justplainbil

Just Plain Bill

Teacher Observations XIV–Journey’s End

And now my seven-week journey has come to an end – 35 school days as a long-term sub for a group of 25 third graders. And I’m sad to see the journey end.

I met my students following their Spring break, after they’d had four different substitutes (their permanent teacher had to deal with some health issues).

In addition to helping my students catch up on math and writing skills, my biggest challenge was to reinforce their belief in their own competencies. My strategy was to elevate and feature specific accomplishments by each, things they could feel proud in mastering.

Time was invested each day in classroom management. My students were able to sign up for a variety of classroom responsibilities where they were designated as “master” for a particular task, such as “Chair Stacker Master”, “Telephone Master”, “Attendance Master”, “Pledge Master”, “Homework Checker Master,” and so on, to where the classroom was almost self-managed. In addition to tasks, there was a “Math Master”, “Cursive Master”, and “Language Master” where students served as tutors and coaches for important parts of the curriculum.

Students were challenged to complete research on a topic of their choice. The choices were enlightening and entertaining. Examples include why Jeff Bezos chose Amazon as the name of his company, who invented “Spinners” (the “toy” so popular at the time of this writing), and the question shared in an earlier blog that arose when we were discussing robots and their abilities; HAL, the robot in the movie 2001, A Space Odyssey, did not let Dave back into the spaceship. HAL said, “I’m sorry Dave, I’m afraid I can’t do that.” One girl asked if robots had feelings, and if they don’t, why did HAL say that he was “sorry?”

My students could collect tickets for their completed challenges that could be exchanged for an item of their choice from the prize box. I soon discovered many students cherished the number of tickets they accumulated rather than exchanging them for something else.

I also introduced the game of chess as a free-time activity by purchasing eight chess sets that were used religiously, eventually resulting in a double elimination tournament. Several students researched various opening gambits, which significantly improved their skill in these activities, which has been proven to enhance and expand reasoning, planning, and focusing skills.

Together, we accomplished so much in our 35-day journey.

If you are considering a long-term substitute teaching position, please know that the benefits will not be found in the size of your paycheck. Understand that you are needed. Step into the role as a labor of love.  Grow your legacy!