Caught

Oh, I forgot to mention...

Remember on Wednesday when I ran into that student at the craft store?  Or rather, when I snuck away before she had a chance to see me?  Well, she saw me.

I had her in class yesterday.  She asked.  I admitted that it was me.  We had a nice little conversation about crafting/jewelry making.

Funny how I ended up back in class with her so soon after.  I guess Wednesday's post needed a follow-up.

Making Me Look Bad

This upcoming weekend is a three-day weekend, so of course there was a shortage of subs.  Just about every teacher took today off (to make it a four-day weekend).  I was not thinking of this as I drove in this morning.  What I was thinking about was how I was going to tackle that opportunity class.

I had a game plan.  It included a spelling test and a lot of running around during PE.  I thought I was ready.

Then everything changed.

Turns out that since there were not enough subs today, each school got shorted a sub or two (or more).  The continuation high school had two teachers out, but I was the only sub assigned.  Administration made an executive decision to move me from the opportunity class to the government class (the same group that I had on Monday).

The opportunity kids got farmed out to other classes for the day.

I was thrilled.  Until second period.

First period was loud.  Very loud.  I gave them their assignment and then tried to rein in the noise.  Second period was a bit more wound up.  And that's where everything went sideways.

Two students asked to get work from another class.  I understood them to mean that they would get the work, then come back.  Unfortunately, they didn't understand the "come back" part.  So, when the office called for one of those boys, I had no idea where they were.

When students leave class and plan on remaining in another room, they are supposed to get a pass.  This pass is taken to the office so that the office knows where they are.  Two other students asked to go and remain in other classes.  Those two students got passes.  The office didn't call me looking for them.

Then the office called for another student.  Now, he was in class.  Or, rather, he had been in class when I took roll, and he had not asked to leave for any reason.  So, why was he missing?

After the office broadcast school wide over the PA, the student returned.  He had been outside.  ???  He didn't ask me if he could work outside (I probably would have said yes, and more importantly, I would have known where he was when the office called me).  I didn't even see him leave.

And that's what gets me.  I tend to notice when students leave the room.  If I have no idea where they are going or why, I stop them and question them.  I bring them back if they aren't just going out to blow their noses.  So, I should have seen that student leave.

At this point I felt like a complete idiot.  How long have I been subbing?  I should not be losing students.  I didn't lose any of the opportunity kids, and they tried to slip by me.

The rest of the day I had no issues.  Perhaps I was a bit more vigilant after the second period fiasco?  Nah.  The other classes were a bit more settled.  It was a personality thing.  Some classes are just crazier than others.

And it didn't help that it was a Friday before a three-day weekend.  I've had issues with classes before a break before.  I should have known that something was going to happen.

Ringleader Redux

I kind of knew that my phone was going to ring this morning.  And when it did, I knew exactly what the sub caller was going to want me for--day two with the opportunity class.  Turned out that she needed me for a day three as well.  Sigh.  

I knew yesterday that the teacher was going to be out again.  There was an incident in class on Tuesday, and the teacher needs a couple days to recover (it's a big, ugly story for another post).  I had hoped that yesterday when the sub caller gave me a different assignment for Thursday that I would escape the opportunity class.  No such luck.  

Yesterday, the class worked so nicely until the 8th graders arrived.  Today, Enrique was back.  

Enrique had been in juvie.  He just got out, and now he's back at school.  And as before, he changed the timbre of the room.  Santiago, who had been pretty good yesterday, would not settle to do anything.  (And then I had to write him up, but that is also a story for another post.)  

First off, Enrique told me that I was supposed to remove his ankle bracelet.  As if I could do that.  As if I would want to do that if I could do that.  I'm not sure what reaction he was going for, but I don't think he got it  Then again, maybe he did, because until I sent him out on a "time out", he would not settle.  

I heard about his travels to Mississippi.  I heard that Susan was in juvie, too.  I heard various attempts at rap. And I was constantly going after him for his inappropriate language.  

And I get to deal with all of them (including Enrique if he shows up) again tomorrow.  

Familiar Face

Today I had an opportunity class.  I've blogged about them before: this time, that same week, still in that week, and a bit more recently.  The make-up of the class has changed a bit since then.  I only remembered two of the students from my last time in the class.

They started off surprisingly good, and then the 8th graders showed up.  Things went downhill from there.  After school I needed a little pick-me-up, so I went out to the local craft store.

