I’m not a fan of coffee; I don’t even like the beverage. And yet, there’s something about being a high school substitute teacher that makes me desperately crave it.
Who knows why? Maybe it’s the fact that they think I’m deaf and can’t hear the cell phones beep or vibrate. Maybe they think I’m stupid when they hand in a homework assignment halfway through class telling me they just “found it.” But then there are those who shyly mention that they like my scarf (some correctly say hijab) as well as those who shamelessly try to flirt (you must be hot if multiple high schoolers flirt with you, that’s all I’m saying ;)). As yet, as soon as I found that every workroom had free coffee (and occasionally desserts), my resistance crumbled. When half of the kids already think I’m a student, there’s nothing like walking around with a cup of coffee to assert my dominance 🙂
So far, it’s been fun. I’ve been subbing at my old high school, and the first person
I saw when I walked in the doors was my old government teacher who had asked me to come in to another of his classes and debate Islam with a student who hated the religion and Muslims (this was around 2002/2003). Let’s just say the teacher did not expect me to know my material.. I don’t think I’d bothered to speak in his class before then, haha! Oh irony, you’re so ironic.
I’ve eaten lunch with about 10+ of my old teachers, and most can’t believe that I (apparently) look exactly the same (not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing). Still have yet to see one of my favorite teachers (yay, French!), so that’s still on the list. One of the few challenging teachers I had was in math. I remember having a math presentation/project due senior year. The partners I were assigned had never spoken with me, and they were shocked when they realized how funny I was/am. I wrote our play/skit completely by myself, and we ended up winning 2nd overall funniest presentation in the whole grade (you just can’t compete against a guy who wears a cow suit, no matter how many accents you use… sigh)!
It’s been nice knowing I’ve made an impact on the school. After my first day of subbing, the school sent out a mass email to every math and science teacher excitedly informing them that there was finally a sub who was proficient in those subjects. I’m now getting calls every day requesting me specifically for everything math/science related, and even for a few English classes here and there. It’s good to know that I can walk into a place and completely turn things upside down 😉
So who knows; hopefully by next week I’ll be able to look as bored as any other teacher, and maybe I’ll switch back to tea. Only time will tell 🙂
P.S. When did high schoolers get so young?? It makes me feel like Gossip Girl doesn’t accurately represent high school! At all!
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