Me Teach Good One Day

Today, Ms. L was absent --- she had a personal day planned long in advance, so it wasn't a surprise or anything. We had a substitute (who, is turned out, was no more certified than I am; she must be doing one of those alternate certification programs where you teach while taking classes). She got paid for the day while I did pretty much everything: the community circle, where I chose the topic of discussion; bathroom breaks; seatwork and projects; the math lesson (calendar, thinking strategies practice, and a benchmark review overhead); and so on. Not that I'm complaining (except the part about not getting paid); I wanted to do all the lessons.

We also had an assembly where the principal handed out Good Behavior awards to the students. Ms. L and I had picked the two from our class who won certificates.

I asked the sub to do the social studies lesson. She read a book about Columbus, after which the kids finished sentences about him, and then cut out and glued three ships on blue construction paper. I would have done that, too, but I figured she would have been bored if she did nothing all day.

During the tail end of that last lesson, I went over to the other first grade teacher's room because she left early. I read a story and did a number guessing game with her kids before it was time to herd them outside to be picked up.

I stopped by The Old Job to write a thank-you note to any and all parents who had given Prestigious recommendations. The woman in my former room had rearranged things a lot, probably for the better. (During my time there, I lacked the psychic strength to clear away the mountain of debris that the pack-ratting Boss kept around.) I said hi to Epalg and the few other teachers I remembered who were still around. Then I came home and had a two-hour nap; I must have been exhausted. After I woke up, I talked to Epalg on the phone for half an hour and made plans for tomorrow.

Then I watched some "Jewel In the Crown" with my father.