147.0 Prefer Substitute Teaching

This is what I am teaching in today. Yeah, I pulled my hair around just for this picture, so that you can see I have hair. Most of the time, my pony tail hangs straight down my back and you can't see it in the pictures. One of the students said yesterday, "You cut your hair!" So, some kids do see substitute teachers as people. Not many, but some do.

The students didn't cook yesterday, so I have no excuse for the .4 pounds I gained. However, I am still inside my weight loss goal of 145 to 149.9. One of the classes will be making Snickerdoodle cookies tomorrow, so I had best take it easy on the calories today. Three of the other classes will be making international dishes on Monday, and my assignment might continue into Monday.

One of the reasons I prefer substitute teaching is planning. The regular teacher has to plan all the lessons and how to grade them and what materials need to be ready when and how to explain all this to the students. That is my least favorite part of teaching. I like interacting with the students, the actual teaching part. My second least favorite part of a teacher's job is recording grades in the computer and printing out all the reports.

With this week-long assignment, I find myself planning out when materials need to be photocopied by and how and when I will announce things to the students -- in short I am participating in the planning. I am doing this on the phone with the regular teacher, rather than in written notes, and that is much more pleasant.

I don't mean to complain, though. I think complaining is the least productive thing anyone can do. I feel very blessed to have work that I enjoy. The other Family and Consumer Science teachers at this high school always ask me if I need any help, too. Their support is wonderful and makes all the difference.
--------------------------------

Guide to Thousands of Unlisted Job Openings in the US!

Do you know anyone who has a college degree, but no job? I wrote this book for them. Tell them about it, or better yet, buy them a copy. Turnover is high in these jobs, so there are almost always openings. With this guide, a high school substitute teacher can do the job so well they actually like it. I do.


Paperback: Amazon | Barnes and Noble Online | Powell's | Walmart Online
eBook: iTunes  | Kindle | Nook | Kobo
Audio: Amazon | iTunes

146.6 Teaching Home Economics this Week

They don't call it "Home Economics" anymore, though. Now, it is called "Family and Consumer Science." Yesterday, most of the kids got to cook. Three of the classes made French toast, and one class made chicken nuggets. I hadn't known how to make chicken nuggets from scratch. It is really simple. You just cut up the chicken, wet it in egg, bread it in bread crumbs, and fry it. Some of the kids liked a lot of cinnamon on their French toast.

The rest of the week, they are doing book work. I am a little apprehensive that the students will find the book work boring, compared with the cooking they got to do yesterday. As a substitute teacher, I don't get much say in what they do, though. That is fine with me. Planning is my least favorite part of teaching. I actually prefer substitute teaching, for that and many more reasons.

This is what I am wearing today, to teach "Food, Nutrition and Wellness," "Single Survival," and one other Family and Consumer Science class whose name escapes me right now.  

I gained .4 pounds yesterday. I walked the dogs 2/3 of a mile and I walk half a mile in association with taking the bus home from school because Scott was working the swing shift and he had the truck. Here is what I ate yesterday:

Small bowl of Special K, strawberries and organic soy milk
Three pieces of French toast, no butter no syrup
Raw baby carrots and 2 tablespoons Parmesan spinach dip
Small Fuji apple
3 chicken nuggets and a tablespoon of BBQ sauce
Beef and bean burrito with salsa
Small Fuji apple with peanut butter and chocolate chips
2 small bowls of Special K, strawberries and organic soy milk

146.2 Dogs in the Park

Here's a pretty good picture I took with the timer yesterday, of me and Oreo and Raffle walking in the park. Two other people were walking dogs, and my dogs are rapt with attention on the other two dogs! I'm never sure if they mean to fight the other dogs or make friends, if they get the chance. At the dog park they always make friends, but being on the leash makes them defensive.

We walked a mile, and I trained on the stair step exercise machine a few times when I was too excited to sit still at the computer and write. Still, I gained .2 pounds. That is OK. I am still within my weight loss goal of 145 to 149.9. Here is all that I ate yesterday:

Fuji apple with peanut butter and chocolate chips
2 slices of toast with peanut butter
El Monterey bean and cheese burrito with salsa
Leftover baked chicken, carrots and Brussels sprouts
Fuji apple with peanut butter and chocolate chips
Handful of chocolate chips