I started the week with a blister on my heel. On Saturday morning the first two lambs of the season were born. I rushed to put on my barn boots without stopping to put on thick socks and then made several trips between the house and the back barn to fetch (or look for) towels, scissors, iodine, and liquid vitamins. By mid morning I could barely walk.
Then I "landed" in a very large school district with acres of buildings connected by window-lined hallways and bridges. It's part of each secretary's job, in fact, to walk new subs from the parking lot to the office. I imagine they've lost a few en route.
I'm definitely working outside of my comfort zone. Every student at this district is assigned a laptop. As I lecture, I look out at students hidden behind monitors. I've never taught Spanish to the back of 145 computers before.
Yesterday I was pulled out of my free period to sub for BIOLOGY for the duration of a "block." I needed to run from room 127 to room 1115. I was terrified that I might not find my way back to my homeroom again.
The Biology teacher in room 1115 had life-sized 3D models of the male and female reproductive systems mounted on the wall directly across from her desk. I felt embarrassed, quite frankly, having to face these graphics for an hour and twenty minutes.
Behind me were several posters. I learned, from one, that the Portuguese Man-o-war is not one, but four animals living as a unit. Amazing!
The Portuguese Man-O-War.
The Biology textbooks today looks very different from those of my own high school career. They are filled with pictures take by high-powered electron microscopes and high-tech cameras. Emphasis is on cellular activity, since we can now "see inside" our own cells.
Later in the day I was escorted to the Central Administration section of "the city." I interviewed for a position that would last several months, even though, I'm told, by "the grapevine," that I am the teacher of "last resort." (The only one they could find that can teach Spanish.)
Perhaps, I really am the only long-term sub they can find... The other candidates are lost in endless the maze of pods, nursing their sore feet.
(Thank YOU Mr. WestBerryWorking Dad for yesterday's foot rub. And to my children, who let me go to sleep very, very early at night).
A challenge posted by SoulPancake...list the things that take you "back to school."
No comments:
Post a Comment