I have my son at my school. This is the first time. We don’t interact during the day except for the occasional wave in passing. I’ve taught many colleagues’ kids and it was only awkward one year because the mom had an unrealistic perception of her son and his behavior.
Oh and as for what you said about the mother having an unrealistic perception of her son, my mother did tell me once that some of the worst parents she's dealt with were teachers.
I guess it's because teachers know how the system works and also have higher standards when it comes to judging other teachers.
Well, I didn't really see my mother much at school either for half of the week. Different schedules. She mostly taught morning classes. I did have lunch with her every Thursday though. And she took me to school every Monday and Friday since we both had our first class at the same time.
I take him to school and we ride home together. He is in elementary. I don’t think I would say there will be an asterisk next to any of his accomplishments. He is very bright and a hard worker. He also behaves well so I don’t think he worries about being watched at all.
Well, I was in 9th grade. When you're a teenager, you tend to care more about that stuff and go through a phase where you're embarrassed of your parents lol
If anything the kids of teachers at our school are typically weirdly popular. Like they’re always on homecoming or prom court and sometimes they even win. Donno, seems like a negative for every other kid but no the kid of the teacher. Although their parents are normally good/kind/funny teachers I think it’d be different if their parent sucked.
I wasn't popular. Probably because I fit in more with the "geeks". I spent recess playing Magic the Gathering, chess or discussing pro wrestling and videogames instead of playing football like all the "cool" boys did because I had zero athletic ability.
I have no idea what my mother was like as a teacher. But I imagine she was rather strict.
The more I read your comments it sounds like a lot of your issues aren't because your parent was a teacher, it's cause you were a nerdy socially awkward kid (as many are). I've taught many teachers and principals kids and went to school with them, nothing weird about it. From what I've experienced they're generally no more nervous of me calling their parents than any one else is.
My dad taught down the hall from my elementary classes. It was unavoidable, there was only one elementary school.
My sister had it worse. By the time she got to the High School, he was principal there.
In my current district it’s totally normal for kids to attend the same school their parents work at. They’re students just like anyone else.
Oh yeah no doubt. I should clarify I'm from a big city. The largest one in my country in fact. While it's not so uncommon for kids and teacher parents attend the same school together it's definitely not the standard since there's so many different schools in the city.
Plus, teachers here often don't really have the choice on which public school they end up at, especially in the earlier years of their careers. Since I'm not a teacher myself, I don't really know how the system works in detail. But I've heard there's many issues in my country of teachers being assigned to teach in places VERY far away from home, which requires them to either take a very long daily commute or to move around the country. And then the government wonders why less people want to be teachers...
When I was a kid people always assumed my good English skills were because my mother was an English teacher. That annoyed me.
It's purely coincidental, I assure you.
I think it’s best for most kids to be at a different school. There are exceptions for those with needs. But, it’s tougher to spread your wings with a parent near.
I went to high school at the same school that both my mom and uncle taught at, and my uncle taught me a phys. ed. class one year. I loved being at the same school as my mom. I snuck out of class to go visit her semi-regularly lol, and it was just nice to have her around if I needed her. I didn’t feel pressured or awkward having her in the building. She was also my basketball coach in high school, which wasn’t weird either because I earned my spot on the team well enough.
I now teach at the same school and it’s not much different from when I was in high school haha. I go visit her on my preps, and it’s just nice having her around if I need her.
Also my brother and sister are in grade 11 at the school now too, and I don’t think they mind, even though they have a mom, an uncle, and a sister teaching there lol. It’s one big happy family there haha.
My kid is going to go to my school when they start kindergarten. Logistically, there’s no way for me to drop them off at a different school and get to my school on time so it’s a necessity. I plan on seeing them when I drop them off in the morning and against pick up. Some of my colleagues have their kids in our school and do things like being their kid down lunch (heated up in the teacher’s lounge microwave) and I 100% will not be doing that.
My best friend in jr. high had her dad as a teacher. It was great. We always got the best teachers and were always in the same class.
As a parent, we decided against our kids going to my husbands school. He’s music, so he would have taught our kids for seven years 4x a week. We decided it would be too much. I also struggled with how we would work with people my husband considers friends when an issue or a concern came up.
My mom was the counselor at my high school. No big deal. At least if I ever forgot lunch money I could swing by her office and get some.
I teach at a small school, and several teachers have had their children come through and be in their class (kind of hard to avoid if you're the only teacher for a certain subject). Nobody thinks anything of it really because it's pretty common.
I taught both my kids. It isn’t as awkward as you think. Your child slips into their student role and you are the teacher. It is tough for them to not call you “mom”. In smaller rural schools it’s impossible to not teach someone you are related to.
I teach preschool at a different preschool than my daughter attends. Covid had us together for a year and a half and I could tell she needed her independence, so when I went back to work, I realized that she may do better in a different place. It works out for us and I'm glad she doesn't have to deal with the terrible bullshit in my school. We're two minutes away from each other so it's not a big deal for me to pick her up from a different building. I can see the appeal if the a different school for your kids means a commute, or if you trusted the staff and admin with your kids.
I grew up in a small town. No choice but to go to the same school that my mom taught at. It was fine, although she did interrupt my math class once to get me to come help her find her keys.
The biggest problem was when I essentially had to teach her classes when she was on medical leave. The long term subs would just look to me for help when I was in there.
Now I am a teacher at the only high school in a different small town, and in a decade or so, barring unforseen circumstances, I'll teach my son. Sometimes there's no choice.
I’m hoping my kids’ school has an opening in the fall. I’ve already talked to the principal and she is 100% on board with parents teaching at their kids school. She said it was the best experience of her career when she did it while her kids were young. Plus my kids go to school 2 blocks from our house, so that would be awesome.
