Bored Runners

It was the Friday before Thanksgiving break, seventh period. (I saved all my subbing stories for when I was back at work.) Cross country.

Cross country is running, long distance. Generally for class time they change into running clothes, and then they go and run a few miles. How many? I'm not sure. But at one point a couple of them were discussing an upcoming 10K and a half marathon. 

But cross country season is over, and the team didn't make the end of season CIF championships. So, they just had to sit in the room for the period with the sub. 

(They asked if I could just dismiss them to go home. I would have loved to have done that, but they're enrolled in the class so they have to be in the class even if they have nothing to do. I explained that if they could get a parent to pick them up early they could leave. Only one student followed through on that.) 

I sat back and watched the room. Several boys got into a group. They had a pad of post its, and they were folding them into triangles. And then one boy tossed it towards the ceiling...

Oh crap! Not this again. 

I have noticed students doing this again. Ceiling darts. They toss these things towards the ceiling, hoping they'll stick. 

Normally I put a stop to this as soon as I see it. But seventh period cross country the day before a vacation, and they didn't have an assignment. Considering that there were worse things they could be doing to entertain themselves, I went a different route. 

I asked. Apparently it's currently popular on TikTok. 

Naturally. 

I told them fine, they just had to not leave the things in the ceiling when class was over. No mess, and it was okay. 

It kept them busy for a while... 

(Yeah, I blanked out any faces you could see. They are minors.) 

They got quite a few up there: 

Some used spin to get them to stick. One boy made a straw contraption out of paper. (I commented on spit balls. They weren't going that route.) I don't think that actually worked at all. 

This only kept their attention for a while. Then they went outside and started racing each other. Sprinting. (Reminder: they usually are long distance runners.) 

They did clean up before the end of the period. No ceiling darts left behind. 

Missing Initiative

Friday. Fifth period geography. The phone rang. 

The caller asked for a student. He was present. Then the caller explained that the boy's name had been left off of the list of those who were excused for some sort of basketball game, so could I please excuse him? 

I sent the boy on his way. And then I stewed. Because, really? And I need to explain why this whole think rankled for me.

The school has various sports teams. The usual ones. And daily there is some game someplace. There are always students who need to leave a class early so they can go to their game. This is so commonplace that I've never needed to mention it before. 

Usually, what happens on these days is that a student or a couple of students will inform me that they have to leave for their game at such-and-such a time. (It's usually more of an ask. They never demand this.) And I nod my head and say okay and to give me a heads up as they leave. 

What bothered me was that the boy in this case never said a word to me. Because, if he had come to me at the beginning of the period and said he had to leave, I would have said okay. 

In fact, there was a girl who had a soccer match to get to. She had to leave early. And she did. 

But this boy? Had to be called out of class? Didn't even attempt to go before the phone call? Said nothing to me about the game? 

And the idea that his coach had to call me to get the student released just... 

Someone has got to take more initiative if he wants to remain in athletics. It's not my job to remember these things. It's his. 

Of course, this is one of the boys who's not doing much in class and has to be reminded to do his work and not scroll on his phone.

He won't last long in athletics with that work ethic. 

The Tennis Team

In case you've been wondering (I know I have), the various sports teams still have class. CIF (the state's interscholastic sports' governing body) pretty much closed all competition for the fall. (I hadn't heard what they're doing for the spring.) 

But many students still belong to the various teams. 

Last week I covered a biology class. The teacher was also the tennis coach. So, sixth period, I had to cover the tennis team. 

How does one do tennis remotely? The same way they've done every class. 

In the before times, I'd go out to the tennis courts with the kiddos and "supervise" while they practice. (For tennis, that would just be hitting balls around.) 

Now they're watching a video and answering questions online. 

So, in case you're curious, here are the videos they watched. First, Monday's video... 

And this was Wednesday's video...

Change of Plans

Science class (biology). The teacher coached tennis sixth period.

The lesson plan had me going out to the tennis courts sixth period to "supervise".

I dislike covering sports, but from time to time I must.

First, I have to find the class. The teacher usually gives me a vague idea of where to go, but these areas can be fairly large, so locating where the class usually meets can take a bit. (It's nicer when we can just meet in the teacher's classroom, but that's not always feasible.)

Then, somehow, I must take roll. After that, ideally, they practice. The cross country team would go out for their run. Other teams may do something, but the last time I covered tennis (a while ago--not this school year), they pretty much goofed off for the hour.

So, I was not looking forward to sixth period. Not at all.

I got through the day. (Biology is a freshman course, so I had those usual issues.) Then it was lunch. I had a half hour to linger in the classroom and anticipate the tennis team.

I packed up. I logged into the attendance software on my phone. The bell rang for the end of lunch. Just as I was ready to get up and head out to the courts, the door to the room opened. It was the teacher.

It took me a couple minutes to process "you can go". Sometimes when teachers are on campus, they'll stop in to check on things, and then they'll go on their way. So, my brain stuttered over the teacher saying he'd come back early enough to teach his sixth period class.

Once I caught up, I was quite content. Not only did I not have to cover the tennis team, I got to go home early. Score!

(Early in my subbing career, I felt like I'd have to stick around as I was supposed to be there. But lately, I'm good with leaving early and letting the office know the teacher has returned. They know I'd never leave a class unattended.)

Rainy Day Games

Friday. 6th period. The tennis team.

They were supposed to have practice, but it had been wet all day (not raining hard enough to need an umbrella, but constant enough that everything was soaked), so I wasn't shocked when they all descended upon the teacher's classroom (as opposed to the tennis courts).

"Let's play Never Have I Ever."

