November 22, 2005
Yesterday, I had a couple of job interviews for substitute teaching positions. The first school, I was really looking forward to visiting. At the moment, most of my teaching experiences have been in low income neighborhoods. I was excited when I received a request from a school downtown to come in for an interview. Remember, in a previous blog entry, I’d mentioned (I think) that I sent my resume (with Per Diem certificate) to about 75 elementary schools.

Well, the minute I stepped off of the train downtown, I had a feeling that the school was not going to be the kind of school that I would want to work at. And, once I walked through the door, my fears were confirmed. It turned out that the school with an elementary school moniker was really a high school. A high school for special education students! At that school, there were guards and a metal detector. I felt very uncomfortable. I arrived about 30 minutes early, and I sat in the office waiting for the assistant principal to come. While I sat, I watch various (aggressive) students coming and going. I kept thinking to myself, how could they possible believe that I would want to work at that school. However, I felt a little guilty about sending my resume to that high school, so I wanted to wait and speak to the assistant principal in person (rather than leaving a note).

After the special ed high school I decided to go to the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) to find out what happened to the renewed driver’s license that I’d applied from about a month ago. I thought that since I just had a question, I would be able to just walk in and ask. Of course, I was being woefully naïve. I ended up spending (about) more than an hour of waiting time. However, I liked their new (for me) waiting system. You take a number according to your problem (or situation), and wait for your number to be called. Before I went to Japan, (at the DMV) you were told what line to wait on, and you waited. I like the new system better. Once I was able to gauge the approximate speed that the numbers were being called, I was able to go out for lunch, and return (with time to spare).

For lunch, I went to the MacDonald nearby. While I was eating in the MacDonald, there was a loud group of guys discussing their “business”. One of the guys was discussing how he liked to smoke pot with his wife.

After the DMV, I had another interview at another school for a substitute teaching position. Now this interview I was not expecting much, so I was in no hurry to go. This school was only blocks away from the other schools that I’ve already had a less than exciting experience. Before I could go however, the assistant principal wanted me to call before I came; I assumed that he wanted to make sure that he would be available. I called from my cell phone. And would you believe he did not remember me, or the request that he made during the original phone call (setting up the interview day). After reminding him that it was his idea for me to call before I came; I arrived about 15 minutes later. While waiting for the assistant principal to come to the office; there was a pushing incident right in front of the main office. One of the students pushed another student into the classroom teacher. The security guard (carrying a gun on his belt) decided to deal with the situation by bringing in the participants into the school office. Oh, did I mention that was an elementary school? While all of that was going on, I was thinking to myself, “oh yea, I really want to teach here”.

So, what was the result of that “oh so important interview”!? After waiting for about 15 or 20 minutes, in the meeting (that lasted all of 3 or 4 minutes), the assistant principal asked for a copy of my resume and my Per Diem (substitute) certificate, once he had it, then he remembered that I sent my information to him by mail. He then very professional got up and took me to meet the payroll secretary. He shook my hand ending the meeting, and asked the payroll secretary to get all of my contact information. He did this giving her my resume with my contact information written on the top of my cover page, on the first page of my resume (in large letters), and written in small print on every other page of my resume.

Today, my teaching assignment was to return to a previous school where I was the substitute science teacher. Today I was given a 6th grade class. The kids were wild 10 minutes into the class. About 30 minutes into the day, a student threw a chair across the room. 3 hours into the day, the same student filled another student’s backpack with water (books and all). In a classroom with 25 students, only about 4 students were not loud, argumentative, disrespectful, nor overly-playful. Speaking to the assistant principal only helped a little bit, not much, but it did help a little bit. Unfortunately (in my opinion), since there were no real penalties for disruptive behavior, the disruptive behavior only continued. Near the end of the day, a group of students in the class decided to pick on another student by stomping on his things, and putting his winter coat into the classroom sink and leaving the water running over it. By the time I found the coat, the sink was filled with water and the coat. I sent for the other assistant principal. Her solution was to threaten to have the whole class suspended if someone did not “squeal” and/or confess. When no on would admit anything, she asked me to dismiss most of the students – leaving the usual disruptive students, who eventually confessed, but were only a couple from the group.

The next day, I was supposed to return to the school. Originally, I was asked to come for two days. The regular teacher had jury duty. The next morning, the head teacher called to say that I was not needed. Now, I did already know that the regular teacher would be returning, because she came to the classroom around 4:30, and she told me that she was dismissed from jury duty early. However, I believe that I might have complained a little too much about a lack of consequences for disruptive behavior to a couple of the teachers and to both of the assistant principals. The head teacher called me about 7:45 the next day to say that “the teacher may be returning, but he wasn’t sure. He also said that I should keep my morning open just in case, he calls me to let me know that the regular teacher would not be coming in. He apologized for the last minute cancellation and hung up the phone. I think the head teacher was just trying to not burn his bridges. I think on the one hand the administration did not want me back, but on the other hand (knowing how difficult) it is to get substitute teachers on short notice (especially in schools with a difficult student population) did not want me pissed off refusing to return. Actually, I was seriously debating with myself whether or not I would be returning to that school. I am stuck with the same idea. If I am not teaching, and if I can’t control the class, what good would I be doing returning? In the end, I decided that I would return. Well, that was before the phone call. Was I mad? Actually, I was relived. I was going to force myself to return, but I really didn’t want to return. So, what did I do? About 10 minutes, after the call from the head teacher. Another school called. The elementary school I went to on Monday for the interview.