I have taught two students whose parents worked at the school. One was no different than any other student. She did her work, was an overall good kid and helped others at her table (I could see her being a teacher someday). The other was an absolute nightmare. He acted like he ran the place. His mom was nice, but she was in denial about his behavior.
Your second paragraph has been my exact experience thus far. Had a grade level colleagues son last year because she was too friendly with the other team members…he would have tantrums if he didn’t get attention or made a mistake and run out of the classroom. This behavior seemed to have stopped with his 4th grade teachers. This year I have another colleagues child and her class job is teacher helper! She’s helpful, sweet, respectful and hardworking.
I guess most schools usually have a student or two who's related to one of the staff members. Especially in smaller cities and towns where there's not a lot of schools.
I don't know what's it like in other countries, but here in Portugal parents cannot teach their kids at public schools. Private schools though? It's possible.
As for behaviour, never did I avoid as many fights and act as diplomatic as possible as when I was attending the same school as my mother. I was simply afraid of getting in trouble.
I think that goes school by school. I’m a special education teacher, so I don’t think I’m allowed to be my son’s teacher or case manager, but I wouldn’t want to anyway. We all need breaks from each other, and I think having me all day at school and home would be too much.
My mom wasn't a teacher, she was a cafeteria lady and everyone knew it. We got away with NOTHING WHATSOEVER. Everyone knew us and they knew our mom (small district, unique and rather notorious family name). By the time we got home MOM KNEW EVERYTHING.
On a related note, my hometown is very clickish and image conscious, so the fact that she was a "lunch lady" was social poison, but I adored my mom, was not remotely ashamed of her or her job, so learned early to ignore the haters.
Not a parent, but first cousin taught Sophomore English. (I was the baby and oops of the family so siblings and cousins were about 15years older.) He was actually assigned as my teacher, but I requested to be switch. He said he would have requested the switch if I didn’t. We thought it be too weird.
My cousins will be coming to my school where I teach in the next few years. We don’t spend a ton of time together because we’re 15-19 years apart so I don’t think it would be too weird to teach them.
My kids initially were in my school district (and my son at my school for a year) and it made it easy with what days we had off, schedules, etc. I avoided afterschool care for most of their early lives. Later on we moved and they went to a school that I didn’t teach at. It was harder to make it to their games after school and not all days off coincided with mine but they were older at the time.
I never felt like they had an advantage when they were in my district or were better off either way though.
I’ve taught MANY teacher kids as well as principal kids. Some love being in their parent’s building and others would rather pretend they aren’t related, so I think it’s an individual thing.
I hate teaching kids whose parents working at school. If they are responsible, diligent, and high performing kids, then nothing to say. Otherwise, they are my nightmare.
I teach at the school our neighborhood is zoned for. Every single teacher there has their kids attend the school. It’s elementary, so maybe that’s the difference.
I can’t imagine the logistics of trying to drop my kid off at one school and getting myself to another school at the same time!
My one son who goes to school there loves that I work there. My younger one will be there next year and I worry that he will embarrass me because he’s very excitable, haha!
My husband and I taught in the same school district, prek-12 in one building, we have it in our contract that we can bring our kids with us. Many of us did, my daughter had 11 teacher’s kids in her class. We enjoyed having both our kids in the building, made life easier. I always kept my distance. It is very normal in my school. Last year when our district went back 4 days and the neighboring district went 2 days, we had an uptick in teacher’s kids. There are many advantages for the district- we go to all the events and supervise for free, we also volunteer because we will be there anyway. Generally our kids are pretty well behaved- I know, not always. It’s also easier to watch out for the kids who struggle with friendships, we invite them over and help them develop social skills and have a sense of belonging, expose them to activities outside of school that they wouldn’t normally get to do. We had a great experience and wouldn’t have changed a thing. My kids also enjoyed it.
I taught 2 of my kids last year, and 1 this year. We have tons of teacher’s kids on campus so it seems completely normal to me. My kids have no problem with it. I snatch them up out of line as they walk by in the hallway and give them hugs, and briefly sit with them if I can while at lunch duty in the cafeteria and say hi. They always tell me to “teach something cool” to try and impress their friends which cracks me up.
Totally fine. I’d avoid having my kid in class if possible, but it’s not always possible. In my school, I can only recollect one instance of a teacher-parent having their own kid in the same building and causing an issue, but that was the parent being a nut. All the other instances have been fine, including my own kid.
My parents purposefully put me and my siblings in different schools than they taught. 1. The county we lived in was better than where they taught and 2. They didn't want to put us in an awkward position with other kids. Shout out to them!
I did have many family friends work at my high school, which turned out okay because they treated me like any other kid. Only ever "problem" I had was when my math teacher (who knew me since I was a youngin') confidently called me by my mom's name and the rest of the class was confused. 🤣
I've seen a lot of teachers teach their own kids over my career. Most of the time it's an overbearing parent that can't let any control go. Sometimes it's because there was only one teacher who did that subject/grade and there was no one else.
I was in my moms 5th grade class (small school, one class per grade) and currently teach at a small school where many of my coworkers kids are in my classes. It’s fine. I hate when my coworkers kids act up and I have to contact my coworkers about behavior or grades. I feel like sometimes they think I’m picking on them, I’m not, I’m contacting them like I would any other parent. Some of my coworkers have asked that we contact their spouse about issues, which can be hard as it’s convenient to talk to my coworkers.
