Category Archives: Teaching*

The Worst Day*

Posted on April 8, 2011 by Shop Girl| 3 Comments

Flu: 2 — Shop Girl: 0.

I thought I had kicked this beast, but last night it reared it’s ugly head once again. I barely slept, but I already had a call for today so I woke up on time and started getting ready with every intention of going to work.

By 7:15am I knew there was no way that I could go to work. I called in, curled up on the couch and did what any sick kid would do: I called my mom.

She told me that the flu can come and go for about a week and assured me that I’m not dying. From there I knew there was one thing my body desperately needed: sleep. I crawled back into bed and slept until noon.

I woke up feeling a bit better, but even now I still have very little appetite. I’m just hoping that tomorrow I’ll wake up feeling myself as it’s book club day and I don’t want to miss it!

It was just so bizarre… yesterday I felt fine. I had already gone back to work by Wednesday afternoon, so I didn’t have a problem with taking a call to work a full day on Thursday. I was a little apprehensive when I learned that I was heading to a school that I’ve never been to before (that coincidently has a very rough reputation) but I packed my bags and off I went.

…I should have stayed in bed.

Yesterday was easily the hardest day I have ever had. The school itself is in a very industrial neighbourhood in a rough area of the city it’s in. When I arrived at the school and went to check in with the office, the secretary laughed a little when I told her it was my first time. She didn’t tell me much, just handed me a schedule and I was on my way.

The lesson plan indicated that I would be teaching general and essential level classes all day, but the regular teacher assured me in her notes that her first period class was great and rarely caused trouble.

Ha.

I had barely taken attendance and started the lesson when a girl abruptly stood up and announced that she had to use the washroom. I asked her to have a seat and wait until I had concluded the lesson, which wasn’t long. She glared at me, grabbed her stuff and walked out. I asked if she was planning to return, but she completely ignored me.

And that is how my worst day ever began. I dealt with flying elastics, throwing paper, awful language and an unbelievable amount of rudeness and apathy. My second period class was so hard that I actually had to stop, turn around and collect myself so that I wouldn’t burst into tears. One student told me off and called me a horrible name, and another announced that I was evil after I confirmed that I would be leaving a very honest review of the class for their teacher.

By lunch I was so done. Thankfully I had a prep during third period, and my last period class was much more manageable.

I left the school praying that I would never have to go there again.

I still felt okay after work–I was just deflated and exhausted. And then the phone rang. It was work, letting me know that I had been requested to return to the same school the next day (today). The woman I spoke with could hear the trepidation in my voice as I accepted the assignment and asked me what was wrong. I found myself pouring my heart out to her about my day and after her initial shock she immediately removed the request and found me a job at one of my favourite schools.

I felt so much better.

She called again 2 minutes later after perusing through my file and found that there were several requests for me at my favourite schools. I think she just wanted to brighten my day a bit, and I can’t even begin to tell you how amazing this woman was.

I really hadn’t planned anything for dinner, and after the day I had had I didn’t feel much like cooking so the Hubster, his friend and I went out to grab a bite to eat at A&W.

In retrospect, this was probably my biggest mistake.

All I had eaten all week to this point was soup, crackers and toast. I probably should have stuck with my bland food diet… let’s just say that I basically slept on my bathroom floor again. *sigh*

And that brings me to now. I was supposed to teach English and Gym at one of my fav schools today, but instead I spent it drinking gingerale in bed. Even now, I’m curled up in bed with my netbook watching Grown Ups, just waiting to fall asleep.

I really hope that this will be my last “I’m sick” post… ugh.

Posted in Complaining about something*, Teaching*

Interview #2*

Posted on March 9, 2011 by Shop Girl| 7 Comments

(Courtesy of: http://www.teachhub.com/storage/49e65192769b8_83256.jpg)

I kept a little secret from you yesterday.

While I was on my lunch break at work, I recieved the following email:

Can you come for an interview tomorrow Mar 9 at 8:00. Please let me know. Thanks.

Donna C., Head Secretary
Pretty City High School

Last week a job posting opened at the school I volunteered at all last year. Over the weekend I got my application package together and sent it off. It’s the first time in over a year that a job that I am qualified to teach opened at that school, and I had my fingers crossed that they would offer me an interview.

(Or just give me the job. That would be cool too.)

When I read the email I started hyperventilating and freaking out with excitement and stress. I had already been booked to work today, so I suffered through my last period until my prep then I began trying to sort it out with the school board. Luckily they are amazing and found someone to take my day so that I could go to my interview.

I spent most of last night reviewing my notes from my interview in January and trying not to stress out, which (unfortunately) I am prone to do.

I thought I had done a good job, until I went to bed and slept all of three hours.

(Which feels awesome, just for the record. You know, in case you were wondering.)

