First day back subbing and I was exhausted. So exhausted I’m writing this the day after first subbing. I 100% felt like that that baby in the picture. The kids were great – I subbed for 8th grade civics at the same middle school I’ll soon be long term subbing at! The exhausting part was 1) getting used to waking up that early again, and 2) Standing allllll day in shoes that I once thought were comfortable. It’s funny, I think all my tolerance of standing for long periods of time from student teaching just got thrown to the wayside these past few months. I totally forgot how much that sucks the first week until you get used to it.
But back to the kids – they really were great. In comparison to some of the catastrophes I dealt with in high school, I actually was in shock a few times at how well-behaved they were. One period in particular – I didn’t even know it was possible for students to be that quiet. But towards the end of the class when they loosened up and started to get more comfortable, I could definitely tell Middle school will be fun. The kids were working on a President’s Cabinet research sheet, and my favorite suggestion for Department of Defense was Jackie Chan, because “his mad kong fu skills are an asset.” How can you not laugh at that?