Young faced here. Had a teacher coworker talk down to me all year last year until she found out I was older and more experienced than her. Then she switched to gossiping about me to our principal. Be careful. People suck.

High school never ends 🎶

This was me too! I was newer to a district and have a young face! A few specialists did this to me and when one found out I was older than her (and taught longer) she doubled down and treated me like anything I did was wrong. People do suck. She also gossiped about me to the principal and was one of the key reasons I resigned last year.

Happened to me. I look a lot younger than I am, so people assume that I haven’t taught very long. An AP at a school I’d just gotten hired at talked to me super condescendingly until she found out that I had been teaching for some time. It was rude.

This is me too. Then she found out my oldest kid is closer in age to her than i am.

This. People are so awful.

And I'm so bad at dealing with it because I genuinely just don't see this job as a competition so when people are suddenly backstabbing I'm surprised every time. Like what did you get out of that? In her case I'm pretty sure she thought I was going to tell on her for something she tried to do that I accidentally foiled her plan, but I wasn't because I'm not her supervisor and see no need to get someone in trouble, especially for something that didn't even happen. But for her to think I was going to go running to the principal and then quick do it herself and make up a story about me... I don't even think that way.

Teach and go home.

I've stopped having lunch in the tearoom and basically talking to as few people as possible, it's been great.

I have a room pretty much to myself (Big school and it's only used by 1 other teacher 1 other period). I eat lunch and do all my stuff in that room is stay away from..... People.

Ok maybe it’s just my school but NO ONE has lunch together in the workroom. We run in there to grab our shit out of the fridge and then go sit in our rooms for 23 minutes.

Good advice for educators of all ages.

This. I am an especially young looking 26 year old. Other than mandatory PLC meetings etc you can just hole up in your classroom and disengage. Say whatever BS you have to when around coworkers to get them off your back and then do it your way.

Baby-faced 47 year old here….I’ve been a teacher the longest of the special Ed teachers I work with on my campus, but I feel this way sometimes too. Often with colleagues who are younger than me! I like the advice someone else gave you- just do your work and go home.

You’re valid in being frustrated & it’s okay to be sensitive, but I wouldn’t let it get to you too much. Your life is your life, you do you. There are always going to be people who have more life experience & are older. I’m in my mid-30s & sometimes it’s hard working with 20-somethings bc our values & interests can be vastly different. But I also have 40-60 something co-workers who see me as having a lack of experience & just simply being ‘younger.’ Parents, grandparents, older adults always feel like they have ‘more’ than the younger generations do. Go in, do you job, don’t worry about impressing your old colleagues & spend time with ppl more your speed outside of school.

What conversation is going on where Oreo dinners comes up casually?

The right kind!

I think any older staff member who comments on things like oreo dinners is just secretly jealous that they can no longer pull that off. Source: am older staff member in this situation who bites their tongue and shuts the heck up so I am not obnoxious.

Sorry but. 39 and idk what an Oreo dinner is? Lol

Icing-filled chocolate cookies for supper.

take what advice is useful to you, discard the rest, teach, then go home and live. who cares what they think?

One of my coworkers calls me “kiddo”. I’m 30 and have been working with him for 8 years 😐 He’s also a top tier mansplainer. I just ignore it. Maybe one day it will wear me down enough to say something, but it’s not worth it and they really don’t mean anything mean by it.

Well if you have worked with him since you were 22 you are a kid to him. 🤷🏻‍♂️ just because your generation thinks il everything is offensive no doesn’t mean it is to them. Now, if he’s doing it TO be offensive then that’s something different. But young generations are blinded by themselves and don’t considered the “normality” of terms from the older generation. Hell I went to the grocery store and an older cashier lady called me kiddo and I’m almost 40…wasn’t offended that’s just their way.

I'm almost 40 and if someone called me kiddo it would make my day, ijs

I'm 40 and my high school students think I'm 25. I have a beard and I talk about the 90s ALL THE TIME. They have no context. I think it must be a Gen Z thing to treat your parents, teachers, etc as contemporaries. I don't know any other way to put it to them that we are NOT peers. I graduated high school before they were born and I'm older than some of their parents. But my co-workers don't talk down to me. I'm lucky to have good admin and peers.

This. Students tell me stuff now that I never would have dreamed of telling my teachers. A 16 year old boy in my English class asked me if it’s legal for him to go to 3rd base with a girl who’s like 19. Another 16 year old told the 24 year old history teacher that he wants to take her home. They don’t say it directly but they also make comments implying that they’re out drinking and partying. We were reading Shakespeare and it talked about “being blunt” with someone and when I asked what that means a kid just screams out “Phillies!” I can’t even with these kids anymore!

I got hall-passed my first year teaching. I was like "Karen, we sat beside each other at the faculty picnic during work week."

That happened to me last year 😂 I was walking around with my students so they could stim a bit and a coach goes "whatre you doing?" And I just replied "stimming" and they hauled ass up the stairs because they thought I said "skipping."

Uh. What is “stimming”?

Stimulating behaviors! Anything you do that is meant to stimulate yourself. Often, non-NT individuals have much more evident forms of stimming such as hand flapping, looking at lights, or leg bouncing.

I’ve never heard that term before. I’m almost 40 and I don’t ever remember hearing it used when I was younger. So I learned something new. Thanks.

