A Shakespearean Morning

To teach or not to teach? That is the question I ask myself every week day morning as I wait for my phone to ring. I wait patiently, and sometimes in vain, for the “call out” that will inform me if I’m working the day or not. Today, my mobile has remained silent and it’s already 7:30am. With each passing minute the likelihood of getting that bill-paying call diminishes incrementally. But still there’s a chance and like every other TOC in the metro Vancouver area, it’s something to keep hopeful for.

Even still as I wait, I can’t help feeling like my talent is going to waste. I’m ready, eager and so willing to work it pains me to know that there are places around the world that are in such a desperate need for teachers that finding a job is not a problem – it’s deciding which one to accept. On rainy and cold days that are too typical in Vancouver, the dream of chasing warmer climes ensues. California is experiencing a teacher shortage, finding work in Florida is as easy as a second interview with that perky recruiter. Dubai, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong….the list of exotic, teaching adventures goes on. Yet still I wait.

In the far reaches of my traveling mind, I know I don’t have to go as far as that to teach. Slightly less glamorous Surrey offers full time contracts to teachers who have been TOCing, or substituting, for 70 days in the district. And Maple Ridge and Chilliwack are not that far out, are they? The fantasy of having my own classroom could be realized quickly, I’m aware, if I were to pull up stakes and move just a tad east. But I’d have to cross a bridge or two, and living in “the Metro”, we all know what that means. Nobody will come to visit you – out there- in the “sticks”.

So I wait. I wait for my turn on a long list of teaching hopefuls. I wait for my number to come up. Trying to get a teaching career off the ground in this city is a risky endeavour, as the bills continue to come in and rents are not getting any cheaper (what’s the countdown to the Olympics?). But if it happens – my dream of living and working in the same city might just come true. And I’ve been told that good things come to those who wait. (It’s just kind of unfortunate my name is Julie – a derivative, I need not remind anyone, of Juliet – and we all know what happened to her!)

Spring Break

Spring Break. For a substitute teacher, this often means no work for the week. For me it means just less work as I continue to tutor and teach ESL. Unfortunately, for some kids the break isn’t really a break for them, either. Keeping up with their busy schedules that the rest of the school year dictates, many kids are fortified with more tutoring sessions, more swim, dance, or math classes and no time for unstructured play. Some parents are seemingly unwilling, or perhaps, afraid, to let their kids just be kids – that is, there seems to be less time, if any during the week, that children have to really play. Unstructured free time for children appears to be the opposite of what is happening to modern kids. Recently, while tutoring a kindergarten student in English, the five year old informed me that she had to eat dinner in the car on the way to the school. Why, I wondered, didn’t she eat at home? She began to list off her day’s activities. Here is what she told me: “First, I go to Kindergarten in the morning, and sometimes eat lunch in the car on the way to art class. After art class, I go to my swimming lessons then ballet. And then I come here.” I was shocked. This little girl is 5 years old and she has a busier schedule than I do! What are we doing to our children? Have we forgotten that they are indeed just children? The trend is frightening. In a recent paper I was researching for one of my education classes, I came across some interesting literature regarding recess time in the American school system. Apparently, some schools are scaling back, or cutting recess altogether in favour of having more time for test preparation. Instead of exercising their developing muscles, socializing, playing and most importantly, learning invaluable lessons that cannot be taught inside the classroom, they are sitting to write tests. Standardized testing is a hot topic of debate among educators – its evil twin, the lack of time available for children to have unstructured play. In Vivian Gussin Paley’s book ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­A Child’s Work: The Importance of Fantasy Play she offers her “manifesto against the decline of children’s creative time”. For those who are concerned about the present state of affairs with regards to children and their education, this is a fantastic read. But back to Spring Break….I’ve realized that being an educator is a lot more philosophical than I had imagined it would be. It means thinking about things like children’s free time over vacations and becoming concerned with the current movement towards standardized testing. It means questioning my own position as an after school tutor and ESL teacher and wondering if I’m not contributing to the movement I find so disturbing.

