Thursday, Sept. 17

Note to self: Call in sick when your MT says she/he is going to have a sub. Whoa.
I do believe I've witnessed some of the ups and downs of being a sub. You can come and go without committing to long-term plans. On the down side, there's not much of a learning curve. If you don't tune into the kids' personalities and a management style that works FAST, you're toast.

Our kinder sub today was a composed yet creative and experienced teacher with many years of working with little ones. You'd think that would have been sufficient. But noooo -- Each lil' group of kinders carries its own unimaginable set of challenges. This poor soul had a few minutes in the a.m. to prep the room, read the MT's management style and then it was off to the races. Basically, it was mayhem from the opening to the closing minutes. Just from having the benefit of watching the MT in action, I knew what class-control method she would have used at different moments, but I wasn't the teach' in charge. So as the kinders say, "I zipped it, locked it and put it in my pocket." I did learn a wee bit about collaborating -- about when you speak up about your ideas and when you let a more experienced teacher lead the way. And, I definitely learned that when the kids have got you, they've got you. Know when to fold 'em.