The Substitute Diaries

Yesterday was Storybook Character Day at the elementary school where I've been working lately. It was so much fun. The teachers and staff dressed as storybook characters. Second and third grade students who met their reading goals for last six weeks also were allowed to dress as their favorite storybook character. Pre-K, kindergarten, and first grade students lined the hallways for the parade of storybook characters.

Here are a few of the outstanding characters I saw and the books they represented. I was delighted to hear the principal remind the students that many of their favorite movies were books long before they were movies.

School principal

Resource teacher

One of the first grade teachers

I'm pretty sure this is the school nurse.

Student teacher ... please make note of the fact that she is en pointe.

The office staff

There were several Cats in Hats and Things 1, Things 2, and probably enough to make it to Things 8 or 9.

These two little girls wore my favorite costumes of the day.

These are just a few of the other costumes that the kids wore.

After the parade, all the storybook characters met in the cafeteria where they were treated to a screening of Puss In Boots.

I love seeing kids who are excited about reading. This love of reading will serve them well for the rest of their lives. I know they will be in for a lifetime of enjoyment thanks to the encouragement and enthusiasm they get at this exemplary school.

The Substitute Diaries

One of the things I really love about substitute teaching is that it's different every day. Some days I'm teaching literature to high-schoolers and some days I'm reading books to kindergarteners. It really is different every day.

This week I've been working with special needs students at a primary school. The class I worked with the last two days are high performing second and third graders. Most of these kids are autistic with a variety of challenges. Some are verbal and some are not. As a group, they don't like change and it takes them a while to warm up to new people. They much prefer to see the same people every day. I've worked with this group enough times this year that they know me now and most of them have let their barriers down to some extent and are able to interact with me.

I had planned to take yesterday off and work on laundry. I'm pretty sure that, if I stacked it all up, it would reach to the ceiling. But, when the district scheduler called around 7 a.m. yesterday, since it would be another day with this group, I took the work. I'm so glad I did. It was one of the most  exhausting and fulfilling days ever.

I have friends who work in the nursing field who swear that the hospitals really are a crazy place to work during a full moon. It makes me wonder if there was a full moon yesterday. I don't know if the kids have just relaxed around me or if there was a full moon or what, but yesterday these kids were what I would describe as wound up.

First of all let me say that I have absolutely zero professional training or diagnostic ability. What I have is a lifetime of living with siblings who have special needs. All of my "diagnoses" are speculative and my best guess. 

"J" is a very handsome young man who never stops talking. He takes almost all of his classes in this classroom, although he is mainstreamed for PE, fine arts, and lunch. He tries to engage anyone in the room in his fantasy play. Most days you can keep him calm enough to actually work for short periods of time. Yesterday that was mission impossible. He just could not stop talking. It was nonstop, constant, all ... day ... long! There was only one exception. Around lunchtime, when he would normally go out for recess, he went over to the reading area and picked out a book. He told his teacher that he wanted me to read to him, because I am a really good reader. He brought the book over to me, tucked his arm inside of mine, and lay his head on my arm while I read to him. It was so sweet.

Then there is a lovely young second grade girl, "E." When I first met E more than a year ago, she was just learning English as her second language. She's really grown since then and speaks English just fine when you can get her to talk. She doesn't interact much with other children and is unusually quiet. I've never seen her get excited like most second graders do. E fixates on pencils, pens, crayons, and markers. Her fixation on these object consists of holding them up to her nose, right between her eyes. She looks at them by crossing her eyes and will then begin to shake as if she's having a seizure. Usually, she does this a few times a day and when you tell her to stop she does. Not so yesterday, she was completely immersed in these objects and simply could not control herself. I accompanied her to music class. The teacher greeted her and put her in a chair right on the front row. I sat at the side of the room, a few feet away, with two students between us. The class is working on a performance which includes singing with hand motions. A few students will have speaking parts. At first E didn't participate at all. Then suddenly, it just seemed to click. She started moving her hands right along with all the other kids. It was so awesome to see. Every now and then she would look over at me, as if seeking approval. I would smile and nod and she would smile back and keep moving. The teacher came to me after class and told me that this was the first time E had ever participated. Always before she had just watched. She didn't sing, and I don't think she will, but just participating was a huge accomplishment.