I woke up extra early this morning, donned my interview outfit and off I went. Today I wore a white collared shirt, a beige, belted vest and black pants. I went with my three inch black pumps to complete the outfit.

As the interview was so early in the morning, I didn’t go in as early as I normally might have. When I got there I noticed a guy in a suit waiting in the office. I sat down and asked him if he was also there for an interview, thinking that he must be crazy early for it, like I was for my last one. When he confirmed that he was indeed there to interview for the same job I was, I obviously asked him what time his interview was scheduled for.

When he replied, “8:15am”, my heart sank a little bit.

…15 minutes? That’s all I had to prove to this principal that I’m the best candidate for this job?!

At that moment the principal’s door opened and he walked out, shook my hand and invited me in.

(It was also at that moment that I realized that my heels made me taller than him. Bad sign?)

I walked in and was introduced to one of the VP’s that I hadn’t met, and was handed a sheet with five questions on it. FIVE. My last two interviews had at least 8 – 10 questions, and that’s not including the “Tell me a little bit about yourself…” intro question.

In fact, he didn’t ask that at all. After a brief description of the job (two periods grade 10 English, one period grade 10 History) he dove right in. As I began my to answer his questions, my anxiety rose, completely unlike my previous interview experiences. Where my last two were more like a conversation between colleagues, this was like talking to a brick wall. I couldn’t read him at all. As I finished each statement he wrote a few things down, said “Ok” and carried on to the next. It was so nerve-wracking. No encouraging facial expressions. No feedback. Nada.

Just notes and “Okay.”

*sigh*

The entire interview took twelve minutes. I left feeling so unsure of myself, but I’ve decided not to worry about it. If it’s meant to be, it’s going to happen… and if not, something else will come up. He said I would find out by tomorrow evening or by Monday at the latest–depending on how quickly they can reach the successful candidate.

And so, I wait.

In the meantime, I was requested to come and teach History there tomorrow. I’m really hoping that he’ll just let me know while I’m there… but we’ll see.

AH. Fingers crossed!

Posted in Teaching*

The Daffodil Principle*

Posted on February 23, 2011 by Shop Girl| 2 Comments

(Courtesy of: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/114/294724784_53a7bb76bf.jpg)

I have had the craziest week.

Work is picking up again, I had several assignments due last night, and tonight we hosted a big activity for the youth program I am involved in.

I tend to get very focused and stressed when I have a billion things to do in a short amount of time, and this week has been no exception. I had to speak at the activity tonight, and for days I’ve been trying to put together what I would say. Everything was based around accomplishments, setting goals and having learning experiences, and I wanted to find the right words to get out what I wanted to say.

Personally, I love to teach principles through stories. I think they are easily accessible, and help people remember the lessons being taught. So, I wanted to find a story I liked about goals and accomplishments, but couldn’t find one that fit.

When I got home from work yesterday, I checked the mail and found a letter from my mother in law. Inside was a typed two-page story and a short note letting me know that she was thinking of me and thought I might enjoy the story.

It was exactly what I was looking for.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

The Daffodil Principle

by Jaroldeen Asplund Edwards

Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, “Mother, you must come to see the daffodils before they are over.” I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead “I will come next Tuesday”, I promised a little reluctantly on her third call.

Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and reluctantly I drove there. When I finally walked into Carolyn’s house I was welcomed by the joyful sounds of happy children. I delightedly hugged and greeted my grandchildren.

“Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in these clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see badly enough to drive another inch!”

My daughter smiled calmly and said, “We drive in this all the time, Mother.” “Well, you won’t get me back on the road until it clears, and then I’m heading for home!” I assured her.

“But first we’re going to see the daffodils. It’s just a few blocks,” Carolyn said. “I’ll drive. I’m used to this.”

“Carolyn,” I said sternly, “please turn around.” “It’s all right, Mother, I promise. You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience.”

After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small gravel road and I saw a small church. On the far side of the church, I saw a hand lettered sign with an arrow that read, “Daffodil Garden.” We got out of the car, each took a child’s hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path. Then, as we turned a corner, I looked up and gasped. Before me lay the most glorious sight.

It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it over the mountain peak and its surrounding slopes. The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns, great ribbons and swaths of deep orange, creamy white, lemon yellow, salmon pink, and saffron and butter yellow. Each different-colored variety was planted in large groups so that it swirled and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue. There were five acres of flowers.

“Who did this?” I asked Carolyn. “Just one woman,” Carolyn answered. “She lives on the property. That’s her home.” Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-frame house, small and modestly sitting in the midst of all that glory. We walked up to the house.

On the patio, we saw a poster. “Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking”, was the headline. The first answer was a simple one. “50,000 bulbs,” it read. The second answer was, “One at a time, by one woman. Two hands, two feet, and one brain.” The third answer was, “Began in 1958.”

