What Do People Google Most About Teachers? (Plus the REAL Answers!)

What do people google most about teachers? We were curious ourselves, so we did a little digging to discover the most frequently asked questions about teachers. Some of these were a bit surprising, and others weren’t at all. Take a look at the questions, along with our answers. 

1. Why do teachers get apples? 

If you google this, you’ll get a lot of long and convoluted answers. But the short answer is that back in the day, struggling families would give teachers an apple as a thank-you for their service. This was especially common with farmers’ children during the Great Depression. 

Bing Crosby helped this gesture stick with his words, “An apple for the teacher will always do the trick when you don’t know your lesson in arithmetic.” Wait a minute. That sounds like a bribe, doesn’t it? 

Either way, the apple tradition is here to stay, especially since back-to-school time is also apple-picking season.  

2. Will my teacher know I cheated? 

Yes, this is one of the top teacher questions on Google. And we hope the answer is a resounding YES. All in all, teachers work pretty hard to catch cheaters. Remember kids, “When you cheat, you’re only cheating yourself.”

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3. Do teachers get drug tested? 

Whoa, things just got real. First of all, we can’t help but be incredibly intrigued at who is googling this most. Is it the parents? Someone looking for a future career? Students who are seeing sketchy behavior? 

Bottom line is that it varies a lot by school district. So if you happen to be googling this question, you might check the handbook or with your union rep. 

4. Why do teachers give homework? 

Despite students thinking that teachers give homework to torture them, most do actually try to assign homework with the goal of improving students’ knowledge and skills. These days, many teachers can’t even grade homework because it’s against district policy. But it doesn’t stop teachers from trying to assign meaningful homework. Teachers really do have students’ best interest in mind.

5. Why don’t teachers get overtime? 

For the most part, teachers don’t get overtime, no matter how many extra hours they put in. And yes, it’s a lot. A teacher tracked her hours, and she determined that she spent around 2,200 hours per year on her job. Compare that to regular full-time employees, who work about 2,080 hours per year.

If you are looking for ways to increase your teacher salary, check out our article on how to boost teacher compensation by asking for others perks. Or get tips for how to leave work on time. 

6. Why do teachers get paid so little? 

Ah, the question of all questions. While some teachers can actually make six figures in certain areas, many others are going on strike because they haven’t received a raise in more than 10 years. 

This article on legitimate ways teachers can make extra money is actually one of our most popular, and every time we post it, we get comments about how teachers should NOT have to have another job. We wholeheartedly agree. And we wish we had a better answer for this google question, but sadly we don’t. 

7. Do teachers actually check for plagiarism? 

Yes they do! There are some pretty great tools in place to help teachers check for plagiarism. So here’s some advice for students, who are likely the ones googling this question: Don’t try it; don’t be tempted. Because teachers check, and you will likely get caught eventually. 

8. Why do teachers quit teaching? 

Good teachers are quitting teaching every single year. They cite challenging working conditions, not enough support, and the demands of testing as being some of their top reasons. 

9. Why are teachers so tired? 

Have you heard of “teacher tired”? It’s a real thing! Teaching is a tiring profession. Educators are going nonstop throughout the day, and it’s both physically and mentally exhausting. Be nice to teachers! 

10. Are teachers underpaid? 

This question is loaded, and there’s not a blanket answer. However, most Americans say that public school teachers are underpaid. This article outlines a survey and shows that many support teacher raises across the board. This survey is also interesting, showing how teacher salaries in the US compare to educators in other countries. The US comes in fifth, behind Luxembourg, Switzerland, Korea, and Germany. 

11. Who are teachers voting for? 

Since many educators are unionized, people will often want to know whom teachers are voting for so they can do the same and support education. Teachers recently participated in a social media campaign called #I’mVotingBecause, and you can see those powerful answers here. It should be noted that the post isn’t really about whom teachers are voting for; rather, it’s about why teachers think it’s important to vote.  

12. Why don’t teachers like Wikipedia? 

There are countless articles out there about whether or not teachers hate Wikipedia. The question even has its own reddit thread, and the top answer really helps bring some clarity. The teacher says that it’s not that teachers hate Wikipedia, it’s just that students need to be taught how to use it properly. She writes, “Teachers shouldn’t ever hate Wikipedia. Teachers should hate the laziness and intellectual apathy that leads people to use Wikipedia as an end of, rather than a beginning to, their projects.” What a great and clarifying response.

What are some other FAQs about teachers? Come and share in our WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook.

Plus, see the 10 questions every rookie teacher wants answered.