Additional reading list with catchy titles on the subject of substitute teaching:

I will on occasion update this list of other on the subject:

Review from The Atlantic:  Pity the Substitute Teacher  

The End...

This is a photo of the last 5th grade classroom I worked as I have decided to really, really retire. 

There are no desks or chairs in this room as this particular portable classroom and nine others like it are destined for the landfill over the summer. The students will return in September to two new modern multi-story classrooms with all the new amenities that the state requires.

There will be parts of the job I'll miss:  The teachers and staff with whom I'm on a first name basis and even more than a few students that I recognize by sight if not by name. 

And so without further ado, the lights are off, classroom door is locked and the key returned to the school office...

(...currently messing around on Quora answering questions about substitute teaching experiences)

--The End--

...Mark, Just a Substitute Teacher

Old Dog, Old Tricks?

I have been taking more days off from subbing to resume playing racquetball. It's a sport I took up in my previous life working in the computer world. Years after layoffs, people moving out of the area and health clubs eliminating courts made it hard to continue.

Through a posting on our NextDoor.com website, I connected with a couple of active players in my neighborhood who were looking for new members to join their group.

I let them know that I had been out of the game for about 10yrs.  At 68, I might be a little rusty and not be much competition for them. That's when they told me not to worry.

Rick is 70 and Don is 80!!. Both are very good and Don is a Senior Olympics gold medalist in the sport. After a shaky start, I'm holding my own with these guys.

We've been playing 2-3 days a week for several months now and they are great guys to hang with.  We usually play 4-5 games late morning, then have lunch.

At lunch last Thursday, Don is complaining that photos on his new iPhone do not seem to be as good as his old flip phone and wants to take it back to the Apple store.

Rick has an iPhone, so he takes a picture of me and shows Don. Don takes one of me and they compare. Sure enough, Don's photo is a bit grainier. Rick tries to "adjust it" with an app called FabFocus and the result is not much better.

Then Rick turns Don's phone over and examines it closely.  He then grabs a napkin off the table, cleans the lens, takes another picture, nods his head and hands it back to Don.

The look on Don's face is priceless. Don is dumbfounded. He can't speak. He hasn't said a word yet but I can almost see the Homer Simpson thought balloon "Dooh!!"

Rick and I can't help but laugh.

Rick: " Just wait till Ann hears about this one!"

Don: "I don't think she'll say anything. She has the same problem with hers!!"

...I really like these guys