After worrying about Monday's classes all weekend, I actually ended up having a really good day today. My two early classes went really well and we had some good discussions. Then I had my class that I had yelled at last week. I started off by telling them that I felt really bad about what happened on Thursday. I explained that I'm not usually the type of teacher who yells and that I didn't like acting that way. I also told them that there are a lot of things that have been upsetting me lately and that I knew they had a lot of things that were upsetting them as well. I told them that I knew that they didn't normally act the way they were acting, just like I didn't normally act the way I had been.
Then, I had them write a journal entry about what's upsetting them right now. I told them they could write about school or home; it didn't matter. I also said that I wouldn't be reading them and that it was just for them to have an outlet. If we don't have an outlet for negative emotions, they just fester and become even stronger. I hope that this helped them some.
The rest of the day went well and I got a lot done. I'm still pretty stressed about the amount of work that I have, but at least I feel like I am on good terms with all of my classes.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Why I Am Currently Exhausted
This has been no doubt my most difficult long term substitute position. My first one comes pretty close but I think this one has just pushed to the front. I'm ashamed to say that I actually yelled at a class on Thursday. I was pushed to a point that I don't often experience and just couldn't take it anymore. And the worst part is that I really believe that I probably just hurt the situation even more by doing it. I'm sort of at a loss.
Actually, I just now had an idea. I was about to write about how I have so much planning to do that I'm not able to work on my relationship with the students. A lightning bolt went off in my head and I thought, why not? One of the pluses about long term sub jobs is that you don't really have to worry about the ramifications of what happens while you're teaching. If I don't actually cover any of the necessary standards, so what? I won't even be there at the end of the year. (That's not to say that I actually don't care. I do try to make sure the students are learning what they're supposed to be. It just doesn't have to be everything.)
The class I'm most worried about right now is the eighth grade. I pretty much fixed the issues in the other grades. But the eighth grade is a pretty big class and has a few really hard to control students. It's the class that I yelled at. I don't feel like I really need to get into the details; the main issues are that they are upset about the change, really like their regular teacher, aren't convinced that I'm an adequate replacement, and are already a really talkative class.
The unit I created (yes, I had to make the whole thing as lovely regular teacher didn't leave me anything) has them creating a character from the Great Depression and in the end, writing a narrative about his/her struggle. They're learning about that time period in Social Studies so this works well. We'll still work on that, but I'm going to incorporate some getting-to-know-you activities and journal writes. I'm thinking I'll start Monday with "Why I'm upset right now" as a prompt. I'd like to say "pissed off" but I'd probably get in trouble for that.
I don't know if this will work but it's worth a try. I'm tired of trying to beat a class into submission. That's not really my style. I really want to work with them and try to get some real learning to happen.
I just realized that another problem could be that a lot of the students feel intimidated by my unit. There are a lot of students who struggle a lot in the class. I might need to reiterate how much support they'll get and that we have a couple months to get through the unit. It might seem daunting but really it's quite achievable.
I hope I can make this work. I don't want to continue to be a complete basket-case for my poor husband.
Actually, I just now had an idea. I was about to write about how I have so much planning to do that I'm not able to work on my relationship with the students. A lightning bolt went off in my head and I thought, why not? One of the pluses about long term sub jobs is that you don't really have to worry about the ramifications of what happens while you're teaching. If I don't actually cover any of the necessary standards, so what? I won't even be there at the end of the year. (That's not to say that I actually don't care. I do try to make sure the students are learning what they're supposed to be. It just doesn't have to be everything.)
The class I'm most worried about right now is the eighth grade. I pretty much fixed the issues in the other grades. But the eighth grade is a pretty big class and has a few really hard to control students. It's the class that I yelled at. I don't feel like I really need to get into the details; the main issues are that they are upset about the change, really like their regular teacher, aren't convinced that I'm an adequate replacement, and are already a really talkative class.
The unit I created (yes, I had to make the whole thing as lovely regular teacher didn't leave me anything) has them creating a character from the Great Depression and in the end, writing a narrative about his/her struggle. They're learning about that time period in Social Studies so this works well. We'll still work on that, but I'm going to incorporate some getting-to-know-you activities and journal writes. I'm thinking I'll start Monday with "Why I'm upset right now" as a prompt. I'd like to say "pissed off" but I'd probably get in trouble for that.
I don't know if this will work but it's worth a try. I'm tired of trying to beat a class into submission. That's not really my style. I really want to work with them and try to get some real learning to happen.
I just realized that another problem could be that a lot of the students feel intimidated by my unit. There are a lot of students who struggle a lot in the class. I might need to reiterate how much support they'll get and that we have a couple months to get through the unit. It might seem daunting but really it's quite achievable.
I hope I can make this work. I don't want to continue to be a complete basket-case for my poor husband.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Relating with Adolescents
There is rarely a dull moment when teaching middle school. There is the fun and exciting mix of the energy of youth with the budding curiosity of young adulthood. Students are in a constant state of flux as their bodies and minds develop into who they will be for the rest of their lives. This often manifests as a classroom full of squirmy, talkative youths who have very little control over their bodies.
As a teacher of middle schoolers, one needs to figure out how to harness the energy rather than constantly fight it. I have tried to fight it in the past, but the success was only marginal. It might work one day, but the next would bring on even new complications. So I now really try to work with what the students bring to the classroom and view us more as a team rather than me being the disciplinarian and them the workers.
In order for this to really work, there needs to be respect and appreciation on both sides. I really work hard to get to know my students and allow them to get to know who I am. I learn what each individual needs in order to be successful and try to adjust my teaching to incorporate it.
All of this can be difficult with a long term substitute position. I don't have the luxury of getting to know my students over a long span of time. I need to hop right in and do my best to educate without creating too much inconsistency. This is especially difficult with middle schoolers who are already dealing with so much change. It is really important that early on I work on the relationship and establish my goals.
The way I have handled this in the past and did again this year was to write a letter to my new students. I give them some basic information of who I am and what we'll be accomplishing while I'm teaching them. I then give them a chance to ask me any questions they have. Usually they're related to pets and whether or not I have children. No one really seems to care about pedagogy or beliefs. I can't say I'd have been any different at that age...
Next, I have them write a letter to me. They can tell me anything that they think would be important for me to know. These letters tend to be quite informative and I really enjoy reading them. Some students don't write much, but there are quite a few who really open up. I'm always surprised at the number who seem to be excited to get to know a new teacher!
Probably the most exhausting part of being a long term sub is consistently having to compete with the memory of the regular teacher. I always seem to get assignments where the regular teacher is really loved and respected. It can be discouraging to always feel like the second best.
Yesterday, I had to have a talk with one of the 7th grade classes. They were frustrated about having another writing assignment and said how the regular teacher never has them write so much. Well, that got me pretty ticked off for two distinct reasons and this time, I decided to go into it all. First, I told them how important daily writing is and how it is the single best way to become better writers. Writing is an incredibly important skill and is one of the only ways we can accurately express ourselves.
Second, I leveled with them about my role. I told them that I understood how difficult it is to have a new teacher, especially when you really like your regular one. I explained that this was not my ideal situation either and that I would much rather have my own classroom where I can follow my own set of routines and plans. But, I make the best out of the situation and do my best job at filling in and teaching. I asked that they do the same and that we could actually accomplish something in our time together instead of just wishing things were different.
