Out-of-Date Seating Chart

Tuesday. Fourth period integrated math two (read: geometry/sophomore math). 

I was in for Ms. L all week, and I was expecting to find Mr. J. Instead, I found Mr. H. Oh, a two sub day... 

Mr. H has been a sub about as long as I have. (We even went to college together, although we didn't know each other then. Big school.) So, we greeted each other, and I found Ms. L's desk and sat down. 

As Mr. H was covering the general ed teacher, he went about taking roll. Mr. J had left his seating chart, and Mr. H was going about verifying who was there and who wasn't. Only, the kiddos weren't precisely in their assigned seats. 

When I covered for Mr. J when he was out on paternity leave two years ago, I learned that his seating chart was more of a suggestion. The kiddos could sit where they liked as long as they were on task, and some of them drifted to other parts of the room. Mr. J tried to keep his seating chart up-to-date, but it wasn't a priority. (This is true for many teachers.) 

Mr. H asked the kiddos who were out of their "assigned" seats to return to them. The kiddos were not pleased. 

One kiddo loudly complained to me. Others in the class came to his defense. I asked him to sit there just for the day. 

"You think I'm lying about my seat," he complained. 

I assured him that I did not. I knew how things worked in that class. But, I also knew that undermining the other sub in the room never helped things, and it was just for one day. 

Reluctantly, the kiddo remained in the seat, but I could see him stewing. 

The next day I ran into Mr. J. He apologized for also being out. (These things happen. I wasn't concerned.) I told him about the seating issue. 

And... Mr. J had warned the kiddos early on that if they drifted, they might be asked to return to their old seats by any subs who covered the class. It was the risk they took. 

Kiddos can be creatures of habit. They don't like being moved. 

(I did tell Mr. H about the seating chart's inaccuracies between classes so he wouldn't run into that issue again the next class. Or he would know if he chose to enforce the seating chart. 

Kiddos will lie about their assigned seats, and they'll sit someplace they shouldn't--like next to someone who will distract them. Or, they'll sit someplace where they can pester someone they shouldn't. So we subs generally make them sit where the seating chart says, because it will save us from other issues later on. It's one of those things that sometimes need to be enforced and sometimes don't.)

Repeats

Wednesday. I was expecting to cover eighth grade math only to discover once I got there that the assignment had been cancelled. Sigh. But, because it wasn't my error, they put me to work covering classes where the teacher wasn't out all day. 

Which meant my first period of the day I got stuck covering PE. Sigh. 

Lots of familiar faces. "My class" combined with another PE teacher's class, so I just had to take down how many laps they ran. Chilly day, but otherwise not too terrible. 

Then, for seventh period, I ended up covering a success class. Of the class of fifteen, three had been in the PE class that morning. (This is a frequent occurrence when I'm covering more than one teacher, so I was not surprised.) 

Mostly my issue in success was with one student who was doing anything but the assignment. I kept circling back around to him, pointing out that he hadn't done anything on his paper. He took twenty minutes in search of a pencil. 

When he asked to use the restroom, against my better judgement I let him go. He took along his drone. (Why he had a drone with him, I don't know. It sat on his desk all period, so at least that wasn't a distraction.) And the rest of the class informed me that he wasn't going to return to class. 

He did return. After twenty minutes. And after I called security to shoo him back. (He claimed he had gone to the office for reasons, but he didn't tell me that before he left.) 

The next day I was in a co-teaching situation with Mr. H. As we chatted, I mentioned my roving the prior day. We got to talking about how terrible the success classes were. And as I told him about what they'd done, I realized he'd know them, too. I told him that Simon was in the class as was Orson. 

If you recall, Mr. H was the one who took over that seventh grade science class when I hit my full thirty days, so he had all those students, too. 

One AM

I went to bed last Sunday night figuring I wasn't working Monday. I hadn't managed to pick up an assignment. (I had just missed a couple. Sigh.) 

I had worked myself into looking forward to a day off. I went to bed a bit late. But I was totally asleep when the alert on my phone woke me with a job for Monday. I grabbed it without looking at it too closely. It was one AM. 

I was covering a special ed teacher who co-taught with three different teachers. Not a bad gig. (Block schedule, so I only had three classes.) 

The first block I had integrated math 1 (think: algebra 1). It turned out the general ed teacher was also out. After a bit of a scramble (as the general ed teacher had assumed Mr. R would be there), another teacher got the lesson loaded to Google Classroom, and we were good to go. 

