I have a question!

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Home : 2002 : October : 14

I have a question!
By Kathy

I have been subbing for 2 years at the elementary level but had my own classroom for 10 years. As a fulltime classroom teacher, there were days when I had to modify my lesson plans. Sometimes this was because something
took more time than I had anticipated, or the kids did not catch on to something like I thought they would. Sometimes it was because the children became very excited and involved in a project that I allowed them to continue working longer which threw rest of my day off. Sometimes surprises occurred during the day such as a child bringing in unannounced birthday treats to share which

meant no social studies that day. Sometimes I realized in the middle of the lesson that I had overplanned or overestimated my student's capabilities and quickly had to adjust my lesson or assignment. In short, a teacher is called to have flexibility as part of her makeup because rarely does a day go "just as planned." It sounds as though you are very rigid. Also, as a fulltime teacher, were there days when I returned that the kids would tell me, "No, we didn't do that!" YES!!! Were there times that I looked over what a sub had done and realized she didn't do it EXACTLY as I would have? YES!!! But I kept it in perspective. It's one day out of 180 and I doubt if the kids experienced a meltdown because of it. You go on and just be thankful that someone out there was willing to come in and cover your class so that you could be home doing whatever needed to be done. P.S. I hope you don't teach in Kansas.......