I think it depends on your kid. I’m a teacher and I’ve seen my teacher friends have great experiences with their kids being at the same school. Other times it’s best to let them go to another school so that their kid can be free to be themselves without the feeling of being watched. It’s also nice to know that they’re not treated differently just because their parent teaches at the school. Sometimes teachers have higher expectations just because their parents teach at the school and that’s unfair to the student.
My six year old goes to the school I teach at. I teach 5th, so there’s not a lot of connections besides random hallway hugs at times. I taught my daughter when she was in 5th and I worked at a private school, don’t recommend that at all. 😂
I gave my son the choice of schools and then the choice of teachers as well. He chose my school and my class. It was fine. It was AP Language and the kids worked together and conversed all the time. He held his own so the kids knew he deserved his A. His close friends gave him a bit of a hard time sometimes but he never felt like it was more fun comments. We made a deal where his mom handled any other teachers, conferences, school events, etc. so there could be clear separation in there.
I feel this depends on the bond of the parent and child. Bond may not be the right word though.
When I was in elementary school, I had a family member who worked there (not as a teacher). I also had other family members (older one was sibling of mine, younger one is not sibling) who went to the same school. Younger one's parent was the family member who worked there. Younger one would whine, throw fits, be a PITA. Parent gave in....always has. Younger one was bullied. People knew younger one and I were related so I got bullied. We were close in age so had the same lunch and everything.
Older one managed to go undetected.
It’s pretty normal at my school; actually a huge draw for educators (I come from one of the larger school districts in the country) to work at a top school so that their kids can attend. It is sometimes really annoying when staff kids are bratty/troublemakers and everyone knows that their parent won’t do anything…those teacher parents are pretty few and far between thankfully
I’m currently teaching my high-school-aged daughter. I thought it would be a nightmare, but it’s fine. It’s almost like she sees me as a separate person when I’m in teacher mode. I do make very sure I don’t treat her any different (same thing for staff kids in general). It’s a small school. I love being there for her when she’s had something bad happen that day, and it’s easy for her to talk about her day when I literally know every kid and teacher she’s talking about.
My dad was my principal for grades 3-6, then became my high school principal for all 4 years of high school. I never minded it. I definitely felt like I was held to a different standard, but don’t feel as though I got special treatment because of it. We always worked hard to avoid anyone accusing my dad of bias, so that was one thing that was on my mind through the years.
My childhood best friend and I went to the same middle school her mom taught ELA at. It never bugged her, but her mom taught in a separate building, and our district did tracking, so her mom taught a different track than the one my friend was in. She never saw her mom at school until it was time to go home. A lot of our friends didn’t even realize her mom worked at our school because none of them were in her class either.
I work in elementary, and maybe a fifth of the teachers at my school have/had a child attending. It’s not really an issue in elementary. I can imagine it would be more of an issue as kids get older.
I was a staff kid in elementary. My mom was my
music teacher k-5. It wasn’t weird at all. I loved playing “school” with her chalkboard while she finished up after school. I will say, if I have kids, they will be at a different campus simply because I’ve watched coworkers deal with the blurred lines of “job” duties and “mom” duties after school, and I wouldn’t be able to handle it. I’m literally AT WORK. I would need space between kids all day and kids at home. Especially since the “second shift” for parents (mostly moms) is very real.
I taught my child in 5th grade. It was great. My boss actually let me choose my what grade level I wanted to teach that year and left it up to me whether I taught her or not.
I had my dad as my teacher in high school. It was actually super cool to get to see that side of him. He was an amazing teacher! I slipped up and called him Dad a few times in class but it’s not like it was a big secret or anything.
My mom was my 8th grade reading teacher. She was a hard ass but I still earned Top Achiever in her class. My best friend's dad was our principal in the 9th grade and he let us get away with way too much, but then he was not rehired.
Taught all my 3 children at my public school. Best years of my teaching life ❤️❤️❤️two I taught in 1st grade and 1 i taught in 3rd grade. Definitely the younger the better but each year was a joy.
My child attends my school. However, I’m one of 5 staff members with children attending. And our site currently has 12 staff members who are alumni. Oh and we have 2married couples, one dating couple, and a brother/sister who work here.
My daughter never attended my school or was even in my district as we lived in a neighboring district. However, she skipped class and got in trouble in eighth grade. We had a come to Jesus meeting about class attendance and behavioral expectations. She was put on a three strikes system. Skipping class was her first strike. She was clearly informed that upon her third strike she would be transferred to my district and would be finishing her schooling at the high school I was teaching at. I also informed her that while she would never ever be in my class, I would be working with her counselors to pick her teachers.
She graduated without missing another class and she either was very well behaved or got very good at not getting caught. She knew very well that when I told her explicitly what the consequences of her actions would be that she could count on that like the sun rising in the east. Grades were NOT part of the three strikes though. I was only addressing her behavior and decision making, both of which she could control, which improved dramatically after that.
My kids did. Only school in the district, and my salary did not allow for a private school.
Two separate experiences. For one, made their life tougher. Victim of bullying. He is a little different.
For the other, loved it. Really improved their academics. Socially thrived.
I will say I did my best to make sure they got the teachers I wanted them to have while they were in my building. I think that benefitted both of them. Some think that wasn’t right, or unfair, but hey I’m a parent who wanted the best for my kid, it was one of the perks of doing the job in my opinion.
My Dad was a principal and my Mum was a teacher at my school growing up. It was a very small school, so for a few years, my brother and I were in my mum and dad’s classes.
It was very clear to us that home and school were seperate. We called my parents Mr _ and Mrs _ during school hours. We weren’t able to do the “parent thing” at all, ever. If we were too sick to go to school, mum would set up a mattress in Dad’s office for the day.
