Useful Information

Friday. Freshman English, honors. 

It was day two of a two day assignment. (The school is on a block schedule, so I had two different sets of classes for each day.) They were reading The House on Mango Street.

It was the same lesson plan as the previous day, but things went much more smoothly with the honors kiddos than they did with the general ed kiddos. We were to read the first five chapters, and then they had questions.

They were supposed to have brought their books with them. (They had checked out copies from the library earlier in the week.) Most had. But a few had not.

But, they knew how to find copies of the book online.

One boy was explaining how to do it to his tablemates. Curious, I stopped and had him explain it to me. He did.

It's a simple Google search. Type in the name of the book you're looking for. Then add "doctype.pdf" to the end of it. And copies of the book will pop up. 

Try it. It works. (Although, the book has to exist as a doctype.pdf online for it to work, so I assume mostly books that are read in schools will be there.)

When I pay attention, I can learn all sorts of interesting things from them. Some of those things are more useful than others.

The Activity

It was Wednesday at the continuation high school. Advisory. 

Advisory is a short period between periods one and two that occurs only on Wednesdays. Back in the day (I've been doing this a long time), it was the time when the students would get printouts of their graduation status. With computers and access online to their records, they don't need this information once a week (they still get those printouts about once a month), so advisory has evolved.

On this day, the ASB was conducting an activity. While I was reading the usual announcements (this is the time when they deal with administrative stuff the students need to do), the counselor came over the intercom to let us know to release the students to the quad. 

I've been at the school for games of musical chairs. I've seen some interesting games. But this was the first time the students were lined up for something and I didn't hear any sort of explanation as to what they were doing. 

They all seemed to understand the game already. 

I gleaned the rules from watching. After, I asked a student what they had been playing.

It's a game called Sharks vs. Minnows. Apparently, it's a well-known elementary school playground game. 

This is actually a good tip for dealing with teenagers: they do like doing stuff from their "childhood". (The trick is to do it with full awareness that they are Too Old for This.) 

Unlike the earlier games I had seen, this time they had plenty of volunteers. We only had one injury when a boy slipped and fell. (He complained that he was wearing Crocs which don't really work well for a running game.) 

As for the game: in the middle of the basketball court, four students lined up. They were the sharks. At the edge of the court ten-ish students lined up. They were the minnows.

At the start of the game, the minnows were to run across the court and make it to the other side. If the sharks tagged them, they were out (and became sharks, although some just stepped out of the game). They went back and forth across the court until all the minnows got tagged out. (I would have assumed that someone should win, but they had that last kiddo run across one last time. With four plus sharks, the kiddo was doomed.) 

Cute game, but completely new to me. Have any of you heard of this game before?

Avoiding Deadnames

Tuesday. I was covering the social studies classes at the continuation high school.

Fifth period. I was walking the room, asking students their names...

(I don't call roll if I can help it. I hate "calling" the roll with a fiery passion. Instead, I take a class roster, walk the room, and ask each student their name.)

Student: "MK. It's at the top." The student's friend said the last name, and then: "Different first name. We don't want to use his deadname." 

Actually, both the student's preferred name and the student's deadname were on the roster. (I printed the screen of the online attendance.) The deadname was the name listed, MK was in parentheses. I marked him present.

I continued asking names around the table.

Student gave his last name, and his last name only.

As I was searching for it on the roster, the girl sitting next to him asked, "What's his first name?"

The student shook his head. 

I located the student's name.

The girl: "It's Charles, isn't it?" 

The boy had two names listed. One of them was Charles. The other was Mason. Charles was in parentheses. I marked him present.

Me: "I'm not getting in the middle of this." Although, I tilted the roster towards the boy so he could see how he was listed. 

As all the students at the table had been accounted for, I walked on to the next table.

Named

If I ever finish that subbing book (which at this point the draft is about ten years out of date), there will be a whole chapter on how to find a student's name when one needs it for the note to the teacher. And it'll boil down to some very simple advice.

Wait. Pay attention.