There are obviously no perfect ways to handle to challenge of relating to adolescents. I try my best to be honest and as forthcoming as possible. I want my students to learn and to improve while I'm teaching. I'm never going to just be a seat warmer. Is it difficult? Yes, of course. But I wouldn't feel as if I'm accomplishing my internal mission of truly helping adolescents if I didn't do it this way.
As a teacher of middle schoolers, one needs to figure out how to harness the energy rather than constantly fight it. I have tried to fight it in the past, but the success was only marginal. It might work one day, but the next would bring on even new complications. So I now really try to work with what the students bring to the classroom and view us more as a team rather than me being the disciplinarian and them the workers.
In order for this to really work, there needs to be respect and appreciation on both sides. I really work hard to get to know my students and allow them to get to know who I am. I learn what each individual needs in order to be successful and try to adjust my teaching to incorporate it.
All of this can be difficult with a long term substitute position. I don't have the luxury of getting to know my students over a long span of time. I need to hop right in and do my best to educate without creating too much inconsistency. This is especially difficult with middle schoolers who are already dealing with so much change. It is really important that early on I work on the relationship and establish my goals.
The way I have handled this in the past and did again this year was to write a letter to my new students. I give them some basic information of who I am and what we'll be accomplishing while I'm teaching them. I then give them a chance to ask me any questions they have. Usually they're related to pets and whether or not I have children. No one really seems to care about pedagogy or beliefs. I can't say I'd have been any different at that age...
Next, I have them write a letter to me. They can tell me anything that they think would be important for me to know. These letters tend to be quite informative and I really enjoy reading them. Some students don't write much, but there are quite a few who really open up. I'm always surprised at the number who seem to be excited to get to know a new teacher!
Probably the most exhausting part of being a long term sub is consistently having to compete with the memory of the regular teacher. I always seem to get assignments where the regular teacher is really loved and respected. It can be discouraging to always feel like the second best.
Yesterday, I had to have a talk with one of the 7th grade classes. They were frustrated about having another writing assignment and said how the regular teacher never has them write so much. Well, that got me pretty ticked off for two distinct reasons and this time, I decided to go into it all. First, I told them how important daily writing is and how it is the single best way to become better writers. Writing is an incredibly important skill and is one of the only ways we can accurately express ourselves.
Second, I leveled with them about my role. I told them that I understood how difficult it is to have a new teacher, especially when you really like your regular one. I explained that this was not my ideal situation either and that I would much rather have my own classroom where I can follow my own set of routines and plans. But, I make the best out of the situation and do my best job at filling in and teaching. I asked that they do the same and that we could actually accomplish something in our time together instead of just wishing things were different.
There are obviously no perfect ways to handle to challenge of relating to adolescents. I try my best to be honest and as forthcoming as possible. I want my students to learn and to improve while I'm teaching. I'm never going to just be a seat warmer. Is it difficult? Yes, of course. But I wouldn't feel as if I'm accomplishing my internal mission of truly helping adolescents if I didn't do it this way.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Planning for Three Classes
This is the sixth school where I have taught English/Language Arts. For all of my previous positions, I have either prepared for one or two different classes at a time. These were all schools that had multiple English teachers and they had the luxury of spreading out classes so that specific teachers would teach multiple sections of the same class. So while a teacher would teach four classes, there would only be one or two to plan for.
I have learned that at a small school, things are quite different.
Right now, I am the middle school Language Arts teacher. I teach 6th, 7th, and 8th grade. I also teach a class called Writing to Publish, but, fortunately, that does not require any real planning. I have four 50 minute Language Arts classes every day – two 7th grade, one 6th and one 8th.
I can’t believe how much work this is.
However, I am used to much longer classes, so I have been preparing way too much for each class. That should help me out a little for now. But just the fact of having to juggling what I’m teaching in three different classes is a bit overwhelming. I have so much respect for teachers who do this all the time.
At the other extreme, when I filled in at a suburban high school last year, I taught only ninth grade. We had block scheduling so I taught the same thing two days in a row. I also had a total of four and a half hours of prep time every two days. On an A day, I had one period off and on a B day, I had two. That meant I really never had to bring anything home. I really miss that job.
Here, I have to prepare for the three different classes and have only 50 minutes each day of real prep time. I do cover a silent reading class for 30 minutes and I can accomplish some work during that time.
The way I’m handling it all right now is by just over planning. I have calendars for each class and am making sure I’m at least a day ahead in making materials for individual lessons. That way I feel like I’m keeping up and not drowning. However, I don’t know how I’ll be doing a month from now.
Does anyone have any suggestions for me? Are there other ways to wrap my head around this?
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Planning for a leave replacement
There is a definite balance that needs to be made while planning for a leave replacement. My default state is to over plan. I like to know what my end outcome is going to be and then work from there. In order to do that, I need to decide how long an assessment will take (usually a paper or project) and then what I want my students to show in the assessment. From there, I map out the number of weeks I think is acceptable for preparing them to complete the assessment. I typically take a calendar and literally fill in what I want to accomplish when.
Now, that is my ideal. And in an ideal world, I would know exactly how long it will take students to understand concepts and they will be able to follow my plan exactly. However, that almost never works out. I still have my plan, but I am always adapting it. Basically, I have learned it is best to either keep the plan as a Word document or to write it in pencil. Anything more permanent would be foolish.
For this position, I have had two distinct differences from previous ones. For starters, I have to prepare for three separate classes. As this school is extremely small, I am the sole middle school language arts teacher. I teach six, seventh, and eight grade. There are two seventh grade classes since that class is larger than the others. I have each class every day for 50 minutes. In the past, I had one or two classes to prepare for. Also, this is my first time with classes that short. Most schools are adopting block scheduling, which makes for 80 or 90 minute classes every other day. Those require much different plans.
The other difference is that I have had almost two full weeks of observing. I have filled in for the teacher now and then when she had doctor’s appointments (almost daily) but other than that I’ve just been sitting here. So I have had a lot of time to plan. Right now, I have almost complete plans for two of the classes. The other class I have a looser sense of what I’m doing, but I still have an idea. I haven’t compiled materials for every lesson, but I’m a good week or so ahead. I feel very prepared.
Unfortunately, one cannot really prepare. I have no idea how well things are going to go or if I properly timed activities. I even wrote out a unit plan with due dates for the eighth graders. They might need to do some adjusting if I end up being horribly wrong. Sometimes I think that it would be better if I were the type of person who was comfortable with just “winging it” but I’m not. I am anxious if I don’t have a plan. I don’t mind having to change in throughout, but I really need some sort of plan to begin with.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
How to Not Prepare for your Leave
I am currently on my fifth leave replacement. By now, I am pretty much an expert on what needs to be done and how to successfully fill in for a regular teacher. I can prepare quickly and get to know my students in no time. I am fortunate enough to be really quick with technology and can become comfortable with new grading programs right away. There is very little that can throw me off.
However, I can't exactly do everything by myself. There are a few things that I need in order to do a successful job as a long term substitute. Mostly, these things include talking to the regular teacher to find out some information. This is something that has been rather difficult for me as the teacher seems to be in a bit of denial about leaving. For the past week and a half, I have been basically just observing the classes. I have asked the teacher some questions, but for some reason she has not been overly forthcoming with information.
