Substitute Teaching.....WOW

So....on the job front.....I am still in contact with the Catholic schools in the Dallas diocese. I hope to go by most of them in the next few weeks and let them know who I am, I want to sub, my background, etc. Until then......and until a permanent position.....I am picking up work subbing in the DISD. It has been......fun?!?!

My first job was at an elementary school in an "early childhood" room....basically kindergarten. I was not the only teacher (thank goodness). I had a nice afternoon with the kids and everything went pretty smoothly. We sang and danced around the room a lot and played lots of center activities. It was a little frustrating to see the children participating in a curriculum and classroom activities that I did with my 2's and 3's at Mandell in NYC. There seems to be a huge gap in DISD children and those that I have taught before. So - my soap box for a bit - the importance of quality public education being available to families AND helping families understand that early childhood education is NECESSARY and not just an added bonus! Overall it was a nice afternoon and I told the teacher I would love to come back whenever she needed me. She e-mailed me later with nice remarks and that she would call me next time she was out and also share my name with her colleagues....how fun....I'm building a network!

My second job was at a high school. I signed up for this job that was titled business education at the ....Career Academy. I assumed it was a high school for kids who aged out of HS and wanted to go back for a GED or skills training in business. I was a little bit off.....

When I arrived, the teacher asked me if I had ever been there before....when I said no she immediately made me aware that they were a high school offering career clusters training to special needs students. A little different than what I thought but special needs does not run me away. Her room was the Hospitality Training room and she left two activities....napkin folding and making a place mat....9 kids for 4 hours and only 2 activities! I asked where her sub folder was and she showed me but it hasn't been updated since the beginning of last year - so helpful. I had to think quick.....I began brainstorming additional things we could do with her two activities....I looked around the room to see if there was something else we could work on.....I saw that caring was their Character Counts word of the month......I can handle that....I'm a school counselor. Quickly, I came up with a few activities and got some notes together on the way the afternoon would go. The kids came in and were lovely. They folded napkins better than anyone I have ever seen.....just for the record....I can't fold a napkin to save my life. I even had instructions and visuals from a book....no swan for me, no bishop's hat for me, no fancy fan for me.....however....I can come up with an impromptu napkin ring just for effect - a rubber band...the kids LOVED having a "napkin ring" for some of their creations!

The aid in the room kept complementing me on how great I was and didn't I want to teach there full time and how patient I was and how kind I was.....and how hard it is to work with "these children".....don't get me wrong....it was flattering....but isn't that what we are supposed to be? I am still not sure why some people think a teacher would act any different towards a child with special needs than to my 2 and 3 year old kids or my middle schoolers....it baffles me and it's not the first time something like that has been said to me. Soap box again.....kids are kids and people are people.....don't treat anyone any differently than you would want to be treated....

I have several other jobs scheduled for the future within DISD and I am really looking forward to some private school work soon....it's my way in the door:)

What are you doing with your days?