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The Substitute Chronicles
This series features the reflections after each of my shifts as a substitute teacher. I candidly disclose my complex emotions, reactions, and experiences in a job that changes every day. Follow along as I process the absence of routine and the ups and downs of working as a guest teacher! The second return to my elementary school alma mater as an information technology specialist deepened my perspective of the school’s community, layout, and environment. After working in the shoes of my second-grade teacher for a day, the shock of walking the familiar halls in a different role wore off. While I remembered every hallway and idiosyncrasy of the circular building, many things had changed over the past fifteen years. The first- and second-grade classrooms traded places with the fourth- and fifth-grade classrooms. The science specialist's old room is now occupied by witty, hormonal fifth graders; her new room is in the former kindergarten wing.
Over the next three days, I wheeled the specialist’s cart around the school; taking myself on a tour of the new layout, I ascended elevators, ramps, and stairs to cross over between the grade levels. Breaking out of the confinement of a single classroom, I rolled a cart from fifth grade to first; I met new faces, new behaviors, and new characters every hour. I hit the playback button every fifty-five minutes, repeating the same lesson three times (fifth, fourth, and third grade) and then twice (second and first). The days flew by as I rolled the clunky cart over tile, carpet, and small speed bumps.
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Follow Journal of an Evolving Teacher on social media!
The Substitute Chronicles
This series features the reflections after each of my shifts as a substitute teacher. I candidly disclose my complex emotions, reactions, and experiences in a job that changes every day. Follow along as I process the absence of routine and the ups and downs of working as a guest teacher! It is hard to believe the dramatic change in weather and the foreshadowing of snowflakes that fell at sunrise. As the maple trees commenced their yearly metamorphosis to produce luscious maroons, clementine orange, and daffodil yellow leaves, I floated among schools, grade levels, and districts. In one month, I traversed through preschool, kindergarten, and third grade, assisting as a paraprofessional and leading as a teacher. I returned to my former second-grade classroom, bridging connections with a different generation. In the hours dedicated to facilitation and on-the-fly simultaneous decisions, I spun through routines and around unfamiliar rooms, like a lost leaf in the wind.
After each shift, each milestone, I sat on my soft leather couch and wrote everything down. Every story, every frustration, every question, every lesson. So that ten years from now, when I stand in my own classroom with established rules and community, I can reflect on these few months of disorder and enlightenment. Substitute teaching presents the challenge of overcoming insecurity and foraging confidence when I am the most out of place. This job is a provider of second chances and a platform to practice, strategize, and most importantly, learn. |
AuthorMeghan Hesterman (she/her) is an aspiring educator, storyteller, and traveler. Through regular posts and commentary, she candidly reflects on her evolution as an educator and young adult. Categories
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February 2025
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