The class... 

The other sub was competent. She took roll while I got the class going on what they needed to work on. The kiddos were very laid back which was fine. But, they were not following certain rules, like having their cell phones put away and like actually doing their assignment. Sigh. 

But things came to a head when three students "returned" from somewhere. We had been keeping track of who was allowed out of class, and the three of them hadn't been allowed out of class. (How we missed them leaving, I have no idea.) 

The other sub asked the kiddos their names. And one of them lied to her about it. That's when we learned that this girl was not enrolled in the class. Deep sigh. 

She was incensed that the other sub called security on her. She claimed that she had only just been taken out of the class... (Which poses a couple questions: If she knew she was in a different class, why would she go to her old one? When the other sub called roll, why did she not say anything when her name was not called? Why was she roaming campus, anyway?) 

The student acted like the aggrieved party, but security agreed with us. Because, seriously? Doubling down when you're in the wrong? 

When Mr. R responded to my email about the day, he commented that the class was very immature. Yeah, we caught that. 

The rest of my day was uneventful as the general ed teachers were there and taught their lessons. 

I don't really mind the one AM calls. It gives me time to go back to sleep before I have to go to work. 

Spitting Image

Friday had been a minimum day (end of the first quarter). Ms. S and I checked out at the same time, and we were outside, chatting. (Ms. S is another sub who I see around all the time and I've worked with her before.) 

We both had a last period prep, so school wasn't quite over. Students were standing outside waiting for rides. (Some students get out early.) We were comparing notes on various assignments. It turned out that the next week we'd be subbing for two co-teachers. 

As we were talking, a mother walked past us. She looked so familiar to me. She nodded as she passed, but we didn't say anything to her, just continuing our conversation. 

A few minutes later, the woman passed by again, going the other way. This time she had a student in tow. A girl I recognized as she had been in the class I covered that day. 

Ms. S: "No wonder she looked so familiar..." 

I didn't realize until that moment that Ms. S recognized her too. I commented that the girl had been in my class. 

Why did she look so familiar? Her daughter looks just like her. 

Visiting Teacher

Friday. Sixth period. I got an email from the co-teacher, Ms. K. 

The eleventh grade English classes are all co-taught. (This means that there's another teacher, a special ed teacher, who is in class with me.) The ninth and tenth grade ELD classes are not. (ELD=English language development. Read: English for non-native speakers.) 

My day is: 1st block--conference period; 2nd block--11th graders; 3rd block--ELD; 4th block--11th graders. Ms. K is with my 2nd and 4th blocks. (We're on block schedule, so it takes me two days to see all the classes. Both even and odd days are the same, which is good and bad.) 

Anyway, I had seen Ms. K in fourth period and I would see her again in eighth, so getting the email was weird. 

But, the email explained that Ms. K wasn't feeling well and was going home. So, I wouldn't see her eighth period. 

No big deal. It was a minimum day, the Friday before spring break. We were watching a video (on F. Scott Fitzgerald--background info before reading The Great Gatsby). It wasn't like she really needed to be there. 

But, teacher contracts require all missing teachers have a sub. (I've been in classes where both teachers were absolutely needed, so I'm good with this.) Ms. K said there'd be a sub, and she let me know who it would be. (I wonder if she asked the teacher herself. I wouldn't be surprised.)

I was going to get to work with Ms. L again. Woo-hoo! 

Last year, exactly a year ago, I was in that math long term assignment. Ms. L was the co-teacher. 

And... Yeah, that's all the excitement there was. The class arrived. I explained the assignment. They whined a bit. I put on the video. While the video played Ms. L worked on her stuff. I got some grading done. 

(I mean, it's not like I haven't seen her around since then. We've run into each other.) 

It was a nice way to finish things off before our break. 

Of course, this week was our week back after spring break. (I saved the subbing stories for the week I'd be at work.) Next week I'll post about what happened this week (as is my custom). I hope you've had a wonderful week. 

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter

Taking Over

I've been doing a lot of co-teaching lately. That is, I've been covering in classes where there are two teachers, either covering the general ed teacher or the special ed teacher. And I've done a lot of days where both of those teachers were absent, so it was me and another sub running the class. 

