Zzzzzz

Thursday. Seventh grade Spanish I for Spanish Speakers. Eighth period. 

They had a student teacher, so the class went on as normal. For this day, the students were doing oral presentations on various Central and South American countries. In Spanish. 

The student teacher taught the class in Spanish. 

I may have mentioned before that the language I took in school was French. 

So, yeah, I wasn't understanding a whole lot of what was going on. I mean, I got the gist, but I definitely didn't get the specifics. 

I may have also mentioned that I write about what happened last week, so this happened on April 30th. As it was the last day of the A to Z Challenge, I had distracted myself all day by reading blogs. But by eighth period I had completed that. 

And there's just something about sitting there while the kiddos were going through slides about Cuba, speaking in Spanish way better than I could ever attempt, that did not help my drowsiness. 

Sometimes, before bed, I'll play on my phone or I'll read. And there's that point where I kind of blank out, and when I go back and try to continue what I was doing, I'll realize I'm not comprehending anything I'm doing, and it's time to put that all aside and go to sleep. This is what I was feeling while in that eighth period class. 

Not good.

While I was not actively teaching, I was still there as an observer. (It's a legal thing. Since the student teacher isn't employed by the district, a district employee needs to be present.) And I was fading, fast. 

I needed something to wake me up. I checked my email. I flipped through some catalogs. I worked on the note to the teacher (which was largely unneeded because the student teacher would see her the next day). 

Even the fidgety seventh graders couldn't keep my attention. (And they were not behaving well.) 

Did I fall asleep? No. Well... I took a lot of micro naps. I definitely blanked out, many times, but not for long at all each time. 

Not ideal, but somehow I managed to stay mostly awake. 

(I did not stay up too late the night before, and I had gotten a good night's sleep. I should not have been that tired. But some days...)

Christmas in October

On Wednesday of last week, I happened to catch the choir class. I have not subbed for Mr. S in a very long time, so I wasn't sure what to expect. 

When I arrived, I looked for lesson plans but did not find them. Before I had a chance to panic, the student teacher walked in. Whew. That made things very easy for me. All I really had to do was take roll. 

(The choir teacher is also the golf coach. One of his golfers made the local playoffs, so he was with that student there.)

The last class of the day was the very good choir (called Ensemble). And they were to run through some music for the upcoming season, especially something called Candlelight. 

There were a bunch of plaques hung in the room proclaiming Candlelight at Disneyland for the last decade and more. So, I did an internet dive to find out more info, and apparently this is a thing. It's a super secret annual event that if you don't know how to get tickets already, you can't get tickets for it. Okay, then...

I found a video on YouTube of the event last year:

Anyway, all of this is to say that what the student teacher ran through with them was a bunch of Christmas music. On October 30th. 

And me? I sat over in a corner and listened. Student teacher days are easy days for the sub.

Last Day

It was the last day of the regular semester. (The following week was finals week.) And I caught an extra period in the classroom three doors down--the "opportunity" class. 

(It's no longer called opportunity. It's now called BEST or something. Basically, it's a self-contained class of kiddos who were behavior problems on the general middle school campus, and now they've been isolated into one class. It's a step or two before the alternative education center.)

As it turned out, it was also the last day for the student teacher, and festivities were planned. 

The class had an instructional aide and another adult (whose duties were unclear) as well as the teacher. So, I sat back and followed their lead.

First, the class did a thing where they listed what they were grateful for. But they focused on what they were grateful for about the student teacher. This was a surprise for him as well as a tribute. 

Then it was game time while the IA attempted to make s'mores in the classroom's air fryer. The s'mores actually turned out pretty well. An air fryer gives the marshmallows just the right light brown color, although the IA had to play with the timing a bit before she got it right.

The game was Avocado Smash. It was new to me. The IA said they had never finished it before, but this day they did. They actually got a winner.

And that took us to the end of the period. The next period (with a different sub) they were going to watch a movie. (I was able to set up the movie for them. I know what a nightmare it can be to get that working, so I was quite happy to make sure it would work.) 

Not what I was expecting for my extra period assignment, but it was a pleasant surprise. Usually I have kiddos bouncing off walls. (It's been a long time since I covered an opportunity class.) 

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. 

Guest Conductor

There haven't been a lot of planned absences lately (trainings, conferences, meetings, etc.), so I've been getting gigs last minute (the dreaded early morning wake up call). For the most part, these teachers are falling ill, so lesson plans are kind of sparse and/or makeshift.

Wednesday. Band.

The class was expecting a rehearsal. They even knew what piece they were to be working on. But I was a musician (oboe). I didn't learn conducting.

As luck would have it, that was the day a teaching student was beginning his observations. No one had told him the teacher would be out. When it was clear I was out of my depth, he volunteered to rehearse the group.

via GIPHY

And... Things went well. Really well. One doesn't begin teacher training until having spent time learning the subject concentration, so he had already trained to conduct.

I spent twelve years playing in bands. That period felt like a rehearsal.

Some days I really luck out.

Mr. O and the Powerpoint Remote

I don't generally cover Spanish classes (silly me took French in high school), but the pickings were slim that Monday...

I arrived to find the best of surprises: a student teacher. Woo-hoo! It meant I'd be pretty bored, but at least I didn't have to pretend to have any idea of how to speak Spanish.

He'd already set up the computer when I got there. As it was Monday, he went through their usual PowerPoint of the week's vocabulary. (When I was a kid, all we had was the book. Now, he puts up pictures to accompany the vocabulary words along with other examples to make the words more memorable.) The whole procedure went so smoothly I figured this was what they did every Monday.

However, there was one issue. The remote the student teacher used to advance the slides wasn't working.

