r/ElementaryTeachers

When I was in 1st and 2nd grade years and years ago, I remember I was frequently pulled out of class by some kind of support staff woman (notably not a teacher, I think she worked at multiple schools and may have been more like a counselor?) for one on one sessions in a small room. Most of what I remember is doing simple workbooks, and doing arts and crafts, and I think she might have had casual conversations with me and generally asked me questions. The workbooks also felt more fun than educational, it wasn't like doing mathematics calculations or anything as far as I remember.

Every now and then there’d be another kid there doing the same stuff, but 70% of the time it was one on one with the staff lady and nobody else was in the room.

Nobody in my family knows what this was and I don’t believe there’s anything about IEPs or assisted education on my records. After 2nd grade I moved schools and cities and never had anything like this again. I do not have any recorded diagnoses, speech impediments, dyslexia etc that would have warranted therapy sessions either.

Most google suggestions say this could be a gifted enrichment program, but I don’t think this was the case for me as I had poor grades for most of elementary. Other suggestions were social skills building sessions, but those results all mentioned being pulled out in groups, and I was largely pulled out alone.

I’ve been curious about what this program was for years and I’d love to know what it was about or what the goal was! For context this would have been in the early to mid 2000s. I did also live in a rural area at the time, I don’t know if that affects the type of programs that would have been available there.

I recently took a job at the school where my kids attend as a teacher. It has not been a great experience for me at all. The behavior in my class has been problematic. I have a student with severe behavior issues, but because it's his first year, they are collecting data. His behavior has triggered several other issues in my class. I feel like I'm always on edge and feeling judged, which causes me to overthink everything. This year has made me feel anxious all day, and now it's to the point where I hardly sleep at night. I feel like, by the end of the day, I have no energy left for my own kids when they come to my class. I'm not sure if being at the same school as my kids was a good idea. What would you do in this situation?

Some days I literally cannot get them to stop talking and need some help.

I have a student that legit uses the bathroom every five minutes. For context, I teach first grade and we take a bathroom break between every subject so maximum time between breaks is 45 minutes to an hour MAYBE. For students that don’t use that time wisely and decide to go during class time, there is a punishment. Mom felt my punishment was unfair and got a doctors note saying her child gets unlimited bathroom breaks because of a condition. What blows my mind is somehow this condition does not affect him during recess, PE, or any preferred task. He can hold it for hours then, but if we’re doing a reading activity he doesn’t like, it’s in and out every five minutes and mom has told him this is okay. Our school requires that all classroom doors are locked and only adults are allowed to open them. This means I am having to stop instruction every five to ten minutes to go open the door and there’s nothing I can do about it.

If you don’t feel like reading all that, what is a reasonable time I can expect a first grader to wait for the bathroom and what can I do for a child that is only going during non-preferred tasks?

Hey :)

I’m 24, and Right now I’m working as a teaching assistant in a middle school for special education, and I’m considering making a transition into general education, specifically elementary school teaching. I’m thinking about studying for a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education starting this October, and I’m currently deciding between a degree in Elementary Education or Special Education.

I’ve heard recommendations for Special Education bachelor degree, but I’m leaning more toward teaching in general elementary school and exploring that path.

My long-term goal is to move into a leadership role, and maybe eventually become a school principal.

I’d really appreciate any advice!

Thank you so much, and have a beautiful day! 🌿

Hey everyone! I was wondering what your best advice is for new teachers? What do you wish you had known before you graduated or were in your first few years of teaching?

I am a junior in college for elementary education and want to prepare myself early :)