Rock, Paper, Scissors...SHOOT!

These are the words that I heard last week in the teachers lounge at lunch time.

I'm a substitute teacher and I have recently become the "building sub" for an elementary school. This week, on Wednesday there were 3 teachers who were going to be out of their classrooms. When teachers know in advance that they will not be in school they can request a specific person to sub. When you are a teacher you take ownership of your classroom and you want to know that your students are taken care of as well as the lesson plans that you left are being carried out effectively. Even know I am not a full-time teacher...I am an educator. Therefore I am  responsible to TEACH... not to sit in a classroom with 25 children and simply maintain behavior and watch the clock turn.

So, last week at lunchtime I walked into the teachers lounge, said my hello's to the other teachers... asked how their days were going and then opened my lunch and started to eat my hummus and honey wheat sticks. Then Teacher A casually says, "I'm going to be out next Wednesday and I'm going to talk to Mrs. Principal so that you can be put in my room." Teacher B follows by saying, "Mrs. Principal told me this morning that she was going to be in my room next Wednesday." Teacher C pipes in and said, "Well that isn't fair because now I will get stuck with someone who my kids don't know." A observer of this entire conversation then suggests that they play rock, paper, scissors to see who gets me in their room. The 3 teachers look at each other with this "whhhaaatttt?" look on their faces then all stand up with their fists out in front of them.

I couldn't believe this and it was hard not to laugh... but it happened. I saw it with my own eyes, 3 adults playing rock, paper, scissors for a substitute.


The best part is that the sub was me! It was a very strange few minutes in time... but in the end it was very flattering. It definitely felt good to know that the teachers see that I'm good at what I do. They see me as a colleague not just a person who teaches here and there...I'm not just a substitute. I am a teacher.