Tuesday. Middle school choir. Things had been going relatively well all day. The kiddos weren't nearly as wild as they could be. That is not to say they were wild. They were just more "lively" than they'd be in a more academic setting. 

And then it was fifth period. And boyo started off by informing me he was already done with the day's assignment (memorizing three pages of "Mambo Italiano" and recording it). 

I was dubious. The previous day's assignment (helpfully provided on the sub lesson plans from the prior day) was to have two different pages memorized. No middle schooler works ahead like that. 

Boyo then spent the whole period poking into things.

He started with a Tech Deck tourney with a couple other boys. He banged on the drums. He "accidentally" opened the back door. There was a brief game of keep away.

And at each instance, he moved on when I pointed out to his companions that there was work to finish. 

He was going to get a starring role in my note. But because no fixed seating, I did not have his name.

After pulling him out of something again, one of the girls spoke. 

"Archie, you're going to get in trouble." 

Archie! A ha!

Three other students called out to Archie, telling him to stop or something. 

At that point, I was recounting his antics in the infamous note.

Sure, I could have just asked him his name, or I could have asked another student for it. But experience has taught me that leads to a whole other issue. 

Other students suddenly have no idea of anyone's name. And the student in question gets very defensive of why you need his name. Then, can't he possibly earn his way off of the note? And then he'll pester me for the rest of class about getting me to erase his name. 

I try to avoid those issues when I can.

But more often than not, someone will just volunteer the name by talking to the student. Or calling him out. Same difference.

And this way, I don't have the whole begging and pleading (which is way more annoying than the behaviors that got him in the note in the first place). Because at the point where I'm writing it down, the student has had all the chances to make things right, and now he's suffering a consequence. 

Saved by the Internet

Did you know that if you type in the title and the first couple of questions of a worksheet, you may be able to find a copy of that worksheet online?

I discovered this trick quite by accident. I was looking for the answers to something or other. I did just this, and the original popped up.

So, when the worksheet that the ELD (English language development. Read: students who moved here from elsewhere and are learning English) class had was missing key components, after not finding the book it came from in the classroom, I checked for it online.

(This was the third day the teacher had been out due to illness. She'd left early on Friday because she wasn't feeling well. Then she called in sick on Monday and this day which was a Tuesday. That she managed to get a very detailed lesson plan to me, with worksheets!, is pretty amazing. We'll forgive her for the worksheets being incomplete.)

They were supposed to identify the tense of the verb, only the verbs were missing. Oops. Somehow, the copy had everything that was italicized blanked out. I was going to come up with some random verbs, but the list was rather long.

So, I typed in the publisher of the worksheet (it was printed on it), the title, and voila... It actually popped up. Not only that, but the whole book it came from. Wow.

And because the computer was connected to the projector, I was able to project what was missing from the worksheet for the class to copy down.

The Internet saves my butt yet again.

Keeping Track

It's just one of those little things I normally do. Whenever a teacher leaves me notes of some sort (or gives us a chapter to read as a class), I take down the number of times I have to stop to get the class' attention.

Whenever there's a sub, the class will not stay focused. Sure, full-time teachers tell me to kick out the kid that is the ringleader. But when I'm in the class for one day, I have a hard time identifying who that might be. And besides, it's usually at least half the class that's talking while I'm trying to go over whatever material the class needs to get through that day.

So, rather than spin my wheels trying to figure out who to kick out or who to move, I just take a tally mark for each time the class starts talking again, necessitating that I stop and get their attention again.

7th grade science. The PowerPoint was on evolution.

I'm not sure why I didn't bring up the usual sheet of paper with me. I guess it was because I didn't have a podium. But at the third time I had to stop to get them to stop talking, I realized that the white board was right there. It wasn't like they were going to notice, right?

"What's that?"

Me: "I'm keeping track of the number of times I have to ask the class to stop talking."

And then a funny thing happened. The front of the room started to get worried. And tried to shush the talkers (who were in the back of the room). It didn't help much, but it made me think. I had not considered letting them see this tally before.

