Locked Down

Some days are just weird.

I had taken the gig fully aware that it was a roving situation. When I inquired further, I was told that several teachers were being filmed for a video promoting the career and technical classes. The teachers would need time out of class for their interviews, but not a whole period, and especially not a whole day.

I do love a good roving assignment.

When I arrived on Friday, I learned that the interviews weren't starting until noon. (School starts at 8:30.) I was given a class to cover for one period, but I would have the second block off.

So, second block, sitting in the teacher's lounge, I was waiting. And then an announcement...

We were going into lockdown. 

(Later I learned that there was a robbery nearby. The suspect fled. In an abundance of caution, the sheriff's department locked down us and the nearby elementary school. The suspect never entered either campus.) 

Students go a bit nuts when they hear lockdown. Suddenly half the class has to use the restroom. And they know we can't send them out of class, so they misbehave more than normal. (I know this from experience.) 

Luckily, I had no students. I had a nearby bathroom. And I had comfortable couches to sit on. 

Yeah, I don't mind this sort of lockdown.

The lockdown lasted almost an hour. Of course, that meant that the interviews would start late as we weren't allowed out until after noon. (It was just after noon, though. Maybe five minutes.) And the teachers I relieved were a bit frazzled as they had had full rooms of students during said lockdown.

I lucked out.

69 Degrees

Thursday at the continuation high school. I was doing "testing overflow"...

(It's always something at the continuation high school.) The students had some district mandated testing to do. Because some students had the classes where the testing was happening twice (and they weren't required to take the test twice), they needed somewhere to go that wasn't the testing room for that second period. So, the school contracted a couple subs to watch over them. It was a very easy gig.

I had been relegated to the fire occupations room. (It's an after school career training thing that's run through a different entity but uses facilities on campus.)

The first thing I did upon getting to campus was to turn on the heat. Yeah, I know you all laugh at us here in southern California, but it was bitterly cold. When I got there, it was 54 degrees inside the classroom (Fahrenheit; so that's 12 degrees Celsius).

By fifth period, things were much warmer. The classroom had been comfortable for hours. (The heater got the classroom comfortable by mid first period.)

However, I was feeling a bit chilly. Tuesday I woke up feeling sinusy, and I had been feeling under the weather since then. I generally run warm, but I had been chilled all week. So, I wasn't trusting my internal thermostat.

I asked the kiddos in fifth period if they were cold. They were. But I had a feeling...

I could not see the thermostat from where I was sitting, so I asked them what the temperature read.

Someone went to look. And he started snickering.

I got him to verify what I then knew it had to be reading. 69 degrees. And then the rest of the students started snickering.

Oh dear. The maturity level...

I wasn't about to tackle that conversation, so I brushed it off by saying that was an adequate temperature. It's actually the temperature the thermostat is set to heat to. Now, I can adjust so it'll heat to 70, 71, or 72 degrees if I wished, but it seemed like overkill. It wasn't that cold. (Normally, I'd be quite comfortable at that temperature.)

Reprieve

Thursday, two weeks ago. I was covering for a special ed teacher who co-taught all day. It's a pretty easy gig when the other teacher is present (as opposed to also having a sub).

I was to co-teach with three different teachers. Plus, I was to cover an extra period somewhere else. The schedule was:

• Period 1: co-teach English 8 with Ms. W.
• Period 2: co-teach English 8 with Ms. R.
• Period 3: co-teach math.
• Period 4: co-teach English 8 with Ms. R.
• Period 5: conference (but I was to cover a science class).
• Period 6: co-teach English 8 with Ms. W. 

In other words, I was not in the same room two periods in a row. So, I got to do lots of walking that day. 

During first period, I got a call from the office. Instead of co-teaching third period, I was to cover a different English class. As luck would have it, that room was right next door to the class I'd be in periods two and four. Okay, then. 

Second period. The eighth graders were writing an essay. It was pretty quiet in the room. 

So, the noise from next door was more pronounced. 

We could hear voices. We could hear banging. It sounded like kiddos were running into the walls. Or just hitting them. (Neither scenario is ideal.) 

All I could think was, I have to cover this class next period. Eeek. 

