A Day in the Life of A Substitute Teacher

God, I am missing the beach! With public school starting this week, I haven't been out to walk. Since this weekend is Labor Day weekend, I may not get out much then either, due to crowds and traffic on our small coastal highway...beach withdrawal in process here....getting a bit light-headed and clammy just thinking about it.....I took these pics one evening last week. I love sandpipers! They seem to work so hard for the little morsels they get...kind of like how I feel as a sub teacher....

I get up each morning at 6am and turn on my computer, to see any computer job listings as well as waiting for the phone to ring. That means taking my cell phone with me everywhere in the am....Our system is only using certified teachers, but I would guess there are about 400 of them, all huddled over their computers in the morning, waiting to "peck" at a job. I did get a call Tuesday and went to an elementary school I haven't ever been to before. Thank goodness for Goole maps (can't afford GPS)!

The school has actually been razed to build a new school. It was a pile of rubble, with a maze of portables surrounding it. You could easilty get lost just going to the cafeteria. I was in a 1st grade room with only 14 students, but that number seemed multiplied by the end of the day. The teacher was also out on Monday, so this was the second day of school, with a second sub...don't you feel sorry for these little guys? I did! Most had no crayons and no pencils; not all had a lunch. I bring a number of things along on a sub job, but didn't have crayons. Also, there were no sub plans. Other teachers ran off stuff for me.

I took the class to breakfast about 9am, as instructed, along with all the 1st grades. We did not get back with our food until 10am. We were supposed to go to recess at 11:30, but another teacher told me to wait for her and she was late, so only 10 minutes of recess. Hey, I believe in recess! We then proceed to lunch, which is also late. The lunch monitor relieved me for about 20 minutes to scramble back to the room, use the restroom (holding for 5 hours - a personal record at age 50), and nibble some lunch. Sub teaching is great for weight loss!

We muddled through some lessons, but I could see I was losing them in the late afternoon. They were supposed to go to another teacher for 40 minutes, but she was a "no show." I have found that when resource teachers find out there is a sub, they tend to "disappear." Curses on her! The teacher I went to recess with kindly offered to watch my brood for about 15 minutes so I could gather my energy. My savior! By the end of the day, there was trash all over the floor, those who had crayons had busted most of them and tossed them on the floor, and a couple of books were torn, but hey, there were no tears or injuries. I survived another day in the life of a sub teacher!

Shaken, not stirred....

On Friday the 13th, I decided to run errands in town. As I neared an intersection famous for accidents, I could see that I had the green light and people were lined up on both sides to turn left as well. The group facing me was waiting, which was good, then suddenly a white car pulled out in front of me. He made it but the motorcycle that came after him did not. I hit the cycle, mostly with my right bumper, and the cycle burst into flames. I pulled over, got out, and with wobbly knees and trembling hands looked frantically for a body as I tried to dial 911. The guy was walking around and o.k., thank goodness. I couldn't bear the thought that I might have been a factor in someone getting hurt or killed, even if it was unavoidable. I will never forget the sound of crunching metal on metal, or the image in my rearview mirror of a motorcycle in flames. In 33 years of driving, this is my first accident other than a minor fender bender. It is a very real reminder of how life can change in an instant. I'm still feeling a bit shaken, and hesitant to drive. Today I went back to do the beforementioned errands, but I was very nervous....

My son started dual enrollment for his senior year at the college across town yesterday. I was a bit more anxious than I normally would have been, in light of my recent accident. He loves the college scene, but does hate the traffic and commute. He will only have to go there 3 days a week, at least.

I went to sub teacher orientation last week, required for my district each year, and did my drug test. Next week I get my sub badge and the following week school, and hopefully jobs, start. No calls on permanent jobs from the ones I have applied for. Oh well. I really don't think public education will recover from the economic downturn. I believe we will move toward online learning for middle and high school, and have privatized public elementary in each state. I also believe the number of private schools will dwindle. Not trying to sound gloomy, just looking at the reality of it. I need to try for some online jobs....

Cool experience of the week: I saw my first manatee in the north channel near our beach a week ago. It was dusk and my husband and I saw what we thought at first was an alligator, then a log, then....I suddenly saw this big, smooth body with a cute manatee face (that perhaps only a mother could love) right in front of me, just two feet away in the shallow water. He slowly reversed and moved out to deeper water. We saw another manatee in the same spot last night. Perhaps they are territorial and this was the same one.

Mountains' Majesty

I am back from a week in the Blue Ridge Mountains with my husband, which included a visit with my family. We saw this deer on one Virginia trail and were able to walk by without scaring her. The house is my grandfather's family home, which sits on family property and includes a family cemetery. I love the pic of the other path because it looks like an enchanted forest. The word "verdant" really applies here! The sunset was in the North Carolina mountains. The blue ridges really did seem to go on forever.