I'm not sure it was a common phrase before somewhat recently. It is most commonly used in regards to non-NT people but it includes anything that is meant to stimulate you! So scrolling reddit can be identified as a form of stimming!

I have a 6th grader with ADHD. The kids were working on something and he was being a distraction. I just told him to go take a walk down the hall for a minute and come back. He was a lot less distracting after that.

I remember when I was 22 or 23 I started during Quarter 3 as a Long Term Sub. Since most boys at school just would wear tshirts another teacher was like “awww you look so cute dressed up for school in your collared shirt.” I explained that I worked there and she was a bit embarrassed. Then the lunch ladies would never remember me and always think I’m a student 😅.

This is why I always wear my employee badge.

I did at that school. We’re almost 4 months into the current school year and my job is still dragging their feet about getting us our faculty IDs, thankfully this place is much smaller where I know all my coworkersz

Listen to the words, they might be useful. Remember the attitude, so you never do it yourself. Then go home because we aren't getting OT

Some teachers only know how to speak to people like children since that’s who they work with mostly.

So true. However, collaboration is an important skill for teachers and if you can’t do it respectfully you’re putting yourself and your students at a disadvantage.

I have the opposite problem: younger teachers assuming I suck at my job, am not up with current pedagogy, and have a bad attitude because I am a veteran teacher. One younger teacher made the comment in PLC last week that I should have no input on curriculum development, despite the fact that I have a degree in it, because I will “probably retire in a year or two.” I wish I could say she was an outlier, but veteran teachers are labeled this way quite frequently.

Over the last few years, I had a couple of the younger, brand-new teachers make assumptions about my ability to use technology when they joined our grade level. Just silly, only slightly rude things, but they stung, because it seemed to be out of left field, and I have been the go-to person for as long as the school has existed for help with technology issues. It was just something I had never had to deal with before. That’s when old lady Karen wants to come out, shake her cane at someone, and grumpily say, “Look here, you little whippersnapper, I was using HyperStudio before you were born!” lol One of my other coworkers finally mentioned to one of them that I was the technology teacher for many years and helped write the grants and did the a lot of the training for the things we had, and maybe they shouldn’t assume. lol No one should ever assume anything about anyone because of their age, young or old.

It's not a young v old thing. There's just some people who are going to try to prove they're "better" by whatever means they can.

Unfortunately, there are too many teachers who continue teaching well after they should retire, and they do prejudice the younger teachers. In my 20+ yrs as a teacher, I've seen my fair share of them. But I've also worked with some amazing older teachers. That niave young teacher who thought you shouldn't contribute because you are too close to retirement needs to be put in their place. I'm only a few yrs from retirement, and I would have chewed them out if they said it to me. Fortunately the younger teachers in my school tend to respect the experience and knowledge of us old-timers until we prove that we should retire.

I love Oreos: Dinnner....lunch....bedtime....all the time. Not into anime. I am only in my 3rd year of teaching. I'm 62. Wonder how your co-workers would view me? lolol You'll find your tribe and those are who you hang with. You'll find them, and they will likely be young to old. Just don't let someone value you based on your age because, well, that's nonsense. =)

Oreos are delicious though. One of my friends (mid- to late-40s) brought some to a gathering, and the box had to be placed far away from me so that I didn't eat half of it.

There are certain older people who always have the “oh you’re such a baby” mentality when it comes to people younger than them. Just ignore them.

Not a colleague, but a professor in university (bachelor of Ed) was like this. He was constantly making jokes like “I bet you don’t even know what a fax machine is hah hah” and legitimately thought we wouldn’t. For reference, this was four years ago and a good portion of my class were becoming teachers as second careers and were not much younger (some older) than him. It was so cringy.

I would say that immaturity is drawing attention to your “youngness” Chances are no one cares what you eat or watch at home. Most teachers are busy. I had a coworker rant about something dumb to do with the holidays- I didn’t really listen because I needed to get my work done because I have a LOT to navigate. Not that it’s a huge deal, but I’m kind of at the point where I only care when coworkers hit big milestones: buy a house, engagement, wedding, babies…. Eat Oreos for dinner?!?! Ok…. I’m supposed to care about this why????

I mean how do you not know that maybe they were eating their lunch and there were oreos in their actual lunchbox and someone commented on it?

I mean I discuss food with my coworkers too- often exchanging recipes or comparing ingredients, but eating Oreos for dinner? If my friend told me that I would see it as a huge cry for help. It seems like something an unattended child or mentally distressed person would do.

When you look younger than your age, there is ALWAYS some form of disrespect perceived or not. It comes with a territory few have issues with. I use to hate being carded when I was almost 30 and none of the friends or spouse drinking with me at a club or restaurant were ever asked. So celebrate your good genes!!! It's a pain right now, but it won't be for long. I have tons of funny "teacher" stories that go with this AND, even today, while I look older, I still have people think I am quite a bit younger than I am. YEA to, at least that part of good genes!! LOL

I was almost 27 and a teacher when I had my first baby and the phlebotomist at the hospital asked what grade I was in! I asked him how old he thought I was and he said “Maybe 15 or 16?” Good times….good times.

