What are you doing? No, what are YOU doing? It sounds like a Budweiser commercial but it's actually just a lonely substitute teacher making a phone call during lunch hour.
For those of you who don't know, unless you are a tenured or probationary teacher, you can become a substitute teacher in the blink of an eye. If there are no openings in your district, you are S.O.L. (If you're too young to know what this acronym means, ask your parents)
I like to think of myself as a member of the "legion of substitute teachers" something like the old "Legion of Substitute Heroes" comic book of, oh, so long ago. However, we have no cool costumes and it's only rumored that others like us exist. But, like Superman, we do have a "fortress of solitude." It's called the classroom you've been assigned to for the duration.
LOSTs (Legion of Substitute Teachers) often hide out in their given classroom during lunch so as not to be spotted by the principal and other administrators. This is when we make our furtive cell phone calls to see if the outside world is still in existence.
The only time LOSTs meet other teachers is when we are headed out the door at the end of another long day. If it wasn't for these interactions, it would be possible to be a ninja of sorts within any given public school setting. Of course, the students know someone was there. However, I would be willing to bet that not one person could ever recall the name of one of their substitute teachers. So, were we really there at all? Hmmmmm....
The good points of being a LOST? No lesson plans to prepare and no papers to correct at night. The down side? No benefits! However, if you need training for improv, walking cold into a room of thirty unknown students and maintaining order for seven hours is guaranteed to improve your skills!
No comments:
Post a Comment