For me, that moment was a life-changing experience. I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than forty years before, had begun, one bulb at a time, to bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountaintop. Planting one bulb at a time, year after year, this unknown woman had forever changed the world in which she lived. One day at a time, she had created something of extraordinary magnificence, beauty, and inspiration. The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principles of celebration.

That is, learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time–often just one baby-step at time–and learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time. When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent things. We can change the world …

“It makes me sad in a way,” I admitted to Carolyn. “What might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful goal thirty-five or forty years ago and had worked away at it ‘one bulb at a time’ through all those years? Just think what I might have been able to achieve!”

My daughter summed up the message of the day in her usual direct way. “Start tomorrow,” she said.

She was right. It’s so pointless to think of the lost hours of yesterdays. The way to make learning a lesson of celebration instead of a cause for regret is to only ask, “How can I put this to use today?”

Use the Daffodil Principle. Stop waiting.

To D* Thank you so much!! You took such a burden off my shoulders and it was a perfect conclusion to my remarks tonight.

Posted in Cool Stuff*, Teaching*

I Love My Job*

Posted on September 20, 2010 by Shop Girl| 3 Comments

(via: http://tiny.cc/p1sus)

One of the things I love most about being a substitute teacher is the complete unpredictability of the job. When I step foot into a school in the morning, I have absolutely no idea where I’ll end up.

Oh, the dispatch callers who give you the assignments will tell you which department a particular teacher is assigned to, but that often doesn’t mean anything. I could get a call to be in for an English teacher and end up teaching computers, or a call for special education, and end up teaching science.

Today was one such example.

On Friday night I went out for dinner with a couple of my girlfriends, and while I was out dispatch called and left a teaching assignment for Monday with the Hubster. It was the first time that I had been assigned to officially cover two teachers at the same school on the same day. I often cover “on-calls”, but that’s usually just covering a single period for a teacher who is out for a meeting or something, and it’s usually in the cafeteria.

The assignment for today was Business in the morning, and Geography in the afternoon. I was really surprised by the Geo assignment (it’s not one of my teachables) but I thought it could be fun. I love being in classes I haven’t taught before–it’s a great introduction to the many courses and subjects taught in the Ontario Curriculum. You barely get a taste in teacher’s college placements, so this is fabulous!

In a lot of ways, I think substitute teaching is a lot like acting. If you are assigned a class that you have a) never taught before; and b) have no idea how to teach it; because c) you don’t understand any of the course content you have to sort of… fake it. Letting on that you have absolutely no idea how to do the work your students are doing can be a very dangerous thing–students love to take advantage of a teacher that isn’t in their element. So while I never hesitate to admit to students what my core teachables are (if they ask), I also try to appear comfortable in whatever subject I’m in.

Take today, for example. My morning assignment was: Business. I usually teach the computer / tech end of the business courses where I’m quite comfortable. Today “business” turned out to be “Financial Accounting”.

Have I mentioned how much I loathe numbers and anything math-related? The only numbers I’ve ever been competent with are page numbers. In books. I like books.

Lucky for me, the assignment today was quite challenging and several students required help. Fake it until I make it, right? I had two choices: 1) Help them and most likely send them down the wrong path (my history with math / numbers is not pretty); or 2) Get creative.

Instead of letting on that I had no idea how to do their assignment, I encouraged them to get creative and solve their problems together. I had the class asking each other how to get through parts they didn’t understand and I just facilitated the discussion. Thanks to a few bright students who caught on to the work immediately, the whole class plowed through and I didn’t have to look like a bumbling idiot. WIN.

My second period was a “prep” period. I was originally supposed to go down to the library and help out, but the office called and said it wasn’t necessary, so I had 75 glorious minutes to quietly read my new book that I absolutely cannot put down. It was so lovely. Did I mention that I get paid to read? :)

After lunch I switched teachers and was supposed to be teaching geography. In this instance, “geography” meant Environmental Science, yet another course I hadn’t yet had the pleasure of teaching. This material was a little easier to navigate my way through (there were no numbers involved) and I was actually able to teach the material and explain the assignment in a way the kids understood. WIN. (again)

Now, my fourth period was also slated as a prep period (two preps in one day? AMAZING) but the office mentioned that another teacher was out and I offered to cover the class during my last period.

At the time I didn’t realize that it was a grade 12 boys gym glass. Ha.

Grade 12 boys are a lot taller than I remember. They all towered over me, but I used my “I’m a teacher! Listen to me!” voice and got them organized into four basketball teams and passed the period uneventfully. It was actually kind of fun…

…that one time. I think I’m done with boys gym.(I was ready to sit them down and talk to them about the joys of deodorant, but time ran out. Oh well.)

Anyway, it was a full, busy hodge podge day and I loved it.

