I was so happy that Monday was Martin Luther King’s Birthday, not so much because of all he did, but because it was a holiday and I had gotten very sick over the weekend (I was actually sick on Friday when I subbed for my master teacher.). I needed an extra day to rest. Good thing I got that rest because over the weekend, my master teacher’s daughter also got sick (flu) and as a result, I was a substitute for her class again on Tuesday and Wednesday. My master teacher did send me all that I needed, and it was all powerpoint and notes, which I like very much. I find this an easy way to teach. We were also getting closer to the chapter test on Friday so the students may have been a little more attentive as a result. Also, on the advice of one of my NHU teachers, I wrote “Mr. Knitter is sick, please be kind to him.” That also worked. I only raised my voice above a normal talking level once in two days – not too bad. I really needed to keep my volume low because my throat is infected and sore.
Since I suddenly had five classes to teach on Tuesday, I decided to experiment with a discipline technique called “The Spot” (which Dr. Hess at NHU teaches). I didn’t think it would be all that effective a technique… and I couldn’t have been more wrong! “The Spot” is nothing short of amazing. Even the most disruptive class that I have got immediately quiet whenever I got in my spot and asked for their attention. Wow, a technique that takes two minutes to teach and is effective all year long – I’ll take that every time!
Wednesday was “Career Day” at our school. This is done every other year, and what happens is that 40 professionals from all walks of life descend on the classrooms and talk about what they do. The students get to see three or four people throughout the day, and then end the day with an assembly. I was already scheduled to be the guest speaker in my own class, so I was going to teach all day regardless. It was nice to get paid to do this as well! This is my third time doing Career Day, and apparently, I’m one of the more popular presenters based on student and teacher feedback (I do a presentation on semiconductors, my former occupation, and I bring lots of manipulatives.).
My master teacher came back on Thursday and taught most of the classes (thank goodness!). I taught half of two classes that day while she arranged for (sick) child care in the morning, and then left during lunch to pick up her daughter to bring her to the school by around half way through fifth period.
Friday was a chapter test for all five periods. No teaching occurred, though it was interesting to see how my master teacher runs a test. Since the desks are arranged in quads and everyone can easily see everyone else’s papers, she puts up “desk blinds” so the students can’t see each other. It looked like they were voting. My participation today was in collecting tests and watching for cheats. When I wasn’t doing that, I was creating the curriculum for next week’s instruction. Since it’s another four day week next week (Thursday is an in-service day), I’m teaching three periods next week: 1st, 3rd (ELL) & 4th (GATE).