Summer's "To Do" List...

I expected to see God walking out to address the world from behind this cloud...

• We have decided to go into the mountains for a week, while our teenager remains at home; will we have a house to return to?




• While making this decision to travel, I noticed a curious dripping, moldy spot outside our kitchen window, which seems to indicate a leak that will need to be fixed soon. Hope hubby doesn't change his mind on trip....




• I have painted one room and one foyer area in the house and I am absolutely sick of house painting! So much for the bathrooms getting painted and the kitchen...




• I have been getting inundated with teaching offers for next year --NOT! Resigned to another year of subbing...




• On the positive side, I had a lovely lunch this week with teacher friends (several who have left the school I was at and, like me, prefer sanity to money.




• I walked at the beach two evenings and saw gorgeous sunsets - no two are ever alike! I saw an unusual sky last night, one hour before sunset, with pinks and blues peeking from behind the clouds. My pics really don't do it justice.

Lazy, hazy days of summer....

I'm in the midst of the summer "pull" - with urges to take morning or late evening walks (only times I can stand the heat), to drop by local fruit and veggie stands, to whittle away the afternoon in air-conditioned comfort reading, and to watch the beach sunsets. We had "marvelous" Fourth of July weather, with day temps only in the 80s, so my husband and I were a couple of walking fools. I took this pic of one lighthouse during a morning walk in the early July weather change (you can see the rougher tide), and one after sunset.

Yes, I have crossed a few things off my "to do" list - going through storage boxes and files, and some inside painting of one room, plus the usual closet and garage cleanups. I have recycled endlessly at Goodwill...dropping off old clothes and electronics, then going inside to browse for bargains. Even my son is hooked on Goodwill. Which is great because we certainly live on a Goodwill budget....I'm grateful for these unscheduled days, when I can get up and decide what I want to do...teaching days will come soon enough. Love that southern coastal life (with a glass of chilled wine, beer or a margarita!)

Looking toward the future...

I took this pic last night, sitting at the channel. My husband and I watched dozens and dozens of dolphins jumping and swimming near shrimp boats that came in and anchored for the night in the channel. If you look closely you can see one mother dolphin with a young one surfacing.
I watched Avatar two evenings ago, after we received it from Netflix. Great film obviously for the special effects, but also for the story. Humans have done so much to ruin this beautiful world of ours, through ignorance and greed, but I like to believe that we can salvage it.
I've been thinking about the recent high school graduates, since my son has a number of friends who graduated this year. As a teacher and parent, my wish for young people is that they connect in a very real way with the natural world and people around them. That which you have heard, seen and experienced first hand becomes important to you, and worth fighting for.
When I heard the comment made by the BP CEO about "wanting his life back," I understood that for him, the Gulf of Mexico and the people who live there don't really matter; probably, like many people, the natural world doesn't really matter to him in any concrete way. If you have stood at the ocean's edge, watching dolphins leap and pelicans dive, or wandered mossy, verdant paths through mountain forests, watching deer graze and chipmunks scamper, then those living things really, truly matter. I'm treasuring these days at home near the ocean, looking foward to a summer trip to the mountains, and hoping for a better future for our natural world.

Summer beach fun...hope it lasts

I am "out" of school, in a sense. I finished one long term sub teacher job a week ago, and though the public schools have this week left, I am not shopping around for last minute, last week jobs! I'll stay poor but sane. I'd be a "dead sub walking," for sure! Waiting to get any nibbles on job applications, and I did have one interview last week, but didn't get it. My husband finally got his old teaching job back, but it will be funded by federal money. Hmm....hope the money is still there come August!

Instead of doing dozens of jobs around the outside and inside of the house, I took myself to the beach this morning to walk, swim and read a trashy paperback. I left close to middle of the day, as temps heated up. I did restore some order in the universe by getting some groceries and dropping off a bunch of books at Goodwill. My son wanted to make a "teenager" living room out of the other small bedroom next to his, so we spent the weekend cleaning it out and finding a new place for the things in that room. He is excited to be doing dual enrollment for his senior year of high school. We still have a few details to work out over the summer.

This morning was a low tide, and I love being in the ocean water when it is calm. As I paddled around, I couldn't help wondering how long it will be before the great oil spill makes it to the Atlantic coast. I've lived here most of my life, and yes, I have taken it for granted at times. To have that possibly taken away...not to mention the tremendous loss to people and wildlife....here's hoping and praying that our summer fun can last!