I.T. to Teacher

Like the title? Sounds like I have something profound to say, right? No such luck. Read on.

Last week I ended up working 4 days. Not bad for my first week. I've already told you about my first day in painstaking detail so I'll hit the highlights of the rest of the week.

I took several periods of a physics class where they were supposed to be working on a lab. Well, they had done the lab the previous day and most of them were already finished. Ok, study hall it is. I had to tell one kid to put away the iPod he was listening to, to which he responded "Huh?" Exactly. One class ended up separated into several groups and it was interesting to listen to the different conversations in the different groups. The jocks were, of course, talking sports. The ones who would have been the "rich kids" at my school (I think most of the kids at this school fall into this category, though.) were talking about cars and cell phones. The third group were the "smart kids". They were talking about the nature of God, the origins of religion, free will vs. predestination, etc. That group was the most interesting to listen to.

The "rich kids" were using terms such as "boss" and "tight" to describe cars and phones. I may be wrong, but I don't think those terms have been in common use since the 70's. Could slang terms exist in a periodic cycle on the order of 30 years? Should I be a trendsetter and start saying "rad" again? That would be so bad. (Remember, bad as in good?)

In one class a girl was reading "Shopaholic and Sister" and was showing off the "bad words" to her friends. They compared it to "Catcher in the Rye" because that book has "bad words" in it also. That would be a heck of an English assignment "Compare and contrast the use of bad words in 'Catcher in the Rye' and 'Shopaholic and Sister.'" A guy in the group she was talking with read the back of the book summary and disbelievingly asked, "So this book is about shopping?"

One class tried to pull the "our teacher lets us listen to iPods" on me. Except that the teacher left instructions that said NO IPODS. Not gonna happen, kid.

I did make a couple of mistakes. I was giving several classes a test that helps determine placement in a particular honors class for the next year. They weren't supposed to use calculators. I let one class use calculators before I found that out. Turns out it wasn't a big deal since there's really only one problem where they would benefit from using a calculator (multiplying decimals... real tough) and they had to show their work anyway.

My other mistake was when I mis-helped several classes doing a lab on the computer. I told them to use one tool to select an area rather than the tool the directions said they were to use. This after telling them several times to read the directions carefully. Did I read the directions carefully. Of course not. Not until the last class of the day. So, the ones who did read carefully probably got the right answers, while the ones who did what I said to do go the wrong answer. At least they'll all be wrong the same way and the same amount so it shouldn't be too hard to tell if they did the process right.

Friday was a long day. I tell you, this working 4 days a week is killer. I was ready for the weekend. (I bet I can hear my wife's exclamation all the way from Chicago as she reads that) I didn't do much on Friday. I gave that placement test I mentioned and watched kids do labs so it wasn't hard; I was just tired.

I have to say, I don't remember people at my high school, which was pretty well off, having all these expensive things. I saw lots of iPods, expensive phones, and Louis Vuitton bags and wallets. I know, you're probably wondering how I would know Louis Vuitton from a plastic bag. Well, I was seeing a lot of these bags and wallets with the same design on them so I snuck a closer look and saw a stylized "LV" and figured that's what it had to be since it looked like it was something trendy among girls. Anyway, back to the rant. I know my parents wouldn't have bought me any $300+ gadget or $700 backpack for me to take to school. I think it's indicative of the school I'm at. Hmmm, I wonder if they give presents to subs they like? I'd like a vehicle navigation system and an XBox 360, please.

A couple of the students I had multiple days in multiple classes commented to their friends who hadn't had me before that I was a good sub and that they liked me. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. I haven't been so nice to the kids that I let them do anything they want, and I'm not trying to be friends with them, but, on the other hand, I'm not being a harsh disciplinarian since they haven't had much to do. If they have work to do I make them do the work, but if it's study hall I allow them more freedom. It seems to be working; I just wonder if having the students like me so soon is a good thing or not. I'll have remember this for when I get my first teaching job so I can adjust accordingly based on how things go from here.

The Bio teacher who helped me out while I was teaching Bio 3 of the days last week commented that things went much smoother than usual while I was subbing. She said that usually subs are in her classroom every period asking her questions. She thinks it helped that I have a science background. Whatever it is, it was good to hear that I'm doing something right.

I'm already scheduled for Monday, Wednesday, and Friday next week so check back for more.