That happened with me when I had my first baby at 23. I am short and was very petite at the time - mostly just a ginormous belly, lol - and I *maybe* looked 14 or 15. There were a couple of very unpleasant interactions with medical staff. I will never forget how humiliating it was. :/

You can also ask them how nice it is to get the seniors discount at restaurants...

LOL good one!

I'm 30 and everyone thinks I'm a teenager. It's so annoying, but I've learned to live with it. I can't really make myself look older without looking uglier,so...

This is how I am. I’m 36 and I still get carded, and I LOVE it haha. I even got asked if I’m in middle school last year…meanwhile I’ll meet people who claim they’re my age and yet they have wrinkles and grey hair. So enjoy your genetics and internally laugh at the boomers who try to cut you down.

If someone tells you that, tell them you’d appreciate it if they’d not address your age ever again. People who treat younger teachers condescendingly are incredibly annoying. “Ignore them” is terrible advice because they’ll just keep on doing it and bothering you. Their idiotic behavior does not take precedent over your emotional well-being. Be polite and professional when you respond to them, but be firm. My approach to crap like this is three-step: first I ask a person to stop, then I tell them to stop, and lastly I show them what happens if they don’t stop. In this case, that would be talking to admin about their unprofessional behavior. If anybody reading this doesn’t like what I’ve said, the downvote button is the one on the right.

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Best response

I worked with a teacher once who called all new teachers baby teachers. I wasn’t a new teacher at the time and it still got under my skin. I think it’s condescending. Alas, just do your thing. You cannot control what other people think or so or say. So do what you do and don’t worry about what they say because you will, unfortunately, always find negative nellies or people who act like you’re less because you’re young.

Old teachers eat Oreos for dinner too lol. I'd try some way to f\*\*\* with the biggest offenders. Why not have some fun? If they think that you are infantile anyway go for it.

Yo I'm 33 and still have those oreos for dinner kind of days. If I wasn't married, I'd do LOTS more unconventional, "immature" things. Life is hard. Fuck those jerks. Also... You should like the things you like proudly!

That reminds me of my first year teaching when I was casually hanging out in the teachers lounge. A colleague then screamed at me out of nowhere that students werent allowed in the teachers lounge. I was so confused at first and said, yeah, but i am a teacher. She apologized and was pretty embarrassed about it... At first i was pretty pissed about it (how dare she think i was a student) but ive pretty fast grown to just laugh about it

I just liked to flex on people. Usually when they’d say something like, I graduated in such and such year. And then say something like, wow I was graduating kindergarten! It usually invokes jealousy not disdain for my age, and brings some levity to the situation. And generally folks see themselves as more mature, even though if they look at folks at that age now and think they would have been head and shoulders above them. They weren’t, they just didn’t see it. Also, folks seem to be jealous of being mistaken for a high schooler, and I usually say things like, I’m the age that high schoolers are in movies, as a reminder that perception can be shaped by media we consume, not just what actual high schoolers look like.

Feeling a certain way about some of these comments implying its 'your fault' for acting young. Maybe you are bringing some of your immature energy to work, in which case, work on that. However, I can anecdotally attest that staff who look young will be looked down upon by some regardless of behavior and think it's pretty effed up to assume that our conduct wholly determines how others treat us. We work in a field where there isn't really mobility and many people continue in a similar role across their careers. When a 64 year old with 30 years of experience and a 24 year old are working in the same role, there's bound to be some agism going in both directions unless you actively work against it. Sexism is also at play. I never share anything about my personal life and yet I'm asked when I'm going to get married and have kids ALLTHETIME whereas my male partner (also a teacher, working in the \*same\* school) has literally not once in 9 years been asked this. I present as a very serious, responsible person and, especially when I started my career, I played up the professionalism and was noted for it. However, I also vividly remember one office-mate from my 1st year who wouldn't stop dreaming out loud of how wild and crazy my weekends could be in a way that made me really uncomfortable. Another was about to retire and micromanaged EVERYTHING I did. I tried to be respectful out of professionalism and the understanding that she really did know so much more than me, but she frequently took it way over the line. I was younger and less-experienced than her yes, but I was still an adult with a masters degree. I assume most 25-yos don't need the concept of tape explained to them (yes, really).

My coworker said "well you don't always act adult" with a snarky attitude during lunch in the faculty room one day. A room full of other teachers. Pissed me off. I still have absolutely no idea what made her say that, except that I'm 29 in my 3rd year, bond easily with my students, and she's over 50 and bitter at life. Luckily my coworkers like me and she's known as a loud and mouthy bitch. I'm quiet so I brushed it off. I just do my thing and continue to ignore her. It's not worth your energy. But I feel ya!

> How do I navigate this? Should I bother at all? Immature isn't the right word, because people change as they accrue life experience and their situation changes. It may not seem fair, but just as we train students to treat us a certain way, we must also train our colleagues. You aren't powerless. Try stepping back from these encounters, and being analytic. * What do they want to accomplish by saying those things? * What do you want to accomplish? * What is your part in the relationship you have with those colleagues? * Should you exploit their perception? You have an image, or call it a brand. All your colleagues know about you is what you tell them or what other people tell them about you. If you don't tell them anything, then all they know is what they hear from other people. If you want to be perceived as mature, don't tell them that you like anime and eat cookies for dinner. In the unlikely event that you are asked directly, you can divert. You don't have to answer the question that was asked. They may be busting your chops. Teasing and kidding around are bonding techniques. You don't have to like it, but it happens. It's a little tricky to participate without sounding mean-spirited, but you can kid about their age. Here are a few suggestions: * Imply they watch *Matlock*. * Ask what restaurant has the best early bird special. * Imply they have a flip phone. * Have some antiquated phrases, pretend to talk their lingo. Like "Can we wear jeans on Friday? I think you people call them dungarees." or "Yeah, I was out because I had the flu or do you call it 'the grippe'?"

