stories

I'm Glad They Warned Me, But I Still Had No Idea What I Was In For...

Sun, 15 Feb 2015 04:51:37 +0100

I was asked to take a half day middle school job my second year of teaching. The job started at 11:30 am and only required me to teach 3 periods. I was told upon arrival that one of the classes was a difficult class. After all the time I had been subbing, I knew I had to take the warning seriously and go in to this room with my tough exterior and let the students know I meant business. As they filed into the room one by one, they were sizing me up, I could see it in their eyes... I was fresh meat, ripe for the picking, and oh man were they going to try to rattle me.

It was immediate. As I tried to take roll, they talked over me. They were loud and they were not listening, too cool for school, and wanting me to know it. With my booming voice as loud as I could I shouted above them, "HEY!" The effect was instantaneous. I had their attention and I was making some of them nervous, while others tried to play it off by laughing. The next words out of my loud mouth were, "Be quiet. The longer you talk, the longer this takes, the more time you owe me after school." This got their full attention. I had them.

But as you know, or you will find out, there's always one. One student who can't help themselves. They have to show off to their friends by not listening and making a scene. Sure enough it happened. Without batting an eye I asked that student to go sit outside the classroom and wait for me. I was prepared to send that student to the office after a good talking to. Unbeknownst to me, an administrator happened to be walking by and made the student come into the classroom, get their things, and go to the office, all without me having to explain anything.

This was the day I realized just how much of an asset the admin can be to a Substitute Teacher. These people know their students and they know who needs discipline or maybe just a time out. Regardless of the situation, these are the people you want to call when you have trouble in the classroom. I, myself, have called in admin a few times, when a class got out of hand, or a student was misbehaving to the point where I couldn't get them to leave on their own. What I've learned, doing this job, is do not ever hesitate to call in backup, because sometimes you cannot do it alone... and that's okay.

Technology In The Classroom

Thu, 12 Feb 2015 01:19:39 +0100

"Ms. C? Can I use my phone to...?"

"If I see your phone, I have to take it."

"Why?"

"Because I do not work for (insert school name here). I work for (insert name) School District. District policy mandates that if I see your cell phone I have to take it from you and give it to the office, where you can pick it up after school with your student ID. If you do not have your ID, your parent or guardian will have to come get it for you."

"So... then... I can't go on my phone?"

"Not if you would like to keep it."

This is a conversation that I have with middle school students at least once a week. School handbooks usually state that no cell phones are allowed to be used on campus. Some teachers allow students to use their phones to read (kindle app) or play music (drama class, music class, computers). I am all for using technology in the classroom. I play videos for my students and use sources from the internet constantly. I do not, however, allow my students to use their phones in class.

My reason for this is simple: you never know what kids are going to do and I do not want that responsibility as a sub. I don't want to be the sub who let the student go on their phone during class, who ends up texting other students or goes online and looks up something unsavory. I have been known to take cell phones from students. Let's face it, what they say is true, no one just looks at their crotch and smiles. As teachers, we know when a student is doing something they shouldn't be and for me, I just don't want that to be using a calculator on a cell phone during a test.

Ms. C I Don't Get It!

Thu, 12 Feb 2015 01:20:09 +0100

One thing I come across daily are the students who don't listen or pay attention while I'm talking. There are some days where I can give directions until I'm blue in the face and there will still be kids who ask, "wait... what do I do?" I have found over the years, that nine times out of ten, these are the kids that are in la-la-land. These are the kids who are staring into space, or reading a book under the table, or even doing work for another class.

Let me tell you a story. I had a student one day who came to me and told me they didn't understand the math we learned earlier that day. Of course I decided to rearrange our class schedule to make sure that all my students understood the math, because to be fair, it was a pretty difficult concept. So as I am explaining this concept once again to the class, this particular student gets up and goes to the bathroom. When the student came back, they said to me, "Ms. C, I still don't get it."

Okay. Stop. Wait. Hold up. Of course the student didn't get it, they didn't stay in the room long enough to learn it! The thing about students who are in la-la-land is that the only person they're hurting is themselves. Some things that I do to motivate my students include rewards for hard work. With younger kids that might mean the chance to play heads up seven up at the end of the day, or maybe candy, or with older kids, the chance to chat toward the end of the period. Bathroom breaks are also something I do not allow during instruction. The only exceptions to this are students who have medical reasons for using the bathroom whenever they need to, and students who look as if it's an emergency. Otherwise I do believe they can wait. Some teachers have bathroom policies that allow students to go whenever they want. When this is the case, I will usually tell students the bathroom is closed until further notice. Here's a sure thing when it comes to bathrooms and students: if one kid has to go, ten more kids will suddenly have to go soon after. This is often the same for students who left their jacket on the playground.

I bet you're asking... "well what about that student and the math?" I walked the student through another problem and they caught on in the end. All was well in the land of math.

Observers

Sun, 08 Feb 2015 22:52:19 +0100

Sometimes, as a sub, you'll have parents or administrators or even aides or other teachers come into the classroom and observe you. One time I was in a middle school classroom and I had a student who was being disrespectful. I was in the middle of telling the student that if they were not going to be nice, they were not going to be staying in that classroom and that they would be headed to the office, when a woman walked in. I did not stop what I was doing and as the student argued with me, I continued to "lay down the law." The woman gave no visible reaction to what was happening, and continued to stand in the back of the room for a few more minutes. Eventually I got back to teaching and the woman left. I gave it no more thought and went on with my day.

I knew that the woman worked for the school, but I didn't know who she was or what her role on campus was.

As I was heading to the office at the end of the day, preparing to leave for the day, I saw the woman again. She walked over to me, introduced herself as the Vice Principal and told me that she liked the way I handled that student and the situation and told me that the school would love to have me come back any time.

That was the day I learned not to be nervous when people come into my classroom.

Foot-In-Mouth Syndrome

Sun, 08 Feb 2015 02:20:54 +0100

I love my job, and I love my students, but sometimes kids really do say the darnedest things! This is the story of the first time a student called me something offensive and I think it's only fitting that it be the first story I share with you today. So I was a first year Substitute and I had taken a job in a middle school Science classroom. This was maybe half way through the school year. I was sitting up in the front of the classroom, giving directions. One student looks directly at me and says "you kinda look like a sex offender." Ladies and gentlemen, in a million years I could never make this up. My first reaction was, "wait... did I just hear that right?" But I had heard right. I could have shut down right then and there and walked out, or flipped out. What I said was "excuse me?" And this is where it happened, the student tried to backtrack, by telling me they weren't talking to me. Alright, here's the kicker this kid was looking me straight in the eyes when those words came tumbling out. This is a classic case of foot-in-mouth syndrome and it happens way more than you think. At the time, I was very upset and was seriously questioning my choice to teach middle school. Now a days I look back and laugh because it was such an odd thing for that student to say.

So the aftermath was that I sent the student to another class that day and made sure I left the details of the situation in my note for the teacher at the end of the day. The next time I saw that student, it was if it had never happened. That's what it's all about. Knowing that stuff happens and kids will be kids. That's what I love about my job, I never know what's going to come out of the mouth of a student or how I'm supposed to handle it. I like to say that Substitute Teaching is 90% stand up comedy and 10% what you know. This is the type of job where you learn as you go and sometimes you make mistakes. These are the stories of my mishaps and mistakes and how I've learned from them. I'd like to share them with you.