A Whole New World

I subbed yesterday.

For those of you who don't know or don't remember, I am a former school teacher. And, when I say school teacher, I actually mean primary school - 1st and 2nd grades. In case it's been a long time since you've had or been a primary school student, let me refresh your memory a little bit.

In 1st and 2nd grades we walk in a straight line everywhere we go, with the teacher beside the line, glancing to and fro, trying to catch that one little boy who always tries to trip the kid in front of him. When a 1st or even 2nd grader asks TWICE to use the restroom, you better let him. By mid-October each year, 1st and 2nd grade boys don't know where any of their pencils are. Learning to read is the biggie in 1st grade, with lots more practice in 2nd grade. And, even 2nd graders need a little help now and then with tying their shoes.

With all that said, I have to tell you that I loved teaching this age group. I started out with 1st grade and never thought I could love any other grade anymore. But then my boss asked me to move to 2nd grade, which I reluctantly did, and ended up loving it just as much or more. These are great grades to teach because most of them still love school, they love you, and are learning in leaps and bounds. It's pretty fun.

But the truth is, teaching has changed drastically in the past 20 years, especially in public school. The teachers are overloaded and it's now a very stressful profession. So, I'm thankful that for this season, I was able to step out of it and just be a mom, wife, grandmother, mother-in-law, step-mom...whew, talk about stressful...

Even though it's nice not to have to teach full-time, I do really miss parts of it. So, I decided to sub a little this year. Our school district has this program where the teachers can put their absence in the system in advance and subs can go into the system, see what's available and sign up. Which is what I did for yesterday. All except it wasn't for primary school. Yeah, it was MIDDLE SCHOOL.

It was for a girl that I know who teaches Theater Arts. And, it was only for the afternoon. So, I figured I could handle it.

I got there at noon, found her classroom, and checked out the plans. I was really excited to be able to teach again and was thrilled that she had actually left a lesson for me instead of just putting some movie on, like Fame, or something awful. The first class was her conference period, so no kids, but I looked over the lesson, checked to be sure all the media was going to work, then looked over the class lists.

The first thing I noticed was how MANY STUDENTS were in each of the 2 classes I would teach. In primary school, when I taught, 22 students was a lot. One of these classes had 27 and the other had 30. Well, I thought, I guess for Theater Arts that could be good. I mean, she's got her own acting company.

Then, the first class started coming in. It was really weird for all of us, because many of the faces I sort of recognized, but they were now on much bigger bodies. The students seemed to be a little bewildered, too, especially since my last name has changed since they were all in second grade.

But, we all made the connections quickly.

Ah, Middle School. I had forgotten...

They are so loud!! I mean, not disrespectful, for the most part, just really, really loud. They all talked at the same time. To me. I was a little overwhelmed for about 2 minutes. Then, it all came back to me. The teacher face, the teacher voice, the holding up of the teacher hand. The students all recognized it immediately, too, and a hush fell over the entire class. We were back on track.

The other funny thing about middle school is that the whole opposite sex thing is SO ON!!! It's really the first experience for them to sit together, etc. and they are into each other, baby. Also, most of the boys are just discovering that they...smell and have greasy hair, so half of the boys looked like they had showered and at least tried to look presentable, while the other half...yeah, they were still working on it.

All in all, it was a very enjoyable day for me, and I hope, for the students, too.

Here's my take: yes, it was very different teaching middle school. I talked differently, I reacted differently. It was a good learning experience for me. But you know what? At the end of the day, I'm a teacher, it's a big part of who and what I am at the very core of my existence. And no matter what the age, with a few little adjustments here and there, teachers can teach pretty much any age group, almost anything.

Except higher level math. That's not for me.

What's your take?