Bonus for me, as I needed something to do. I stood at the computer and hit advance when he was ready for the next slide.

But that didn't explain why the remote wasn't working. Mr. O found the replacement batteries, but that didn't help.

After two periods, he looked down at the computer and wondered where the USB drive that was usually in the computer was. And that's when I found it in the remote...

Obvious, in retrospect. We won't complain about Mr. O, either. He's only been student teaching about a month, so it's easy to see how he might not have figured this part out yet.

(And with the remote found, I had nothing to do but watch. Some days I really wish I had brought my knitting.)

Planning a Tattoo

"I'm about to get my tattoo. I'm going to get my mom's name."

I usually don't engage the students on the topic of tattoos. But this statement was directed at the student teacher, and he was more than happy to question why the student would need his mother's name on his arm.

"Do you think you're going to forget it?" the student teacher asked.

The student explained it was his mom, the most important woman in his life, the woman who gave him life, and so he should honor her.

"But she's going to be so mad."

That's when it came out that his mother wasn't keen on the idea of her teen son getting a tattoo.

The student teacher then questioned the boy on his age. Wasn't he 17? Yeah, he was getting the tattoo for his 17th birthday.

Then how was he getting permission to get the tattoo?

Turns out, his father was giving him his official permission. (A signature is required somewhere, I'm sure.)

"So... For your first tattoo, you're going to get the name of the person who does not want you to get a tattoo?"

It's nice to have another adult in the room, especially when he says the things I'm thinking.

Ah, teens.

Losing Their Phones

"I didn't charge it last night, because I'd rather have it dead if I have to give it up."

Second period. It was Tuesday, Election Day, but that's not what had all the students in a dither. It was the day they were going to give up their cell phones.

And they weren't happy about it.

Psychology. It's an elective class. And for a week each semester (it's a semester-long course), the teacher has them turn in their cell phones. I'm not sure what the rationale is, but I'm sure you'll agree that it's a very good idea.

They had plenty of warning. A letter goes home to the parents. And that night their homework assignment was to write two paragraphs detailing how not having their phones made them feel.

I don't usually get to witness these things. But, Mr. T had a student teacher, and the student teacher was entrusted with collecting the phones. The students put their names on their phones via sticky notes, and the student teacher locked the phones away (out of the view of the students, so they have no idea where the phones were stored).

"My girlfriend is going to think I'm cheating on her."

I questioned why the boy hadn't alerted the girlfriend to his imminent loss of phone. She goes to a different school, so they'll have no way of talking for a week. I'd have thought someone would want to let people know they'd be without phone in that case.

Other students wondered how they'd wake up in time for school. They use their phones for an alarm clock. Again, that's something I would have thought they'd plan for. But what do I know?

They whined the whole period. They were going to miss their music. (One girl planned on finding her old iPod. She wondered what music she had loaded on it.) They constantly asked the time. (There was a clock on the wall.)

The student teacher pulled out his phone just to mess with them.

By the time you read this, they'll have gotten their phones back, the week complete. I hope they learned something from this. Too bad I won't be there to find out.

But before we get all "these kids today" on them, it was Election Day. And, it turned out that two of them had voted before school. Considering that only a handful of students are currently 18, I was impressed.

A Friendly Reminder

It's nearing the end of the year. The 7th grade history students had been given a year-long project at the beginning of the school year. It was time for them to present (in front of the class) what they'd done.

Most of the presentations had been done the prior week. A few stragglers still had presentations to make up.

(The class was being taught by a student teacher, so things could go on as normal even though the full time teacher was out of town.)

Class had barely started. The student teacher called on a student. "You're presenting today."

"I know!"

Normally, the tone the student used and the fact that he rolled his eyes would be a these-kids-today-are-terrible post. But not today.

The prior day, the student had been pulled out of class. He had a doctor's appointment or some such--something he had no control over.

At the end of the period, someone in class thought it might be a good idea to remind the student that he'd be presenting the next day. The student teacher asked if anyone had the student's cell phone number. It turned out that over half the class did. (A class of 37 students.)

So, every student who had the kid's number texted him to "let him know" he'd be presenting first. They figuratively blew up his phone. According to the student teacher, the later texters were getting responses of "I know!". I imagine with appropriate emojis.

Middle school teachers have a wicked sense of humor.

(His presentation went very well. He did an awesome job.)

The Idiot

I arrived at the school on Tuesday morning for a rest-of-the-week assignment. I ran into another sub, and after we checked in, we exited the school's office together. He mentioned that it was a minimum day...

Wait. What?

We confirmed with a school employee that it was, indeed, a minimum day. (My packed lunch would not be needed.) It was open house that night.

And I realized that I knew this. I was at a different school the previous day, and I saw that their open house was Thursday. Which meant that the school I was at's open house had to be Tuesday. So, I knew, but I didn't know.

This was good news, but I had a class to cover first. I went to my assigned classroom. Let myself in. Turned on the lights. Went in search of the lesson plans...

No lesson plans. I freaked out. I called the school secretary to ask if the teacher had emailed them. What was I going to do for four days in a class with no lesson plans? This was not the sort of teacher who just leaves a class hanging. I've covered his class a few times in the past.

I worked myself into a nice lather by the time the warning bell rang. I opened the door to let the kiddos in. And that's when the student teacher arrived.

Of course there were no lesson plans. The student teacher was going to be teaching the class.

And again, I realized that I knew this. The other sub who I bumped into on the way out of the office is a sub I talk to now and again. A couple weeks prior, I had mentioned this assignment. He heard the teacher's name, and his comment was, "He has a student teacher this semester". I filed this information away. And then I promptly forgot it.

At least these were good surprises. Eventually.

I must pay better attention to the clues around me. I had all the information I needed. I had just forgotten it.