Ninth grade English. I had a co-teacher.
At this point in the year, and at this point in my career, certain teachers and classes are well-known to me. This was one of them. Mrs. D, the co-teacher, is someone I have worked with many times in the past.
And I remembered that Mr. S was Lou's English teacher.
Lou walked right by me, not even realizing I was there. He had his hood up, his sunglasses on, and his earbuds in his ears. He wasn't seeing anyone. But he perked up when he realized I was his sub.
So, class went pretty well. For a while.
They were writing an essay. But the ninth grade teachers are really teaching them how to write an essay. They're breaking down this thing paragraph by paragraph, and they're having them structure their sentences in a specific manner.
Oh, the instructions are involved. They have Google Slides for each bit. They have to support their assertions with quotes from the stories they're reading. And then they have to attribute those quotes a certain way. (This is all familiar to those of us who are used to writing research papers. But I don't think I ever got this level of instruction when I learned. It would have been so helpful.)
The students don't like this at all. They have a hard time staying focused.
At some point during class, Mrs. D had to step out.
And that's when Lou was ready to let loose.
I asked him to sit in his seat (not on the desk). He didn't see my point. He wasn't doing anything wrong.
But then Mrs. D returned. And suddenly Lou knew exactly how to sit at his desk.
Because yeah, even though Lou might like me, I'm still a sub. And Lou will take advantage of having a sub in the room.
Perhaps I just need to be meaner to them. But somehow I think they'd still be on sub behavior even then.
I do remember how classmates acted up for subs! I don't know if they were spoken to when the teachers got back or not. I know when I did yard and rainy day duty (paid, not volunteer, I'd go in whenever it rained so the teachers could go to lunch) one teacher didn't allow me to note who was acting up. Thought it would be harmful to their self-esteem or something. So some kids really took advantage of that! It was elementary school, so I wonder how those kids were by teenage years?
ReplyDeleteAt least in my case, I know many teachers have consequences for name-in-note. As for teenagers, the middle schoolers tend to get more wild for subs than high schoolers. 9th graders are pretty much emotionally middle schoolers.
DeleteI generally liked having subs more than the regular teachers.
ReplyDeleteSubs are doomed. I remember how many in my classroom acted when we had a sub. I would do less work
ReplyDeleteTo a certain extent, we are. But I like to leave detailed notes, and teachers who follow up on them tend to have classes that are better behaved. And the students learn that I do let their teachers know what's up when they're gone.
DeleteI remember being in school and it was a thing to push the sub even if you liked her.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I swear they ask me questions just to find where my buttons are.
DeleteWhen I was in high school my mom took a job as a sub in that school. One day I walked into my honors Social Studies class, and there was my mom.
ReplyDeleteYou want to know who acted up? My mom’s best friend’s son. You’d think that he wouldn’t act up in a class where the sub not only knew his name but also knew his parents.
That’s one of the reasons she changed professions …
Oh, but she so could have gotten him back but good. But he was probably fronting for his friends.
DeleteSub behavior must be timeless, because I remember it from the 1960's. My childhood best friend began her elementary school teaching career (New York City) as a sub but she didn't stay one.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, they can be terrible.
DeleteThis is a job I could not imagine undertaking. lol
ReplyDeleteIf I didn't do it, I wouldn't have anything to post on my blog.
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