Call me crazy, but tomorrow I'm going to attend substitute teacher orientation, where they'll review all the rules, the process, the dress code, etc.
I can't say that I ever WANTED to be a sub, but I'm kind of looking forward to it. I think this will be a good way to see if I would really be interested in certifying to teach on a permanent basis, and, if so, which I would prefer: an elementary or a secondary classroom. I'm really not sure. Maybe I will decide not to certify to teach at all. (There are certainly more lucrative, less stressful ways to spend my time.)
My sons think I am insane. They are recent witnesses to the atrocities visited upon substitute teachers in high school. Twenty plus years ago when I was in school I don't remember kids being particularly disrespectful to subs, but that was another time and place. I may have my work cut out for me.
I do feel like I'm doing a brave thing. We'll see how many days I survive in the classrooms of 2009.
I know another mom who substitutes in all of her kids' schools. She is the sub of choice at each one, and the kids and teachers really like her, but she's currently in the process of moving to Chicago. (I wonder if she will continue to substitute in the Windy City? That would be a whole new experience...)
I know that subs are often called in at the last minute when the teacher hasn't left a lesson plan. On those occasions I plan to teach geography, a fascinating subject near and dear to my heart. They don't teach much about geography in school anymore. I plan to have a lesson or two ready to go in a variety of pet subjects.
Reminds me of being a Merrie Miss years ago when we made "Kiddie Care Kits" -- decorative boxes filled with all of the supplies we would need to begin our own babysitting services. My 'clients' loved it - the distraction of having unfamiliar toys, coloring books, puzzles, and stories.
As a child, I 'played school' every day after school, but in college I didn't seriously consider teaching as a profession for many reasons. I think I am interested now, in part, because my own children are growing up and slowly leaving the nest. I was reading a Richard Peck novel aloud to Emily one night when she said, "You should be a teacher!" She didn't know I had been thinking about it.
Then I saw a commercial about some educational issue (must have been election time) featuring the state's "Teacher of the Year." She was walking around her neat and orderly classroom placing folders on each desk, and I could almost see my own classroom and how I would govern it and how I would love the children -- that would be the most heartbreaking part. I know, I know -- too idealistic! Remember, it's 2009...
So I have my little reporter job, my temporary Census job, and now substitute teaching. Trying to stave off boredom, I guess. Or derail my own dream of writing the great American novel. I suppose I'm searching for a new excuse not to finish writing it.
I think the truth is I have become a specialist in helping other people pursue their dreams and achieve success educationally, professionally, musically...That's what a wife and mother does. Now it's time to pursue my own dreams and achieve my own success and I'm afraid.
I can't say that I ever WANTED to be a sub, but I'm kind of looking forward to it. I think this will be a good way to see if I would really be interested in certifying to teach on a permanent basis, and, if so, which I would prefer: an elementary or a secondary classroom. I'm really not sure. Maybe I will decide not to certify to teach at all. (There are certainly more lucrative, less stressful ways to spend my time.)
My sons think I am insane. They are recent witnesses to the atrocities visited upon substitute teachers in high school. Twenty plus years ago when I was in school I don't remember kids being particularly disrespectful to subs, but that was another time and place. I may have my work cut out for me.
I do feel like I'm doing a brave thing. We'll see how many days I survive in the classrooms of 2009.
I know another mom who substitutes in all of her kids' schools. She is the sub of choice at each one, and the kids and teachers really like her, but she's currently in the process of moving to Chicago. (I wonder if she will continue to substitute in the Windy City? That would be a whole new experience...)
I know that subs are often called in at the last minute when the teacher hasn't left a lesson plan. On those occasions I plan to teach geography, a fascinating subject near and dear to my heart. They don't teach much about geography in school anymore. I plan to have a lesson or two ready to go in a variety of pet subjects.
Reminds me of being a Merrie Miss years ago when we made "Kiddie Care Kits" -- decorative boxes filled with all of the supplies we would need to begin our own babysitting services. My 'clients' loved it - the distraction of having unfamiliar toys, coloring books, puzzles, and stories.
As a child, I 'played school' every day after school, but in college I didn't seriously consider teaching as a profession for many reasons. I think I am interested now, in part, because my own children are growing up and slowly leaving the nest. I was reading a Richard Peck novel aloud to Emily one night when she said, "You should be a teacher!" She didn't know I had been thinking about it.
Then I saw a commercial about some educational issue (must have been election time) featuring the state's "Teacher of the Year." She was walking around her neat and orderly classroom placing folders on each desk, and I could almost see my own classroom and how I would govern it and how I would love the children -- that would be the most heartbreaking part. I know, I know -- too idealistic! Remember, it's 2009...
So I have my little reporter job, my temporary Census job, and now substitute teaching. Trying to stave off boredom, I guess. Or derail my own dream of writing the great American novel. I suppose I'm searching for a new excuse not to finish writing it.
I think the truth is I have become a specialist in helping other people pursue their dreams and achieve success educationally, professionally, musically...That's what a wife and mother does. Now it's time to pursue my own dreams and achieve my own success and I'm afraid.
1 comment:
I'm excited for you. And anxious to here what substitute teaching is like. I think I might like to do that someday. I remember some of my favorite subs. One was an old man whom you could distract from the teaching plan if you asked him about science experiments. He always brought a few to do for us and we loved watching them. Another was this really nice, fun lady who forbid us to call her a SUB. She hated the word and would insist on being called a Replacement Teacher.
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