Perhaps I should let them know I'm doing this in the future. I could easily do it so they can see.

One class got to 11. The second class got to 19. And the third class got to 22. (The other classes had a different lesson.) When they knew I was leaving that number for their teacher...

What do you think? Should I let the classes know I'm keeping that tally? Do you prefer PowerPoints or Prezis?

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

This letter available for the giveaway

Bargaining

It was a 7th grade world history class. The lesson plan stated that the students were to read the chapter individually and then fill in a worksheet I passed out to them. Simple enough.

To me, reading a chapter individually means no talking. Because, you can't talk and read at the same time. Sure, you can read out loud, but that's not what students do. They claim to be reading while discussing the cute boy over there. That's not reading. That's hoping to absorb the words through osmosis while having them in front of you (which doesn't work. I know, I've tried it).

But 7th graders don't do silence. Not without a big ol' fight.

By 6th period I had had enough. I tried everything with earlier periods. (I knew that it was doable because 1st period read silently. The rest of the day, however, only gave me moments of silence. Which I had to fight for.) So, I just started taking down names of talkers.

Once I let them know what I was doing, they all wanted to know if their name was on the list. And then they wanted to know if I'd take it off.

The next student to ask me if their name is in the note will get their name in the note. (Thing that got 6th per to stop asking.) #subfiles
— Elizabeth Arundel (@ZiziRho) November 19, 2014

Hmmm....

Normally, the answer would be no. But it was the beginning of the period. And these were 7th graders. So, I made them a deal. I'd take off the names but only if they worked quietly the rest of the period.

And you know what? It almost, kind of worked. Well, they were much better than before (and much better than the previous classes excepting period 1).

Must remember this technique for next time...

A #2 Pencil

It's the penultimate week of school.

On Monday I was called to cover a biology class. They had a multiple choice test that they were to answer on a Scantron sheet. I've done this sort of thing before, so I know the drill. But this time, the teacher helped me out just a little bit more.

The lesson plan stated that if a student didn't have a number 2 pencil, that student could write the answers on a sheet of paper and then come in at lunch the next day and transfer those answers to a Scantron sheet.

Brilliant! I can't tell you how many times I get students who don't have a pencil on them. Unless the teacher left some for student use (I don't carry extra materials with me), we're left scrambling, because somehow this becomes my problem.

I'm going to file this one away. I will use it again. It will come up, of that I'm sure.

Third period, a student raised his hand to inform me that he didn't have a pencil. I gave him the instructions as per the lesson plan.

"I don't have a pen, either."

How to Look Smart

Biology class. They had worksheets to complete. 

A student raised her hand. Question #5 was illegible, and she wanted my help in deciphering it. 

It wasn't a terrible copy. The teacher had shrunk down the pages so that four worksheets fit on one sheet of paper (2 on front and 2 on back). It was kind of clever, especially considering the budget woes of the schools. 

What I could read of the question: "How do enzymes weaken the (illegible) in sub..." (and I couldn't read anything after that). 

I figured out that the last word had to be substances, mainly because the student had her notes out, and enzymes and substances were prominent on that page. But the other word had me stumped. 

Less than five minutes later, another student figured it out. The word had to be "bonds". Okay, then. 

The next period, another student asks the same question. This time I could rattle it off: "How do enzymes weaken the bonds in substances?" 

Subbing trick #2: Students tend to ask the same questions every period. If you can figure out the answers with the first group, you're set for the day. 

A Change of Tactics

Freshman English. The lesson plan consisted of them working in their workbooks. It should have been pretty simple. But, it was a class of 9th graders.

For the first class, I tried for silence. Um, right. Sure. That was about as plausible as having the Easter Bunny living next door. I kept things down to a dull roar, but many of them didn't even bother to do the assignment.

For the second group, I gave up on silence. I just focused on keeping them on task. This entailed me walking the room and asking them what they were doing. Several students didn't even bother to pretend to do any work. (The first group at least had the decency to keep the assignment in front of them on their desks.)

