Monday, June 5, 2017

There is No Substitute

Because of a new district policy, this year as a language arts teacher I was unable to administer the state test to my own students. As a result, I was assigned to invigilate for the students on another team. Those kids did not know me, and so I was treated to what I thought of as a bit of substitute teacher behavior.

At 8:30 on a Monday morning with a high stakes assessment on the line, these hijinks did not amuse me. A few seat changes, a couple of reprimands, and threat or two later, they were settling down when their teacher called with a question about my group, which she was proctoring for.

"Oh, hi, Ms. B," I said pointedly," looking at the group with raised eyebrows to let them know who was on the line. "How are they doing?" I repeated her question and paused before I answered, making meaningful eye contact with a couple of kids. "Well, there a some sketchy characters in here," I told her.

There was a collective gasp.

"I think they'll be fine, though," I finished.

And after that, they were.

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