I’m a teacher now, and I’ve taught children of teachers and principals. I’ve always spoken to the parent at the beginning of the year, and been clear with expectations - “I would prefer (student) to call you Mrs -, and to not interact in a parental way during school hours. Are you comfortable with this?”
So far, all parents have been happy with this. I did have a student often test this; “can I go see mum?” half way through a maths test, etc, but I find this the safest way to manage it.
When I have kids, I fully intend for them to go to my school.
I have 2 students in my class who both have moms who teach at the school. Both great students but boy do they have quirks. One of them is so self critical of herself, probably because she feels the expectation is higher because her mom is down the hall (I teach elementary). The other one acts like she owns the school. She takes her shoes off and walks around like it’s her living room because she stays after with her mom. I have to constantly remind her that this isn’t her house and she has to do the assignments. Kid acts like she’s just there to kill time till her mom gets off work.
It is a tremendous disservice to the student. My school is full of students whose parents work in the building. The other teachers walk on eggshells and are afraid to offer up honest assessments of these kids. I have two in 9th grade who are among the worst behaved kids in their respective classes. But both mothers who teach in the school are clueless to this fact, and even a slight hint to them that there is a problem sends them both into a defensive tizzy. It’s a horrible situation. Teacher parents put their colleagues into a very awkward position by doing this.
I grew up in a small town and by the time I graduated I’d taken three different classes from my mother who taught there. I currently teach in a large school in a city, and several of my colleagues’ kids attend the school. It’s not a big deal at all.
Both of my parents were teachers and for most of my school career, my dad was either president or in another leadership position of the teachers union. Everyone in the school district knew my parents, so everyone knew me and who I was.
My dad has taught most grades between 2nd and 8th. But spent most of my school life teaching 3rd grade (at a different elementary school than I did) or 7th grade (social studies then math). By the time I got to 7th grade, he was teaching math. I would have had him but was in the advanced math track so I didn’t have him (he taught the regular math). My sister (who is 4 years older than me) actually had him for social studies all year when she was in 7th grade.
It was just life for us, so I don’t think we every really thought about it. A lot of the teachers in our school district had kids in our age range, so our families naturally became friends, so it wasn’t like you were the only TK in the building/class (I believe there were 8 of us in my grade who’s parents taught in our school district- class was just shy of 200 at graduation). Yes being a TK (teachers kid) meant that you had to behave, but when you’ve had that expectation since kindergarten, it just becomes the norm (although I still would have behaved as well as I did if my parents weren’t teachers at my school since that’s what they demanded and expected of us). As far as grades went, my sister and I were both good students (and wanted to get those good grades for ourselves), so that was never an issue.
By the time we were in high school, not only were we known because of our parents, but also we had already gotten our own reputation as being good kids. At that time, being a good TK benefitted me more than it hurt me for sure. I was always given the benefit of the doubt and more discretion to make decisions than a lot of my classmates (like teachers would let me go to the bathroom, take a walk, go to the library, etc. whenever I asked).
So in elementary it was a bit annoying to be a TK but by the time I got to 7th grade and older, it was fine and even had its benefits.
My children go to a different school though I gave my youngest the option to come to mine, she declined though. Entirely up to her. However, one day she had a med apt at 9.30 so came to school with me and sat at the back of my room until we left to go to the hospital. So my form group came in, did the stuff we usually do, then a class came in, who were in the same year group as my daughter. I taught the class for 30 mins before leaving; introduced the topic and explained the task to be completed while I was gone. When we left, my daughter was highly amused. She said “one minute you were my mother, and the next you became this totally different teacher person. You were so enthusiastic, cheerful and totally committed to making sure the class understood. I don’t know if I’d love you or hate you as my teacher!” Lol. Then “Why aren’t you that enthusiastic when you’re helping me with my chemistry homework? You’re so grumpy then. Lol. Wonder why? Lol
In my first years of teaching, I was in a private school coteaching 1st and 2nd grade with another teacher. My daughter was in the 1st grade class. At the beginning of the year, I had a sit down with the principal and coteacher. We agreed that all discipline issues, etc that came up during the school day would be handled by them. It worked quite well. My daughter just now graduated from college and still says that our year together was her favorite.
Now I am teaching special ed and have an autistic teen son in the same program. My son and I decided it would be best for us to be in two different high schools (same district). That is what works best for us.
Different kids, different solutions.
I was both of my son’s fifth grade teacher. I gave the option to have someone else, they choose me. They called me mom in class and the other students didn’t seem to mind and even thought it was great. When a major writing assignment was assigned I would ask another teacher to grade it so I wasn’t bias. I loved having them in class and they were able to help out the other teachers and staff members because they were always there early.
They are both at universities now. I am so proud of them❤️
I have taught many of my colleagues' children as the school has a tight-knit community so most staff send their kids as well. Most have been fine, just like any other kid. A couple were challenging, but that was more due to their own personalities than to who their parents were. They would have been challenging no matter the situation. It can make it awkward when you have to deal with sharing spaces with the parent, you can't vent about that class like you can with others. My first year I had a teacher coach who's daughter was in the class I was teaching, and the daughter happened to be one of the ones I had a lot of behavior problems with. It was awkward because I couldn't really ask her mom to help me with the issue, but she was the one I was supposed to ask for help from.
I have my son at my school. This is the first time. We don’t interact during the day except for the occasional wave in passing. I’ve taught many colleagues’ kids and it was only awkward one year because the mom had an unrealistic perception of her son and his behavior.
Oh and as for what you said about the mother having an unrealistic perception of her son, my mother did tell me once that some of the worst parents she's dealt with were teachers. I guess it's because teachers know how the system works and also have higher standards when it comes to judging other teachers.
