Several weeks ago, I signed up to be a substitute teacher. Of course, it's not as easy as signing up these days. I had to attend a workshop, fill out an application, obtain references, get finger printed (that was fun) and then wait for the school board's approval. With all that said and done, I received my first call last week on Thursday at 8:22am asking if I could be there ready to fill in by 9:30am. Yikes!! I hadn't even showered yet. And it was a Social Studies class! Is that where I teach them geography? I can't get anywhere in Georgia without a GPS or printed Mapquest directions. Or would it be something about the Constitution or how laws are passed? I have a few School House Rock tunes filed away in my brain that could help me through this. My mind was going a mile a minute while I was getting ready. I think I'm glad it was a last minute call so I had less time to stress over my first day.
One of the requirements to become a sub is to attend a 4 hour workshop. The one I attended was led by a woman who is a retired educator. She did a great job squeezing lots of important info into 4 hours. One of the things she stressed to us was not to go away from a subbing job discussing specifics about the teacher you filled in for or the students. While I won't ever give those specific details, I will probably share funny stories or happenings along the way. The other thing that she stressed more than once is do not touch the children. She warned that those Kindergartener's have hug me written all over them .... but DON'T do it. A pat on the head, high five or knuckle bump, nothing more.
I was soooooo nervous on this first assignment because not only was I was subbing for a Social Studies class, but they were 8th graders!! I sort of remember being an 8th grader and I've lived through raising an 8th grader of my own. Everything in their life is VERY important and somewhat dramatic. And they are stuck in that weird place of going from middle school to high school .... they are somebody! The good news is that I had help from neighboring teachers since it was a last minute sub assignment, and everyone still thinks I'm a smart sub. (shhhh) I had 4 different periods of students and each one of them were a good group of kids. Some of them knew me and asked "are you Chandler's mom?" Much to Chandler's dismay, by the time I picked her up that afternoon, she had already heard that I was a sub at her school that day. How embarassing is that? Not for me, but apparently it was for her. I think she ended up feeling OK about it, because my reviews were mostly positive. :-) I returned for a second day of subbing on Friday and much like Thursday, it was a good experience.
My two little days of subbing pale in comparison to the long term committment that teachers have made to make the world a better place by teaching the children!! Take a minute to tell a teacher how much you appreciate them. (then give them a high five) :-)
One of the requirements to become a sub is to attend a 4 hour workshop. The one I attended was led by a woman who is a retired educator. She did a great job squeezing lots of important info into 4 hours. One of the things she stressed to us was not to go away from a subbing job discussing specifics about the teacher you filled in for or the students. While I won't ever give those specific details, I will probably share funny stories or happenings along the way. The other thing that she stressed more than once is do not touch the children. She warned that those Kindergartener's have hug me written all over them .... but DON'T do it. A pat on the head, high five or knuckle bump, nothing more.
I was soooooo nervous on this first assignment because not only was I was subbing for a Social Studies class, but they were 8th graders!! I sort of remember being an 8th grader and I've lived through raising an 8th grader of my own. Everything in their life is VERY important and somewhat dramatic. And they are stuck in that weird place of going from middle school to high school .... they are somebody! The good news is that I had help from neighboring teachers since it was a last minute sub assignment, and everyone still thinks I'm a smart sub. (shhhh) I had 4 different periods of students and each one of them were a good group of kids. Some of them knew me and asked "are you Chandler's mom?" Much to Chandler's dismay, by the time I picked her up that afternoon, she had already heard that I was a sub at her school that day. How embarassing is that? Not for me, but apparently it was for her. I think she ended up feeling OK about it, because my reviews were mostly positive. :-) I returned for a second day of subbing on Friday and much like Thursday, it was a good experience.
My two little days of subbing pale in comparison to the long term committment that teachers have made to make the world a better place by teaching the children!! Take a minute to tell a teacher how much you appreciate them. (then give them a high five) :-)
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