In the past, teachers have given me tons of information and I have almost strained my hand trying to write it all down. Whenever there was an interaction with a student or other teacher, I was brought in so I would understand what was going on. With this position, I am feeling pretty excluded from everything. I sit at a table next to the teacher's desk and try to listen to what goes on. But I am rarely directly included in what goes on. It might get better as the week progresses as the teacher's last day is Friday.
The other thing is that she does not appear to have really prepped the students for the transition. The regular teacher really needs to let his/her students know that the replacement teacher is very qualified and that they will have the same quality of education. Without that assurance, the students view the replacement as merely a "substitute" instead of a real teacher.
I will keep all of these things in mind if I ever happen to need a leave replacement. Being a long term substitute isn't exactly easy so the more the regular teacher can do to ease the transition, the better.
However, I can't exactly do everything by myself. There are a few things that I need in order to do a successful job as a long term substitute. Mostly, these things include talking to the regular teacher to find out some information. This is something that has been rather difficult for me as the teacher seems to be in a bit of denial about leaving. For the past week and a half, I have been basically just observing the classes. I have asked the teacher some questions, but for some reason she has not been overly forthcoming with information.
In the past, teachers have given me tons of information and I have almost strained my hand trying to write it all down. Whenever there was an interaction with a student or other teacher, I was brought in so I would understand what was going on. With this position, I am feeling pretty excluded from everything. I sit at a table next to the teacher's desk and try to listen to what goes on. But I am rarely directly included in what goes on. It might get better as the week progresses as the teacher's last day is Friday.
The other thing is that she does not appear to have really prepped the students for the transition. The regular teacher really needs to let his/her students know that the replacement teacher is very qualified and that they will have the same quality of education. Without that assurance, the students view the replacement as merely a "substitute" instead of a real teacher.
I will keep all of these things in mind if I ever happen to need a leave replacement. Being a long term substitute isn't exactly easy so the more the regular teacher can do to ease the transition, the better.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Not too much to report
Not too much to report today. The regular teacher was back and things went really smoothly. Her doctor was able to get the baby to turn around, so everything is now back on schedule. I spent the day observing. It was actually pretty boring but at least nothing went wrong!
On the other matter, I was able to talk to someone who can maybe help me out with my contract. The few people I spoke with about it agreed that something's quite odd about the situation. With any luck, we can get it sorted out! I would hate to get screwed over...
On the other matter, I was able to talk to someone who can maybe help me out with my contract. The few people I spoke with about it agreed that something's quite odd about the situation. With any luck, we can get it sorted out! I would hate to get screwed over...
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
New Job Highs and Lows
I just finished day two of my long-term sub job. So far it's been a bit more eventful than I had anticipated. This week (and maybe even next week) was supposed to be a time for me to observe the regular teacher so I can get an idea of how things are normally done in the classroom. This is a pretty common occurrence, although one typically has less than two weeks to shadow. As I've been teaching for a little while, I thought it sounded a bit excessive, but it's not something I would really argue about.
Things ended up being a bit different from what was planned. Yesterday, the sixth and eighth graders went on a field trip in the morning. I was at the school without the LA teacher for a few hours and just observed a couple of other classes. It gave me some time to get to know the students, so that was nice. Then, the LA teacher had an appointment in the afternoon, so I had to cover one of her classes. It was a little rough since I didn't know the students and wasn't used to the routine, but I got through it fine.
Today, I found out when I arrived at the school that the LA teacher found out yesterday that she was in breach and needed to try to get the baby turned around. So she wasn't able to come in. I had some pretty detailed sub plans and managed to do a decent job of teaching. I also got to know students' names better than if I had just been observing.
All in all, it was a good start to the job. I also have a student who looked a ton like a girl I taught at another school. I asked her her last name and she turned out to be the other girl's sister! They moved recently and that's why she's now at this school. Thankfully, they are both hard-working and polite students. There are plenty of students that I would be really upset to know I was going to teach a sibling.
Oh, and I had to send a student out of my classroom today! I had been warned about him and was told not to take any off behavior from him. So when he didn't follow multiple directions, I sent him out. I usually wouldn't do that to start with, but I didn't want him to think he could walk all over me.
So far, I think I like the school. It is super small. Actually, I can't get over how small it is. Nowhere I've taught before even compares to the size. On the plus side of that, the classes are really small. My biggest is 19 or 20 and the others are closer to 15. The class size makes a huge difference in ones ability to effectively teach.
On the down side, I had another issue with with supervisory union today. I happened to come across a master contract today. I had been surprised at how low my per diem pay was so I decided to look up the salary scale. It turned out that they were paying me based on the rate for someone with only a bachelor's degree. I thought it was a mistake and emailed the woman who had given me my paperwork. She wrote back that it was their policy to pay long-term subs at the base rate. Needless to say, I was pretty irate. There is a bit more to this and I am going to look into my options. Most likely, there will be nothing I can do about it, but there is a section for pro-rated employees in the contract. Surprisingly, it does not mention anything about paying them at the base salary.
It's a little sad that I actually have to challenge them, but I wasn't raised by a lawyer so I would just sit around and do nothing when my rights are being infringed upon. I have worked for a number of different schools in the state and know how things are normally done. Substitutes don't have a lot of rights, but that doesn't mean they should be bullied into something. I've been working too hard for too long to stay quiet when things are not right.
Things ended up being a bit different from what was planned. Yesterday, the sixth and eighth graders went on a field trip in the morning. I was at the school without the LA teacher for a few hours and just observed a couple of other classes. It gave me some time to get to know the students, so that was nice. Then, the LA teacher had an appointment in the afternoon, so I had to cover one of her classes. It was a little rough since I didn't know the students and wasn't used to the routine, but I got through it fine.
Today, I found out when I arrived at the school that the LA teacher found out yesterday that she was in breach and needed to try to get the baby turned around. So she wasn't able to come in. I had some pretty detailed sub plans and managed to do a decent job of teaching. I also got to know students' names better than if I had just been observing.
All in all, it was a good start to the job. I also have a student who looked a ton like a girl I taught at another school. I asked her her last name and she turned out to be the other girl's sister! They moved recently and that's why she's now at this school. Thankfully, they are both hard-working and polite students. There are plenty of students that I would be really upset to know I was going to teach a sibling.
Oh, and I had to send a student out of my classroom today! I had been warned about him and was told not to take any off behavior from him. So when he didn't follow multiple directions, I sent him out. I usually wouldn't do that to start with, but I didn't want him to think he could walk all over me.
So far, I think I like the school. It is super small. Actually, I can't get over how small it is. Nowhere I've taught before even compares to the size. On the plus side of that, the classes are really small. My biggest is 19 or 20 and the others are closer to 15. The class size makes a huge difference in ones ability to effectively teach.
On the down side, I had another issue with with supervisory union today. I happened to come across a master contract today. I had been surprised at how low my per diem pay was so I decided to look up the salary scale. It turned out that they were paying me based on the rate for someone with only a bachelor's degree. I thought it was a mistake and emailed the woman who had given me my paperwork. She wrote back that it was their policy to pay long-term subs at the base rate. Needless to say, I was pretty irate. There is a bit more to this and I am going to look into my options. Most likely, there will be nothing I can do about it, but there is a section for pro-rated employees in the contract. Surprisingly, it does not mention anything about paying them at the base salary.
