Unplanned Day at the Helm

At 7:30 am this morning, as I’m walking out the door, I get a phone call from Kristin. Her daughter is sick with the flu…there will be a sub again. She says she’ll be stopping by the school to leave plans, and asks me if I’d be willing to lead classes for the day. I say yes, figuring I could use some practice before I actually take over classes next term.

First and fourth hours have exams. The Con Lit. kids are to do a sort of write your own test exercise, which to me would be a gift, as there is really no “wrong” answer. Instead…I hear “this is hard” and “this is stupid.” Few finish in the 90 minutes given, but I follow instructions and have them turn in what they’ve got. The situation is similar for the Fantasy Lit group, only they have predetermined questions. A few don’t finish and some others are done far too quickly it seems.

Third hour, Personal Writing, is the most interesting of the day, as they are finishing their journal projects and while doing checks I get a glimpse of the work. It looks like a fun assignment.

My biggest fear for tomorrow? Backlash from the students who did not finish the exams—they’ll ask for more time, complain, and perhaps try to blame it somehow on Mr. C…but I think Kristin agrees with how I handled it based on our phone chat during prep.

Also was thankful the sub was there to help monitor things. I’m still working on the finer points of classroom management and the need to watch some students more closely than others.

All in all though, I would consider my unplanned day at the helm a good one.