It was so bad that Ms. R went next door to yell at them. It didn't make a dent. 

Period three wasn't nearly as bad. They were a bit obnoxious, but there were only a dozen or so of them, so that made the period that much easier. 

And I'm done, right? Well, not so fast. 

I book assignments ahead when I can. One look at my calendar, and I saw that I was scheduled to cover this same class all day in a couple weeks. For three days. Eeek. 

I'd worry about that when it came time. I took a breath and got through the rest of my day. 

When I period sub, if the note I want to leave is going to be longer than "the class was fine", I like to email it. So, when I emailed the teacher, I let her know that I was scheduled to cover her class later. Having the communication open is better than not, right? 

She emailed me back. She was not going to be out for three days, only one. 

I breathed a huge sigh of relief. Three days with that group... But one day I can manage. And I put it out of my mind. 

It was Thursday of last week when I called to book some dates for this week. The only class I had scheduled was for Friday for this teacher. 

There was a math class for Thursday... Well, for Thursday and Friday. But I already have a gig for Friday. Well, it's better to stick with the same class for two days if the teacher is out two days, so they could just reassign that English class... 

And now there are none. Instead of tonight sweating out having to deal with that class tomorrow, I am scheduled to return to a high school math class. 

I've been granted a reprieve. Woo-hoo! 

Assuming that all goes according to plan. Lately, that's not so certain. (See tomorrow's post.)

A Non-Break

The schools are on block schedule for state testing. Two-hour periods. Which, depending on the lesson plan, can make for a very long period.

(Only specific teachers are testing on any given day. They're not absent on those days. I'm covering classes that are business as usual, albeit with very long classes.)

Health class. Freshmen. The teacher left them a huge packet on safety to complete. (Stuff like what to do in a natural disaster or if an accident were to happen in the home.)

I was braced for the worst. Freshmen. For two hours. Of what amounted to busywork. And it was the same teacher that I covered a few times in the fall semester. (I posted about those days here, here, and here.)

But then I remembered that health is a semester course (meaning that as we're now in the spring semester, all the kiddos I had issues with are no longer in the class). Except that Ms. E left me a few names of students to keep an eye on. And guess who was on the list? Kevin. Naturally.

Kevin was as happy to see me as I was to see him. (I was gratified to see his reaction to seeing me. He was so not pleased. I guess I make him do work, or something.)

Class started, and something surprising happened. The room stayed silent...

Oh sure, Kevin did no work. As did another boy on the other side of the room who I'd also been warned about. But they did no work silently. While the rest of the class busily scribbled away.

I wished for my knitting. Or a magazine. I was expecting to be dealing with issues, and there were none.

Ms. E had recommended that the class get a break at some point. With this group I think I would have offered on my own. They probably needed one. So, at an hour in, I told the class they could get up and stretch or move around.

They looked at me like I was crazy. And continued to work.

Well, not Kevin and the other boy. They took a break. (From not doing work. *shakes head*)

At the end of the two hours, two students had finished, while the vast majority had only a couple pages of work left. Well, except for Kevin. He still had seven pages to go.

Some weeks are easier than others. This week was pretty easy.

Burying the Lead

It was a crazy day. The 6th grade teachers were meeting with the middle school teachers all day. Each period I went to a different class so that that teacher could attend.

It was kind of nice. I got to do something different just about every period.

Some teachers left lesson plans on their desks. Others were there when I arrived and explained what to do.

I arrived for my 5th period assignment a bit early. The 7th grade math teacher gave me the rundown. Simple enough stuff. They were working with number lines. I was to go over their homework, explain the assignment (notes were on the board), and give them time to work.

The bell rang. Before letting the kiddos in, the teacher left me with one final thought:

"It's after lunch. There are 27 boys in this class. They can be a bit wild. Good luck."

Yikes! You couldn't have led with that?

(The class was as bad as advertised. I bet Mr. T was thrilled to go to the meeting for that period.)

Stalker

I mean me.

"Did we have math homework?"

6th period. 7th grade English. They had a packet on verbs and adverbs to work on. We spent a lot of time going over it with me giving examples.

