Following my ‘success’ at the science and physics classes, and due to another, not unforeseen, situation at school, I was asked to fill an English vacancy. It is quite funny, Not only because English is not my first language and every other substitute would better serve the school, but also because as far as I know, there is no lack of English teachers (unlike physics). Never the less I agreed to try the new adventure.
Even though I am not really qualified to teach English, and absolutely not the 12th grades I was assigned, I know few things about teaching, and about putting some order into unruly, and unmotivated, students. The problem was that those exact skills turned the whole 12th grades community against me…
Starting with my basic tool of creating seating charts for better control and learning names, I had to fight students to sit at a seat and stay there, not to switch and not to wonder around. This first battle cost me a wide spread hostility, even from students who knew me from before and originally favored me.
The next rule of thumb, keeping them busy, was met with no less hostility. I was their 5th or 6th sub for the past two month, and they didn’t think, not unjustifiably, that they should take me / my assignments any more seriously than those of all the prior subs. I had to send several students to the dean before getting any students’ cooperation, which helped, but did further harm to my popularity with them…
It was a Friday when I started, and the prospect was to stay there for at least three weeks, so I thought I did what I needed to do to set the ground to an easier job. Over the weekend I created an orderly seating charts, typed all the 200 names of my new students to my computer, getting ready to record work assignment and any other project that will be useful in evaluating students in case I need to grade them (quite unsettling, considering the fact that the end of the semester was approaching)…
Monday seemed to be somewhat better. I had some handle on the read material, and students who reported back from the dean knew I was serious. At the end of the day I had two visitors, the heads of the English department. They didn’t seem to be too interested in what I was doing, and even less interested in how the students were doing (more than 160 seniors). I told them what my plan was, to have students write, and then exchange papers and critic each other, which they approved, but mostly to assure me that these were THEIR students, and are excellent and capable of doing that.
By Tuesday I already recorded most of the work students handed to me, starting to collect information as a base for a grade, even just to pass it to the next teacher. I worked diligently to put an order in the papers, in the messy classroom, installing procedures, trying to prove how serious I am. Never the less I had a feeling that my efforts are futile, and students, although taking their assignments more seriously, are hostile and not cooperating. I was pretty exhausted and discouraged when I stopped at the office at the end of day. There I discovered that my assignment is over and another teacher is replacing me the next day. I was asked, however, to stay there for another day, to direct him and help him settle down.
Two conflicting feelings overcame me all of at once, a huge relief that I don’t need to do it anymore, and a rage of anger and frustration. Why was I put through this nightmare just for three days, and why did I take it so seriously. Back at home I collapsed into my chair and ate everything in a reasonable radius…
The following day was just as frustrating. The expected teacher had arrived, a substitute (not a pool teacher as I was told), with English credentials (according to his account). I was not a bit impressed, but students were. He told them cute stories about himself (to which I listened five times) and they adored him! At the end of the day the two esteemed department chairs reappeared, threw a contemptuous hand wave at me as I approached, pointing to the new teacher, the one they wanted to talk to. Later I learned they knew each other from past years, but he has not been there for five years (I wonder why).
During that next day I kept up with recording papers and finalizing seating charts, and at the end of the day I showed him my procedures and recording. But then I learned that the department chairs had told him to disregard everything that was done earlier and start over. If that was not infuriating enough, I saw how friendly the coaches were to him and much students liked him. It did hurt…
so much for taking my assignment seriously and orderly… so much for putting students and school’s interest ahead of my own, and so much for doing the right thing and paying the price of students’ hostility, instead of the adoration we are all so yearning to earn…
