“Wake up!”
What do people in between million dollar paychecks do? There are many answers to that question, but mine is they substitute teach. I got the early morning call to show up at an alternative high school within an hour and a half. My only question before I hung up was “What is the class?” She said, “Science.” Silence. She adds, “You’ll be fine.”
While I had a large interest in science as a young child, I hadn’t gone near the stuff since I nearly failed chemistry in the 10th grade. As I hurriedly rushed out of my apartment, I was not feeling particularly confident in my ability to make it eight hours in a high school science class. But I asked for divine help — and I needed all Heaven had to offer. The question is “Would I recognize it and would I use it?”
Write Yourself Out of Trouble
I arrived to the school and within seconds of pushing open the front doors, the principal appeared from his office: “Are you the sub?” I contemplated, “Should I say yes?” I confirmed his assumption, and he gave me the 5-minute orientation to the school and classroom. The teacher was absent unexpectedly so no materials were prepared; however, she managed to e-mail the principal a drafted lesson plan, of which I had 20 minutes to review, comprehend and make copies.
The period bell rang. The challenge began. You know how you treated your high school substitutes, so you know this was not about to be fun. The students didn’t want to do anything. After reconnecting with my teacher stare and teacher voice, I got some students to focus and actually do the assignment. However, some classes were absolutely obstinate to do the work assigned. My attempts to coerce and discipline were futile and honestly laughable. So I conceded to their choice to not do the work and sought to manage their behavior. This is what we call a fail.
I could have used my strengths and creativity to try to reel in their attention and motivate them to actually learn something, but I got stuck in a box–an 8 1/2 x 11 e-mailed lesson plan. After I left the school, I realized I had a longer list of options. For example, every subject area uses writing. I know plenty of writing exercises that may have gotten the students’ attention. But I was stuck in my own self-imposed limitation. Creativity can write you out of trouble if you do not allow yourself to be limited by what you claim not to know or understand. So, clearly, the students may not have learned anything, but I know I did.
What do you want to do? How can your writing take you there?
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Tags: millionaire, teaching, writing