It had been a strange day. Roving assignment. The schools have been doing these teacher trainings for about a month or so now. It's on campus and part day. They pull a bunch of teachers for a couple periods at a time--some for three, some for less than that.

For us subs, it means that we cover a couple different teachers in a day. This day I covered 7th grade history for three periods, pre-algebra for one period, and 7th grade English for one period.

The 7th grade history classes were fine. A bit loud. But on task.

Then the pre-algebra class was right next door. And about a third of the class had been in one of the history classes.

The English class was a bit farther than that. Not next door, but the rooms were within sight of each other. And, of course, I had a handful of students that I had encountered earlier in the day. It's like I was following them.

Bwahahahaha!

Stalking students. Another service I offer.

(By the way, the answer to the math homework question was no. She was asking me. Because I had been there.)

Unseen

Wednesday was an odd day.

I got to school at about 12:15. (I was there for reentry.) As I pulled into the parking lot, I saw the entire office staff exiting the school. So, when I went into the office to check in, there was no one there to check me in.

(I had seen the flyer about the staff thank you lunch that was given that day. That's where they all went.)

Well, I didn't need keys. I left my time sheet there the previous day. So, I signed in (I know where they keep the book), and I went to the classroom.

The class has gotten larger since I was there last. The instructional aide was there, so she got things set up, and I did my usual sub thing. I helped. And things went pretty smoothly. At about 4, I took my usual break, heading up to the office to use the facilities and pick up my time sheet. (I need the time sheet. No time sheet, no get paid.)

It was later in the day, so most of the staff had already gone home. Unfortunately, the secretary who prepares my time sheet was also not there. (She's usually still at school at that time.) As her office door was open, I poked my head in. I found my time sheet on her desk. It was complete.

I retrieved my time sheet and went back to class. When I left at 6:30 PM (the end of class), the office was closed. (The office staff only works until 5:30. They get there at 8 AM.) So, I managed to work a day without formally checking in or seeing any of the office staff.

(Well, I did pass by the principal when I got there, and he was in his office when I went up for my break. And the office did have people in it when I got there--two teachers on their lunch break. So, it's not like I was a total ghost.)

Finished

Yesterday was kind of upside down for me. I again covered the reentry class, so my school day started at noon. (It is highly unusual for the reentry teacher to be out twice in two weeks. She's rarely out at all.)

The class has two instructional aides (IAs). They had a stack of work to grade. They have a system. The students who are nearly ready to graduate go to the top of the stack.

They had a stack of government papers to grade for one student. It was kind of important. It was his final work.

While the IAs graded his work, he worked on his final project--a Power Point overview of the subject. He managed to finish and the IAs finished grading his work. Unfortunately, the Power Point had to be graded by the teacher.

We had about 20 minutes left of class. He had nothing left to do. He asked if he could go home. I looked at the IA. She looked at me. There was no reason to keep him, so we let him leave.

I don't feel too bad for him. Because the office was closed at that point, even if the teacher had been in class, the student wouldn't have been able to graduate then. There's paperwork to fill out and things to file. There are a few hoops to still jump through. And it's no fun to graduate when there's no one to hear the announcement.

So, by now it should be all done. I'm glad. I've had him in classes before, and he's a good kid. I'm so happy he finally finished his high school education.

Roving Around

Yesterday, I got called at the usual time. The sub caller assigned me an art class. But when I got to the school, there was no art class. I was given a roving assignment.

It was very strange. The vanishing assignment used to happen to me all the time, but ever since it's been all early morning wake-up calls, I thought this sort of thing was over. Ah well.

I don't mean to rant. It's been that sort of week. (And I'm not ranting about the thing that's really bothering me right now, so if I sound angry, it's actually over the other thing.)

First period I got sent to the library. That's the go-to assignment when they want to give us subs something to do. It's our make-work. They usually have something that needs doing. Yesterday I got to put away books.

It was fun. The library was empty except for adults and one library TA. I got a chance to peruse the library's fiction selection.

It wasn't a vast collection. The Harry Potter section was well stocked as were Stephen King and Goosebumps. The Twilight books had a spot, but it looked like most of them were checked out. (I reshelved one.) And various classics were well represented.

I managed to finish the reshelving before the end of the period. And then I was off.

