Unexpected Events

I walked into the classroom on Tuesday morning and was surprised to see that my Cooperating Teacher (CT) was not in the room. Since she is usually present and prepared to give my partner and me instructions in the morning, I figured she must be somewhere nearby and sat down to wait for her. Minutes passed until it was time to get the students from the cafeteria. That’s when we found out from another teacher that our class would be having a substitute! Unfortunately, my first reaction was “uh-oh” as I recalled how unruly my peers and I would behave when we knew it was a “sub day”. I was relieved to learn that the teaching assistant would be in the classroom as usual. The students would have one person that they are accustomed to having in the classroom every day.

During morning circle time the substitute teacher did an activity that was out of the ordinary for the students. She asked them, “What do you like? Let’s go around and everyone name something you love or like.” This new activity seemed to only slightly faze the students as they fidgeted a bit. The teacher started with one student who said, “I love my mom.” Then she went to the next, and the next, and the next. Throughout this activity the students were engaged and quiet, never interrupting one another. I have learned that young children benefit from routines; therefore, this activity was interesting to watch as I wondered how the students would receive a new activity in place of instruction that they are accustomed to.

Of course, the substitute teacher had a different way of delivering instruction and talking to the students.  Nevertheless, the students followed their routine schedule and participated in activities just as they would any other day. Later we learned that this was the first time the class had ever had a substitute teacher. As my partner and I discussed our first substitute teacher experience as interns, we wondered if the experience would have been different if the substitute had come in August or September. Teachers must have so many routines at the beginning of the year to prepare students for their new classroom. We wished that our internship had started in August rather than in January so that we could witness how students and teachers get to know each other.

On the topic of unexpected events…I’m sure everyone heard about the man who flew his plane into an office building in Austin. When my partner and I were in the classroom on Thursday, my CT (she’s back!) told us the news. It reminded me of September 11 – I was in 7th grade at the time. The teachers turned on the news in the morning but did not really discuss the day’s events with us. I suppose they must have been in shock themselves. How do teachers explain these events to students, especially in elementary school?

Sonam Shahani is a 3rd year undergraduate student at The University of Texas at Austin pursuing a B.B.A. degree in Finance and a B.S. degree in Applied Learning and Development: Early Childhood – 6th grade. She is currently a student teacher at Metz Elementary School in Austin, Texas through the university funded Urban Education Teacher Prep Program. She can be reached at Sonam.Shahani@bba07.mccombs.utexas.edu