Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Lessons Learned on a Sick Leave

I hate making sub plans.  I would rather come in to school on my death bed than leave plans for the substitute teacher.  I’m not a Type A personality in general, but when I have to leave plans I want to make sure the teacher has everything he/she needs for the day to run smoothly.  Material is tabbed, highlighted and plastered with sticky notes piled neatly on top of my desk. 

A sub for me is actually more ready for the day than I usually am!
I got a quick dose of reality when I went to the ER for emergency surgery on a Tuesday night and was out of school for the next 23 days! Guess what?  I had absolutely no sub plans!  I was freaking out!  How in the world would my class go on without me or without anything written down and materials ready to go?

Guess what?  My class did just fine without me. The substitute teacher  continued on with the learning environment.  Things were not done in the same way, but everything got done. Math centers were switched out, Reading centers were updated, and everyone at Goodrich stepped in to help and do what they could not to mention working with an amazing teaching partner really put my mind at ease and kept my class moving forward.

What I really learned the most being home for so long was that I really missed the children.  I didn’t miss grading papers or preparing lessons, but I missed out on birthdays, I missed them losing teeth and showing me the space in their mouths, I missed the scores of their soccer and baseball games.  I missed them telling me what they did on the weekend.  And I learned that the class missed me!  Some told me they forgot what I looked like!  They missed my stories of my dog Earl ( who is a bit naughty) and they missed the smell of my coffee that usually ended up all over the reading table…

Yes, my class survived 23 days without me, yes, I will probably stress out about making sub plans the next time I’m out,  But what I learned while being out is the relationship between the teacher and her students cannot be replaced!

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