Day 4: Monday, March 16, 2009
This time, I found out about the sub opening the night before by checking the online system for openings. The teacher I was subbing for teaches a couple classes of English with a co-teacher, a Yearbook class, and a couple of study hall type classes with a T.A.
The first class was the Yearbook class and the students just worked at computer stations around the room, editing and proofing pages for the yearbook for the end of the year. There was a lot of discussion between them, they played some music in the back corner, and if they had questions, the directed them to one of the Yearbook Leaders. It was interesting to see how the ideas for the yearbook come together and how many of the students do the artwork for it.
The next two classes were English with a co-teacher. My lesson plan told me to let the co-teacher take the lead, and I would help by manning the PowerPoint presentation from the back of the room. The classes were reading Of Mice and Men, which I somehow never read in school, so I got a sneak peak into chapter 5 when the co-teacher read it aloud to the class.
After 4th period lunch, I had two periods of the study hall with the T.A. It's basically a time for the students to work on homework or projects and ask us for help if they need it. I let the students know that I am good with editing papers and Spanish and immediately some hands went up. I helped two students with their papers by checking their grammar and then walked around the room to see that the others were being productive. The T.A. helped the students with their Math and Geography throughout the two periods.
7th period was the teacher's Prep period, so I spent most of it in the teacher's lounge reading a book I brought. With about 10 minutes left, I went to my old Earth Science teacher's room to see if we could catch up a bit between classes.
Then I went back to my classroom to see if any students would show up for drop-in yearbook work on the computers during 8th period.
I am learning that every experience as a substitute teacher is incredibly different than the one that came before. It's exciting to see how different each teacher's day is from the next.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Substitute Teaching: Day 3
Day 3: Friday, March 6, 2009
This call to sub came on Thursday evening, which gave me much more time to prepare. The teacher I subbed for was a Management and Business Math teacher with a full load of classes. Two of the classes were working on a presentation about the stocks of major companies, and therefore were scheduled to be in computer labs. It was interesting to walk around the room and take a peek at the stock graphs that each student had from companies like McDonalds, Verizon, AT&T, Home Depot, Caterpillar, etc. Most of the graphs showed a nearly steady decline starting around October or November of last year. One other class was held in a regular classroom and they just had book work to do.
The rest of the day was made up of 25-minute computer classes. (During 4, 5, 6, and 7, the lunch periods are split in half. The students spend half the period in the cafeteria and the other half in a study hall or a computer skills class.) The students just worked on some assignments on the computer until the bell rang.
This time, my 8th period was for Prep so I didn't have to stay the whole day. I had plenty of time to hop on my bike and get to my other job after school. On my way out, I ran into my Biology teacher from freshman year. It turns out that he had my little sister and when I told him her name, he laughed and said that "She was a HOOT". Yep, that's my sister!
One of the things that made the day more interesting was the fact that we couldn't find the teacher's lesson plans anywhere in the morning. The Sub Coordinator and I had to go around to a few different classrooms to figure out which computer lab or classroom I was supposed to be in for first period. She eventually got a copy from the department head right before the bell rang, and the rest of the day went smoothly.
This call to sub came on Thursday evening, which gave me much more time to prepare. The teacher I subbed for was a Management and Business Math teacher with a full load of classes. Two of the classes were working on a presentation about the stocks of major companies, and therefore were scheduled to be in computer labs. It was interesting to walk around the room and take a peek at the stock graphs that each student had from companies like McDonalds, Verizon, AT&T, Home Depot, Caterpillar, etc. Most of the graphs showed a nearly steady decline starting around October or November of last year. One other class was held in a regular classroom and they just had book work to do.
The rest of the day was made up of 25-minute computer classes. (During 4, 5, 6, and 7, the lunch periods are split in half. The students spend half the period in the cafeteria and the other half in a study hall or a computer skills class.) The students just worked on some assignments on the computer until the bell rang.
This time, my 8th period was for Prep so I didn't have to stay the whole day. I had plenty of time to hop on my bike and get to my other job after school. On my way out, I ran into my Biology teacher from freshman year. It turns out that he had my little sister and when I told him her name, he laughed and said that "She was a HOOT". Yep, that's my sister!
One of the things that made the day more interesting was the fact that we couldn't find the teacher's lesson plans anywhere in the morning. The Sub Coordinator and I had to go around to a few different classrooms to figure out which computer lab or classroom I was supposed to be in for first period. She eventually got a copy from the department head right before the bell rang, and the rest of the day went smoothly.