Another student is a second-grade boy who is hands down the most polite child I have ever seen. He is very soft spoken and cute as a button. He is mainstreamed for most of his classes and comes to the resource room for reading. He speaks both Spanish and English, but he replaces the c sound with a t sound so "cat" sounds like "tat." He is just adorable. In addition to special help with reading, he receives speech therapy. Yesterday, at the end of the day, I was assigned to escort him to the front of the school where he would be picked up by a family member. We were among the first to be out of the school and had to wait for his ride. He picked up a pen and an eraser that someone had dropped on the front walk and stuck them in his pocket. Then he picked up this little green pony bead and held it out for me. He put it in my hand and said "This is a magic bead. Take it home and plant it in your garden and more beads will grow."

But my absolute favorite moment of the day came when I took two boys to their third grade PE class. One of them, "R," does not want to go to PE, EVER. His idea of a good time is to play computer games. They use computer games very effectively as a reward for doing his other work. He is an angelic-looking child, but can become loud and difficult when he doesn't get his way. They asked me to come and pick him up to go to PE because he has been giving them a hard time. When I arrived at his classroom, as expected, R said he did not want to go to PE because he does not like PE. I told him that I don't like PE either, but I had to go and if I had to go, so did he.

Photo credit

It was a beautiful sunny and warm day yesterday, so PE was outside. The class was learning how to jump rope as well as how to turn a rope for someone else to jump. The teacher paired my two boys with two "big boys." And by "big boys" I mean kids that will probably be football players once they get to high school. I could tell that they were not thrilled with this pairing but they were being good sports. I realized right away that in order for the two big boys to jump, I would have to help turn the rope. The concept of turning a rope for someone else to jump was beyond the abilities of one of my boys, so I tried to show them how to do it. One of them got it and was able to take his turn, the other did not, so I turned the rope. All four boys were able to jump rope by starting from a standing position and starting to jump on a 1-2-3 count. I was pretty surprised that both of my boys were able to do it.

About halfway through the class, the teacher blew her whistle and had all the students sit and watch as she had a student demonstrate how to run in and out of an already turning jump rope. I remember doing this as a child and I also remember that it takes a great deal of coordination and good timing. She told the students that they could try it or not. If they didn't want to try it, they should just continue with jumping as they had before. I was very surprised that both of my boys wanted to try it. One of the "big boys" went first. He got it on his first try. The second of the "big boys" tried repeatedly. He didn't give up and finally, after maybe ten tries, he was able to do it. One of my boys tried once and didn't want to try again. The biggest surprise of all was that "R" was able to do it on his third or fourth try. It was so exciting to see him participating and accomplishing what was surely a huge challenge for him. The two "big boys" rushed over and congratulated him with high fives. I have to admit that I actually had tears well up in my eyes. At the end of class, I complimented both boys on their willingness to work with my two boys.

I want to share this photo with you too. At the end of the day, while waiting in the car pick up area, I looked down and noticed a little girl wearing only one sock. When I asked her about it, she said the other sock felt "weird" so she took it off. Her teacher told me that this is a pretty common occurrence for her. It just made me smile, so I thought you might enjoy it too.

I have enjoyed spending a few days with these kids and I have a great deal of respect for people who do it every day.

The Substitute Diaries - Serendipity

On Wednesday Grams substituted for Ms. Story's second grade class. The night before, at the PTA meeting, the second grade had presented their annual program. So the next morning, they performed the program again for the entire school.

It was serendipity. There is little I love more in this world than primary school programs that include singing and dancing. This one did not disappoint. The theme was Surfin' Safari and it had everything ... hula girls in grass (plastic) skirts, sharks, straw hats, cardboard surfboards, leis, tropical flowers, limbo dancers and a few other things I probably don't remember. 

Fish

Leis, flowers & sunglasses

Hula dancers in grass skirts

Cardboard surfboards

The director of this musical extravaganza was Betty Murphy. Betty has been a PE teacher at our school district since my kids were in elementary school. You can just see her in the photo below leading the audience participation section of the program. She has been involved in these programs at least since My Favorite Christmas Pageant Ever which would have been sometime around 1986.

My favorite part of the program was Ms. Murphy's instructions to the students in the audience who were all primary school students. She spent the first few minutes explaining to them how an audience behaves. Her instructions included how to applaud properly, the importance of staying in your seat, and being respectful to the performers. She touched on how it's not polite to laugh if a performer makes a mistake and how proper audiences don't hoot and holler. I was very impressed.

