Substituting Day 1-

Not entirely sure how I felt about today yet. Many wonderful and great things about my first day substituting. Let's start at the beginning…

Less than a 5 minute walk from my apartment, the charter bus arrives at 8:35 to pick up students and teachers. What do I do…arrive at 7:55 to make sure I am on time and have the right location. Little did I know that this location is a hotspot for charter buses to pick up students every few minutes. I must have asked 20 people if they were waiting for the ASV bus. At exactly 8:35 I watch my bus pass me and park a block up the road where a large group of people were waiting. Thank heavens there was a big group, because I ran to it with only seconds to double check it was on the right bus and then jump on. I must have looked like a deer in headlights walking onto the bus. All the teachers sit together in the middle of the bus. Each one of them was either American or Canadian, and each were extremely welcoming and friendly. I felt at ease the second I sat down.

The principal directed me to the 5th grade classroom and introduced me to Ms. Mary. Very friendly teacher who loves and adores her students, nice not to hear "and watch out for this kid," or "this one is chatty and this one annoying." She had basic instructions for me, and material that I had used in the States, so I knew teaching would be a breeze. The students were very nice and respectful, but extremely chatty. It seems that they have breaks often and when dismissed for snack/break/recess/lunch they have no direction… just free to go and run wild in the hallways. Funny thing is I was the only one bothered by this. To the teachers and other students, this is normal and acceptable. Definitely an adjustment that I will need to get used to, but one I think I will enjoy. The kids seem to enjoy school and are very good at the material.

I would love to experience the high school or middle school classes and see if it is something I would be interested in. Overall the day goes by fast and without much headache. The ride home I met an intern from FSU about to complete her masters. After a little chit chat, turns out she is from Coral Springs and lived within minutes from me…small world huh?!

Seems the school is in much need of substitutes and floaters, so I guess I will have more stories next week.