LeatherneckPA
Recycles dryer sheets
Well, I had my first day of living my post-retirement dream yesterday, and it may not be all it's cracked up to be.
One of my planned "time killers" was to substitute teach in local school districts. And I got my first assignment yesterday, 7th grade Language Arts. That's a fancy way of saying 7th grade English if you ask me.
First three classes weren't too bad. One or two management problems, but a 7th grader is no match for a finely honed practitioner of verbal judo such as myself. We got through the lessons completely, and with a decent level of participation.
But that last class of the day, HOLY COW!!! What genius decided to take all of the worst kids of the grade and put them all together in one group? It'll take a few more sessions to help me make up my mind, but on first appearances I must give more respect to full time teachers. Of course it doesn't help when one of the kids in the class tells you straight out, "You can't do anything to me. I'll put you in jail."
My summer schedule is already filling with races, and I'm sure I'll be teaching motorcycle safety when I'm not ref-ing races, so it's not like I need to be a teacher. It was just a fantasy I held for many years. I suppose as a full timer, finding that one special kid a year could make it worthwhile. But as a sub who sees the kids once or twice a year, what's the incentive? I don't think money should ever be an incentive for being a teacher. I always thought being a teacher was about opening minds, which is impossible to do one day a year when you are seen as nothing more than "fresh meat".
One of my planned "time killers" was to substitute teach in local school districts. And I got my first assignment yesterday, 7th grade Language Arts. That's a fancy way of saying 7th grade English if you ask me.
First three classes weren't too bad. One or two management problems, but a 7th grader is no match for a finely honed practitioner of verbal judo such as myself. We got through the lessons completely, and with a decent level of participation.
But that last class of the day, HOLY COW!!! What genius decided to take all of the worst kids of the grade and put them all together in one group? It'll take a few more sessions to help me make up my mind, but on first appearances I must give more respect to full time teachers. Of course it doesn't help when one of the kids in the class tells you straight out, "You can't do anything to me. I'll put you in jail."
My summer schedule is already filling with races, and I'm sure I'll be teaching motorcycle safety when I'm not ref-ing races, so it's not like I need to be a teacher. It was just a fantasy I held for many years. I suppose as a full timer, finding that one special kid a year could make it worthwhile. But as a sub who sees the kids once or twice a year, what's the incentive? I don't think money should ever be an incentive for being a teacher. I always thought being a teacher was about opening minds, which is impossible to do one day a year when you are seen as nothing more than "fresh meat".