These sorts of days, when I'm covering a sport and we're hanging out, they pretty much can do whatever. I do object to things like prank calls. But card games, on their phones, eating, just sitting around and talking, or doing homework are all fair game.

So, one group in the middle of the room played Never Have I Ever. (If you checked out the link and read the rules, they used the "fingers variation".) And they played dirty...

"Never have I ever been black and over 6 feet tall..." targeted the one boy in the group that fit that description.

"Never have I ever been to mass..." targeted the Catholics in the group.

For the most part, they kept it tame. Nothing I objected to, anyway. (I get on them to keep the language appropriate and topics appropriate for school.) And that's all I ask, really. At least in situations like this.

Is Your Refrigerator Running?

Friday. 6th period golf. As happens when an athletic team has a sub, they just hung out in the teacher's classroom for the period.

I've covered many of these kinds of classes. They sprawl out on the desks. A couple will ask to go and do work in other classes. But mostly they sit around and talk. And play with their phones.

As long as they aren't tearing apart the classroom, I'm pretty lenient with these kinds of classes. I become the fly on the wall, listening to all the strange things teens talk about when they have nothing in particular to do.

So, when they tried to figure out the phone number for the school, I thought nothing much of it. Someone knew it off the top of his head.

And when they started asking who various students' favorite teachers were, I listened with half an ear.

I was curious when the boy dialed his cell phone. Normally I'd put a stop to them making phone calls in class, but they had a free period, and it doesn't bother me if during a free period they call someone.

But then he got the switchboard. And he shushed the rest of them. He asked for a classroom...

"Is this Ms. A?" He got an affirmative response. "Is your refrigerator running?"

via GIPHY

I'm not sure what shocked me more. That the boy actually made a prank call. Or that he used that old chestnut. I mean, seriously. There's got to be a better...

via GIPHY

I put a stop to that nonsense. No teacher needs that sort of distraction 6th period on a Friday. And it's just silly.

But the conversation continued on in the prank call vein. Apparently, this was not the first time he had done this. He had stories of previous pranks.

Just in case you thought kids these days get up to new tricks...

Seven Joses

Jose is a popular name, but I've never duplicated this particular day. This was originally posted on October 30, 2007.

The teacher I covered yesterday and today is also the boys soccer coach. So, 6th period I was out on the field "supervising".

One of my duties is to take roll. This I delegated to two of the older boys on the team.

I was watching over them as they went through the roll yesterday. I barely noted it when they called out for two different Joses (Jose is a popular name around here). It was at about the fifth that I started to wonder. Exactly how many Joses were on this team?

Seven. I counted.

There were 55 students on the roll sheet. That works out to nearly 13%. Nearly 13% of the soccer team is named Jose.

Oh, and I got to say three words that I never thought I'd ever say (as I avoid covering P.E. classes as much as I can): "Take a lap".

Another popular name was Brittany. Once I covered an 8th grade class with four Brittanies, and each girl spelled her name differently. 

Coach

When I got to class on Friday, the first thing I did was to peruse the lesson plans. The environmental science periods had an article to read and questions to answer. The biology periods had the end of year calendar review assignment (all the biology classes at that school do it). And then for the last period of the day, there were two words written: "tennis courts".

NOOOOOO!!!

Not that I have anything against tennis. I just hate covering athletics.

It happens from time to time. There are quite a few teachers who coach something or other. When they have a sub that sub must cover all their classes, including the one that is outside where the kiddos play some sport.

If I'm lucky, there's some assistant coach who can take care of it. But much of the time, I have to go out and "supervise". It's more like I get to try to figure out where the coach meets his/her team, figure out how to make sure that attendance is taken, and then stand around for an hour while the team captain takes the students through some sort of practice.

This would all be easier if the coach would write more in the lesson plans. They don't. So, I'm left to scramble and try to figure out where to go and what to do.

On Friday, it wasn't too bad. The tennis courts were easy to find. The tennis team was done for the season, so they spent the period hitting a few tennis balls around.

Actually, it isn't all that bad, generally. Even the time I covered for the varsity football coach things went pretty smoothly (and those boys could have easily broken me in half). But there's something about being outside that I just don't like.

At least it's only one period out of the day. And it doesn't happen all that often.

The Long Walk

I wore myself out yesterday. Not intentionally. But by the time I got home, all I wanted to do was to collapse, so I did.

I subbed for a history teacher. He left a video. It was a pretty ordinary day, and all went well until sixth period. That period he coached cross country.

The high school's classrooms are laid out pretty compactly. Getting around is easily accomplished in the normal passing period. But the school's athletic fields are kind of out there.

At the end of fifth period, I had to wait for the students to exit the room. Then I left my note for the day (as I wasn't coming back to the room), I packed up my stuff, I made sure the room didn't look trashed, and I headed out the door. I was to go to the track (as that's where the cross country kids met). I knew that there was no way that I'd make it before the sixth period tardy bell rang, so at least I didn't try to run that distance.

The track is way out there. The teacher's classroom was on the opposite side of campus.

Because I was curious, I got on Google maps when I got home. I measured the distance from the classroom to the track. It came out as just under a half a mile. No wonder!

Yeah, I'm out of shape. Although, I think the fault was in my shoes. And my bag was a bit heavy. And the fact that I just don't like covering coaching periods (I always feel so extraneous and useless).

The classes are easy. The kids joined the team for a reason. So, I got to watch as the boys took off around the block (and around the town, I expect) while the girls ran around the track doing "suicides".

I really have nothing to complain about.

On a side note, I also wrote a post today over here. It has nothing to do with subbing (or writing). It's all about shopping. Do stop by, please.