IS taking this exam" and I tried to make the comparison... like a kid doing "beginner class 3 " of swimming taking a 3rd year diving exam or something. It just made ZERO SENSE and I don't know where she even found the information!!! Damn that was stressful!! And the pay!!! Not worth it."
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Nasty
"Pregnant teacher kicked on the belly. Kid I went to school with had serious issues and the teacher had the audacity to break up a fight with the teacher's aid and the kid. Kid said "don't telling me what to freaking do witch" and Sparta kicked her on her full term pregnant belly."
"The teacher and the baby were ok and healthy and was told that the kid was sent to a military school. When the teacher came back the whole school gave her so much love. We had a diaper drive for her and gave her probably a childhoods worth of diapers in various sizes, and Tons of cloths and gifts for mom and baby."
4th Period
"I teach high school math and, as many teachers do, had cafeteria duty periodically. Had a kid failing pretty bad in my 4th period (right after lunch) that hadn't come to class in 2 weeks. It wasn't too surprising, low SES school, student had home issues and really didn't care much for school as a whole. I had called home multiple times before and got no response so I stopped about midway through Q3 when I realized, and informed the parents via voicemail, that he had no shot of earning credit for the year with how badly he failed the first semester (21%)."
"In the last week of school, I saw him come into the cafeteria for the first time that quarter, hang out with his friends, play basketball, then leave towards the classrooms with everyone else. He took what I thought was the long route to my class and after 10 minutes of him not being in class I realized he wasn't going to make it."
"Marked him absent and went on with my day. His mom finally returned my calls later that day to assert that her child went to school today and therefore should be passing. Had to take a deep breath before telling her that there are students who come to class every day and still aren't passing, one day is just not enough, and further, he came into the building for lunch, played basketball, and left before 4th period started. She didn't like that very much and called the principal."
"Principal ended up backing me up but it went on all Summer as the superintendent had to get involved. All the while that she was fighting my grade, said student hadn't attended a single day of the Summer school class. I taught the Summer school class and he failed that too."
Scary Minutes
"I teach at an inner-city school for at-risk youth. We are basically the final stop before the student goes to prison. I love my job, I love teaching high school, and a lot of the kids are so unique and interesting. But some crap, I do not get paid enough to deal with. Myself and 3 others had to restrain a kid for 20 minutes while waiting for the police to arrive. In those 20 minutes, all of us were bitten at least twice, and that was really freaking scary."
"Most teens know that biting is a really crap move to pull, especially the street kids. I actually called him out on it at a later date when he tried to tell other kids that we were "forcing it" on him (Basically saying we were too rough) and that he was a total bada**. I mentioned to the class that he resorted to biting people and that shut him right up."
"I've had entire desks thrown at my head. I've had to restrain kids who have 100lbs on me while also being punched by the other kid involved in a fight. Again, I love my job and the people I work with, but some days just feel like the perfect storm of bull that get me wanting to just walk out the front doors and drive away."
- panda388
I Heard You
"I heard a parent on the phone literally talking crap about me as I am in a google meet teaching her kid and her kids class virtually. Her kid hadn't shown up to my class for 3 weeks, and I asked where she had been, nicely, was, which apparently the worst thing I could have done. I had to re-teach her the project we had been working on for 3 weeks, while simultaneously teaching the rest of the class, meanwhile her mom is trash talking me in the background. This was 3rd graders."
Over It!
Over It Reaction GIF by Saturday Night LiveGiphy"I'm a Music Teacher that got forced into being the classroom teacher for Primary French Immersion because I have a French qualification, but haven't used it in years."
"Also, I was forced into teaching Distance Learning when the rest of my school was in-person. I still had to be at my school though, so they put me in an unheated, windowless office and shifted my schedule to not line up with the breaks at my school. I didn't even get students from my own school."
"This has resulted in me teaching all subjects by myself (half of which are supposed to be delivered on French) to a bunch of black boxes on a screen on an unheated office, and couldn't even interact with my colleagues at break times. I have never taught most of these subjects before (because I specialised in 2 subjects with the intention of being a rotary teacher for those subjects) so planning takes my entire evening every evening to make sure I'm ready for the next day. I have not been very successful at delivering the subjects that are meant to be taught in French, in French. I feel like I have let everyone down. I'm exhausted all the time. There are 3 weeks left, and I'm just so over it."