She also took a moment to speak to the performers about the example they were setting for the other students. She explained that the kindergarteners and first graders would be learning how to put on a performance from watching them.

Grandad and I regularly attend live theater performances in Corpus Christi and occasionally in San Antonio.  I am often appalled at the lack of proper etiquette exhibited by audience members. I can only hope that these young people grow up to be proper theater patrons.

These photos were all taken with my HTC Evo Shift phone. Considering that I was sitting at the very back of the cafeteria, they're not too bad.

The Substitute Diaries - The Teacher Gets Schooled

My mother always told us that she had eyes in the back of her head. But I've learned that a substitute teacher must far surpass that standard, especially at the middle school level.

I've learned quite a few things since I started substitute teaching.

I can spot a teenage girl surreptitiously texting from her cell phone from way across the room. Honestly, do they think I don't know what they're doing when they sit with their hands in their purse?

The rattle of a candy or gum wrapper brings me to full attention. Likewise, I can hear a whisper all the way across a classroom.

I've learned which bells to ignore and which ones to heed. And I know where to go during a fire drill and what to take with me when evacuating the building.

I've learned that anytime a girl says she feels sick you should send her to the nurse's office as quickly as possible.

I've learned that it's okay to let a kid sleep through your class. It's the path of least resistance and sometimes that's the right choice.

I've learned that some teachers don't think substitutes are actually capable of teaching anything ... or they're just too lazy to put together a lesson plan.

During a test, I can spot a roving eye without even trying.

I've learned that, in the hands of a teenage boy, a rubber band is, at the very least, a huge distraction and, quite possibly, a weapon of mass destruction.

And pencils ... don't get me started on pencils. I could write volumes about pencils ... sharpening them ... coming to class without them ... breaking them ... stabbing people with them ... yes, I said stabbing. I once had a classroom of first graders who sharpened every pencil in the room (probably more than 40 total) down to less than two inches over a two-day period.

And along with pencils come sharpeners. Pencils and sharpeners are so abused and disruptive that I usually ban the use of electric sharpeners completely. If you must sharpen a pencil, you better be okay with using a small hand-held sharpener. That's all you're getting in my classroom.

And writing instruments in general ... I can't believe how many high school and middle school boys come to class without them day after day. Really, how do they expect to get any work done without anything to write with? Oh, I get it; that's the point isn't it?

There are things I say over and over again: Where are you going? Where are you supposed to be now? Do you really have to go? You're supposed to take care of your personal needs during passing period. Sit down! Stop talking! Turn around! Tuck in your shirt. I swear, some days it would be better for me if I just had a recording that would play these things continually over and over again. Sometimes I feel like the grand inquisitor.

I have also learned that the most powerful thing you can say to a kid is ... What is your name? Those four words, asked in a stern voice while making effective eye contact, strike fear into the heart of a kid. This is especially effective with boys ... for some reason they think you're going to leave the teacher a note with their name on it or write their name on a referral to the back office.

So, yes, I've learned a few things since I went "back to school."

The Substitute Diaries on Re-writing Literature

Grams favorite days as a substitute teacher are the days when I get to teach English or Language Arts. It's no secret to anyone who knows me that reading is my passion.

Photo credit

The week before the Christmas holidays I had the opportunity to teach a high school English class that was reading Julius Caesar. I was very excited to learn that they were reading the parts aloud. This is something I remember doing when I was in school. Assigning students to read each part makes for active class participation that this literature lover can really get into. Clearly the plays of William Shakespeare were written to be performed, not read silently.

Imagine my horror when they started reading and I discovered they were reading a modern American translation of Julius Caesar. Seriously! Specifically, they were reading Act 2, Scene II, about Calpurnia's dream.

In the original text Calpurnia said:

What mean you, Caesar? think you to walk forth?
You shall not stir out of your house to-day.

In the modern translation Calpurnia said:

What are you doing, Caesar? Are you planning to go out? You’re not leaving the house today.

I found this disturbing on so many levels. First of all, I'm offended that anyone thinks that high school students can not learn to read and understand Shakespearean English. We did it and I know they're at least as smart as we were. And, second, isn't the way Shakespeare wrote what made Shakespeare Shakespeare? Translation into modern English takes away the rhythm and rhyme of the writing. Shakespeare DID NOT write in modern English. High school students SHOULD NOT read Shakespeare in modern English. Re-writing Shakespeare is what I call a tragedy!

