As school has started back, I’ve had the great opportunity to be in the classroom again as a substitute teacher. It is certainly a different kind of teaching experience because you are walking in cold not knowing students names, the material, or the social dynamics going on in the classroom. It’s a phenomenon that students certainly try to capitalize on as August notes in the book Wonder:
This wouldn’t have happened is Ms. Petosa had been there, of course, but there was a substitute teacher that day, and subs never really know what’s going on.
But for me, it’s an interesting puzzle. It certainly keeps me on my feet and keeps my teaching brain alive and well!