My rule of thumb is if I'm covering the general ed teacher, I'll take the lead but if I'm covering the special ed teacher, I'll take a step back and let the other sub take lead. (If one of the regular teachers is there, they generally take lead.) 

Tuesday. English 10. 

I got to school at my usual time, but I had to wait outside the classroom as the sub covering the general ed teacher got the key to the room. Alas, he only arrived just after the warning bell rang. Deep sigh.

We got into the room with a bunch of the kiddos. I found Ms. B's desk and read through the lesson plans as the other sub did the same for Ms. U's plans. The plans were the same, of course, and we both needed to know what was going on. 

The bell rang to start the first class, and I waited. He would surely get things going, right? 

He kinda did? It... wasn't good. Or clear. Or... well, I guess I have high standards, or something.

After giving him a minute to do something I realized he wasn't going to, so... I just kinda... took over...

I am not proud of this.

I jumped in, introducing myself, and then giving a brief overview of what they needed to start. 

(They were reading Act V of Macbeth and then they had questions and a writing assignment.) 

I knew several of the kiddos. They had been in that ninth grade English class I started the year in last school year. 

Once the kiddos got to work, I waited to see if the other sub would take roll. We were both given seating charts and access to the online attendance. Again, this is generally the job of the general ed teacher, although we might discuss and come to some other arrangement (depending on the day and what the assignment is). 

The other sub did not take roll. So, I did it. 

I tried to engage him in conversation a couple times. He gave me monosyllabic answers. 

I circulated around the room, hovering over kiddos who were on their phones. (The lesson plan was clear on no phones and them on task.) The other sub? He got up a couple times in the first class, but not so much the rest of the day. (I did not circulate the whole class, but I did get up more than a couple times.) 

I mean, it wasn't a challenging class. We weren't having to deal with students off task. The room was pretty close to silent. 

But still... He could have done more than sit at the teacher's desk. 

Are my standards too high? 

The rest of the day I just assumed I was in charge, so I started off with my introduction (giving him a chance to introduce himself as Mr. T) and continued on. At least I know the kiddos knew what to do and roll got taken. 

A Smooth Transition 13

It was one of those weeks...

Well, yeah, I do mean that, but really what I'm talking about is work--the substitute teaching of it all. And luckily, it wasn't a bad week, which I kind of needed with the state of the U.S. and all.

It was one of those weeks where I don't really have any good stories for the blog. This is good for my mental health, but not so much for the blog. Which makes it a good time to do a Thursday 13. (The "smooth transition" is number nine.)

1. "Puppies with hormones." That's how my fellow sub co-teacher referred to seventh graders, and I find the description apt.

2. That was Tuesday. It was a co-taught eighth grade English class where both teachers were out. (It was "collaborative scoring" which meant all the eighth grade teachers in the district were at the district office reading student essays. It's the best time of year for subs as we have plenty of work those days.)

3. Tuesday's classes were challenging. But we had an easy lesson plan. They were watching The Birds. Yes, the Alfred Hitchcock film. The class has a unit on suspense where they read excerpts from Cujo and they had just finished reading "The Tell-Tale Heart". 

4. Wednesday I was at a different middle school but I again had eighth grade English. Same reason. And I again, I was in co-taught classes with another sub. Alas, this sub wasn't as helpful as the co-teacher I had the previous day.

5. At least the classes weren't terrible. (Not that Tuesday's classes were "terrible". Just "challenging".) I'll talk a bit more about Ms. N tomorrow.

6. Thursday I ended up in a Spanish class. The teacher was chaperoning a field trip that was supposed to take place the previous week. But it got postponed due to the Dodgers. 

The field trip was to a Day of the Dead celebration in L.A. But when the Dodgers won the World Series, they got a parade and celebration in the city. That fell on the Day of the Dead celebration. So, the Day of the Dead celebration got postponed. 

7. The Spanish classroom was opposite the classroom where I covered that seventh grade science class at the beginning of the school year. (So, if the science classroom had been room 101, the Spanish classroom was in room 102.) I could wave to Mr. H from the door (and, in fact, I did). 

8. And between those classes (in the equivalent of room 122) was the history classroom I had covered a couple weeks back. Which also had a sub covering. Who I know. It was a big sub day. 

9. The students were so excited when someone mentioned seeing Ms. S over in the science classroom. Because, this happened to be the day of transition. Mr. H had finished his thirty days as the long-term sub, and the next one was due to begin. 