Welcome to Kindergarten!

Friday afternoon. Spring Break looming. I’ve been called to cover an afternoon French Kindergarten class. I enter the classroom a few minutes late due to a callboard scheduling error. The first thing that I notice as I open the door is the noise level. The children, it seems have brought their outdoor playground voices, inside. The second thing I notice is the classroom teacher – her eyes, and specifically the whites of them. As I approach the friendly looking woman to introduce myself and apologize for being late, I notice she has her coat on and her bag in hand. “I’m sorry,” she says, looking a tad frazzled, “they’ve just had chocolate cupcakes. Kevin’s mom brought them in and we had a little birthday party.” Ok, I think, that explains the racket and possibly why the boys are running around the room chasing each other with blue and yellow Lego guns. “I’ve really got to run. I’ve an appointment that took six months to get and I’m going to be late. I’ve left some notes for you on my desk. Don’t worry if you don’t get through everything– just do whatever you like.” With that she turns on her heel and escapes the din of the classroom. My first thought is to stop the boys and their gun chase, but I realize this distraction might buy me a few minutes as I quickly scan her notes, take off my own coat and settle myself in for the afternoon. It can’t be that bad – I’ve only got two and half hours with these little guys. Should be a breeze. With a quick scan of the day, the plans include completing an assembly and finish a plasticine art project. Looks easy, I think to myself smugly. Now, to tend to the little bunnies.

“Boys!” My voice only a little louder than the noise level from the kids. No response. Louder, and with more authority, “Boys, please stop running around!” One of the troupe quickly glances my way but realizes that his friends are still in hot pursuit so he continues the chase. I’m getting a little annoyed and worried for the safety of the rest of the class. I fill my lungs and really let it go, “Class! Can I have your attention, please!” Everybody stops in their tracks and stares at me. A workable quiet fills the air. Standing in the middle of room, in the centre of the chaos, I revel for just a moment. The quotable, “All the world is a stage” must have been borne in a Kindergarten classroom. I suddenly feel like I’m “on” and what comes out of my mouth next had better be good.

“Hello everybody! My name is Ms.Partridge and I’ll be your teacher this afternoon.”

“Can we call you Ms. P?”

“Did you say Ms. Porridge?”

“No, that’s Ms. Ostrich!”

“She’s speaking English!”

The immediate chatter needs clarification. “My name is Ms. Partridge, but if it easier you can call me Ms.P.” Muffled giggles, “Ms. PeePee!” I choose to ignore that and get on with the next order of business. “Class, I’m sorry but this afternoon I’ll be speaking English. I don’t really speak French.” The girl in the purple princess dress pipes up, “Good, cause we don’t really understand it anyway.” And with that, we are off to a running start. Until we get to the gym for the assembly.

There are some important things to know about a class, especially a Kindergarten class, before they are “assembly-ready”. These little nuggets of knowledge are a precious commodity carried by a select few. The Substitute Teacher is not one of them.

#1 Know the names of all the students, so when they begin poking each other, starfishing out on the floor or talking over the principal’s greeting, you can hiss at them, hoping to catch their eye and give them the appropriate pantomimed instruction

#2 Know who should not sit together

#3 Know which students to place closest to you, thus within immediate range of your maximal control

Being a Substitute Teacher, and not privy to any or all of these rules, is sure to garner a few hostile stares from the other teachers not to mention the complete mental and physical exhaustion of trying to keep the assembly line in quiet and respectful order. After a tortuous hour, the assembly finally ends. There is still 45 minutes to go until the end of the day and a plasticine art project on the roster. The kids, having sat “criss-cross apple sauce” for a full hour on a hard, wooden gymnasium floor, are even squirrellier than when I first entered the room. The boy with one glove on his hand, who has proclaimed himself to be Luke Skywalk, shouts up at me, “Teacher, can we have centres now?” Centres, as any teacher knows, is the god-sent answer and salvation to a primary classroom teacher’s sanity. “Centres, it is, Luke.”

Never again shall I underestimate the energy it takes to run a Kindergarten class!