Dear We Are Teachers,
During a group discussion, one of my students made a blatantly racist remark. I immediately addressed it, redirected the conversation, and followed up with admin. Their response? “We’ll keep an eye on it.” That’s it. No call home, no follow-up with the student. I feel like I’m the only adult treating this as a serious issue—and it’s not the first time. I don’t want to stay silent, but I also don’t want to burn bridges. What do I do when the system shrugs and keeps moving?
—Walking the Tightrope
Dear W.T.T.,
First, thank you for stepping in when your student made a racist comment. Too many teachers freeze up in moments like that, and your students needed you to model a clear response. You did the right thing.
Now, what do you do when the system lies down on the job?
You lay into the system.
Document, document, document. Write down exactly what was said, what you did, and how admin responded. Keep this for yourself, but also email it to admin so there is a (digital) paper trail. This is also the time to check in with your school’s union rep for a situation like this.
Loop in families. If the remark targeted a particular student, a check-in with that family is crucial. A simple “I wanted you to be aware this happened … here’s how I responded” shows care and can get the ball rolling if the family wants to take action.
Find allies. There are other people at your school who care—you just need to find them. And if you can’t find them at your school, find them at the ACLU.
Will speaking up and pushing back on this land you in hot water? I won’t sugarcoat it: Yes, it probably will. But we are living in a time when we desperately need brave, kind people to keep doing what’s right. Please be brave. Everyone deserves to feel safe at school.
Dear We Are Teachers,
I’m a first-year middle school teacher and (lucky me) I’ve been assigned afternoon bus/car pickup duty. I assumed I was supposed to stay until my contract time ended at 4:30, but last week as I was leaving, my AP told me I should never leave if students are still waiting for a ride. This week alone, I’ve been stuck anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour and a half after school! Is this actually the norm, or am I being taken for a ride?
—Stuck at the Curb
Dear S.A.T.C.,
No, no! Oh, honey. Something got lost in translation. Staying until the last child is picked up is a job that belongs to one person: your AP, principal, or—and I mean this in the nicest way possible—someone who gets paid a lot more than you do.
To be clear, this is a gap in student safety that your school needs to address. If you’re absent one day, it sounds like quite a few students will be left unattended on campus.
I would follow up via email and cc your principal. Say something like, “Hi Ms. Carter, I just wanted to follow up on our conversation the other day about pickup duty. To make sure I understand, am I OK to leave at my contract time, or should I stay until the last student is picked up? I’ve been staying with students for the last week so they’re not alone, but parents are often significantly late.”
Is it a little pass-agg to do it this way? Sure. But 1. It leaves room for you to be wrong. Maybe your AP will jump in and clarify that you misunderstood her expectations. 2. If your AP was trying to offload one of her responsibilities onto you (one related to student safety), your principal needs to know about it. 3. If your AP and principal both say, “Yep! You’ll be expected to work way past your contract hours unpaid,” you’ll now have documentation to run past your union rep.
You signed up to teach, not to run an after-hours taxi stand. Reclaim your time!
Dear We Are Teachers,
I’m three weeks into teaching 9th grade biology, and when I went to enter grades this week, I realized I already have 42 missing assignments. The kicker? These were assignments we did in class! How can something students physically did in front of me still end up “missing” in the grade book? And more importantly, what do I do about it?
—Baffled in Bio
Dear B.I.B.,
This is very strange. By 9th grade, students know to turn things in during class. I’ve never heard of this happening before!
Hahahaha. Just kidding. This is standard (unfortunately).
Here’s the thing: They’re checking to see whether you’ll notice. And you need to show them now that you both notice and that they can’t get away with it.
The most important thing is to audit your process. Walk through what “turning in” looks like in your room. Is there a bin? A check-in? A digital confirmation? Make sure the turn-in process is so clearly communicated (i.e., written on the board or on display somewhere), there’s no getting it wrong. Tightening this up now will save you all year.
Create a routine. Even 9th graders need systems and repetition. Take a day to practice “the turn-in routine” like you would practice lab safety.
Then, the next few times you have an in-class assignment, check students off on a roster as they turn in the work to you. That way, with 15, 10, and 5 minutes left in class, you can remind students whose work you still need. (Note: Make sure to note anyone with extra time in an IEP on your roster so they don’t panic.)
If after this you still have students not turning in work, communicate with families, preferably via email so you have documentation.
Don’t panic—your system just needs a tune-up. By November, you’ll look back at this and (probably) laugh.
Do you have a burning question? Email us at askweareteachers@weareteachers.com.
Dear We Are Teachers,
I teach high school English, and I can feel how heavy the energy is this year. My students are anxious, withdrawn, irritable—some have opened up about serious mental health struggles. I do my best to be supportive, but I’m not a counselor, and I don’t want to say the wrong thing. At the same time, I can’t ignore it. I can’t teach when half the room is emotionally checked out. How do I show up for them in a real way without burning out myself—or crossing lines I shouldn’t?
—SEL’s Not Cutting It