I needed buttons for a top that I had knit (birthday present).  While I was there, I perused the yarn and some of the jewelry findings.  The continuation high school was forgotten.  I felt like myself again.

Then I heard a very familiar voice.  Two women were discussing something or other about the beads (or fabric--I wasn't listening).  I looked over at them.  One of them was one of the students from the continuation high school (she wasn't in today's class, but I've had her in so many classes that I remember her name).

I realized that I should have expected this.  I was just down the street from the school (only a couple miles up the road).  I know the girl saw me, but she was busy with the other woman, so I quietly walked away.

That was disconcerting.

It's not the first time I've encountered students out in public.  Usually they say something to me before I recognize them.  And usually it's not right after I was at their school.

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).

Which Worksheet?

I didn't really want to work today.  I could have happily slept in until noon.  I groaned when the phone rang. 

The sub caller explained that the principal of the continuation high school had called her, but he talked so fast that she didn't catch the name of the teacher.  It was a mystery assignment. 

By the time I got to the school, they had sorted it all out.  I was in for the government/economics teacher.  But he had left no lesson plans. 

I have subbed for him many times.  The lesson plans are always the same.  They get a worksheet with questions, usually from their textbook.  The specific worksheet is different each time. 

While first period worked in their folders (that is the individually-paced class), I frantically searched for a worksheet for the rest of the classes.  This is hard, because I don't know where they are or what they've done.  I managed to find something that looked suitable. 

Then with less than 10 minutes of first period remaining, the secretary walked in with the lesson plans.  Whew! 

The teacher had emailed them.  Late.  (I did ask in the office if he had emailed lesson plans before school started.  They checked but did not find an email from him.)  The teacher included the worksheets for the day, but since this was via email, he only included one copy. 

For the passing period between first and second periods, I kicked out all the students, ran to the office, and made copies. 

(That sounds a lot more dramatic than it was.  The office is two doors down from the classroom.  Maximum class size is 25, so a class set doesn't take that long to run off.  And I'm at this school so much that somehow I got the code to the copier.  I easily made it back to class with copies before the tardy bell rang.) 

The rest of the day settled into routine.  I got to listen to them all discuss prom.  It was this past weekend.

The Ballad of Mike and Ricky

(not their real names--their real names are much more distinctive)

Freshman English.  5th period.  The other classes warned me about them, so I was sort of prepared.

It was near the beginning of the period when Mike first accosted me.  He wanted me to sign his grade check.  Never mind that it wasn't Thursday (the normal day for grade checks).  He had written in a C+ as his grade.  I explained that since I didn't have access to his grades I wasn't going to sign.

Mike wouldn't take no for an answer.  I told him I would sign, but only if we changed his grade to N/A (not available), or he could wait until Monday.  I noticed that no other teacher had signed this grade check, yet Mike insisted that he needed it for football.  Finally, he relented, but I could tell that he was not pleased.

I tried to get on with the lesson plan, but period 5 was not cooperating.  Ricky was "helping" by correcting the sentence of the day on the board.  After he erased the corrections.  Then he erased the clean board.  And again.

I told Ricky to stop.  It was time to sit down.  Ricky informed me that Ricky wasn't his name; his name was John.  This might have been plausible if (1) there had been a John on the class roll, and (2) I didn't know him from last year.

"Ricky, I mean 'John', it's time to sit down."  (I managed to convey the quotes around John in my tone.)  I continued to call him "Ricky, I mean 'John'" for the rest of the period.

Then Mike got into the game.  He claimed his name was Pedro.  He explained that while he might have looked black, he was half Mexican (and half Chinese and half white and half something else--it went on and on).  I replied that he couldn't be all those halves, but that point was lost on him.

Pedro was actually the boy who sat behind him.  I don't know why Pedro let Mike use his name without protest.  He must have seen that I didn't believe Mike.  I knew Mike from last year, so the name change wasn't flying.

It was a very long period.  I won't even mention the disaster of a spelling test.

At the end of the day as I was packing up, something made me check the grades posted on the wall.  (I knew they were there for Mike; I didn't feel like checking up on him for his grade check.)  I found Mike's student number (on the roll sheet).  Low and behold, Mike had a 67%.  C+?  I don't think so.

I made sure to note that in my note to the teacher even though I had written quite a lot about Mike (and Ricky) already.