The Phone call / The school
The principal called to see if I was available to substitute for a class that in her words “was a very difficult 5th grade class. Reluctantly, I agreed. When I arrived, the principal realized that the teacher she thought was going to be absent, was coming in for work. So, I became unneeded. I did volunteer to return home, but I was told that they would find something for me to do. Since the school now had an extra teacher in the building, the administration decided to use me to give make up preparation periods. Preparation periods are those times when another teacher teaches the class, so that the regular teacher can prepare or do other class work related activities.

The schedule that I received was a prep. period for myself; a couple of 6th grade classes, a meeting with the assistant principal (yes, the same one who wanted the interview), a 1st grade class, and 3rd grade class last period. Midway through my prep period, I received a schedule change; the meeting was cancelled and became my lunch period, my lunch period became a 6th grade lunch detention(!?!?). During the time I was supposed to have lunch I received a call to go to the office for… another schedule change. Now, the 1st grade class was changed to 2nd grade, and the last period 3rd grade was changed to a class with the “very difficult” 5th grade class. So, instead of eating lunch, I had to dig through the materials that I dragged with me to come up with lessons (and the materials) for the new classes. I was a little annoyed that the last class (before the holiday vacation) was the “very difficult” 5th grade class – a little annoyed, but not very surprised.

So how was the lunch detention? I arrived at the assigned classroom only to find the class was having a pizza party. The teacher explained that she used to do “lunch time detention”, but she resigned from the assignment. She thought that was why the administration was going to use her room. Anyway, she said that I could stay in the room for the 20 minute detention. My plan was to go get something to eat after the 20 minutes were up. Even though the teacher offered me pizza, I did not feel comfortable eating pizza while on duty, so I passed on the pizza. About 10 minutes later wild kids started showing up asking questions about the pizza. They turned out to be her students. I guess she only took the ones she thought deserved a pizza party. I don’t know where the other students were. Anyway, they were in and out of the classroom being disruptive.

Then about 5 minutes later, other 6th grade teachers came in complaining that the administration wanted all of the 6th grade students to have detention for something they did the previous day. The teachers complained about having to have their own students in their own classroom for detention. At this point the classroom I was waiting in for “lunchtime detention to start (or finish), was finished their pizza party…and the students started getting loud and wild. I could not believe that a class that wild actually deserved a pizza party. I was getting annoyed at the situation I was in the middle of, but did not know what I should have been doing. With about 5 minutes left of my 20 minute detention, and the other 6th grade teachers having some kind of “heated” discussion in the hallway, and the classroom getting increasingly wild, the classroom teacher grabs her coat, tells the students to start cleaning up, and she walks out the room. I run after her telling her I was only supposed to say for 20 minutes; I also wanted to know where she was going. She told me to me to just watch her class because every 6th grade teacher has a prep teacher in their classroom to watch the students for detention, and that I needed to stay until she returned.

Once she left, her class went off the wall. The students started acting like they were having a party, playing games, playing rap music on the classroom mini portable stereo. They ignored and argued with me. When they refused to turn off the radio, I unplugged it. They group by the radio promptly plugged it back in and turned it on very loud, laughing, dancing, and singing along to the rap music blasting out of the stereo. The rest of the class was enjoying seeing the substitute powerless, and unable to control them. I was tired, hungry, and angry that I basically gave up. I only focused on keeping the wild ones contained, so I allowed no one to leave. I felt like a security guard at a prison. At times, I couldn’t decide if I was the security guard…or the prisoner! I felt trapped!
When the teacher returned, she seemed less than interested in hearing about the disruptive and disrespectful behavior of her students. I quickly noticed that without the “pizza prize”, the students were barely listening to her. I think only the fact that she controlled their grades, gave her only slightly more attention and respect than what I’d received.

What about the last class? Nothing you have not already read in previous entries, so no sense in repeating it again. Three o’ clock came, and everyone (not doing after school) was eager to leave to start their 4 day holiday vacation. Me, I was so exhausted, that I did not have the strength to leave until about 4pm. When I returned home, my plan was to lay down for a couple of minutes, then go food shopping for a few items I needed to help my foster father’s lady friend with the Thanksgiving dinner. I volunteered to make the rice, the macaroni salad, and a couple of pies. I laid down and promptly fell asleep. Later, I was told that I was snoring up a storm. I guess I was more tired than I thought. When I woke up, I was not in a mood for cooking, or cleaning, or for the other nonsense that goes on around this apartment. I decided to go for “take out” Chinese food.

Thanksgiving Day
Not much to write about. I decided to go to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. I took a few photos with me digital camera. Sorry, I still have not put up the other photos. I will try to put up all the photos ( the old and the new) this holiday weekend.

Happy Holiday!