Dear We Are Teachers,
It’s my first year at a new school, but my 7th year overall. I love my new school, but the one hangup I have is their personal day policy. You have to fill out a Google Form (which is fine), but there is a checklist for “Reason for Absence” with options between “Sick,” “FMLA,” “Jury Duty,” “Professional Development,” or “Personal [Provide explanation].” I’ve only used one personal day so far but it seems inappropriate to request a reason for a personal day. Is it? Also, the share settings on the Google Doc make it possible for anyone to look at the submissions!
—Um, Nunya?
Dear U.N.,
It is a small problem (but still a problem) that you’re asked to explain why you’re requesting a personal day.
It is a BIG problem that multiple users at your school have access to everyone’s personal information—especially FMLA! Talk to your principal ASAP and explain that this method of collecting information is a huge liability and you want to protect your school/district from litigation. Seriously.
Once they update their system (hopefully fast) so that your information goes only to a direct supervisor, you can decide how you want to proceed with future personal day requests. I’ve never had a principal follow up on why I was taking a personal day. But if I was truly required to provide an explanation, I would just write “Personal day” or “Prior commitment.” If they need more information than that, I think it’s fair to ask why. Are there concerns about your productivity? Are there district guidelines on appropriate uses for personal days you’re not aware of? Geez, why are you so nosey?
OK, maybe don’t ask that last one. But the other ones are fair.
Dear We Are Teachers,
I’m in my first year of teaching. I’ve already done my first round of parent conferences in the fall, and while having that experience under my belt has been somewhat reassuring, I also know now to expect a few combative parent meetings. The anxiety and the not knowing are sending me into a tailspin.
Other than bringing appropriate data and student work samples, what can I do to be as prepared as possible?
—In Need of Woosah
Dear I.N.O.W.,
My best advice? Don’t go it alone—especially while you’re still relatively getting your feet wet when it comes to parent conferences. If you’re not scheduled to do these conferences with another teacher, see if you can get a supervisor or para to come to take notes and provide a second opinion if needed. Plus, parents always behave better when there’s more than one party.
Yes, absolutely bring appropriate data and student work samples. But also be ready with how to fill a parent meeting for a student who’s doing fabulously, and check out our other tips for surviving scary parent conferences. Finally, don’t miss our free (and customizable!) printable conference forms you can fill out in advance to stay organized and prepared. You’ve got this!
Dear We Are Teachers,
In January, our high school announced all homeroom teachers would be required to start teaching SEL 5 days per week (I know, I know.). We’ve been promised a full-time SEL coordinator in the fall to write these lessons, but in the meantime we’ve been told to do the best we can on our own. My team and I are doing the best we can, but most of our PLC time is devoted to our content area, AP Biology. So much of the SEL lessons I’ve found online are targeted at elementary students. Any recommendations for SEL activities that work for high school?
—Save Our SEL Ship!
Dear S.O.S.E.L.S.,
OK. Here’s what I would do.
First, prioritize AP Biology. Yes, SEL is important. But if your admin hasn’t deemed it important enough to provide you with adequate support this semester, I wouldn’t worry about spinning out trying to get those lessons as picture-perfect as you’d probably like them to be. Especially when there’s an AP test on the line!
Here’s what I’d do about SEL:
1. First, build a list of topics and/or lesson ideas (I would say between 5 and 10) from the resources below.
Choose based on age-appropriateness, the needs you see in your student population, and guidance (if any) you’ve received from your administration. Here are some great places to start, both from We Are Teachers and suggestions from teachers in our Helpline group on Facebook.
2. Ask Chat GPT to build a schedule/calendar for the rest of the year based on the list of lessons/activities you’ve curated.
Try a prompt like this: “I’m a high school teacher who needs to provide a social-emotional learning lesson for 15 minutes each day for the remainder of our school year, 16 weeks from [date] to [date]. Using the activities/lessons I’ve provided below as a template, please generate a calendar of daily lessons to follow. Ideally, each week will cover a different topic.” Then paste the list of lessons you’ve gathered.
Of course, like anything AI generates that you’d use in a professional capacity, make sure to go over the calendar carefully and refine your prompts as needed. It won’t be perfect, but it will be a much better starting point to work from than what you currently have!
Do you have a burning question? Email us at [email protected].
Dear We Are Teachers,
I teach high school journalism. One of our APs is, I swear, glued to our security cameras. He has used them to confront a pregnant teacher about the number of bathroom breaks she takes, the running time of a hallway convo between two teachers on their conference period, and teachers who arrive at school late or leave early, even by a minute or two.
Now, it would be one thing if he simply said, “Hey, this issue has come to my attention, try to do better.” But instead, every time he does this weird interrogation song and dance where he asks a teacher if they know how long they were away from their classroom, they answer, and then he flips his desktop monitor around to show them footage of “the truth.” It’s so shame-y and a total gotcha. I don’t mind being the one to confront this AP—but is it my place as a teacher to tell him his micromanagement style is completely wacky?
—“AP” Stands for “Astronomically Petty”