"Why Am I Looking for Children Under Desks?"

August 23

Current Place of "Residence" Belden Statford
Subbed? Yes.
Grades Taught Not even sure, but I'm thinking it was between K and 4
Subjects Taught I worked in the computer room and allowed the students to play educational games on the computer
Times I wanted to say "fuck" Only once, and it occurred in "What the fuck?" manner.
Was I asked why my ears are red? Yes.

If every day could start out this easy then my career would be perfect. I walked in, received the schedule I expected and went to my computer lab. Yes, MY computer lab. I had reign over it for the day and the students treated me as if I were their teacher. It led me to a very important conclusion that I will share with all other education-oriented people. It needs to be YOUR classroom to get respect.

This can mean many different things but the most important aspect of the whole shebang is that you walk into a space and then own it. Know its ins and outs then use them to your advantage. Figure out every feature that the room offers and then manipulate them to make them effective. For the first time since I started subbing (all the way back on Monday) I felt like I had a lesson plan.

When students came into my class they found their seats, started going to the websites I assigned and quietly did the work that I assigned to them. It might be that they finally started to respect me when I asked them to be quiet. It might that they know if they screwed up they wouldn't be allowed in the computers anymore. It probably had something to do with the fact that the "work" I assigned them consisted of playing educational games. But, the day went really well. I could sit at my own computer and let them work independently and take care of some things that I hadn't taken care of in awhile.

What I'm trying to say is I had a good day.

The Kindergarteners ended up being a bit rough, but to have a room full of kindergarteners independently working on a computer for an hour is damn near impossible. So when I had three quarters of them independently working for about fifty minutes I would count that as a win. During this period I had a few things that completely left me flabbergasted. First off every five seconds five students needed help and when kindergarteners need help they don't raise their hands and patiently wait for their turn. If they're not yelling my name, they are running and grabbing my arm. I don't think I've ever been poked more. Secondly, the vast array of "problems" students had with their computers could only be described as mind boggling. One student had typed up half of a powerpoint presentation titled "FASAhjlkdemujh" while another student had accumulated no less than 500 warning notifications and when I came over to help her she looked up at me with a smile worthy of a dog who just shit in the living room. Finally I did have a mini-panic attack when I couldn't find a student for about two minutes, only to find him hiding under a desk.

I think it's safe to say that I am glad I chose to pursue high school education.

Lesson 5: Do what you love, because you'll do it better.