Subs II

I wrote previously about some ego-bruising I suffered while my co-teacher was absent and a substitute teacher was in for him.  Mr. B and I had pre-planned that I would just run the lesson and the sub would back me up, as needed. The students had questions and comments about my position being as a sub or secondary teacher which I tried to address.

This week, Mr. B and I each had to be out one day.  Thursday I went on a field trip & although sub coverage could have been provided, we declined it, so he ran the show solo.  Friday, he had a conference and we again didn't request a sub, so I taught the class on my own.  

This went SO much better than the last time!  Actually, it went so well, there's really nothing to say.  We learned about knights & peasants in feudal society.  They did a little reading comprehension "test prep" passage and all was well. Happy day.

Tricks

My Co-teaching classroom has been one of the highlights of my day of late.  I'm feeling quite pleased with a supported writing project I did with a few students this week.  I was rewarded for my efforts by hearing students prompting each other about the elements of a "GREAT" paragraph.  (Our school's framework for citing evidence.) 

Another big pay off came along yesterday.  During a whole group situation with my partner teacher leading paragraph writing on the board, I interrupted because I noticed that many students hadn't indented.  (Did I interrupt the flow of writing to talk conventions?  Yes, in this case I did.  Here's why.  First, the quicker you notice a student needs to indent the less stressed they are about it.  Second, paragraphs have a certain shape.  That shape includes an indent at the first line.  If someone glances at a boxy paragraph with no indent, the first thing they might think is:  this kid doesn't know what a paragraph is, before even reading a word! Since these students' work will be read throughout the year by other teachers and eventually by state test readers, it's important to me that they make a great first impression.  So, of course we are working on the big ideas like, making a claim, citing evidence, word choice, transition, etc.  But, the details like format, handwriting and spelling are also crucial to a reader's perception of the writing.)  (Please notice that I don't indent my paragraphs on this blog.)

Anyway, I interrupted and remarked that some students hadn't indented.  And noticed that the teacher hadn't indented either ~ I wasn't calling him out, he was just writing the words on the board and they were all over the place, just for the kids to see the sentences.  I said, "Don't worry, I have a trick for that!"  A kid blurted out, "You have a trick for everything!"  Yessssss!  I'm the strategy lady, the tricks with learning teacher, the here's-how-you-make-it-work-for-you person in the room.  That is actually a big part of what I'm doing here and it seems like at least one student noticed!  Yesssss!  Total satisfaction on my part.

The trick is, just erase the first three words and re-write them just a teensy bit smaller so you have room for an indent.  Students who struggle with writing HATE to erase any of their hard-fought work so I try to help them avoid it at all costs.  No one has to erase and re-write the whole sentence or group of sentences they've already written, not stress.  

After I told the kids the trick, many of them did it and my co teacher modeled it very nicely on the board.  

Subs

Substitute teachers (not the giant sandwiches, silly!) have a super tough life, IMO.  When I first completed my teaching degree, I was lucky enough to get hired into the district where I did my student teaching, hence, I never had to sub.  I felt blessed.  Not just to get the job, but that I dodged the subbing bullet.  3 years later, when I moved to a different state without actually getting my certification sorted out in time to start the school year, I had to do it.  I had to be A Sub!  

I didn't love my time as a sub, trolling the online absence site, figuring out directions to different schools, finding locked doors and lack of plans in a lot of cases.  One of my least favorite days included watching A Walk to Remember twice.  I'm not totally complaining about this since at least this was the plan as left by the teacher and really, little could have been easier, but...BOR-RING.

Today, my co-teacher was absent & there was a sub in the room with me.  Mr. B and I had pre-planned the lesson and I would lead it while the sub got a little break.  This was all fine and the class went well, content-wise.

Ego-wise, not so much!!  One student called the sub my boss.  Literally, "He's the boss of you!"  OK, this stung a bit because it sounds like he, at least, (maybe others??) sees Mr. B as my boss.  Not the message we want to convey.

Another kid said, "There are 2 subs today."  Also, not the image we're trying to put out there!  So, I took this moment to do a teensy bit of reteaching on the "I'm your regular teacher with Mr. B, we're both your teachers, I'm here everyday teaching, supporting you, grading, etc."  I know the message from earlier in the year was heard loud and clear - somehow! - because another student called out, "co-teachers!"  So, that was slightly redeeming.  

Lastly, the kids were a little rambunctious today which is not totally out of the norm.  Mr. B and I have started a couple management techniques to help keep them on track this week. One very well meaning kid who was trying to stay focused and doing the "shhhh" thing (which I actually don't love) asked, "Are you going to report us?"  I know he was wondering, "Is she going to tell on us to Mr. B?"  I told him, no, there's no one to report anything to.  I'm here, just like I'm here everyday.  Mr. B and I talk everyday so we're going to talk and plan together, just like always.  I don't know how clarifying that was for the student.

While the kids were ok in class, their comments confirmed some of the concerns I already had. In One of my earlier posts, I mentioned being a little stuck in the back feeling like a visitor. This is definitely the perception the students have of my role as co-teacher.  Knowing this, my partner teacher and I will need to work to alter their views and hopefully benefit more from their co-teaching experience.