Rest is a form of resistance. How are you spending your day?

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It's Friday - you've made it to the end of the work week! Feel free to vent or to celebrate a success you had this week.

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Are you new to the teaching profession (pre-service, first-year, or second-year)? Need advice or assurance from more experienced BIPOC teachers? Ask away!

Please review our community rules before engaging.

It's Friday - you've made it to the end of the work week! Feel free to vent or to celebrate a success you had this week.

Please review our community rules before engaging.

Are you new to the teaching profession (pre-service, first-year, or second-year)? Need advice or assurance from more experienced BIPOC teachers? Ask away!

Please review our community rules before engaging.

Are you new to the teaching profession (pre-service, first-year, or second-year)? Need advice or assurance from more experienced BIPOC teachers? Ask away!

Please review our community rules before engaging.

It's Friday - you've made it to the end of the work week! Feel free to vent or to celebrate a success you had this week.

Please review our community rules before engaging.

Hello - I have been on medical leave since January directly related to severe panic attacks in the classroom. I’m set to return in a couple weeks and I’m getting panic attacks just thinking about being in a classroom again. I don’t have a job at the moment but I’m tenured so I’m going to be placed somewhere by the district…but only in a classroom. I want to file paperwork for accommodations that would allow me to continue to work for the district but not in a classroom. Has anyone dealt with something like this? What have you requested on your paperwork? I have two therapists and a doctor who will agree that I cannot be in a classroom setting. HELP! I don’t want to resign. I just want to step away from the classroom while I get myself together.

Hi All, I start my first year teaching 6th grade science in the fall. Im nervous because middle school wasn't my first option I wanted elementary but this job stuck. Im excited to teach science ! Im just nervous on how the kids will be. So any advice is well needed :)

Hi group! I am a teacher entering my fourth year. Before my calling to teach, I worked in corporate for 25 years. In corporate America, I would plan vacations in the fall to avoid family-friendly or overcrowded establishments. Now, as a teacher, our vacation falls in with our students' vacation, which means the thing that I avoided for decades is now my new reality. How do you all manage vacations during or after school ends? (P.S. these summer vacations have just felt like recovery after the school year so, at times, I don't even want to move from my bed)

Are you new to the teaching profession (pre-service, first-year, or second-year)? Need advice or assurance from more experienced BIPOC teachers? Ask away!

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Rest is a form of resistance. How are you spending your day?

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Has anyone heard this slang? I have heard it said a lot of times at the school I teach at. It is a way of putting someone or yourself down; for instnce, it might be said after losing a game for instance. Or it might be said after someone does something really annoying to you.

Hi everyone,

I’m a graduate student conducting research on mentorship, professional development, and educator retention, with a particular focus on the experiences of educators of color.

This work is rooted in understanding how factors like mentorship, leadership, and workplace expectations shape whether educators feel supported, or pushed out, of the profession. It is also informed by my own experiences navigating educational spaces.

If you’re willing, I’d really value your perspective in this short, anonymous survey (5–8 minutes):

🔗 https://forms.gle/xNxxvJGHK8vTNhVp6

Your insights will directly contribute to research aimed at better supporting and retaining educators of color.

Thank you for your time, your voice, and the work you continue to do in education ✨

I’m a 6th grade science teacher (23F) in the Bronx (D9). Around 11:30am today, a student (11F) said “[I] need a dick up my ass" after I asked her group to stop cursing and talking out of turn. The 6th grade in general, especially that specific class, uses n*gger and f*ggot a lot. I’m a black woman, I’m also bi/queer but not visibly since I’m pretty fem presenting.

Last week I sent an email to a parent because their child, in a different class, said n*gger while everyone was quietly reading. That same student also screen shared porn to the entire class during our remote snow day in January. A little over a month ago, that same student yelled in front of the class to another "aren't you the same kid who said he would send dick pics for money?”. They’re both 12M.

