This is going to be short (sandman is calling) but I just wanted to say something about talk in the lounge. Teachers talk about many things of course, like family, current events, the weather, etc. A favorite topic, also of course, is students. How did such and such student behave today? What students are failing […]
Middle school is an interesting age. Not quite child anymore, but not completely adolescent either. It is a transition state. Many teachers stay away from this age, but I don’t mind it so much, depending on the class. They can range of course from not-a-problem to watch-your-back depending usually on the area. It is my
I was a substitute today, but hardly a teacher. As middle school science goes, all the classes were the same unlike a subject such as math where there are usually different levels taught or a foreign language where different grades are taught. I pretty much just announced a pending notebook check and then let them
Just a laid-back day Read More »
This was a favorite line of one of my past coworkers. Speaking of coworkers, this isn’t a story about students not getting along- it’s about two middle school teachers! Someone tell these two that they’re supposed to be role models! Click link for story. Teachers Who Got in Fist-Fight Arrested And just so I don’t
Can’t we all just get along? Read More »
A date with the familiar happens all the time, déjà vu and all that. I think we can all think of more than a few times that has happened. Today I was in 6th grade science, a field which has sort of been a goal of mine for teaching. As part of the lesson plan,
These are the bane of my substitute existence, next to holidays. No, I don’t mean the days students get off early but rather days where the teacher take off only half a day. It seems I may have three of these this week unless I can find a full day to take their place (I
Subbing has traditionally been a waiting game, waiting for that call to come inviting you to take over someone’s classroom for a day or sometimes more. There is one district that for some reason last fall seems to have just stopped calling me altogether. Actually, that is not strictly true- the sub for the sub
When one thinks of 8th grade, it is often associated with hormonally-challenged, impossible to control young adolescents, and indeed I have found this to be the case in several classrooms. Add learning, or especially behavioral disabilities to the mix and… well, I’ll leave it to the imagination. There is one school where I just refused
Not so bad after all / Quiz show Read More »
One of the most common roles I fill in for is special education. Sometimes it’s quite challenging, sometimes quite easy. Well, it is only truly easy when there are teaching assistants who pretty much take over while I take the role of assistant. This is commonly the case in mentally impaired classrooms (autism, Down syndrome,
There’s not really much for me to say today. I was with 3rd grade, which is about the bottom of my comfort zone. I have done lower grades, even preschool, but 3rd-7th is what I prefer. The day actually started out not looking so good with a lot of chit-chat while the kids did their