It was near the end of that period that I figured out I needed a new tactic. If I wasn't going to keep them silent and working, perhaps I could use that to my advantage.

The problem was that the assignment was going to be due tomorrow. They could finish it for homework. So, to them that means play in class, get busy at home.

So, with the last group, I allowed the talking, but only if the assignment was due at the end of the period. I erased the part on the board that said "finish for HW" and they all seemed fine with it. I walked the room. I reminded several groups of students (groups who had completed next to nothing on their pages) that they had a half hour/twenty minutes/fifteen minutes/etc. to finish and that I would be collecting it.

It still surprises me when they act all surprised when I then call for their work at the end of the period.

Did any of them finish? No. Of course not. (Although, I didn't have to fight them as hard as I did the earlier classes, so I call it a draw.)

Great Ideas

Today I covered government and economics classes. I like subbing for this teacher and not just because she has seniors. She's organized. And her classroom is full of interesting ideas. Some of them are kind of brilliant, so I thought I'd share.

Her classroom setup has all the chairs facing the middle of the room with a long aisle down the center. When she passes out handouts, she gives a bunch to the front corner of each side. They pass them back, and whatever is left over goes in a tray marked "extras" that is at the back of the room. This tray is an easy reach for the students who sit back there. Then later, all I have to do is go and collect the extras.

Today's worksheet was of the class set variety. In the top right hand corner, there was an icon of a pencil with the circle and line through it. Under this icon was the statement: "Class set. Do not write on this. Return to teacher at the end of the period."

On one side of the room, there was a station where the students could get any handouts that they might have missed due to an absence. There was a file folder which contained handouts. There was a list of the work that was still outstanding. And there was an inbox for late work.

My favorite thing in the room, though, was the restroom pass setup. She had a timer that was specifically made for restroom passes. Above this was a white board. When a student left the room, he/she wrote his/her name on the white board, and then he/she took the timer with them. The timer counted how long each student was out of the room. And it was very easy to look up and see who was not in the room at the time.

These were only a couple of several clever ideas. I bet these make her days so much easier.

Inside My School Bag

School has started.  I don't expect to work just yet as it's way too early in the year (last year was the exception).  However, it is time to go through my school bag and make sure it's ready for the school year.

I carry an L.L. Bean messenger bag.  Sure, it's a bit large, but I have to carry all my stuff with me, and this bag does the job.  It's larger than I need, so I have room for a jacket on the days when it's cold enough.  (I'll wear the jacket into school, but as soon as I get into class I'll be warm enough, so I take it off.  Then I don't need it when I leave campus, so it goes in the bag.)

The back pocket of the bag contains my name magnet and a place for my time sheet (the district is rather old school in that regard).  Note to self: it's time to make some new name magnets.

The rest of the bag has many useful pockets.  There's one for my cell phone, one where I can store my sunglasses and ID badge, and one where I keep my travel clock.  (I don't wear a watch, and some classrooms don't have clocks.  This way, I don't have to keep looking at my cell phone.)  I also have a pouch for my pens.  (I keep a couple dry erase markers in there as well.)

In the main compartment of the bag, there is a divider.  In the smaller portion of that divider, I keep files.  I have a file folder for blank paper (for me, not for lending).  I keep my note forms in another file.  I have a few sponge activities in another file (middle schoolers love chocolate math).  And I keep school maps and assembly schedules in another.

The big part of the main compartment of the bag?  That contains the most important stuff I carry with me.  I keep my water and my lunch in there.  Oh, and my jacket, when I need it.

Name Magnet

"Do you carry that with you all the time?"

A few years ago, I realized that just about all the classrooms in my district had dry erase boards, and most of the dry erase boards were magnetic.  That's when I came up with the idea of a name magnet.

It's a simple thing.  I got magnetic backed paper from the office supply store.  On my computer in word processing software, I formatted a document in landscape, and I typed my name.  I made it large. I also made it pretty--I used color and fun fonts.  As an afterthought, I added a pronunciation key underneath.

