Subbing Moments, We Salute You!

It has been over two months now that I have been substituting here in Portland and, unfortunately, things simply haven't picked up the way I had hoped.  I am still only getting one, maybe two, calls a week (this week I didn't get any!), and quite frankly, such sporadic work simply isn't sustainable.  Tutoring at Huntington has proved equally lackluster.  And so, it looks as though it is back to the drawing board!  Hoorah!  But before I leave my distinguished sub career behind, I thought I would share a few highlights from the road:

5.  Arriving to a school where the teacher left absolutely NOTHING to do.  No sub plans, no worksheets, no movies.  Nada.  Luckily, the Assistant Principal was good-hearted enough to scrounge together random DVDs from surrounding classrooms.  The day's lesson evolved into a film fest of the following: The Incredibles, Why Dog's Smile and Chimpanzees Cry (a Discovery Channel documentary), The Lost Boys of Sudan, and Speak, a film about a young teen who is raped summer before freshman year of high school.

4.  Being totally and completely DOMINATED by a 7th grade Dance Class.  Thirty-three thirteen-year-old girls.  One unfortunate substitute.  'Nuff said.

3.  Being referred to as "the super strict one" in the hall of a particularly rowdy middle school.  Silent high-five to me!  Woohoo!   yes, I believe this was the crowning glory of my subbing experience.

2.  Same day, same class:  boy eats paper.  Seriously.  Is moved to another desk- and away from the squealing girl sitting next to him- and continues to glower at his classmates as he chews on another 5 x 3 index card.  Creepy.

1.  One of my most productive, stress-free days?  Teaching a middle-school Intro to Spanish class.  yes, my friends!  Miracles do indeed happen!