Water Park Field Trip…

Part of the motivation in writing this blog is to answer the question: “What’s it like being a substitute teacher?” Sometimes, it’s not actually teaching anything!

I worked on Monday to stay at school with the “left behinders” from two of the 4th grade classes. I had approximately twenty-five kids, while the rest of the 4th grade classes went on a field trip to the local water park for the day.

Status: Minimal inconsequential busy work. Boring day!

Yesterday, I subbed for the teacher of a 4th grade class from a different school on their field trip to the same water park. We walked to the park from the school and back with about 200 kids and six teachers. We didn’t get back until two hours after school let out.

Status: Longer workday. I sat in the shade reading a book, while the park personnel performed one lifeguard rescue, one vomit victim cleanup for our group. Relaxing day!

Next time I’m taking the swimsuit and getting wet.

Left Behinders Day 1 …

I was asked last month to take this four day, 4^th/5^th combo class assignment this week while the teacher and all the 5^th graders are at Science Camp.

The combo classes at this school are reserved for the high end students who can work independently at or above grade level. It’s considered a privilege to be selected for any combo class at this school.

So this week while all the 5^th grader half is away, I’m left with the remaining sixteen, “cream of the crop”, 4^th graders… and one 5^th grade LB (Left Behinder) from another class.

I could tell right away LB wasn’t happy about the situation being stuck in this “younger” class. His teacher’s lesson plan for the week was: “He’s to do all the same work as the 4^th graders”

I couldn’t tell if the half completed work and lackluster participation in class today was the result of not being able to keep up with the high-group 4^th graders or the general resentment of being the only 5^th grader in school left behind.

Seeking a clue as to what I might be in for the rest of the week, I lightly broached the subject privately by asking him if he had something like allergys that didn’t allowed him to go with the rest of the class.

LB: My mom had a “bad feeling” about the trip and wouldn’t sign the permission paper to let me go.

Me: Wow. Does she have these “bad feelings” often?

LB: Yea. She has them all the time. My brother and I don’t get to do much.

Me: I bet that’s hard.

LB: Yep…

When I asked the office staff person about LB’s situation, she told me that “Mom” is very controlling, WAY too attached to her boys and a general PITA when she doesn’t get her way at the school.

Poor kid…

Left Behinders…

There are two schools in the district that have very similar names and are easily mistaken for one another. One is a country club school where discipline is never a problem. The other is the polar opposite to the point I don’t take any assignments above 3^rd grade at that school.

The first school is overloaded with parent volunteers who sign up to chaperone field trips, grade papers, organize fundraisers and anything else the school might ask of them.

The other school, not so much.

So it happened that I got a call from a teacher to take his 5^th grade class at what I thought was the “good” school. He mentioned I was scheduled take his class on a field trip with all the other 5^th and 6^th grade classes at the school to see the “Nutcracker Ballet”.

“Sure! No problem.” (I’m still thinking this is the “first” school)

When I called the system to receive the assignment number, I realized it was for the “other” school.

Now I know that either I’m going on a field trip with minimal chaperone coverage for a bunch of kids that need the maximum level OR they’ll want me to stay at the school and monitor the real bad ass kids that weren’t allowed on the field trip in the first place.

No winning options here.

As it turned out I ended up on one of three busses with about 250 kids, three teachers, two substitutes, the health aid and one parent chaperone. We arrived at the theater along with busses from about 20 other local schools. The place looks like opening day at the Giants game.

The experience wasn’t any where near as foreboding as I anticipated. The packed house “Ooh’d, Ahh’d, and clapped in all the right places. They seemed to enjoy the ballet even if there were a few grumbles from some of the kids about it being: “boring”, “they didn’t talk”, “I didn’t know what it was about”, etc.

We managed not to lose anyone after the performance and I didn’t notice any discipline disturbances anywhere from the full house of about 5000+ kids in the audience.

We got back to the school with about an hour left before the dismissal bell. My class was rejoined with the five “left behinders” kids that didn’t go.

They also rejoined us with a student teacher that had them while we were gone who informed me that four of the five “left behinder” boys were caught exiting the girl’s bathroom after lunch.

Somehow, I’m not surprised. I'm glad I didn't have "left behinder" duty today.