Thursday, November 20, 2008

First Post

Hello. I'm a relatively new substitute teacher- I began in the middle of October and plan to use this blog to document my experiences with teaching and the schools I teach in. I will give no names as to respect the privacy granted by law to student and as an act of professionalism. Technically speaking, writing about my teaching experiences even without names isn't the most professional choice, but I feel that substitute teachers are not widely represented on the web.

I plan to become a full-time teacher eventually and have been substitute teaching as a way to learn about classroom management, working with other teachers, and to evaluate my experiences in various grade levels.

So far I've taught in Kindergarten, 1st grade, 2nd grade, 6th grade, 8th grade, 9th grade and in "specials:" art and music. Classes like art, music, drama, and physical education are called different things in different districts and in my area, most elementary schools call them "specials," while middle school call them "connections," and some high schools call them "electives." Most likely when I blog about these classes, I'll use their specific names.

My mother teaches Kindergarten at a school that I attended for 1st and 2nd grades and is very close to the school district I attended. My best friend actually went through all of elementary school there and I've been fortunate enough to be able to substitute there a lot lately. One of my old teachers still teaches there and she was my teacher about 16 years ago! It's nice to get jobs at a school where your parent is a well-respected educator and the atmosphere is warm and welcoming. I plan to become a middle or high school teacher (preferably high school), so working at the elementary school, while enjoyable, is not my first preference. The kids are great at this school, don't get me wrong, but I've learned from subbing for my mom's class that no matter how sweet the kids are, it just isn't the right age for me. I remember saying months ago that I didn't like the prospect of tying shoes all day and just this past Monday when I subbed for her, I tied no less than 7 pairs of shoes.

I have stories to tell of my recent substitute teaching experiences, but they will have to wait. I look forward to sharing them!