He's Evil Dear
"Not necessarily a teacher, but I did some tutoring work last year and went to a family friends house because the parents asked me to tutor their 16 year old son ( I was 17 ). Now I've never met this guy before but he's really big into video games, so obviously as soon as I come in he's in his computer playing league of legends. He was clearly in a ranked game because when his mom came to tell him to turn it off he started screaming at her and telling her he'd be finished soon."
"The mom apologises to me and goes and turns off the computer. He, and I kid you not, PUSHES her away and starts screaming at her. She's quite shocked so I'm guessing he's never done that before but he kept screaming at her, until I stupidly decided to butt in (bad idea) and tell him not to treat his mother like that. It was none of my business but I couldn't help it."
"Next thing you know his fist is coming right for my face, I fall and hit my head on the bed frame so now my head was bleeding. He stormed off to the bathroom after which his mother ran up to me and started apologizing and offering me money (which I gladly took because I needed money). Needless to say I never tutored that boy."
- DrCow69
Hey Eduardo!
"They wanted me to walk a 6'6" 18 year old gang member to and from his car every day so that he wouldn't get into fights with the other gang members at the school. I'm a 5'7" scrawny white girl. I told them I would ask Eduardo to pretty please not start fights on the school grounds. That was the best I could offer."
Life Basics
"Used to be a middle school teacher (male) only made it 3 years. I had a female student who was a bit socially awkward, but overall I nice kid. One day after class I was pushing in chairs and noticed a bunch of red on a chair. I thought nothing of it and wiped it all up with some Chlorox wipes. It happened again a few days later I put the pieces together. I scheduled a parent teacher conference with the mom, and the nurse."
"Mom said she didn't like wearing pads and isn't going to force her daughter to do so. Needless to say it happened a few more times and one of the male students caught on. He was cool about it, and kept it under wraps, but I was done with that crap. The other female teachers got involved and and worked with the student to make her understand the importance of feminine hygiene and it seemed to stick."
- LeKy411
No Wipers Here!
"I'm an elementary teacher and this didn't happen to me, but a colleague. There was a third grade boy who had severe emotional issues and would crap himself constantly to avoid work. The staff for the behavior unit he was in would often take him to the clinic bathroom and clean him up and dress him in new clothes. This kid did not have any intellectual or physical impairments that would make it appropriate to receive this kind of help."
"It took a new person being hired in one of the leadership roles within the unit to put the hammer down and call his mom every time he crapped himself. He told everyone to let the kid stay in his own filth until his mom came to handle it. It's unreal how anyone felt like wiping a freaking nine year old was within their pay range."
So Many Things
"After the Santa Fe school shooting we had a kid bring a gun on campus, thankfully he was caught before anything happened, one of his friends snitched on him. We still ended up on lock down. The solution to the incident was 'randomly' select teachers from each campus, district only had three, and put them through a Marshal program with Houston PD. Spent the summer doing that."
"They told the insurance which ones were Marshalled so we had to pay more due to being high risk. No bump in pay. & no clear answers on WTF I had to do if the situation happened again. Can't leave my kids alone in the room, but have to respond to an active shooter. Guns had to be in lock boxes while in the classroom with students, so if a shooter did come in I guess I was supposed to ask them to wait and let me get my piece? That and crappy parents."
HELP!!
Jennifer Lopez Smh GIF by American IdolGiphy"Fights in back to back periods. All involving girls. First one I got taken to the ground breaking it up, second one my co-teacher was thrown over a table. Both times, there was no help for quite a while and no one to help maintain order afterwards."
Thanks Boss!
"When I got yelled at by the principal 15 minutes before school started. Parents were upset (even though I was being sure to do everything that had been addressed in the last meeting), and the principal decided to scream at me for them threatening to contact the district. These parents could not be pleased, and the principal has acknowledged that before, but suddenly it was all my fault for not doing what was agreed upon. That's when I knew I wouldn't be working for that principal ever again."
Bless y'all educators. I can't do it and I don't know how you do. I hope therapy is covered in your health plans. Or at least some discount coverage at the liquor stores. That's where I'd be living.
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It's been an interesting and challenging year as many businesses have held meetings over apps like Zoom, classrooms of all education levels were held virtually.
After taking getting used to using Zoom, most of us have conditioned ourselves to check our surroundings before logging on.
While teachers and fellow students alike have seen potentially embarrassing things from inside a student's bedroom, not every aspect of a student's home life witnessed was a laughing matter.
Curious to hear of the experiences from strangers online, Redditor umbralion asked:
"Teachers with zoom classes, what's the most disturbing thing you've seen on a student's zoom?"