Before I left that gig, Ms. W had lined up the third sub for the class, and it was an English teacher who had retired at the end of the last school year. So, when the students were ready to descend on the class, I let them know that Ms. S would be there for the next six weeks (thirty school days), and they could say hi at any time. 

10. I had subbed for Ms. S several times, and in fact, a couple times last semester. 

11. Friday I had a ninth grade English class. For another teacher I have subbed for in the past (but had not this school year until then). 

12. Fourth period was really happy to see a sub. Although, they won't be so happy when she returns, as several of them wasted the period, and I left names. 

13. What was their lesson plan? They were prepping to write their essay. (That is, they were reading the articles that they would use as their sources for the essay they would write the next week.) This would be the essay that the ninth grade English teachers will then all score at the district office at some time after. And we subs will again all have a day of work covering those classes. The cycle begins again.

One Last Thing

A sub credential only allows me to cover one class for up to thirty days. This was extended to sixty days the last couple of years, because *gestures to everything*. But it appears that we are sufficiently back to normal, and the number of days I can cover one class will remain at thirty.

Last Friday was day thirty of the school year. 

We all kept an eye on this, and the teacher next door (Ms. W) who's been supplying me with help and lesson plans kept an eye out for a sub to replace me. 

Ms. W realized that Mr. H might be a good next sub. (I wrote about him a few months ago.) And so, those that do these things got him all lined up. 

I asked for and got two days of transition. So, Mr. H started on Thursday. We had two days in the class together so I could pass off everything to him. 

The one thing I wanted to get finished before I left was grading the students' lab safety posters.

In about week three, the students got an assignment about lab safety. There were rules to read and activities to complete. The last activity was a poster they were to create about one of the lab safety rules. 

This particular assignment kept getting pushed back. The kiddos would get ten minutes to work on it, and then class would be over. I'd plan to give them more time for it, but the other lessons would take too much time. After three tries to find time in class to do it, I gave it up. I figured they just wouldn't get it done, and we could skip it.

But then it was test day, and there was about a half hour of class time to fill. Lab safety poster.

The whole thing was a mess, so leaving that mess of grading to Mr. H? Nope. Didn't want to do it. 

But, time just evaporated. I had a hair appointment Tuesday afternoon. Then Wednesday I got pulled into something else. And it was Thursday. The moments I might have stolen to do some grading were the moments I used to go over things Mr. H needed (and when Mr. H asked me questions about what he was unclear on). 

(On Thursday Mr. H taught about half of the lesson. On Friday he did all of it. He's good. The class is in good hands.) 

So, it was Friday. Class time was busy. (Sure, Mr. H taught the lesson, but I assisted. And they were doing a rotating stations thing, so having two adults was a good thing.) Finally, at the end of the day, I said I had to get those posters graded. 

Mr. H offered to do some of it. I observed that there were other assignments the kiddos had turned in. (Sure, I would have liked to have gotten those graded, too, but they were technically on his watch, so I felt less guilty leaving them to him.) 

In the end, I got five of the periods graded. Mr. H graded the last one. And I was able to leave the class having mostly gotten the grading from my time done.

And now I am once again free to join the subbing pool. Back to the day-to-day. And I don't feel even a little worried about the classes I left as I know they're in capable hands.

An Eighth Grade Playlist

It was the penultimate day of school, and I had caught a gig covering a special ed co-teacher. Her sixth period class was eighth grade English.

The eighth graders were officially done. All that was left were the end of year activities. On this day it was a trip to a water park. (The general ed teacher was out too; she was chaperoning the water park trip.) So, any eighth graders left behind...

Well, they had excuses for not going. It was too expensive. (Likely true.) They had a season pass to a water park, so why go with the school? (Also likely true.) They had a doctor appointment that day. (The student was wearing a knee brace, so likely true.) 

Also likely true: they did not qualify to go. To qualify, they had to be "promoting" (passing GPA, etc), no recent behavioral infractions, and no excessive absences. 

Because of this, the students in class were few. And they were a bit wound up. They had no assignments (they're done for the year), so they had free time. Once the initial flurry of activity subsided, most of them were on their phones and they settled to pretty mellow.

One girl went to the class TV and changed the music that was playing. It was some rap something that didn't sound very school-appropriate, but I didn't have a chance to chide her on it. She changed the music, and then she left to go hang out in a different class. (This was okay per the teacher.) 

