Home Base

Wednesday. Special ed math. (I was covering Ms. L, who at this point I know rather well.) 

First period was co-taught with Mr. J, who was also out. He had left a test. I took the special ed kiddos next door to the math learning center so they could do their test. 

{My big drama for the period was when one kiddo made a dramatic entrance about halfway through the test. He was supposed to be with me, but he remained behind, not sure why. I called names of who was going. One reason the kiddos take tests separately is because the special ed kiddos are allowed to use their notes on the tests--it's one of their accommodations. So, when the other sub caught him using his notes, he understandably called the student on it. 

Apparently Mr. J lets him remain as Mr. J knows who is allowed the notes and who is not. But subs. So, the student got sent to me, and he was not happy about it. 

I know how Mr. J will react to this. Something similar happened last year. Mr. J has told the kiddos that they can follow the sub's instructions for the day. They're old enough to go with the flow for one day. But sophomores. They get touchy about things.}

Then third period was Mr. L's conference period. (The school is on a block schedule. This was the odd day.) I remained in the learning center as that's where Ms. L's desk was located. I was just settling in for a little break (opening Feedly and getting ready to read through the day's blogs) when I got a call from the sub secretary, Sherry. Could I cover a third period? Deep sigh. 

I packed up my stuff and headed out. When I got to Ms. G's temporary classroom [her a/c wasn't working, and last week our temps hovered around 100℉ (that's about 38℃)], I learned that the lesson was for them to take a test. And the co-teacher I was covering was to take the special ed students to another classroom so they could test in a quieter setting. Guess where. 

So, we hiked back to the learning center. 

I plopped my stuff back on Ms. L's desk, and I watched the kiddos take their test. (Things went smoothly.)

If I had known I was going to spend two periods in the same room back-to-back, I would have set up a more comfortable spot to observe from. But some days kind of take you by surprise. (The rest of the day I was in different classrooms.)