The Friday after our big teacher talent show, I subbed 3 periods of P.E. Talk about an easy day! The kids were required to spend 45 of their 90 minutes in the pool- not swimming any specific stroke, just being in the water. Then they could spend the rest of the time laying out in the sun. Most goofed off on our two diving boards- low dive and high dive. Girls opted for the baby pool to keep their hair dry and promptly got out to tan when their 45 minutes were up. But maybe the most interesting part of this class was seeing the swimsuit choices. There is something about developing 14-16 year old girls that gives them the thinness of a child-like body with the curves of an adult…and they were ready to show it off!!! They paraded out to the pool deck in the skimpiest Victoria’s Secret string bikinis I’ve ever seen and the boys noticed! Call me old-fashioned but don’t you think a dress code might be appropriate for these swim days? The last period of the day, I was supposed to teach a short dance but no one seemed to care. It was Friday, seventh period, and 3:00pm so I gave up and made it a “free period”.
The next week I was fortunate enough to sub for the Special Ed sweeties. Nothing much to write, as they were angels like always! A great day and always a fantastic way to spend a Friday :)
This Monday, I subbed for a teacher who had a first period English class, a third period prep, and a fifth period student teacher so I was looking forward to an easy day. I impressed the first period by memorizing all their names in an hour and passing back all their work without any issue. I hadn’t planned on bringing/buying lunch since I had about 3 hours to go home between classes. Then I got a call that I was needed to run to another teacher’s room to sub for her third period seniors! It was an easy class- we just watch “500 Days of Summer” and it was senior ditch day so I only had about 30% of the kids. Luckily my awesome mom dropped off some frozen food for me to have for lunch or I wouldn’t have made it thought 5th period, which consisted of me disciplining when necessary.
Today, I subbed another favorite class- Japanese! The first two periods of level three honors watched an animated film called “Totoro”, which was mostly a bunch of screaming and had a weird “cat bus” that looked a lot like the Cheshire cat from “Alice in Wonderland” and some giant animal that looked like a bunny but roared. VERY odd but it took the whole period and I got to just work on my computer. Fifth period level 1 is a different story. They are not as well focused as the level 3Hs and they didn’t seem to enjoy their movie, a documentary on high school baseball in Japan. They were completely out of line for the first ten minutes so I told them I had the authority to turn off the movie and have them write an essay instead (which I did not actually have) so they quickly quieted down and I had the rest of the period to compile attendance, write sub notes, and blog. In fact, I still have an hour left in the period and I don’t have anything to do!
As a side note, I was accepted into San Jose State’s new Yearlong Residency program. This program allows 30 students in the credential department to take a large chunk of their academic classes during the summer so that their next two semesters of student teacher are less stressful. Also, these students spend an entire year student teaching at the same high school, seeing a set of students from beginning to end. However, don’t be fooled. This is certainly not the easier option. The yearlong program allows students to get their credential in 2 regular semesters, making the process extremely intense. The benefit? I will be ready to look for a job this time next year to be in the classroom in Fall 2011, whereas I would not be able to be in a classroom fulltime until Fall 2012 if I were to take the regular SJSU program. I am excited at the prospect of having a full-time job in only a year! I know it will be rough from now until May (classes for summer start in only 4 weeks), but I can do anything for a year and I’m ready for this challenge. Student teaching, here I come!
The next week I was fortunate enough to sub for the Special Ed sweeties. Nothing much to write, as they were angels like always! A great day and always a fantastic way to spend a Friday :)
This Monday, I subbed for a teacher who had a first period English class, a third period prep, and a fifth period student teacher so I was looking forward to an easy day. I impressed the first period by memorizing all their names in an hour and passing back all their work without any issue. I hadn’t planned on bringing/buying lunch since I had about 3 hours to go home between classes. Then I got a call that I was needed to run to another teacher’s room to sub for her third period seniors! It was an easy class- we just watch “500 Days of Summer” and it was senior ditch day so I only had about 30% of the kids. Luckily my awesome mom dropped off some frozen food for me to have for lunch or I wouldn’t have made it thought 5th period, which consisted of me disciplining when necessary.
Today, I subbed another favorite class- Japanese! The first two periods of level three honors watched an animated film called “Totoro”, which was mostly a bunch of screaming and had a weird “cat bus” that looked a lot like the Cheshire cat from “Alice in Wonderland” and some giant animal that looked like a bunny but roared. VERY odd but it took the whole period and I got to just work on my computer. Fifth period level 1 is a different story. They are not as well focused as the level 3Hs and they didn’t seem to enjoy their movie, a documentary on high school baseball in Japan. They were completely out of line for the first ten minutes so I told them I had the authority to turn off the movie and have them write an essay instead (which I did not actually have) so they quickly quieted down and I had the rest of the period to compile attendance, write sub notes, and blog. In fact, I still have an hour left in the period and I don’t have anything to do!
As a side note, I was accepted into San Jose State’s new Yearlong Residency program. This program allows 30 students in the credential department to take a large chunk of their academic classes during the summer so that their next two semesters of student teacher are less stressful. Also, these students spend an entire year student teaching at the same high school, seeing a set of students from beginning to end. However, don’t be fooled. This is certainly not the easier option. The yearlong program allows students to get their credential in 2 regular semesters, making the process extremely intense. The benefit? I will be ready to look for a job this time next year to be in the classroom in Fall 2011, whereas I would not be able to be in a classroom fulltime until Fall 2012 if I were to take the regular SJSU program. I am excited at the prospect of having a full-time job in only a year! I know it will be rough from now until May (classes for summer start in only 4 weeks), but I can do anything for a year and I’m ready for this challenge. Student teaching, here I come!
congrats on the yearlong program. I'm sure that this time of subbing has given you great insight into the teaching process!
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