It was a weird roving day at the middle school. The 7th grade teachers were meeting with the 6th grade teachers from the elementary schools, but only for a period at a time. So, several subs were dispatched to cover, meaning I covered four different teachers that day.
I love roving days.
Third period I covered a reading class. The teacher had written out her lesson plans, and she had listed all fourteen students enrolled, highlighting the six who I needed to keep an eye on.
Half the class worked on a computer program while the other half read books. Half way through the period, they switched places. Two boys on the computers could not get their computers to hear their microphones. (They read out loud for the computer.)
Liz (not me, but one of the students on the watch list) came over to "help". I shooed her away. Yes, I knew the whole restart the computer thing. I knew to try to switch out the mic. Eventually, one boy got his to work, but not the second. Liz returned to tell him to use Internet Explorer rather than Google Chrome. (Which, sadly, did the trick.)
Now it was time for Liz to get to work. She was in the reading-a-book group. But, she was more interested in other things. Like, one boy had his monitor turned away from her. She informed me he could be doing something he shouldn't. (He wasn't. I noticed that earlier and verified he was on task.)
Then, Liz needed to remind me that they were only reading for 25 minutes and then they'd switch. And she needed to know when the period ended. And on and on.
I calmly explained that she had a job to do. Read. Taking care of those other things? My job.
I explained that I was keeping an eye on the clock. I was keeping an eye on the class. I was doing my job.
Liz only settled once she got to go on the computer. (The second half of the class was much calmer than the first.)
Ah, the joys of middle school...
Haha! Sometimes I wish I could be a fly on the wall in my son's middle school. I think it would be so interesting!
ReplyDeleteOh, it's fascinating. The stuff they discuss goes from very deep and meaningful to crazy off-the-wall.
DeleteI'm sure she's not a favorite among the students either.
ReplyDeleteSeems a bit of a busy body with wanting to get involved with everything and anything. I think middle school teachers should be paid extra for putting up with some of this :)
ReplyDeletebetty
Middle school teachers deserve hazard pay. No doubt about it.
DeleteSounds like a 'girl' to me. LOL!
ReplyDeleteYup
DeleteClearly she thought she would be the better substitute teacher :P.
ReplyDeleteis substituting a regular teaching job or just a job for the part time or not regular teachers?
ReplyDeleteHa! You seem to have got the measure of Liz!
ReplyDeleteIt's apparent that you don't let these kids ruffle your feathers. I wonder if the other Liz will be doing your job someday.
ReplyDeleteI bet if that girl was in prison she would be known as the fink.
ReplyDeleteAh a handful. I would love a reading class.
ReplyDeleteI can only imagine trying to teach a middle school class and keep everyone there on track.
ReplyDeleteIt's a challenge on the best of days.
DeleteIt can be tough being a student. Sometimes you want to do the thing you aren't suppose to do yet. And sometimes it's difficult to concentrate on reading during class. It's a shame the entire class couldn't all be reading. It's much easier to concentrate and focus when everyone is doing the same thing and no one is talking or moving around. :(
ReplyDeleteThe problem is that there are only so many computers. So, they have to take turns on them. Which is why half the class did that while the other half read. They did switch halfway through the period.
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