First and last day...

As I mentioned a post or two back, I have been substituting for a local school district. I have spent all of my time doing high school... except for one day.

That one day is what gave me the idea for this post's title. The other day I had my first and last day at a middle school.

The experience was beyond horrid. I was going to make this post the day it took place, but I was so angry that I just didn't want to think about it any more.

First off, I was supposed to be at the school by 8 in the a.m. Just as I'm about 5 minutes from the school, the substitute's computer system called me and informed me that my job for the day was cancelled. So, I turned around to go home. I decided that since I was already awake and dressed for class that I would call the high school to see if they needed my help for the day. The high school's phone lines were down, so I decided I'd go home and enjoy a day off. I got home, changed my clothes, sat down, then my phone rang again. I answered it. It was the middle school asking if I was coming in today. Needless to say, I was a bit confused since the job had been cancelled. I told the secretary that the job was cancelled. She said something like "Oh, that job was cancelled, but I went ahead and put you in for a different one." This was the cause for the confusion. At the high school, if the job is cancelled, the secretary just keeps the original job number on the books just sends us to a different classroom. (or at least that's what I'm assuming she does since I've had jobs switched on me before and I never received a cancellation notice before)

So I got dressed again and headed off to the middle school. The office was completely unorganized. I walked in and had no clue where I was supposed to sign in. No one was paying any attention to the guy (me) that just walked in. So I tried to figure out exactly where I'm supposed to go... so I just decided to walk around the office until someone asked if they could help me. It worked. I was told where to sign in, and was instructed to go to room "x". So I went in. There was another teacher in the classroom. She told me she couldn't find a lesson plan... so just pass out these handouts and have the class work on them. Ok.

1st period ended. The teacher I was subbing for didn't have a second period class, so I went to the office to see if I was needed elsewhere. They sent me to a math class. I went to the math class. Again... no lesson plans. I looked on the desk, on the table, everywhere I could think of and couldn't find a lesson plan. So I asked the students what they've been doing. As I'm sure you can guess, the answer was a resounding "Nothing." Since I didn't believe that I asked what they did the day before. They told me that they had a quiz... then one student said that they were supposed to have a test that day. Ah ha! Something they're supposed to do. I looked around again and found a stack of tests under some other papers. I told the class that they were going to take a test. I told them that if they talked or if I saw them cheating that I'd take up their test and explain to their teacher why I didn't let them finish it. That worked. The class was completely quiet until the last test was turned in.

Then 3rd period I went back to my original classroom. Again, no lesson plan... so I just passed out the same assignment that 1st period was given... even though this was a class of 7th graders and 1st period was 6th graders. 3rd period went fine until one of the boys decided to call one of the girls a "bitch" and a "hoe". Needless to say, this upset the girl and her friends... so they retaliated by giving him a note that said "Do you wear a bra? If not, you need to." and other such things. So of course, the boy got upset and came to me. I could tell he was upset, but I had no clue as to why since I was completely unaware of the situation at this time. He asked if he could go to the office. Well, seeing as how I figured I could handle whatever the situation was, I had him explain to me why he was upset first. He calmed down a bit and sat back down in his seat. I then asked the girls which one of them wrote the note. None of them answered. So I told the group that I'd give all of them a detention unless the guilty party admitted to writing the note. That worked. I got a confession. The girls then started explaining why the note was written... but they didn't get to finish because the story they were telling angered the boy again. This started a yelling match between the boy and the girls. At this point in time another teacher came in to help me out. She resolved the matter and the day went on.

Next was home room. Now, I remember that home room was supposed to be a time for the kids to work on homework and other such things... so it was ok that there wasn't a lesson plan. However, an attendance sheet would've been helpful. Since I didn't have one, I just passed out a sheet of paper and had the kids write their name on it. I also had to remind them to put their real names on it so they wouldn't be counted absent. The class was crazy. No one would stay in their seats and be quiet. Thankfully, their teacher came back to class about 15 minutes before class was over. I explained to her what took place during 3rd period. She thanked me for the information then told me that I was needed in the office.

I went to the office. They told me to go take care of another math class down in room "z". I went there. The classroom was empty. I looked around... couldn't find a lesson plan... then rummaged through the papers on the desk and found what I was supposed to have the rest of the classes do.

Thankfully, 4th period was this teacher's conference period. Instead of going to the office to see if they needed my help anywhere else, I decided to take a break since the day was already more stressful than any of my days at the high school.

