I have my statement of eligibility in secondary math and have applied to 7 school districts, and went to 3 job fairs. So far it’s crickets. I understand the new Texas laws that restrict the hiring of uncertified teachers. I do regret not finding a way to do student teaching this spring since that would’ve meant I’d be fully certified by now. I’m concerned, and considering applying to districts in other cities too.
I’m 25 so I’d like to believe much of this is reversible. I spent 3 years in an office job (I left - no longer at office job ) with prolonged sitting, stress, and awful ergonomics. I went from healthy to now ulnar tunnel, forward head posture, lumbar disc bulge with sciatica. I haven’t sat at a desk in ~5 months now, but I’ve been unable to recover. I can’t tolerate PT, even the most basic exercises like bird dogs I can’t do. It flares everything. So what next ?
I’m currently a sub for a district in a state that has a statewide phone ban for students. This district provides laptops for every class and students always have free use of these laptops. I assume this is typical, and I understand much of their homework is online and that students should not be expected to buy their own laptops. I primarily sub for high school.
The ways these students use these school issued laptops is not great. Most websites aren’t blocked maybe with the exception of a few social media sites blocked on school WiFi. Students get so off task— they’re either gaming, using ai chatbots, recording videos, watching YouTube videos. Anything but their assignments. How is this much different from phones?
It seems a bit pointless imho. I have to be the phone police and remind students to put away the phone (state law!) but at the same time these laptops are like the new classroom phones. I can’t tell them to put away their laptops; technically they need it for “school work.” So I have to be the laptop screen monitor police too.
I understand that the problem is magnified because I’m a sub, it’s the end of the school year, and it’s not like the students are going to listen to me like they do their regular teacher!
I’m just frustrated. Several times this week I heard something to the effect of one student saying to another “oooo you shouldn’t be on that website ..” I walk over there and the student closes out the tab. God knows what that student just had open on their computer