A sheet of paper was way too huge for the task, but half a sheet was the perfect size.  In all, I made four name magnets that day.  I rotate them, depending upon my mood.

It seemed like a good idea.  I have to put my name on the board daily...  (Well, I don't have to.  I sometimes forget, and yet the students still call me by name.  But not every class knows me, and some students like to refer to the name on the board, so I usually put it up.)

I didn't realize that the name magnet would turn into such a conversation piece.  I get all sorts of interesting questions about it.  Many students decide that they want to make one for themselves.  Sometimes I get the random student who wants to touch it and verify that it is indeed a magnet.

And then there are the students who are amazed that I would carry such a thing with me to school every day.

I don't understand the question.  These are not large or heavy things.  My bottle of water weighs more.  I carry a bag with me to school anyway, and the magnets don't take up that much room.

My answer to the question is yes, I do carry it with me every day.  Then I shrug.  And I walk away.

I quickly move on to more important matters, like the assignment for the day.

Subbing Books

I have three subbing books on my shelves.  Since I wasn't in the mood to pontificate on anything today, I thought I'd share.  They are:

1. The Substitute Teacher's Survival Guide  
2. Desperately Seeking Humor: Incredible and Satirical Tales of a Substitute Teacher  
3. Substitute Teaching: A Handbook for Hassle-Free Subbing  

I received these at gifts at various times.  I also received a few others that I have now passed on to someone else, but these were the ones I felt were worth keeping.  (Specifically, this book, which was interesting, but once I got one good tip from it, I didn't feel like I needed it any longer.)  

The first book is very funny, but not worth the new price (get it used).  The third book is a very good, basic how-to book.  The second book is just funny and too, too true.  

There's a way to add this to my sidebar, I think.  Perhaps I should look into that.  

Lending Supplies

"You came to class unprepared...?"

That's what I say to students when they tell me that they don't have paper or they don't have a pencil (or both).  Unfortunately, only once did the student appear worried after my statement.  The rest of the time, the students have some long, drawn-out explanation as to why they don't have their materials.

What to do, then, when a student doesn't have the required materials?  This is my problem, because if the student isn't doing the assignment, he will find a different way to entertain himself, and that usually involves some form of misbehavior.

After I utter the above phrase, many times a neighboring student will offer to lend the missing item.  I thank that student and make sure that the unprepared student thanks the peer as well.  Problem solved.  If only it was always that easy.

I don't carry extra supplies with me.  I don't make it a habit to lend out paper.  I don't want to become the sub that always has an extra pencil for the students.  Besides, my bag is heavy enough.  I don't need to lug around extra stuff for students.  And I don't want to constantly replace the stuff that I won't get back.

So, when they don't have their materials, it is a problem.

I also try not to lend out the full-time teacher's supplies.  Unless the teacher left out stuff with that intent, I have to assume that the students are expected to have their stuff.  But sometimes the students say that the teacher does lend out pencils.  They could by lying, but I can't know that for sure.

The next best thing is to make sure that I get the lent pencil back.

It's so easy to forget who has what.  At the end of a period, it's also easy to forget that something was lent out.  So, it's best to ask for collateral up front (or "something of value" to those that don't know what collateral means).

Some days I can get quite the collection.  Things like mp3 players (which they're not supposed to have at school), cell phones, and wallets are great.  I know they'll remember to return the pencil.  I've had students leave a whole backpack.  A student ID is okay.  They won't necessarily remember that they left it with me, but I know who left it, and I can remind them.

I think my favorite thing to ask for is a shoe.  The kid won't forget to get a shoe back.  But most middle school teachers don't like the idea.  Middle schoolers without shoes?  Middle school classrooms tend to stink anyway.  That makes it so much worse.  But most students balk at the shoe idea anyway.  They find something else for me.

Most days, the student without supplies finds a way to get the work done (or at least looks like she's working).  But not all days.

Sometimes I shake my head and walk away.  Sure, it's better to keep the student busy.  But when all else fails, I can always write up a misbehaving student and kick her out of class.  The referral starts with, "Student came to class without materials, and then..."

