Five years ago, if you had told me I would be working as a substitute teacher at my old high school, I would have laughed and called you a liar. As an incoming college freshman, I had no plans on becoming a teacher. I was going to double-major in Graphic Design and English and go into advertising. It was supposed to be smooth sailing! But after several bouts of panic about potential future employment opportunities and talking to my new friends, most of whom were education majors, my plans changed. I dropped Graphic Design, picked up Secondary Education, and by the end of freshman year, I was a full-blown education student.

Of course, my post-college plans included finding a full-time English teaching position, but clearly that was not in the works, especially in a state as saturated with teachers as Maryland. Many of my classmates moved to Virginia, North Carolina, and other places even further south in order to get the best jobs they could. But I, being the homebody that I am, refused to go too far from my home. Unfortunately, my choice not to move makes my job search just that much more competitive, and so I find myself about to complete my first school year as a substitute teacher.

Honestly, being a sub for a year might be the best thing that could have happened to me after graduating college. My student teaching experience was amazing; I had a supportive and entertaining cooperating teacher, and my classes were all full of great kids. Unfortunately, it was too amazing. Life was easy for me as a student teacher, and I never really got to develop my classroom management skills. I'm a quiet person by nature, so finding my commanding "teacher voice" was going to take time, and I certainly never found it during that semester. While being a sub certainly doesn't help me with my my lesson planning and my curriculum knowledge, it has already made me so much better at commanding a classroom with a certain calm that I never thought possible. I have a look that can still rambunctious freshmen, a voice that can silence a chatty class, and a presence that demands respect. While my teacher persona is certainly far from perfect, it is so much better than it was a year ago that I have trouble believing it.

However, as a sub, you never know what you're walking into at 7 am every morning. Sometimes, I am still caught off guard just by the bizarre things that I've encountered. I've taught English, Tech Ed, Science, Math, Spanish, Business, and Art, so I've gotten used to going with the flow of lesson plans that I myself did not write, no matter how unfamiliar the subject matter is to me. I want this blog to be a space where I can share these experiences - annonymously, of course. Since the school year is almost over, I will be reminiscing about past experiences as well as reflecting on new ones. I suppose I will also keep track of my job search as I obstinately refuse to leave my Maryland/Virginia area to find a full-time position. So, wish me luck!

Until next time,

Heidi