Monday, March 09, 2009
Substitute Teaching: Day 2
Day 2: Monday, February 23, 2009
This time the call came at 6:45am, a mere 3 hours after I had gone to bed, and 15 minutes before I was supposed to be at the school. I accepted the assignment because I live so close to the school and I had no plans for the day. And really, who else would be able to come in on such short notice? I didn't want to leave them hanging.
I subbed for a full day as an LRP (Learning Resource Program) teacher. The number of students in each of my periods was less than 10. Basically, the class time was to be used for homework, with the LRP teachers and Student Aides there to assist.
To my surprise, during second period I discovered a familiar face in the classroom. It was a former classmate of mine from high school that now works there as an Aide. We had a chance to catch up a bit, since we both spent most of the day in the same classroom.
This time, I was in the same building as my little sister, and we caught each other in the hallway.. then later in the cafeteria. I had to keep reminding her to not call me by my first name in front of her friends, in case I had them in any of my classes. It was funny to see her in her daily environment, iPod headphones between classes and all.
It's only been 5 1/2 years since I graduated high school, but so many things have changed since then. The year after I graduated, they gutted and rebuilt the whole front of the building. Now, during passing periods, they play music for the last 60 seconds instead of a plain warning bell. The students are constantly looking at or listening to their cell phones or iPods. I'm sure 6 years from now things will have changed again.
All in all, it was a good day and quite a different experience from my first day as a sub.
This time the call came at 6:45am, a mere 3 hours after I had gone to bed, and 15 minutes before I was supposed to be at the school. I accepted the assignment because I live so close to the school and I had no plans for the day. And really, who else would be able to come in on such short notice? I didn't want to leave them hanging.
I subbed for a full day as an LRP (Learning Resource Program) teacher. The number of students in each of my periods was less than 10. Basically, the class time was to be used for homework, with the LRP teachers and Student Aides there to assist.
To my surprise, during second period I discovered a familiar face in the classroom. It was a former classmate of mine from high school that now works there as an Aide. We had a chance to catch up a bit, since we both spent most of the day in the same classroom.
This time, I was in the same building as my little sister, and we caught each other in the hallway.. then later in the cafeteria. I had to keep reminding her to not call me by my first name in front of her friends, in case I had them in any of my classes. It was funny to see her in her daily environment, iPod headphones between classes and all.
It's only been 5 1/2 years since I graduated high school, but so many things have changed since then. The year after I graduated, they gutted and rebuilt the whole front of the building. Now, during passing periods, they play music for the last 60 seconds instead of a plain warning bell. The students are constantly looking at or listening to their cell phones or iPods. I'm sure 6 years from now things will have changed again.
All in all, it was a good day and quite a different experience from my first day as a sub.
Saturday, March 07, 2009
Substitute Teaching: Day 1
Day 1: Thursday, December 18, 2008
I've been living back in my hometown for 6 months now, trying to figure things out. I've been thinking a lot about becoming a teacher and my first step towards it was to become a substitute teacher at my old high school. Finally, on December 18, 2008, I had my first subbing 'gig'.
I received the phone call from the automated system around 10pm the night before and I couldn't wait to see what it would be like. I gathered the teacher's class schedule, my sub parking pass, and a book to read during any down time I had. At first, it was strange to walk those familiar halls and not recognize a soul... Until I ran into a couple of my old teachers. I visited with my Art, Spanish, and English teachers from my freshman year at high school. They could hardly believe that enough time had passed for me to be out of college and back at the high school as a teacher.
The teacher I was subbing for teaches Geography, which was one of my favorite classes. And, oddly enough, they were on Latin America that week. My first class was the worst, in terms of awkwardness, but I learned the most from it. I made a note of my mistakes in attempting to govern the class for future use. First of all, if the lesson plan states that the students should be working quietly and individually in their seats, you should relay that to the students right away.
Some of the students would try to tell me that the teacher lets them sit and work together, even at the front of the room. Others would try listening to their iPods or chatting with their neighbor.
But, as the day went on, I started to get the hang of it.
At lunch time, I went through the same line in the cafeteria as the students, only to find that there was a special buffet (of real food) for faculty that day in the lounge. As I sat there, alone, eating my rubbery hamburger, some faculty members from another table invited me to sit with them. One of them was apparently the Assistant Principal, who introduced himself as 'Joe', a janitor, until a teacher called him out on it. Strangely, I felt like I was a kid in school again, getting a joke pulled on me. I guess you could say I didn't feel very welcomed on my first day as a sub.
Thankfully,though, I had a better experience while on hall duty. A Student Aide passed by a couple of times and we struck up a conversation about how it was my first day. She was very friendly and made me feel better about being there.