So, I looked at the remaining students and asked if that was the music they wanted on. It was not, so they changed it...

And I was floored by their choice. They left this artist on for the rest of the period. 

Seriously, take a listen. I commented that the music sounded like it was out of the '40s. What decade does it sound like to you? (And if you're intrigued, check her out on YouTube. She's got dozens of songs all in a similar vein.)

A Job Change

The room I was in last week was between two co-taught math classes. I have covered both classes in the past, and I am familiar with the teachers, enough so that we had brief conversations during the week. (They were kind enough to offer up their rooms if I needed to send any kiddos out.) 

In passing, Ms. W mentioned that she'd be swapping periods with Ms. S's sub that day (the sub would cover her learning center so she could cover Ms. S's credit recovery). And then later, I saw Mr. H entering the room...

I have not mentioned Mr. H before, but I have worked with him many, many times. He was an instructional aide. As he's fluent in Spanish, he would work the ELD classes. Sometimes he would work in other classes, but it was usually so he could translate for students who didn't speak much English.

So, Mr. H going into the math class got me wondering. He was not in the areas I was used to seeing him. Was he a sub now? 

A couple days later, I managed to encounter him at the right time (beginning of the day), so I asked. And yep, he was no longer working as an IA. He was working as a sub.

I have had conversations with IAs before about the requirements to sub. In some cases they don't have a bachelor's degree, so subbing is out. But some of them are working their way through school. And some of them do have their bachelor's. 

I sometimes wonder if becoming an IA would be a good move. Regular hours. Steady assignment. Paid days off. Benefits. 

But as the IAs look to the subs and some make that transition, I wonder. I guess this is a case of grass-is-greener. Maybe? 

(Mr. H was a great IA, and I'm sure he's great as a sub.)

Guilt

It was the second week of my new long-term assignment, and I spent much of it getting their grades caught up. For much of the month of February, nothing had been graded and the non-co-taught classes had been kind of left up to their own devices.

When I talked to Mr. J about his upcoming absence, he had planned to be out starting in mid March. So, when another teacher asked me to cover her classes for the last two weeks of February, I figured I'd be free and agreed. 

But Mr. J's wife had to take her maternity leave early and Mr. J needed to be home with her. So, the secretary got another sub to take the class until I could start. I don't know Mr. D very well, but he is well-liked at the school, and he's done quite a few longer assignments as of late.

As it wasn't technically long enough to be long-term, Mr. D didn't get grading access, nor did he directly instruct the classes that weren't co-taught. 

There's one sophomore math class and three computer science classes that aren't co-taught. (There are two sophomore math classes that are co-taught, and Ms. L was instructing them.) 

The computer science classes were going to be tricky anyway, as there aren't any subs who are well-versed (or even partially knowledgeable) in computer science. They were always going to be kinda on their own. Their lessons have videos, and one can follow what they're supposed to be doing. But mostly they were supposed to be keeping up with the lessons on the website.

But the math class was also kinda left to their own devices. They had computerized lessons. The co-teacher made them videos. But sophomores. 15-year-olds are not known for being self starters.

So, I've been sorting out things like tests that didn't happen and grades that didn't get input. And lessons that the kiddos didn't actually get. 

I've been hit with a whole lot of guilt.

Because, if I had just dropped out of that two-week assignment, I could have started this class back in February, and we wouldn't be in the midst of a mess.

The math class had a test over the unit that they were supposed to be keeping up with. It went badly. The computer science classes missed a test at the end of February over their unit. (Once I realized this, I gave them a week's heads-up that the test would happen, so they had time to look over what they were supposed to have learned.) That test also went not great. (Some did well. Some, not so much.) 

Their quarter grades were due at the end of last week. And many of them took a nose-dive. 

Part of me is exasperated as clearly they weren't doing anything while Mr. D was there. (And he gave them the assignments, and they had the time in class to do them.) But part of me also understands that some things got missed because of the situation.

This would not have been the situation if I had started in February.

Deep sigh.

All I can do is move on from here. And kind of enjoy watching the kiddos scramble to turn in assignments late that they should have done in February. When they were assigned. When they had time in class.

(The baby's been born, and both mother and son are doing well. I don't know much more than that as I haven't been bothering Mr. J with school stuff while he's on leave.)

