Drifters

Is it wrong to value sitting still? Am I forcing on them some old-fashioned values? Surely I don't expect them to sit up straight, hands in lap, and recite verses they've memorized? But, can a Real Teacher teach with students drifting around the room? I know that they go to the clinic, need water, tap pencils, and the like because I am a sub -- to see what they can get away with. But something about the way students in so many classes get up and down all block suggests it is everyday activity. They check in with friends, get a tissue, get a book (because of Henrico's iBooks, students keep a set of all books at home, and a shared set may be found - often at the back of the room - in each classroom), sharpen a pencil, or throw something away.

Listing those complaints like that makes me think, yes, those kids are just trying to be annoying. But when I listen to myself in class getting cartoonishly shrill (Kids? People? Hey. Siddown. Sit. Be quiet. Listen.), I feel hopelessly old-fashioned. Or, just old?

On a positive note, an older teacher who is always friendly at RMS pointed out Ms F, for whom I filled in on Friday. "Thanks," Ms F said, "for your notes. Sometimes, I can't figure out what happened while I was gone." I actually asked Dan when he breezed through Capital City on Sunday about how regular teachers view subs. Most regular teachers are even less interested in being welcoming, or even courteous, to me than regular office workers are to a temp. Dan noted that he finds his students more wound up than usual when he's been out, and that they often don't seem to have done anything.

Capital City weather: Drizzly, 50s.
Calendar: Found Magazine at Chop Suey Books on Friday; VYA's
Macabre event on Tuesday.