What to do?

• Depends on how you would like to use the money.
• Personal Gift: In most states, public employees including teachers are prohibited by the conflict of interest law from accepting gifts worth $50 or more. Therefore, this money cannot be used as a personal gift.  
• Classroom Gift: It is acceptable to receive the money as a “Classroom Gift” and use the money to buy classroom supplies. In this case, you must record the money given to you for classroom supplies and keep all the receipts. In other words, you need to ensure that you are ready to explain where the money came from and how it was spent. Depending on your district or school rules and procedures, you might also be required to inform your principal about the gift and purchases.  
• Regardless, we strongly recommend that when possible you provide a list of “classroom needs” to the parents and ask them to gift their selection of needed classroom supplies instead of simply giving you cash money.  

What to do?

• It seems that the only way to get a raise in the teaching profession is to get another job offer and yes this is legal and ethical. However, there are things that need to be considered.
• First of all, make sure to get the outside offer in written and signed before talking to current school. Other forms of offers are usually not valid for salary negotiations.
• Bring your outside offer to the table only if your intent is to leave unless pay is increased. In other words, your current employer would simply say goodbye to you.
• Asking your current employer to match the outside offer indicates that you have been looking for jobs/interviewing.  Your current employer might match the offer, but then they'll likely consider you a risk and be less inclined to offer promotions or better assignments.
• In short, it is strongly recommended that if you feel you are underpaid in your current job, try to make your case on its own without the outside offer.

What to do?

• Yes, this might be possible because the described facts do not raise any concern under the conflict of interest law. However, it is still strongly recommended that teachers should not get involved in any private tutoring services for the students that are in the school district area. 
  Public school teachers are subject to the conflict of interest law, G.L. c. 268A (1). Some of the examples of the violation of this law can be private tutoring (a) your own students, (b) at school using school resources, (c) advertising private tutoring to parents (d) recommending a student to be tutored by another teacher at school.

What to do?

• When it comes to specifics on teachers’ religious garb at schools, it would be best to consult the summary of The First Amendment Center’s “A Teacher’s Guide to Religion in the Public Schools”.
  In this guide, it is specifically said that “teachers are permitted to wear non-obtrusive jewelry, such as a cross or Star of David. But teachers should not wear clothing with a proselytizing message (e.g. a ‘Jesus Saves’ T-shirt).”
• https://goo.gl/XesxjR   

What to do?

• It is legal for schools to search school property students use like student desks, student lockers, etc. without parents or students’ permission. On the other hand, according to Supreme Court (Case New Jersey vs TLO in 1985), it is only legal for school personnel to search a student or student’s personal property such as pockets, backpacks, purses, cars, etc. only when "when there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that the search will turn up evidence that the student has violated or is violating either the law or the rules of school” (1).
• While there is no exact definition for “reasonable grounds”, searches based on rumor, hunch, or curiosity are not justified.
  Therefore, the teacher cannot search the book bags of the entire class and certainly not in the presence of other students. The teacher simply should have informed the administration and parents of the student about the loss of the money.  
• https://goo.gl/T5oRn8

What to do?

• It is hard to believe but teachers and administrators in the U.S. public schools are still legally allowed to hit children in 19 states (mostly southern states), as can private school staff in all but two states. https://goo.gl/bJ6jfo   
• On the other hand, teachers and administrators in every state in the U.S. are required to report cases of suspected child abuse and neglect. In other words, any physical harm towards the student should be addressed quickly and not be taken lightly. If the abuse is not reported, you would then be liable for any damage caused by failure to fulfill your duty.
• Every school should have identified, current, and accessible contact information for the appropriate agency for reporting suspected child maltreatment. Check on your school policy on how to report child abuse and follow the protocol to report the incident.
  More information about reporting laws for each state can be found in the State statutes section of the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect’s Web site at https://goo.gl/S3JiqL  

What to do?