Teachers did not need to see the nudity in the background.
State Of Undress
"Not so much disturbing as much as a potentially gross situation: An uncle decided to undress on camera while his nephew was in class. I very quickly called for cameras off and heard the 12 year old kid say 'Uncle Dave, what the hell bro? I'm in class!'"
"It's mostly loud houses, a lot of swearing from parents, TVs blasting in the background, and the smoke alarms. THE SMOKE ALARMS!! The constant chirping drove me nuts."
The Roommate After A Shower
"I had to interrupt a student I was meeting with to let her know I could see her roommate, who was in a towel and about to start changing."
Naked Brother
"I am a teacher. We are supposed to require cameras remain on. At the beginning of all this nonsense I did. However its pretty obvious it makes some kids uncomfortable. One kid used to come to class without a shirt. Constantly. I told him he needed to wear one. Another time he changed his pants in front of the camera. Its been dealt with. Respectfully. Another kid (I teach high school) was doing his work and his adult brother walked in naked. Just sort of wandered around the room. Then he just stood there talking to his brother having no idea he was on camera. With 25 kids or more in the gallery it's difficult to hone in on one kid. When I noticed what was going on I just knocked him out of the meeting. I can mute but not shut off cameras. The guy wasn't doing anything nefarious. Just being a naked older brother. More common is hearing loud relatives arguing in the background. Just the intimacy of being in their homes with them freaks me out a bit. Even though we're remote. Also I can recognize most kids by their ceiling fans."
Grandma's Cameo And Inappropriate Language
"seen: Naked grandma slowly limping through the background. Fortunately since I was screen sharing I don't think anyone else noticed. Either that or these 10 year olds have the best poker face ever."
"heard: In the background at FULL volume; 'Well you tell that mother F'KER that the next time I see him I'm cutting his BALLS off!' I couldn't get the student muted in time. She sat there totally stoic about the whole thing (and her home life was already on our radar) but there was a second or two of silence and one kid just goes 'That wasn't school appropriate language at all'"
– ichigoli
Witnessing a glimpse of these students' home lives were sobering for these educators.
Lonely Kids
"Lots of arguing. Lots of lonely kids. Lots of kids taking care of younger siblings, all alone. Lots of kids who are in a different place every day."
– k1wyif
Loud Homes
"Nothing really disturbing, but very eye opening about how different lives can be. I'm continually surprised at how LOUD some of the houses are. TVs blaring, music on full volume, people screaming non stop, all while the student is sitting placidly (seemingly) paying attention to me."
– Zuzublue
Background Noise
"I taught first grade remotely all year at a high poverty school. Thankfully I'm going back in person in this fall. However it was very enlightening seeing each kids home life and all the obstacles they deal with on a daily basis and then seeing their awesome resilience. I've had dads walking around without their shirt, which is just funny, imo. It's insane the amount of terrible language parents use when kids turn their mics on. Like, really disturbing stuff. Had to call home on that one."
"One time, this kid couldn't hear anything I was saying and I couldn't hear him because parents were fighting in the background and it was really nasty. So, this sweet little guy, went to the bathroom, sat in the bathtub, and closed the curtain so he could keep learning. Love that kid."
Why Is Education Is Important
"Did one of my teaching practicums at a school in a low income side of town. Broke my heart how many students didn't have access to technology - luckily the school was able to help. But many of these kids also relied on the school for one or more meals in a day. Also, many of my students slept on mats either in their kitchens or what passed as a living room, often having to look after their many siblings while schooling."
"The pandemic really made apparent the lack of funding available for these kids, and why education - and schools - are so important. For many of those kids, school was the one reliable and safe place in their life."
Wasted Education
"I had a student sipping wine during a critique once and at one point was noticeably drunk. Things happen."
Why We Don't Cook During Civics Class
"Not disturbing but I did have a student almost burn down his house during one of my civics classes. A student was making eggs and a dish towel caught on fire. It was great to see who was actually paying attention because they were screaming FIRE. I gave extra credit to the kids who yelled and transitioned from the legislative branch to the basics of fire safety."
Zoom was a temporary solution for schools put on an indefinite pause.
And while students and teachers gradually begin resuming classes inside physical classrooms again, both parties are relived.
As educators were appreciative of the videoconferencing app, many would still prefer teaching the old school way – inside classrooms.
Not on a screen where they're likely to have images of naked grandmas burned into their retinas.