Who Am I? (let's get this out of the way...)

Who am I?  I am an elementary school substitute teacher.  By choice.  If that first sentence gave you the shivers, you are not alone.  Most people would rather stick needles in their eyes than spend a day wrangling a classroom full of unfamiliar 7 year-olds.

I’ve had it both ways.  For years I had my very own classroom of third graders.  I loved it.  However it took most of my time and all of my patience to do my best.  I have endless admiration for teachers who can do it all – manage the students, the parents, the standardized testing, AND manage to have a healthy home life and raise their own kids at the same time.  I couldn’t do it!  If it takes a Type A personality to accomplish that and do it well, you’ll find me somewhere further down the alphabet.

Here’s a secret:  Substitute teaching is a great gig, if you do it right.  Working exclusively at my neighborhood school, I am well-known and reasonably well-loved..  On the best days it feels like being a Grandma to a whole school.  I get to come in to a teacher’s organized classroom, teach from their well-written plans, play with their kids for a whole day…and then (here’s the kicker) I get to go home!  No report cards to fuss over.  No long term projects to plan.  I head off to my daughter’s softball game without a worry.

I like to think of my real title as Entertainer of Children.  With my magic bag of tricks in hand, crammed full of the best stories (some of my own and some classic folktales) and fun filler lessons, I get to use my best material almost daily.  Once you get the kids on your side with flattery and laughter the rest is easy.   I’d much rather spend my nights dreaming of fun ways to engage kids for a day than to lose sleep worrying about the student who isn’t reaching standard or belly-aching about how to respond to an angry parent.

I will admit that it took some time and thinking to take pride in this career choice.  Saying, “I’m a sub,” doesn’t make for interesting cocktail party small talk.  However, the feeling of walking into a classroom and being greeted with a quiet cheer, as well as getting at least 25 hugs a day take the sting out of any pangs of regret for not having a high-paying, prestigious career.

I could go on, but I won’t.  Simply put, kids are honest, straightforward, hilarious and not afraid to laugh.  How can that not be a good way to spend the day?