It's a little sad that I actually have to challenge them, but I wasn't raised by a lawyer so I would just sit around and do nothing when my rights are being infringed upon. I have worked for a number of different schools in the state and know how things are normally done. Substitutes don't have a lot of rights, but that doesn't mean they should be bullied into something. I've been working too hard for too long to stay quiet when things are not right.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
The Pain of Adolescence
If you polled any group of people, I am sure you would find adolescence as being among the most painful times in their lives. In fact, for a lot of people it is at the top of the list. No one would argue against it being a horrible phase and I don't trust anyone who would want to go back to it.
During all of my positions in schools over the past few years, I have witnessed a lot of adolescent pain. It is something that I have a lot of trouble with. For me, middle school was pretty rough. I had some outlets and enjoyed certain aspects of it, but overall, it was definitely among the worst times in my life. There is the combination of starting to understand and feel what it is to be an adult mixed in with the lack of control of childhood. So arbitrary rules are created. Kids become mean and if you don't want to play whatever is decided to be the correct game, you will be ostracized.
As a teacher, it is easy to forget all the crap that students deal with in middle school. We're focused on them "behaving" in class and playing by our own set of rules. Sometimes the individual gets lost in the desire to have a well-functioning class. I've seen it quite a few times as those students tend to reach out to a kind person who isn't really involved in the rest of the current game. As the substitute, I sometimes can give them a little of what they're missing.
The main way I do this is by talking to the students. It sounds so simple, but you'd be amazed at how infrequently teachers just talk to their students. I take advantage of the small downtimes and chat instead of checking my email or reading over lesson plans. Of course, sometimes when I'm really teaching, I do have to read stuff to prepare. But whenever I have a moment, I talk to the students. I find out a lot this way and they get to know some interesting things about me as well. We've talked about food, pets, piercings, movies -- you name it. So the students start to feel comfortable with me and I sometimes hear about the things that trouble them. If I can do something about it, I try to, but often there's little that I can do. And then I just ache for them.
On Wednesday, my last day at the one assignment, I witnessed a student in a lot of pain. As I mentioned before, this job had me sitting in and helping out various classes. In this Social Studies class, the students were starting what would be a weekly current events assignment. They needed to find an article and fill out a worksheet. They had handed in their first attempt at this a few days prior to Wednesday. One student didn't know that she was supposed to print out the article to go with the worksheet. She wanted to print it out right then, so I told her to ask the teacher. The teacher told her that it was okay for this first time but in the future she had to bring the article.
Another day before Wednesday the student tried to hand in the article to go with her worksheet. Unfortunately, it was at a bad time when the teacher was talking about something else. So she was told to sit down. I had another class with the student as well and was starting to get a good sense of her character. She really wanted to do well but has trouble understanding the differing variables in situations. She is one of those students who stands up to sharpen her pencil when the teacher is talking to the whole class. When she had to get to her next class, that was what she had to do. In her mind, there was no time to see her teacher to talk about the article.
So on Wednesday, they got their assignments back. This student got a bunch of points taken off because she didn't have the article. She raised her hand to ask about it, but was only told that she needed to have the article with the worksheet. A couple students raised their hands and told the teacher that she had said it was okay the first time. She apparently did not remember and said it didn't sound like her. They continued to try to persuade her and I nodded my head in agreement with them. However, she didn't look at me and ended up dropping it.
The student was really upset and mumbling to herself about having her dad print the article. She was in the back of the room and I was right near her, so I went over and whispered how the grade would even out with all the other assignments she would do. But at that point she was crying and beyond consoling. I asked her if she wanted to sign out and go to the bathroom. She responded, "only if I don't have to come back." Sigh..
But she did come back and managed to make it through the rest of the class. I went back and forth in my head about what to do. I could talk to the teacher after class and tell her what had happened. But then the student wouldn't learn how to stand up for herself. So when they were packing up to leave, I asked the student if she wanted to talk to the teacher. I told her that I had heard her saying that it was okay to not have the article the first time and that I would go with her. But unfortunately the damage had already been done and she felt that it wasn't worth it.
Now, in the grand scheme of things, one assignment is not the end of the world. But the teacher did a real disservice to herself. By not stopping and thinking about what was going on, she showed the class that she really didn't care what they had to say. It wasn't as if just the one student was saying that she had made that statement about the article but multiple were. To me, that at least would show that something was discussed. Personally, even I felt a bit disenchanted by the experience. I just feel that the student was wronged in this instance and it wasn't fair.
Maybe I should have still talked to the teacher, but I had a few reasons. First of all, that was my last day and I had to leave early to get my finger prints done. I didn't really have much time. But that aside, I really feel like it should be the student who brings it up. This is the time when they need to start thinking for themselves and taking responsibility. If she felt wronged, then she needs to do something about it. And that is why I chose to talk to her and encourage her to speak with her teacher. I am not a fairy godmother who can make all things better in the world. (Although wouldn't that be cool?)
On a positive note, I did help out another student in this way. One day we were chatting during breakfast time and she mentioned getting a zero for missing a clarinet lesson. She was a little upset about this because she hadn't realized that she had a lesson. I encouraged her to talk to the band teacher and explain that she didn't realize she was supposed to have a lesson and wanted to make it up. I told her that it might not work, but it was better to try than not to. A few days later she was excited to tell me that she had spoken with the band teacher and had a lesson that afternoon. So now she knows that if she speaks up for herself, it can end up being worthwhile.
I guess my point is that it is hard to witness the pain adolescents go through. But it is something that will always happen. I would rather have them learn that they can help themselves than think that they always need to rely on others to do things for them. Maybe it's not a perfect solution but it makes me feel a little better about it all.
During all of my positions in schools over the past few years, I have witnessed a lot of adolescent pain. It is something that I have a lot of trouble with. For me, middle school was pretty rough. I had some outlets and enjoyed certain aspects of it, but overall, it was definitely among the worst times in my life. There is the combination of starting to understand and feel what it is to be an adult mixed in with the lack of control of childhood. So arbitrary rules are created. Kids become mean and if you don't want to play whatever is decided to be the correct game, you will be ostracized.
As a teacher, it is easy to forget all the crap that students deal with in middle school. We're focused on them "behaving" in class and playing by our own set of rules. Sometimes the individual gets lost in the desire to have a well-functioning class. I've seen it quite a few times as those students tend to reach out to a kind person who isn't really involved in the rest of the current game. As the substitute, I sometimes can give them a little of what they're missing.
The main way I do this is by talking to the students. It sounds so simple, but you'd be amazed at how infrequently teachers just talk to their students. I take advantage of the small downtimes and chat instead of checking my email or reading over lesson plans. Of course, sometimes when I'm really teaching, I do have to read stuff to prepare. But whenever I have a moment, I talk to the students. I find out a lot this way and they get to know some interesting things about me as well. We've talked about food, pets, piercings, movies -- you name it. So the students start to feel comfortable with me and I sometimes hear about the things that trouble them. If I can do something about it, I try to, but often there's little that I can do. And then I just ache for them.
On Wednesday, my last day at the one assignment, I witnessed a student in a lot of pain. As I mentioned before, this job had me sitting in and helping out various classes. In this Social Studies class, the students were starting what would be a weekly current events assignment. They needed to find an article and fill out a worksheet. They had handed in their first attempt at this a few days prior to Wednesday. One student didn't know that she was supposed to print out the article to go with the worksheet. She wanted to print it out right then, so I told her to ask the teacher. The teacher told her that it was okay for this first time but in the future she had to bring the article.
