I once again jumped feet first into a day of substitute teaching yesterday. I have learned I have to truly make up my mind the night before that yes, if they call, I will heed the call and go teach in place of someone who is out for the day. (Well, I use the term “teach” loosely.  Mostly, I figure it’s my job to make sure the kids don’t burn down the school. So far, I have a 100% success rate. No schools were torched under my watch!) If I don’t make that commitment the night before, it’s so hard to get psyched up after a 6 am phone call to jump out of bed and race to face a bunch of unknowns and attempt to be the boss.  (Or at least the fire safety marshall for the day.)

I am surprised how many people I know say they would never ever consider being a sub.  I even had one teacher say he couldn’t imagine being a sub.  Something about not knowing the kids’ names made him nervous.  I have discovered it’s pretty easy to get the names.  First off, the students walk in talking nonstop to each other, a practice they would love to carry on through out the entire class period.  If I listen, I can quickly figure out one or two names and faces. Once you have one or two to call on, it’s easy to connect with the group.  And honestly, I like teenagers.  I think they are an amazing creation. They are absolutely beautiful, yet for the most part, they have not realized that about themselves yet (and they won’t until they, at age 43.5,  look back at pictures of themselves as teens and think “DANG! I looked gooooood!!”)  They are so sure they know everything there is to know.  What a gift to be so confident! And many of these kids have a great sense of humor and can be quite entertaining (in small doses, you understand).

I have subbed in several high school classes (Business, AlgebraII, Pre Calculus, History) and in middle school (Social Studies more than once). Going from the high school scene (where boy, do they have attitude!) to the middle school was a shock. Those little tiny 6th graders are just babies! They said yes ma’am and no ma’am.  Quite charming actually.  I now know it was a set up, though.  I agreed to teach another 6th grade class, after that first blissful experience, thinking middle school wasn’t so bad!  The second day of the same age group was an entirely different experience.  Suffice it to say, I am quite sure the first group doesn’t exist in real life.  They were plants to lure me into the middle school realm.

High schoolers I find a little easier to deal with.  I know that age group a bit better, having just gone through it with my own sons.  Yes, there’s the attitude. Yes, they try to call my bluff. But once I stand up to them and let them know I truly do believe in my very large fantasy world that I am in charge, they tend to back off and give me the respect I demand.  Yes, I can be rather tough when I want to.

The highlight of one class was when a number of teen girls said I looked JUST LIKE that “new mom” on that “new show”….oh what’s the name, they fretted.  I think the name of the show has something to do with Orange County and is perhaps an MTV show? Not a show I watch, obviously, but one they were all familiar with.  They were in one accord (rather loudly, accompanied by much giggling and OMGs!!) that yes, I looked JUST LIKE the new mom.  I forced myself to ask the question, “So, ummm, is that a good thing?” They assured me that yes, ALL the moms on that show are HOT.  So there you have it. I have officially been labeled hot by the younger generation. I gave them all A’s for the day and sent them out for extra recess!  🙂

And the flexibility of substitute teaching is a huge plus! Yesterday, I taught. Today, I have other things to accomplish. Tomorrow? We’ll see!