I kind of like roving days. It breaks things up. I got to cover two periods of special ed, two periods of math, and a period of oceanography. It was an interesting day.

A Late Day

My contest is still open...

I had a lovely morning. I slept until 9. Took my time getting my breakfast. Checked my email. And then I got ready for work. I didn't have to be there until 12:30.

On Monday I got the call. Reentry. Thursday. Of course I'd cover it.

Reentry is an interesting class. All the students are over 18. They're all pretty close to graduating, but they have passed their expected graduation date. They spend four hours working on packets of work to earn their missing credits.

The reentry class shares the room with a math class at the continuation high school. The overlap lasts only one period. There was a sub for the math teacher when I arrived. He had no idea what I was doing there.

Then the class got confused. I don't know why. The reentry class arrives at about the same time every day.

First I told the other sub that I was there for reentry. He's a regular like me, and we run into each other frequently. All I had to say was reentry, and he understood.

Then the rest of the class asked why there was another sub. (I heard Kayla's voice.) The other sub got his class on track, and I got stuff set up for reentry.

All during that period, reentry students trickled in. The other sub wondered how the two classes could function in the one room. I explained that it's something they do every day. The reentry students sat around the edges and worked on their own work.

It's an interesting assignment. The reentry class lets out at 6:30. (There are two groups. One starts earlier than the other. Each only has to be in class for four hours.) And there are no behavior problems whatsoever.

The Wrong Bell

Friday was a bit on the crazy side. I went into the school expecting that. It was International Day and the day before spring break.

Normally International Day would have been last week, but the weather forecast said rain, so they postponed it. This meant that we weren't on a minimum day schedule, so the normal day schedule had to be tweaked. Everything was normal for my group until 4th period (well, except for the fire drill, but that's another story).

The school was divided into two groups. The first group was outside for 3rd and 4th periods. Then they had to be in class for 5th and 6th. The second group reversed this. My group was in class 3rd and 4th, and then they got to be outside 5th and 6th.

Our fourth period was scheduled to be 20 minutes longer. The teacher had left them an assignment, but most of them weren't bothering with it. (It isn't due until they get back from spring break anyway.) Half the class was out working the booths, so those in class got into groups with their friends and talked.

If I had a full class and it hadn't been International Day, I would have been upset. As it was, I was happy that they were seated and mellow. They weren't even talking all that loudly. I considered this a win and let them be.

Then the bell rang. This wasn't their bell. I informed the class that they still had 20 minutes left of class, and they didn't question me on it. (There are two lunch periods, so they're used to having bells that they're supposed to ignore.) Then the door opened, and I heard that others had not gotten the same memo. Some of the teachers of the second group had dismissed their students.

The girl who opened the door wanted to come in. This was her 5th period class. I told her to go back to her 4th period.

After she left, some joker in the back commented: "Way to be strict!"

I think he was joking. He had to be joking. I was so not being strict.

There were two more bells they had to ignore before they got dismissed. I was so glad I didn't have to do this with middle schoolers. Middle schoolers would never have cooperated with me like that.

Dance Off Aftermath

I celebrated too soon. Sure, I missed the assembly at one school yesterday, but the school I was at today had their assembly today. Sigh.

The assembly was loud and kind of boring, the way they usually are. Towards the end, they had a dance off between the 7th and 8th graders.

There was this one 7th grade boy who was bringing it. He fell on the ground to do some break dancing. He did flips with a running start. I thought I was watching a gymnast for a bit. There were others who were pretty good, but this kid outshone them all.

I have no idea which grade won. It was too loud to hear.

After the assembly was 4th period. I was surprised to find the gymnast boy in my class, along with another notable dancer. I don't think I'll shock anyone by mentioning that they walked into class a bit wound up.

It became my job to mellow them out.

The class had a video. They were to take notes. I insist on silence during videos, and most of the class complied.

Those two boys, however, weren't going to do it. They started by trading insults. Then one boy (not the gymnast) found he had to comment on every thought that went through his head. And there was a third boy who thought this was all very funny (he found subtle ways to keep the other two going).

I managed to get them almost settled...and then it was time for them to go. I haven't been so grateful for lunch in a long time.