Another day before Wednesday the student tried to hand in the article to go with her worksheet. Unfortunately, it was at a bad time when the teacher was talking about something else. So she was told to sit down. I had another class with the student as well and was starting to get a good sense of her character. She really wanted to do well but has trouble understanding the differing variables in situations. She is one of those students who stands up to sharpen her pencil when the teacher is talking to the whole class. When she had to get to her next class, that was what she had to do. In her mind, there was no time to see her teacher to talk about the article.
So on Wednesday, they got their assignments back. This student got a bunch of points taken off because she didn't have the article. She raised her hand to ask about it, but was only told that she needed to have the article with the worksheet. A couple students raised their hands and told the teacher that she had said it was okay the first time. She apparently did not remember and said it didn't sound like her. They continued to try to persuade her and I nodded my head in agreement with them. However, she didn't look at me and ended up dropping it.
The student was really upset and mumbling to herself about having her dad print the article. She was in the back of the room and I was right near her, so I went over and whispered how the grade would even out with all the other assignments she would do. But at that point she was crying and beyond consoling. I asked her if she wanted to sign out and go to the bathroom. She responded, "only if I don't have to come back." Sigh..
But she did come back and managed to make it through the rest of the class. I went back and forth in my head about what to do. I could talk to the teacher after class and tell her what had happened. But then the student wouldn't learn how to stand up for herself. So when they were packing up to leave, I asked the student if she wanted to talk to the teacher. I told her that I had heard her saying that it was okay to not have the article the first time and that I would go with her. But unfortunately the damage had already been done and she felt that it wasn't worth it.
Now, in the grand scheme of things, one assignment is not the end of the world. But the teacher did a real disservice to herself. By not stopping and thinking about what was going on, she showed the class that she really didn't care what they had to say. It wasn't as if just the one student was saying that she had made that statement about the article but multiple were. To me, that at least would show that something was discussed. Personally, even I felt a bit disenchanted by the experience. I just feel that the student was wronged in this instance and it wasn't fair.
Maybe I should have still talked to the teacher, but I had a few reasons. First of all, that was my last day and I had to leave early to get my finger prints done. I didn't really have much time. But that aside, I really feel like it should be the student who brings it up. This is the time when they need to start thinking for themselves and taking responsibility. If she felt wronged, then she needs to do something about it. And that is why I chose to talk to her and encourage her to speak with her teacher. I am not a fairy godmother who can make all things better in the world. (Although wouldn't that be cool?)
On a positive note, I did help out another student in this way. One day we were chatting during breakfast time and she mentioned getting a zero for missing a clarinet lesson. She was a little upset about this because she hadn't realized that she had a lesson. I encouraged her to talk to the band teacher and explain that she didn't realize she was supposed to have a lesson and wanted to make it up. I told her that it might not work, but it was better to try than not to. A few days later she was excited to tell me that she had spoken with the band teacher and had a lesson that afternoon. So now she knows that if she speaks up for herself, it can end up being worthwhile.
I guess my point is that it is hard to witness the pain adolescents go through. But it is something that will always happen. I would rather have them learn that they can help themselves than think that they always need to rely on others to do things for them. Maybe it's not a perfect solution but it makes me feel a little better about it all.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
The other substitute
I met another substitute the other day. My current assignment has me helping students in various classes and yesterday one of the teachers whose class I'm in was out. (Actually, yesterday was my last day there, but that's beside the point.) Oddly enough, I'd never had a full conversation with a substitute I didn't know personally before. It really made me realize how many different situations substitutes are in.
For me, substituting is a way to be in a classroom and teach while I'm looking for a more permanent teaching job. I have a teaching certificate and have even had my own classroom for a year. Subbing is pretty easy for me and can even get boring from time to time. It's not really what I want to be doing but it's better than nothing.
This other substitute is not a teacher - she is just working as a substitute. Her family has a business that she works at part time as well. So substituting is the thing that she does to fill in her time off. Her husband was a teacher and he got her into this grand teaching-like thing.
I realize that I'm starting to say this about a lot of things, but one of the things that I really dislike about subbing is not knowing where I'll be going or what I'll be doing when I wake up in the morning. My husband and anyone who knows me well can tell you that I'm what is commonly referred to as a "planner." I had all the details of my wedding pulled together way before the actual day. I decided what classes I was going to take my senior year in high school before my freshman year was over. I have to restrain myself from creating a detailed itinerary for every vacation I take. All that considered, I was baffled when this other substitute told me that she loves, loves, not knowing what she'll be doing until the morning of. It's been a couple days and I still can't wrap my head around this.
With this, albeit rather obvious, realization that people sub for reasons that differ from my own, I have started to pay more attention to the other substitutes I encounter. In the past, I always viewed them as competition. Oh no! Another aspiring English teacher! Must perform superiorly! (Stupid spell check. That is totally a word - trust me, I'm an English teacher!) But I now realize that all that might have been in vain. Some people are content with just substituting.
I also started to think about how maybe in a bazillion years, I might want to substitute like that myself. I'll teach for about 30 years and retire, and then I could start working as a substitute. It is kind of cool that if you don't feel like working for any reason, you can just not take an assignment. If the pay were better and there was actually some respect from the students and staff, it would almost be the perfect job. All I have to do now is find a job to have for the 30 years prior to retiring.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Unemployment and Weight Gain
There are a lot of not-so-great things one can associate with unemployment and job searching. There's the lack of money, feelings of worthlessness, general hassle of always "looking," anxiety from waiting to hear from a job, never feeling completely settled, and having to explain to people that you still, yes still, do not have a job. But the one that seems to really stick (even in a literal sense) is the weight gain. Of course, not everyone deals with this one negative. I have heard that there are people, some who I know closely, who actually lose weight when stressed. Unfortunately, even when my stomach is upset I can still manage to force down ice cream. I am one of those lucky people who can be described as a stress eater.
Those of you who know me well, or at least check my facebook statuses, know that I'm pretty active. Here's me just this past memorial day finishing a marathon, for heaven's sake:
Now, you'll note that I'm not exactly tiny in that picture. I have never been a small person. Even after I lost a bunch of weight about seven years ago I wasn't a size four or anything. I have always been curvy and ever since I started doing crazy things like running marathons, I've had a lot of muscle mass. (I mean, just look at that thigh!) So sometimes it's difficult for me to notice when I've started to put on the not-so-great weight. I had noticed that some of my pants were awfully tight. But that wasn't a big deal since I have other pairs of pants. However, it did send some warning signals. And I also have been feeling, well, heavier during my exercise classes. So I had some idea of what was coming my way before stepping on the scale this morning. I just didn't realize to what extent I had gone over the deep edge. Whoops.
This isn't exactly new territory for me as I have lost weight before. But myself at 29 is a little different from myself at 22. For one, I have a lot more muscle than I did back then, so I know a lot of my weight isn't really bad. I also am now teaching and have noticed that reducing calories turns me into Miss Viola Swamp:
But probably the most important reason is that I now feel really comfortable in my body. Back when I was younger, I was able to lose a lot of weight because I berated myself on a daily basis. I hated my thighs and my arms. I was grossed out about any flab I had. It was a powerful motivator and helped me lose over 20 pounds. But I have a hard time believing that I was really helping myself in the long run.
