the beginnings of a sub

this has been a hard week! for those of you who had the opportunity to stay home over the holidays, the sleeping in and staying in pj's all day if you wanted to, are long gone.

back to school. back to work. for me, school is work. I work in a school.

I am a substitute teacher.

sometimes I think subbing is more difficult. sure, I don't have all of the extra work, the grading papers, the staff meetings to attend. but I need to be able to wear many different hats and to wear them well.

I don't have the advantage of knowing the students on a more personal level. I am not with them every day. I don't know any of their personality traits, family history or just plain old background that sometimes can make a day easier. I am not always familiar with the routine of the classroom. a certain comfort level isn't there that the regular teacher has.

like today....I was subbing for a paraeducator....I signed in for her but then moved into a teachers role. now mind you, I am not angry with this. just trying to explain my many hats. so, I taught the morning classes and then moved to the paraeducators duties...recess and silent reading supervision. while doing this, I was approached to then cover a different teacher's room because she had to leave school rather suddenly. I replied, yes, I can but I do have an early bus duty and then door duty after school. can't be in two places at once.

(seriously, I am not mad at all by today's schedule it just was crazy to know who I was and what I was responsible for!)

let's face it. kids take advantage of subs. kids know that subs don't know all of the rules. the one good thing I have going is that I am currently only subbing in one building. the one my daughter attends and my son attended before moving to the middle school. so, I do know the building, the discipline, the general flow of the school. but mind you, I subbed in a large district of 32 elementaries, 12 middle and 5 high schools years ago. subs can feel alone, lonely, taken advantage of and often left in the dark. I have faced administration that offered to punish the kids with what he thought appropriate when in reality, it would have been punishment for me. (*if you want the full story, leave me a comment.)

subs need to be flexible. subs need to be willing to step in and take charge and somehow command respect against all odds. subs need to be able to stand up in the front of a classroom of kids that they don't know, introduce themselves and hope that they aren't laughed at. or talked back to. or worse. (see **)

subs need to have general knowledge of most things so they don't look like an idiot when teaching a lesson. subs need, and deserve, respect like the normal, regular teachers.

subs need love.

this blog will be my journey of substituting, recorded for all to share.

welcome.

**I have seen the penis of a high school student because one of his buddies thought it would be funny to pull his pants down.