Another home room class was next. The teacher instructed me to have the class read silently. I told the class this... but they didn't seem to want to listen. So I then had the students who were talking move to seats far away from their friends. That worked. Once everyone was split up, everyone sat quietly and read.

5th period... I was instructed to let the class do a warm-up for 5 to 10 minutes. I told the class that if they talked during the warm-up that I'd give them 5 minutes to work on it. If they didn't talk I'd give them the full 10 minutes. Needless to say, they only got 5 minutes. Over all, the class was ok. I did have one kid who gave me a bit of attitude a few times. Of course, that student's name was put into the report that I was going to leave for the teacher.

6th period. *deep, calming breath* 6th period was a nightmare. I can usually tell how well the class will behave by how roll-call goes. After attendance was taken, I could tell that this was going to be a very very bad period. I told this class the same that I told the last class. If they talk during the warm-up, I'd only give them 5 minutes to work on it. If they didn't, they'd get 10 minutes.

Before I continue, I must say that there was one girl in particular that during roll-call I knew she would be my biggest trouble-maker. And I was right. She started off talking rather than doing the warm-up. I asked her to move seats. She looked at me and stated "I'm not moving seats!" At this point, I was ready to walk over to her desk, grab her around the neck, and drag her to another seat. But since I couldn't legally do that, I just told her again to move seats. And again, she stated that she wasn't going to move. I then gave her a choice. I said "You can either move seats or you can have a detention." At this point, she just glared at me. I stood there staring right back at her. Finally she got up. She slowly gathered her things and slowly walked over to another seat.

By this time, not only was the class talking, but I noticed that only about 4 of the students were actually working on the warm-up. I instructed the class numerous times to work on the assignment. After repeating myself for the thousandth time I decided to turn off the overhead. Warm-up was finished. I told everyone to turn in what they've completed. Uh oh... this didn't make the class happy. Now their teacher would know that barely any of them were doing what they were supposed to do.

My trouble-maker started up with her attitude again. "We don't turn them in to you, we turn them into our folders!" I looked at her, then said, "That may be true, but today you're going to turn them into me. That way your teacher can see the progress you made on it." And again... more attitude.

I reminded the class that I have to leave a report for the teacher as to how the class went. My trouble-maker then said "Yes, we know! We've had substitutes before!"

Ok... let me just say... by this point, I seriously wanted to harm this child. I have never in my life (and this includes my time in the Marine Corps) had to exercise as much self-control as I had to at this point. I wanted to grab this girl by the hair, drag her down to the closest bathroom, and drown her in the toilet. I wanted to stick tooth picks under her toenails and then force her to kick the wall. I wanted to throw a desk at her. I wanted to throw a chair at her. I wanted to slam her down on the ground. I wanted to torture her for hours. But... again... since none of that is legal... I instead informed her that the report I was leaving for their teacher was going to have a large section just for her.

This didn't make her very happy. So she asked if she could go to the office to do her work. WOOHOO! Needless to say, I gladly sent her ass off to the office. The rest of the class was still talking, but they were at least doing some of there work here and there.

The class period went on... then all of the girls were called to the office for some screening by the nurse. Once all the girls left, all the guys pretty much stopped talking and actually began doing their work. Hmm... no girls in the classroom and the guys stop trying to impress them and do there work. There's got to be something up with that.

Anyways, about 15 minutes before class was over, all the girls returned... including the trouble-maker. Dang it. For about 5 minutes everything seemed to be going ok. But then I noticed her walking towards the door. I told her that she needed to stay in the classroom. She just ignored me and walked out. I went out in the hallway and told her to get back in the classroom. She came back to the door, but then stood next to the door. She would not get in the classroom. I told her over and over again to get back in... raising my voice with every time I had to repeat myself. The belligerent little twit would not obey. She then tells me to "get out of [her] face!" even though I'm a far cry from being "in her face". She then decided to just walk off. And since I couldn't legally grab her and throw her back into the classroom, all I could do was let her meander down the hallway. By this point, my left eye was twitching, my heart was beating about ten thousand times a minutes, and I was beyond pissed.

Once the class was dismissed, I went back into the office to put the report in the teacher's box. The lady in the office then asked me how the day went. I told her about how I have never come so close to beating a child... and not caring about the consequences. She apologized and said "Well, I hope you can come back for us sometime." I looked at her and said "Honestly, for the safety of the children, and for my own well-being, I don't think that's such a good idea."

So... that was my first and last day to ever work at a middle school. I'll stick with high school.