Career Faire

Today was Career Faire day at the continuation high school. It's the second easiest sub day on the school calendar. (The easiest sub day is in November.) My job consisted of sitting in a classroom while someone made a presentation to the students.

Today I was in the room with a representative from a local community college. She was there talking about the school's automotive repair program.

She was a fair speaker. She hit all the important points about the program, so any student who was interested got a good overview.

We had four sessions. In the fourth session, we ended up with the "interesting" group. I kept my fingers crossed that we wouldn't have any major behavior issues. The students were more lively, but they didn't get to the point where I worried about them disrespecting the speaker.

One of the points of the presentation was the requirements for students. As there was an internship program with this, each applicant would be required to pass a drug screen.

And we lost half the group.

Several of them informed the speaker that that left them out. They remained a good audience for the speaker until the end of the time, though.

I don't know what troubles me more: that they admitted that they couldn't pass a drug screen, or that none of the students that admitted this surprised me.

A Very Late Call

It was later in the morning, way past the danger zone, so I was lying in bed watching TV (a NOVA from my DVR--"The Race for Absolute Zero"). My cell phone rang. No one ever calls me on my cell phone, so I knew it had to be the sub caller. Did she have an assignment for me for Monday? That had to be it.

"Are you available to work today?"

Today? Really?

It was third period. It takes me about an hour from phone call to arrival at school. That meant that the earliest I could get there was after fourth period had started (for a six period day).

I mentioned this to the sub caller. She asked if I would rather not do it. No, I wanted to work, but I didn't want the school thinking I'd get there in 20 minutes (almost possible only if I had been fully dressed and ready to walk out the door that instant). My hour time frame was considered acceptable.

When I got to the school, I expected that the teacher would have already left. Turns out her appointment (for an ongoing issue) was later, so she had plenty of time to brief me before she had to go.

I covered 2 1/2 periods of middle school science. The classes had standardized tests to take (I've proctored them before, so I knew the drill).

It turned out to be the perfect assignment for me today, especially since I'm getting over a cold. I got to sleep in and work a shorter day.

Late to the Test

Before I begin, I need to explain a few things.  There are certain school policies that I haven't alluded to before, and I need to spell them out for this post to make sense.

1. Tardy sweep:  Students who are not in class at the bell are not allowed in class.  They go to a place called tardy sweep.  They spend the whole period there.  
2. Rally schedule:  Instead of having a full assembly, the school sometimes has a rally.  This lasts about 20 minutes and is scheduled between 2nd and 3rd periods.  Each period loses a minute or two.  Each passing period loses one minute (5 minutes instead of 6).  
3. The current version of the computer-scored (using a #2 pencil fill in the bubbles) multiple-choice tests are now pre-printed with student names.  The computer can score and record the tests at the same time.  

Today, I covered a U.S. history class.  There was a bit of an overlap of students from the physics classes.  

Before school, I saw the teacher.  (I gave him a heads up that a prank was in the works.)  He explained the day's lessons.  3rd period, the A.P. class, was having a test.  80 questions.  Multiple-choice.  Due to time constraints, he puts the tests out on the desks before the class arrives, and while it was not mandatory, he told me that it might make things easier for everyone if I did the same.  

I had a seating chart.  I had extra time due to the rally.  It didn't take all that long to pass things out, especially when I didn't have students to trip over.  

As the students walked in, I told them to make sure they had their test.  Only two students had to swap, so I guess I did an okay job.  Then the bell rang, but much of the room was still empty.  

The campus is rather large.  This classroom was back-of-beyond.  It's the second to the last farthest room on campus.  It's a hike to get there.  That shortened passing period was a bad thing.  Some students just couldn't make it there in time.  

Many of them got there just after the bell.  Normally, I would send them to tardy sweep, but considering the circumstances, I let it slide.  It took them another minute to all arrive, and in three the room was silent.  They were all working on that test.  

After about five minutes, I went around and picked up tests off desks where the students hadn't arrived.  I looked at the three names, and I was about to go and enter the attendance when another student showed up.  

Ah, what to do?  As it turned out, she was in the band, and they performed at the rally, so I let her in.  A minute later a second student showed up.  

