A Post Hardly Worth Reading

I have spent approximately 17 of the last 24 hours either asleep or laying on the couch watching Law & Order. It wasn't how I originally planned on spending my Memorial Day, but I was struck with a strange illness sometime on Sunday afternoon. It's either the flu or some mild strain of the ebola virus...I'm not sure which. I have a sore throat, a slight fever, coughing, fatigue, and that dull ache all over. I'm not bleeding from the eyes, however, so that leads me to believe it is just the flu.

I am still not one hundred percent better. At this point, my ears are all clogged up and I can't hear a thing. Fortunately, South Pasadena schools are not in session today, so I can take another day to try to get better.

I already have a sub assignment for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, so that is good for me- hopefully I'll be well enough to do it.

I'm going to be covering for the AP Biology teacher at the High School. Those are the kind of gigs that are really sweet. The students do exactly what they're supposed to and you don't have to constantly sit on them to get them to do their work.

Unlike last week, when I was covering for a sixth grade social studies class at the middle school.

South Pasadena Middle School is on a block schedule, which means the periods are 97 minutes long. Trying to keep complete control of a class of junior highers for 97 minutes as a substitute is quite challenging. While block scheduling has been demonstrated to improve overall test scores, and allows regular teachers the opportunity to cover topics in more depth, for a substitute, however, it can be hell.

The students normally spend the first ten minutes of the period testing you to see what you will let them get away with. If you don't crack down during that time, you might as well just lay down and let them stomp on your head. It can be subtle at first. A whisper here, a note passed there...and before you know it there are desks flying across the room, the trash can is on fire, and the class nerd is hanging from the ceiling by his belt buckle- all in the brief amount of time in which you were looking for the chalk to write your name on the board.

So, as I said, this week I am going to be living the good life subbing for the AP Biology students. I could probably even bring a little mattress with me and sleep under the desk or something. It would be all the same to them.

I've been trying to land a job for the fall without having to complete my final semester of student teaching but, as of yet, have had no luck. With budget cutbacks, the unfortunate No Child Left Behind Act, and the surplus of fully credentialed social studies teachers, it appears that plan is not going to pan out, so I might have to just suck it up and finish the credential the old-fashioned way in the fall.