Mission 2, substitute teacher

Today I was a 76 year old 7th grade math teacher who smelled bad. Don't worry, the kids didn't tell me I smelled bad (I could smell myself) or that I looked old.  I had the patience of a.......someone who has a lot of patience. I actually surprised myself. No serious problems. I mean it could have been a lot worse. There were probably 4 students out of each class who didn't need constant reminders about the instructions. There were also about 4 students in each class who would have been more productive sleeping. Should we graph this? Mean? Median? Range? Are those complimentary or supplementary angle?

A few kids made me so sad. They just didn't care. I don't understand that. Probably because I was the furthest away from that kind of kid when I was in school. What do you say to those kids who refuse to do work? I almost had this one today. I had him teaching two other students how to do a problem. I'm pretty sure I had him convinced he was "giving them the answer." Then SNAP back to I'm-gonna-put-my-feet-in-the-chair-and-cheat-and-rush-through-my-work-because-I-don't-care-what-you-think-me kid. tear

Positives:

1. The few kids who were actually respectful and made me feel like I was actually helping them.

2. When I was leaving I stopped to look at the color wheels that art class had painted. Some of them were really awesome. One kid had painted cats and dogs (heads) all around his color wheel. I couldn't believe how good it was really.

3. Also, on my way out (leaving was good) I had a good chat with one of my students for the day. He's in orchestra. He plays the cello. I found myself wishing I was going to see this kid again so I could see how he was doing. I hope he sticks with it. He said he likes playing and that he's going to keep playing through high school. I wish I knew his name.

3. Going home.