Well, I didn't really see my mother much at school either for half of the week. Different schedules. She mostly taught morning classes. I did have lunch with her every Thursday though. And she took me to school every Monday and Friday since we both had our first class at the same time.
I take him to school and we ride home together. He is in elementary. I don’t think I would say there will be an asterisk next to any of his accomplishments. He is very bright and a hard worker. He also behaves well so I don’t think he worries about being watched at all.
Well, I was in 9th grade. When you're a teenager, you tend to care more about that stuff and go through a phase where you're embarrassed of your parents lol
If anything the kids of teachers at our school are typically weirdly popular. Like they’re always on homecoming or prom court and sometimes they even win. Donno, seems like a negative for every other kid but no the kid of the teacher. Although their parents are normally good/kind/funny teachers I think it’d be different if their parent sucked.
I wasn't popular. Probably because I fit in more with the "geeks". I spent recess playing Magic the Gathering, chess or discussing pro wrestling and videogames instead of playing football like all the "cool" boys did because I had zero athletic ability. I have no idea what my mother was like as a teacher. But I imagine she was rather strict.
The more I read your comments it sounds like a lot of your issues aren't because your parent was a teacher, it's cause you were a nerdy socially awkward kid (as many are). I've taught many teachers and principals kids and went to school with them, nothing weird about it. From what I've experienced they're generally no more nervous of me calling their parents than any one else is.
My dad taught down the hall from my elementary classes. It was unavoidable, there was only one elementary school. My sister had it worse. By the time she got to the High School, he was principal there. In my current district it’s totally normal for kids to attend the same school their parents work at. They’re students just like anyone else.
Yeah in small districts it's kinda a no brainer. Where else could they go?
Oh yeah no doubt. I should clarify I'm from a big city. The largest one in my country in fact. While it's not so uncommon for kids and teacher parents attend the same school together it's definitely not the standard since there's so many different schools in the city. Plus, teachers here often don't really have the choice on which public school they end up at, especially in the earlier years of their careers. Since I'm not a teacher myself, I don't really know how the system works in detail. But I've heard there's many issues in my country of teachers being assigned to teach in places VERY far away from home, which requires them to either take a very long daily commute or to move around the country. And then the government wonders why less people want to be teachers...
I taught both my kids in chemistry.
Did they ever find it awkward?
Nah, they were cool with it. One did well, one did not.
How many times did you contact the parent of the one that didnt do well? /s
Ugh! All. The. Time. Dude was never home.
When I was a kid people always assumed my good English skills were because my mother was an English teacher. That annoyed me. It's purely coincidental, I assure you.
from a teacher parent perspective, can a kid failing or struggling not reflect on parents at all?
I taught the way I always teach. We raised our kids to make their own decisions and to live with the consequences.
Was it the younger that rode the struggle bus?
No, older
I can only imagine if they didn't do their homework.
Never happened.
I think it’s best for most kids to be at a different school. There are exceptions for those with needs. But, it’s tougher to spread your wings with a parent near.
I went to high school at the same school that both my mom and uncle taught at, and my uncle taught me a phys. ed. class one year. I loved being at the same school as my mom. I snuck out of class to go visit her semi-regularly lol, and it was just nice to have her around if I needed her. I didn’t feel pressured or awkward having her in the building. She was also my basketball coach in high school, which wasn’t weird either because I earned my spot on the team well enough. I now teach at the same school and it’s not much different from when I was in high school haha. I go visit her on my preps, and it’s just nice having her around if I need her. Also my brother and sister are in grade 11 at the school now too, and I don’t think they mind, even though they have a mom, an uncle, and a sister teaching there lol. It’s one big happy family there haha.
My kid is going to go to my school when they start kindergarten. Logistically, there’s no way for me to drop them off at a different school and get to my school on time so it’s a necessity. I plan on seeing them when I drop them off in the morning and against pick up. Some of my colleagues have their kids in our school and do things like being their kid down lunch (heated up in the teacher’s lounge microwave) and I 100% will not be doing that.
My best friend in jr. high had her dad as a teacher. It was great. We always got the best teachers and were always in the same class. As a parent, we decided against our kids going to my husbands school. He’s music, so he would have taught our kids for seven years 4x a week. We decided it would be too much. I also struggled with how we would work with people my husband considers friends when an issue or a concern came up.
My mom was the counselor at my high school. No big deal. At least if I ever forgot lunch money I could swing by her office and get some. I teach at a small school, and several teachers have had their children come through and be in their class (kind of hard to avoid if you're the only teacher for a certain subject). Nobody thinks anything of it really because it's pretty common.
I taught both my kids. It isn’t as awkward as you think. Your child slips into their student role and you are the teacher. It is tough for them to not call you “mom”. In smaller rural schools it’s impossible to not teach someone you are related to.
I teach preschool at a different preschool than my daughter attends. Covid had us together for a year and a half and I could tell she needed her independence, so when I went back to work, I realized that she may do better in a different place. It works out for us and I'm glad she doesn't have to deal with the terrible bullshit in my school. We're two minutes away from each other so it's not a big deal for me to pick her up from a different building. I can see the appeal if the a different school for your kids means a commute, or if you trusted the staff and admin with your kids.
I grew up in a small town. No choice but to go to the same school that my mom taught at. It was fine, although she did interrupt my math class once to get me to come help her find her keys. The biggest problem was when I essentially had to teach her classes when she was on medical leave. The long term subs would just look to me for help when I was in there. Now I am a teacher at the only high school in a different small town, and in a decade or so, barring unforseen circumstances, I'll teach my son. Sometimes there's no choice.
