Wednesday, January 26, 2011

justin bieber

Justin Bieber. I had no idea who this kid was until last year around this time. Girls love Justin Bieber. Boys want to look like Justin Bieber so the girls will love them instead.

I have subbed for this kid who looks like Justin Bieber...well not really looks like Justin Bieber but has the hair cut, hair color and you can't help but laugh at this kid.

The first time I subbed for this kid, let's call him Jake, he kept asking me random questions like:
"How are you doing today, Ms. Stuart?"
"What are you doing this weekend, Ms. Stuart?"
"I would really like to get to know you better, what do you do when you aren't teaching?"
and it goes on and on.

Jake is a nice kid. He means no harm, and I am sure in most classes he gets away with just about anything. I was subbing for a class Jake had the other day and he was so excited to see me again. The class was working on a project individually which gave me some time to sit and drink some coffee. I look up to see how the class was working and there is Jake across the room, winking at me. Now this was not a sly wink, this was a big, yeah you, wink. I burst out laughing. I could not help myself. It was hilarious. Here is this 15 year old kid, who looks like Justin Bieber, winking at me. HILARIOUS!

Now this kid is a nice kid. I was recently injured and one of his classmates is on my sports team, therefore has my phone number. Jake texted me to see how I was doing and wish me well.

kids are crazy..i mean crazy

I know it has been way too long since my last entry but working three jobs has given me little time to do much of anything (one of those jobs is coaching so I have been putting in a lot of extra hours driving to and from games and what not that has led to me just being exhausted).

The first semester of school is coming to a close and there has been a whole lot of crazy that has happened.

1. I get it. Kids love their phones. I mean love. Will do anything for them. They spend ridiculous amounts of money (probably their parents or their boyfriend's/girlfriend's money...any way you look at it A LOT OF MONEY) on these phones. And WOW do they get mad when you ask them to put them away. As a sub, I have two pretty simple rules: put your cell phones away and respect the classroom. This last rule kind of puts many rules into one (i.e. don't swear, do your work, be nice). The first rule is because I am a sub and if an administrator comes into my classroom while subbing and my kids are texting or even talking (which some do!) while in class, well that is a big "no-no" for them and I am held accountable. So this is what happened:

I am subbing for a class where the teacher has left a video for the students to watch (surprise, surprise). This in itself is not something new. This is normal for substitute work. However, in this classroom there is a student who is blind. Now, she can't "watch" the film but she can listen to it and get the information presented. (I don't know about any of you, but have you ever tried to listen to a film? Not the easiest thing to do.) I ask the class to please put their phones away and pay attention to the film. This means no talking. The class is very chatty. I ask again to stop talking and to put the phones away. Then I see this girl texting on her phone. I ask her to give me her phone. She says no. Then I tell her to give me her phone. She asks, "When will I get it back?" I tell her it depends on when she gives me her phone. She makes a huge deal about this, walks up to the front of the class, throwing a fit, and hands me the phone. Instantly, she holds out her hand and says, "Do I get my phone back now?" I ask her to have a seat. She gets louder. I instruct her to have a seat. She gets louder. I tell her we will talk about it after class. After class she approaches me and demands her phone back. She starts yelling at me. She is getting pretty aggressive at this point. I tell her I will give it to her administrator after school. She is yelling and yelling and I am thinking to myself, this is not going to end well. She leaves.
At the end of the school day, which just happens to be the day before a long weekend, she comes back to my classroom. She follows me to the front office. They inform me I have to write a referral if I am to turn in the phone (the school has a no cell phone policy). For 20 minutes I am walking around the building, looking for a referral and her administrator. I return to my room to fill out the referral and she starts banging on my door like she is the police! She keeps banging on the door like that is what will make me open the door. She gets on her friends phone and is yelling while banging on the door, "Mom, do you hear how loud I am banging on the door and she won't answer it!" Well, yeah. Why would I do that? I finally get a staff assistant to detain the girl and she is still yelling at me.
The girl's phone was worth $600 (according to the girl). Why on earth would you bring something that expensive to school?

2. Kids think they are awesome. Kids think they are always right.
I was subbing for a class that is known for being a little loud and at times out of control. The class was not too excited that I was holding them after for being so rude and disrespectful. One kid decides to "give me the finger." I dismiss the class except for this one kid. I ask, "Really? The finger?" He responds, "I don't know what you are talking about, but if I did give you the finger, you deserved it."
WOW. When did that become acceptable for high school kids to do to their teachers? And when will kids learn that the teacher always wins. Kid got a referral. Kid has been nothing but nice to me in every other class I have subbed for him.