Through the month of December, while on break with the tour, I did a lot of substitute teaching in Emporia and Flinthills school districts. I am just again starting to sub as tour is slowing down again and grad school auditions are over. There are several aspects about this job I love, that overwhelm me and that irritate me into a passionate fury.
The best part about my job is the creativity I see in the kids. Not the cute look-how-hard-they-work kind or the kind where they-just-can't-learn-enough. It's the kind where they see how much they can get out of! It is immensely entertaining. Attending a small public school growing up, there were sixteen of us in our class - eight of which had been together since Kindergarten. We would team up and actually plot out our path of substitute teacher destruction together. Granted, we didn't always save it for just the substitutes, but that was when limits were redefined. Being in the other seat now provides an insight to the masterminded plans that illuminates the creativity in a whole new light. First there is the communication between students. This is sometimes whispers, notes passed, text messages or even simple eye contact. Then it is the brave elected who voices the proposition or suggestion to the substitute. And my favorite part - the brief climax before I get the chance to answer, that moment where I am trying desperately to decide if I am being made a fool or winning over the appreciation/respect/contentment of the class.... One of two things happens next. One: I fall for it. When this happens, the students are have won. There is no going back. There is no control in the future if they are older. But they are so proud of their accomplishment. Sure, I have been duped, but it is sure hard to suppress a small grin due to the amount of energy coming from the students successful usurping. From that moment on, it's best to just be their friends. Now, it could go another way. Route two: I see right through them. Usually these are the kids who are so excited by the thought of trying to get out of their work that they cannot conceal their deception. They are usually grinning. This is when I am reaffirmed that I am adult and I know what I'm doing. After I shut them down, there are no hard feelings. The kids knew it was kind of a lost cause.... It is in these moments that I see more creativity than I see maybe ever. And I spent the last 6 years of my life submerged in theatre!
The overwhelming part (teachers pay close attention) is the getting their early in the morning, reading the vague lesson plans and then proceed to panic because there is simply not enough time to try and complete the scavenger hunt before the students come in. I have been in some classrooms that have WONDERFUL lesson plans. They let me know every detail of what I am supposed to teach, where things are AND what goes on during a normal day. I am proud to say my mom's classroom was the most I had to teach in and the most prepared I have ever felt due to some pretty fantastic lesson plans. The worst is when they leave you lots of locations to find things. Sure, their room is embedded in their memory. And it's cute with all of it's decorations and posters. But when I am told to find a folder on the bulletin board above their desk and there are 3 bulletin boards covered with all sorts of things, including 4 different folders - it becomes overwhelming. Then there is the vague lesson plan. I had this earlier this week. I was told to teach them the lesson (no chapter number, unit number, page number, no title was given as a reference). So I found a random book open on a table to Chapter 7. I read over it, familiarized myself with the content and proceeded to develop a plan on how to teach this method. I was totally prepared. Then when the students came in, they told me they had done that lesson last time. That is when all control was lost. I had shown them I had no idea what I was doing and now I felt lost because I had to teach myself the lesson as I taught them. IT WAS TERRIBLE! I would make a mistake and tell them to ignore the last thing I just said probably confusing them like crazy. So if there are any teachers or future teachers out there reading this - please, please - make detailed lesson plans for your substitute.
And last, but most certainly not least, is my aggravation with the lack of teaching going on in public schools. I completely understand giving a substitute an easy day of game playing, extra reading time or watching movies because a particular lesson plan may be too difficult to expect them to pick up in 15 minutes. I was in a classroom where the high school students were to watch a video on the San Andreas fault and complete a worksheet. It was one of the days I relished in high school. It didn't require too much brain power at all. Simply listening to the somewhat entertaining video would give you the answers word for word. I was given instructions that if they seemed to be falling behind on answering the questions to pause the video and get everyone caught up. However, a student aide in the class took it upon herself to warn the class when the answer was coming up (2-3 sentences before) and then again immediately after the answer was said........... Eventually the students stopped paying attention all together. They were going to be given the answers. Why should they try? At one point, the aide even wrote the answer on the board for them. Now this was a class to enhance the English language for those students who did not have it a first language. So stopping every 10 questions to allow people to discuss answers was not a bad idea. However, the student aide was so eager to give all the answers out that there was no discussion, only blank stares. I was very irritated at the end of that day. It was obviously a daily occurrence. If a student cannot listen to a video and answer the simple "fill in the blank" questions on a worksheet, why are we passing them?