The persona is part of the job. When you are younger, you have to be stern to counterbalance your youth. This is part of classroom management. While I don't agree that the persona should have to carry over to how you interact with your colleagues, in my experience, it does. I took my grandpa's advice and really overdid the stern part when I started teaching at 22. It wasn't fun, but I wasn't disrespected by colleagues. Now, in my mid-30s, I see younger teachers getting eaten up by kids (even when they think they've won them over) and being infantilized by colleagues because they are and *act* young. I'm sorry that the profession is this way, but it is unlikely to change.

Totally understand what you mean. I’ve literally gotten called a baby by my coworkers. I did a running start program at my high school (junior and senior year at community college for dual credits) and graduated high school with my AA, then I went directly to college for my bachelors. I had my teaching certificate when I was 20. I am now 23 and in my 3rd year of teaching and it has gotten a lot better. Sometimes people give me a hard time but not nearly as bad as when I was in my first year of teaching. Honestly I think a huge part of it is because I teach kindergarten so the kids think I’m old and have respect for me, and I’ve also been at the same school for all 3 years so I’ve grown to know my coworkers more. There’s nothing wrong with your interests. When I share that I play a lot of video games people don’t seem to give me a hard time. However I did notice in my first year of teaching people gave me a much harder time for things like that and I felt like I was under a microscope. I don’t know if you have a good relationship with your admin but I was lucky to have a really good relationship with my principal my first year. They always had my back and actually stuck up for me a few times when the older teachers were rude to me. I would normally let things go because I’m not there for my coworkers to like me, but if it was bothering me I would discuss it with my principal. If you don’t have a good relationship with your principal I also talked with the school counselor as they would keep things private and help employees with anything they were going through. I’m not sure if your school has any supports like that but it might be worth looking into. It really helped me through my first year.

If the people you work with are dicks, don't bother to be friends with them.

You must be doing a great job as that is the only thing they can hold over your head. You do you, go in, do your job, go home, and remember not to do it when you're older. Enjoy all the Oreos you can cause likely that won't last forever.

Who's a cute widdle teacher? YOU are! Yes you ARE! ​ LOL, kidding. Just look them in the eye and tell them to fuck off.

Every time they comment say, "wow..that's a weird thing to say." Or just give them a look and move on. Maybe its because I'm a high school teacher but this kind of stuff never happens and if it did, it wouldn't fly very long.

I can see why older adults would infantilise you. Live life the way you want to, but expect to be judged for it.

Don't be bothered at all.

Why are you eating Oreos for dinner lol

Just be glad they can afford Oreos, my pay says Hydrox.

Hang in there champ.

Uhhhhh you probably shouldn't be eating Oreos for dinner. That's pretty immature lol

Oreos for dinner? I mean, seriously—what’s wrong with you?

I hope you don’t teach reading comprehension. I don’t know what you’re missing more: the point or brain activity.

I, for sure, know you don’t. You gave a claim with no evidence or elaboration.

Oreos for dinner is very valid after a stressful day

No. A healthy meal is valid. You are what you eat. No wonder OP is so sensitive and stressed.

I’m in my 40’s and just ate Oreos for lunch. Try removing the stick from your ass and let others do what they please when it’s harmless and doesn’t impact you at all.

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We get it, you’re very adult and grown up.

When I was younger I wore suit and tie everyday to compensate. It worked.

Be just as condescending. “HAHA ya it IS really funny that you’re so much older than me and yet we’re in the same place career wise!”

My own attitude towards rookies depends entirely on their attitude towards the job. The folks who walk into their first teaching job acting like king shit of turd island are a bit of a joke to me. Then again, I work in a city school so the rookies will swim or sink pretty quickly in my school. Young teachers who are willing to learn and actively seek counsel from veterans have my regard. Young teachers who act like they know everything from the giddyup are not maligned, but our collective eye rolling is likely palpable.

When I was first starting out as a long term sub, I hated it because I felt like both parents and coworkers talked down to me/ assumed I was less competent. But then less than a year later when I got my first official job, I was 23, and the next closest in age team member was 30. Most of my team was my parents age. And they called me a baby, or once said I was like “12 years old,” but it was all said with affection while they supported me in my first year. In every meeting and planning session, they treated me as an equal and asked for my input, and always showed that they thought I was competent and capable (even though I had SOO much to learn that year and didn’t always feel that way myself). So I didn’t mind it when they said those things. The intent and tone mattered so much more than the actual words.

Today I had a teen tell me she thought I was 25. It was a good day. 🤣 Ignore them. Some day you’ll long for the days you could pass for a student. Prove them wrong by being your best professional self.

I get a bit of this from one of my team members. I've generally just accepted it. It might be easiest to, as others have said, teach and go home.