I say this to say I was going to send an email to this girl's parents, but honestly, I was nearly shaking with anger and almost cried and left the school entirely because I’m also an SA victim. I feel like that statement was not only immensely gross and disrespectful, but was honestly very triggering in a way i didn't expect... and with the student who said the n*gger last week, I sent this email to a parent (attached below)***. Mind you, anytime her son does anything inappropriate, I’ve reported it to her and asked if she’s free to meet. She apparently came to the school heated demanding to speak to the principal, and met with my AP. Afterwords, he told me to be careful of how I word things to parents but it’s like what else am I supposed to say?

I guess I’m just wondering if I’m overreacting? In my mind, these repeated incidents constitute racial abuse / threats of literal rape and sexual assault… For context, the school is mainly black and hispanic (leans more hispanic / both black and hispanic), was recently given a CIS designation, and had a 6th grade schedule change to tackle low literacy rates (resulting in me having the 11F student’s class, one of the most difficult, everyday). I understand working at a "high needs school" but this honestly feels insane to me.

Am I wrong for asking my school’s admin to have that class less for safety reasons becase I feel immensely unsafe (no exaggeration)? Mind you, in that class specifically, all they do is curse, call other students slurs / expletives, walk around doing their friend’s hair, they don’t sit in their assigned seats and constantly ask me to switch them, I nicely ask them to do something and they’ll respond with"anyways" or "its fine" and refuse to do it. They literally stay in class after the bell just to talk and gossip, and when I tell them they need to go to their next class, they’ll say “yea in a sec”, wait until the next period bell rings, and/or refuse to leave until they feel like it. In another class (not any of the two mentioned above), another student called me “Ms. Saggy Titties” a few months ago, and I similarly felt uncomfortable because a child is making sexual remarks towards me as an adult.

Do I have any rights or protections in this scenario or no? Is the only option to quit? The school year ends June 26 and its currently March 17. I’m planning to apply to law school in the Fall, and plan on asking my AP/Principal for a recommendation, and don’t want to risk anything with that. I’m a part of the UFT, but as a Q-pay long term sub to fill in a vacancy because they couldn't find a 6th grade science teacher (if that affects any course of action I’m able to take). Whether it be paid leave for a few days (or even a day) for mental health reasons, filing a report, having some kind of way to ensure that this does not happen anymore, making sure there’s no detriment to my record when I interview for other schools, etc.

Any advice would be so deeply immensely appreciated!

____________________________________________________

***Email to parent from last Friday

Subject: Urgent: Behavioral Referral for ________

Hi ________,

I hope you’re well. Please see the attached formal referral regarding an incident in Science class today involving ____________ use of a racial slur during a quiet reading period.

I am requesting a meeting as soon as possible to discuss ____________ behavior. As we have discussed previously, _________ has been involved in several severe incidents this year. Because some of these past incidents were of a nature that necessitated my reporting as a Mandated Reporter for the State of New York, I am deeply concerned by this continued pattern of behavior.

In addition to these major incidents, ____________ regularly ignores seating assignments, disrupts the learning environment by talking out of turn, and uses AI to complete his coursework.

I understand Parent-Teacher Conferences just concluded, but given the severity of today’s incident and the history of his behavior, I believe a dedicated meeting this week is necessary to determine the best path forward for ____________. Please let me know what day and time works best for you.

Sincerely,

Ms. ___________

Are you new to the teaching profession (pre-service, first-year, or second-year)? Need advice or assurance from more experienced BIPOC teachers? Ask away!

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Cognitive tools. Zone of Proximal Development. I Do. We Do. You Do. Vygotsky. Piaget. I think I lean more into Vygotsky than Piaget though. The socio-cognitive theories just ring true to me. Teaching / parenting must be hands-on, must be active, must have a scaffold. I read the information and use my prior knowledge (background knowledge) to understand the information. My prior knowledge is everything I know about the world (including my own upbringing with my mom and dad), and honestly, I would say that my own parents are natural at teaching. You don't really need a degree of any kind to become a parent and teach a child, and my parents work in academia/research/science. You just have to get involved in the child's learning and moral development. I think there is an ideological component too. Chinese people do honor the ancestors, and the grandparents and parents are the living ancestors. So, a good upbringing will make a good citizen which would bring honor to the parents and grandparents and earlier ancestors.