Stalker

Monday. I arrived at the school and checked in. At the same time, a sub I had not met before arrived. (We were in the parking lot at the same time. I think I got to the secretary before her, though.) She was not sure where her first period class was. As we were going to the same building, I told her I'd show her where to go.

(We were both covering classes in the new STEAM building. It wasn't far from the main office. I had an easy math class. She had that health careers class that I covered a while back.) 

We were both on opposite sides of the building, so I pointed out where she needed to head, and I wished her well. I assured her the health careers classes were an easy gig. 

Tuesday. I snagged a gig at the continuation high school. I haven't been there much this school year. It's the luck of the draw. 

I arrived at the school, checked in, and I headed to my classroom for the day. 

There were two other subs on campus that day. I did not see the sub for the CAD class, but I did run into the sub for the math class. And now she was a familiar face. 

"You're following me." 

Well, I'd say she was following me, but I didn't see any reason to correct her. 

I did not see her the rest of the week, but I'm sure I'll see her around. Now I just need to get her name.

The Absence

The special ed social studies class I've been covering has an instructional assistant, Ms. P. She does all the grading, and she assists various students with their assignments. (Some need more help than others.) She also is the person the students are used to, so it wasn't so weird having a sub when they still Ms. P.

On Monday, Ms. P wiped down all the surfaces in the classroom. She sprayed Lysol on everything. Occasionally she'd do that, but she hadn't in about a week. 

Tuesday morning, I awoke to a text from Ms. P. She had the flu. 

(And suddenly the cleaning of the classroom made sense.)

While I would miss her presence, I was now familiar with the rhythms of the classes, so I knew I could run everything with her gone. 

On Wednesday, they sent me a sub.

There are substitute aides. When I was at the ATC, they were vital whenever one of the aides was out. For this class...? Ms. P asked if I wanted her to get a sub, and I said no. Because I knew.

But, this aide is a one-to-one, and his student was absent that day. (I encountered this frequently at the ATC. Those one-to-one aides would fill in someplace when their student was out.) 

As I had his student for two periods, Mr. C was familiar with the routines of the class. I told him to assist students who needed assistance. He took Ms. P's desk.

What I expected to happen happened. Not one student asked for help.

There are certain students who always work with Ms. P. I specifically offered them assistance. I specifically pointed out that there was an aide who could sit and work with them all period. They declined the help.

(It might be the whole stranger thing. It might be that Ms. P insists that they work with her. But I can understand why these students might not wish for help while Ms. P is out.)

At least Mr. C had brought a book. (His student tends to not need him for long stretches of time, so Mr. C is used to dead time.)

When they didn't send me a sub on Thursday or Friday, I wasn't terribly concerned. While Ms. P is necessary to the running of the classroom, her absence didn't cause a disruption. (Well, I mean, me grading their work isn't ideal, but I can manage if I have to.)

Tag Team

Friday. Eighth grade math. Cotaught. 

I walked in expecting to play support to the regular general ed teacher, but it turned out she was out too. So, it was a two sub day.

Well, we could handle that.

Ms. S and I both read the lesson plans. We divvied up the work. (I'd check their homework. She'd take roll.) I have a math background, so I would take lead in going over the warm up and the homework. She'd keep classroom control while I did that. 

Second period went well. I was elsewhere for fourth period. (Learning center.) She had math support and enrichment. 

When I returned for sixth period, I was not surprised to hear that fourth period had not gone well. (It was only a week prior that I had my own hell in a math support and enrichment.) And several of those students also had math sixth period.

But things go a bit easier with two teachers in the room. I can deal with an issue on one side of the room while the other teacher deals with a problem on the other side. 

We had a couple students playing around. I caught a student copying the practice test they were doing. (Which was only going to hurt the student as no one was checking the practice test for completeness. This was their opportunity to figure out what they needed to learn for the test.) 

Ms. S had taken over keeping track of restroom passes, and I focused on answering math questions. 

"What are you doing over here?" I asked one boy.

"She said I could sit here." 

Considering that Ms. S hadn't been allowing students to move, I was dubious. I got Ms. S's attention and asked if she had let the boy sit in that seat. 

She had not.

Busted.

I mean, if you're going to tell a lie, do you tell one that can so easily be found out? 

Eighth graders... *shakes head* They really don't think sometimes.

Experience

The official first full week of school was incredibly boring for me. I only got one job, for Friday. (It was for the history class I had covered many, many times.) 