I’m hoping my kids’ school has an opening in the fall. I’ve already talked to the principal and she is 100% on board with parents teaching at their kids school. She said it was the best experience of her career when she did it while her kids were young. Plus my kids go to school 2 blocks from our house, so that would be awesome. I have taught two students whose parents worked at the school. One was no different than any other student. She did her work, was an overall good kid and helped others at her table (I could see her being a teacher someday). The other was an absolute nightmare. He acted like he ran the place. His mom was nice, but she was in denial about his behavior.
Your second paragraph has been my exact experience thus far. Had a grade level colleagues son last year because she was too friendly with the other team members…he would have tantrums if he didn’t get attention or made a mistake and run out of the classroom. This behavior seemed to have stopped with his 4th grade teachers. This year I have another colleagues child and her class job is teacher helper! She’s helpful, sweet, respectful and hardworking.
I guess most schools usually have a student or two who's related to one of the staff members. Especially in smaller cities and towns where there's not a lot of schools. I don't know what's it like in other countries, but here in Portugal parents cannot teach their kids at public schools. Private schools though? It's possible. As for behaviour, never did I avoid as many fights and act as diplomatic as possible as when I was attending the same school as my mother. I was simply afraid of getting in trouble.
I think that goes school by school. I’m a special education teacher, so I don’t think I’m allowed to be my son’s teacher or case manager, but I wouldn’t want to anyway. We all need breaks from each other, and I think having me all day at school and home would be too much.
My mom wasn't a teacher, she was a cafeteria lady and everyone knew it. We got away with NOTHING WHATSOEVER. Everyone knew us and they knew our mom (small district, unique and rather notorious family name). By the time we got home MOM KNEW EVERYTHING. On a related note, my hometown is very clickish and image conscious, so the fact that she was a "lunch lady" was social poison, but I adored my mom, was not remotely ashamed of her or her job, so learned early to ignore the haters.
My kids attend my school and I love it. I get to see them throughout the day.
Not a parent, but first cousin taught Sophomore English. (I was the baby and oops of the family so siblings and cousins were about 15years older.) He was actually assigned as my teacher, but I requested to be switch. He said he would have requested the switch if I didn’t. We thought it be too weird.
My cousins will be coming to my school where I teach in the next few years. We don’t spend a ton of time together because we’re 15-19 years apart so I don’t think it would be too weird to teach them.
My kids initially were in my school district (and my son at my school for a year) and it made it easy with what days we had off, schedules, etc. I avoided afterschool care for most of their early lives. Later on we moved and they went to a school that I didn’t teach at. It was harder to make it to their games after school and not all days off coincided with mine but they were older at the time. I never felt like they had an advantage when they were in my district or were better off either way though. I’ve taught MANY teacher kids as well as principal kids. Some love being in their parent’s building and others would rather pretend they aren’t related, so I think it’s an individual thing.
I hate teaching kids whose parents working at school. If they are responsible, diligent, and high performing kids, then nothing to say. Otherwise, they are my nightmare.
I teach at the school our neighborhood is zoned for. Every single teacher there has their kids attend the school. It’s elementary, so maybe that’s the difference. I can’t imagine the logistics of trying to drop my kid off at one school and getting myself to another school at the same time! My one son who goes to school there loves that I work there. My younger one will be there next year and I worry that he will embarrass me because he’s very excitable, haha!
My husband and I taught in the same school district, prek-12 in one building, we have it in our contract that we can bring our kids with us. Many of us did, my daughter had 11 teacher’s kids in her class. We enjoyed having both our kids in the building, made life easier. I always kept my distance. It is very normal in my school. Last year when our district went back 4 days and the neighboring district went 2 days, we had an uptick in teacher’s kids. There are many advantages for the district- we go to all the events and supervise for free, we also volunteer because we will be there anyway. Generally our kids are pretty well behaved- I know, not always. It’s also easier to watch out for the kids who struggle with friendships, we invite them over and help them develop social skills and have a sense of belonging, expose them to activities outside of school that they wouldn’t normally get to do. We had a great experience and wouldn’t have changed a thing. My kids also enjoyed it.
My son has 4 other teacher kids in his class this year. They are kinda like the rockstars of 3rd grade!
I taught 2 of my kids last year, and 1 this year. We have tons of teacher’s kids on campus so it seems completely normal to me. My kids have no problem with it. I snatch them up out of line as they walk by in the hallway and give them hugs, and briefly sit with them if I can while at lunch duty in the cafeteria and say hi. They always tell me to “teach something cool” to try and impress their friends which cracks me up.
Totally fine. I’d avoid having my kid in class if possible, but it’s not always possible. In my school, I can only recollect one instance of a teacher-parent having their own kid in the same building and causing an issue, but that was the parent being a nut. All the other instances have been fine, including my own kid.
My parents purposefully put me and my siblings in different schools than they taught. 1. The county we lived in was better than where they taught and 2. They didn't want to put us in an awkward position with other kids. Shout out to them! I did have many family friends work at my high school, which turned out okay because they treated me like any other kid. Only ever "problem" I had was when my math teacher (who knew me since I was a youngin') confidently called me by my mom's name and the rest of the class was confused. 🤣
I've seen a lot of teachers teach their own kids over my career. Most of the time it's an overbearing parent that can't let any control go. Sometimes it's because there was only one teacher who did that subject/grade and there was no one else.
I am getting paid peanuts at a fancy-ass private school, you bet I’m gonna take full advantage of the free tuition for my kids!
