GreatScot
09-22-2003, 01:10 AM
I started out giving tests in the Resource Room. I was comfortable there. Then the first grade teacher had to leave early and I was put in her place.
A substitute. Me, a substitute.
Even with the Kindergarten teacher a few feet away and bringing them to attention every so often - I couldn't handle it. I was being presented as her assistant while she had both grades at once, but the reality of it is that I was basically on my own. Legally they weren't allowed to leave me with the kids, so opening the doors between the classrooms solved that dilemma.
Some of the kids were completely out of control. They beat on each other and threw books and refused to listen to a single direction. This school primarily caters to homeless and low income children, but I refuse to believe that poverty is the cause for this behavior. I was raised on Welfare by a divorced mother and I never behaved like this. My own kids are considered low income and they would never behave that way. Some of these kids, about half of the class, have no self-control or respect for their teachers.
I'm just shaking my head in disbelief.
One of the reasons why I chose SpEd is because of the mainstreaming of emotionally and learning disabled children into the general classroom. I know that this is very unfair to everyone involved. My experiences that day confirmed my choice. Some of these kids should have been in a program that helped them to respond in an appropriate manner. They did not belong in this classroom. While they were at lunch, I went through the teacher's lesson plans and the notes that lay inside the book. She had comments about a boy bringing a metal nail file to school and threatening to stab a classmate (THIS IS FIRST GRADE), and another child who had rage issues, and yet another child who claimed to have had her head slammed into the wall by her mother. This little girl cannot stay on task for more than two minutes. CPS was called, but fuck a duck, they did nothing.
I was glad to have read this because I felt better prepared to deal with those children. I won over the boy with the rage issues by giving him a chance to tell a story to the class from his own imagination. I let the girl take a quiet time on a bean bag during recess. The boy who brought in the nail file was miserable and nasty to me the entire time. Had I not moved my son out of that school this year, my sweet six year old would have been in this class.
One thing that was wonderful was that this was the first time that I was called "teacher". I just wish that it had been under better circumstances.
Guess who's refusing to substitute again in the future?
A substitute. Me, a substitute.
Even with the Kindergarten teacher a few feet away and bringing them to attention every so often - I couldn't handle it. I was being presented as her assistant while she had both grades at once, but the reality of it is that I was basically on my own. Legally they weren't allowed to leave me with the kids, so opening the doors between the classrooms solved that dilemma.
Some of the kids were completely out of control. They beat on each other and threw books and refused to listen to a single direction. This school primarily caters to homeless and low income children, but I refuse to believe that poverty is the cause for this behavior. I was raised on Welfare by a divorced mother and I never behaved like this. My own kids are considered low income and they would never behave that way. Some of these kids, about half of the class, have no self-control or respect for their teachers.
I'm just shaking my head in disbelief.
One of the reasons why I chose SpEd is because of the mainstreaming of emotionally and learning disabled children into the general classroom. I know that this is very unfair to everyone involved. My experiences that day confirmed my choice. Some of these kids should have been in a program that helped them to respond in an appropriate manner. They did not belong in this classroom. While they were at lunch, I went through the teacher's lesson plans and the notes that lay inside the book. She had comments about a boy bringing a metal nail file to school and threatening to stab a classmate (THIS IS FIRST GRADE), and another child who had rage issues, and yet another child who claimed to have had her head slammed into the wall by her mother. This little girl cannot stay on task for more than two minutes. CPS was called, but fuck a duck, they did nothing.
I was glad to have read this because I felt better prepared to deal with those children. I won over the boy with the rage issues by giving him a chance to tell a story to the class from his own imagination. I let the girl take a quiet time on a bean bag during recess. The boy who brought in the nail file was miserable and nasty to me the entire time. Had I not moved my son out of that school this year, my sweet six year old would have been in this class.
One thing that was wonderful was that this was the first time that I was called "teacher". I just wish that it had been under better circumstances.
Guess who's refusing to substitute again in the future?