The old paper airplane trick

In one middle school, they have a class called "Mentorship" which is a 30 minute period on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Everyone in the school has it at the same time, and all the grades (6-8) are mixed together. I'm not too sure what usually goes on in this class, and the teachers never seem to leave any instructions or lesson plan for it. So the first time I had one, I just told the students they could talk quietly at their desks.
The kids were being pretty calm so I relaxed and started looking at a sheet or something on my clipboard while I was standing at the front of the class. It was a rare moment that I had shifted my focus from the students to something else. Instead of looking up every 5 seconds or so, I got lost in this sheet for a good 20 or 30 seconds. Well I guess kids are like wild animals, and if I was in a cage with a bunch of lions I sure wouldn't look down for more than a split second! Those unsupervised seconds ended when a piece of paper knocked into me and fell to the floor. It was a paper airplane!
Kids actually do that? I marveled. Kids STILL do that? Apparently.
Right away a few of the boys who were sitting directly in front of me started pointing and blaming the two boys in the back of their rows. One boy had a paper airplane in his hand. But, his plane was made with lined paper. The plane that hit me was graph paper. The other boy had graph paper on his desk. It was quite a mystery. But since I didn't have my fingerprinting kit with me, I gave up on CSI-ing it any further.
In the end I wound up telling the two boys I'd be leaving a note for their teacher with their names. I had no idea if this was an offense meriting a trip to the Dean's Office or if that would be going overboard.
So I learned that kids smell freedom (even if it comes from merely a few seconds of distraction) like lions smell prey. Stay attentive no matter what's going on.

Multiple Challenges of My Own

On Monday I got a call to teach ESL until June! Too bad I don't speak Spanish! Monday and Tuesday I got calls after 10am to teach a class for "diversely multiply challenged." I was trying to figure out what that meant. Tuesday I took the job and found out.

I got the call at 10:30 for a job that was supposed to start at 9! I immediately called the school to confirm they still wanted me to come. They did. So I got down there and saw several students in wheelchairs. In the office the receptionist told me Sorry, the job was canceled! :( But I took the opportunity to ask her about the school for next time. She classified the students as "profoundly" retarded/challenged. She said there will be lots of lifting and diaper changing! Good to know!

So I didn't work but now I know more about that school. I've done some research on the schools, so I know a little better what I'm getting into. Finding out some of the Unknown relieves some of my anxiety about taking a job. The good thing about the special schools is there are paraprofessionals to help (like on my first day) and the student: teacher ratio is usually 6:1! It's more like 20+:1 in the regular schools.

Anyway, I came up with some motivational statements for myself. When the phone rings, I have to remember: "Pressing 1 [to accept a job assignment] is the hardest part of the day." It all gets easier from there! So that's what I named the daily 7:45 alarm on my phone. Then, once I'm dressed and make it out the door, the rest of the day is a piece of cake! I'm going to make a sign to remind me of that and put it in the car or maybe on my bedroom door.

For me, it's true. Waiting for the calls, getting the calls and deciding on whether to take them or not is the most anxious part of the day. Once I press one, I just have to Go & Do It! Getting ready is also a struggle for me. What to wear, what to bring, avoiding getting on the computer to "research" the school and getting stuck on the computer.... Once I'm in the car, my work is done. Driving is fun. I usually get some traffic but thanks to the radio I have fun the whole way! Then once I get to the school, I just do what they tell me to do. And no matter how it goes, I know that by 3 o'clock it will be over.

I feel like once I'm in the car it's out of my hands. Before I get in the car, it's all up to me. So that's the most stressful part of the day. Hopefully my new mottos will help me push through the relatively short stressful period and get on with my day!

My First Day Of School (Again)

Today I had my first day of substitute ("guest") teaching! I started getting calls last week, all for assignments at special schools. Last week they called me for P.E. class, but I'm not allowed to teach P.E. (you need extra certification). On Monday my phone was ringing off the hook (I guess a lot of teachers partied hard for the Superbowl!) but my car needed a repair done, so I couldn't go anywhere. I got the car fixed on Wednesday (Kris' brother Eric has a friend who runs a repair shop and he gave me a huge discount on the labor).

So I was ready to get a call and go this morning! At 9:15 I got a call to teach an Autism class at Variety special school from 10:30-2. It would have taken me 20 minutes to get there, but I got stuck in traffic that added half an hour!

Anyway, I got there and found it wasn't an Autism class, but a behaviorally challenged class (which is more in line with my experience.) Turned out to be a class with two boys (17- and 14-years-old) and one assistant! The assistant and teacher have been teaching together for 6 years, so the assistant had things covered. She seemed pretty surprised to have an actual substitute there! So there wasn't much for me to do, but I won't complain!!

By the time I got there, the class had about half an hour of class time left. Then we had lunch. Then the class had its "journalism" period. The students quickly completed their assignment independently. Then I played War with the 17-year-old. He seemed very interested in me and asked if I had a MySpace! I said yes but of course would not give him my MySpace name! After getting bored with a never-ending game of War, it was soon time to walk them down to P.E.. While they were playing ball I had half an hour to sit by myself in the classroom. I read the newspaper. Then I left a note for the teacher, and the assistant and I went to pick up the kids from P.E.. We walked them to their buses and that was it!

I'm glad I finally have that "first time" done with, now I'm less nervous about taking assignments. Although, I doubt I will have another day as easy as this one was! It was a quick and painless $50!