These days, I have a really hard time buying into all the "Lose weight now!" and "Shed pounds and find your inner beauty" campaigns. Maybe I'm getting soft in my old (hah!) age, but I have decided that there is far too much focus on physical appearance in our culture. Why do I need to starve myself to fit an image that society tells me is right? Will it really help me to get so obsessed with food that I write down everything that I consume? Do I need to start hating my body in order to push myself to exercise until it looks like some ideal I have in my head?
My conclusion is that, yes, I should probably lose some of the fat I have gained. I have probably eaten way too many sweets lately and haven't really monitored myself. I'll cut back on the unnecessary stuff. It is easy to think that a hot chocolate or cupcake will make one feel better when facing so much rejection day to day. But overall, it just made me weigh more. So I'll eat less of that. But I'm not going to lose a lot of weight. I just can't bring myself to feel that way again.
Those of you who know me well, or at least check my facebook statuses, know that I'm pretty active. Here's me just this past memorial day finishing a marathon, for heaven's sake:
Now, you'll note that I'm not exactly tiny in that picture. I have never been a small person. Even after I lost a bunch of weight about seven years ago I wasn't a size four or anything. I have always been curvy and ever since I started doing crazy things like running marathons, I've had a lot of muscle mass. (I mean, just look at that thigh!) So sometimes it's difficult for me to notice when I've started to put on the not-so-great weight. I had noticed that some of my pants were awfully tight. But that wasn't a big deal since I have other pairs of pants. However, it did send some warning signals. And I also have been feeling, well, heavier during my exercise classes. So I had some idea of what was coming my way before stepping on the scale this morning. I just didn't realize to what extent I had gone over the deep edge. Whoops.
This isn't exactly new territory for me as I have lost weight before. But myself at 29 is a little different from myself at 22. For one, I have a lot more muscle than I did back then, so I know a lot of my weight isn't really bad. I also am now teaching and have noticed that reducing calories turns me into Miss Viola Swamp:
But probably the most important reason is that I now feel really comfortable in my body. Back when I was younger, I was able to lose a lot of weight because I berated myself on a daily basis. I hated my thighs and my arms. I was grossed out about any flab I had. It was a powerful motivator and helped me lose over 20 pounds. But I have a hard time believing that I was really helping myself in the long run.
These days, I have a really hard time buying into all the "Lose weight now!" and "Shed pounds and find your inner beauty" campaigns. Maybe I'm getting soft in my old (hah!) age, but I have decided that there is far too much focus on physical appearance in our culture. Why do I need to starve myself to fit an image that society tells me is right? Will it really help me to get so obsessed with food that I write down everything that I consume? Do I need to start hating my body in order to push myself to exercise until it looks like some ideal I have in my head?
My conclusion is that, yes, I should probably lose some of the fat I have gained. I have probably eaten way too many sweets lately and haven't really monitored myself. I'll cut back on the unnecessary stuff. It is easy to think that a hot chocolate or cupcake will make one feel better when facing so much rejection day to day. But overall, it just made me weigh more. So I'll eat less of that. But I'm not going to lose a lot of weight. I just can't bring myself to feel that way again.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
New long term sub job!
It is now safe to post that I'm going to be starting a new long term sub job soon! I had the interview a week ago and was offered the position shortly after. I just signed the contract, so it is now all official and I feel comfortable making it public. I am really excited about this position for a number of reasons. First of all, it's a smaller school than I've worked at before and I'm really interested in finding out what that's like. Second, the principal seems really nice. Third, it's a middle school position and I really love working with that age group.
Today, I had to drive to the supervisory union to fill out the employment paperwork. I brought with me my passport, a voided check, and a copy of my teaching certificate. I figured that should about cover everything they'd need. It took me about an hour to get there. It would have taken a little less than that, but I was dumb and started driving to the school and realized that I was going the wrong way. So, after driving for an hour, I finally got there.
Now, this is a very small supervisory union. So small that it is located in what looks like a little house. The parking lot had six spots, all of which were taken. I ended up parking on the grass, which I wasn't too thrilled about as it was raining at the time. When I walked in, I was struck by how rustic the place was. The main room has wood paneling and a couple of watercolors, one of a cabin and another of a deer. They were playing the country music station. I swear, the place could have been a stereotypical small town hick office in a movie. It was a little creepy.
The first woman I talked with was impressed that I had brought everything that she needed. I filled out the paperwork and thought that I was done with it all. However, I apparently still needed to talk to another woman about my background check. I had a background check done right before my student teaching and so far each district I worked for was able to have the initial check forwarded to them and that worked. I had heard that checks really only last for about three years so I had anticipated having to get fingerprinted again.
So, the second woman comes over to me with a background check form. I asked her if I could have the information forwarded from another district and she informed me that their district always does the checks themselves. Okay... That seemed a bit excessive but whatever floats your boat, right? She starts filling out the form, first asking me to spell my last name. Next, she asks me my maiden name and my date of birth. That's all well and good, but she then asks me my social security number. At this point, I'm wondering why she didn't just hand me the form so I could fill it out. I don't think it should be all that surprising that I don't feel very comfortable stating my personal information aloud in a room with other people present. I don't remember what else she asked me, but I do remember feeling a bit annoyed.
The next thing she asked me was if I had my $19.25. Come again? I had no idea that I needed to bring a check or cash with me to pay for part of the background check. Since I had previously been able to transfer my check, it had been a while since I had to have one completed. And of course I had zero cash and was getting worried that I would have to drive out there again just to give them a check. I explained that I wasn't starting at the school for another week and a half and thought it was a bit much to drive out specifically to bring the money. I asked if I could mail the check and the woman responded that "they didn't usually do that." Umm, Vermont mail takes a day and it's pretty darned secure. Eventually she agreed to let me mail it, but that was only after we went back and forth about it some.
I was actually really mad and was pretty firm with them. I am usually really pleasant, but the whole experience really annoyed me and I wasn't about to just agree to drive back there tomorrow. But as I was driving home I started to feel a little bad about how I acted. So, when I got home I wrote a little card to go with the check thanking them for helping me with the paperwork. I hope that did something to realign the karma or whatever you want to call it.
And now I get to start a new job soon! I should probably contact the teacher to find out what I need to prepare...
Today, I had to drive to the supervisory union to fill out the employment paperwork. I brought with me my passport, a voided check, and a copy of my teaching certificate. I figured that should about cover everything they'd need. It took me about an hour to get there. It would have taken a little less than that, but I was dumb and started driving to the school and realized that I was going the wrong way. So, after driving for an hour, I finally got there.
Now, this is a very small supervisory union. So small that it is located in what looks like a little house. The parking lot had six spots, all of which were taken. I ended up parking on the grass, which I wasn't too thrilled about as it was raining at the time. When I walked in, I was struck by how rustic the place was. The main room has wood paneling and a couple of watercolors, one of a cabin and another of a deer. They were playing the country music station. I swear, the place could have been a stereotypical small town hick office in a movie. It was a little creepy.
The first woman I talked with was impressed that I had brought everything that she needed. I filled out the paperwork and thought that I was done with it all. However, I apparently still needed to talk to another woman about my background check. I had a background check done right before my student teaching and so far each district I worked for was able to have the initial check forwarded to them and that worked. I had heard that checks really only last for about three years so I had anticipated having to get fingerprinted again.
