Subbing Day From Hell

This past week I had by far my worst day of substitute teaching. I finally decided to venture back into the world of middle school teaching, taking a job at Grissom Middle School that included a half day of teaching math/science classes and a half day of teaching remedial reading classes. The morning math and science classes went relatively smoothly, although the teacher did not give enough work to occupy the students the entire class period. That was really no problem though, as by the end of class I had a handful of 13-year-old boys hanging out by my desk as we talked sports and they asked about my year in Africa.

Things got interesting in the afternoon, though. First of all, I learned that most kids in remedial reading classes are not "slow" or "special needs"--they are simply TROUBLEMAKERS! For the first time in my subbing career--going all the way back to a couple years that I subbed during college--I had to kick two kids out of class. In a class filled with way too much attitude, a couple girls started getting into it, swearing at each other and getting up into each others' faces. I seriously thought there was about to be a royal rumble!

The day wasn't all bad, though. I actually met three kids from Africa, which was cool. One of the girls, Lulu, was from Kenya, and I got to brush up on my Swahili with her.

Finally, the highlight of the day came when I confiscated this note that was circulating in one of my classes:


Ha! The kids freaked out when I took the note. I'm pretty sure they were relieved when I started laughing. I thought it was hilarious!

Another Day on the Job...

Today was another rough day in the world of substitute teaching. I subbed for a freshman World Geography class at Penn today, where we watched episodes of Man vs. Wild every class period. I would be offended that teachers assume that substitute teachers like myself are absolutely incapable of actually teaching, but to be honest I really enjoy getting paid to read or watch TV!

My highlight of the day came during my prep period, as I sat reading in the cafeteria during the students' study hall. A random kid came up to me with a goofy grin on his face and said, "You remind me of Jesus...can I take a picture of you?!" He was so pumped up when I laughed and said, "Sure." So he whipped out his iPhone and got a funny picture of the caveman-for-a-sub to show all of his friends.

All in a day's work! :-)

Best Job Ever!!!

So today I was scheduled to substitute teach 11th grade English at Penn High School. I was pretty stoked about this job for multiple reasons:

1. I thought there was a pretty good chance that I might be able to do some reading on the job.
2. If I actually had to do some teaching, high school English is a subject that I knew I would really enjoy teaching. (If I had pursued teaching as a vocation, I think I would have chosen either high school English or History).

Well, I showed up to the job bright and early, only to find that there was a student teacher in my classroom! She was in charge of everything, and I was just being paid to be a "presence" in the classroom, I was told. Translation: just sit at the desk over in the corner and keep quiet! So, including three block classes and a two hour lunch/prep period, I got in almost 7 hours of solid reading time today, AND GOT PAID FOR IT!!! How awesome is that?!?!?