Teacher Talk Top 60
Teacher Talk
We’ve all heard them; most of us have all said them. Every profession has its share of cringeworthy and overused chatter: snarky comments, self-promoting babble, passive-aggressive suggestions, unwanted offers of support, gossipy grumblings, better-than-thou judgments, guilt-you-into observations, and shift the blame remarks. For teachers it’s in the staff room, in the work room, in the pod, in 504 meetings, in parent conferences, in admin evaluation meetings. Following are my Top 60. Would love to hear more of your favorites.
- “I’m counting the days.”
- “Why can’t they go to the bathroom during their preps?”
- “It sounds like your kids are having a lot of fun today in your class; I can hear it in my room.”
- “There is no I in team.”
- “I don’t teach to the test.”
- “Did anyone borrow some of my soda in the fridge?”
- “Do you have a lot of copies to make?”
- “I wish I could pull-off wearing that outfit of yours.”
- “I just cleaned out the microwave last week.”
- “We tried that years ago.”
- “Would you watch my class for a minute?”
- “It’s a research-based strategy.”
- “I’ve got to get a real job.”
- “That sub did not follow my lesson plan.”
- “I know you must have taught ___________ last year, but the kids don’t know it.”
- “Back in the day…”
- “That’s funny; he behaves just fine for me.”
- “I never use drill and kill worksheets.”
- “You can do it during your prep.”
- “You need to differentiate instruction.”
- “The district says that…”
- “Can I sneak in to make just one copy?”
- “Have you met his parents? Now wonder that kid is messed up.”
- “It looks like you could use some help.”
- “I graded essays all weekend.”
- “You look tired today.”
- “Let’s review our group norms.”
- “I teach the whole child.”
- “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.”
- You need to handle these accommodations.”
- “You’re so smart giving a multiple-choice test for your final; I’m stuck grading all of these essays.”
- “We support you 100%.”
- “I teach to the Standards.”
- “We’re role models.”
- “Those who can’t do, teach; those who can’t teach, teach P.E.”
- “Does anyone have anything to teach this afternoon?”
- “They want us to carry guns, but they won’t trust us to control our own thermostats.”
- “Thank you in advance for your help.”
- “It’s easier to ask forgiveness than to get permission.”
- “I’ll be done in just a minute.”
- “I’ve just got too much on my plate.”
- “Is it ___________ Break yet?” Thanksgiving, Winter, Spring, Summer
- “I use group work all the time.”
- “I run 12 literacy centers every day.”
- “Does anyone have an agenda for this meeting?”
- “I have to leave a bit early today. My kids…”
- “Hmmm… What Standards are you teaching to?
- “Could I pick your brain on this?”
- “It’s all about the kids.”
- “You need to work smarter, not harder.”
- “I wish I knew how to spend less time grading like you do.”
- “We have to learn to do more with less.”
- “They cut down our custodial time again?”
- “The problem is I care too much.”
- “She’s not working up to her potential.”
- “There’s no such thing as a stupid question.”
- “This class is really bad (low) this year.”
- “Can you believe what admin wants us to do now?”
- “I follow best practices in my teaching.”
- “That’s the way we’ve (I’ve) always done it.
Mark Pennington is the author of assessment-based ELA and reading intervention curriculum for grades 4-high school students. Check out Pennington Publishing for the finest in teacher-created curriculum, over 600 useful articles with FREE resources, and FREE assessments. Don’t forget to enter discount code 3716 at check-out for 10% off your entire purchase.
Grammar/Mechanics, Literacy Centers, Reading, Spelling/Vocabulary, Study Skills, Writing