10-30 Allens Elem PE ms henneman

There was really nothing laid out as to what to do for this class& she is out for the week. i feel for any sub that does not know how to do pe coming in to this as a sub.
Teachers really need to have some real plans laid out even if they are emergency plans. We played 5 base kick ball - good game! Kd & 1st graders relay races & tag.
mr james

10-27 Plains Elem Slattery 3rd

In this 3rd grade class - there was one student - yes just one - that I know that I said his name over a hundred times. Such a problem for the other students - & he is not even a SPEd student. He was in the class all day - taking my time & the time of the other students. in this class as in so many classes - I find that the shifting from one subject to the next really does not allow for a true covering of the subject matter.
mr james

10-26 AMS Nostrant Science

Video day - Bill Nye the science guy sure can keep student's attention.
Quite the difference though in the students @ AMS - attention span seems to be longer. Home life & family attention to education of children in more there than some other places.
mr james

10-25 VJH Mr White

Mr White's class is a real handfull! The AM classes where the students were in the classrooms & I intervended. When these students are grouped together there is a tendency for the SpEd students to vye for top of the pecking order & here they go - one trying to be noticed while the others are trying other things to be noticed & the class can be out of control in minutes. Had to have a rather heavy hand to control this class. 2 detentions
mr james

10-24 Allens Mrs J SpEd.

This is not the first time in Mrs J's room - her plans are rather
limited - some students really try some are rather disruptive.
The whole idea of bringing these SpEd students out of class has
more of an effect of allowing the rest of the class to move on, as
opposded to really being of any great help to these students.
They seem to be just suffeled along.
Mr. James

10-23 Allensville Foster 6th

Mrs Fosters SS class was about explaining 9-11 & Islam in 45 min!
Tried to explain the different types of Moslems. Shi'ites, Suni's, Sufi's.
This in relation to why they are at odds with each other in Iraq & why
the terrorist are so at odds with us & have their reasons for the 9-11
attach & why they feel that they are justified.
Mr James

10/19 Ms Campbell Art Photo THS

Ms Campell's art classes were interesting to interact with the students being in a creative mood. The students showed real interest in creating different shapes for their prints.
Photograph classes - had a feel of freedom to - just be in control - yet only certain amounts of freedom can be granted. Learning to be granted freedom, comes with mature actions & respect. The freedom to have a darkroom to be seperate from any authority must be quite a sence of freedom to young students.
Mr James

10-18 Mr Pugh West Elm

Mr Pugh's PE class is always fun! Plans laid out - easy enough - 6th & 3rd grades played "ultimate pin ball". Which is a game of dodge ball, a jail, & a pin game all rolled into one & students do love it. Of course stretches were important first.
With the Kindergarders & 1st graders - used the parachute as the prop to exersize & energize the students. With these classes I not only did stretches - I told them to take the jumping laughing exersize home to their parents.
Mr James

10-19 Mr Pugh West Elm

10-17 AMS Ms A Hall

On 10-17 Ms A Hall - another early am call - Ms Hall had an open notebook quiz for the children & then reading & questions. Pointed out to the students the study trick of reading the questions first then read the chapter - then one sees the answers as one is reading. The amount of material was just right to keep the students busy. That is important for a sub. AMS is a - horse of a different coler -- the students @ AMS were very respectful & worked on their assignment in the time given. One of the factors - & I really feel that it is!!! -- Ms Hall has the desk in the "clasic" row method. with this method of alligning a classroom there seems to be much less talking & fooling around. Students do not have to look another student in the face & then still not talk or move things around on the facing student's desk. Also there is not another student as in the 4 cluster, that is sitting right next to another student. I am going to pursue this more with other teachers.
Also talked to student about the fact that "America" is a continent & not a country, as the textbook indicates. Their text was "The American Republic" - now that could refer to the Dominica Republic" & not the U.S.er land we live in.
Mr. James

