It is unfortunate that my assigned CT has to be out for surgery currently. I wish him the best of luck and a speedy recovery for sure. It was much odder to find that this week, my temporary replacement CT was also nowhere to be found! Two days in a row, I found myself without a teacher, substitutes instead in his place, with little explanation from anyone as to what had happened. On day three, I finally got to meet my temp CT who was looking quite the worse for wear after a bout with bronchitis. I'm glad he's feeling better and was willing to truck on even though he didn't seem to be 100%. I love his charismatic way with the class as he seems to have a very interesting way of keeping the students' attention to what he is saying.
I just wish I could have seen more of it this week before coming down with something myself. I'm glad to report it wasn't anything as serious as bronchitis and I'm feeling much better now, but this morning I could have sworn I had made a head on collision with a truck while riding a bicycle. I can't wait to get back to class and work with the interesting people I've met at my assigned school. I'm already enjoying myself, and so far everyone has been friendly and insightful, ready to offer any kind of aid they can.
The experience has given me some time to think about the preparations a teacher must make for the inevitability of being sick. There's going to come a time when you are going to wake up in the morning and feeling like an elephant just fell on you. At these times, when all else fails, it is time to call in sick. This is when your burden suddenly falls to a substitute teacher and the difficulty of their job is going to be almost entirely dependent on how well you have prepared things for them. Whether that means, keeping an easy lesson plan folder for them in a clearly marked space, or providing alternative activities, they need to know what should be taught to your class in your absence. More importantly, procedures need to be gone over with the students for how they should treat substitutes, and what should be done with assignments that are due on the day that you are not present. My replacement CT had to go over some of these things with his students on the day of his return, as they had not all assumed that their assignments still needed to be turned in when he wasn't there (they did).
I also had a chance to speak extensively with the substitute who filled in on the second day. He was very amicable in sharing about his experiences at several of the area schools here an what he thinks make for good and bad substitute experiences. His number one tip was that students who have a good foundation of how they should proceed through the day whether or not the teacher is present are the best to substitute for. It makes the job a great deal smoother on everyone involved. On the other hand, sometimes students take the day as a vacation day and there just isn't any solution the substitute can provide. In those times, he said he has to leave a note to the teacher explaining how their students reacted, which can often lead to some diciplinary repercussions.
Overall, it seems I managed to learn quite a bit from what seemed to be a hindrance at first, so I guess that is something to be grateful for.
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