Consequences

On Friday, I covered a choir teacher who had been out for a couple weeks, and so the other music teachers were picking up some of the slack on things that she would normally cover. (Her classes were being covered by her student teacher from last semester, but he couldn't cover the class on this day.) 

So, for second period, I was to switch classes with the teacher next door. Ms. C was going to evaluate the girls' choir while I watched her group. 

Ms. C got her class started. I took roll and had the girls begin their vocal warm ups. Then we switched classes.

Ms. C's students were to work on some music theory stuff (identifying the notes on a keyboard, something about identifying notes, and Pasta or Composer?). If they behaved, half way through the class they would get to watch a movie. (Ms. C warned me that they did better with rewards.) 

When I arrived, the students were working. I scanned the room. I recognized about half her students, but not in a good way. 

The only student not on task was Alyssa. She was doing her makeup. Normally, I would probably say something, but Alyssa kind of scares me. She's not yet 14, but I'm pretty sure she's in a gang. I find it's easier to just let her be. 

I took a look at the clock, did some calculations, and figured that 10:15 was when I'd start the movie. I watched them work.

And they worked well, for a few minutes. 

Then the class slowly slipped off task.

A couple students attempted to sit near their friends. (Teachers assign seats for a reason. It's best to keep them in assigned seats.) I shooed them back. They resisted. 

Then fake Evan made his way to Alyssa, and things devolved from there.

It's like Whac-a-Mole. Get one student dealt with only to have a new problem crop up somewhere else. 

But then it was 10:15. And I had a choice. They hadn't been good, really. But perhaps a movie would settle them. It was worth a shot.

Ms. C had left The Emperor's New Groove cued up. I went to start it...

"Ms. C said we could choose the movie."

"Put on Friday." 

"I know how to change the movie. It's really easy..." 

Yeah, I know how to change the movie, too. But Ms. C had left a movie ready, so that was the movie they were going to watch. 

I started the movie...

Someone closed the door and turned out the lights...

And five different misbehaviors instantly erupted. (Students chasing students. A group congregated in a corner. Some battle happened.) 

I turned off the movie. I turned on the lights.

"Hey..."

Nope. They lost the movie. 

They protested. Ms. C promised, they whined. 

"It's Black History Month. Teachers have been doing nice things for Black students because of it. So, you should put a movie back on." 

Nope. They lost the movie. 

I explained this twice. After that, I stopped replying. They weren't listening, and I wasn't changing my mind.

"Are you going to leave a good note?" 

I didn't even dignify that with a response. I sat and stared at them.

A note? Pshaw. Their teacher was next door. I told her all of this during the following passing period.

Making Me Look Good

Seventh grade English. Third period. 

The assignment: read an article about gladiators as a class. (Then they had questions to answer.) 

Reading... Well, it can be a challenge. I had one boy who at first read as if he couldn't read (but clearly it was an act as his pauses were way too regular) and then he read with an accent (that varied). 

Then I get to deal with the students who are all, "Where are we?" when they get called on. (The paragraphs were clearly numbered, and yet I'd have to repeat what paragraph we were on multiple times.) 

All the while, other students would be talking, so I'd have to shush them and wait for them to bring their attention back to the task at hand. 

(I so prefer when teachers have them read things on their own. I understand why reading together is better, as some of them clearly need the practice. Then many of them won't do the reading and will delve directly into the questions. But it's always a battle as we don't have the trust and relationship that they have with their regular teacher.) 

So, we were in the midst of it when two adults walked into the room. 

This happens. Counselors will appear to pull out a student. Same with security. Administration will pop in to do a dress code check. Another teacher might be looking for the teacher I'm covering. 

I recognized one as a teacher I've covered a few times (who is not teaching this year but doing some administrative stuff). The other I had not seen before.

But, the entire class got quiet. And attentive. 

Score!

We finished off a paragraph, and the two left. 

"Who were they?" the students asked. 

I gave them Ms. M's name, but I admitted I did not know the man. 

Class went back to how it was before the visit.

As I left for the day, the man came up to say hi and introduce himself.

He's the principal.

(The school has a new principal this year. He had been hired from outside the district, so I hadn't encountered him before this. I generally know the administrators. Really, I do.)

At least the class behaved at the moment I needed them to. 

Classes don't always make me look good when the principal comes around, but sometimes I luck out. 

Visiting the Gas Giant

What if? It's the basis of many stories. We ask. We ponder. We wonder.

On Tuesdays I throw one out there. What if? It may be speculative. It may stem from something I see. It may be something I pull from the news.

Make of it what you will. If a for instance is not specified, interpret that instance as you wish. And if the idea turns into a story, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements 😉 

What if we could take a "cruise" to Jupiter?

A Start

The yarn I pulled out three or four weeks back...

...has been cast on to needles, and a project is underway...

Unfortunately, it doesn't look like much at the moment. It's much wider than the needles are long. 

Ideally, it'll become a body pillow cover. It's going well, but my knitting/crocheting hasn't been working out as well as it usually does, so I take nothing for granted. I'll update one way or the other.

Got any good projects going this week?

Anticipation

Friday. The continuation high school. Technically, the class was woodshop, but due to safety concerns, we were in the teacher's other classroom where he teaches graphic arts. 

I don't know why the topic of prom came up other than they do start talking about it as early as October. 

