a day with five year olds

I thought, when I went to bed on Tuesday night, that I was going Uptown on Wednesday to a sub. teaching job, as a para-pro. But when I got up and started getting dressed pretty early yesterday, I got a call canceling the job. That has never happened to me before. It was all a recorded message, generated by the computer that fills the absences for the school system. So I have no idea what happened. I assume the person I was to replace had a change in circumstances.

I had planned to leave the house early, allowing for problematic  traffic. It's awful just trying to get out of my driveway with buses and carpools going to two neighborhood schools, plus the usual hundreds of commuters heading into work. I didn't really have time to ponder what I would do with myself  all day, after the call cancelling the job that didn't happen; Because before I could get my shoes tied, my phone started ringing again, with other job offers.

The computer that makes the calls in search of warm bodies to fill positions is programmed to ask 'why?' you choose to not accept a job. But the choices are predetermined, so it's like voice-mail, where you have to punch a number after you listen to the choices. I usually press'2', which means 'not preferred'. As I was deciding, over the several seconds the options are listed, I thought things like:' it's fifteen miles away, through tons of traffic, and in a bad neighborhood' or 'they will all have drippy noses they will wipe on my sleeves and pant legs' or 'I'm just not willing to devote my day to a room full of undisciplined five-year-olds'. So I turned down four or five different calls for para-pros.

The people who Really want to work are seriously perusing, actively searching the system for the teacher-replacement positions that pay better than being an aide/para-pro. I rarely get those, unless someone from a school, where I have left my info. calls and requests me. And I don't often find subbing to be such a rewarding experience that I will make the effort to go into the office at the end of the day and leave contact information.

After declining half-a-dozen jobs, for who-knows-why, I accepted one. At Georgetown school, a small neighborhood school, down on the southside of town, I have not been to in years.  I was most pleasantly surprised that it was a remarkably well-ordered day. The teacher obviously has many years of experience, and had her students well trained to know and follow her instructions and classroom rules.

And I think she was surprised at the end of the day, shortly before she was having her group to pack up papers in their book bags. When I told her about how many offers I had declined early that morning, and what a gratifying, pleasant experience I had in her classroom. I complimented her on her discipline, and told her it was quickly apparent to me that she had lots of experiencce and did a wonderful job of classroom management.