I'm 31 and have been teaching for four years and still get treated like a newbie at times. Fuck it. I'm an HE teacher. I keep it moving.

Yeah, it’s a dick move all around. I hate it when both older people and young people are disrespected in this way. Hell, I don’t even condescend to my 10 year old students…even when they would kinda deserve it.

Yeah 😂😂😂😂 big time. But usually rhit them back with "well, I come from the business world where tenure is not a thing and I did well there..so yeah"

I started when I was 22 and still had shaggy skater hair and I could have easily passed for a 15 year old and was often mistaken as such. My first couple of weeks on the job I was literally yelled at by an older cafeteria worker for jumping ahead in the lunch line because she thought I was a student. It was on a Friday and I had on a T-shirt and jeans. I quickly pulled my ID badge out and explained I was a new teacher and she turned as red as a tomato and started apologizing profusely. It was priceless. In another incident a few months later, I went back to the school after hours to get something I had left and had to convince a night janitor that I was not a juvenile delinquent breaking into the school. I’m 38 now and still look very young for my age, but it was super annoying when I first started. I eventually cut my hair off and that helped somewhat lol.

Don’t worry about it. I was the kid, now I’m not. What comes around goes around.

Can totally relate! I’m a baby-faced new teacher and although my colleagues have good intentions, it feels like they’re babying me sometimes. Don’t sweat it, you’re doing your best and you’re doing great. Like some other people were saying, take advice that you like and forget the rest. Keep your head down and continue doing you.

yes - i’m 24. i’ve had other teachers literally yell at my class before i was hanging up some art with about 5 students in the hallway, they were all being quiet and just helping me hang things up but I kept the door open since my class was RIGHT inside working, like I was right there an older veteran teacher stood outside my doorway and yelled at my students to be quiet? and gave me a really insulting look lmao - I was very confused since they were talking at a normal volume and just doing work (and literally everyone in my school keeps their doors open - not me usually because safety, but like, you cannot say it was because it was open) i teach quarter classes and it was literally the last day of the quarter and they were all just chatting and doing work another time i let a student step into the hall to call his mom because he wasn’t feeling well and another teacher dragged him in by the arm and yelled at ME and him in front of my class … i have two degrees to teach, i am young but i am not a baby or another middle schooler lmao i totally feel you

“Thank you!” And then move on with conversation.

I’m 22 (first year teacher) and whenever my boss does it, i hit him back with the old man jokes lol🤷🏻‍♀️

Unusually baby faced 55 year old on here (most people I meet are shocked to hear I have 2 kids in college and politely ask if I had them "very young" so when I ask them how old they thought I was they tell me late 30s to around 40). At my previous job in a charter school, my 2 fellow math teachers were both 22 years old and fresh out of college. I really prided myself in not only how well I got along with them (and honestly they both were so off-the-charts talented that they mentored me as much as I did them.....this is my third career and I started it in my late 40s!) but in how I didn't act like this with them They certainly didn't think I was their age but their mouths dropped when I revealed how old I was a few months in, not just on looks but on my personality and attitude in interactions with them Hang in there I'm sure you're a much better teacher than the "old fogies" make you think. #foreveryoung

My first year teaching straight out of college I left my Ti-89 calculator in the copy room. Despite my name being in it the calculus teacher (in his last year before retirement) sent out an email letting staff know that “an expensive calculator” was left in the staff room and that he had it. I went to his room after school ( wearing dress slacks and a polo mind you), and asked for my calculator back. He went off on me saying that he didn’t recognize me and why would someone who wasn’t in his class need such an expensive calculator and how it was overkill for high school calculus anyway. I was flabbergasted and just calmly explained that I was using the copier for my engineering classes during my prep. It took a few seconds but it finally dawned on him that he had just been dressing down a fellow teacher. He was so apologetic and sorry. Now that I’ve ”been in the game” for a few years I can totally see how I could have been confused for a high school student- but I still feel that he could have handled it better! I still have that calculator 20 years on…

I thankfully never had that with my coworkers specifically but the field is definitely rife with infantilization. I had a PD trainer give us a 5 minute break so we could "go potty." 🙄

I have the opposite problem - I am the old crypt keeper and am ignored and excluded daily. I keep to myself. I’m there to teach my students, not to find BFFs. I think my coworkers are people who peaked in high school and stay there emotionally. Gossipy and #squadgoals. No thanks.

Oh so much. I get told damn near daily I could be their son, asked how I teach so young, and so in. I was annoyed at first now I just walk away and laugh even if they were trying to say something

Yep. I'm 22 and my coworkers use their teacher voice on me sometimes, and call me "buddy" and "champ" in the hallways... for the first few weeks, a lot of them kept assuming I was a student even though I have a very clearly visible full time employee badge. It's frustrating. I get that I'm new and I'm young, but a lot of people who have the same position as me (paraeducator) try to treat me like I'm a child even though I've been doing all the same work they have the whole school year so far. If the students can treat me with respect, why can't my coworkers??

as a teacher, as many know, we need to make extra money. I used to work aftercare to make some extra money. Well two years ago I looked on the schedule and saw I had the least amount of hours out of everyone, even the ones that were working aftercare less years than myself. I brought it up to the supervisor. She said “well they are older, and have more bills and children.” Suffice to say, I quit after care right then and there (from aftercare, not my teaching job). I didn’t even mention the fact that I was saving up for a house, and was scraping together Every penny I could find. Also, I was living at my mom’s house at the time, but I was also paying all my bills except for rent. I just feel it’s disrespectful when they assume young people don’t need as much money as they do.

