Substitute Teaching

I had my first day as a sub on Wednesday, the day after Jesse had other students share their advice for subs.  It was really helpful and put me at ease as I went into my first day. 

I was at a middle school and started each class with taking attendance.  While taking attendance, each student had to share what they either like or don't like in a sub.  I was actually expecting silly answers but what I got from just about all the students were serious answers.  Here is some of what they said:

LIKE:

• know what they are talking about
• nice
• try to learn our names
• follow our teacher's lesson plans

DON'T LIKE:

• scream at us
• act bossy
• don't do anything

I will be subbing at middle and high schools and I've decided I will continue doing this when I sub.  On subsequent assignments to the same school I'm going to do something similar during attendance taking with short answer questions that help me connect with the students.

What's the Matter with Parents These Days?

2/15/12, Facebook in review:

Morning -- posts on APS and news station pages from parents bitching about how APS didn't cancel school.  (God forbid they choose to educate our children during bad weather!)

Afternoon -- parents bitching about NCLB waiver and how APS isn't doing their job in educating our children.

I always feel drawn to read these comments even though I know I'll just get upset and regret it.

My bias -- PARENTS!

MY children are successful in school.  MY son graduated 4th in his class and is now in college.  MY son received numerous academic awards in chemistry, physics, government, and was just barely beat out for the calculus award.  MY daughter in the 6th grade took a placement test that put her in the top 10 in the entire school (the same test was given to all students, 6th-8th grade).  MY daughter just started high school and is on the Honors/AP track.  MY kids were read to regularly and didn't watch a lot of television.  MY kids spend their summers in libraries, museums, watching educational programs, taking classes, and doing math and reading activities.  MY kids participate in extracurricular activities that promote positive development.  MY kids show up for school on time, fed, with homework completed, and cell phones turned off.  MY kids see me involved in activities at their schools.  MY kids are asked about what they learned in school that day.  And, guess what, MY kids did this while on the Free/Reduced Lunch Program.

So what's the problem?  Not ME!  Well then, it must be YOU!

I know that my tendency when a child is not doing well in school is to blame the parent.  I question why the parent isn't doing their job.  I see my role as a parent to be their primary teacher.  I have told my kids that I have always been and will always be their primary teacher, that school teachers are simply contractors that work for me.  This is absolutely how I see MY job as a parent and I expect all parents to think similarly.

I know it's much more complicated than that.  I know this on an intellectual level.  But my gut reaction says something very different.

During my first classroom observation interview, I talked with the teacher about parents.  She shared with me some of the struggles she sees her parents facing that interfere with their involvment in their child's education.  It did make me think and we ended that topic with me telling her that this was an area I need to work on.  I don't really know yet what this will mean for me once I am in a classroom but awareness is always the first step.

2017 National Teacher of the Year

Donna Boston has been named 2017 Teacher of the Year for her work with pregnant and parenting students.

"O-M-G! Mrs. B totally deserves this," says Gabrielle, a 17-year-old parenting junior at New Futures High School in Albuquerque, NM. "If it wasn't for her believing in me, I probably would have dropped out."

Boston teaches child development, parenting, and family financial management.  She aso developed a new class designed to help students explore college and career options which is now a required course for all students.  In addition to her work inside the classroom, Boston established a relationship with Big Brothers Big Sisters to provide students with Big Sisters who were themselves teen parents and overcame the obstacles.

Jinx Baskerville, principal at New Futures says, "Mrs. Boston has been instrumental to the success of our students.  Our test scores have risen, absenteeism is down, and our graduation rate has increased every year since she has been with us."

Stacy Carter, mother of a graduated student, says, "Mrs. B is the reason my daughter is in college now."

Boston's style comes from an asset-based approach.  "I believe it's important to find out what is going right in a child's life and build upon that in order for them to be successful.  This applies not just in school, but it builds resiliency when facing all of life's challenges."

Purpose for Becoming a Teacher

To be honest, my purpose for becoming a teacher is based on what I need.  I haven't worked a full-time job for a very long time due to health problems.  I was only recently diagnosed properly this summer at the Mayo Clinic.  To put it very short, if I don't eat a low-fat/high carb meal or snack every couple of hours my body starts to break down my muscles effectively immobilizing me.  Once I learned that I could manage my condition easily through diet, I started thinking about going back to work.  I realized though that I would need a job that would make it easy for me to follow my prescribed diet or I wouldn't be able to maintain working for very long.  Light bulb...why not teach high school?  Classes change every hour and a half which would then signal snack time.  So, here I am.

Having said that, I wouldn't have pursued this if I didn't know I would also enjoy it and be good at it.  When I did work, it was always serving children and families.  Most recently I spent the last year as a tutor and found that I received a lot of feedback from students that my methods were helpful to them.  I also spent some time homeschooling, including teaching classes in a co-op, and I really enjoyed it.  My goal for my classroom will be to create an environment that is respectful and nurturing.  I hope build relationships with all my students so that they feel safe,  cared about, and that their contributions to the class are important.  I want my students to learn the material they need to learn while also developing good thinking and problem solving skills.  I think my job as a teacher is not only to teach subject matter, but to prepare them for their future in general.

My prediction for the Super Bowl is that I will keep my spending under $100 at the mall while my husband is with his friends watching the game.