Trials and Tribulations of a Sub

. . . sub as in guest teacher, that is, not sub-human, although I feel like it sometimes.

Today was one of those days. One good thing (think positively, Pat, not negatively!) was that I don't have to return to their classroom tomorrow. Oops, that's not really a "whatever is lovely, etc." perspective, is it?

It started out so well. I was returning to a classroom with children I'd subbed with on a previous occasion, for two days, and had pretty good days. The first child into the room, a boy, said, "Mrs. Bliss!" and threw his arms around me for a hug, and then repeated the hug. Gonna be a great day, I thought.

Same child (related to Jekyl/Hyde?) got cross-ways with another student mid-morning and threw a temper tantrum, kicking his backpack and pushing his books off his desk across the aisle. Whoa! Without going into details, his actions and comments of other students (Mrs. X lets him do that) made me tread lightly, trying not to further exacerbate his anger. I try to do everything possible myself to avoid having to send a student to the office. In 13+ years, I've only sent 2 or 3. So I tried to ignore his attitude and continue instruction. (If looks could kill, I might not be blogging this.)

At lunchtime I passed through the teacher's lounge; Mrs. X told me that the other grade level teachers had been complimenting me from my previous visit to her class. (We'd gone on a field trip and they'd observed me with the students.) She told the others, "She wants to be a teacher," and another kindly commented that I was SO ready. Huh! I returned to the classroom for my lunchbox and then went back to the lounge to get the Mrs. X's advice concerning Jekyl/Hyde. "Oh, is he misbehaving for you? He hasn't done that for a while. I'm so sorry. Use such-and-such form from my desk and send him to the office if you need to." Ok, I felt better prepared. If I needed to, I would send him this afternoon and not feel like a failure.

After lunch, the assistant principal stopped in and asked how things are going. Okay, I said, except for J/H. "Send him to the office if you need to." But J/H's behavior had improved (probably because he saw my quiet conversation with Mr. AP?). Then Mrs. X popped in and called him out of the room. Good, she'll have a chat with him. But he didn't return for most of the afternoon. Hmm. Then, when he returned, he tells other students, with a big smile on his face, that he was playing a writing game on the computer next door! What!? He got rewarded??!!

Now, I want you to know that the rest of the class was mostly cooperative and sweet, if too chatty during transitions. Even J/H had his sweet side. Perhaps Mrs. X does everything she can to keep Jekyl in the classroom and Hyde out, even if it means jollying him along and bribing (er, persuading) him with special treatment. And I know there's more to this situation than what I see on the surface and I'm not privy to it, so I'll try to reserve judgment and be better prepared next time I go into this classroom.

I am grateful for all the lessons I've learned about classroom management from the various experiences, difficult and delightful, that I have had. I honestly think I'll be better prepared as a classroom teacher should God and the school district give me the opportunity.

I just thought I'd share "a day in the life." (Mothers, remind your children to be kind to guest teachers, please? Maybe they'll listen.)