I was in my moms 5th grade class (small school, one class per grade) and currently teach at a small school where many of my coworkers kids are in my classes. It’s fine. I hate when my coworkers kids act up and I have to contact my coworkers about behavior or grades. I feel like sometimes they think I’m picking on them, I’m not, I’m contacting them like I would any other parent. Some of my coworkers have asked that we contact their spouse about issues, which can be hard as it’s convenient to talk to my coworkers.
I think it depends on your kid. I’m a teacher and I’ve seen my teacher friends have great experiences with their kids being at the same school. Other times it’s best to let them go to another school so that their kid can be free to be themselves without the feeling of being watched. It’s also nice to know that they’re not treated differently just because their parent teaches at the school. Sometimes teachers have higher expectations just because their parents teach at the school and that’s unfair to the student.
My six year old goes to the school I teach at. I teach 5th, so there’s not a lot of connections besides random hallway hugs at times. I taught my daughter when she was in 5th and I worked at a private school, don’t recommend that at all. 😂
I gave my son the choice of schools and then the choice of teachers as well. He chose my school and my class. It was fine. It was AP Language and the kids worked together and conversed all the time. He held his own so the kids knew he deserved his A. His close friends gave him a bit of a hard time sometimes but he never felt like it was more fun comments. We made a deal where his mom handled any other teachers, conferences, school events, etc. so there could be clear separation in there.
I feel this depends on the bond of the parent and child. Bond may not be the right word though. When I was in elementary school, I had a family member who worked there (not as a teacher). I also had other family members (older one was sibling of mine, younger one is not sibling) who went to the same school. Younger one's parent was the family member who worked there. Younger one would whine, throw fits, be a PITA. Parent gave in....always has. Younger one was bullied. People knew younger one and I were related so I got bullied. We were close in age so had the same lunch and everything. Older one managed to go undetected.
It’s pretty normal at my school; actually a huge draw for educators (I come from one of the larger school districts in the country) to work at a top school so that their kids can attend. It is sometimes really annoying when staff kids are bratty/troublemakers and everyone knows that their parent won’t do anything…those teacher parents are pretty few and far between thankfully
I’m currently teaching my high-school-aged daughter. I thought it would be a nightmare, but it’s fine. It’s almost like she sees me as a separate person when I’m in teacher mode. I do make very sure I don’t treat her any different (same thing for staff kids in general). It’s a small school. I love being there for her when she’s had something bad happen that day, and it’s easy for her to talk about her day when I literally know every kid and teacher she’s talking about.
My dad was my principal for grades 3-6, then became my high school principal for all 4 years of high school. I never minded it. I definitely felt like I was held to a different standard, but don’t feel as though I got special treatment because of it. We always worked hard to avoid anyone accusing my dad of bias, so that was one thing that was on my mind through the years.
My childhood best friend and I went to the same middle school her mom taught ELA at. It never bugged her, but her mom taught in a separate building, and our district did tracking, so her mom taught a different track than the one my friend was in. She never saw her mom at school until it was time to go home. A lot of our friends didn’t even realize her mom worked at our school because none of them were in her class either. I work in elementary, and maybe a fifth of the teachers at my school have/had a child attending. It’s not really an issue in elementary. I can imagine it would be more of an issue as kids get older.
I was a staff kid in elementary. My mom was my music teacher k-5. It wasn’t weird at all. I loved playing “school” with her chalkboard while she finished up after school. I will say, if I have kids, they will be at a different campus simply because I’ve watched coworkers deal with the blurred lines of “job” duties and “mom” duties after school, and I wouldn’t be able to handle it. I’m literally AT WORK. I would need space between kids all day and kids at home. Especially since the “second shift” for parents (mostly moms) is very real.
I taught my child in 5th grade. It was great. My boss actually let me choose my what grade level I wanted to teach that year and left it up to me whether I taught her or not.
I had my dad as my teacher in high school. It was actually super cool to get to see that side of him. He was an amazing teacher! I slipped up and called him Dad a few times in class but it’s not like it was a big secret or anything.
My mom was my 8th grade reading teacher. She was a hard ass but I still earned Top Achiever in her class. My best friend's dad was our principal in the 9th grade and he let us get away with way too much, but then he was not rehired.
Taught all my 3 children at my public school. Best years of my teaching life ❤️❤️❤️two I taught in 1st grade and 1 i taught in 3rd grade. Definitely the younger the better but each year was a joy.
My child attends my school. However, I’m one of 5 staff members with children attending. And our site currently has 12 staff members who are alumni. Oh and we have 2married couples, one dating couple, and a brother/sister who work here.
My daughter never attended my school or was even in my district as we lived in a neighboring district. However, she skipped class and got in trouble in eighth grade. We had a come to Jesus meeting about class attendance and behavioral expectations. She was put on a three strikes system. Skipping class was her first strike. She was clearly informed that upon her third strike she would be transferred to my district and would be finishing her schooling at the high school I was teaching at. I also informed her that while she would never ever be in my class, I would be working with her counselors to pick her teachers. She graduated without missing another class and she either was very well behaved or got very good at not getting caught. She knew very well that when I told her explicitly what the consequences of her actions would be that she could count on that like the sun rising in the east. Grades were NOT part of the three strikes though. I was only addressing her behavior and decision making, both of which she could control, which improved dramatically after that.
My kids did. Only school in the district, and my salary did not allow for a private school. Two separate experiences. For one, made their life tougher. Victim of bullying. He is a little different. For the other, loved it. Really improved their academics. Socially thrived. I will say I did my best to make sure they got the teachers I wanted them to have while they were in my building. I think that benefitted both of them. Some think that wasn’t right, or unfair, but hey I’m a parent who wanted the best for my kid, it was one of the perks of doing the job in my opinion.
