Open Mic - Casey

     The predominant thing for me this week has been having substitute teachers in the classroom. Last week, when I was absent, I had a student stick gum in another student's hair. When I returned, I was so frustrated with the students for their misbehavior. This week, I had to be absent because my son was sick with a stomach bug. When I returned to class today, my students had no behavior issues with the substitute. My coworker always says that you don't want a sub your students like because they will run right over that person, and I have truly found that to be true. I also am learning the type of work not to give and the type of work to give the substitute when I am absent. 

     Also, nearing the end of the term, I am finding that students are hitting their "terrible twos" as I call it where they test every rule. I find that if I'm not just as strict on my rules now as I was in day one, they will take a mile. I struggle with this because I don't always want to be so stern, but I know I need to be more organized and prepared in class. The days I come unprepared and disorganized, the students are hard to get back in order for a couple days afterwards. With having a substitute 4 days out of the last 10, it has been a major struggle to maintain order in my classroom. I keep telling myself that I always have next term to fix my mistakes. The important thing is that I am continuously learning from my mistakes!