Diary of a supply teacher in London

The week was pretty slow, as I figured it would be since they were just coming off of half-term break. I spent Monday and Tuesday doing some errands and I decided to head to the Imperial War Museum for an afternoon because it's free and I needed something to fill the time. It was great! I took my time and looked at as much as I could. It was nice to go to a museum by myself because I didn't have to rush or feel like I was boring anyone by reading basically everything. I watched a video on Crimes against humanity which talked a lot about genocide (particularly in Rwanda). It was really interesting and terrifying because they showed actual footage from the time and it was quite graphic. Part of the film was actually narrated by Michael Ignatieff which made me giggle a bit because I recognized his voice before they put his name on the screen. How dorky am I? haha. Anyway, because I took my time with each exhibit I didn't even see the whole museum. But that's ok because I can go back whenever I want. Even though I didn't see the whole thing I would definitely recommend it for anyone who is a war history lover like me. The Holocaust exhibit was incredible and includes many artifacts, videos, and even a model of Auschwitz.

Got my first work call on Wednesday for a Year 4 class near Elmer's End which isn't too far from my place on the rail. I got to the school and the Deputy Head Teacher (essentially the vice-principal) and the secretary were away so the Head Teacher was trying to figure out what to do with me. Turns out the teacher I was covering for was actually only there in the morning because she had prep in the afternoon. I had to wait for the Year 4 team to arrive so they could tell me what I'd be doing. I had the feeling that the Head Teacher had no clue what he was doing which made more sense later when I was told that it's the Deputy who coordinates supply teachers.

The other two Year 4 teachers arrived and finally figured out what I'd be doing for the morning. They both seemed quite disorganized which was funny considering that in England each grade follows the same lesson plans and teach the same thing. This is helpful because then if I have questions I can just ask the other teacher and they will know how to explain it. In Canada you're often left to your own devices because each teacher makes up their own things (to a certain extent). Anyway, the kids were awesome! All my fears of bad English kids were thrown out the window. They were a little excited because I'm a supply teacher with a funny accent but they were still good. I had two TAs in the class which was a big help because they helped with discipline (which there wasn't much to do in the first place). The morning went well with a lesson on databases in the computer lab, spelling, and writing a free-verse poem on an animal. The other teachers didn't know what to do with me for the afternoon (because one takes over the class that I had) so at the end of lunch I found out I would just be helping out in the other class. I listened during a science lesson and then worked with some small reading groups to see what level they were at in terms of reading skills. I marked the worked from the morning at the end of the day and that was it.

The next day I got a late call to go to a school called "Charles Dickens". haha. It was for a Year 5/6 class. When I arrived the other Year 6 teacher went over the day plans with me. Looked like it was going to be another decent day. The kids were already working on a literacy assignment where they were writing out instructions on how to defeat a monster that they created. I was supposed to stretch that out for 2 lessons, then do math (fractions), then read from Coraline in the afternoon. My class had a TA and a girl doing work experience so lots of help for me. The TA was much more vocal than the ones I had the day before which was great with discipline. These kids were pretty chatty and needed constant reminders to stay on task but were otherwise good. The Head Teacher popped in at one point to introduce herself to me and lectured the kids about working hard and representing the school well. She even talked with me at lunch to find out if they had completed their work and ask about their behaviour. Again, the day went well and I marked the instructions (which were really creative) at the end of the day and then went home. So far so good.

I didn't work on Friday but I'm not too disappointed about that. I definitely enjoy days off. However, I hope that next week is pretty busy because I will need the cash for all of the trips I'm planning on taking. Fingers crossed that I continue to have lovely kids and don't have to experience the dreaded evil spawn of London.