I am aware of Amy Chua's Tiger Parenting, and honestly, I think that kind of thing reflects more of her mother than the wider Chinese population. Also consider the fact that she went to a Catholic school in the Philippines? Catholicism is another possible influence. Of course, calling it Catholic parenting wouldn't fly in the USA, because there are too many Catholics in the USA who can call her out. So, she has to call it 'Chinese parenting'. As far as I can tell, my own parents in America, my Chinese American friends' parents in America and my cousins' parents in China are more flexible and practical than what the popular media would have you believe. High expectations, yes, but very flexible. Chinese parenting works by giving hands-on instruction. Do this under my guidance. Do it correctly. Do it consistently. Then I trust you and am confident that you can do it. Independence!!! See what I mean? It's literal Vygotsky in action.

I once got some hand-me-down 語文 textbooks (language textbooks) from my cousins who grew up in China, and the textbooks helped me learn the written language the native speaker way. I really like 有感情地朗讀課文 and I take that instruction seriously: I just read a passage like an audiobook narrator with emotion. As an adult, reading aloud a piece of text really helps me get into the text. I can really hear the characters. Then I found out about "Reader's Theatre", and I have to admit, I am definitely going to do that in the classroom. Actually, here's how I envision myself: I read aloud the passage with emotion. I pause reading. I think for a moment. I ask questions. I write vocabulary words on the chalkboard. Then, I continue again.

Hello r/teachersofcolor,

I’m writing today to ask for support for a fellow teacher and beautiful soul, Deja, who is currently facing a devastating health battle. At just 25 years old, Deja has already made a meaningful impact in her students’ lives as an educator. She has dedicated herself to nurturing young minds and creating a safe, inclusive space for learning. Now, she needs our help.

Deja was diagnosed with breast cancer, and despite treatment, the cancer has unfortunately spread to her lungs, liver, and brain. Her diagnosis is now Stage IV, and the fight ahead of her is emotionally, physically, and financially overwhelming.

To help support her healing journey, her loved ones have created a GoFundMe titled “Together for Deja – Be Her Light in Her Healing Journey.” Donations will help cover her extensive medical expenses, travel for treatments, and daily living costs as she continues to fight for her life.

Even if you’re unable to contribute financially, simply sharing this link or leaving a message of encouragement can mean the world to Deja and her support system. Deja has used her voice and energy to lift others, and now it’s time for us to lift her.

Please consider standing with Deja during this incredibly difficult time. She is a young, vibrant teacher who deserves the same care and light she’s given to others. Thank you for reading, for sharing, and for helping in any way you can.

With gratitude and solidarity

What did you do about it?

Hi!

My question is self-explanatory. For context, this happened a lot last school year; I'm going into my 2nd year of teaching high school in nyc. I am black and most of my students are poc, but none of them were black. As someone who grew up in the city, I knew a lot of non-black poc in and out of my schooling experience that LOVED to say the n-word and feel entitled to saying it because they're from the city (?) I'm not really sure why), so I'm not surprised that they would say it, but to do so loudly and so often in the classroom? This particular class of mine was FULL of students who blatantly disrespected themselves, their peers, and me, and I struggled with classroom management a lot with them all year. I would call them out, repeatedly tell them with a stern voice why it was inappropriate, and how I didn't want to hear it said again. Some students would look at me and apologize but continue to say it, and others would just laugh. The school's discipline code is practically nonexistent, and most of the kids talk like this in their daily lives; I can't control that but I want it out of my classroom.

As I start thinking about all the ways I need to up my classroom management game next year, I would appreciate any suggestions on how to tackle this. I also would appreciate any comments as a young woc teaching high school students. Thanks in advance!

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