New found respect for my teacher friends...

So today, I gained new respect for my teacher friends.

Holy moly.

So, today was my first day of subbing in Cy-Fair. I was a little nervous, but excited. My assignment was for a kindergarden (I'm still not sure how to spell that word) class of 20 kids. Now I'm much more comfortable working in a special ed classroom with 5 kids. But I thought it would be okay.

Oh my gosh. Within the first hour, a kid physically assaulted me and was removed from my room. The kids constantly argued with me, talked back, completely ignored me or found some other way to create problems in the classroom. I was dying! And I thought it was all my fault. No one had prepared me for this!

Well, later in the day, the teacher next to my room (Everyone can hear what is going on in the rooms b/c its like one big room divided with bookshelves. I know there's a word for this type of set up but can't remember it) came over and said I was doing a great job with the class and that they were an extremely difficult class. Their normal teacher struggles with them on a daily basis. It made me feel so much better because I totally thought it was all me and my inadequacy to be a teacher.

But holy cow. I don't know if I could do a class like that on a daily basis! Geez! Luckily, a para was in the room with me for the afternoon (and I have great respect for them b/c I used to be one!) so that made my job a little easier b/c she knew the kids and how to handle them.

There were some sweet ones that redeemed the day for me so that was good. One told me I was the best teacher ever (pretty sure she tells everyone that) and another told me I was beautiful like a beauty. Haha... so sweet. Too bad their sweetness couldn't rub off on the rest of the class. I felt bad b/c most of my time there was spent dealing with the problem kids in the class and ignoring the good ones. They didn't seem mad, but I felt bad for not getting to pay any attention to them. I praised them for doing a great job when I had a chance, but that time was limited.

So anyways. Hopefully I'll get some more special ed calls soon (not always a pleasant experience I realize though) in an environment I'm more comfortable in. Hopefully not all classes I substitute for will be that awful.

Anyways, I just wanted to let my teacher friends know I have a new found great respect for them! Bless you all!