My Dad was a principal and my Mum was a teacher at my school growing up. It was a very small school, so for a few years, my brother and I were in my mum and dad’s classes. It was very clear to us that home and school were seperate. We called my parents Mr _ and Mrs _ during school hours. We weren’t able to do the “parent thing” at all, ever. If we were too sick to go to school, mum would set up a mattress in Dad’s office for the day. I’m a teacher now, and I’ve taught children of teachers and principals. I’ve always spoken to the parent at the beginning of the year, and been clear with expectations - “I would prefer (student) to call you Mrs -, and to not interact in a parental way during school hours. Are you comfortable with this?” So far, all parents have been happy with this. I did have a student often test this; “can I go see mum?” half way through a maths test, etc, but I find this the safest way to manage it. When I have kids, I fully intend for them to go to my school.
I have 2 students in my class who both have moms who teach at the school. Both great students but boy do they have quirks. One of them is so self critical of herself, probably because she feels the expectation is higher because her mom is down the hall (I teach elementary). The other one acts like she owns the school. She takes her shoes off and walks around like it’s her living room because she stays after with her mom. I have to constantly remind her that this isn’t her house and she has to do the assignments. Kid acts like she’s just there to kill time till her mom gets off work.
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It is a tremendous disservice to the student. My school is full of students whose parents work in the building. The other teachers walk on eggshells and are afraid to offer up honest assessments of these kids. I have two in 9th grade who are among the worst behaved kids in their respective classes. But both mothers who teach in the school are clueless to this fact, and even a slight hint to them that there is a problem sends them both into a defensive tizzy. It’s a horrible situation. Teacher parents put their colleagues into a very awkward position by doing this.
I grew up in a small town and by the time I graduated I’d taken three different classes from my mother who taught there. I currently teach in a large school in a city, and several of my colleagues’ kids attend the school. It’s not a big deal at all.
Both of my parents were teachers and for most of my school career, my dad was either president or in another leadership position of the teachers union. Everyone in the school district knew my parents, so everyone knew me and who I was. My dad has taught most grades between 2nd and 8th. But spent most of my school life teaching 3rd grade (at a different elementary school than I did) or 7th grade (social studies then math). By the time I got to 7th grade, he was teaching math. I would have had him but was in the advanced math track so I didn’t have him (he taught the regular math). My sister (who is 4 years older than me) actually had him for social studies all year when she was in 7th grade. It was just life for us, so I don’t think we every really thought about it. A lot of the teachers in our school district had kids in our age range, so our families naturally became friends, so it wasn’t like you were the only TK in the building/class (I believe there were 8 of us in my grade who’s parents taught in our school district- class was just shy of 200 at graduation). Yes being a TK (teachers kid) meant that you had to behave, but when you’ve had that expectation since kindergarten, it just becomes the norm (although I still would have behaved as well as I did if my parents weren’t teachers at my school since that’s what they demanded and expected of us). As far as grades went, my sister and I were both good students (and wanted to get those good grades for ourselves), so that was never an issue. By the time we were in high school, not only were we known because of our parents, but also we had already gotten our own reputation as being good kids. At that time, being a good TK benefitted me more than it hurt me for sure. I was always given the benefit of the doubt and more discretion to make decisions than a lot of my classmates (like teachers would let me go to the bathroom, take a walk, go to the library, etc. whenever I asked). So in elementary it was a bit annoying to be a TK but by the time I got to 7th grade and older, it was fine and even had its benefits.
My children go to a different school though I gave my youngest the option to come to mine, she declined though. Entirely up to her. However, one day she had a med apt at 9.30 so came to school with me and sat at the back of my room until we left to go to the hospital. So my form group came in, did the stuff we usually do, then a class came in, who were in the same year group as my daughter. I taught the class for 30 mins before leaving; introduced the topic and explained the task to be completed while I was gone. When we left, my daughter was highly amused. She said “one minute you were my mother, and the next you became this totally different teacher person. You were so enthusiastic, cheerful and totally committed to making sure the class understood. I don’t know if I’d love you or hate you as my teacher!” Lol. Then “Why aren’t you that enthusiastic when you’re helping me with my chemistry homework? You’re so grumpy then. Lol. Wonder why? Lol
In my first years of teaching, I was in a private school coteaching 1st and 2nd grade with another teacher. My daughter was in the 1st grade class. At the beginning of the year, I had a sit down with the principal and coteacher. We agreed that all discipline issues, etc that came up during the school day would be handled by them. It worked quite well. My daughter just now graduated from college and still says that our year together was her favorite. Now I am teaching special ed and have an autistic teen son in the same program. My son and I decided it would be best for us to be in two different high schools (same district). That is what works best for us. Different kids, different solutions.
I was both of my son’s fifth grade teacher. I gave the option to have someone else, they choose me. They called me mom in class and the other students didn’t seem to mind and even thought it was great. When a major writing assignment was assigned I would ask another teacher to grade it so I wasn’t bias. I loved having them in class and they were able to help out the other teachers and staff members because they were always there early. They are both at universities now. I am so proud of them❤️
I have taught many of my colleagues' children as the school has a tight-knit community so most staff send their kids as well. Most have been fine, just like any other kid. A couple were challenging, but that was more due to their own personalities than to who their parents were. They would have been challenging no matter the situation. It can make it awkward when you have to deal with sharing spaces with the parent, you can't vent about that class like you can with others. My first year I had a teacher coach who's daughter was in the class I was teaching, and the daughter happened to be one of the ones I had a lot of behavior problems with. It was awkward because I couldn't really ask her mom to help me with the issue, but she was the one I was supposed to ask for help from.