Cole: "Are they going to have a DJ?"

Wanda: "Yes. Me. I'm going to DJ prom."

Cole: "Oh, well, then I'm not going..."

And the rest of the class erupted in laughter. 

Deep sigh. 

Cole: "There'll be like eleven, twelve people there..."

Yeah, I don't think so. 

Prom is popular. If it wasn't, they would have stopped having it by now. There'll be a crowd. And the way Wanda talked, it sounds like she's a professional DJ. I'm sure she knows what she's doing.

Kids are cruel. And I imagine Cole will be eating his words.

Spanish Week

I tend to avoid covering Spanish classes. I took French. But sometimes I don't have much of a choice.

January tends to be a slow month, subbing wise. Last week, I had prescheduled assignments for Monday and Friday. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday's assignments only popped up in the evening the night before. These assignments came so late that I was figuring I might not work those days. (Although, there was still the possibility that I'd get something in the middle of the night.) 

This is why I took the Spanish classes. Two different classes. Two different schools. Two days in a row.

(I have covered both teachers in the past. Tuesday's. Wednesday's.) 

Sometimes, I go through themes. I may hit a bunch of tenth grade classes. I might get a cluster of days at the continuation high school. I might go on an English bender. 

Because both teachers called out last minute, they hadn't prepared the usual detailed lesson plans. All they left in the scheduling app was a brief, "The work is in Google Classroom," message.

That's generally sufficient. The students know how to log in as they normally have assignments there. While I don't know what they're doing specifically, if the class is trustworthy enough, they'll get the work done without my hovering over them. 

And, for the most part, things went well. One class needed textbooks, which they got up and got off the bookshelves. One class had to take a Scantron "test", and they told me where those forms were located. 

But then there was fourth period on the first Spanish day. I told them their assignment was in Google Classroom...

"We don't have a Google Classroom..." 

Uh... 

We are in the third week of the second semester. The teachers created a new class in Google Classroom for the spring semester, closing down the fall semester Google Classroom. 

I would have doubted the kiddos were telling the truth, but this was a Spanish 5 class, which is also AP and filled with seniors. They had no reason to lie. 

I mean, I can see how the teacher might have not gotten around to creating a new Google Classroom for them. 

I asked if the teacher had any other way of communicating with them. I wondered if she had created a Google Classroom knowing she'd be out. (They checked. They didn't have a new one pop up.) 

So, what to do with a class with no lesson plans? 

This was the sort of class populated with academically-minded kiddos. So, I told them they had the period to complete any work they needed to complete for any other classes. This does not work in a middle school class or a core class filled with the general school population. They take it as "free time" and play. But AP classes actually make use of the time.

I saw one student pull out a calculator. A couple of them were clearly working on some project, probably social studies. A couple of them pulled out books to read. 

A couple of them played games on their phones, but the majority actually used the time to do other work. 

Not ideal, but there was no way I was going to figure out something else for them to do on such short notice in a subject I know very little about.

Two Scenes from Math Class

Monday. Ninth grade math. (It's kind of a combo of algebra and geometry.) I had covered the class the prior Thursday and Friday, so I kind of knew what I was in for. 

Actually, I kind of knew what I was in for before I took the assignment, and that was confirmed when I saw the class rosters. I recognized many names from success seminar in October. 

I just can't narrow it down, so I've got two stories for you.

It was getting towards the end of the first class of the day. I had offered to help them with the assignment. (They were graphing exponential functions.) No takers. 

Then, one boy: "Will you give me the answers if I pay you one dollar?"

I expressed how insulted I was at that price. So, they raised it, first to five dollars, and then to ten. I explained that they would be buying my expertise, and I took all the math in college. (Well, not all the math. I wasn't a math major. But I took the basic calculus sequence, and I ruined the curve in a senior level math class.) 

I wasn't about to give them answers. "I will help you do it, though." 

"How much do you want for that?" 

Me: "That is what the school is paying me to be here to do. I will help you for free." 

Alas, we had less than ten minutes of class, so I only got to help one boy with one problem. If only they had asked sooner...

In the next period, I had two girls who I remembered well from success seminar. Not in a good way.

They took seats in the corner, and while there was a lot of giggling, at least it was fairly quiet giggling. (The room was nearly silent, which surprised me.) 

Then, out of the corner of my eye, I spied them pulling something out of a backpack. I got up to investigate.

Marta dropped the item immediately. It made a big clunk. 

I only caught a glimpse, but it appeared to be a flat iron. You know, for hair? (It could have been a curling iron, but it was a bit bulkier than that.) 

Marta was standing, so she quickly plugged the thing into the wall. (I should mention that the room was carpeted.)

I told her to unplug the thing. She hesitated, but did. I told her to put it away. She said she would, but made no move to do so.

So, I hovered. I wasn't right next to her, but I was in the front of the room in front of her and Kristen. 

Eventually, Marta sat back down in her seat. I took that as my cue to go back to my station. I kept an eye on them. I never saw them put away the flat iron, but they didn't start doing each other's hair, so that was a win.

(I have seen girls do their own or each other's hair in class before, but never before with an appliance. I mean, I don't allow it, but sometimes they do not listen and do what they want to do anyway.)

I thought if I wrote both stories out I'd figure out which one I'd post. I still can't decide, so I'll leave them both for you. I was really glad to see the end of that day.