Gulp, Eighth Grade???

So, I've been going through a bit of a STRESSFUL time looking for full-time work.  To help pay (very loosely speaking) the bills, I've resorted to subbing.  This week there was slim pickings.  Which explains why someone with over 4 years in first grade wound up in front of a group of 8th graders in a science lab.

It's almost like one of those nightmares you hope you will wake up from.  Except it turned out not to be a nightmare.  I know, right?  I was beyond shocked too. Well in first period I had a very belligerent young man that I removed from my presence and sent to the office before I lost face in front of the other 25+ students.  After that it was almost eesy peesy.  Almost.

Minus one minor incident with a pencil winding up in the ceiling, a confiscated cell phone for texting in class (friggin' technology era), and a rude comment about my presence as their teacher for the day...

Luckily for me it was tolerable since I'm returning to the same school on Monday to try my hand at teaching reading.  For an elective.  Hmm...I wonder if teaching will be taking place or if it's like free time to read???  They do already have a language arts class.  Maybe a bit too much to hope for?  Although it is end of the year and after AIMS.

I did get some nice comments from the students about how I was a cool teacher and they wished I would be there all the time.  A comment that came from multiple periods.  Unless they were all sarcastic and laughing behind my back.  Ha!  I will choose to believe they loved me.  Or at least liked me enough to get their work done.  Mostly.   Maybe that was the threat of their grade in jeopardy?

Either way it was nice not wrangling little ones all day and asking them to sit on their bottoms.  I went home on a Friday after subbing from preschool to 8th grade surprisingly not too exhausted.  Of course I didn't have to grade the 140-ish papers the students turned in today.  Bonus for subbing!