When I arrived first thing in the morning, I was surprised to learn that four teachers were out that day. But, fortunately, all had their very own sub covering the class, so it wouldn't be a mad scramble. I took note of who was out that day, as I knew what was coming.

Third period. Two boys, giggling, insisted that they needed to go to another class "to work". I inquired further, and they explained that they had a poem due in their English class. 

Ms. E, the English teacher, was one of the teachers who had a sub. 

What were the chances that they'd go to the other class--that had a sub--and actually do work? Versus, what was the likelihood that they'd go to the other class to play? (I had not met this sub before, so I didn't know how new he was.)

I've been around long enough to know that last week's instance of a student changing classes and actually doing work is not how these things go normally. 

So, I told them no. 

They protested. They said that Ms. E had sentence starters to help them. I offered to let them get those sentence starters and bring them back. No, they needed to be in the room. 

Unlikely. 

I've been doing this job long enough. I wasn't going to subject that sub to two students who could just as easily do nothing with me.

But later in the period, another student asked for something similar. He explained that once he finished his work, Mr. K usually let him go to PE as that week they were doing something with weights. Of course, the PE teacher, Mr. M, was also out. 

But... I knew the sub in PE. She's fairly new, but not new new. And I could hear the weights being used. (The weight room was next door.) 

So, I called her and asked. Mostly, students who leave to go to PE are fine, although Mr. M would know who he should say no to. She said it was fine, and I heard the weights being used, so it was probably okay. 

The boys who I denied earlier? They didn't bother to ask again. 

Did they get any work done? Unlikely. But at least they didn't have a chance to make things miserable for that other sub.

Newbies

Last Thursday was the first day of school. I only got one gig for Friday. 

But, it was at the continuation high school, so instead of it being the second day of school, it was their 18th. 

And while things are usually pretty slow this time of year, I have noticed that I've been missing a lot of assignments. Alerts keep popping up on my phone, but by the time I check, the assignment is gone. I mean, I immediately check, and someone has already grabbed it. That quick.

I miss the old-fashioned sub caller. I was at the top of her call list, so I got first pick. Ah, technology...

When I checked in to the office that Friday, I got a chance to talk to the site secretary. She said they've been getting a lot of brand new subs at the school. 

Apparently, the district hired 50 new subs.

On the one hand, that's great. You might have noticed from my posts last school year that things were very busy for us subs. We need the extra help so more teachers are covered on the daily. (So many teachers were period subbed so frequently last year. That is a bad thing.)

(One of the reasons the district was so short of subs last year was due to the pay. They finally gave us raises--which has been nice--so they've been able to attract more subs to the district, too.) 

But right now that means a lot of people for few gigs. 

Although, the newbie subs have been driving the staff crazy. They haven't been taking attendance. They've let the kiddos get away with things they shouldn't have. And they've been nervous.

I remember being a newbie sub. This stuff will pass. They'll get better. Or they'll quit.

Or, they'll stop going to the continuation high school, and I'll pick up those jobs. 

Things might be slow for a bit. But they'll pick up. They always do. 

(I might do more weeks like this one--where I write about one subbing day over three posts. Hey, it's better than me telling you about what I'm watching on TV.)

The Show

Thursday. All the English teachers were out, so I got to see a bunch of other subs I hadn't seen in a while.

(Well, not all the English teachers. The district has the students do an essay once a quarter, and the teachers take a day to go and score them together. They score by grades, so only the senior? teachers were out. I'm not sure which level was out this day as the teacher I covered taught 10th, 11th, and 12th graders.)

Second period English 10. The class was co-taught, so another sub I'd seen around arrived to cover for the co-teacher. 

Mr. S had covered for the teacher before, and he warned me to look out for a student, Malik. 

Class had been in session for maybe a minute when Malik made himself known. He wasn't sitting in his assigned seat, and he made a production of moving across the room to where he was supposed to be. (I hadn't even gotten to attendance yet.) Then he had to make a show of retrieving his computer from the computer cart. And then he started singing. Not loudly, but audibly. 

The rest of the class? Dead quiet. 

I moved on to other things. Mr. S kept an eye on Malik. 

Malik attracted my attention again. The students put their phones up for the period, but Malik was playing Tic-Tac-Toe on his smart watch. Sigh. I told him to get to work. He informed me he had completed it.

