a perfect fit

no this post is not about shoes, only a metaphor to the joy of affirming what i think is what is meant for me.

i subbed at the high school these past two days, and i freaking loved it! it gave me so much joy to be with this age group again. i am definitely going to work hard to get myself back in the high school classroom next year. please god, let me teach high school lit again.


yesterday i subbed for the spanish teacher at the academy. the academy is pretty much like rural high. this is the school for the smart kids -- the kids who exert more effort and who want to be pushed to their limits. these kids have an hour longer school day than the regular high school across the street. i felt like i was back home with these kids. they were a lot of fun. i met a few filipino students there and they were thrilled to have a filipina substitute teacher. a few cheeky juniors pledged allegiance to help me secure or help me look out for a teaching post next year only if i promise to teach senior english. ha! as if it's all up to me.


when i got in my car yesterday, i was excited to find out if i still have the durga touch with high school kids. my experience yesterday sealed that. yes, i am meant to teach high school. the kids were all worked up after their assigned work and we talked about oh almost everything. i learned another country yesterday -- i did not know that there is a country called Georgia, just south of russia. the georgia i know is the one north of florida. i also had a taste of the perils of teaching high school boys. we've been getting a lot of bad rap lately. teachers having affairs with students, which i find totally reprehensible.somehow, yesterday made me see how it is for weaker teachers who fall for silly child's play.

one cheeky senior thought it was cute to ask for my number. i gave him the number for DYFS, the Division for Youth and Family Services. this is the number to call to report child abuse and negligence and other issues. i would've given him the number for KB toys only i didn't know it by heart. he told me he was 18 and i said, i was 18 too, 13 years ago. i told him to go find somebody in the sandbox to play with. i'm done playing with boys.


the girls are a riot too. middle school girls are very tough. they are very resentful and stubborn. the high school girls are funny and they really crack me up. one of the girls wanted me to try her lip gloss on because she said it would look good on me, and of course i said, "is your lip gloss poppin?" and i burst into li'l mamma's song. the class burst out laughing. so yeah, yesterday, i was the coolest sub in the building.

but i don't play the cool card to be cool. i think i'm just naturally fit to deal with the teenager's mind. my sense of humor is just right for them, it's just the right amount of cheeky.


today i subbed for a well-loved technology teacher. and i got the freshmen. it was like a family reunion because these kids were the first batch of kids that i taught. i met up with all my "beloved" students, and you know what? they all love me now. one of them even took his shoe off even though he did not ask me for a pen, all in tribute to all the "good times" he had in my class. a lot of them complained about high school.
i told them it's just their freshman year, it's all going to get better.

of course in the midst of all the screams of joy upon seeing their old 6th grade teacher as a sub, i had to field questions about why i am subbing. i told them i thought i was moving to canada but i decided to stay. they all think i'm crazy to move to canada. a few of them remarked about how different i look. t, my truant student and b my little stinkbomber told me i look like i'm on drugs coz i lost a lot of weight. i told them i don't do drugs i just smoke pot. hahahahaha.

so goes the days of durga the happy wanna be high school teacher. please join me in my prayers that this padawan may teach high school again.

may the force be with me.