horrid class

I subbed for seminary today. It was not pretty. It was not great. It was not fun.

When I first began subbing more than 6 years ago, I had a really bad experience with a middle school. I refused to sub middle schools for a while. High school students are so much more mature and I just plain like them better!

However, I started accepting substituting jobs in middle schools again and all was well. Until today.

I think I am experienced enough now as a sub to suppose that the class a sub gets has everything to do with the regular teacher. I think the teacher can have clearly defined behavioral expectations that have been reinforced. Then, when a sub comes in, everything goes smoothly. Or, you can have days like today.

I am not talking about one class being more challenging than another. That happens all the time. Sometimes you just get a mix of students that are a bit more rowdy or are a bit too quiet or whatever. Today wasn't that - it was just all-out disrespectful chaos. Out-of-control.

The kind of class that will make me forever glad I did NOT become a middle school math or English teacher (both options that I at one time did consider).