Here are two reasons why...
First, I had this short Facebook chat conversation with one of my former students the other night, and I just kept chuckling at his sense of humor. I asked his permission to post this, and he said it was cool. You've gotta love a middle school kid who likes Alice Cooper and poking fun at communists.
Today
'ello Misses Parke'r, 'ow's England?
Today
fine love. and yourself?
excellent, spring break for Whitefield
fantastic! any big plans?
Arizona
oooh.
nice!
going to Alice Cooper's restaurant
of course you are.
i wouldn't expect anything different.
any other reason you're going to AZ?
he drops by from time to time so maybe he'll be there
i expect the picture of the two of you to be your new profile picture within the week
most definately
and were going to see the grand canyon
i subbed for the first time today since leaving whitefield, and it made me miss you guys
and see a red bulls game
red bulls?
NY red bulls, my favorite soccer team
right on.
or "football" as the brits say
soccer is big in england, but you already knew that
as is cricket, which i don't get
go Birmingham!
really?!
in soccer
not cricket
you are so globally minded
i love that about you
hooray for the intl. news
also go Gloucester rugby!
lol
pronounced gloster
yeah, I know
great spelling by the way
of course you know
i should have known
they were in the first rugby match i ever watched
live?
so they're my favorite
tell me why col. sanders is your profile pic
to answer your first question, i did not see them live, on television and to answer your second question its not col. sanders
what?!
who is it?
look closer at the pic
is it you? 
no it says:
i'm getting closer to 30 and i can't see well
KGB, when you're Russian for food, there's no time for Stalin
lol!!!!
And Stalin is meant to look like Col. Sanders
you're hilarious
always more than meets the eye
i like making fun of the communists
lol!
i miss you and your political cartoons
i dont think they were that good,my cartoons, i mean i didnt even come up with this one
oh, come on! the snail one about life insurance that you did in 6th grade is my fav
albeit that's not too political
anyway... it's after midnight here
nathan is already sleeping
i'm probably missing out on some good sleeptalk
oh, whyare you up?
i should get to bed
i was skyping with my family
they're in cali
8 hours behind me
oh, ok
it's hard to connect with them with the time change
so i just stayed up
catch ya later skater
so good to chat with you
see ya
Second, today I subbed for the third time at a Catholic school. I'm not sure what Catholic schools are supposed to be like, but I thought they were a lot more strict, like they are in the movies. This one isn't. It's wild. The students normally wear uniforms (jacket and ties included), but today was a free dress day and it was sleeting and blustery and miserable outside - two tell tale signs that it was going to be a rough day. And it was.
The classroom I was in was hot (someone stole the knobs off of the radiators so they were permanently on high all the time), small, and dirty, and during one period, there were 32 big high school aged kids packed in there.
There was a fight outside my classroom window when I arrived last Friday, and there was another fight outside my classroom door today between 4th and 5th period. The kid who got hit (16) didn't speak to me or tell me what happened or who hit him. He just teared up, wet his pants, and pulled out his cell phone to call his mom and tell her to come get him. It was weird.
I felt really powerless because I knew no names and there were no other teachers around. I finally found someone, but she was kind of old and looked bewildered that a fight could have happened at all. Then it was like herding cats to get the students to focus for the next two class periods.
On the whole, they're mostly very apathetic as students, rarely making any effort to do the work laid out before them. They're perpetually tardy. They do not listen while I'm talking. They cheat off of one another during tests while I'm standing right in front of them. In the computer lab, if they can't google the exact answer to a question, they quit working. They have no problems swearing in the classroom (not at me... today) using lots of choice words, most of them starting with the letter "f."
They chew gum, and when I ask them to spit it out, they look at me blankly and then lie to my face about having any, even though I saw their jaws chomping on it with my own two eyes. Then, if the gum makes it into the trashcan (sometimes they bite it in half and only throw one half in... or claim to swallow it but keep it under their tongues, etc.), they go back to their desks and pop in another piece.
One kid today kept alternating between passing gas and then spraying Axe under the table, making the classroom reek.
There are far worse jobs than subbing at a rough school in the northeast of England, but today I was hard pressed to think of any.
On my bus ride home, I texted Nathan, "No wonder so many teachers are alcoholics."
I miss my middle schoolers and I miss Whitefield.
6 comments:
I thought about you when I saw how terrible the weather was. It seems the weather was the least of your worries!! Hope you rested today and had day free of body odours and axe body spray.
Nicole,
Those students need someone like you as their teacher so you can challenge them and teach them how to love to learn. With your personality, looks, and strength...you could do it! (Now, no promises when the weather is crazy...adults even act up at those times.)
Much love,
Aunt Deanie
Sounds insane! I'm sorry! There really is nothing worse than feeling powerless as a teacher. I've never (really) experienced it, but I have nightmares about it...and your description comes close to my nightmares. 1. I'm just so sad for the victim of the fight. He wet himself and then was too frightened to even say what happened. 2. Do they have any type of discipline system? Referrals? Anything? 3. I despise when students lie to my face.
Anyways, I teach 6th graders, and they really are a fun age to teach! Hopefully, your next sub job is better.
Ahh, you've discovered why i decided to do Reception instead of teach.....
The best way I found to deal with the gum issue with 'rough' kids like that is not even to make a thing of it- just mention at the beginning of the class that you'd appreciate it if everyone would get rid of their gum before you start the lesson, and then if you spot someone chewing just casually pick up the wastebin and stroll over to their desk and hold it near them while continuing the lesson- if they haven't put it in after about ten seconds just glance at them and say 'gum, please' and carry on without paying much more attention to them- they'll usually put it in without too much fuss and it doesn't give them a chance to grandstand :P
oh, friend! how did you make it through that day?!?! i would have cried. or put my head in my hands and just started laughing because it was so terrible. you're so brave.
Thanks for your kindness and sympathy everyone... After a weekend off, I think I could swing another day of supply. :)
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