Luckily, most days this is only a minor issue.

Making a Seating Chart

Most teachers around here do leave seating charts for subs.  It makes things so much easier.  I have names to go with miscreants.  But sometimes, the teachers don't leave me a seating chart.  That's when I make one of my own.

It's simple enough.  I make grids to carry with me for just such an eventuality.  I found that a simple 7 x 9 grid covers most classroom configurations.  If it's a strange setup, I just cross off boxes I don't need.  If it's a simple row-like setup, I can fold the thing in half and use it for two periods.

Several years ago, I was called to cover an English class.  What I ended up with was a strange little setup.  There were three 8th grade teachers (an English teacher, a math teacher, and a history teacher) who had a team thing going.  For three periods, they traded off three classes.  These three classes were going on a field trip, but some students weren't going to be allowed to go.

Another sub and I split those not going into two groups.  I ended up with about 15 students.  I made a seating chart of those who were with me, and for the three hours that I had them, I was able to keep pretty good tabs on them.

After a short time, I didn't really need the seating chart.  My own seating chart was more vital another time.

A few years ago, the English teachers were going to be out periodically for a curriculum meeting thing.  I got all the dates of a 7th grade core teacher (she had them for two periods of English and world history).  This particular teacher never has a seating chart because she is constantly changing the seating arrangement.

She's pretty famous at the school for being a strict teacher.  I had subbed for her before, so I knew the seating chart issue.  I came prepared.

That first day, as I called roll, I wrote a seating chart for myself.  Usually, when I do this, I leave the seating chart for the teacher so he/she knows where the students sat, just in case they were doing something they weren't supposed to.  This time, I took the seating charts home with me, and I typed them out on the computer.

The next time I covered that class (almost two weeks later), I brought my seating charts.  I called roll again, and I changed those students who had been moved since the last time.  Less than a dozen students were in different seats, and it was easy enough for me to fix this on my seating chart.

Within five days in this class (over a period of about two months) I learned many of their names.  And those I didn't know, I had that seating chart that I updated every time I was in the class.  It made discipline that much easier to handle.

I ran into those students in other classes through the years.  It was interesting to see who ended up at the continuation high school versus those who ended up in AP classes.  I won't be seeing them anymore.  They all just graduated.

Follow Through

One of the surest ways to lose control of a class is to not follow through on a consequence for a student.  Once the class knows that there are no consequences, they will no longer feel the need to behave.

I had one 8th grade teacher leave a movie (Charly).  (They had just finished reading excerpts from Flowers for Algernon.)  In the lesson plan, she said that I was to warn the classes that if there was any talking, I would turn off the movie and they would have "work" to do.  But she did not give me an alternative assignment.  The threat was supposed to be enough.

But I know myself.  I can't pull off a bluff like that.  I need backup, because if I don't have an actual assignment for them, they will sense it.

Just a couple weeks ago, I was sent to cover a class on my prep.  They were to watch Jumanji (it was the end of the year).  The teacher left me packets of work to give to anyone who wouldn't be silent during the movie.

Several students challenged me.  "But we already did that."

My reply: "Oh good, it's review.  It'll be easier to do the second time."

I didn't have to send anyone out.

So, for the first class, I came up with an assignment to give them.  I never had to use it, though.  They must have sensed that I was serious.

Sometimes, they don't take me seriously.  There was this one class that I usually try to avoid (I looked for a post about this particular day, but apparently it was too traumatic for me to write about at the time).  I knew that I wasn't going to be able to bluff.

These three boys would not stay seated.  After too many times out of their seats, I told them that if they got up one more time, they would be out of class with a referral for each.  They sat for maybe two minutes.  Then some girl walked by the door, and they all had to get up and flirt with her.

They yowled when I gave them their referrals.  They had not recalled the previous threat.  I had not warned them, they said.  But I knew that if I didn't send them out, they would be even worse after this.  So, out they went.

It didn't help the class much, but the class didn't get worse.