Photo credit

Then, last week I heard a news story that reported that NewSouth, Inc. will publish new editions of Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. These new editions will omit the use of the "n-word." WHAT?

If my memory serves me correctly, the use of the "n-word" is central to these stories. It's part of describing the world that Tom and Huck lived in. In my opinion, it's integral to understanding the relationship that Tom had with Jim and what was extraordinary about that relationship. To replace the "n-word" with the word "slave" is not right. Changing that word does not change the reality of the world in that time period. It's part of our history.

As George Santayana said:

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

The Substitute Diaries

Grams spent the last two days substitute teaching in second grade. I love kids this age. They're still young enough to be wide-eyed and innocent, but they know how they SHOULD behave in school.

Substitute teaching has reinforced for me that I don't remember much of the math I learned "back in the dark ages" in school. It's also shown me that math is taught vastly differently than it was when I was a kid. We weren't even encouraged to count on our fingers. These kids are taught to use tools like hand signs, rhymes, songs and charts.

For the past two days we worked on learning how to use a "hundreds chart." Basically, a hundreds chart is similar to a number line (which is what we used). Students learn to add and subtract by moving left, right, up, or down on the chart. When you move left and right you add or subtract by one. When you move up and down you add and subtract by ten.

Keep in mind that many second graders don't know which direction is left and which is right. And although most of them know how to count by tens, doing it on the chart was beyond their comprehension. With a couple of them, I felt like I was banging my head against the wall. I thought I had made real progress with all of them on the first day, but at least five of them didn't remember how to do it on the second day. I worked one on one with all five of them and I think the last one finally grasped the concept on the very last problem.

This class has three or four little boys who are "a handful." They challenged me several times yesterday with their behavior. In fact, they pushed the limits of my patience at every opportunity. One of them got in trouble with the language/social studies teacher and had to sit-out for the entire recess period. In fact, yesterday the entire class had to sit out the first five minutes of recess because they were too noisy in the cafeteria. Grams is NOT a fan of making kids sit out at recess. I think they need to burn off their excess energy. If they've misbehaved, they should not sit out. In my opinion they should run laps or at least walk, not just sit silently at a table.

I took a different approach today. I started out the day telling the class that I expected better behavior today. I took the challenging students aside and gave them positive reinforcement and encouragement. Before they left my classroom to go to language/social studies, I made it perfectly clear that I expected better behavior today.

The result was that, in my classroom, their behavior was vastly improved. The other teacher expressed that they were not as well behaved in her class, but there were no major infractions and no one had to sit out for recess.

Then they went to lunch! Teachers take their lunch break while the students eat lunch under the watchful eyes of the cafeteria aides. Then second graders go to recess and the teachers meet them on the playground. I was the first second grade teacher to arrive on the playground today, the others were only a minute or two behind. But, when I arrived, another teacher was leaving the playground with three boys in tow ... two from my class and one from another class. It seems that a fist-fight had broken out as soon as they got onto the playground.

As we supervised the remainder of recess, several more pushing and shoving incidents occurred among the second graders. From this point on, for the rest of the day they were noisy, argumentative, and difficult.

When we went back to class, we moved from math to science. The science lessons this week were about magnets and compasses. We showed them some Bill Nye, The Science Guy videos on the subject. We had several different examples of magnets and lots of items to test for magnetic attraction. The kids loved this part and handled all the materials carefully. They shared and passed them around without any troubles or complaints. It was fun for them and for me.

I love the rush I get when I see a class really enjoying learning and when I see one kid finally grasp the lesson I'm teaching. I really do love it, but this day wore me out. And, here's the best thing about being a substitute ... I don't have to work the next two days unless I want to ... and I don't want to.

These Made Me Happy

On Friday, I resumed substitute teaching at our local school district. It was a great day and very easy duty. I spent the day substituting for one of the high school art teachers. I had classes from Art 1 to Art 3 and even a couple of independent study Art 4 students. I really enjoyed seeing their artwork and chatting with them.

Several of the girls in one of the classes had on very cute shoes. They were made by Tom's Shoes. I've heard of Tom's Shoes before; I saw the founder on some television show. For every pair of shoes they sell, they give a pair of shoes to a child in need. One for one. You can't beat that. And, these shoes are seriously cute and look very comfortable.

This last pair of shoes is not made by Tom's. In fact I couldn't tell what brand they were, but I really liked them too.