After subbing in middle and high schools for several years, my
confidence and ability to project authority have improved to the
extent that I rarely have problems. Yet no sooner do I start
patting myself on the back for my successes, a kid or group of
kids will come along that make all my skill appear useless. Some
kids are just very, very tough. Sometimes when we think we have
great clasroom management, it is more like the kids are choosing
to manage themselves. Yes, we most certainly can have a positive
effect with most kids on most days, but as far as the kids with
deeper emotional and behavior problems, there is no magic when
you are just with the kids for one class period, and we need to
try not to let them question our very real capabilities.
On 11/30/12, Ruff wrote:
> Hi Margaret, Very sorry to hear that your subbing experiences
> have not been good. I am very surprised to hear that
> considering you have had more than 30 years in the classroom.
> You didn't say what levels you taught, or whether it was in
> the same school district, but that really shouldn't matter.
>
> In my Substitute Teacher's Guide, I do make a point that if
> you, as a sub, make an announcement that you don't want
> something done, you can definitely expect it to be tried. I
> think maybe making a statement to the effect that you knew
> all the tricks, probably gave them a challenge to show you
> the latest.
>
> I taught full time for 17 years, and subbed for many more,
> and except for one middle school class, I never had a
> discipline problem, nor did I have tricks played that I could
> not foresee or handle. I list most of the kid tricks in
my
> guide, and explain how to prevent them or manage them should
> they occur.
>
> After 30 years as a great teacher, you deserve a break! Let
> the next younger generation take over. There are many good
> new teachers out there. I've seen them in action, and they
> are doing great. Ruff
>
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