So, the second woman comes over to me with a background check form. I asked her if I could have the information forwarded from another district and she informed me that their district always does the checks themselves. Okay... That seemed a bit excessive but whatever floats your boat, right? She starts filling out the form, first asking me to spell my last name. Next, she asks me my maiden name and my date of birth. That's all well and good, but she then asks me my social security number. At this point, I'm wondering why she didn't just hand me the form so I could fill it out. I don't think it should be all that surprising that I don't feel very comfortable stating my personal information aloud in a room with other people present. I don't remember what else she asked me, but I do remember feeling a bit annoyed.
The next thing she asked me was if I had my $19.25. Come again? I had no idea that I needed to bring a check or cash with me to pay for part of the background check. Since I had previously been able to transfer my check, it had been a while since I had to have one completed. And of course I had zero cash and was getting worried that I would have to drive out there again just to give them a check. I explained that I wasn't starting at the school for another week and a half and thought it was a bit much to drive out specifically to bring the money. I asked if I could mail the check and the woman responded that "they didn't usually do that." Umm, Vermont mail takes a day and it's pretty darned secure. Eventually she agreed to let me mail it, but that was only after we went back and forth about it some.
I was actually really mad and was pretty firm with them. I am usually really pleasant, but the whole experience really annoyed me and I wasn't about to just agree to drive back there tomorrow. But as I was driving home I started to feel a little bad about how I acted. So, when I got home I wrote a little card to go with the check thanking them for helping me with the paperwork. I hope that did something to realign the karma or whatever you want to call it.
And now I get to start a new job soon! I should probably contact the teacher to find out what I need to prepare...
Thursday, September 8, 2011
The Substitute Name Tag
I mentioned in a previous post how I dislike having to wear a name tag as a substitute. I have always disliked them in general for reasons that I can barely even articulate. I guess I'm of the mindset that if you want to get to know me, come talk to me and ask me my name. But sometimes they're necessary and I can understand that.
Now on to the substitute name tag. A lot of schools these days require all adults to wear identification. It doesn't take a genius to figure out why, so I can definitely understand that. Teachers don't always wear their badges, but everyone has one with their picture on it. Now, substitutes do not have these badges. Instead, when we report to the office at the beginning of the day we're given a name tag that says "Substitute" in big letters and are asked to write our name below it. I learned early on to write Mrs. Last Name instead of my full name since I really don't want students calling me Mary.
I already stated that I understand why we need identification. Regardless of that, I am firmly against the substitute name tag. Yes, I do wear it at school. I don't really want to get into an argument about it or potentially lose out on work because of it. However, I am starting to think about not wearing it while teaching. I will probably accomplish this by sticking it to a cardigan for walking around the halls but not for the classroom.
I'm sure you can probably guess why I hate the name tag. First of all, it's hard enough to be a substitute without having a big label stating it. Surprisingly, I'm sure, students aren't always on their best behavior when they have a substitute. They know that their regular teacher is gone and can sometimes see it as an excuse to act out. They also don't usually realize that their substitute may have the same training as their regular teacher and could actually teach them something. So they don't have the same respect. When you add a "SUBSTITUTE" sticker on top of that, it's almost impossible to be taken seriously.
Maybe I'll get over it some day but I seriously doubt it.
Now on to the substitute name tag. A lot of schools these days require all adults to wear identification. It doesn't take a genius to figure out why, so I can definitely understand that. Teachers don't always wear their badges, but everyone has one with their picture on it. Now, substitutes do not have these badges. Instead, when we report to the office at the beginning of the day we're given a name tag that says "Substitute" in big letters and are asked to write our name below it. I learned early on to write Mrs. Last Name instead of my full name since I really don't want students calling me Mary.
I already stated that I understand why we need identification. Regardless of that, I am firmly against the substitute name tag. Yes, I do wear it at school. I don't really want to get into an argument about it or potentially lose out on work because of it. However, I am starting to think about not wearing it while teaching. I will probably accomplish this by sticking it to a cardigan for walking around the halls but not for the classroom.
I'm sure you can probably guess why I hate the name tag. First of all, it's hard enough to be a substitute without having a big label stating it. Surprisingly, I'm sure, students aren't always on their best behavior when they have a substitute. They know that their regular teacher is gone and can sometimes see it as an excuse to act out. They also don't usually realize that their substitute may have the same training as their regular teacher and could actually teach them something. So they don't have the same respect. When you add a "SUBSTITUTE" sticker on top of that, it's almost impossible to be taken seriously.
Maybe I'll get over it some day but I seriously doubt it.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Another Interview Down!
After subbing all day yesterday, I drove an hour to a long term sub interview. I actually interviewed at the school last year for the permanent position but a woman who had worked there in the past was also applying. So, they, unsurprisingly, gave the position to the previous employee. Now she's having a baby and they need a long term substitute.
The interview went pretty well even though I was pretty tired by the time I got there. I also got a little stuck in traffic and only arrived about five minutes early when I usually try for at least ten. I felt a bit frazzled as I always do when running late. But for the most part I was asked questions that I've answered before and it was pretty standard. The one plus of having interviewed so many times (I think I'm over 25 teaching interviews at this point) is that I've already thought of answers to almost all the possible questions.
I did get a little stumped by one question and it was really something I should have had worked out ahead of time. I always tell people that I'm what is known as a "constructivist" teacher. (I just tried to find a way to explain what that means but really can't right now. If you don't know, google it.) They wanted to know an example of how I've actually been constructivist. For some reason, that really stumped me and I had to slow myself down a little and think. There really wasn't any good reason why I was stumped as almost everything I do can be considered constructivism. So I told them I couldn't think of anything concrete right then but that I'd talk about what I do in broader terms and them hopefully I'd think of an example. Thankfully, I did think of a great example, which was this Indian culture project I had the students do during one of my LTS (Long term sub) jobs. They had to read this somewhat older novel about India and I really wanted them to learn something about India. The majority of ninth graders in VT know very little, if anything, about India. So I let them choose anything they wanted about Indian culture and they were to research it and write a paper and give a presentation. They also had to tie it to the book, but that was somewhat minor. It was mostly just to get them to learn something that was of interest to them
So, that was good. I did have a moment (I think when trying to come up with a constructivism example) where my face got hot. I really hate when that happens at an interview. Whenever I start to feel uncomfortable, blood rushes to my face and it gets really hot. I know that my face is red and it makes me even more uncomfortable. I know an interview probably didn't go super well if that happened a lot during it.
That's all for now. Thanks for reading!
The interview went pretty well even though I was pretty tired by the time I got there. I also got a little stuck in traffic and only arrived about five minutes early when I usually try for at least ten. I felt a bit frazzled as I always do when running late. But for the most part I was asked questions that I've answered before and it was pretty standard. The one plus of having interviewed so many times (I think I'm over 25 teaching interviews at this point) is that I've already thought of answers to almost all the possible questions.
