Today I subbed at a school I’ve never been to before. It was a high school, but I was nervous…about everything. I don’t like the unknown. I’m sure you can understand.
God showed me He was with me. When I parked, I had no clue if my car would be towed. A teacher exited her car at the same time as me, and I told her I was unsure of where to park since it was my first time there. She asked who I was subbing for, and I supplied the name. She looked at me in amazement and told me that I had parked in that teacher’s spot.
Don’t you LOVE when that happens? I call them God-incidents…not coincidences.
I went into the office where the staff was not exactly eager to help. I managed to get some information out of them, and their parting words to me were, “Just keep the kids quiet.”
Um, excuse me? Not exactly the best way to start my Monday at a new school.
I went to the building only to find it locked. Great. Fortunately, another teacher happened by at the same time, and she unlocked the door for me. She even walked down the hall to the teacher’s class, which also needed to be unlocked.
What kind of school was this? Buildings and classrooms locked 15 minutes before school was to begin? I was even more nervous.
The teacher’s parting words to me were, “Dial XXXX if you need to send anyone out of the class. No reasons necessary. You know how it is…when the cat’s away, the mice will play.”
Um, okay. Just what I wanted to hear.
So, needless to say that when my first student entered the classroom, I eyed him warily. He did the same. We were probably sizing each other up.
My first class had four students, I think. It was an ESE class. They were wonderful students. As I loosened up, I began joking around with them. They loosened up and started laughing.
My day just got better from here.
My third class contained mainstream students. What an interesting bunch! I’ve gotta tell you that most of them were not from the same economic background as me. However, their personalities were diverse and interesting. I think they were surprised by me. We experienced a bit of initial confusion as I tried to figure out what work they had already completed; however, we got things straightened out and proceeded with their assignments for the day.
Near the end of the class period, one of the students came up to me and said, “You should sub here more. You don’t know what you’re doing.”
Huh? I’m not sure how this is a good thing, I thought to myself.
She went on to explain herself. “You’re funny, in a confusing sort of way.”
Honey, I wanted to tell her, you’re not making it any better.
I think I understood what she was saying though. I went with the flow. Sure, I was a bit thrown off at first, but I quickly adjusted, and we got things done. We had fun, I think.
Tomorrow I go back to the same school for the same teacher. However, I’ll have a different set of students because of the way the schedules are set up. Should be an interesting day.
Filed under: This-n-That | Tagged: substitute teaching | 2 Comments »
AuburnChick's Adventures 