I knew the day would come.
It started with a call, "Mr. Shaffer, could you sub for me today? My kids are sick and I need to stay home with them." I remembered the times my kids were sick, and I needed to stay home. In that moment of reflection, I said, "Sure, I'll be there!" Hearing the elation of the regular teacher, I knew I had made the right choice!
So, I got up at 6:00 a.m., an UNGODLY hour in anyone's time frame! Found the toothbrush, but in the darkness, could not find the toothpaste! Upon finding it, I found the shower and therein found some semblance of awakening! My dogs looked at me as asked, "Why?" I could not give them a logical reason! Got on my clothes, which I had laid out the night before. You would have thought I was going on a long vacation! Oh how I wish that "thought" would have been true!
Instead, I found myself at a junior high school. My first job was to put out the chairs. They were on "high" racks! Way up there! As I was lifting them in a rather agressive action with a downward direction, I was beginning to wonder what in the h..... I was doing there! Then came the stands, proportioned just so to the number of stands! I had nearly two hours to accomplish this first responsibility, and yet, as I was putting the last stand in place, here came the first student! I wanted to "holler," I'm not ready! Nonetheless, in they came!
The first class didn't go too bad. They looked at this seventy-five year old man with an expression that defied
description! And, through it all, we mustered a fair degree of musicality with the music before us! How I wanted to tell them the "lifetime" of music before them....but the bell rang.
Well, I went through the brass class, the woodwind class, missed my lunch-time of 15 minutes because of my failure to hone in on the lesson plan!
Then came the final hour (in more ways than one) of the day! The percussion class! I once read where God made percussionists to make band directors humble! Whoever wrote that knew what he was talking about! I took roll. Now, that doesn't seem to be a big thing. Believe me, it is, when you have students moving about in ways quickly resembling "Dancing With The Stars!" The lesson plan stated, "Start with Burning, our favorite warm-up exercise!" When I announced "Burning," you should have seen their eyes! Ever seen eyes in one of those far-out movies where roll-call seemed a bit archaic and the prisoners were let loose? I felt like a warden. A warden with no assistant wardens! I closed off class early. There were chairs and stands to put away....the same ones I had put up in the morning! Can you believe, that because of my early termination of the class, they did put away those indespensible items of musicality! They, the students, sensed a growing ember that was about to explode with a fury that none of them had experienced!!!!!
I drove home, after signing out at 3:30 p.m.. I was done at 2:30 but "rules" made me stay until 3:30! I said to Don, "Don, you don't need to do this any longer! You've taught a long time! You've enjoyed those memories!
Let this memories go, and seek other ones that will mean more than you will ever know."
So, I write this to you...my friends, on this night when I know that another chapter in my life is about to happen! And you know, I can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! At the same time, it's been fun.....!!!!
P.S. I e-mailed in my substitute teacher resignation today. Sad in some ways. But, the glad ways are in the
majority!!!!!
5 comments:
I remember my first substitute teaching assignment. In not more than ten minutes after the first class began, I remembered why I had quit.
Thanks for the memories, Don and Diane. Its been 45 or so years since I was in those shoes, but Don's description brought back so much. As for percussionists, my memory was of a drummer who would not take correction of his performance of the Syncopated Clock, because he had it "by heart" and couldn't be bothered with the printed music. So many memories and, yes, I too am glad they are all in the past.
If anyone is interested, I could write about my attempt to come back to substitute Urology. Maybe not as funny.
I agreed to be a "last choice" substitute in the Cedar Vale schools a few years ago. I couldn't really deal with the adolescents very well, but the worst experience was subbing for the PE Teacher. The Junior Hi PE classes got clear away from me. I told them I couldn't handle it and they quit calling me. Later I did some tutoring-one on one- and that was satisfying.
"UR" ON, WAYNE!
LET US HEAR IT, TRACT BY TRACT!!!!
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