• In the 1943 case, West Virginia Board of Education v. Barnette, the Supreme Court settled this issue and ruled that schools and teachers cannot require students to recite the Pledge or stand for the Pledge.
• Students cannot be forced to participate or asked to leave the classroom while other students recite the Pledge.
• In addition, students cannot be harassed, questioned, disciplined, or pressured in any way for their decision to opt-out.
• Therefore, try to establish a routine in which both participating and not participating students feel comfortable.

What to do?

• Establish your plagiarism/cheating policy and consequences and remind your students just before the test.
  Switch the seating arrangement for any future exams, especially if there are particular students sitting close that are suspected of cheating off one another. Leave space between each seat and ask students to put everything under their seats for a clear desk.
• Always be in control of the classroom - stand in the back of the class as well as in the front during exams.
• Do not allow students to leave the classroom until they finish their tests.
• Continuously coughing, tapping the bench or their foot, or whispering are signs of possible cheating – be aware.
• Protect your physical and digital spaces. Do not allow students to be in your classroom when you are not there.

What to do?

• Set Classroom teachers are usually comfortable dealing with individual student misbehaviors. They give warnings, reduce points, talk to students during or after class. However, when it comes to misbehaviors coming from a group of students or the entire class, it is hard to know where to start.
• When this happens, first of all, you should try to avoid disciplining the entire class at once. Punishing the entire class will never end well and it will not solve your problem. Holding everyone accountable when only a few are misbehaving creates resentment and will damage your influence. In addition, punishing everybody at once will alienate your most well-behaved students. They will be confused about what they did wrong, and they will feel resentment.
• Even though it might seem that everyone is misbehaving in your class, most of the time you will find that your students are simply following the steps of a couple of leading troublemakers. We call these students “classroom clowns”. They usually have given up learning from your teaching and they will do anything to distract you or the other students during your teaching.  You need to identify who these trouble-making leaders are and deal with them one student, one misbehavior at a time. Once you start dealing with these individuals, the followers will stop.
  Keep in mind that this is no different than highway troopers giving out tickets for highway over-speeding. Think about it. Police officers never stand in the middle of the highway and scream to speeders “slow down or you will get a ticket”. They never punish everybody at once. They do not get frustrated. They simply stop and give tickets to individual drivers one at a time, in front of every other driver passing by. After a couple of tickets, like magic, everyone else simply slows down following the speeding rules.
• Deal with your “classroom clowns” by focusing on their behaviors rather than the students themselves. Apply your usual classroom management tactics you usually use for misbehaviors. Talk to them about their inappropriate rumor, call on them and get them to participate, give them a role or responsibility in class, move them away from their friends, and tell them you want to talk to their parents. You can also seek help from school counseling if the issue is not something you can handle. 

What to do?

• Explain to those students or the whole class why this game is inappropriate.
• Every time you see students playing this game, revoke their recess time and ask them to sit with you in class silently.
• Send a letter to the parents of those students playing the game informing them about the situation.

What to do?

• Set a new classroom rule: “Ask questions at the end of the lesson”. Students can ask their questions and tell their stories at the end of your teaching session so that they do not lose time.
• Also, encourage the student to write her stories down instead of talking about them. This way, they can get her stories out without interrupting the entire class

What to do?

• Using candy or food as positive reinforcement or withholding food for punishment can lead to learned behaviors that may also lead to major weight problems. Students will associate candy with “junk food” with being successful/happy. Also offering candy to your students will cause hyperactivity and mood swings. Therefore, try to reward and motivate your students without offering/withholding such food.
• There are many other ways you can reward your students for positive behavior without the use of food and expensive offers. The effectiveness of these no-cost rewards has been proven in the literature. Some of these awards can be “no homework pass”, “choose music for class”, “wear classroom honor hat for a day”, “eat lunch with teacher”, “extra playtime”, “stickers”, “line leaders”, “choose a book from the library for the teacher to read in class” etc.
• You can offer more appropriate rewards like pencils and erasers.