I did get a little stumped by one question and it was really something I should have had worked out ahead of time. I always tell people that I'm what is known as a "constructivist" teacher. (I just tried to find a way to explain what that means but really can't right now. If you don't know, google it.) They wanted to know an example of how I've actually been constructivist. For some reason, that really stumped me and I had to slow myself down a little and think. There really wasn't any good reason why I was stumped as almost everything I do can be considered constructivism. So I told them I couldn't think of anything concrete right then but that I'd talk about what I do in broader terms and them hopefully I'd think of an example. Thankfully, I did think of a great example, which was this Indian culture project I had the students do during one of my LTS (Long term sub) jobs. They had to read this somewhat older novel about India and I really wanted them to learn something about India. The majority of ninth graders in VT know very little, if anything, about India. So I let them choose anything they wanted about Indian culture and they were to research it and write a paper and give a presentation. They also had to tie it to the book, but that was somewhat minor. It was mostly just to get them to learn something that was of interest to them
So, that was good. I did have a moment (I think when trying to come up with a constructivism example) where my face got hot. I really hate when that happens at an interview. Whenever I start to feel uncomfortable, blood rushes to my face and it gets really hot. I know that my face is red and it makes me even more uncomfortable. I know an interview probably didn't go super well if that happened a lot during it.
That's all for now. Thanks for reading!
Friday, September 2, 2011
Day 2 Special Ed Subbing
Today I had my second day of filling in for the special educator at a local middle school. Everything went smoothly aside from the fact that I still don't have a schedule. However, I did finally get a list of the students with services on my team. Now, I'm probably going to only be there for another week or so until they get a "real" special educator, but I'd really like to do something productive while there.
Only 7th graders were at school yesterday so this was the first day with the 8th graders. I had subbed on the team a few times last year so a lot of the students know me. It was really nice to see them again and nice to feel a part of something! I think not being a regular part of a school is the hardest part of subbing - that and having to wear a name tag. I might try to get out of wearing one some next week since people should probably know who I am by then.
We have a three day weekend and then after school on Tuesday I have an interview for a long-term sub position. There was also a posting today for 2 separate long-term sub positions at another school. I'll apply for those over the weekend. Odds are at least one of those will work out. Maybe I won't have to do the day to day subbing for too long! Not that it's been all that dreadful as of yet.
I also wanted to thank those of you who commented on Facebook about my last post! It's nice to hear that I sound positive about my situation. To tell you the truth, I thought I was being really cranky and that no one would read again... I'll try to make this at least somewhat entertaining.
Oh, and one more thing I forgot to mention. Yesterday, one of the para-educators on the team I'm currently on saw me in the hall and was really excited. I told her I was filling in. She told me she'd hoped that I'd gotten a regular job there as she thought I was great with the students. That means a lot since the paras are really the only ones who see a sub in action. Actually, I'm really happy to be working with her as well since she's pretty awesome herself! (That wasn't even a plug for her really as I doubt she'll ever read this and you guys don't know who I'm talking about...)
Okay, now that's all I've got. Have a great Labor Day weekend!
Only 7th graders were at school yesterday so this was the first day with the 8th graders. I had subbed on the team a few times last year so a lot of the students know me. It was really nice to see them again and nice to feel a part of something! I think not being a regular part of a school is the hardest part of subbing - that and having to wear a name tag. I might try to get out of wearing one some next week since people should probably know who I am by then.
We have a three day weekend and then after school on Tuesday I have an interview for a long-term sub position. There was also a posting today for 2 separate long-term sub positions at another school. I'll apply for those over the weekend. Odds are at least one of those will work out. Maybe I won't have to do the day to day subbing for too long! Not that it's been all that dreadful as of yet.
I also wanted to thank those of you who commented on Facebook about my last post! It's nice to hear that I sound positive about my situation. To tell you the truth, I thought I was being really cranky and that no one would read again... I'll try to make this at least somewhat entertaining.
Oh, and one more thing I forgot to mention. Yesterday, one of the para-educators on the team I'm currently on saw me in the hall and was really excited. I told her I was filling in. She told me she'd hoped that I'd gotten a regular job there as she thought I was great with the students. That means a lot since the paras are really the only ones who see a sub in action. Actually, I'm really happy to be working with her as well since she's pretty awesome herself! (That wasn't even a plug for her really as I doubt she'll ever read this and you guys don't know who I'm talking about...)
Okay, now that's all I've got. Have a great Labor Day weekend!
A Bunch of Time Later...
I decided to start writing in this blog again. I had stopped last year because I was just so frustrated with the search and couldn't bring myself to write. However, now that a year has passed and I'm in pretty much the same boat as before, I am beyond the pain and suffering! Well, not really, but I figure if I don't write now I may never. And this is a great distraction from bigger, novel-like writing that I'm always meaning to do.
So where am I right now? Well, I'm subbing again! Last year, I had two long-term sub assignments, one in Middlebury for 4 months and one at CVU for 6 weeks. Between those, I subbed. This year is starting to look a lot like last year. Except that last year I knew that I had the Middlebury position when the year started. This year I'm starting with next to nothing, aside from an interview next week. I'll get to that later.
Over the summer I had six interviews total. None of the jobs "worked out" but I got a lot of encouraging calls from the principals that I should keep trying and that the person they chose was either more qualified or just a better match. So while they didn't laugh in my face or anything, I'm still left without a job.
The one shining light to come out of all this was that I was available to fill in at a local middle school for the start of the year. They had someone who was going to be a long term sub for special ed but ended up getting a permanent position last minute. So they were left with no teacher and not enough time to conduct interviews. I happen to know the principal from my one year-long position and I think that helped in their decision to call me. I'd subbed there in the past and had a pretty good rapport with the teachers and students so it should be good. I'll be there for about a week and a half.
I had my first day yesterday and really didn't do much. When I first got there, however, one teacher said, "So you're the sub for the sub? Sub sub - about as low as it gets."
Of course, he said it in a joking way and sort of apologized after but that's one of the reasons I really hate subbing. Hmmm, I have the same schooling as you and am probably a good deal more qualified than you were when you got your teaching job... But of course I won't mention that and thank you so much for welcoming me into your school.
My plan is to write frequently. Feel free to bug me if I haven't written in a while. And keep your fingers crossed that something more long term will come my way!
So where am I right now? Well, I'm subbing again! Last year, I had two long-term sub assignments, one in Middlebury for 4 months and one at CVU for 6 weeks. Between those, I subbed. This year is starting to look a lot like last year. Except that last year I knew that I had the Middlebury position when the year started. This year I'm starting with next to nothing, aside from an interview next week. I'll get to that later.
Over the summer I had six interviews total. None of the jobs "worked out" but I got a lot of encouraging calls from the principals that I should keep trying and that the person they chose was either more qualified or just a better match. So while they didn't laugh in my face or anything, I'm still left without a job.
The one shining light to come out of all this was that I was available to fill in at a local middle school for the start of the year. They had someone who was going to be a long term sub for special ed but ended up getting a permanent position last minute. So they were left with no teacher and not enough time to conduct interviews. I happen to know the principal from my one year-long position and I think that helped in their decision to call me. I'd subbed there in the past and had a pretty good rapport with the teachers and students so it should be good. I'll be there for about a week and a half.
I had my first day yesterday and really didn't do much. When I first got there, however, one teacher said, "So you're the sub for the sub? Sub sub - about as low as it gets."
Of course, he said it in a joking way and sort of apologized after but that's one of the reasons I really hate subbing. Hmmm, I have the same schooling as you and am probably a good deal more qualified than you were when you got your teaching job... But of course I won't mention that and thank you so much for welcoming me into your school.
My plan is to write frequently. Feel free to bug me if I haven't written in a while. And keep your fingers crossed that something more long term will come my way!
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