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I haven’t been subbing much this school year. This has been great for getting organized and dealing with my burnout issues but not so great for my bank account. Imagine my surprise when I opened the sub plans for my first job in 2020 and discovered I’d be teaching creative writing. Creative writing!! It’s like …
September comes. School is back in session, but I know it will be several weeks before I’m called upon to fill in for teachers. Until I get the first call…before September comes. WHAT? The Long-Term Job that Wasn’t So I was a tad surprised when it wasn’t even September and my cell phone showed a …
People do NOT go back to school in July. Do the marketers know this? In fact, our local school districts don’t have their school offices open in the month of July. Why did the push of Back-to-Schools begin so early? There’s a marketing genius somewhere who’s going to answer this. I hope they do it …
Shakespeare. The Bard. A true genius in literary circles. Ask anyone with an advanced degree in the subject. And some without a degree at all concur. Me? Not so much. That didn’t stop me from teaching OTHELLO in four sophomore classrooms a few weeks ago. What I mean by “teach” is to let an audio …
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On this Monday morning, the door to the classroom is open. The teacher I’m replacing is at her desk gathering some last minute items for the field trip she’s chaperoning today. She doesn’t make eye contact when she says, “Are you my sub?” and hands me the sheet of paper with the lesson plans typed …
Assessments. I’m not sure we had these back when I was a kid. I mean, we had them but everyone called them tests. Don’t get me wrong, I feel the new name (in use in the education system for a couple decades now) more accurately reflects the purpose of these “tests.” As an English major, …
The Great Gatsby stalks me from one high school language arts class to the next. In St. Helens, he prowls through the junior classrooms and in Scappoose, his story resounds with the freshmen. This disparity in curriculum gave me pause. After all, I’ve taught students between the ages of twelve and eighteen for many years. …
I’m a full-time author. At least two days each work week (when school is in session), I substitute teach at the local middle and high schools. Due to a shortage of licensed substitutes, my state allows any person with a Bachelor’s Degree to go through the training and application process and attain what is called …
Life speeds ahead and important elements like friendship might become little more than casualties along this racetrack. This is one of the reasons I have made a weekend with my best friend from high school a priority in my schedule. If you’re a man, you might be able to relate if you go hunting with …
Once upon a time there was a girl who loved to play school. She didn’t care if she was the teacher or the student, she just loved school. That little girl jumps for joy every time I get a call to substitute teach. If you know me at all, you understand I have a LONG …