Who knows where I’ll be tomorrow? Based on today’s randomness, I’m guessing… auto tech. haha

Posted in Teaching*

Boys Will Be Boys*

Posted on September 16, 2010 by Shop Girl| 3 Comments

(via: http://tinyurl.com/37j9dcv)

Today is a perfect blogging day–it’s a cold, rainy grey day and I feel so warm and cozy in our little home. I haven’t gone outside at all yet, I’ve just been watching the rain stream down my windows, somewhat thankful that I didn’t have to be out driving to a school in all the muck.

After a long summer vacation working at the crap part-time job (which I don’t miss at all, in case you were wondering) I’m teaching again. The calls aren’t as steady as I’d like them to be, but then again, I really didn’t expect to get much work as a substitute teacher in the first two weeks of school. I’ve just been thankful to have any!

My first day back was last Friday, and it was the perfect start to the year. The school I was called to was at one of the furthest edges of the board, but it was a beautiful country drive and the community is close-knit and lovely. I taught grade 11 & 12 Business all day and it was glorious. It’s not even one of my core subjects but I love teaching it.

The kids were also hilarious. Here were two of my favourite moments of the day:

I am not a “sitter” when I teach. I like to make rounds and see where my students are at in their work so I can pace my teaching. As I walked past a particular students’ desk, I eyed a blank page where answers should be. I should also note that I am sometimes a tiny bit sarcastic with my students, but never in a mean way and always with a smile.

Me: “What a beautiful sheet of lined paper! Are you saving this one for something?”

Boy: “…what do you mean?”

Me: “Well, I just assumed that since you hadn’t written anything down yet that this particular piece of paper must hold some great value to you.”

Boy (chuckling): “No Miss, I am just a great procrastinator. I know you can’t know that because you’re new, but I’ve already taken this course and I don’t feel like doing my work.”

Me: “Ahhh… well, unfortunately, sometimes in this life we all have to do things we may not want to do.”

Boy: “That’s true, but I think I could live with out this… but you wouldn’t understand. You don’t look like a procrastinator.”

Me: “Well, I hate to have to tell you, but I was you in high school! I left everything to the last minute and was quite proud of my procrastinator status even into university.”

Boy: “Get out. I don’t believe it!”

Me: “Yup, but then one day I figured out that procrastinating work didn’t hurt anybody but myself, and, well, here I am. Now I get to be the boss and tell you what to do.”

Boy: “Hallelujah! There IS hope for me!”

I laughed out loud, and he proceeded to do all his work.

——————————-

In another class, students had to complete a less than exciting period of reading text book chapters and completing corresponding questions. As I circulated through the class to try and keep them motivated and on task, I noticed another group of chatty boys in the corner, who were obviously annoying the female students in front of them with their noise. I walked over to try and diffuse the situation.

Me: “How are the questions coming along?”

Boy #1: “Oh, they are great questions, Miss. We just don’t feel like answering them. Haha!”

Me: “Hmm… well, that’s unfortunate, but your teacher did leave me explicit instructions that they needed to be done in class as the books can’t go home and he is collecting them on Monday. So, you may want to try and get them done now, then visit after.”

Boy #2 (with a deadpan serious face): “Miss, you have the wisdom of Solomon.”

Me (trying desperately not to laugh): “Why thank you. If you do your work you’ll be wise too.”

Boy #1: “Maybe we just need a little motivation, Miss.”

Me (wary): “What kind of motiviation?”

Boy #1: “If we promise to do ALL our work, will you come to the fair tomorrow?”

Me (laughing): “What?? What fair? What does that have to do with international business?”

Boy #1: “Nothing, but it’s a fun fair and we want you to come. I’m not going to do any work unless you promise to come.”

Me: “I’ll tell you what–do all your work, and then you can tell me about this fair.”

Boy #1: “REALLY? You’d come?????”

Me: “Do your work.”

The boys all started laughing but started working and racing through the questions like a fire had been lit underneath them. The girls in front of them gave me a grateful gaze to have a couple of minutes of quiet.

(I didn’t go to the fair, even though they did do their work. I’m a bad teacher. haha)

——————————-

Oh, little boys.

I’ve only had one other half day this week, teaching English and Special Education, and tomorrow I head back to the country school for an afternoon of English and History.

It’s SO nice to be back in the classroom… I love teaching, and not just for great professional clothes or the funny stories. My practicum adviser once told me that I had a gift for asking questions while I teach–he loved how I ask things in a way that draws out more than just surface answers and allows my students to make connections with things they’ve learned. That really meant a lot to me–I try hard to make sure that my students are understanding the material I’m teaching, and ask questions throughout to actively engage them in the teaching process.

For me, teaching is everything. I never thought that I could enjoy a profession so much. I cannot wait to have a classroom of my own, even though supply teaching is all kinds of fun. (Did I mention that I got to watch Remember the Titans on Tuesday? And that I was paid for it? haha)

I hope that the calls start pouring in… fingers crossed!