Week 10 Review: Just a Substitute Teacher....
Amongst teachers it is often said that this is the only occupation where it is easier to just show up for work when you are sick than it is to stay home. When we do have to stay home sick, however, we rely on some extraordinary individuals to provide back-up support and run our classroom for the time we can't be there. Mark Kauai is one of these people. He used to work as an embedded software engineer and consultant in California. Since then, however, he has decided to take on a semi-retirement stage and work as a substitute teacher. His blog Just a Substitute Teacher.... talks about the daily challenges of being a substitute teacher. He shares some great stories and experiences. Some of these are relatable to all teachers and some are just good comic relief and others still are great advice for fellow substitutes. Hopefully with a little help from him, subbing can be a little more than just trying to keep the kids alive. The post I most enjoyed from this blog involved the terrible subject of pronouncing student
|
names. He recommends going over the roster beforehand if you can to identify and try to work through some of the challenging names ahead of time. This day in particular he had done just that and was sure that one name on the roster, Isyss, couldn't be pronounced the only way he could see to pronounce it. When the class was seated and he started roll call everything was great until he got to that name. The students were all looking at him expectantly as they waited on him to attempt the name they knew was up next. He tried to avoid laughter by leading with "Ok, I know I'm probably wrong on this one so would someone tell me how to pronounce 'I,S,Y,S,S'. I'm pretty sure it isn't pronounced the same as a terrorist group in the nightly news." He was answered by stares and a girl in the back nodding him on, encouraging him to keep going. He decides to just go for it and asks "Is ISIS here?". The nodding girl responds with HERE and they continue on with class. He wasn't the first to have this problem and will not be the last. As I consider getting an E-Sub license this issue, along with many others plague my mind. I'm not sure if I can handle students constantly trying to break me down nor am I sure if I want to even attempt it. I remember how we acted when I was in school towards subs and the way we treated some of them is embarrassing to think about. This blog page reminds me that I will just have to stay calm, remember that I'm not alone, and that I just have to keep plowing on. I'll laugh about the crazy kids and experiences...some day anyways. If you need a chuckle, a way to feel less alone in your problems as a sub/teacher, or some helpful sub advice check out Mark's blog page. Although you may be avoiding subbing for reasons presented in the
picture to the right, I promise that of all the craziness included in subbing, students tying up the teacher is rarely involved! I am going to start subbing next semester and encourage my peers to do the same (ask me after the spring starts if I still feel like it was a sane choice to do this). I have heard it is a great experience and I am excited to try it out! Wish me luck, I might be in need of it from minute one, reading role call. Meanwhile, I will be reading up on tips and tricks from Mark and hiding all rope in any classroom I might be in...(better safe than sorry)
|