Wednesday, September 2, 2009

The Icon of All Substitute Teachers

Today is the first day of school, and as school begins, I am also beginning a new chapter in my life: substitute teaching. After having my own classroom in an elementary school for a few years, I know all too well what happens when the teacher is away and a substitute takes her (or his) place. The kids go crazy! And all sorts of things that students would normally never even try, all the sudden seem like a good idea. Knowing this makes me a little hesitant...no, very hesitant to be one of these substitutes. However, I am going to use it to my advantage. I figure every day is bound to be interesting and completely different, so why not write about it? I asked my friend, Amanda, to help me think of a title for my blog on substitute teaching and she suggested "Confessions of Miss Viola Swamp". For those of you who don't know, Viola Swamp is a character created by Harry Allard and James Marshall in a children's picture book called Miss Nelson is Missing. The story is ironic because the students act crazy with their teacher, Miss Nelson. However, when Miss Nelson goes missing and the students get a substitute teacher, Miss Viola Swamp, the students think she is so strict, that they are begging for their real teacher to come back. Viola Swamp is the icon of all substitute teachers. I can't think of a single other example of a substitute teacher who had such an impact on their students. Although I am not going to dress in an ugly black witch-like costume, I do hope to have an impact on the students I come in contact with, maybe its a lot to hope for, but you never know what may happen. And at the very least, I will have something interesting to write about.

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