Nightmares about school, what DeAndre learned in his educational leadership classes and, more importantly, what he didn’t learn, kids in mainstream classrooms who have violent outbursts and how there is no protocol or solution other than evacuating the class, the 1st grader in Virginia who shot his teacher and how that situation unfolded, a creepy kid who gave Lauren’s kid a bloody nose and how to handle that, kids should be required to take pre-k, too many kids are given melatonin to sleep, and we react to outrageously inappropriate comments on observation reports.

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We recorded our first podcast in February of 2020, and didn’t record again until the middle of 2023. Here we talk about teachers in elementary school who had a positive impact on us, the lack of options for handling badass kids, how kids get expelled and reenroll in other schools, why teachers aren’t allowed to know a student’s mental health history, how frustrating negative observations are, and lots of other teacher misery-related topics that haven’t changed at all!

Dont forget to follow @Teachermisery on Instagram and Facebook and check out teachermisery.com. Also, TM has a gift shop! Teachermiseryshop.com!

On this episode, Lauren and DeAndre discuss ridiculous grading policies they have had to implement and other rules that Teacher Misery followers have shared. These policies include the very popular no student gets a zero rule, low scoring assignments (or non-existent ones) getting rounded up to 50% , a 20% passing rate, 50% equaling an A (yes, you read that correctly), incentives other than grades we've tried to get kids to do their work and whether or not they worked, and a few parent requests that are so crazy we had to discuss about them! (Warm the toilet seat for your kid? Absolutely not!)

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Charlene Lynch, part-time teacher, and career coach, joins us to discuss the ten different districts she worked for, gossipy coworkers and how to avoid them, ways to save your sanity at school, the problem of tenure, ways to protect your energy at school, and how to navigate the world outside of teaching. 

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Lauren tells one of her worst teaching stories where admin. moderated a debate between students about whether or not she is a bitch (spoiler alert: she’s not!); DeAndre tells of his first teaching gig, which was a bait and switch of the worst kind; odd places kids put their poop; teachers buy the supplies and the kids destroy them; kids who put a teacher’s head on a porn star’s body and don’t get in trouble; why don’t teachers ever press charges when kids do violent things?; and we discuss hilariously disrespectful insults that students have launched at teachers.

Mike Beyer, the co-author of Pencils Down: Career Journeys of Educators Who Left the Profession and What We Can Learn from the Crisis in Education, joins us as we discuss why teachers are leaving droves, what motivated him to write the book, his journey from teacher to principal who was then fired, to non-profit work to the corporate world; the history of teaching in our country and how it’s been feminized; the time Lauren got in trouble for calling 911 when a student was overdosing; how ridiculous the “self-care” attempts of admin. are; the issues that are blamed on COVID; how we don’t trust our children like we used to; why we’re so obsessed with data, why Mike got fired, and we play the “Who Gave These Shitty Gifts?” Game: admin. or a student?

Don’t forget to subscribe, like, rate 5 stars, and tell a friend about our podcast. The best thing for us is word of mouth- so if you like what we’re doing- tell someone! Follow teacher misery on Instagram and Facebook and check out teachermisery.com.  

Also, there's a Teacher Misery Gift Shop!

In Teacher Misery Podcast Episode 7: What Happened to the Teacher Misery Show? DeAndre, Lauren, and MaryAnne discussed the show they thought they were a part of, which turned out to be a scam by the Teach Your Heart Out organization. Part of the scam was making the whole thing feel legitimate by funding a panel discussion about education in NY. This scam has been perpetrated by countless people who have now come forward to TM. An article with specific stories will be out next month, but for your enjoyment, here is the panel discussion before we knew the whole thing was a sham. In this recording, you will hear Jane/Lauren (Teacher Misery), DeAndre Rashard, MaryAnne Piccolo, Kyle Kidd, and Doug Williams. 

Lauren and DeAndre are joined by Daphne Gomez, Founder and CEO of Teacher Career Coach, a program and community that helps teachers transition outside of the classroom; we talk about what prompted Daphne to create the course, the crappy advice people give teachers who are unhappy, how you know if you will like working alone/from home all day long, how you know what career is a good fit after teaching, imposter syndrome after leaving teaching and how much teaching can break down your self-esteem, risks of leaving in the middle of the year, the real story of why Lauren left in the middle of the year and why it felt so impossible, overall messages if you want/need to leave!

Don’t forget to subscribe, like, rate 5 stars, and tell a friend about our podcast. The best thing for us is word of mouth- so if you’re liking what we’re doing- tell someone! Follow Teacher Misery on Instagram and facebook, and check out teachermisery.com.

Use code TEACHERMISERY for 20% off Daphne's program.

Use code EARLYBF for 10% off Teacher Misery's new gift store!

Lauren/Jane and DeAndre discuss 5th-grade teacher Katie Rinderle, who was fired for reading the book My Shadow is Purple to her class. This a book that is recommended for ages 3-5 and was being sold,d at the school's book fair that day. We talk about why people are so concerned about introducing the concept of gender identity to kids, if bathrooms and locker rooms are really as big of a threat as people think; whether or not sex ed belongs in schools, and a teacher who was fired for reading the unabridged version of The Diary of Anne Frank. 

Don’t forget to subscribe, like, rate 5 stars, and tell a friend about our podcast. The best thing for us is word of mouth- so if you like what we’re doing- tell someone! Follow Teacher Misery on Instagram and Facebook, and check out teachermisery.com. 

Lauren’s sister Julie talks about a positive relationship she had with a teacher and how a vocational school saved her life; we discuss the utter lack of diversity in our schools growing up and the homophobia; we tell the story of Lauren’s friend growing up who was bullied by kids and adults yet found enormous success; DeAndre’s experience with a racist teacher in 3rd grade and the homophobic former classmates who are sliding into his DMs nowadays; we talk about the pros and cons interning versus learning in a classroom, a game where our guest has to figure out who said a messed up quote, a parent or an administrator!

Don’t forget to subscribe, like, rate five stars, and tell a friend about our podcast. The best thing for us is word of mouth- so if you’re liking what we’re doing- tell someone! Follow Teacher Misery on Instagram and Facebook, and check out teachermisery.com!