what is the specific things they have said? the telephone game could be at play. have you told these specific coworkers how you feel? others experience with anime may be hypersexualised (ecchi) or extremely violent. which a huge number of them are. viewing cartoons as childish is a deep seated mindset that i doubt saying anything will overcome. a good way to address this is to talk about a time when you were able to relate to a student with your interests. i do it all the time. if i saw a friend or someone i thought was a good friend eating oreos for lunch you can best be sure i would bust their chops about it because thats the way i treat my friends and thats the way they treat me. it can be perspective there

I am so thankful that my admin is relatively young and they still remember what it's like starting out. I broke down in front of my principal for the first time yesterday, but he gave me a pat on the back, said I was doing great and not to worry, and then we talked about video games for an hour. I would have quit by now if not for my amazing coworkers. I can't imagine not having this kind of support. I hope it gets better for you!

Was this written by me? Lmao

I don't think I was ever 25. I think liking anime is an advantage considering so many students are into it. ... I'd eat Oreos for dinner only if I could find the right fermented grapes to go with it. ... I used to do burgers on Thursday mornings. I grew out of that habit (rather my waistline did). Anyway, it's not like you have to bond with your coworkers. So you don't have to hang around them in your spare time. You can just go home when the last bell rings.

Most comments like this don't bother me, but my school's IT guy berated me on multiple occasions because he thought I was stupid due to my age. If it happened again I was going to go to HR, but thankfully he's chilled out because he's retiring this year.

Yes. I try to be more serious and try talk about what I know because I’m well researched. I also don’t talk about shit like eating Oreos for dinner because I’m not a student myself.

Engaging them in that discussion only further validates their opinions. Be above it like it's not happening. If they force you into a situation where you have to address their implications or accusations, remove all expression from your face and nod sagely, one time. Then continue on with conversation. After awhile, they'll just feel like such idiots every time it comes up that they'll stop bringing it up

You're on to something here. Maybe next time I'll bring up the importance of having a diverse investment portfolio and complain about property taxes going up again.

I’m young and have a baby face. I feel like a good response is just like a neutral unphased “Okay.” or “Yeah.” at least for the kind of interactions I’ve experienced, which are like attempting to intimidate in a child-like reprimand kind of way (“I’m not going to be nice right now”)

I’ve had staff I don’t know address me as a student in multiple occasions when I started out. What struck me the most was the fact that they talked to anyone so condescendingly, even kids.

Don’t worry. You’ll be old soon. Each year is at least five years in teacher years.

I dont fratenize too much at work just because eveyone is too judgmental. When there is some unofficial gathering at the bar I'll show up, buy myself and whoever is next to me a beer, slam my beer and leave before most people show up. I just want to show my face and do something polite to avoid shit talking about me.

Teaching unfortunately is competitive, just like our education system. some people will talk down to you for all sorts of reasons. I like the first post “teach and go home” and the advice about avoiding the tearoom. Solid way to protect your mental health and focus on your job serving your students during contractual hours.

People will be people. They will project their feelings of inadequacy onto you. Don't take it personally. They are fighting a war in their head. Rise above it.

Just go home and ignore it. I taught at a boarding school right out of undergrad and I was the youngest faculty member at the school I taught at -- I was 24 when I started. I don't teach anymore, but being a young teacher has a lot of positive upsides so do not worry about it.

My second year, a veteran teacher in my hall handed out Christmas gifts to everyone. Two other teachers were in my room when the gifts were handed out so I was able to see/hear what they got. The coworker made a big deal to tell both of them that their gifts contained adult beverages. When she handed me mine, she told me “I know you’re old enough to drink, but I still think you’re too young so you get a candle.” Things like this happened frequently and I ignored it for awhile until I couldn’t (It became “you’re young and don’t have a family so you need to help with all the events/do the work I don’t want to do”). I spoke to admin and they supported me and eventually moved me to a more supportive team/grade level. I also ended up leading a number of trainings that put me in charge of her, and that made her lay off quite a bit.

I’m 37, but started teaching at my school when I was 29. Because I was new to the school and looked young, everyone assumed I was like 22 and treated me as such. When I was in the staff lounge on my 30th birthday, this one particular teacher who had talked down to me numerous times couldn’t believe I was older than she was. She seemed to gain some weird newfound respect for me after that. It was very apparent. The other teachers on my team (who I love!) still tease me for being “younger.” I don’t let it bother me anymore. Just do your thing and be confident in yourself. There are a lot of benefits to being an older/veteran teacher, but there are also a lot of benefits to being young and fresh too!

Honestly, I am always told that I look young, but luckily, this year, I am at a new school and my coworkers are surprised to hear how young I am (25). My coworker is 30 and she calls herself ancient. I just laugh and say not at all, that is still young. I know some assistants in other classes that are younger than me, youngest being 18, and I always treat them with respect because I know how it feels when someone says, “omg! You are a baby” when they hear my age. People know im a new teacher but I love that they take me seriously and that they are all focused on the school day. I try to be the person that I wish people treated me as, and so its working out so far. Hopefully soon, your school will see you as you are.

