Do You Mind?

This was testing week, and as teachers can tell you, during testing week, the rules change.

I should start out by saying this story isn’t so much about subbing as it is about teaching. This past week was testing week around here, and during testing week, something has to give. The team of sixth grade teachers I worked with this week took their students outside to the school’s basketball courts after lunch.

As a substitute, when there is a plan for the group of teachers I’m working with, I stick with it, and really, sitting outside watching kids run around and release all the energy they build up during testing is one of the easier parts of the job. Teachers trained for secondary school

We were outside for about an hour, and as we coming back in, the intercom buzzer went off.

“Excuse me, Mrs. McNair, can I have Colin Cartwright for check-out?” said the voice over the intercom. The secretaries rarely know there is a substitute; she thought I was actually Mrs. McNair.

“Ok. He’s on his way,” I answered. It didn’t really matter whether I was actually Mrs. McNair or not: this response usually ended the conversation anyway.  The students knew this too because afterwards, the din of noise that had subsided in response to the buzzer started back. The lady behind the voice had other ideas, though.

“Um, do you mind telling me where you were?” I heard over the kids. “We couldn’t find you!”

I heard her perfectly, but because it caught me off guard, all I could say was, “Excuse me?!”

“Oh, nevermind,” was all I heard. I just looked down and shrugged. The kids apparently bought my act and decided to tell me what she said, exactly how she said it.

Judging from their tone in mimicking her, I was correct in my interpretation of her tone.

I can understand the frustration of having to communicate like that and not being able to find who you’re trying to communicate with. What I don’t understand is the tone behind these kinds of requests. It isn’t the first time I have heard a snippy accusation from the otherwise polite secretaries in the main office.  

So, are teachers supposed to spend all day in their window-less classroom with 30+ adolescents who have been forced to sit still for hours? Are they supposed to file a flight-plan for the day in case they need to be found? And, if this woman’s tone of voice was meant to appease an impatient and irritated parent, should it have been automatically accusatory?

I ask because I don’t know. I’m always glad to see parents involved in their children’s education, but sometimes parents come into a situation with hostility, fighting the teacher instead of working with the teacher. I saw a news story recently in which a local news channel asked parents whether they would believe their child or their child’s teacher first.

Most of the parents responding said they’d always believe their child over the teacher. Now, there are bad apples in every bunch, and the bad apples in teaching should not be trusted. But, always?  

How am I ever supposed to do this job?

Tell me what you think,

Kelli