Some Wisdom from a Substitute Teacher

Now that things have calmed down a bit here I've started accepting a few substitute jobs again.  I subbed for a very well behaved second grade class last Friday as well as a great third grade class yesterday.  This coming Friday I have a different third grade class and yet another (different) third grade class in early May.  Are you noticing a pattern?

While it's a sub's prerogative to be choosy, it's not something I've always done. I have so many teacher friends and I'm a sucker for trying to help them out, even when I know it's going to be a long, hard day for me.  (Just imagine how they feel everyday!)  However with my new role as Granny Nanny, I have much less free time of my own and I definitely don't want to spend it wrangling a few naughty kids.  (It only takes one per classroom to ruin your day.)  Now that I'm back to work, I am exercising my right to be super selective and at the elementary school level, that pretty much means limiting myself to third grade.  

Why third graders?  Well my experience has shown that by this age most students have grown out of the "needy" stage but have yet to reach the "let's see how much we can get away with" stage.  They've matured beyond the "she says she's not inviting me to her birthday party"... and "he says he's not going to be my friend anymore" phases.  (Trust me, it goes on ALL day.  *sigh*)  They also understand the concept of working independently and can acknowledge the consequences of bad behavior.  Besides that, it's just a really great age and I have yet to have a bad day with a third grade class.

So, if you're planning to sub elementary school...or wish to become a teacher....take my advice and stick to third grade.  :-)  They pretty much ROCK!