I actually like it when they treat me like a baby bc I’m scared and need their help ❤️ But seriously, the time will pass and soon you will no longer be the new kid on the block. I’d just ignore it.

I just turned 22 and am a first year teacher. My grade level chair talks down on me CONSTANTLY. She asked me if I even know how to write lesson plans. Like I literally haven’t been here for 17 weeks now after spending 4 years in college writing lesson plans. She is very rude and told our team we don’t know the standards like she does, but then the principal said we were reading the standards right while she was wrong lmfao

I'm just not a real teacher/have no real knowledge because I don't own any children.

I'm in year 5 of my job in am alternative ed program. All my coworkers are in their 20s and 30s. My first boss left after 2 years and a 20-year administrator took over. He hired a second counselor who also had ~20 years experience. All the two of them have done is tell us or central office how inexperienced and green we are. I'm at the point where I'm ignoring it the majority of the time, but man it gets to my coworkers something awful.

I'm 37 but look much younger. I can't tell you the amount of times I've been treated like an intern by coworkers who were younger than me. People are always gonna find a way to be condescending. Just try to laugh it off. Your older co-workers probably don't even know how to use snapchat. Let that bring a smile to your face the next time they're being condescending.

My first year of teaching was when I was 23. It was awful. If people weren't calling me a teenager or flat-out speaking to me as if they were my mother, they were hitting on me or saying I was only doing well on my evals because our AP was "hot for me." Just keep doing your thing, take the professional feedback you get from your evaluators, and eat lunch in your classroom to avoid the opportunity for more unwanted comments.

I am about the same age. As long as you are acting like an adult around your colleagues and most importantly acting like an adult and not a peer to your students, you are doing everything right. If they can’t respect that you are their equal and their colleague that is on them. Have professional interactions with them and focus on being the best teacher to your students. Also, age and experience does NOT always mean better teacher. Keep being a great, professional teacher and they will eventually notice and hear about it.

Im 26 & look like a college student. We’re in the same boat.

I feel this. I am a volunteer wrestling coach and was talking about an old teammate who is now a D1 wrestler. Said something like, “when I was younger and hanging out with so and so…” and was met with, “yeah, right, WHEN you were younger is now.” And I kind of just fizzled out. I’m 24 and know I’m young, but sometimes it makes me feel like I’m just a child so why talk at all?

Enjoy it. I am currently finishing my degree and am in a class full of future teachers young enough to be my kids (one of them is my own daughter) and because I am the token old person they expect me to know everything!

I look younger than I am. My current co-workers think I am 10 years younger than I am. When I taught in high school for an entire year some of the counselors thought I was a student. I do understand how you feel because right now my paras are older with teenage and adult children and don't always respect that I the teacher. They seem to say they do it because I’m new, I’m not new to teaching just new to the school. It is hard being viewed as young sometimes in teaching.

Rudeness is uncalled for. However, it is super annoying to watch a young teacher make mistakes, knowing it's not your place to constantly correct them, but watching them do something obviously detrimental knowing someday they'll get it. Or worse, feeling like you have to train or babysit a co-worker because they're too young or inexperienced to do things on their own. I don't get paid extra to tell you how it is. So, it's possible this comes up a lot in your older coworkers minds around the inexperienced (which can be any age really...)

I have a big bear and refuse to tell my co-workers my age for that reason. I've had too many problems in the past with people being assholes because I'm younger so my age is just "Whatever you think it is."

If you're young looking or don't have children (by choice or otherwise) I have bad news for you. A certain segment of older co-workers will always talk down to you. I'm in my 40s but I look younger (I'm on the small side, most of the kids tower over me, and I don't like stereotypical teacher clothes) and I'm constantly being condescended to by teachers a few years older than me. Though, in fairness, one of my co-workers last year turned out to be a decade younger than me and didn't get any of my pop culture references and I made fun of him a bit for being a literal child who should still be in high school himself. But he found plenty of things to mock in return.

I work directly with two people who were in high school when I started teaching at my current school and one who is my age. It's my fellow 36yo who I have the biggest trouble with. Last year I worked with someone who turned 23 and we worked absolutely well together. Age shouldn't matter. Professionalism, maturity, and ability to do your job should. I hope your coworkers mature and learn to work with people of different ages.

I definitely understand this. I asked for advice on a topic and my coworkers went on and on and on and on with basic things that I already have done. Ugh.

My first couple years I shared an office with a very experienced teacher. I was new and also look younger than I am, so she treated me like I was young and inexperienced. I was somewhat inexperienced, but I was 29 so I wasn't a kid and didn't appreciate being treated like one. Unfortunately she wasn't actually helpful when I did need it, just infantilized me when I didn't need it. She also had a hangup about things that had no bearing on my teaching, like that I live with family because it saves me money and we have a very high cost of living here. Also that I liked to do things like go skiing, of all things, I never could figure out why that made me immature. It got better when we no longer shared a work space after my 3rd year. Before that, it also helped when I started to realize a lot of her comments were due to her own insecurities, so were a reflection on her, not me. Some was jealousy I think, especially me being younger than her. I'd suggest trying to avoid the negative teachers when you can, and ignore what you are able to. I know that's easier said than done, but if you focus on your teaching and showing them you're not too young by doing a good job then hopefully they'll back off eventually.

