Yup. I got the call at 5:50am from my coop who informed me that her daughter was seriously sick and therefore, she wouldn't be in school today. She asked me if I was comfortable with having the lesson plans sent to me and asked if I could teach them for the day. Of course I said yes, simply because I'm that kind of person... I'm too nice to say no. And I wanted to make a good impression. So I said yes.
And here I am twelve hours later to tell the tale.
I survived. The students survived. All is well. But let's not talk about that moment quite yet...
So back at 5:50am. I hang up the phone and full-on panic ensues. I thought it'd just be a Monday. The text message I got at 5:31am from a dear friend said it perfectly, "Ughhhh Monday." Fast forward to 5:53 when I hang up the phone and my heart's pumping and my brain is racing. I'm not feeling prepared. I know I can do this, but I feel so damn unprepared. What was I going to do?
I rush to get my stuff together, feeling dazed by the news of having to teach all day. 6:00am. I open up the front door, step onto the stoop, and stop dead in my tracks. Heavy frost cover the windows of my Jeep. My Jeep doesn't defrost easily; without a hard top, it takes awhile to heat up and the heat doesn't stay inside. Panic ensues. I dump my bags into the passenger seat, turn on the car, blast the heat, grab the ice scraper and begin at the windows. It's barely coming off. Instead it leaves the wiggly lines of the edge of my scraper, leaving little hope for any visibility. Panic ensues.
The next hours are a blur. I'm in school in less than hour, I'm printing off papers, numbering book lists, preparing for the day. First period goes by, no more prep after that. Period two: those freshmen are a little grumpy but they do their work. I deem the period successful. Third period: honors seniors: they're smart, smart kids, and I'm almost intimated. I teach the lesson on something I never had before looked at prior to period one. I'm successful. They ask questions and I revel in the fact that I know the answers. Deep sigh of relief. Finally 11:03am. Lunch. This gives me an opportunity to vent again. Needed. Period four: back to the freshmen. They're rowdy after lunch. One kid tells the others to shut up so I can talk. Oh, hey thanks. One girl asks if she can call me by my first name. She tries it, but I don't respond. We do our work-- more work than period 2. We're successful. Fifth period has finally come. Finally the lesson plans I wrote, I'm most familiar with. I fall into a moment of comfort. We accomplish all our goals for the day. Finally it's 2:00: study hall. I breathe... Maybe for the first time all day.
I did it. I actually did it. I was successful. No one ran away screaming. I didn't scream. No one ran away crying. I didn't cry. (At least not yet.) The sub said she'd write good reviews on me. The day was good. No, wait, not just good, it was great. I did it. My students did it. I learned; they learned.
Relief Ensues.
No comments:
Post a Comment