We all know this was a blatant lie. But I don't argue doneness with students. It never goes well. But Mrs. V had left them something to do if they were finished: read their reading books. A few students were quietly reading in class. 

So, I informed Malik that if he was done, he needed to read. He explained that he can't read. (This is not the first time a student has claimed this. I never believe this lie because I have been in the classes where the kiddos truly cannot read. They try.)

The rest of the class? They enjoyed this show.

Then Malik began humming. When I told him to stop, he acted confused. I told him not to sing. I didn't tell him not to hum. *rolls eyes*

So, again, I busied myself keeping track of the rest of the class. Mr. S told Malik to get his head off his desk a couple times. 

Malik wasn't going to do anything productive. Neither of us wanted Malik to disrupt the work of the rest of the class. So, Mr. S sent Malik out of class.

Malik? He sang as he skipped out of the room. Skipped. Seriously. 

The rest of the class? They laughed. Then they got back to work. 

Malik got what he wanted, I think. And this is the major difference between middle school and high school. In a middle school class, this would have set the rest of them off. In high school, they enjoy the show and then move on. (Older students stop thinking the show is funny.) 

Subbing with a Sub

For period four, the lesson plan read: "I have a student teacher. He will take care of everything." 

Yeah, I know.

I've known Mr. D for a few years now. He's one of the subs I'm on friendly terms with. We talk. 

He decided to go back and get his credential. (I know the whys and wherefores of this because as I said, we talk.) He started in 2019. 

I ran into him on the second day of school. He told me he was student teaching this semester, and one of his master teachers was Ms. A (from my long-term gig in February/March). 

So, when I got the assignment, I knew I'd be running into Mr. D. 

I've worked with student teachers before. Working with a friend is different.

There was no hesitation. He asked me to take roll and deal with restroom passes so he could focus on reading with the class. (Eleventh grade English. They were reading The Crucible.) So, I took roll and dealt with restroom passes. I didn't feel weird about reminding him about Poe Day as he asked me to remind him to tell the class about Poe Day. (It's a thing all the English classes do on October 8th.) 

It was kind of fun. 

Sub Day

Monday. It was the day after Mother's Day. Ms. R, the co-teacher, had decided to take a personal day off. (She went to visit her grown children, and she didn't want to rush back.) 

Ms. R was going to need a sub. 

I have subbed many times for co-teachers when the other teacher is there. (It's a very easy day for a sub. Usually.) This time, I was the "regular" teacher. 

And... Had this been any other year, I might have gotten an actual sub. But this year is weird. And one of the weirdnesses is a lack of subs. It seems we're all on long-term assignments, so day-to-day subs are few and far between. 

Instead, full-time on-campus teachers period subbed. (It was fine. I knew what we were doing, and they just assisted with the online students.) 

It was kind of a disappointment. I had hoped to get a chance to compare notes with another sub. We don't often get a chance to hang out for a day and talk. Sigh. Well, maybe next year... 

Not Quite Right

Seventh grade English. They were reading The Hobbit.

The day's assignment was for them to finish reading chapter eight and answer comprehension questions.

I explained the assignment to first period.

"But we listen to the book..."

Sigh. Of course they do.

The great thing about listening to literature is that they get to hear words they're not familiar with. Many are struggling readers. They might not even try without the help.

But leaving a sub the audio is tricky.

It used to be that there'd be a CD, and I'd play that on a boombox. Nowadays, all of the classrooms have installed speakers that one connects a computer to. The audio is a digital file.

The teacher can leave that all for a sub, but that means leaving their laptops and/or their login information. Sometimes it's really not worth the trouble.

So, knowing all this, I informed the class they were going to be doing things differently that day. And it's not a bad thing to have them change things up once in a while.

However, middle schoolers hate change.

Before I had a chance to give my "you can read it to yourselves today" speech, my co-teacher spoke up.

It was one of those lovely co-caught classes where a number of the students are special ed, so there's a general ed teacher as well as a special ed teacher working together. Both teachers were out, so we two subs were supervising the class. This is a very good thing as many times those classes can be more challenging behavior-wise, especially when there's a sub (or two).

The co-teacher said he could try to find the book on YouTube. I figured, why not?

After dealing with some technical issues, he did manage to find it. He got it all connected and going...

"But that's not what we've been listening to. He's not doing the voices..."

*headdesk*

Seventh graders... We just can't win.