I looked at the third test.  What were the odds that this girl would show up?  I was just about to give up and input the attendance when she did arrive.  She was wearing a cheerleader uniform, so I knew what kept her.  

I was kind of worried as to whether they'd finish the test.  They did.  Many finished with ten minutes to spare. 

Best Laid Plans...

Today I was in to cover an 8th grade English class.  The 8th graders had their promotion today.

First, some background:

Layer one: the school was on block schedule for finals.  They had periods 1, 3, & 5 yesterday.  Today was periods 2, 4, & 6 for two hours each.

Layer two: the 8th graders did their finals already.  They had to know if they could participate in the promotion before today.

Layer three: 8th graders who didn't promote had to go to class.

I knew all this going in.  So, I was not surprised to find a lesson plan consisting of showing movies.  I was also not surprised to have very small classes.  The 8th graders who did promote got "signed out" of school by their parents after the ceremony.  (Read: I got stuck with the students who did not pass the 8th grade.)

The promotion ceremony took place during the first block (2nd period).  Someone had gone to the trouble of coming up with a supervision plan.  Half the 8th grade teachers were at the promotion while the other half remained in their classes to watch the 8th graders who were not promoting.  Those teachers at the promotion were assigned buddy teachers to send their non-promoting kids to.

It was a good plan.  Unfortunately, somebody forgot about the sub.

Right before the period started Ms. M. showed up.  She was told that she was supposed to watch the kids in the English class.  I was there, so she went back to her classroom.  (Oh, by the way, all the kids in the 2nd period English class promoted.  That was the advanced English class.)

I was supposed to get 11 students from Ms. R's class.  There was a note on Ms. R's door stating which students went where.  (Four of her students were supposed to go to Ms. M's class.)  But this confused them (clearly demonstrating why they weren't promoting).

Four students showed up to my class.  Only two of them were on my list.  The other two said that Ms. M. had something like seven students in her class.

It always amazes me how these things get so messed up.  No matter how well planned, once students are introduced, something always goes wrong.

As for me, I roll with it.  I took who came.  I kept a list of who I had in class.  And I showed the movie.

Pleasant Surprise

I guess I'm having one of those weeks.  I didn't much want to work today, but I wasn't about to turn down the offered job when the sub caller called.  She said "special ed".  I understood what it actually was--the learning center.

I grumbled to myself as I got ready.  I wasn't in the mood for the learning center.  It is a special ed room, but there are five teachers in there.  Each teaches for two or three periods (usually in a different classroom), and then for the rest of the day they hang out in the learning center, helping kids who need extra help with their work.

It's not a bad gig.  It's just a bit awkward.  We subs aren't given keys to the other rooms, so we have to find someone to open those doors.  Then during the periods we're in the learning center, the kids either don't want our help (they'd rather have the help of those teachers that they know) or we do more of the assignment than they do.

I spent so much time dreading the day that I got out of the house late.

Traffic was a pain.  It normally isn't too bad that early in the morning, but this morning I seemed to attract the worst drivers.  Figures.

I got to school later than normal, but still early enough.  I checked in with the secretary.  Then, in passing she said, "And today is a minimum day.  Open House is tonight."

Minimum day!  Score!

Suddenly, I couldn't stop smiling.  I had had no idea.  (This was on the calendar, but since every school's open house is on a different day, I stopped keeping track of which was when.)

I didn't even mind that the teacher I was in for turned out to be a leslacker (term from this funny book).

School Career Fair

Ah, spring. It's the time of year when the schools do all of their interesting activities.

One of the things I like most about subbing is the unusual days. The days when it's not just classes-as-usual (with the exception of assembly days). Sure, the students are a little harder to handle, but then again, I don't have to worry about making them do work or keeping them quiet.

Today was the Career Fair. A bunch of representatives from local colleges, trade schools, and other career choice paths (for example, the police, the military, and such) set up tables and give talks to show students what choices are out there for them after graduation.

My job was to take roll and then keep order while someone presented in the classroom. Since this guy was a really good speaker, I didn't actually have to keep order. The students were interested. And polite. So, I got to sit and listen as well.

And I get paid for this.