10-16 Athens High Ms Rapp SS & English

On 10-16 i got the call @ 7:27AM - this must have meant that Ms Rapp could not make it to school on an unexpected occurrence. I can see why she would not want to come to the classes she has been assigned to teach. These are the students that for the most part are only warehoused until someone says that they can graduate or they drop out of school. Don't get me wrong, they as all students in school deserve a chance to gain an education that will "prepare them" to really enter the world of adulthood. Yet with limited examples of where they are headed, these students go through the motions of "going to school". Yet what do they really get from the textbook & class changes that shuffle them from English to history to math to PE. These are the future citizens of this country that will not find the future to be an easy one. Most come from homes where the example of life is - can I get a disability. These students need examples, they need a course with more purpose & direction than the average student. Liberal education is not the answer for these students. Real life skills that will allow these young people to make a real contribution to society & be able to truly earn a living they can be proud of. Where are we leading these student? It is not just their future we are messing up with the course work we give them, but the future of this community & country. Tell them the truth - they are headed to the workforce with limited skills to make a life.
Mr James

10-12-13 Trimble -Ms Brown

I was called in late to sub for MsBrown's Algebra classes @ Trimble. However, upon arriving, i found that she is one of the most organized teacher I have subed for!! She had seating charts for each class & two days of assignments layed out. She also gives the students an assignment sheet, so they can work more at their own pace & not have to keep wondering what is coming. Her class was uncluttered & well layed out.
Subjet wise, Algebra is my thing - enjoy teaching & was able to do the assignments so I was able to help students.
Also the new principal of Trimble High school must have taken some pointers from Mr Dugan at middle school. He seems to have made a difference in the feeling to Trimble High. No more hats on policy, he actually came to the room to check to see how things were going - very few pricipals do this - which I feel is important for a principal to know what is going on in a room with a sub.
James

10-5 & 10-6 West & Morrison

On 10-5 i was at West Elementry 6th grade for Mrs. Kline. The students @ West were quite a change from the 6th grade students the day before @ Trimble. The home life & attention to the purpose of education is much more a part of these students lives. This is not to say that they are any more addapt, yet this gerneral additude while in school makes their return on time spent in school much more valueable.
On 10-6 i went to Morrison to teach another 6th grade for Ms. Sycks. However there was a shortage of subs so I went over to a 3rd grade class for Mrs. Schwarzel. The 6th grade here at morrison is also more affulent than Trimble. Yet the nature of the school does not have the same feel of West. Mrs. Schwarzel's class was quite well behaved & seemed to have a feel of learning among the students. This was a small class & seemed to be quite tight knit.

10-3 & 10-4 Mr King Trinble MS

10-3 took a day off to paint the roof of my Yurt - nice day
10-4 Mr King @ Trinble MS Math & reading - Mr King had handouts for the students to work on. Three classes worked on calculator work with a check by the inverse being a word to be placed in a cross word. The other math class was working on fractions - LCG or MCG.
The reading class - once again the teacher has the class listening to a tape of the story. My own feeling of this - the students need to read outloud. Sometimes the student will stumble - yet by the teacher following along & correcting - the student really learns to read. Learning to read is a very important part of an education!
The principle of TMS - is one of the few principles that actually come to the room as a sub is teaching. This not only gives the sub a sense of credibility in the eyes of students - it also really does give a principal some idea as to what is happening in a room where a sub is teaching & you would think that a principal would want to know this.
Mr James

10-2 Ms Halls Life Skills

10-2 Called in to see if work - then off to Athens MS at a rush - these early schools are a pain for teachers & students. Ms Hall's Life Skills class is interesting - some real life skills even in the make work sheets a teacher gives for a sub at the last minute. Her 9th per class is a leadership class with certain letter anacronismams (sp). Today they were to write for 15 minutes on what leadership means to them - & then read their writings. 12- 15 students & every single one of them was quite thought prevoking. I would vote for almost any of them to replace bush. They brought up the responcibilities of leadership, egos, listening to name only a few. Could really see some leadership abilities in these students. Interesting in that it was mainly young ladies - guess it is 'their time'.
Mr James