On the lesson plan, the teacher seemed to warn me about his 8th period class: That if they misbehave, I was to issue them a warning, and if they did it a second time, I was to let the teacher know to give them a detention upon his return. Mind you, this was the Thursday before Winter Break, and there was talk of a snow day the following day. At the beginning of the period, the students could not sit still and all they wanted to do was talk. Thankfully, the weekly school newspapers were delivered to the classroom about 15 minutes in, and one student gathered them up and distributed them to nearly everyone. They were happy to read the the newspaper instead of study for an upcoming quiz, and they were no trouble at all, as the lesson plan seemed to imply.
One of the funnier parts of the day was during one class, a girl asked me what my first name was. (My name "Miss LastName" was on the board behind me.) They started going around the room guessing random names. I eventually got them to study with the promise of if they were good all period, I might tell them my first name at the end of class. Several students asked for a pass to go to the bathroom over the course of the period, and I initialed it. So, of course, when they started up the guessing game at the end of the period again, someone remembered having seen the letter "J" and they went wild. They eventually guessed it, and I was glad to have entertained them (relatively quietly) for a few more minutes of class.
My first thoughts after the completion of my first day as a substitute teacher were positive ones. Although it was challenging to manage a room of about 30 high school students, it was fun, and I looked forward to my next chance.
I've been living back in my hometown for 6 months now, trying to figure things out. I've been thinking a lot about becoming a teacher and my first step towards it was to become a substitute teacher at my old high school. Finally, on December 18, 2008, I had my first subbing 'gig'.
I received the phone call from the automated system around 10pm the night before and I couldn't wait to see what it would be like. I gathered the teacher's class schedule, my sub parking pass, and a book to read during any down time I had. At first, it was strange to walk those familiar halls and not recognize a soul... Until I ran into a couple of my old teachers. I visited with my Art, Spanish, and English teachers from my freshman year at high school. They could hardly believe that enough time had passed for me to be out of college and back at the high school as a teacher.
The teacher I was subbing for teaches Geography, which was one of my favorite classes. And, oddly enough, they were on Latin America that week. My first class was the worst, in terms of awkwardness, but I learned the most from it. I made a note of my mistakes in attempting to govern the class for future use. First of all, if the lesson plan states that the students should be working quietly and individually in their seats, you should relay that to the students right away.
Some of the students would try to tell me that the teacher lets them sit and work together, even at the front of the room. Others would try listening to their iPods or chatting with their neighbor.
But, as the day went on, I started to get the hang of it.
At lunch time, I went through the same line in the cafeteria as the students, only to find that there was a special buffet (of real food) for faculty that day in the lounge. As I sat there, alone, eating my rubbery hamburger, some faculty members from another table invited me to sit with them. One of them was apparently the Assistant Principal, who introduced himself as 'Joe', a janitor, until a teacher called him out on it. Strangely, I felt like I was a kid in school again, getting a joke pulled on me. I guess you could say I didn't feel very welcomed on my first day as a sub.
Thankfully,though, I had a better experience while on hall duty. A Student Aide passed by a couple of times and we struck up a conversation about how it was my first day. She was very friendly and made me feel better about being there.
On the lesson plan, the teacher seemed to warn me about his 8th period class: That if they misbehave, I was to issue them a warning, and if they did it a second time, I was to let the teacher know to give them a detention upon his return. Mind you, this was the Thursday before Winter Break, and there was talk of a snow day the following day. At the beginning of the period, the students could not sit still and all they wanted to do was talk. Thankfully, the weekly school newspapers were delivered to the classroom about 15 minutes in, and one student gathered them up and distributed them to nearly everyone. They were happy to read the the newspaper instead of study for an upcoming quiz, and they were no trouble at all, as the lesson plan seemed to imply.
One of the funnier parts of the day was during one class, a girl asked me what my first name was. (My name "Miss LastName" was on the board behind me.) They started going around the room guessing random names. I eventually got them to study with the promise of if they were good all period, I might tell them my first name at the end of class. Several students asked for a pass to go to the bathroom over the course of the period, and I initialed it. So, of course, when they started up the guessing game at the end of the period again, someone remembered having seen the letter "J" and they went wild. They eventually guessed it, and I was glad to have entertained them (relatively quietly) for a few more minutes of class.
My first thoughts after the completion of my first day as a substitute teacher were positive ones. Although it was challenging to manage a room of about 30 high school students, it was fun, and I looked forward to my next chance.
Four Years Later
It looks like I might be using this account after all. I hope to add something worth reading soon.
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