A Strange Day...

Two p.m. Finally, a quiet moment.

This is the start of a new term at our school, and it’s been an unusually chaotic one. Of 60 staff members, 17 are away for various reasons – there’s a major conference for educators going on downtown and many people are attending that; then a senior retreat that requires a lot of staff; plus sundry seasonal illnesses taking a small handful of people out.

Because of this, in addition to my regular classes, I’ve subbed two classes yesterday and two today. Subbing can feel burdensome but mostly it’s interesting because you get to see how other teachers set up their classrooms and their assignments. In addition to a regular fine arts classroom, we have a medieval arts classroom at school and I got to see some almost-complete heraldry projects done by seventh graders (who I also teach with my English teacher hat on). In short, design a coat of arms that represents your family; make a slideshow that explains the different elements.

Then an English class, with a group of older kids who I do not know well, circling around The Great Gatsby, and the Roaring Twenties, and Modernism, before starting on the book properly next week.

Another English class – a set of 8th graders, many of whom I taught last year and know well – doing something about dreams and memories, loosely related to Of Mice and Men. Incredibly noisy, lots of sharp-elbowed humor, and trying to get other students in trouble for minor infractions – and a little bit of the assigned work got done (after a fashion). One student was planning out a paper that seemed grandiose, far too large in scope to really work. I suggested taking just one aspect of it and developing that. “No, I don’t want to do that,” he said. “That would be cliched.” OK, then. I’ll leave you to it…

Now, as I write this, a well-behaved Latin class usually taught by the headteacher. It’s all very rarefied. There are only seven kids, so they meet in a small conference room rather than a classroom! I am of no help to them whatsoever – they all know far more Latin than I do.

What a strange day!

Comments

  1. Tracy BroschMarch 1, 2024 at 7:13 PM

    Indeed! ... the fact that you even found a quiet moment in a day full of teaching is impressive! Happy Slicing :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kate D.March 1, 2024 at 9:58 PM

    Oh! I'd nearly forgotten about the time I was tasked with making my family coat of arms--I was in 6th grade, living in Texas at the time, and went above and beyond by sewing this gold and black, glittery banner rather than making it with construction paper. Thank you for unearthing the memory for me.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Stacey ShubitzMarch 3, 2024 at 7:47 AM

    Nearly 1/3 of the faculty is absent?! Yikes! That's a lot of sub duty the rest of you need to do.
    Like Tracy, I'm impressed you found a peaceful moment amidst the busy-ness of the day!

    ReplyDelete

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