I've seen what happens when I relent.  Suddenly, the student has won.  I've lost.  It's not a pretty sight.  The students know that they can talk me out of it, so they don't need to behave.  They have plenty of ready excuses.  The class goes downhill fast.

So, no matter how much they beg or plead, when I have threatened a consequence, I have to follow through. And usually I get a thank you or two from the student who was trying to do what he/she was supposed to do all along.

Notes

Last night I was busy writing up my note for the teacher.  He'll be back tomorrow, and I'll be off to another assignment.  That's the way subbing goes. 

Since it was a seven-day assignment, I typed up my note on the computer.  I think better when I'm composing on a word processing program, probably because I get such awful writer's cramp when I use a pen.  This way, I also get to keep a copy of what I wrote (all but what I add at the end for what happened today). 

This is not usually the way I do notes to the teacher.  After some time subbing, I came up with a way to streamline the process. 

What I usually do is to "grade" the class.  I have my own system.  I made up a grid and a "grading rubric".  I found that it goes so much quicker to jot down a number and a couple notes rather than trying to compose a full on note every day. 

My grid has four columns.  In the first column I give the class three scores.  The first score is for behavior.  For example, a class that was silent and on task for the period gets my highest score (some teachers reward this).  A class where "some made better use of their time than others" gets a middling score. 

I use the second score to rank the classes best to worst (although some days I skip that one).  And the final score is the answer to a question: did they cooperate with me?  (That answer is usually "mostly" or "somewhat".  They are teenagers, after all.) 

As for the other three columns, I list who left the class for whatever reason (to office, to restroom), any names that I need to list (good or bad), and any miscellaneous stuff that isn't covered in any of the other columns. 

I found that my system cut down on the time it took to write a note.  I can usually have the period noted in about a minute. 

But when I work a class for longer than a day or two, I like to leave more detail.  So, while I didn't need to list a lot of misbehavior this time, I did want to give a sense of what the classes were like while the teacher was away.  I think I captured it nicely. 

Then again, tomorrow I'm only going to be a couple doors down from this class, so I could just tell him. 

Walkout

The bell had barely rung when the 8th grade girl asked to use the restroom.  I was busy trying to get the class to settle so I could introduce myself and get them started on their assignment.  I didn't need someone distracting me from this process.

The longer I let a class sit and goof off, the harder it is to get them to act like a class and not a party.  I have to get right in there and get them settled or all is lost.  Students who absolutely, positively need something right at the start of the period get in the way of this process.  Whatever they need can wait.

I told the girl "not right now", and I tried to get the class's attention.  The girl argued with me, the upshot being that I wanted her to wait until I had the class under control.  I got the class's attention, and the girl walked out the door.

Huge mistake.  That is my one major pet peeve.  Students do not leave the classroom without my permission.

When the girl came back she claimed that I had given her permission to use the restroom.  Um, no, I hadn't.  She took a non-response to a question as tacit permission.  So, she just left.

I had other problems with this group.  I had two boys who could not sit down. They were either throwing things, dancing, or battling each other with rulers. Plus most of the class would not do the assignment.  

So, I meant to write the girl up, but I never got around to doing it.  She needed to be thrown out.  It was just so crazy that I didn't get the time.  

The Next Section

There's nothing quite as panic inducing as coming into a classroom to find only a vague note from the sub from the day before.  No lesson plans for today.  No lesson plans for yesterday.  And no idea where to go from here.

The good news was that it was a math class--Algebra 1.  I can do algebra 1 (for that matter, I can do geometry, algebra 2, and I know enough math analysis and calculus to get along for a day).  

So, I did the only thing I could do--I found out where they were and I taught the next section in the textbook.  

Luckily I had a cooperative group of middle schoolers.  (A group of high schoolers likely wouldn't have let me take control of the class.)  They went along with the lesson.  They even did the work that I assigned.  So, score one for me!

The teacher is out with some mysterious illness.  No one in the office knows anything.  I'll be back tomorrow, but at least I have a plan for tomorrow.  And next week is spring break, so hopefully the teacher will be back then.