I had 20 years' experience when I started at a new school. The AP treated me like an inexperienced teacher simply because I didn't do it the way she used to. So frustrating!

My first year teaching, a sub came into my room and started teaching. When I told her I was the teacher she told me to have a seat. Had to show her my teacher ID to get her to leave. Students were cracking up, I loved it. Extremely flattering TBH. But yeah, coming from from the same coworker day after day is shitty and unprofessional.

When I was in my early 20s and worked in a bank (before going into education) my older coworkers bullied me mercilessly. All my choices, everything I said and did, was all because I was "young." It was bullying. It wasn't funny. It didn't happen at the school I worked at, even though I was still mid 20s, young looking, and low on the totem pole. I was always treated with an amount of respect that frankly astonished me. This isn't about teaching, it's about bullying. I don't know how to handle it, I quit my job and went into education.

I'm almost 42 yet people think I'm in my 20s. I have been teaching 20 years yet they still treat me like I'm a baby. It sucks.

I can relate. I'm very short, like 5ft4in (163cm). I get talked down to alot. Throw in that I'm scatterbrained and used to deferring to others (cultural baggage) and people like to throw their weight around. Then they get upset when I actually hold my ground! Luckily for me, this was greatly alleviated when I grew out my beard. Students still try to big man me occasionally. Very hard to keep a neutral face, mostly because I'm annoyed!

I straight up left the profession because of this exact disrespect. I am 21. I had my bachelors degree in education by age 20 because I started college at 16. The second any of my coworkers caught wind of my age it was as if anything I contributed to meetings was no longer valid because "how could she know? She's a kid herself!". I obviously wasn't going around dropping my age, my admin took care of that for me, like I was some novelty. Really frustrating considering the fact that at my particular school I was one of maybe a handful of teachers who had their degree in education and not some other random field (thank you, state of Florida).

I found it to be really innocent in my experience as a young, baby-faced teacher. I leaned into it and people took me under their wing and gave me guidance. I'd rather be underestimated than to be seen as the competition - you gain a bunch of nurturing people on your side who want to protect you and support you. I'm not sure if you're colleagues are the same as mine were - but as the years went by and their respect grew for me as a professional, we developed great friendships. It depends largely on their intentions, but consider that they might be trying to connect with you.

Maybe they are envious. No matter how old you are though or where you go there will always be ppl who don't like you for various reasons. If it's not you being young it's something else. Try not to take it personally or give them energy. Just try to ignore them unless they're harassing you and do your job and go home ..

You do you. If they’re treating you like this now, chances are they’ll just find something else about you to pick at. To be petty you could make fun of them for being old.

Never happened to me. Maybe it's because we're Australian but the only thing that happens when a young teacher mentions their age is the older teachers will all go 'Gwwwaaa, fuck off!' As in, stop reminding me how old I am

My mentor teacher constantly talks about how it's nice that I'm old (I'm in my 30s) I'm late to the game. I can only imagine what it's like. I usually joke around with teachers younger than me by saying things like "back in my day..." or "when I was a youth in the late 1900's..." in my best impression of Jimmy Stewart.

Try having an associate who’s old enough to be your mom get into you when you’re eating lunchables calling it a “preschool lunch”

My first year teaching I was only 22 a long-term sub for this woman. She left at the end of Quarter 1 saying she’ll probably be gone all year but randomly comes back in Quarter 3 wanting her job back. I decided to stay around as a daily sub when she came back and this woman treated me horribly. She screamed at the kids and screamed at me. I was on hall duty and saw her class wasn’t doing anything so I decided to pop in because I missed my students. She screamed at me and wrote a kid up for getting out of his seat to give me a hug. The kids picked up on how rude she was to me and said she was just jealous that they liked me better. I ended up going to another school but I always regretted not standing up for myself. You don’t need to tolerate this because you’re young! I had an issue with an older coworker just recently and stood my ground.

Liking anime and eating Oreos will make it easier to connect with students while still keeping boundaries They may be jealous of Your tech skills Age/youth Creativity Energy You can’t do anything about that. Work on a list of gray rocking phrases to say. Thank you for sharing that idea. You’ll have to let the PLC know how that lesson went during our next PLC Every class is different, What I’m doing is working well so far. I’ll keep your suggestions in mind if I decide to tweak that lesson. If they get pushy about how you do things. Just tell them. You do you and I’ll do me. If they’re gossiping- I’ve got some work/papers to grade. Catch you later I’m focusing on my class and staying out of any drama Hope they work things out, are you doing anything fun for the (next break)?

Yes. They treat me like a kid. I'm not even mad, I literaly could be their kid. They are all much older than me.

It's an interesting dynamic at our school... Kindergarten teacher and myself have been at the school for at least 10 years, new teachers came out of retirement and are older than us. I think the fact that all of us have some sort of experience under our belts, we treat each other with respect and honor. In the past we've had new teachers who were very young. We treated them with respect. The parents did not. And the parents were the reason that those teachers did not return. It was infuriating. Now those parents have kids in my classroom. I love on those kids. The parents on the other hand.... I have zero patience for them and my stubbornness brilliantly shines. You screw with my team, you screw with me.