Monday, Sept. 21

We had a different sub today, and the key word there for me is "different." It's certainly been helpful to observe various teaching styles. It's also interesting to note the different challenges teachers face, given their unique styles. I noticed that our soft-spoken sub had a stronger reception from the quiet kids and a show of interest in the cute games she introduced, but the active (mild way of putting it) kids were extremely active, and meddlesome with the teacher tools. They were out for blood. The sub with the stronger personality definitely commanded respect quicker from the kids, but I wondered if the quieter kids were a bit taken aback.

There were a few things I noticed from today's sub. I thought she had a nice approach as she was trying to get acclimated. She asked kids to take turns telling her about the morning routine, instead of trying to fumble through the teacher notes while the kids got restless. It seemed like the kids felt respected and thus she was able to appeal to them this way and get them on her side quickly. Transitioning from the tables to the carpet is always shaky, so she conducted a couple rounds of Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes at the carpet, which got the table kids rounded up faster. Simple, but effective. Also, during reading time, since some kids were getting restless, she read aloud at the carpet for the kids who preferred that. I really enjoyed seeing the kids have a choice -- The subject was the same, but they were allowed a little flexibility. Why not? They're people too.